From Beneath the Waves

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Korin wasn't really certain how 'prepared' she could have been in such a small boat, but had to wonder if clarifying it might seem rude. Humans were not always so efficient at catching sea creatures - at least, not unless their boats and nets were like the very big ones he saw sometimes.

"A reef?" He parroted with a little tilt of his head, eyes turning seaward as he pointed out northeast. "There's a reef out that way. I see boats there, sometimes."

He didn't make a habit of visiting the reef when he did spot them, not wanting to encounter humans, but if he stayed deep enough he was usually safe to go unnoticed. It was so far out that not that many boats went there. He wasn't really sure why, if they just didn't know about it or if there was something keeping them away.

"It's very deep," he added when he looked back at her again, a quizzical frown on his face. "You can't swim to it. Not without . . . What is it?" He gestured vaguely over his own shoulder, as if pointing to his back. "The metal tanks, for breathing." He had seen divers with them before, releasing air bubbles that clearly showed they were breathing somehow. He assumed the tanks had air in them so the people could dive for longer, but it was dangerous to stay too long and study them.

Unless, maybe, she knew someone who would just look down at it from above? It was mostly possible to see from almost at the surface, though not with much detail.
 
She looked in the direction he pointed, knowing she wouldn't be able to see anything, but she wanted to get a general idea of where it was.

Not that she was sure she wanted to go out there again, she'd made such a mess of it the first time. Maybe the universe was sending her a sign, that this whole thing was a mistake, a waste of her time.

Yeah or maybe you're just making up excuses to chicken out you big wuss, She thought to herself, annoyed with herself.

When Korin asked her a question, she shook her head a little, trying to focus. "Oh you mean scuba tanks?" She seemed a little dissapointed, "I wouldn't be able to do that, not without getting certified first."
 
Scuba tanks. He did his best to commit the phrase to memory, and as he rolled it over in his mind thought that perhaps Minamet had told it to him once. She knew a great deal more about the surface world than he did, and had taught him a lot. He was sure at least she would understand if his secret ever got out.

"Certified?" He repeated, clearly confused. "What does that mean? Certified? Is that how you trade for things?"

He had been taught a little about human 'money', enough to understand that some things were worth more or less of it to them and some would go very far to acquire it, but the concept was still strange. Beneath the sea, most things were traded for or simply shared.

"If I brought you pearls, could you trade for one?" He added curiously after a moment, a thoughtful look on his face. Pearls were very pretty little things and he had a small collection of them himself, but he could always get more. They were one of the things he knew humans liked, though they couldn't find a way not to kill the oysters for it.
 
She smiled a little at his confusion, she liked how curious he was and she didn't mind answering his questions, after all she was just as curious about his world.

Besides it kind of reminded her of when she'd help one of her brothers with their homework, though they were both older than her, there were certain subjects that just came easier to her than them.

"Certified is being officially recognised for a skill you have, so with the scuba diving, I'd have to learn how to do it, then pass a test, and then I'd be a diver and allowed to do it."

"It can be difficult and dangerous, so it's not something you can just do on a whim." "It's like needing a licence to drive a car."

She blinked a little in surprise at his generosity, "well yes in a way, I could sell the pearls to pay for the test and the equipment." She smiled and shook her head a little, "and that's a very generous offer, I appreciate it but I couldn't accept it." "But I'd love to see one sometime."

She was very interested in things from his home, not just things but his people's culture as well. "Is that how you get the things you need?" "You trade pearls?"
 
Korin wondered for a moment if there were question marks floating around his head as she continued to speak. Many of the words she was using he knew but not well enough to follow so quickly, and some he wasn't sure where the ones he thought they were, in context. Who knew what cars were, at least, even if he didn't know what a 'license' was or why you had to have one to be able to drive. Maybe it was a word for the steering wheel.

He perked up a little when he was right about the pearls, only to immediately deflate again with a frustrated little huff to be shot down. He had almost helped.

"They're very pretty," he insisted when Olivia said she would like to see them, and somewhere in the back of his mind was a bit shocked at himself for saying he would bring some, given it meant he would have to come back again. "Sometimes, if pearls is what someone wants. Sometimes they want fish, or plants, or labor. Or very, very specific, hard to catch crabs." The last he added with clear exasperation, turning a slight squint of his eyes away from her even as his head fins flattened a bit in distaste, then gave himself a shake and looked at her again. "I get what I need myself, most of the time, but sometimes I need things I can't find on my own."

