Under the Pacific Ocean
Mid day
{Damian}
"Of course one of them could help." I said with a wide smile. "But... who?" My smile fades away to the question.
I took my eyes away from the Merfolks above us and looked at Iruka. "Do you know any of them?" I swam towards her.
"Uhhh..." she started glancing around, her eyes landing on one merfolk at a time. "Like I said, I hardly socialized with anyone ever since my parents." she said. "The only creature I know is Tayh." She said.
"Is he here?" I ask.
"I don't think so." She said glancing around. "And he, is a she by the way."
"Oh." I felt embarrassed. "What is she? Do you know where she lives?" I ask.
"Tayh Claire, a Sanemone Siren. She was my friend... or, my only friend." She said. "She lives in Oceania, just farther North... which was also my habitat. Until I swam away that is."
"Swam away? As in..." I left my sentence hanging, hoping she would finish it.
"Yes, as in, I left without saying anything and that I'm never going back." She said firmly.
I'm amazed and amused by the fact that even life under the sea has such a thing as running away from home issues. What's next? Creatures with attitudes?
"Well then, we're just gonna have to do this manually." I said as I gaze around, searching for an easy source.
There are dozens of creatures, including Mermaids or Sirens. Every one of them looks so busy. The Merfolks seemed busy with the whales, and the fishes around us are endlessly swimming through, next, under and above us.
My eyes caught sight of one particular Siren who was laying on a big flat rock just little further from where Iruka and I are.
From where we are, the only feature I could see on her is that she had black curly hair and a blueish-greenish coloured body covered with scales and stingers. She doesn't look friendly but maybe I'm judging her too quickly.
"Follow me." I started swimming towards the Siren.
"Hi there!" I wave to her as I got closer. She gave me a look over her shoulder. "Can you help us? We seem to be lost."
She didn't respond. However, she had the curious look on her face. It was only then I saw her eyes. They were in a deep shade of white.
She had the eyes of a predator.
She swam closer to me without saying a word. As she got closer, I started feeling a little frightened because I've never seen a real life Siren before. She is so close I can see the details of her facial features which made me realise deadly she looked. It also got me thinking whether or not talking to her was a smart move.
"Uh... Hi?" I tried a friendlier tone.
She lift her arm and grab my wrist, studying my palms. Her long talons sliding through the scale patterns on my palms. She then looks at me.
"You're not from around here are you... the sea, I meant." She said.
The moment she opened her mouth, I was shocked with horror to see her teeth. She had the teeth of a shark.
I quickly put on a brave face and ignored her appearance.
"No, I'm not." I said. "I'm a human who has been transformed into a Siren for which I don't know why or who made me like this."
"Don't worry, he's harmless." Iruka quickly pointed out.
"He had better be." She said. "Or else..." She spread her palms open, making her talons noticeable which started to make me more frightened.
"I promise, I bring you no harm." I said. Thankfully, the red in her eyes cool off.
The urges to just swim away as fast as possible becomes more tempting each second but I can't do so because my wrist was still in her tight grip. I wouldn't want to make a wrong move and end up dying in the sea.
"A little warning if you want to remain alive. Next time when you meet another predator of the sea, Don't. Be. Scared." She said. "We can sense your fear the minute your presence arrived, which gives us the advantage to hunt you down easily." She grin.
"I'll keep that in mind." I said. "Thank you for the information but I need your help.
"Do you know the way to Atlantis? I need to see the king, Aquaman." I said.
"Of course." She said, releasing my wrist. "But unfortunately, you're a long way from it."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Atlantis is located in the Indian Oceans, a little closer to the Mainland. Whereas we're in the Pacific's." She said. "It'll take six whale migration for someone like you to get there."
"That means six days in human language." Iruka helped with certain translation.
"Six days?!" I repeated loudly. "That's too long!!"
Six days... how am I going to survive as a Siren for the next six days... will I even make it? I don't know the first thing about being a citizen in the sea world.
"Please... is there a quicker way we could get to Atlantis?" I ask.
"I don't know. But maybe my sister might know a way." She said. "Let me call her."
She immediately closed her eyes and open her mouth. What came out of her mouth was truly surprising. It was a call unlike anything I've ever heard before. It sounded so, melody-like... and it sounded really beautiful. So beautiful that I was left speechless.
When she stopped calling, she opened her eyes and look at me ones again.
"Now we wait." She said sounding so causal. "Names Donna, by the way."
"Donna... it's um... nice to meet you." I tried talking causally as well. "I'm Damian."
"And I'm Iruka!" She swam circles around Donna.
"Clammed I'm sure..." She lightly push Iruka towards me and away from her.
"Lucky for us, we don't have to wait long for my sister because here she comes." Donna stares out into the open ocean.
I followed her gaze and noticed immediately that there was another Siren who looks identical to Donna, heading our way.
"You call?" The Siren stopped in front of Donna. As I said before, her scales and body colour looked identical to Donna's accept for her hair. She had long straight black hair with sharp cheekbones.
Her eyes were light turquoise with a round iris.
It's surprising that these two are sisters when one of them has a scary feature while the other has an approachable feature.
