From Beneath the Waves

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"I'm not really sure. . ." Korrin mused, eyes drifting more over the shine of light on the surface of the water than anything specific. "I think . . . maybe she thought the shore would call to me. Like part of me would remember and want to get close. . . She wanted me to stay safe even if I followed it."

Even if it had been hard sometimes, and he had been tired of turning over lessons and practicing skills again and again and again, he knew she was doing everything she could to teach him to survive in a world he had never been meant for. He couldn't help but wonder what she would have done if he had ever recalled any of his childhood memory.

After a moment he gave his head a small shake, looking at Olivia and giving her a small, almost sad little smile. "I almost wish you could meet her, someday. I don't think she would ever come to the surface."

And, in that moment, he still wasn't sure if he was ready to speak to her again despite longing to seek her advice about his troubles as he always had. It was a warm sort of dream to hold on to, at least.
 
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She nodded a little, that was a nice way of putting it, and she thought it was accurate, at least from what she'd seen. He seemed to hold so much curiosity and fascination for human things, she couldn't help but wonder if they called to some distant memory of his childhood. She wondered if they were miraculously able to find his family, and they were able to speak to them, what they might learn about his past. What he was like, what he enjoyed, did he look or act like his parents? Did he have any siblings?

She smiled at him softly, her gaze warmly sympathetic. "I wish I could too." "Hey, if I ever get the hang of this snorkeling thing, maybe I could go to her, or an underwater cave with an air pocket or something." She said with an amused smile, trying to joke a little and brighten his mood.
 
Korrin could only turn to her with a smile at her suggestion, a warmth in his chest at the idea of the two of them meeting, or even simply Olivia's effort to make it happen. "If you really want to practice swimming in the ocean, I'll always keep you safe."

Whether it was tides or predators, he would come and swim with her and make sure she was all right. Even if all he did was swim next to or beneath her so she didn't have to be afraid, he was happy to spend time with her whenever she wanted. He couldn't, of course, be present for whatever lessons she had to go through to get permission for diving equipment, however that process went, but any other time he could be in the open ocean with his fins out. Worst come to worst, he would work on his glamours for brief, last minute hiding without a physical transformation so they could be together without so much worry.

"I wish I could show you the cave where I live," he said with a little sigh. "But I think it's too deep for you." That was the point, really, that it be too deep for any humans to reasonably come and discover it, but it was just a part of life. If he had particularly interesting things to show her he would just bring them with him when he visited. "Let's go to the bigger pool, just over there. I think there are usually urchins in it if you want to see them."
 
She smiled back, though there was a faint colour in her cheeks when he promised to keep her safe. She'd had no doubt he would, but still, hearing him say it, with such simple sincerity, it was comforting, and perhaps, something more.....? She shook her head a little, feeling a little flustered but not sure why, so she dismissed the thought. "I appreciate that a lot Korrin, thanks." When he mentioned his cave, she nodded a little, knowing that even with diving equipment, there was a limit to the pressure the human body could withstand.

"I wish I could too, but yeah, humans can't really go too deep in the ocean." She considered for a moment, "I mean unless they have specialised equipment." She shrugged a little, since he didn't seem overly bothered by it anyway. "Sure, lead the way." She said with a smile, following along behind him. "Is there a safe spot to swim around here?" "Well, safe...ish I mean."
 
Even with equipment, Korrin wasn't sure if she could ever reach the cave he called home. It was that deep on purpose, after all, to keep questing humans from finding his things, or coming upon the sight of him and trying to hunt him after. If he was lucky, the stories all said, he would only be studied while alive and not dissected. He didn't like thinking about it, and even though he would remain wary meeting Olivia gave him reason to believe neither would happen.

"The tide pools aren't so deep," he said thoughtfully as they walked across the rocky shore towards larger pools, though he didn't think that was what she meant. "And I'm not sure how well you do swimming in waves, but the weather is calm. If you wanted to swim a little, I think it would be fine." He paused for a moment, looking thoughtfully at the nearby water and seeming to consider. "At a different island, there's a cove that's pretty calm, but it's another swim to get there, not quite as long as it took to get here." He wasn't sure if she wanted to go so far and delay their eventual lunch, but either way was fine with him. He wasn't terribly hungry yet.
 
