[RQ] Way down low

The Basin was not particularly safe at the best of times, but with the Void creatures barred from the Arclight it was at least no more dangerous than usual. The darkness of the benthic waters was absolute even at noon at the surface, and so Hadama had chosen night for their dive to gather sand from the bottom of the ocean. There could not possibly be less light, and his ability to teleport could prove useful if any of the Basin's predators decided that two Mer would make a tasty midnight snack.

Not that the Tidebreaker was particularly stealthy. He swam with his trident in hand and a wake of starlight glittering in the waters around him, moving through the water with calm confidence in spite of the darkness. The gleam of the glowing starfish proved a useful guide for where to avoid the sharp coral and stones of the Basin as he headed for the deepest part of the crater with his young protege in tow.

Have you continued training your water magic? he asked, a rumbling courtesy through the telepathic bond, though his gaze was sharply focused on their surroundings rather than on Kaiden.

kaiden

There is no shame in survival
Only strength

Kaiden swam beside Hadama, their eyes going to every moving shadow that the starfish formed. Their eyes narrowed as something moved in the opposite direction of the light, only releasing the tension in their tail when it was just a deep-water fish.

Hadama's question received a shrug and averted eyes. A little. I've been hunting a lot. They'd spent more time interacting with the surface world since meeting Hadama than they had in their entire life. It was exhausting at times. And when they weren't doing so, the merhsark had sunk beneath the sea to recharge in their shark form. They'd have happily done so today as well, but it'd be difficult to carry sand without arms.

And somehow, Kaiden cared enough about the surface idiots to ensure they did this task correctly. They blamed Hadama entirely.

coding by kaons

Even the fish this deep could be dangerous, but Hadama did not look worried as the dark shape slipped away from them. Few natural predators concerned him now, though krakens and sea panthers were certainly on that shortened list. He did spare a look over his shoulder at the mershark, grateful for their presence and tolerantly indulgent as he often was for Kaiden's grumpiness.

How is the hunting? Now that the Void is gone from the Arclight. A polite question, but one that he was keenly interested in hearing the answer to. He did not have time to study the shift in their prey and predator populations personally, but it was something he needed to be aware of. Whether or not the numbers were rebounding now that the competing Void species had been driven out of their waters, and whether he needed to do more to protect the Mer.

He made a graceful undulation with his tail, avoiding a craggy outcrop of coral and reaching a small section of bare sand on the sea floor. A glass jar was fished out from one of the net bags at his belt and he scooped it through the sand and lifted it to examine its contents critically.

kaiden

There is no shame in survival
Only strength

Kaiden perked up at the question. It's improving. It was bad for a while there, but now things are slowly returning to normal. When the void was rampant, so many of their non-corrupted foods fled. They weren't sure how or where they had disappeared to. Perhaps deeper waters or distant pockets of the sea far beyond the mer's reach. It had become difficult to find anything as the void creatures ate the few creatures that had remained.

But now those hidden populations were. Their numbers were still scarce, but they would hopefully bounce back with time. Irritable as they were, Kaiden was a seasoned hunter, not a fool. They understood the necessity of balance and only hunted what they needed or intended to eat. They were especially careful now.

The mershark dodged the same coral and then joined Hadama on the seabed. They scooped up some sand and held it out to the Demi-god. Does what's in it matter? There were a few shells and debris in their palms.

coding by kaons

Quiet acknowledgment and relief pulsed briefly through the Bond as Hadama retrieved his portion of the sand. The waters around them remained quiet, but he could feel a prickle of unease against his scales. They were not the only ones hunting the seafloor, and if they lingered too long they might regret it.

Then I will continue to watch. And wait, he decided. The Underwater City's hunters were still being careful, much like Kaiden was, and it did not seem wise to return to their previous procurement levels yet. Giving the ecosystem time to recover was important, but it was a balance with feeding his people. Still, for the moment things were better than they were and Hadama of all people was not one to rush without good reason.

