Day's end draws near as the crystals scattered throughout Gala commences to glow. Lodged within the sand, the crystals form a barrier of light protecting its citizens from predators. Once nightfall finally strikes, the glow illuminating from the barrier causes the city to shine like a star in the sky.
On this night just like any other, Dawn rests her head in the palm of her left hand—while her arms lean upon the hard inner circular surface of her room. With her body slouching onto the surface, her hazel eyes twinkle as they gaze into the night sky. Inhaling a deep breath, her upper body slowly rises straightening out her spine. After a few brief moments, she finally releases her breath with her lips puckered up in the left corner of her mouth—causing a strand of hair to levitate for a brief second.
"Why am I the only mermaid in the city still single? I thought I would've met someone who's perfect for me by now. Mother tells me not to worry about it and that I still have my whole life ahead of me... But I'm already 20 years old! I'm not getting any younger!"
In a blink of an eye, Dawn falls victim to her own binding thoughts—constantly replaying the same love fantasy in her mind over and over. It wasn't long until the reoccurring daydream overwhelms her mind and her emotions get the best of her.
In the heat of the moment, her blood pressure spontaneously rises to dangerous levels throwing her mind into a whirlwind of pain. She immediately buries her head into her arms upon the ledge with her eyes shut. Trying to relieve herself of this pain, she repeatedly takes in slow deep breaths. However, the pain in her head wouldn't leave that easily.
Trying as hard as she's able to, she can't find the strength to focus her mind on anything that doesn't relate to finding the perfect partner. She squirms her head in between her arms as her tail flails about. But it's no use. Convinced the pain wouldn't ever go away, she lifts her head from her arms and stares into the sky.
"At least it's a beautiful night out..." She thinks to herself, barely cracking a smile. Without warning an enormous harsh sound emerges and snaps Dawn right out of her pain. "Huh?! What's that sound?!" All of a sudden her troubling thoughts vanish without a trace while her curiosity spikes.
Dawn leans her upper body onto the ledge and swings her head left to right searching for the source of the sound. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, she furrows her eyebrows and straightens her body as she pounces off the ledge. Her tail rapidly thrusts up and down-eagerly racing to the top of the city.
Once she gains enough altitude, her eyes catch glimpses of an enormous bright light flashing in the far distance. Her jaw spontaneously sinks down hard as her eyes widen and her body stops in place. Left absolutely speechless, her eyes gaze into the bright light, watching it slowly fade away into nothing.
Dawn rapidly shakes her head back and forth—trying to shake off the temporal paralysis. Her mind quickly fills with wondrous ideas as her body creeps forward to the point she's swimming full speed ahead towards the edge of the city. With her heart racing a million beats a minute, she keeps her focus strictly onto the direction the light came from.
Fortunately for her, she wasn't the only one who noticed the enormous light making an appearance. Anticipating Dawn's uncontrollable curiosity, one of her childhood friends Taylor the octopus silently keeps a close eye out. Waiting for his friend to come rushing by, he slowly crawls outside of his home with his eyes peering up above. His suspicions soon became an uncomfortable reality as he witnesses Dawn racing by in the distance.
"Here we go again."
Releasing a huge sigh, Taylor tightens up his body as he presses down onto his tentacles. "Salty cucumbers, this mermaid is going to be the death of me" He whispers to himself—thinking about all the times Dawn had dragged him into her crazy adventures throughout the years. Putting as much strength into his tentacles he can muster, Taylor quickly launches himself towards Dawn's direction.
"I swear to Azrael if I see one lobster show up, I'm wrapping my tentacles around her tightly and hauling ass. I refuse to have to relive that again." He thinks sternly with an erupt shiver passing through his body. The young octopus just couldn't wait for this to be all over.
Upon closing the gap between them, Dawn's body slowly falls into perfect view. Unable to resist the temptation, Taylor's eyes pop out of his body while his mantle slowly turns bright red. Soon, sweat emerges from his body and seemingly sweeps down his skin. Anxiously matching her speed, he calls out to her.
