Once upon a time, in a land known as Nuvinia, there were two statements that all inhabitants knew to be fact. First, the two kingdoms of Nuvinia, Dral and Proghund, despised one another and would spend eternity at odds. Two, one should practice extr...
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Vivian's tail, a collection of murky brown, green, and blue scales, melted away to reveal slender human legs as she and her sister approached the shore. She felt smooth particles of sand between her toes, scratching against her skin, and would have smiled if it weren't for the human voices she could hear nearby.
Aiyana looked to her sister as they trudged through the waves toward the beach half hidden by tall outcroppings of white stone. "I'm going to find some clothes for you to wear. Wait here—there's a village nearby."
Vivian's throat tightened as she watched her sister leave her in this unfamiliar land.
"Please don't leave me here," Vivian whispered, although there was no one around to hear her but Aiyana. "Can't I come with you?"
But her sister shook her head. "It's safer here than it is there. And if anyone were to see you—" She gestured at Vivian, who was oblivious to her nakedness. "We'd be in trouble."
And her sister turned again, strolling across the narrow beach toward the rocks. She scaled part of the cliff easily, her arms and legs working by memory. She'd done this hundreds of times before. Aiyana loved to come on land, even when she wasn't hunting, and usually wore clothes she'd picked up from her time around humans. Even when she was with the pod, who normally didn't wear clothing unless they were hunting, she wore a dress or an oversized tunic. Sometimes even jewelry.
Their mother and the elders didn't approve of Aiyana's fondness of human culture. Nonetheless, Aiyana did whatever she liked despite their judgement, something Vivian had always admired her for.
Aiyana always discouraged her sister from following in her footsteps, although she never listened. Vivian tended to listen to no one.
In fact, the rebellious siren ignored her sister's order to stay put and was wandering down the beach as soon as Aiyana was out of sight. She loved the feel of the sand between her toes, the scorching summer sun against her bare skin. Most of all, she loved the thrill of being on land—human land. Vivian knew enough about them to realize that she stood upon a Dralian beach, but otherwise, her knowledge of humans was limited to what Aiyana told her—which was very, very little.
Vivian couldn't keep her eyes off the ocean, even with the beautiful cliffs and lush greenery to her left. Somehow, the width of the beach and the vantage point that land offered made the waters even more captivating. Her home island was so small that it couldn't offer this view to her.
The sun was in its earliest stages of setting, coloring the sky a pale orange color with hints of light blue swirled in. The colors contrasted well against the turquoise water, Vivian thought, and she wondered what her dolphin friends were doing. Frolicking in the waves, most likely, or feasting on a meal of fish. Vivian's stomach growled.