Minamet had taught him to be self sufficient, taught him not only how to feed and protect himself and which currents to use or avoid, but how to make things, how to take care of his own injuries, and how to use his magic. Learning was hard sometimes, but she had wanted to be sure he could get by on his own. She had known before he did that he would end up all by himself.
 
She could see him looking a bit lost and decided she might have to explain things a bit more than she thought. With his knowledge of certain things, she thought he'd know a bit about humans.

Then again how much could he learn confined to the sea? With how skittish he seemed around her, he probably hadn't spent much time conversing with people eiether.

"I'm sure they are, I just don't want to trouble you Korin, i owe you so much already." She felt guilty at how dissapointed he seemed, but she didn't want to take so much from him.

She was fascinated by his explanation, wondering what was so special about those crabs. It also answered her question about others like him, though she got the sense he was a bit of a loner.

"Well I'd be happy to help you find things, or at least anything you need from the surface." She had an idea then, "maybe we could trade?"
 
"Owe me?" Korin repeated, innocent curiosity in his voice. "For what?" He hadn't given her anything that he was aware of. The oars had already been hers, though he supposed he had gone and found them for her.

"Oh!" He perked up with an eager sort of smile when she mentioned things from the surface, train of thought quite easily derailed. "To trade for pearls? What sorts of things? Shiny things? Fabrics? Or the sorts of things that you eat?" He'd found little bobbles here and there from humans that were very pretty, and occasionally whatever remained of the things they ate, but generally once it was soaked in water it was ruined so he could never really tell what it was.
 
Raising an eyebrow, she smiled at him in amusement. "Well i mean you saved my life, so I kinda owe you more than I can ever repay." Her expression and tone grew playful, "I mean unless I save your life then we'd be even."

She was a little surprised by his eagerness, but it was sweet, and she loved his bright smile. "Anything you want, I can probably get quite a few things."

"Food, jewellery, art, books, fabrics and clothes, I don't know." She shrugged a little, "music, movies, is there anything you're really interested in?"
 
"Do . . . people pay for that?" Korin wondered aloud, a small frown beginning to form on his face at the idea that he had saved her for some sort of repayment and not simply for the act of helping itself, but the look she gave him afterwards had him smiling again soon after. "I shall be sure to call on you the next time I find myself in trouble!" he said with a laugh, shaking his head a bit at the idea. As if there would ever be a time. He was starting to like being around Olivia, though. That was probably a bad thing, in the long run, but in the moment it felt so easy. So harmless.

Briefly, Korin let go of the dock go gesture vaguely with both hands like he was attempting to grab something, tensing the grip of his tail to keep him from drifting too low in the gentle waves to speak. "How would you. . . give me music?" he wondered though he wasn't sure she would have an answer, his voice gone a bit wistful. "I can hear it sometimes, drifting off the fisherman's boats. . . I shouldn't get so close but . . . I like to listen." The sounds were so different, and so full of energy and beauty. But it wasn't something he could hold.

"Will you bring me something humans like to eat?" He asked with a little smile on his face again, eager enough to focus on the things that he could have. "If I bring you pearls? I've always wanted to try the things that grow on land."
 
She was going to clarify things when he suddenly laughed, his joy was infectious and she joined in with his laughter for a moment. True she doubted he'd ever need her help, but she was serious about helping him if he ever did.

She was glad to see him starting to relax around her, even if it was just a little. "Well you're right I can't give you music, but I can play it for you so you can listen."

"There's so many different types of music, we'll have to find something you like." She looked a little lost in thought, wondering what he'd like the most.

When he asked for food, her smile widened and she nodded. "Sure, might be hard to narrow it down though, there's just as many different types of food as there are music."

She thought for a moment, seeming a but unsure. "Hmm, do you eat meat?" "Or I guess fish?" "Like do your people have vegetarians?"
 
"Really?" Excited by the prospect, Korin suddenly pushed himself up higher, until he could rest is arms on the dock a foot or so away from her and hold himself up that way. "You could play some for me? I don't what kind there is, or - or what the sounds are called, but I want to hear it! All of it is so different from what I'm used to!"

There was some music underwater, but it was mostly voices and percussion. Humans had so many different instruments and sounds with all the things they'd made above the water.

