Brennan couldn't wear traditional scuba suits because of his wings. Water fairy wings were the only type that were water-resistant, allowing him to swim, but he always had to wear his own modified scuba suit when he was conducting research under the water rather than wear one that was provided.
He headed under the water with his coworkers Kevin and Marina to take data and sighed with contentment. Underwater was one of his favorite places to be.
His magic power wasn't terribly flashy. The only thing he was capable of was creating bubbles. It worked out in his favor though since he was able to create one around his own head that allowed him to breathe while swimming.
He wasn't able to use it often because it would look strange to human witnesses but it had come in handy before. Unfortunately, when living in a world dominated by humans, it was easier to do things the human way. Hence the modified scuba suit. It wasn't a big deal though.
Brennan didn't like humans because they had killed his family but reluctantly accepted that it was impossible to get by in this world without dealing with them. And they weren't all bad—his coworkers were decent.
He didn't get close to any of them but he wasn't hostile either. Most of them thought he was a cold fish but he didn't care about that.
He didn't get his job to make friends. He did it to explore the ocean.
If Brennan truly wanted to avoid humans, he could go live in the middle of the wilderness again. He had done that for about forty years after losing his family before getting dreadfully bored.
Humans were terrible overall but there were some exceptions. His coworkers that cared about preserving nature were among that number. They were trying to fix what other humans broke and he could respect that.
Most humans didn't care what they trampled on as long as they got what they wanted. They had been like that for as long as he had been alive.
Kevin gestured to him using sign language, which they had all learned some of in order to be able to communicate underwater. 'I'm going to bathroom. I'll be back.'
Brennan shot him a thumbs up to show he understood and went back to what he was doing. It was so peaceful and quiet down here. Even talking to his coworkers didn't involve noise.
The peaceful serenity of it all reminded him a lot of his original home. A beautiful stream in what was now known as Montana. He hadn't visited in decades because he hadn't been able to bear seeing what became of it.
It was better to keep moving rather than focus on what had been lost. He was actively working to prevent that from happening to any other ecosystems.
All too soon, Brennan had to head back up because his oxygen tank was getting too low. He could stay down there all day but had to follow protocol and switch out with someone else because the big bosses were worried about ear pressure and whatnot.
He was a water fairy! Water pressure didn't affect him at all!
He couldn't tell anyone that though. Nobody here knew the truth about him. To them, he looked like a completely average human. 5'9", pale skin, brown hair, blue eyes.
His glamour hid his gray-blue skin, dark blue hair, pointed ears, and wings. His eye color, round face, and delicate features didn't change but the rest of him automatically looked more human when he had it on. That was simply how glamours worked. They tricked people into seeing what they expected to see.
When living in the human world, it was an absolute must. The only times he took it off were when he was home alone, at the witch coven, or hanging out at another water fairy's house. He had to keep it up to be safe the rest of the time.
His coworkers would never accept him for what he was. He had to be very careful around them. He couldn't let anyone get too close physically or metaphorically. If anyone accidentally brushed his wings, they might get suspicious and that was the last thing he needed.
"Good work as always, Brennan," Troy, the captain of this boat, said with a smile as he came out of the bathroom after changing back into normal clothes.
"Thanks," he replied simply.
Brennan wished he was back down there. It was far preferable to running data that had already been collected up here. But there was nothing he could do about it. If he wanted to keep his job, he needed to follow the rules.
He kept at his work until dinnertime when they all ate sandwiches that had been bought near the harbor before they left. Everyone else wanted to play games after dinner but he opted out, choosing to go stand out on the deck and watch the sun set over the water.
He leaned against the railing and sighed. It was so tempting to hop over the edge and swim around on his own but his coworkers would be suspicious. He was just going to have to wait until tomorrow to do it unless he felt like sneaking out in the middle of the night. That probably wouldn't be the best idea since it would be dark and he didn't have night vision.
He would get his chance much sooner than he thought. After everyone went to sleep, a storm hit out of nowhere. There hadn't been so much as a hurricane warning and it was the wrong season for it!
Everyone scrambled around trying to get out of the path of the storm as soon as they got the very belated notification from people back at shore but there was only so much that could be done. They had to grab as much equipment from up on deck as possible and get it where it was safe while dealing with the wind and rain.
Brennan's coworkers stumbled around but they had the benefit of being wingless. A large gust of wind caught them and blew him up into the air.
Marina shrieked his name and tried to grab him but the wind was too fast. He was already up and away before he could make a single peep of protest. What was he supposed to do? His wings weren't strong enough to fight this sort of wind! Only a wind fairy would be able to handle it.
He tried to make it back to the boat—momentarily forgetting that he wasn't supposed to let his coworkers see him fly—to no avail. He was tossed around like a ragdoll before a huge wave swallowed him whole. He didn't have the chance to make himself an air bubble because the force of being hit by that much water from such a height knocked him out.
Brennan sank beneath the raging waves and wasn't able to see the shimmering scales or curious yellow eyes of his savior as they approached. A gentle hand wrapped around his wrist and began bringing him somewhere safe.