"Hey, Dawn!...
Ooooohhh Daaaawwwwn!....
DAWN!!!"
Snapped out of complete focus, Dawn's body flings spiraling backward causing her mind to be overtaken by dizziness. "Uuuurrgggghhhh." She grunts, with her ears being flooded by a constant ringing. When she opens her eyes, the pulsating sound passes through her head.
This sound she unwillingly experiences is like an itch you can't scratch. It doesn't matter how zen one may be. Once it latches onto your brain, the victim has no choice but to ride it out. However, Dawn refuses to yield to its screeches and attempts to block out the noise by pressing both of her hands against her ears.
"Ohhh... shitzel..." Taylor whispers to himself with widening eyes and dilating pupils. Creeping up behind her, Taylor slowly lifts his tentacles and gently taps Dawn on the shoulder. "Hey... um... Are you... okay?" He asks hesitantly, bracing himself for a beat down.
"Huh?! Who's there?!" Dawn squeals as she panics, swinging her right arm around and smacks his tentacle right into his face. "Ooooooffff" Taylor blurts out as he's blown away into the distance. While Taylor has been knocked out of commission, Dawn's elegant long dark blue hair tangles up around her face. Thus blinding her vision.
"AAAHHHHH! I CAN'T SEE! I CAN'T SEE!" Dawn screams at the top of her lungs. Her voice travels the waters like a bolt of lightning passing through rubber. Acting out in haste, her body flails around in a spiraled circle. "WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" Her cries continue as she whips her arms around in panic.
"Uye-ya-yiye. I forgot just how hard that girl can hit." Taylor mutters while being caught in a daze. Slowly piecing himself together, Taylor roughly wipes the corners of his eyes. The beat of his hearts begins to pace as his sensors are stricken with Dawn's cry for help. Gently lifting his eyelids, he catches Dawn twisting and turning like a fish out of water.
With one eyebrow raised, he slowly tilts his mantle, watching. Even though she is in distress, Taylor can't help but smile as his eyes gaze upon her. Lost in the moment, his eyes begin to twinkle while staring into her beauty. His love for Dawn knows no bounds and slowly corrupts his mind.
However before his passionate love could fully take over, he rapidly shakes his mantle and proceeds to assist Dawn in her troubles. Stretching out his tentacles, Taylor swiftly wraps himself around Dawn's body. "Huh?! What's going on?! Who's there?!" She shouts, squirming around.
Having trouble keeping her under control, Taylor tightens his grip and swiftly brushes Dawn's hair from her eyes. "There. You can open your eyes now." He says softly as he unravels his tentacles from her body. The troubled mermaid takes in deep breaths relaxing her muscles into a calm state.
Her eyelids rapidly shutter as she slowly uncovers her eyes until she finally regains her sight. "Oh! Hey!" Dawn yells—waving her arms back and forth. Ecstatic to see her childhood friend again, a rush of happiness sweeps over her face. "I didn't realize it was you!" She yells. Throwing her body onto Taylor, Dawn swiftly wraps her arms around him and squishes his mantle onto her.
Taylor's face uncontrollably turns bright red when he feels the elegant touch of Dawn's body pressing against him. With his eyes seconds away from popping out of their sockets, his 3 hearts pound rapidly like a prey that's about to be eaten for lunch. "I thought you hated leaving the city limits. What are you doing out here?" She cheerfully asks as she lifts herself from Taylor's body and stares into his eyes.
Feeling like his whole body structure is about to collapse on the inside, Taylor is unable to muster any words. His skin turns into an even brighter red by the second as he's stuck blankly staring. "Umm, you okay?" She concernedly asks—tilting her head to the side, flashing her eyes, and awkwardly staring.
After a few moments when the silent tension became so deafening, Dawn drops her head releasing her breath. "Guess I have no choice." She whispers to herself. Left with no other choice, she removes her right arm from his body and winds it back. With her hand arming back as much as it can, she graciously whips her hand with no hesitation.