He settled with his chin resting on his arms, his tail helping him stay up still without much struggle. "What is vegeta . . . vegetari . . . What you said. We eat fish, and crab, and other things. I don't think it's the same as what you're talking about." He only had a half-baked idea of what 'meat' meant to her.
 
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"Yeah of course, I can show you as much as you want." She loved music and even played some herself, but she felt like she and maybe others took it for granted, seeing it through Korins fresh eyes was invigorating.

It made her excited to show him new things, as she wondered what he'd think of it all. She was just as curious about his world, wondering what the others were like, what they did for fun, everything.

"What music are you used to?" "Like just singing? Or are there instruments too?" She didn't know if his people had any instruments that worked underwater, or maybe they spent time on the surface in secret, like at night?

She looked thoughtful for a moment, as she struggled to think how to explain it. "It's kind of complicated, there's a bunch of different diets but basically Vegetarians are people who don't eat meat or fish, because meat comes from animals and they think it's wrong to kill and eat them."
 
It was all so exciting, Korin had already forgotten to be worried. He kept his eye out for any nearby ships or any humans that might wander over the crest of the hill leading to the beech, of course, but anything beneath the waves was beyond him. His kind never came so close to shore anyway. He was the only one foolish enough for that, he was sure.

"What kinds?" He tried to think of how to explain what music was like, for his people, and regretted never learning to play any himself when it felt difficult. "Mostly singing," he confirmed, chin resting thoughtfully on his arms as he did his best to consider the question, "and drumming, and long, drawn out sounds, like whalesong. Everything sounds different underwater. . ." He pointed a hand to his own chest, and then his throat. "Voice comes more from here than from here. I don't know how to explain."

An, animals. Animals he could understand, though he didn't know what kinds of animals people ate. "I don't . . . think I get it. They need to eat. Why is it bad?" Did humans feel guilty feeding themselves? Perhaps their hunters were unskilled, and the animals suffered rather than dying quickly. He supposed he could see not wanting to do things like that.
 
His excitement was mirrored in her as she listened to his explanation with eager curiosity, fascinated by how underwater music worked.

She tried to hear it in her head, the way you'd picture something visual from a description, but it was difficult to imagine since it was such a foreign idea.

"That sounds incredible." She said with sincerity, nodding a little at his mention of his voice. "I think I get it, like your chest voice, deeper and more powerful."

"I wish I could hear it." Her tone was a little wistful, knowing that wasn't going to be possible, for many reasons, but still she could dream.

His question about why meat was bad made her shrug softly, "well a lot of people don't think it's bad, but there are those that do." "People keep some animals as pets, and they don't see a difference between them and the animals they eat." "They think because people can survive without meat, there's no need to kill animals for it."
 
Korin made a soft, disappointed sound, thinking of her offer to share music with him, and his inability to bring it to her. "I wish I could show you . . ." he said softly, a faint flush coming to his cheeks as his eyes turned away. "I am not a very good singer."

He didn't make children and small creatures flee in terror, but his voice had never been any good, not especially when compared to the others in the pod he'd grown up on. It was yet another thing in the list of what made him so different from them.

Shaking off the idea of music for a later date, he did his best to focus on what she was explaining, running the idea over and over in his head. "I . . . guess I understand. . ." He said, though not with a great deal of confidence. "The land gives more than the sea, I think, when it comes to plants that you can eat."

Sure, there were things beneath the water that could be eaten, but as far as his limited knowledge went there was more variety that was edible on land. The way Olivia talked about people not eating meat at all made him think that his assumption was correct.
 
She smiled and shook her head a little, "I'm sure you're better than you think you are, we're always our own worst critics." "Besides, practice makes perfect, you know?" "Hey, maybe you'd sound different up here on the surface too."

She was trying to be encouraging but not too pushy, she knew how hard it could be to overcome self doubt and or embarrassment.

Though he didn't seem certain, he seemed to get the gist of what she was saying. "I don't know much about edible ocean plants, but yeah it does."

"There's all different vegetables, fruits, nuts, mushrooms, grains, there's also things you can get from animals that don't hurt them, like milk and honey." She decided not to bring up vegans, thinking it might be too complicated, at least for now.

"I'll bring a variety of stuff next time okay?" She gave him a sly smile, her expression and tone playful. "But since there's so many different things to try, you'll probably have to make quite a few visits, don't you think?"
 
