She turned and looked at him in surprise. " Your not serious are you?" she looked puzzled. She had prepared to leave soon but not today, not tonight. She wasn't ready yet and she was not sure if she wanted to leave now. How could she possibly leave tonight? She wasn't sure if she would return safely and didn't know how long the mission would take either. She was now shaking, not because it was cold but because no matter how courageous she seemed, she was still afraid. How could she not be afraid when she's going to be around humans? Eat with them, smile with them, talk to them and even maybe laugh with them whilst knowing that they took her as an enemy and that they would turn on her if they found out who she was.
How can she not be afraid when she knew all the stories about the mermaids who left the sea and have never come back, no one knows if they died or what happened to them, not to be seen or heard. This kind of thought sends shivers all through her body, down to her spine. She was lost in dreadful thoughts when a hand caught hers, and squeezed it gently, pressing warmly. At least this made her feel better. A lot better than all the times she had to experience that pain alone. A lot better than the times she needed someone to tell her that she would be okay but still end up finding no one. He felt her pain, he knew the pain she was going through. He had been there before but even though she was older than him, he understood that what she was going through was far more painful than what he went through. At least he would vent out his anger on his magic, swim so fast with the dolphins, go to places that helped him forget or even at least involve himself with the others, talk to them in their language and play with them, but her, she has always been alone, an introvert, keeping things to herself, no one to talk to or no one to at least help her forget. He knew that all the pain within her, she was hurting and didn't let anyone see it.
"You know our names are similar .....right? Kai means the ocean and Oceania means the ocean too...." He said pressing her hand with his gently. "....It would have been much better if we were real siblings...I always hold your hand like this, never letting go...at least you would not be feeling alone like you have always been...I wish I could take away all the pain but we can't do everything right?" he looked at her and smiled. A genuine smile meant that he was there, he was there for her and that meant that she wasn't alone. A smile that had a lot of meanings but reflected that he was damaged too.
"Thank you..." she looked at him and tried to smile but her lips couldn't allow it. She hugged him and he held her. Yes, he might be younger but he made her feel like she still had someone, someone who cares about her, someone who loves her, and someone she could talk to, at least erasing some of the loneliness that she felt. He might be younger but she felt that he was wiser than his age. He spoke like an adult. He made her feel comforted. A thing she has never felt ever since her parent's cessation.
"You are not alone Oceania..." He said once she broke the hug. She nodded her head and at least he could feel that she was somehow feeling better and relaxed. The fact that she was at least opening up to him made him feel better too.
"Don't think too much about anything...that will be hurting yourself....wanna go somewhere crazy and have some little fun before you leave?" He asked and she nodded in return.
She hasn't had any fun for six years and he knew that. She hasn't played as the other mermaids do, he understood that. At least now she had him, and he wanted to make her at least lay down some of the heavyweight burdens in her heart, and by that, he had to try and make her think of other things. He held her hand and smiled at her, they were almost the same height so no one would realize their age difference that easily.
He then swam, leading her but still holding her hand, at high speed and making rolls on the water. It was hard for her to keep up because she didn't know which trick he would do next. In one minute he made a roll and she has to try and keep up, the next he went deep under at a fast speed and she had to keep up too, another minute he is spinning and she has to do that too, then he rides a dolphin with her too. It was dark but the moon reflected clearly. They were the water creatures of the dark anyway, they were not afraid, and they never feared the depths no matter how deep they went down below, they were both no strangers to darkness and the cold because it was the darkness that made their scale shine and glow so beautifully and the cold that made their hearts warm. Being in the deep made them feel even more courageous in the sea because they knew they would rise again and even with a higher speed. And that's what they did, rising and going under really fast. For the first time, she was happy.
She smiled and laughed anytime they did something fun, anytime they competed, and either she won at loose she would laugh like a little child and ask that they do it again. They did it over and over again. He let her do what she wanted and agreed willingly because he could see how her face was brightening up with each moment that passed by. This was fun but what he regretted was that he hadn't thought of this earlier, maybe if he had come earlier then she wouldn't have gone through so much pain, at least he would have helped her by making her mind occupied with other things, just like right now she was making circular swims and he was joining her. Maybe if he had been there from the start he could have been of help. He too had never had this much fun, and the worst part is that she was leaving, and even he, a warlock, couldn't tell if she would be safe out there.