^^ Khasi Doran / Dolphin ^^
— Erin —
For a moment, no one moved, and I had a little time to think on why the supposedly 'peaceful' people would have a ceremony like this, to allow its children to become adults. Clearly, there's was a difference between the other adults and these 'Greater Sirens', though what that was was unclear, at the moment. Perhaps it would become clear, after the ceremony ended.
The woman stepped forward, as the Elder sat back down, and leapt off the coral tower, floating gently down towards the pit. "Why do you desire to prove yourself so deeply, young Terran? You have shown your skill in sorcery and combat, have you not?"
He grinned, spitting blood off to one side, from where the purple man's strike on his face had apparently busted the inside of his cheek. "I've got someone I'd like to impress, is all; also, my sister is watching. Can't wait to show that arrogant brat up." He chuckled.
His sister, now returned to sitting next to us, raised an eyebrow. "Rude." She frowned.
The pale woman hummed, and nodded. "I suppose. Ready yourself; I will not be kind."
"It'd be cruel, if you were." He retorted, and sprinted forward, apparently attempting to catch her before she revealed her true form, something they had to do to fight, it seemed.
She smirked, and flicked a hand, suddenly forcing all of the water, -and people,- out of the pit, forming a bubble of air.
I grinned when the water cleared, to show he was still inside the bubble, clutching the trident, which was stuck into the ground as an anchor; but he was gasping like a grounded fish, adjusting to his gills no longer working, and switching to his lungs.
She shook her head, advancing towards him casually. "You must always be ready to-" she grunted as a small ball of water slammed into her diaphragm, forcing her back a step.
He took a deep breath, his tattoos glowing again, and then leapt back as she swung a suddenly clawed and scaled hand at him. Blue-green scales grew over her skin on her arms and legs, like armor, and she showed their apparent density by deflecting one of the strikes with the trident off of her forearm.
Another water-bullet shot out of the dome of water around them, striking the back of her head, and she surged forward, getting into his personal space in the blink of an eye; but before she could grab him, a ball of water shot up from the ground, clocking her in the bottom of the chin and throwing her head back. Another, timed perfectly, struck her nose as soon as she was horizontal, and she was slammed into the ground, her nose visibly flattened.
He retreated to a relatively safe distance, (difficult to do, when they're that fast,) and twirled his purloined trident over his head while she slowly recovered, sitting up and setting her nose.
Just as she rose to one knee, he stopped spinning the spear, and a glowing blue funnel of water descended from the dome above, slamming into her and picking her up, spinning her around at whirlwind-speeds.
For a moment, I though he'd won, as she stayed limp in the funnel, but he shuffled back nervously, giving me warning for when she suddenly turned the entire little waterspout into droplets of electrified water, which then fired themselves at his hastily erected shield like machine-gunfire.
It cracked slowly, and then shattered, and he braced against the water-bullets, stepping through them and towards her, until he was close enough to stab her in the chest with the trident.
She paused, staring down at the trident, as it's three prongs barely pierced her skin, and hauled back a fist, punching him in the jaw so hard there was a visible shockwave in the water droplets, and the bubble popped when it reached.
She caught him before he hit the ground, and set him against the wall, laying the trident in his lap, then stood again in the middle of the pit, as the other children climbed back in, and someone gathered the three unconscious 'Greater Sirens'.
"Next?" She asked stoically, and raised an ivory eyebrow at the flinches of the candidates.
—
It was almost an insult, how easily she defeated the rest, one after another, with no visibly expended effort whatsoever. When it was finished, less than three minutes later, she looked up at the Elders. "Do I even need to tell you who I choose?"
The elders chuckled softly, and then one of them, the eldest-looking, stood, and was escorted down into the pit again. "No, no you do not... have the healers look at them all, quickly... and bring us your Choice. We will handle his Healing."
'Khasi' nodded, and carried Terran over, laying him on a coral table that appeared, almost an altar.
The elder immediately laid her hands on Terran's jaw, which ceased swelling, then returned to normal over about a half-minute of effort by the old woman. By that time, the three of them were the only ones in the pit, and she nodded seriously, rolling up her sleeves and cracking her knuckles, one by one. "It has been a few seasons since we made a new Greater Siren... I am glad it happened whilst I still lived." She commented, looking up at Khasi.
"I imagine it is a great relief to you, and an annoyance to the other elders who've had to deal with you, Elder Reyne." Khasi chuckled.
"Ha! Yes, probably..." she nodded, grinning, and then placed a hand on Terran's chest, her own tattoos glowing; feebly, at first, but slowly gaining brilliance, until the Atlanteans, (sensitive to light,) shielded their eyes.
I squinted slightly, and watched as her tattoos moved, collecting slowly into one handprint, that traveled along her arm, and then disappeared under her hand, the light disappearing. I frowned, confused, until she slumped into one of the Greater Siren's arms, and was laid on a second table.
"Oh..." I blinked, suddenly understanding the difference between the two, at least to some degree.
