The Deep End

Today it was a different islet at the northernmost point of the Kuali Isles, and the little spit of sand with its two small, stubborn palm trees had drifted a little further away from its brethren than was usual. The unusual sight of giant manta ray up from the depths, sunning itself in the shallows, would greet Maeve when she made it out that far, though the golden streaks that stitched its dark hide made it instantly recognizable as no natural beast.

It was a planned rendezvous today that brought Hadama to the Isles. No human Queen could command one of the merfolk or demand access to their City, but a friend could ask to see where one of her finned friends lived. Maeve's curiosity had been welcome and the mermanta had agreed to give her a small tour of the Underwater City. It was far more palatable with Safrin's ring than the use of a crystal harvested from one of his shape-cousins, and he was in a quietly good mood as he waited for his friend to make her way to the appointed meeting place.

I would fall from grace just to touch your face

It took Maeve longer to get out to the isles than she was expecting. The Nightshade wasn't the strongest swimmer and because of this she decided to barter passage to the meeting spot Hadama picked for them. She smiles, raising a hand in greeting as she jogs across the sand towards the mermanta, coming to a stop at the edge of the shallows. "Dama!" Maeve calls out, pausing to tug off her boots and shrug out of the loose cover up she was wearing over her swimsuit. "How are you?"

Her nerves were jumping and stomach twisting at the idea of going out so deep without a quick way out. Though, he had reassured her that no harm would come to her as long as she stayed close to him thanks to Safrin's blessing, but the Queen couldn't help worrying.

Maeve

As the Queen approached the manta ray shifted, shrinking its majestic wingspan down to a more manageable shape, and Hadama raised his head and torso out of the water. Pushing back the steely grey of his hair, he nodded a quietly pleased greeting to his friend.

"Maeve. I am well, thank you. And yourself?" He waited until she had reached a state of dress - or undress - in which she was most comfortable and then held out a hand for her to join him in the gentle waves that lapped the shallows around the islet.

"I am told it is strange to breathe underwater the first time," he warned her. "Take as much time as you need to become comfortable with it." The ring's magic was painless and as natural as the merfolk's talents, but for those who could drown it was still a difficult thing to take that first breath beneath the surface.

I would fall from grace just to touch your face

The Queen's easy smile fades for only a moment, a sigh pushing past her lips, "I'm... I'm okay. I went and saw Safrin recently. She's asked me to go with the other demigods to the Draig." And while there is very little about the Nightshade that has changed since Dama saw her last, the most apparent is the crown of starlight that rests on her head now, casting an ethereal glow over her features. Clearly a gift from their herald.

Folding the last of her clothes, Maeve places them on a nearby tree with her boots, ensuring that both would be out of reach of the tide should it come in further. Approaching, the Nightshade takes his hand in hers, breath catching as her feet enter the water and her pulse begins to race as it always does when she first steps in. "Just hold onto me, please." Maeve murmurs, casting her eyes his way and it is likely the first time he's ever seen her uneasy, but it doesn't stop her from moving in up to her waist slowly.

Maeve

"It suits you," he rumbled, admiring her new vestment with a jeweler's eye for the crown of stars. Indeed, it suited her very well and left no question as to her alignment among the pantheon. His deep voice held a quiet note of approval all around.

Word didn't travel as quickly or clearly between the shore and the sea as Hadama would have wished. He was out of the proverbial loop as to what Caido's more powerful members were going to be doing during the War and Maeve's statement brought a furrow of confusion to his brow. "The Draig..." he repeated thoughtfully. Barely a legend to the mer, it was very nearly a myth; never seen and rarely heard of, so far from any coastline. There was only one way to alleviate his ignorance as to what it meant to be sent there with demigods, and he wasn't one to sit in ignorance due to his pride. "What does that mean?"

Time was about to get wimey with the conversation at hand and the water soon to end it, but Hadama's large, webbed hand closed firmly but gently around Maeve's petite one, his gaze on hers solemn as he accepted her uneasiness with his own calm serenity and let her choose the pace at which she entered the water. "Yes," he agreed to her request, simple but solid as the breakwater protecting the harbor.

I would fall from grace just to touch your face

"We think that is where things are coming from. That's what the gods are saying, at least." And thus they had to go. Which meant she wouldn't be in Torchline. Sure, her council would be here in her stead and she could rely on those people, but it didn't change the fact that she wasn't going to be here. "It means I'll be gone, Dama. I know it isn't truly your home, but I ask that you keep an eye out for me while I'm away, please."

So saying, the Nightshade takes his hand, wading deeper into the water until her toes no longer brush the sandy bottom and she's left to tread in water that reaches her collarbone. Not wanting to waste any more time, the Queen allows him to lead her deeper until finally they're meant to dive.

The panic sets in quickly and she has to force her heart to slow, trying to remember all the things she's learned about swimming recently, but the hardest thing by far is the first breath. Just like he said it would be. It's a struggle to make herself take it and when she does it's a gasping sort of thing. Water fills her nose, but it isn't with the same burning as usual and she finds that she can breathe just fine.

Maeve

"I will try," he agreed. He did not promise; he could not, when he had no idea what the War would bring and if the Underwater City would need all of his attention on that fateful day. But he knew that Maeve would understand, and that he would do his best for all their people, both land and sea.

As the Queen moved farther out into the water, Hadama was able to stretch and swim more comfortabl at her side, holding her hand in support and to steady her as the bottom fell gently away beneath them. He said nothing to rush her, simply waiting until she was ready and letting himself slip beneath the waves with her.

She survived the first breath, and then the second, and the corners of his eyes crinkled in a small smile as he squeezed her hand. Still, he waited until she was fully ready before he began to swim, leading them both down, into the depths and away from the light. His water magic surrounded them, cushioning Maeve from the pull of the currents so that she would feel like she was swimming in the calm waters of the Miana Pool as he set a leisurely but steady pace, not letting go of her hand unless she needed it.

The journey took a little time to travel from the edge of the Isles to the outskirts of the City, and down from the bright light of day to the darker twilight of the ocean floor. There was light of a different kind here, however; luminescent algae and plankton cast an eternal glow around the delicate shell spires and twisting coral towers that rose from the sand and bedrock, defiant of gravity with the water to support them from below. They passed a few merfolk at first, then increasingly more as they drew near the edge of the city: shapes of half-shifted and fully-shifted sea creatures swam, slithered, and glided through the water on various errands but the roads along the seafloor were largely a formality for those who preferred the shape of decapods or other walkers.

Hadama looked to Maeve as they paused a little ways outside the main gates - artistic creations of twisting seaglass and coral, though there was no wall beyond them - and tilted his head to the side, eyes bright with pride and the quiet joy of being able to share his home with his friend. Would she like to go in?