Fins Above:HOPE

CH.1

"We should send at least one patrol to look for her. We have enough merfolk to gather a search party." Sponge mewed to Agir, fixing his curling shawl on his shoulders.

"Enough does not mean it is safe to roam around. The humans and their hounds don't know anything about the mound we lay in, we must keep it that way." Agir grunted.

When Sponge felt a protest ride up his throat, he shut his lips and took a breath of fresh water. "Right.." He turned away, fins filling with blood as he paddled into the deeper waters. His scales ached when he rode into the sweeping bubbles, eyeing the huddling maters and eggies that laid in a larger carved out nest. Moss settled around the walls while pillars of coral lined the area.

He let out a fizz of bubbles when he saw Neptune wrapped around Cavetail, keeping the small newborn in her gliding fins as she slept. Sponge nodded at Silvur and her egg before brushing past their corner and chewing a bit of moss off the floor. He laid it under his wife's head and nibbled on the scales near her neck.

Neptune stretched her throat, swallowing the bit of water left in her mouth as she clicked out towards him. "It's so early.."

"I know. But the sun won't wait for you to eat." He gnawed at the strands on his hip bag, pulling it so it opened. His fins dug in and yanked a small portion of food that the sirens had left over. "Eat."

Neptune opened her eyes, nostrils widening as she smelt the sweet aroma melting in the water. Her body shuffled and she slowly stood to her fins, now feeling the weight of her post-birth belly brush against the ground. Maters of her strength and vigor were sometimes called whales, as her weight and irritability were often high. Sponge saw it in her eyes that she was starving, and as she unwrapped the meal from it's weed covering, she held the portion in the warm bowl and ate.

This would be enough for her body to replenish the glands in her chest, and then Cavetail would have a real supper. Sponge smiled and then closed his bag, turning to reposition Cavetail from under his wife's belly and into her side. Sponge made a sound. "There you go.." He whispered towards Neptune.

When she was finished, he could barely feel the cold touch of the ocean on his back. He had missed most of her pregnancy, and now that he was here watching her regain her strength every bellchime, his heart fluttered like he was raising Raytail all over again.. Sponge made a face before turning away, carrying the seaweed trash that Neptune had left on the moss. He paddled out and spread his gliding fins when he pulled himself towards the surface and gushed a bit of water from his gills, pulling in a fresh portion. The tang took his eyes off the splashing waves to look at the blazing sun. The rays sparkling on the surface where his eyes layered over with protective gloss. There was nothing but the sounds of squealing and cawing in the trees far away, with the ground sounding like slithering snakes and worms.

On the sand, there was a large hut of wood and leaves weaved through the poking holes. A single colony of tiny insects swarmed the heat's light, keeping close to the hut's roof as one siren crawled from the entrance and yawned. Their human skin seemed dry and weak, shivering as soon as they rushed to the water where Sponge was at. Their eyes were accompanied with a meek smile, and their yellow iris were as bright as the ancestor's delights. Framwhisker moved her hairy fingers under the sand and slid into the water. Her bruised skin became cool with orange hues as she paddled against the surface.

"Sponge, how is your wife?" She asked, making slow merfolk noises with her throat.

"She is fine. She is going to become stronger once Cavetail is out of the moss."

Framwhisker nodded. "Icefin would have loved to meet Cavetail. Oh ho, he had this attitude towards us sirens that was radical to those back then."

"Yes yes. You have told me."