Sofia laid a hand on my arm, gazing at the pit with wide eyes. 'They just killed that old woman... and gave her strength to him... her soul is inside that Mark, teaching him secrets of Magic and War.'
'How do you know?' I raised an eyebrow.
'I can feel it. They're speaking in the same semipsychic manner as I speak to you... inspired by the Fatherbox. Incomprehensible to any but the speaker and recipient... and apparently, me.' She hummed.
'Alright, well... learn what you can, memorize it all, but don't let them know you can hear it. I don't know if that's some sort of blasphemy, to them.' I nodded, and looked down at the pit as Terran sat up, clutching his head.
He groaned, and rubbed his jaw, looking at Khasi. "Did you have to hit me that hard to knock me out?"
She grinned, tousling his hair gently. "You surprised me, is all! Good job! Now go, we have to finish the ceremony." She shooed him over to the edge of the pit, with the other recovered now-adults.
The temple quieted again, where whispers had broken out when he'd managed to harm her, and the other elders came down, laying their hands upon the dead woman to pay their respects. When they had finished, they nodded, stepping back, and the coral table grew over her body, creating a beautiful mini-reef, which floated over to the edge of the pit, and rooted itself in an empty space between two towers. I smiled when the coral was revealed to be the same shape I'd mistaken for a mushroom, but was now clearly a waterspout, because of the new angle.
"This season's Ascension is complete, ending it; a new Season begins, and a new Greater Siren is gained, as an Elder is Lost. Now he will go into seclusion, learning from his new master, and the People will remember Elder Reyne in our stories. Go in Peace, Moray, People of the Sea, Guests, and may the Ones Who Came Before smile upon you." The two remaining elders were escorted again to their tower of coral, and the noise levels began building back to normal levels.
The other new-adults swarmed Terran, who grinned awkwardly and endured the attention for a few moments.
I smirked, and slapped Sofia's ass roughly. "Fetch."
She giggled and kissed me, then swam at him as a few of the women in the group shyly held their hands out to him, and he backed away quickly. She crashed into him, pressing him to the ground and kissing him thoroughly, as the women sighed and swam away.
His mother laughed, patting my shoulder. "I'm beginning to understand the dynamic of your relationship a bit better. Thank you, by the way, for helping him. If I'd known that Traitor Orm had him, I... I don't think I'd have stood much a chance, but I would have tried. But trying and failing would only have made it worse. So thank you."
"You're welcome... and Sofia, I know you can hear me, you live with him, you can make out all night, but for now he should visit with the family he hasn't seen in thirty years." I sighed at her.
She giggled and let him up, then swam over to us, dragging the kiss-drunk man behind her. "Oui, Madame; So I return him to you, on loan, and under protest." She dropped him into his mother's hands, then leaned against me in a huff.
'No pouting, or that night-long kiss you're planning becomes me teaching him how to whip you.' I pinched her ass secretly. She smirked up at me, then returned to pouting, and I raised an eyebrow. 'Done deal, then, but no pouting; he deserves to see his family, and you should be supportive. Girlfriends are supportive.'
She blinked, and blushed, nodding silently.
I looked up sharply when I heard a punch land, and saw Terran and his brother, the one who'd disappeared, tussling on the floor in front of us. "What's all this?" I sighed, raising an eyebrow.
'The brother asked why Terran's woman, me, had another woman, you, and suggested he could not satisfy me properly. Thankfully, he did not insinuate that he would satisfy me, only that his brother could not. An insult apparently requiring answering, nonetheless.' Sofia frowned.
I narrowed my eyes, and stomped over, kicking the two men apart savagely. "Enough." I snapped.
"I agree." The scaled woman floated down to join us, and hugged Ethan tightly. "Hello, my son. And Aileen, a mighty spawn you have made! Most impressive!!!" She smirked at Ethan's incredulous expression.
"I helped too, you know!!!" He exclaimed.
"Mm. You did. Good for you, my dear one, you deserve all the head-pats." She patted his head patronizingly.
I snorted, unable to hold in the laugh, and soon everyone was snickering at his dark muttering, whilst hiding behind his wife. I picked up Terran, and sent him into Sofia's arms, then sat down with them as we all made something of a circle, lounging around.
"So, Terran, descendant of mine, tell me where you gained such power in your sorcery? It wasn't very complex, with the Sword and Bow, but it had chutzpah behind it, which I didn't expect from you, or any other Moray. Perhaps an Atlantean Master of Sorcery, but not a Youngling Moray." Khasi asked after a few minutes of inane chatter about the demands of caring for an Elder, and what she would do now.
He grinned and pulled out Minnow, who yawned pointedly. She was always tired, (or perhaps simply pretended to be to make a point, the little brat,) and now she licked a paw, pointedly ignoring the group of people staring at her. "This is Minnow, my Familiar!!! She's connected to the Realm of Water, a Magical Realm that my sorcery already connected me to, so it made my control more complete, and provided me a little extra strength."
