Qu wren silently sat on the boat. Moroko and Han Su were rowing it.
"I will help row." he held his hands out to the kid, but both Moroko and Han Su refused to give him controls.
Pouting, he sat with his hands on his chin.
Initially he planned to swim all the way to the roc island, but the journey was too long and he had little phoenix inside his shirt. He did not want the poor creature to drown.
So after his dramatic exit, he walked back into the hut and requested Han Su's assistance. The young fisherman was more than happy to help. But they could only set sails in the morning. The midnight waves near the shores were too harsh and it might topple the boat.
Wren agreed with this plan.
So the next morning he woke up bright and early and happily went to Han Su and Moroko on their boat. It was a small two person boat.
They all pushed the boat into the water and jumped in.
"The roc island is not far, but it is unreachable."
"Why so?" wren curiously looked at him.
"Because the Roc lives in an active volcano. The whole land is covered by burning lava. Even I'm not sure how a beast can survive there," Han Su mumbled as he rowed through the calm waters.
Feng Mian poked his head out and scoffed. 'That bastard, he can even survive in the harshest environment. That's how strong he is.'
Qu wren carefully listened to the details. Meanwhile, he placed a hand out the boat and gently touched the cold ocean. It gently lapped against his finger. 'Ah, I missed this feeling..'
He just half laid down and continued playing with it.
Feng Mian jumped out of his shirt and chirped. 'Go swim if you want, I'll be here,'
Wren peered at him. Even without being able to understand his language, he could still interpret this chip. Smiling softly, he jumped in.
"sir!!" Han Su hurriedly ran to the corner of the boat and peaked in.
Feng Mian bit his sleeves and tugged at him inside. 'He is good, don't worry so much,'
Soon pink hair surfaced and Qu wren happily jumped out of water like a mer. His whole body was so adapted to water that it looked like he was just floating, not swimming. It looked like he barely moved a muscle.
Feng Mian watched him, mesmerised by every one of his moves. He had watched the water creatures like Mers and fishes, but this was the first time he had seen an oyster swim. They always live so deep underwater that they rarely surface.
He watched wren laying on his back and float on the surface of the water. His wet shirt clung to his skin, showing off every little detail of his six packs.
He then swiftly glanced at the members of the boat. Han Su was busy worrying about wren while the kid, on the other hand, watching him with a blush.
Feng Mian hopped over to him and bit his hands.
"ow," Moroko grumbled, holding his now pink marked hands. "Are you hungry, birdie? Shall I feed you something," he gently cupped him.
Suddenly, water splattered slightly on their faces.
Qu wren held onto the edge of the boat and was poking his head in. "he is not hungry. Just let him play around."
"But mister, it is not safe for him to sit by the corner. Let him sit on my lap," Moroko placed Feng Mian on his lap.
Qu wren leaned in and picked him up instantly. "No, he doesn't enjoy being touched by others. Let him just play around."
Feng Mian looked at him with shimmering red eyes. He bit wren's wet sleeves and hanged onto it.
"You want to swim with me?"
"chirp!"
"okay." Smirking widely, wren placed the little birdie on his chest. "Hold tight." He swam on his back.
Feng Mian happily chirped, feeling the fresh wind. It felt similar to flying at a low altitude.
"Do you like it?"
"Chirp!!!" Feng Mian happily enjoyed the ride. Plus, he was on his chest. His skin felt so hard and warm. He nuzzled against it. 'ahh I wish I had abs like these. I bet he developed them swimming underwater. Maybe I should try being an aquatic creature as well' he thought to himself.
Qu wren gently smiled at his behaviour. His wet fingers nudged his little bald head. "Don't worry, I will take you on swims any time you want,"
"Sir!! Sir, we have a problem!" Han Su rowed his boat close.
Qu wren swiftly placed the little birdie inside the boat. "What is it?"
"The volcano... it seems to have burst!! I can see the fumes from right here," he whispered softly. The sky was cloudy, and it was snowing with back dust.
Wren caught a few of those dust particles with a scared face. "Hachin!!!"
Without any warning, he swiftly swam over to the burning island. The whole land was covered with burning hot lava. There was not a place that was spared from the volcano's revenge.
"Hachin!!!!! Hachin! Where are you!!!"
He ran through the waves towards the shore.
Smoothing caught his legs.
"Stop, you will hurt yourself," a black-haired Mer pulled him away from the burning shores.
"No, I have to see.. he must be still in there,"
"Are you talking about the white-haired oyster? He left just a few hours ago. Don't worry, he is not hurt,"
"You saw Hachin!" wren caught her shoulders. "How is he? Did that roc hurt him in any way?"
"Contrary to your expectations, the roc did not hurt him one bit. He actually treated him preciously."
"oh... where are they?" he anxiously looked at her. His wet hair was getting on his face. He pulled it away and peered into her eyes.
"Hachin gave me a message for you; he said 'don't search for me. I will come to you when it's time,'"
"No, that's not possible Hachin won't say that!"
The Mer handed the small red tassel. This was the one Hachin brought in the underwater market. He seemed to treasure it a lot. "He gave me this. Don't fret; I believe the roc is taking good care of him,"
Qu wren plopped tiredly onto his knees. "But how can I not be worried.. What if in the future the roc might bully him? What if the roc forced him away?"
"I offered to take him away, mu friend. But he voluntarily left with the roc. I believe your friend has fallen for that roc."