"I'm fine... Tana..."

It took time, but, after reassuring a worried Tana and calming down Othello, I managed to drag myself upstairs and into my room to dry off and change clothes.

When I returned downstairs, Tana was already in her usual casual garments and preparing something in the kitchen.

Not wanting to interrupt whatever she was doing, I quietly took a seat at one of the stools, Othello leaving the kitchen carpet to lie down at my feet, looking much calmer and happier than before.

Tana came over, holding a pack of ice in her hands. Thanking her, I pressed it against the back of my head and then, laying my forehead on the counter, left it resting there. The cold stung at first but the pain quickly faded to a pleasant numbness.

A few seconds later, Tana appeared, putting two cups filled with something steaming on top of the counter before sitting opposite to me.

I felt grateful to her, for having prepared the tea when I wasn’t in the kitchen. I had taken a liking to the beverage and the situation called for it, but it involved boiling water and... It was better not to think about that. Heck, I wasn’t even okay about drinking it while it still steamed, as embarrassing as that was. 

Tana certainly didn’t have the same problems I had. I watched, almost entranced, as the dark skinned woman pursed her lips and blew softly over the rim, taking small sips as she talked.

She told me how worried she had gotten when she didn’t find me home and couldn’t contact me. She said that, as soon as the storm hit, she went to look for me. Coming back home to get a stronger umbrella, she saw the lights on and assumed I had come back.

A comfortable silence fell between us after that.

I was looking past Tana's figure, watching the storm through the glass panels on the other side of the house, which were quite visible from where I was sitting, when something soft and silk-like brushed my hand.

It didn't startle me, as I had sensed it coming. I simply watched as a beautiful Blue British Shorthair strutted around me, stretching, back arching with a satisfied purr, and then laying down on the counter to nestle against my arm.  

"Hey, Beatrice," I murmured, smiling softly as I ran my fingers down the silky fur on her back. A chirp sounded not long after, announcing the appearance of a small Parrotlet. With a flutter of wings, it landed, almost weightless, on my hair. 

"Nice to see you too, Romeo," The bird chirped loudly at this and I felt him move as he made himself cosy on the jungle of braids and waves at the top of my head. "Hey, no nesting up there, my hair is not nesting material, understand?"

In front of me, an amused Tana laughed. "They missed you." 

I snorted as a response. I had to confess though, I was happy. There had always seemed to be this deep connection between me and other animals. They were my friends; I never felt bad when around them. The easiness and contentment of those particular three rubbed off on me, and I enjoyed every minute of it, almost feeling like purring myself.  

Another laugh from Tana; we talked for a bit, nothing really important, mostly things about her work-day at the aquarium and what would my first day of school be like. I explained why I had been gone for so long, not revealing much, just saying that I met a few kids my age and lost track of time. This pleased her, although she didn't visibly show it, and I knew perfectly well why. Her thoughts were something along the lines of: ‘Fern finally made some friends, he’s getting better’.

I understood. I didn’t want to, but I did. 

Finally, after eating something and making sure the others were well fed and sleeping soundly on their arranged beds (Romeo on his favorite perch next to the kitchen), we both went to sleep.

Just like every night for the past month, I was only able to doze off near midnight, when the sky was no longer falling or rumbling. My last thoughts as consciousness slowly left me were of Kai, my guardian, and that mermaid, Aya, and her well being.

I hoped, in all earnestness, that she would be alright. And I hoped that that bad feeling nagging at my mind was really just that and nothing more.   

 

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Author guidance for This exercise

PLEASE READ THIS FIRST

Thi is a closed colab between me elf, Bannana, Shally16, Skooch, MooMoo and Firebird.

The link to our planning it here: (http://www.protagonize.com/group/collaborative-corner/topic/4717)
Me (Elf): My character is called Cindy. She (female) is 17 years old. She has long Red hair and green eyes. Her fin is a silvery green. Her element power is air.
She is shy when around people she does not know but she never stops talking when she is with friends.
She loves being a mermaid as she always feels left out and awquard on land. She feels at home in the sea with her friends.

Banana: My character's name Marina. She is 17 years old. She has naturally brown hair, but dyed it blonde, so sometimes the roots show. Her eyes are amber. Her fin is royal blue. She has the element of fire.
She is an outgoing person among humans, feeling like one herself in their company. She hates being a mermaid.

Shally16: My charectr's name is Denver. He is 17 years old. His hair is short, curly, and chestnut brown. His eyes are emerald green, and his tail is sapphire blue. His element is water.
Denver is a very fun-loving, funny guy. He's very outspoken and makes himself heard. He always cracks jokes, and he's also the pretty boy that all the girls love.
He enjoys being a merman, but loves being on land. He's happy either way.

Skooch: This looks fun! My Character's name is Owen. He is 17 and when on land he is just over 6 feet tall. He has short, blonde hair and eyes the same color as his tail...ruby red. His element is earth and his very well-built body reflects that.
He is shy and generally dislikes being around lots of people. He likes being on both water and land but he thinks the land people are strange and doesn't normally associate with them.

Moomoo: My character is Aya. She is sixteen years old. She has no friends in the beginning, and is very shy. She has been kept in the water all her life, and did not know that there were any land animals until she came of age and got to become a human. She is a quiet a reserved human, but she loves it, because she is experiencing something new after being kept in the water for so long.
Her fin and tail is dark purple, and her hair is also dark purple, which is a problem when she is a human because everyone thinks she dyes her hair. She usually dyes it dark brown to avoid attention. She has dark purple eyes, and a piercing stare that makes you squirm when she looks at you. She is medium height with a light build, and is very skinny and looks very fragile. In truth, she can be strong when her loved ones are in danger or someone she cares about is in strife (both mentally and physically). She is actually very pretty, but no one looks past her mask of shyness.
Her element is ether, which is a mystery because she's spent nearly all her life in water, and her stature and build does not reflect it. To most people, she is a mystery.

Firebird: My character is Fern. He is sixteen years old, 5' 4'' in height - which bugs him a little bit. He's of a light built - a little bit on the skinny side - and bears a dark complexion. The colour of his shoulder length hair is very odd for his age: a tone of grey somewhere between silver and platinum, braided in some parts and only slightly wavy at others, with one lose braid on either side of his face (over his ears); it gives him the look of someone who spends a lot of time in the sea, even more so because of the ornaments he uses in his hair. His eyes are a very dark brown but look black.
When in mermaid form, his tail and sharp fins are black (ebony, really) that may look a very dark blue depending on the light and angle. He controls the element his people call 'spirit', being able to control anything in the field of emotions, including the feelings that cause them.
Growing up wasn't easy for Fern. Born a fragile and odd looking merman, he was teased and abused a lot by children and adults alike, and for that reason he bears a grudge against most of the sea dwelling people. Turning into a human, he hopped things would be different, but discovered that humans weren't so different and was disappointed. So there's a conflict in him: he enjoys a few things about the sea and the land but still struggles to get along well with both its inhabitants.

And that is it. Please enjoy.

updated Nov 20 '11 by elf