Ocean Tides

Chapter 10: Just Joking

I dedicate this chapter to all you headbangerz out there! jk I dedicate this chapter to wattpad! Thank you for existing, wattpad! I love writing stuff! And I appreciate you headbangerz too! :3

Wow. My heart skips a beat.

Before my eyes is a vast land of little dwellings, made of sculpted coral. Some of them are small and look like shacks, and some of them are huge, something you would immediately relate to aristocracy. Either way, every single one of them had a medieval look to them, as if the merfolk were behind us by a few centuries. And it does, indeed seem that way. Plenty of merfolk are about, swimming just above the sandy floor, doing everyday things, but "olden days" everyday things. Mermaids shopping for freshly baked... is that bread? Fish?...seaweed? I cant tell, its wrapped up. I see mermen hard at work in blacksmith shops, forging beautiful iron swords. I do a double-take and think how are they doing that without fire? I'll have to look into that later. Little fish-tailed children swim around, chasing schools of fish in fits of laughter, or pestering their gossiping mothers. Every one of the merfolk is beautiful, each with a unique tail shape or colour. I am in awe.

That's not even the best part. Past the shops and blacksmiths, past the houses and oddly-shaped buildings, past the coral and the fields of alien underwater plants, there is a grand castle, like one from the movies. Like Hogwarts! Even from here, I can see that the tops of the towers are covered in pearls, from the brim. I can sea amazing underwater flourishing blooming all over the castle, giving it an aged yet colourful look. The castle looks as if made of pure carved pearl and gold, I can't believe my eyes.

I can also see various sea creatures, from dolphins, to seahorses, to stingray, to tortoises, (my favorite!) to.. I don't even know what the hell that animal print thing is.

I am reaching out to stroke a silver shimmering fish, when Mason goes "ehem" and wakes me from my trance.

"You really zone out a lot, don't you?" he mocks.

"Shut up." I reply.

Zoey speaks up.

"Will you two stop flirting? Okay. Now, Kelly, we need to get you to the new recruit center. It's not too far into town. That is where you will start your training."

"Okay.... but first, lemme take a-"

"Shut up" she cuts me off

"Now you two stop flirting." says Mason

".... but seriously I have a question. How come no one has ever found this place? No human, I mean."

Zoey sighs. "You seriously didn't notice when we passed it earlier? On our way here? The force field? The slightly transparent blue-ish glow that we went through? When all of the colourful sea creatures started appearing? Only merfolk can pass it. Even the sea creatures inside can't get out, which is okay because they've lived there their whole lives. When a human passes it they don't see our land. They are given the illusion of a normal ocean. Like, an altered reality. Very powerful mermaid stuff, which isn't really that needed, since you humans are so easily manipulated. But seriously? You didn't notice? Usually your vision feels lighter and so does your head on your first pass. After, it doesn't affect you."

"Well thanks for making me feel like an idiot." I say

"There was no need to. You do it all by yourself" she replies fiercely

"Is there a service feedback for this? If there is, I'm putting 'overly sarcastic' down in my report of you.

"Why, thank you" Zoey bows.

This whole time Mason was sitting on a rock patiently. Now he says,

"Come on, let's get you to the NRC."

We swim calmly through the sandy streets, me every once in a while hanging back to gawk at some weird things I've never seen before.

An old yet beautiful mermaid selling glowing bottled liquids.

A young merman handing out flyers for a party at the Square.

A little merchild timidly selling sea flower crowns.

A creepy merman telling people to come see this weird three headed reptile he is keeping in a cage.

A store for... just like Zoey said, morphable clothes.

A little boy outside a shack was watching me pass with a scared and disliking look. I don't know why, but it made me feel bad about myself. Then a few more dirty looks. Then a whole lot.

I think to Mason "Why are they looking at me like that?"

"They're looking at all of us like that. This is the poverty side of town. They... aren't too fond of the more fortunate. We- and you so far- are fortunate." he says

"That's..... I don't know."

"Ya, it's a very serious matter.' Zoey chips in

Dang it. still gotta get used to thinking to only one person. Talking is easier, you can choose your volume in a second. But whenever I try to talk, the silky water muffles me.

As we pass more shops and houses, I run my hand over the finely carved marble in admiration. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Mason looking at me, examining me. Is he analyzing my strengths? Reading me like an open book? I have no idea what this merman is thinking. My face turns red and I look the other way, and I start to hum. Well, hum through my brain. Weird.

"Oh, and by the way at the NRC they put you through a series of electrocution tests through the power of magic. It's a mermaid thing." Mason tells me.

"What the hell!?! I'm getting out of here!!!" I turn around and start to jet off when he grabs my arm.

"Please stop grabbing my arm like that." I say, referring to earlier.

But he's cracking up. A devilish smile is etched on his face. "I was just joking."

My face turns hot. "F you, Mason." (I don't prefer to curse)

"I like to tease the newbies!"

"And I like to make them wet their pants in fear." Zoey chirps.

"Well your both freaks." I say. "Hey, I thought I was you first human recruit job?"

"You are, but when we're training at the NCR I talk to some merfolk-in-training"" Mason explains

"And from what we hear, your world seems pretty useless and unproductive." Zoey comments.

"Yeah, what's an iphone?" he asks.

I laugh. "Whoooooooie"

"Almost there!" announces Zoey.

Okay. Okay. BREATHE.