She let her gaze roam as they walked, interested in all the little bits and pieces the ocean had washed up here. Beautiful, delicate shells, whole or unfortunately smashed to pieces against the rocks, clumps of driftwood twisted in strange but pleasant shapes, even another little crab or two scuttling about here and there.

"I should save some of this driftwood." She said thoughtfully, "my dad likes to make wood carvings, I'm sure he'd love to try it with some of this stuff."

She turned back to Korrin as she listened to his suggestion, "I'd be fine with that, if you want too." She smiled a little, "I'd like to go for a swim so if you think that's the best spot we can go there."
 
"The wood?" Korrin repeated curiously, walking over to one of the branches worn smooth by the water but not yet broken or pieces, giving it a little lift as if wondering how heavy it was. "Did you want to bring it with you?" He supposed they could come back later and grab some if she wanted to, but it wasn't so heavy it would make the boat sink or anything, and given he wasn't in the boat with her, most of the time, it wouldn't be any trouble to fit it.

"Oh?" He turned back to her when she said she wanted to swim, a small smile on his face though he had thought she didn't want to spend all her time in the boat. "Do you want to go? If we go quickly, we'll still have time to have lunch before we go back."
 
"Oh, sure..." She replied, sounding a little surprised as he bent to pick up one of the pieces. "I was just thinking out loud, but if we can fit them in the boat okay, and if it wouldn't make it any harder for you to push it, then yeah, why not?" She bent to examine a few of the different branches, "I think he could make some nice carvings out of these." One of the smaller ones caught her eye, as she picked it up, she marvelled at how light and smooth it was. 'Though I'm not sure mum will be happy with me bringing home more clutter for him to mess around with." She said softly, an amused smile on her lips.

She turned back to Korrin and nodded to his question, "alright." She agreed with a smile, looking forward to being able to cool off, and more importantly, get over her discomfort. "Do me a favour though, will you?" "Try not to show off too much in the water" She teased playfully.
 
Korrin made a soft, considering sound, hefting the wood up a bit in his hands and finally shrugging. "I think it should be fine. They're not very heavy." He smiled a little when she talked about her family, but gave a soft, surprised laugh when she tried to make him promise.

"Was I showing off before?" He asked, amused but also genuinely curious, and picked up another smaller piece of driftwood to carry. "I don't mean to. It's more impressive that you can swim with just legs." Legs and feet were so much less effective than a tail and fins, it was a wonder she could keep herself afloat at all.
 
She laughed softly as she bent to gather a few more pieces she thought could work, she didn't want to grab too many, or ones that wouldn't be suitable. "No, you didn't, I'm just teasing." She reassured with an amused smile, "I mean, you're very impressive in the water, and I just know that I'm going to look very clumsy and awkward swimming next to you." It was true that he did have quite the advantage, after all, humans weren't really designed for efficient swimming.

With the basket of food in one hand and a pile of driftwood in the other, she started to lead the way back to the boat, so she could store their things and get going, she didn't want to hold them up too much.
 
"I still think legs and feet are interesting," he said with a little chuckle, raising up on his toes a bit as he looked down at his own shoes. "I'd like to see how they keep you up in the water. . ." Rapid movement, he supposed. Even his hands could push him around a bit if he tried hard enough, so it was possible.

On the trip back he helped carry as many of the pieces she wanted as possible so she could carry the basket, and helped arrange them when they were back to the boat. When she was sitting comfortably he went through the process of undressing again and having her shield her eyes while he walked back into the water. Once his transformation was done, and feeling quicker each time he did it, he popped back up in the water and pulled himself ho close enough to get the boat back in the water, pulling it gently along as he went so as not to jostle her too much.

"I'll try to go fast once we get out a little further," he said with a smile when they were deep enough he could swim around and start pushing from the back of the boat. "Swimming together will be fun." He was made for it, after all, or at least his current body was. Getting to the island might tire him a bit but he would never be too tired for swimming.
 