He looked over to the sand that Kaiden had recovered, noting the debris he considered it thoughtfully and then shook his head. It should not. But we can sift it at the surface if we need to. He capped his own bottle and tucked it back into the net bag at his side. We should leave before-- But before he could finish a silvery grey sharp darted through the edge of his starlight wake, followed by a second and a third in quick succession. Though not as large as Kaiden, the echo sharks made up in numbers what they lacked in size as the pack began to circle the two Mer, readying their attack.

kaiden

There is no shame in survival
Only strength

Kaiden nodded and tried to pour their sand in. Most of it spilled over the edge and after two more tries and a thrashing tail, the mershark managed to complete their half of the task. Why did you choose a jar with such a narrow top? Arms crossed across their chest; face scrunched in annoyance. The bond, however, revealed hints of their embarrassment.

Movement in the corner of their eye pulled their attention away from waiting' for a response. Kaiden eyed the echo sharks for a moment before deciding that Hadama must have jinked it after asking about their magic. Baring their teeth, the mershark tried to send a strong wave of water at the sharks to shove the nearest one back. They needed to make more space so that they could shift.

coding by kaons

Hadama betrayed neither amusement nor impatience as Kaiden wrestled with the bottle, simply holding it steady with implacable serenity until the mershark gave up finished their addition. The jar's top had not been particularly narrow... but given what he could sense through the bond, the mermanta was prepared to accept his young friend's frustration.

Before he could frame a response, however, the echo sharks arrived and removed the need to do so.

I will take the one with the scarred nose, he rumbled, calm but just as clearly determined to remove the threat to themselves decisively. It was, luckily, not the one that Kaiden chose to engage with. The wave pushed out from the mershark, their magic still weak enough that it mostly confused the echo shark. It was enough for the predator to flinch away from its attack, however, turning aside at the smarting contact to its own sensitive nose where the water magic had booped against it.

Hadama's gravity spike was more effective, even in the pressures of the depths. The water itself warped and compacted within the sphere of power, twisting wildly as the energy released to lance downwards in a fatal bludgeon of gravity that smashed against the shark's skull. Although the damage was mostly contained and only a little blood leaked from its mouth and ears, it was enough to make the remaining two sharks began to swim with greater agitation before charging in towards the merfolk again.

*insert Jaw's theme song*

Ok. It was irritating that their magic had so little effect on the shark. But as the echo shark moved back, it gave Kaiden the space to shift. The newly emerged tiger shark surged toward the oncoming adversary with confidence. With a thrash of their tail, Kadien avoided a head-on collision and instead rammed into their target's side.

With the momentum of the impact, the echo shark was caught off guard for a moment, giving Kaiden the perfect chance to sink their teeth into the smaller shark's side. With a few thrashing movements, the echo shark stilled and went limp.

Satisfaction rang through the bond, and Kaiden turned to watch as Hadama faced the last echo shark.

KAIDEN

code by sky

Hadama felt the change in the water pressure at his back as Kaiden shifted, and then there was blood in the water in earnest. It was no great leap to guess what had happened behind him, and since he felt no pain through the Attuned bond he was confident that his young friend had put a quick end to the attacker even before the silent notes of satisfaction rang through it. Knowing that his own back was secure, the demigod turned his full attention on the shark that remained.

If the water had remained mostly clear it might have retained enough sense to flee the Merfolk, but the blood from its companions excited it to the point of madness. It lunged towards Hadama even as the King drew upon his connection to the moon a second time. The water warped and compacted in front of and a little ways above the shark's path, and as it swam beneath it the lance of gravity fell on the luckless echo shark. Struck between the eyes much like its predecessor, it was dead before it knew it. Hadama swept his trident through the water to deflect the body that continued forward on inertia - and ensuring that it was truly finished.

It is time to go, he decided firmly. He made sure that the jar of sand was safe at his side and then gestured for Kaiden to swim with him. The blood will call more predators soon. Some were already approaching, twisting through the water at the edge of Hadama's starlight. Wasting no further time, the Tidebreaker led them up out of the Basin and back to the starlight skies above.

~Fin