"You do my people a great honor." Rem bowed her head. "Yet please, keep it to your family only. Otherwise in case our relationship with the land dwellers goes south, not even the ocean will be safe for us."
"Sure thing."
After a few minutes, Orion managed to keep the burning of his lungs to an acceptable level since mistrust and paranoia kept messing up his breathing rhythm.
"Maybe this can help." A second male merfolk took Orion's other hand, doubling his oxygen provision.
A third and a fourth grabbed respectively his left and right ankle and at that point, albeit feeling constricted, Orion had all the air he needed.
During the descent, the merfolk pulled his arms and pushed his feet, making up for Orion's inability to move on his own. For a while, the abundant oxygen and the speed gave him an exhilarating feeling.
