Restless Waves

Chapter 41

"You have a tail precious enough for Royalty," Kaerius thought. "I've never seen one like this before. It's like something from a dream."

Rowan didn't care about the colour. He cared about how much he wanted to control it like it was two legs but couldn't. "My legs feel trapped inside. I don't like it."

"Move it slow. A sea creature's tail is more powerful than-" Kaerius stopped when Rowan plunged metres away because he flicked his fins.

Panic seeped in when Rowan spun through the water like he was falling through the air, not knowing which way was up or where the floor was, not able to reach for anything or stand on something solid or breathe the air he was used to.

Kaerius quickly swam to him and Rowan gripped him painfully tight. "Relax," Kaerius thought. "You're okay."

Rowan panted fast. He couldn't calm down. Breathing underwater was like a trick. He kept expecting to choke at any moment.

When his breathing only got heavier, Kaerius swam with him to the surface. Rowan gasped at the air as if he hadn't been able to breathe underwater. His gills closed but didn't disappear. Neither did his beautiful white tail with rainbow flecks.

The cold air going down his throat and filling his lungs made Rowan feel better. They stayed on the surface until Rowan didn't look like he was hyperventilating. "That was really weird," Rowan said, thankful that Kaerius was holding onto him.

"I don't blame you for freaking out. Humans drown if they breathe water in. Gills are very unnatural for you," Kaerius thought, staring into the ocean and at Rowan's tail shimmering in the daylight. He wanted to see it against the glow of the moon. It enchanted him. "Rowan," he said out loud. "Attractive with tail. Pretty tail. Pretty Rowan... um... yes. Pretty."

Rowan chuckled, finally calming down. "Am I not as attractive when I'm human?"

"Oh, Rowan is," Kaerius said like Rowan had asked a stupid question. "But tail. Perfect."

Rowan looked down when Kaerius coiled his tail around Rowan's tail. "That's how you guys hug, right?" Kaerius nodded, and Rowan knew why. The tail was thick and protected by the scales, but tangled with Kaerius's tail, it was like they had blended together and felt much closer than what human hugs could offer. Though Rowan wasn't sure if that was the bond, and their souls aching to touch.

"A white tail," he said, also able to match it to the rainbow moonstone. If he pulled a scale off, he would see through it like a white stained-glass window. The rainbow flecks were not on every scale, but enough for the shimmer not to go unnoticed, especially on the fins. "It's nice."

"Nice?" Kaerius wanted to shake Rowan by the shoulders and tell him that tails as unique as his didn't exist. If other Thalassic Mortals saw him, they would know he was a Royal without Rowan saying a single word. "I would be jealous, but I'm not worthy of such a tail."

Rowan wasn't used to the attention focusing on the way he looked. Rowan could listen to Kaerius compliment him all day. "I like yours too," he said. "Turquoise has always been one of my favourite colours because it reminds me of the most beautiful parts of the ocean."

Kaerius's big smile cracked through his hard expression. He looked away, blushing and sheepishly thanking Rowan for saying something so kind about a tail that looked so regular next to his.

"Our tails complement each other," Rowan said. His transparent white fins and Kaerius's transparent turquoise fins blended, making their tails appear fused. "Your colour is the wave, and mine is the white water when the wave breaks. They're perfect together."

Kaerius's cheeks hurt from trying to make his smile less noticeable. Rowan felt him bursting with pride. A tail was clearly everything to Kaerius, and Rowan felt a little bad that he had forced him to be on land so much.

"I think I'm ready to go back under the water," Rowan said when the sun peeked at them through the stormy clouds. "Can you take me to where you usually sleep?"

"Take Rowan to cave!" Kaerius said, his purple eyes round with excitement.

"Will Jaiker and Laiken be there so I can meet them properly?"

Kaerius shrugged. "I teach Rowan to hunt fish?"

"You can after all this blows over with my mum. We need to meet my dad back at the cliffs in an hour."

Kaerius forced the enthusiasm down. "Yes. Later."

The boys dipped back under the ocean and this time, Rowan let Kaerius swim with him down and down and down until they reached the ocean floor. The distance wasn't deep enough to block out the daylight, so Rowan saw the fish, the coral, the reefs, the sand and its wave patterns, and the wobbling light like he was looking at the floor of a swimming pool. The ocean had always fascinated Rowan. Now he had the chance to explore it on another level.

Rowan panicked a little when Kaerius let go, though he swam only a few feet away.

"Let your tail drift up and down gently. You'll start to move."

Rowan moved his tail slowly and softly. He had experienced the strength of it and didn't want to catapult himself through the water again. Kaerius clapped happily when Rowan started moving. His belly touched the sandy floor sometimes, but he was successfully swimming with a Thalassic Mortal tail.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Rowan tried to say, but his words were not loud. They didn't cut through water like the whispery words of the Thalassic tongue.

"We're almost at the caves. If you swim in a straight line, you'll see the kelp beds where I usually sleep. Maybe you can sleep in them one day," Kaerius thought. He kept staring at Rowan's tail with admiration.

Rowan turned to face Kaerius. Having a tail and swimming on the ocean floor was scary, but worth it for the joy radiating from Kaerius. He no longer had to sleep on land every night or spend most of his time in a salt bath. They could both enjoy the ocean and the land. They could make their soulmate bond work and spend their lives showing off their homes. Rowan would love to see what really lies in the depths of the ocean, and Kaerius wanted to know what it was like on top of a high mountain with his head in the clouds.

As the kelp beds came into view, Kaerius heard talking in the Thalassic tongue. Jaiker and Laiken were at the cave. His heart twitched with nerves. Now, he was introducing Rowan as a soulmate, and not an inconvenience. He hoped Laiken didn't embarrass him.