Growling softly, Balance retreated deeper into his private hidden cave in which he was hiding. He was very fond of his partners, but sometimes they were just too pushy for his liking. He just needed time to himself and not a horde of bull sharks trying to impress him. It was a miracle that he even managed to get this moment without her.
Balance carefully pulled his bag towards him and pulled out a small pile of unfinished pearl necklaces. They were a soft pink to match the chain wrapped around his own tail, gently brushing against the various gold chains. He wanted to use the silence to break the chains for his partners. They had given him his pearls a long time ago and he finally wanted to return the favor now that he knew what the pearls meant.
Dream had taken the time to explain to him and Cross the difference between pearl necklaces and gold necklaces. The gold chains were gifts from friends and family and were usually a sign of caring for one another. Pearl necklaces were given when courting someone. It was a sign to other Mers that you were already taken. It resembled a wedding ring, Balance thinks. That's why it was so important for him to break the chains. He wanted his claim to the bull sharks to be visible. Balance could see other Mers taking an interest in his sharks. Especially Vita, his beautiful bull shark with the glowing green scales and the glowing target soul in front of the chest, got a lot of attention, the females were rare in the Mer culture. There were several other Mers who had already tried to win over the shark lady and it made an ugly jealousy seethe in balance.
And then, as he concentrated on finishing the chains, he didn't even realize how much time was passing. It wasn't until he was practically embraced by an excited Dream that Balance came back to reality. Blinking in confusion, he looked down at Dream, who had his face buried between Balance's breasts. "Dreams? What's up?"
"You were just gone! We just looked away and then you were gone. We've been looking for you everywhere!” Dream lifted his face and looked worriedly at Balance while clinging to the other goldfish as if to make sure Balance couldn't go away. "Killer went mad looking for you Balance. He thought the land folk caught you again.”
"I'm sorry," Balance said softly, rubbing his cheek against Dream's for comfort. "I just needed time to myself. I felt suffocated by all the attention. Besides…” Balance carefully released one of Dream's arms and took his hand in his own. With his other hand he took one of the many pearl necklaces he had finished today and placed it in Dream's hand. "It took me longer than I wanted, but I've finally finished the necklaces."
"Oh Balance..." With a few scattered tears in his eyes, Dream put the string of pearls around his neck, the soft pink harmonizing well with Dream's golden scales. With a soft loving smile, he looked up at the stated mer, "You big loving fool."