"I don't know, I think they're pretty boring compared to your tail." She said with an amused smile, "I wouldn't mind having one of those or a set of gills, it'd probably come in pretty handy." She jokingly added, though there was a small part of her that was serious, it would be interesting, if only to see what it was like. His question about how she swam with them made her realise he might not ever be able to experience that, unless this spell of Minamets eventually wore off, or he gained control of it somehow.

It seemed like that was something that might be possible, considering how much quicker he was able to change back and forth. She made sure the basket and his clothes were safely in her lap, where they'd also stay dry. She shifted her weight with the boat as he pushed and pulled it along in the water, getting the hang of keeping her balance.

"Okay, I'm curious to see how fast you can go." She answered with a smile, nodding in agreement when he mentioned swimming together. "I hope so, it's so odd we haven't done that together yet."
 
"Really?" Korrin asked with a little smile, resisting the urge to stop swimming long enough to lift up and see her legs in the boat in the interest of getting to the island as quickly as possible. "But there's so many bones. . ." The way that feet and toes worked was still fascinating to him even though he had been walking around on them for a couple days.

"I wish I could show you! I think the water might be too dark here to allow it - but maybe at the beach." Shallower waters were easier to see through even if they were harder to swim in, but if she stood where she could stand, or got up on a rock or something maybe she could still see him. "Well. We have swam together, only it wasn't on purpose."

Was it okay to joke about that now? He didn't want to say outright that she'd been in the middle of drowning when he 'swam with her', but technically they had both been swimming next to each other.
 
She was quiet for a moment as she processed that, then she shook her head and laughed softly. "You know, I really don't think that counts." She said with an amused smile on her face, clearly not bothered by his slightly dark joke. "I'd prefer to actually swim with you, not you know, flail around in the process of drowning." It was still something that had caused lingering feelings of fear and caused a few sleepless nights, but overall she felt okay about it. She was fine now, even if she was still a bit wary about being in the water.

Still, she was determined to get over that, by facing her fears and proving to herself it was no big deal. It wasn't an experience she'd ever want to have again, and she'd ensure she never did by making sure to never let herself be that reckless again. The silver lining though, was of course, that she'd had a chance to meet Korrin, she'd gained a friend and so had he, so she thought it had all worked out in the end.
 
Korrin's smile was a bit relieved when she laughed, reassured that it was all right to make a bit of fun about it. That was how some people got through things that were difficult for them, wasn't it? Finding something about it to laugh about? It helped him, anyway, and he wondered if it was more his human side that made him that way.

"You can be relaxed when you swim with me," he declared with a grin. "I would never let the water hurt you."

Whether it was calming the waves to keep her from being pushed about, fighting off dangerous sea life, or just holding her up if she was tired, he would be right at her side to be sure she didn't have to struggle. She was doing the same for him, after all, and even if she hadn't been he couldn't help the part of him that wanted to protect her.

"I think everything is clear," he said when he was sure there were no other boats around, "so I'll duck down and push from below, okay? We'll get there faster that way."
 
She didn't mind him joking about it, it actually felt kind of nice, it helped it feel less like this big traumatic thing. It sort of reminded her of when her brothers would tease and make fun of her for silly things, it could get annoying sometimes, but she knew it was all in good fun and came from a place of love. "I'm glad to hear that." She replied with a playful little smile, "because if I drown or end up as shark bait, my ghost is going to haunt you for all eternity."

She nodded a little as she held onto the sides of the boat, wanting to keep herself steady in case he decided he wanted to go fast, she wanted to go swimming, not get dumped into the water. "Okay, ready whenever you are."
 
Korrin burst into an almost surprised laugh at the thought of Olivia 'haunting' him, almost hard enough that he couldn't duck back under the water right away lest he forget to use his gills and have to cough water out of his lungs. He was still chuckling to himself under the surface as he swam down, keeping his hands on the boat for purchase and awareness of where it was, but for a while his magic had more to do with how it moved through the water than the power of his tail. The ride was steady enough, Korrin doing his best to smooth out the waves as they went so Olivia wouldn't be bumped or splashed too much, and so long as there were no other boats around they were free to go quickly.