Taylor still blankly staring at Dawn like a drooling idiot, catches glimpses of the palm of Dawn's hand swiftly charging towards him. His eyes slowly drawing back and forth from the palm of her hand to her face, Taylor internally screams.
"JUST SAY SOMETHING ALREADY! SHE'LL STOP IF YOU JUST SPEAK WORDS. IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO MAKE SENSE! JUST SAY SOMETHING DAMNIT!"
Quickly drawing a breath of water, Taylor tries with all his might to toss any words imaginable. However, he was already too late. For the force of Dawn's hand makes contact with his mantle. "Hello??!!! Anybody home??!!" She shouts as her hand swings back and forth onto his face.
Taylor's thoughts are in a flux while feeling an unbearable nerve-racking pound in his brain. His body soon trembles from within as he is unsure of how much more of this he can endure. After a few minutes, Dawn finally relieves him of the conflicting pain and grips tight onto the sides of Taylor's mantle.
Quickly realizing what uncanny idea Dawn had cooked up, Taylor's pupil dilates to the maximum. By the pressure of Dawn's hands, he can tell he is seconds away from being tossed like a rag doll. He quickly lifts up his tentacles and shoves them against Dawn's body as he shouts, "Dawn! Waaaaiiiitttt!"
Luckily, he manages to prevent Dawn from continuing her unnecessary methods. "Finally, you're awake!" She cheers, as Taylor takes a moment to regain his sanity. "So, are you going to answer my question or you going to drift off again?" She asks—tilting her head to the side, eyes flashing, and her hands on her hips.
Sensing the sheer mockery in her voice, the temptation to give her some lip becomes unreal. However, Taylor manages to bit his tongue and humors her. "Why yes, I will. And I'm okay, thanks for asking. Haha."
Dawn rolls her eyes in response. As Taylor takes his sweet ass time giving her an explanation, Dawn agitatedly states. "I'm waiting." She crosses her arms in front of her and stares at him with a pretentious smile. He flamboyantly swims behind Dawn and joyfully replies.
"Did you really think I was going to let you experience all the fun on your own?" Taylor continues circling around her with a formal attitude. After a few rounds, he floats in front of her with his eyes shut and a positive attitude. However, she sees right through his little act but decides to let it be.
Dawns turns around and prepares to launch herself into the light's direction. "Then let's go! I'm anxious to see what awaits us out there!" By the time Taylor opens his eyes, Dawn had already taken a head start. "Ugh. Why am I already regretting this?" He whispers, feeling his stomach already twisting and turning as he pursues after Dawn... again.
Once Taylor finally catches up with Dawn, he notices the ocean becoming darker and darker by the second. Scoping the area while tailing her, Taylor comes to an uncomfortable conclusion. He then quickly inhales a gulp of water as his mind is going bananas over where they are.
"Dawn. It's getting insanely dark pretty fast. Maybe we should head back." Taylor's teeth begin to constantly crackle as his hearts begin to race.
"Don't be a baby, we'll be okay. Just stay close to me, I'll protect you... as usual." She replies, rolling her eyes as she thrust her tail moving forward.
Taylor suddenly snaps out of his fear as his eyebrows press down and his nerves tighten up. Pouting over Dawn's last remark in his head, Taylor fails to realize she has come to a complete stop bumps his head right into her back.
"What are you doing back there? Dozing off again???" She asks, looking over her shoulder.
"My bad." He responds—pulling himself together and rubbing the top of his mantle with his tentacles. "What's the hold up anyway?" He asks—climbing Dawn's back and peeking over her shoulder.
"Oh my Azrael!" Dawn swiftly moves on ahead while Taylor is frozen in place stuttering his words. "D-D-D-D-D-D-a-w-n. Ma-ma-may-be we-we should... head back." Dawn discretely laughs at Taylor's cowardliness and sarcastically replies, "What happened to that macho attitude you had not too long ago? Don't tell me a big strong octopus-like yourself is too frightened to handle this."