The older woman (though she only looked my age, about thirty, the youngest of the Ageless ones,) hummed, and nodded. "That explains why I can feel you have a connection to something greater... it also connects to those two women." She looked up at us, her eyes piercing.
"I'm an amateur, and Sofia is intrinsically connected to all of the Cat Familiars she helped me make. Like this one." I let my white cat climb out of my pocket, her fully-grown form laying across my shoulders like a scarf.
She nodded slowly. "Interesting. And so... she is his lover, and you are hers? How does that work?" She asked casually.
"I am their lover, meaning both of them, and he is our lover, meaning both of us." Sofia pulled him into her lap possessively, then wiggled further into my lap, like a cuddle nesting-doll.
The woman raised an eyebrow, and chuckled. "Well, if it works for you, I suppose it's not much of my business... now, Terran, you're aware of your responsibilities?" She asked.
He flinched, and waved a hand in a cut-it-out motion under his chin, trying for subtlety.
"What responsibilities?" I asked archly.
"To make as many babies as he can. We are a dying race, with only 5,000 Moray of viable mating-age remaining between all Six Ocean Tribes, (though ours is the largest by far,); we need babies, and even a half-Atlantean child is Moray by the time it's reached puberty; we've checked." She raised an eyebrow at him, plowing over his squeaked protests.
He cleared his throat, and spoke softly. "We've already... discussed it... it'll happen... in its own time..." he mumbled.
She shook her head. "I respect your attempt at-... well, not Monogamy, I suppose, but close to it,- but you need to have at least 20 Grandbabies, according to the latest estimates on how we can preserve our genetic diversity and avoid dying out entirely, whilst retaining our cultural and racial identity. I did my part, birthing six children, who each had six more, and your father had Seven, meaning I spawned 37 grandchildren, by extension. If you make 20 more, with twenty different Moray Woman, and your four brothers do as well-"
"I am fully aware of the numbers. I said we will discuss it!" He snapped at her sternly.
I gasped softly, both at the tone and the rudeness he'd displayed, -for two different reasons,- and Sofia purred, squeezing him gently. "As disrespectful as that was, ma petite cherie, it also m'a fait excité..." She chuckled lewdly, kissing his cheek.
He blushed, and sighed. "Ahem... yes, I apologize for my rudeness, grandmother."
She shrugged. "I'd made my point; I was just rambling, by then. Now, on that note!!! I'll be in my bunk, so to speak..." she eyed another of the Greater Moray, and he blinked, then shyly landed on another tower, extending a hand. She gathered her feet under her, and launched herself at him, laughing as they fell off the tower and out of sight.
I cleared my throat. "Okay, so apparently Moray women don't really go out of order like humans... good to know."
Aileen smirked. "No, she, like most other Moray Women, simply enjoys It. This may be the last season I ever have children, and if I do not get pregnant, then I will not ever have another, after Lykanos." She smiled and petted the little boy's hair, as he leaned against her thigh, drowsily napping.
I smiled. "And would you be open to raising others, not of your womb? I may be capable of managing that... right, Sofia?"
"In a few days, yes. I'll need to collect several dozen samples, to ensure a proper amount of genetic viability and accurate genetic diversity, but yes. I'll need a broad spectrum of DNA, and this is the perfect time to acquire it." She nodded.
Ethan spoke into the pregnant silence, clearing his throat. "That's been tried, of course. The Atlanteans have been attempting to help us breed with surrogates, but it doesn't work properly. The children are born full-Atlantean, unless born from a Moray Mother."
"Because of the Shapeshifting ability passed from mother to child, yes. That can be managed, Sofia?" I asked.
She hummed, thinking for a moment. "Yes. Give me a week."
"A week it is. Go gather your samples, love." I smiled and patted her hip.
She nodded and kissed Terran sweetly. "Be ready for tonight... Erin has something special planned for your obligatory birthday-sex... and she says it has something to do with my ass and you..." she whispered in his ear teasingly.
His entire body burned torch-red instantly, and he froze in place as she grinned, swimming over to Aileen and taking a strand of her hair, then turning to her husband.
Ethan frowned, holding his scalp protectively, and she raised an eyebrow, then pulled out a syringe threateningly. "It's either a strand of hair, or a sample of your seed."
He meekly submitted to her plucking a strand of his gorgeous red hair.
—
A few hours later, the sun was going down, and most everyone was gone, except the families, so I hummed, looking at Aileen. "Would you like to come have dinner with us, before you go? Don't feel it as an imposition; I so rarely get to cook for a full house anymore, and I miss it."
"Don't you live in the northern pacific?" She asked, frowning at the sleeping nine-year-old on her husband's back.
"I can get us there in a few seconds." I shrugged casually.
"Approximately twelve seconds, and it'll be very cold, and you'll have to hold your breath and close your eyes." Sofia piped up, returning from her DNA Gathering mission.
Aileen chuckled. "That sounds intriguing, and I didn't have any plans to feed Lykanos and Serif anyway, so why not?" She shrugged.
"Wonderful! Off we go to Helix Island!" I proclaimed, grinning happily.