The broad-winged manta slid through the chilly waters with all the comfort of a creature born for the open sea, where temperatures were often far colder. It might have been unusual to see one of the great ocean rays so close to shore, but the golden scars that criss-crossed its dark body were by now a familiar calling card of the King, who had made the journey from the Underwater City the long way instead of using the Bubblestream today.
A King who had not expected to find his Queen and co-ruler swimming in the Flowerbirth tides on such a grey morning. A brief breach of the surface to confirm the face belonging to the submerged beach-perfect body was followed by the demigod diving again. The next time he surfaced, a few feet away from Flora, it was with the top half of a man who took in her soggy determination and red eyes with inscrutable calm.
"Who are we declaring war on?" A solemn question that was echoed a moment later by distant thunder far out across the Arclight.
A King who had not expected to find his Queen and co-ruler swimming in the Flowerbirth tides on such a grey morning. A brief breach of the surface to confirm the face belonging to the submerged beach-perfect body was followed by the demigod diving again. The next time he surfaced, a few feet away from Flora, it was with the top half of a man who took in her soggy determination and red eyes with inscrutable calm.
"Who are we declaring war on?" A solemn question that was echoed a moment later by distant thunder far out across the Arclight.