Unable to contain herself, Dawn dives right into the wreckage and starts singing with a huge grin on her face. "D-D-D-D-a-w-n. P-p-pl-ea-se." Taylor cries as his body shivers in place. "W-w-we d-d-d-don't kn-kn-know wha-wha-wha-what's out he-here. Let's just g-g-g-g-o-o-o be-be-fore some-thing or some-one sp-p-p-po-ts us." He insists but is unsuccessful in obtaining Dawn's attention.
"What do you think happened here? And where did it all come from??" She says while grabbing hold of just about everything in sight. However, Taylor is too flabbergasted to say another word. His body becomes dead weight and suddenly smashes into the sand making a loud thump.
Dawn's ears trigger the second Taylor's body collides with the sand and for a brief moment, her heart stops as she looks back over her shoulder. "Taylor!" She immediately drops everything in her hands, and launches herself out of the debris towards his position.
"Hold on! I'll save you!" Wrapping her arms around his mantle, she tightens up her muscles and pulls up as hard as she can. "Come on get up! You can't stay still for too long, you know how cold it gets around these parts!" She grunts intensely. But it's no use. No matter how hard she tries, Taylor's body just won't budge.
Soon enough the small amounts of warmth left by the sun fade away and Taylor's skin is slowly covered in frost. "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no." She grabs hold onto her hair and pulls on both sides of her head. "The hell am I suppose to do?!"
With her left eye twitching and her face cringing, Dawn slowly loses grip of her sanity. Next thing she knew, she is circling above Taylor's body trying to conjure up ways to snap him out of it. Without realizing it, she fidget-ly thinks out loud. If anyone strolling by happen to hear her, they may believe she's insane.
"Wait! I got it!" Dawn cheerfully shouts while snapping her fingers. She urgently dives down to Taylor's body and uses all of her strength to flip him over belly up.
"Phew. When... When... When we get back home, I'm so cutting you off the clams." She gasps, wiping her forehead and catching her breath. "Ya know, what? I'm, I'm just gonna... lay down... for a minute. Don't. *Gasp* Don't go anywhere."
Dawn goes to lay down onto the sand a few inches away from Taylor's body and hears something rapidly approaching them. Picking herself off the floor, she closes her eyes and listens intently. Not before long she concludes the sound is coming from the city's direction. Her head tilts to the side, wondering who or what it could possibly be.
A few moments later, she unties her shell-lace—exposing her breasts and leans in towards Taylor's body, whispering. "Hey Taylor if you wake up, I'll let you touch me for a few seconds." Taylor's frosted body suddenly flails in place—appearing like it's about to burst any second.
Dawn pressing her lips shut and her cheeks expanding, moves her eyeballs left to right and casually floats backward. Obtaining far enough distance, her eyes divert onto Taylor's body—while holding her shell-lace with the grip of her left hand.
Seconds later, all the frost that was coded onto Taylor's skin are sent flying into all directions and his body emerges from within. Once flung off, the frost turned into piercing shards of ice—so razing sharp they could cut through any flesh.
Dawn's pupils shrink as her eyes widen—seeing some of those shards heading straight for her. She quickly shields her eyes with her left arm with the shell-lace still in hand—turning away. Her ears catch the hazardous sounds of the shards piercing through something causing her body to quiver.
For a split moment, her heart came to a complete stop as the world around her froze. Her spine began to tingle as this is the longest few seconds she has ever experienced thus far. When she finally obtains the guts to lower her arm, she hopes to Azrael that none of them went right through her.
But of course. Who else but Taylor would be floating in front of Dawn's face, waiting for her to make good on her promise. His eyes open so wide and gloss with sparkles like a dog wanting his toy. Dawn lowers her eyebrows and eyelids as a feeling of great disdain emerges from within.
She aggressively releases her breath as she closes her eyes, shaking her head. "You are such a bozo... Alright let's get this over with." She reluctantly says, holding her arms behind her back with her shell-lace in hand. She pushes out her chest, exposing her breasts.
