I could remember the day clearly, no matter how many times I tried to forget that awful day that happened only months ago but felt like years. It was a sunny day, and the sea was calm for once. The leader of our pod, my mother, was leading us through the current that led us to our summer grounds, where the other pods would also arrive for the yearly gathering we have to pair off with someone from another pod and have pups, and then go separate ways. Then, by the next year, the pups would be given to the other parent until the next gathering, and so on.

 This year, I was finally old enough to pair up, and I was ecstatic about it. My mother told me that I would be able to bear and sire pups, which wasn't very common in our species, but wasn't unheard of. She told me that whether I'd like to sire or bear pups was up to me, which I had already decided that I would bear for my first year. As we were swimming through the current, my little sister, Marinelle, who was only four years old yet our best young scout, swam up to me from where she was in the middle of our pod. "Aen!" She called, using the nickname she came up with for me, "Who do y'think you'll pair with?" She had asked, to which I replied with a chuckle, "I do not know, Nellie, I will decide when we get there." She had huffed, the violet fins on the side of her head fanning out and shimmering in the light.

 My own fins fanned out in response, which were a deep ruby color with black along the sharp edges. I reached one of my hands out and ruffled Marinelle's hair, who clicked in her throat playfully before returning to her little group of friends. I smiled at the burst of nostalgia from when I was Marinelle's age, except I didn't exactly have a group of friends because of some rumors that went on about my crimson tail, since neither of my parents had red coloring in their fins or tails.

 The pod was buzzing with chatter as we swam, the pups in the middle, the older children around them in a circle, which were surrounded by the older teenagers, including me, with the adults surrounding them. It was like a huge protective circle, of sorts. The youngest members of our pod were in the middle, so that they could easily be protected in case of an attack.

 I played with the shell pendant around my neck, it was a gift from my best friend named Aqilus, who belonged to another pod, and the boy I was wanting to pair up with for the first time, I just hoped that he would accept me. If he didn't, then I'd find someone else most likely. Not that I wanted to find someone else, since I did really like him. I shook my head to clear my mind of the doubts I had, the seashell necklace around my neck glowing just a bit as our pod descended into an underwater cavern.

 As we descended into the cavern, the light coming in from above dimmed until the only light in the cavern was the bioluminescent marks on all of our faces, as well as the webbed spines on our backs, which lit the way as we all huddled together. All of the children were ordered to stay in the middle and hold hands with each other and one of the older members, until every member of our pod was holding hands making sure none of us got swept away.

 The water was colder here, and none of us could see anything in the darkness, but most of us were calm. The ones who weren't calm, mainly the children who were going through this for the first time, were easily calmed down by their parents or some of their older friends or siblings. Which the children who were going through this for the first time were nearly four years old, since it's tradition for our pod to not migrate for four or five years, mainly because that was when the children were old enough to brave the currents. In other words, this was Marinelle's first time ever getting to meet the other pups from the other pods. 

 We all saw light after a while of swimming through the sea cave, and soon, our group emerged out of the tunnel into the light, and at once, the members of our pod all scattered across the lush seagrass fields to their friends from the other pods. I surveyed the area and grinned, the sharp, ruby and black fins on the side of my head fanning out and shaking as I swam full force into Aqilus, eliciting a surprised grunt and an affection-filled laugh from the taller teenager, who kissed me on the head with a grin. "Aqi!!" I cried gleefully, before helping him back up.

 Once he was floating upright once more, I finally got a good look at how much he had changed. It had been four years since I last saw him, the younglings as well as the storm that only passed a couple days ago resulting in none of the pods venturing out of their respective territories for four or five years. But now that we were back on our normal migration times, I finally was able to see just how different Aqilus was now.

 His golden-brown skin was slightly scarred, no doubt from hunting the sharks and swordfish in his pod's territory, his physique having lost the baby fat from when we were thirteen. He had a defined six-pack and multiple scars, most of which were new. His tail had faded into a deep indigo color, his tailfin, waist fins, and pelvic fins pristine white. And, because he was the heir to his pod, like I was, he was donning a chest piece made of shiny, silver mineral. He had also grown a lot, now towering over me when we once used to be the same height. In my opinion, he was a heartthrob. And I desperately hoped that I would be the one to bear his pup for our first year.

 While we caught up on events we both missed because of the storm, our conversation suddenly stopped when we heard the conch horn blow, indicating for every siren except for the children to scatter and find something eye-catching to present for the person you want to pair up with. Immediately, Aqilus and I swam off together at breakneck speed into the nearby kelp forest, which we both knew like the back of our fins.

 While Aqilus went deeper into the kelp forest, likely to find something large to kill and present for the person he wants to pair for, which I hoped was me, I went to the bottom and pried open a flat shell, using one of the pieces to hold the pearls I found along the bottom. After gathering enough pearls, I took some fiber from the kelp around me, and threaded each pearl onto the fiber string. My mother told me that putting three black pearls, surrounded by two purple ones meant good luck, so it was why I had a bracelet on my wrist with that design. After finishing the necklace, I swam back up and headed back to the seagrass fields and waited.

 I had taken a seat on a rock ledge in the middle of the field, where Aqilus and I usually had to sit because we were heirs and we had to represent our pods. While waiting for the horn to blow once more, I started humming and quietly singing. I wasn't looking around like I usually do, but I could tell that the nearby members of the other pods were all staring at me while I hummed and gently played with the pearls on the necklace I had made for Aqilus.

 Then, I heard a furious yell, and my mind immediately registered that the yell came from the kelp forest, from Aqilus. Leaving the necklace on the rock, I swam off into the kelp forest at a blinding speed, and distantly I noted that there were other members of the pods following. They couldn't keep up with my speed, though, and got left behind while I kept cutting through the water and leaving a current behind me.

 Eventually, I made it through the other side of the forest, and immediately was pulled to a halt by what I saw. There was a giant contraption made of some kind of fiber, and wrapped up inside it, was Aqilus. "Aqi!" I cried, rushing forward to try and get my best friend out of the net. I took out a shark-tooth knife, another gift Aqilus gave me after his first hunt, and got to cutting the fiber. I managed to cut him out, and he swam out. But then.. He pushed me into the fiber contraption with a wide swoop of his tail, and I ended up getting tangled in it. I couldn't cut myself out, because I had dropped my knife in the process.

 I clawed at the fiber material, and as a feeling of betrayal and heartbreak washed over me, I started yelling; shouting furiously at Aqilus to help me get out. I was so blinded by my rage that I didn't even notice that the fiber contraption I was in was starting to ascend, and when I did realize it, I was already out of the water and being moved onto a large, flat surface.

 I tried scrambling back into the water, but the fiber contraption around me prohibited any movement. I yelled and screamed, the fins on either side of my face turning vibrant red and fanning out menacingly. I bared my fangs threateningly, and I already felt the venom in them dripping down onto the surface beneath me. One of the two-tailed sirens approached me, and I struck, sinking my fangs into their arm.

 There was a pained cry, and in my haze, I saw the person I bit on the ground, wailing in agony. I looked on in horror of what I did, but I didn't have much time to think about it, because I felt something hit the back of my head, and I felt my body hit the surface beneath me before everything went black.