When they grew closer to the island that was their destination, a solid twenty minutes or so of travel later, he slowed them down until he could drop behind the boat and start pushing with his hands again, popping his head up above the water to check on Olivia and be sure she was all right. "Almost there," he informed with a little smile as if she hadn't been able to see it getting closer and closer already. "The cove is on the other side, so I'll take us around to the beach there. There will still be waves, but less undertow."

Still, even if she did get pulled away from the shore it wasn't as if he wouldn't be right there with her. So long as she held his hand the ocean would never take her.
 
She smiled a little in amusement at his reaction to her joke, settling in as he disappeared under the surface again. It was eerily quiet out here, and she couldn't see him below the surface, if it wasn't for the fact her little dinghy was moving as fast as a new speed boat, it would be easy to think she was all alone out here. It was still something she was getting used to, sure there were the sound of the waves, but it was still quieter than the constant birdsong and animal calls from back home.

She wondered what Korrin would make of her home, whether he'd enjoy being surrounded by trees and greenery, or whether it would simply be too strange for him. Whatever his reaction, she did hope she'd get a chance to show it too him someday, assuming that was even possible. It would be really nice if he could meet her family and friends, but how was she supposed to explain who he was? How did she explain his lack of knowledge about common things? That he was from another country? That he had a terrible case of amnesia?

Her thoughts were interrupted as he popped his head back up again, "alright, that sounds good." She replied with a small smile of her own, still a touch nervous, but she was looking forward to it too. "so, have you been out this way often?"
 
Korrin was focused on their surroundings and on pushing Olivia safely and comfortably in her boat, and as he split his attention it took him a slightly longer pause than normal to answer. "Off and on," he said with a soft, thoughtful hum as they went, making careful progress around the island to find the calm cove. "There's more people close to shore so I don't come to this area very much - or, I didn't used to. But sometimes when there wasn't anyone around it was nice to come and sit on land for a while."

He enjoyed basking in the sun even before he'd figured out he had legs, and the islands were small enough that most people had no interest in visiting, but with dense enough foliage that he could hide himself rather well if anyone did. The desire to go above the surface had always been something that was quickly quashed for other mer, though, and at times he found their lessons had made him hesitate. Part of him wondered if any of them held some sort of resentment against Minamet for never fully telling him no. She had appraised him of the dangers, made sure he knew not to be seen, but if he thought very hard about it she hadn't told him he could never go. More and more as he considered them, her teachings had begun to feel very purposeful, like she wanted him to go back, or understood that some day he would no matter what she told him.

"Over there," he pointed out, freeing a hand to direct Olivia's attention even as he angled the boat closer to the island and started to push a bit faster. "The island curves here, so some of the riptides get broken up by the ocean floor. Close to the beach, it won't be so bad."

There was still current, given it was the ocean, but less so than other places. He wouldn't let her get pulled under.
 
She nodded a little at his answer, knowing it was probably pretty risky for him to get too close to the beach, though she'd figured he might have swum through here a time or two. Hearing about the people around caused a nervous part of her mind to speak up, as she wondered what would actually happen if anyone did see him in his mer form, surely people would just assume they were mistaken, right? After all, that's what she'd thought at first. Of course, she hadn't quite believed it, but if she hadn't seen him again, she supposed that in time, she would have eventually dismissed their encounter as a hallucination.

Though she knew that the most likely scenario that would result from him being spotted was harmless, it was still something she never wanted to risk, because there was always a chance. A chance that the wrong kind of person would find out about him, about the others, and then they'd be in danger. She shook her head a little as he pointed out their destination, she was worrying about nothing. He hadn't been spotted for his whole life, if you excluded their fairly unique meeting, and she certainly wasn't going to let it happen on her watch.

"Alright, that sounds good." She was a little concerned about the riptides he mentioned, but she thought she'd be alright. She knew he wouldn't have taken her to a dangerous spot, she was a strong swimmer, at least in rivers, lakes and pools, and besides she trusted him to keep her safe.
 
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