Given no warning, Taylor immediately latches his tentacles onto her body giddying with excitement. His greasy but yet sticky tentacles slowly climb Dawn's stomach—anticipating the warm exotic texture. Dawn, trying her best not to cringe, closes her eyes shut and pretends that it's her fantasy partner that's touching her.
However, her body still quivers on the inside as her thoughts are tied to wondering when this awkward moment will finally pass. Suddenly a very strange sensation emerges causing Dawn to open her eyes. Her face then became so flushed and the awkwardness rapidly turns into anxiety—as she witnesses Taylor completely covering her breasts and sucking on them.
"Okay! That's enough!" She shouts—dropping her shell-lace onto the sand. She shoves her hands against Taylor's mantle and removing him from her body. Once he is removed, Dawn rubs the palm of her hands against every inch of her stomach and chest—cleansing herself of the slimy liquid that left by Taylor's mouth.
After straightening himself out, Taylor is left sniffling—thinking he has made a complete mockery of himself. "I'm sorry." He says softly, staring down at the sand. Dawn pauses—draws her eyes up from herself and onto Taylor. Feeling pity towards him with a half-smile on her face, she quickly grabs her shell-lace off the floor and ties it on.
"Damn it. I blew it this time, I know it. Urrrrrgggghhh. I shouldn't have pushed too hard. Now I'll never get her to love me." Taylor ponders to himself as he spirals down within his own self-loathing thoughts.
While Taylor continues to wonder if he'll ever win the mermaid's heart, he suddenly feels a pair of lips gently making contact with the side of his mantle. All 3 of his hearts simultaneously melt, while his insides tingle and his skin turns bright red.
"Let's go. I want to find out as much as I can about this place before it gets too dark." She whispers—taking her leave without wasting any more time on the matter.
"Wait, what? That's it?" He questions—swirling his body around with his eyes filled with sadness. "I thought we were finally going to be together." He says sniffling.
Dawn stops in her tracks—inhales a deep breath, slowly releases it and turns around. She rests her hands on both sides of his mantle and looks deep within his gloomy eyes. "We've been over this. I'll always be there for you Taylor and I'll always be your friend. But you're just not my type..."
With Taylor's hearts being broken yet again, the little warmth that was left from the sun's light faded away. Thus causing the ocean floor to turn white from the bitter cold. And once silence struck between the two, the roaring waters from the Alpec Currents are heard from a mile away.
"Whoa, can you hear that?" Dawn asks—turning around as she lifts her hands off Taylor's mantle. "Could it be?... I think it is. The roaring currents that can carry you just about anywhere. Oh how I would love to experience the rush you get swimming within it." She says with her right hand folded in and her left resting on top.
With his hearts shattered and the darkness rapidly strolling in, Taylor's body quivers as he becomes rapidly uncomfortable. "Dawn. C'mon, we should head back now. I can barely see a thing." Dawn keeps her back turned to Taylor as she rolls her eyes wishing he just stayed home.
"You can go back if you want to. I'm staying. I just need to find out more about this place." She says as she releases the first thrust of her tail propelling herself forward.
"You can't go alone! It's too dangerous! Besides, Sandy would kill me if something were to happen to you!" Taylor shouts—flailing his tentacles about.
However, Dawn refuses to stop and her body tightens up as she thrusts her tail even harder. Soon enough darkness has taken its toll causing Taylor to lose all sight of Dawn and where she may have gone. "Dawn wait!... Dawn!" He shouts repeatedly, hoping she'd return to him.
Just imagining having to explain to Sandy what had happened to her daughter has him twisted into knots. He never really wanted to come on this journey. But after everything they've seen over the years, he couldn't just let Dawn go at it alone.
In the midst of worrying, he still continues to call out into the darkness until he exhausts himself out. While Taylor takes a minute to catch his breath, a strange noise is heard so close it was troubling.