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Olivia's reassurances did nothing to make him feel less shy, though he was glad she didn't go so far as to ask him to sing for her now. He'd only ever done a little bit of humming above water, and even that had been limited. It was best to just let it go for now, he supposed. If he denied anything with too much energy it might only encourage her to poke at him, though she was being very nice to him so far. It was a welcome change to the general distant indifference he received from many others.

"So many different things. . ." He murmured softly to himself as she went on, listening with rapt attention despite not completely certain he knew the definitions of every word. It was so exciting to think of getting to experience so many new things!

And then, at the same time, it settled a nervous, writhing little bundle of flutters in his stomach. Quite a few visits. He wasn't even supposed to come once. There was an instinctive anxiety to it, thinking of breaking rules he'd always been taught. But then, he had already broken the most important one. Surely he couldn't make anything worse by coming back again.

Korin was hesitant at first, head fins pressing down a bit and tucking his chin into his arms atop the deck, but after a pause to think it over he gave her a small, nervous smile. "I won't forget the pearls." Olivia was human, and she wasn't supposed to know he existed, but she was kind to him, and she had so many new, human concepts to dangle in front of him that he couldn't help but want. Even more than that, it was nice to finally have someone who seemed eager to speak to him, rather than uncomfortable.

"How will I know when to come?" He asked, unsure even as he cast his eyes once more up the beach to sure no one else was approaching where they could see him. "I can't . . . I can't let anyone else see me. . ."

He hoped she would understand, even if she didn't know why. One human setting their eyes on him was bad enough. If there were ever another person with her when she came to see him, he would have to go and never come back.
 
A small amused smile appearead on her face at his obvious excitement, she thought it was sweet and endearing to see him so eager for pretty ordinary things, though of course they weren't ordinary to him.

Her smile widened as she imagined how he'd react to something like chocolate, but it faded pretty quickly when she noticed his hesitation.

Perhaps she was putting too much pressure on him, she'd only been joking about having to visit, only wanting to get a chance to talk to him again, maybe find a way to repay him, or hopefully just make a new friend.

Thankfully he smiled at her, it was nervous but still, a smile. She smiled back and nodded a little, "Okay." Though she didn't care about the pearls. She was happy to share things with him for nothing, but it seemed he'd feel better if it was a trade so she decided to just go along with that.

She frowned a little at his question, "hmm I'm not sure.." "I guess it depends on what time you visit, like maybe I could have a light you could see from a distance and have it turned on if it's safe to come closer?" She was thinking outloud, not sure what else would work.

She looked at him seriously, "I understand and I can't control other people wandering through here, but I can promise that I won't tell anyone about you or bring anyone else here to see you ok?"
 
What time was a good question, he supposed. He had no other way of communicating with her rather than just showing up and shouting, so he was going to have to come at a specific time. He couldn't just wait around all day waiting for her to some see him, after all. He still had other things that needed caring for, even if he often had free time to entertain himself doing what he pleased.

"A light could work. . ." He agreed thoughtfully, and when she looked at him with a very earnest expression went quiet to listen. ". . . okay." He said very softly afterwards, sinking low again to rest his chin on his arms though her reassurance did make him feel better. "Thank you. . ." He believed her. There were a million reasons not to, ones Minamet would scold him with if she ever knew, but he still believed her.

He gave himself a little shake, trying not to dwell on it all too much and to just let himself be happy that it seemed he might have found a friend. "Do you live in the house that's up there?" He asked, pointing off in the direction of the small thing he could only just barely see if he found the right angle. "Should I look for your light there, or down here? How should I signal back?" He wasnt sure how he would tell her that he had come, if she didn't happen to be looking for him when he arrived. He could come and wait around for a while, he thought, if she would just check for him now and again.
 
She glanced in the direction he was pointing, but she couldn't see anything from where she was sitting. However she nodded a little, she had the only house around for miles so it must be hers.

"Hmm I think down here, it might be too hard to see otherwise." "I've got a pretty bright lantern, so I'll signal you from down here." When he asked how he'd answer her, she frowned thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure, do you have anything you could use like a light?" "Or maybe you could whistle or something?" She smiled and laughed softly, "this would be a lot easier if you had a cell phone."

"What time would work for you?" "Before sunrise or sunset might be best, that way these less chance of other people being around, not that there's ever anyone here anyway." It would also be easier to know when he was coming, since she wasn't sure if he had a way of telling time.
 
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