"That is Dakian and the dolphin is Basuka." She pronounced our names wrongly. "They want to know a faster way to get to Atlantis."
The sister turned to face me just before swimming towards me. Her eyes travelled all over my body. From head to tail.
Is this how Merfolks greet others? Like how dogs greet each other by smelling each others butts.
After seconds of awkward staring, she finally spoke out.
"A human Siren." She said shockingly. "Haven't seen your species in a while."
"Yeah... My name is DaMIan... and she is Iruka." I emphasized on our names. "It's nice to meet another Siren under here."
"I'm Ryn." She said. "Wish I could say the same but apparently I can't."
I don't know why but what she said sounded like a threat.
"Why?" I ask.
"Humans... your kind are the real monsters to our kind." She said angrily. "Slaughtering lives, covering the surface with gold liquid from the bottom of the sea, killing innocent creatures with fake transparent jelly fishes."
I can't deny the fact that she's right. Human activities has caused many problems to the sea.
Back in Gotham, usually Alfred would be the first to tell us about environmental pollution topics such as oil spilled in the sea, plastic materials dumped into the ocean and many more.
"I'm sorry that you had to go through all that but I swear, I'm not one of them." I said.
"He's right, Ryn." Iruka said. "Even though we've only known each other for a while, I can tell that he is a human we can trust."
"Why should I help you?" Ryn used her talons and poke my chin upwards, causing me to meet her eyes. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just kill you right now."
"Because, I want to return to my normal life. With legs." I said. "Listen, you don't like me, it's fine. I just need your help on how to get to Aquaman faster. After that, not only will you not see me again, but I'll be out of the sea for good when I'm turned back into human."
Somehow I felt her talons piercing even deeper into my flesh.
"That's not a good reason." She said. "Sounds to me you're just begging for your life."
"Sister, you're hurting him." Donna said, floating behind Ryn.
"It's not just that." I said. "I want to get back to my family... my friends... my loved ones." I close my eyes.
"Please, I beg you." I said. "I just want to go home."
I didn't want to open my eyes so quickly but I did because I felt her talons leaving my chin. My fingers automatically rub my chin and found no damages which was quite relieving. My eyes travelled to Ryn's who was looking at me sternly.
"Alright." She said. "I know what it's like to be separated from your loved ones." She turn to see Donna.
"Unfortunately, your kind taught me that." She turn back to me and gave a dead look. "I'll tell you a way."
"Thank you." I bow my head like how a person bows down to their ruler.
"Follow me." Ryn start swimming upwards, heading towards the school of whales and Merfolks.
I was about to follow Ryn but I stopped to thank Donna.
"Thank you so much, Donna." I said in a speedy tone because I don't want to lose track of Ryn. Her swimming is more advanced than me.
I push my tail back and forth and followed her with Iruka tagging along behind me.
As I got higher, my eyes start to wonder towards the other Merfolks and whales. There were even male Siren and Mermans. Every one of them had a beautiful feature. Almost full human-like features, only with a tail.
It got me wondering why Donna and Ryn doesn't possess a beautiful feature just like the others.
Not just the Merfolks fascinated me, but also the whales. This is the very first time I've ever been this close to the world's largest animal. They are beyond majestic and I couldn't help but notice how their eyes looked bigger than a basketball.
In all that beauty, I seemed to have lost sight of Ryn. But thankfully, Iruka kept her eyes on Ryn the entire time.
Ryn was floating next to a blue whale, and from the looks of it, she was waiting for us.
I swam a little faster and reached in front of her.
"Follow her." Ryn gently strokes the whales fin. "She's passing the Indian Ocean to see her calves."
"She has agreed to let you and the dolphin accompany her in this journey." Ryn gently patted the whales back and look at me. She then swam closer towards me. "Let me give you a warning, human."
"If any human threat comes to our habitat, I won't hesitate to kill every single one of them." She said coldly. "And then, I will kill you too. Don't bother hiding on land because I have my ways to hunt you down."
"I promise I'm not a threat to your kind... only towards my family and to myself, apparently." I said, looking at my palms. "I hope nothing bad happens to you and the others."
I didn't chicken out when she gave me the warning because I know that I'm no threat to them. There's nothing to be afraid of when you know you're a hundred percent confident.
Maybe, ninety percent.
The rage in her eyes slowly calmed down as she backs away.
"I hope you get back to your loved ones safely, human." She said, almost sounding concern.
"Thank you so much... both of you." I said. "I hope we'll cross paths again in different circumstances someday."
She didn't say anything instead she turn her back and looked at me from the corner of her shoulder.
"Don't ever return, human." She said sternly.
And just like that, she swam away in a blast, disappearing together with the school of Merfolks.
"Well, shall we?" Iruka ask.
I turn to see her sitting over the whale, right next to its blowhole.
My eyes travel down the whales skin and lands on her enormous eye. I swam closer to her eye and lay my palm next to it. Her eye slowly studied my body and stops at my eyes.
"You're a beautiful creature." I told her. "Thank you so much for allowing us to accompany you."
She blinked as she gave out a short whale call which made me smile.
I took my hand back and swam towards Iruka and sat next to her.
"Let's go."