"...What's that sound?" With his eyes running back in forth and his hearts skipping beats, Taylor rapidly loses his mind. Thus causing his tentacles to stomper as they flail in all directions—spinning around in circles. His eyes, vaguely able to see a thing, catches a giant great white crunching his teeth in front of him.
"Holy Azrael!" Taylor squeals as he loses all feeling in his body. Thus becoming lightheaded and a victim to shock—passing out. The poor octopus falls flat onto the ground, yet again.
"Get up, ya lazy octopus! I know you're faking it!" The voice shouts, batting Taylor's body around with his fins. "Hmmm... Oh, I know!" He slams his tail onto the floor causing the ground to shake and shouts, "Oooohhh Inky! Dawn's taking off her shell-lace again!"
However, Taylor's body didn't even twitch this time leading the great white to come to the realization that he is truly out for the count. "Well shit." He mutters staring straight down at Taylor, fidgeting his mouth. Dawn finally comes out of hiding to witness the after-effects.
"You think I overdid it?" He asks softly, looking over towards Dawn.
"Nah. You were amazing Toro." She says—swimming around Taylor's passed out body with a half-assed smile. "He'll wake up eventually." She insists.
Dawn releases a subtle sigh as she tries to figure out what to do with Taylor. "I can't just leave him here, he'll die in this cold. But if I bring him with me, he'll just slow me down. Plus even if he wakes up, he'll just be a mood killer." She thinks to herself—swirling her tongue inside her mouth.
Meanwhile, Taylor's body slowly hardens from the bitter cold as frost once again covers his skin. Fresh out of options, she turns her head over to Toro—cringing her teeth. "Mind doing me a favor?" She asks hesitantly.
Unable to resist the gorgeous mermaid's charm and looks, Toro draws the idea that this will give him the edge over Taylor in winning the mermaids heart. "Not at all my dear. How can I be of assistance?" He replies nonchalantly, with his right fin covering his chest, his head bent and an eager look in his eyes.
"Could you carry him back to Gala for me? I know it's a lot to ask but—"
"It's no trouble at all!" He interrupted—unselfishly willing to help. Not a second later, he scoops up Taylor's body onto one fin and flips him onto his back—wrapping Taylor's body around his fin. "But what about you?" He asks, wondering where she's running off to at this time at night alone.
Dawn covers her mouth trying to hide her smile. "I've got a date." She mutters under her breath.
"A date??? Is she serious? I haven't seen a merman in ages, plus she's also busy helping her mother out. So when did she find the time to meet someone??" He ponders to himself as his heart quakes inside, his blood starts pumping like he's on steroids and his spine feels like its twisting into knots.
"A date huh? Who's the lucky merman??" He asks, trying to keep himself from twitching. Dawn simply lowers her hands and shares a disdain look towards him with her lips pressed together in the corner of her mouth.
"Silly Toro, we've been through this. I'm only into mermaids." She says shaking her head. In that brief moment, Toro's heart rate slowly comes down. "Oh thank—"
"Besides, that's not the kind of date I"m talking about." She interrupts, being amused by her own little thoughts—discretely laughing. "I've got a date with curiosity!" Dawn shouts, throwing her hands to the surface. Left speechless, Toro looks at her with a blank expression.
"I've just to find out more about this wreckage and where it all came from." She continues, turning around with her hands folded on top of each other. While Dawn continues to lose herself within her fantasies, Toro feels as though his heart has been shattered into a million pieces. Thus leaving him to believe that he somehow got shot down somewhere in the conversation.
"Just be careful and don't take too long." He reluctantly says, turning around and preparing to take off.
"That's sweet but don't worry about me." She insists. "It's not like I haven't done anything like this before, ya know?" Toro gives her a wide-eyed look.
"Yeah cause that's such a comforting thought." He sarcastically replies. "I'll see you back home then." Dawn waves her friend goodbye as she watches him take off with poor passed out Taylor on his back.
Once they're completely out of sight, Dawn turns around and continues to move forward on her quest. Every chance she gets, she hops into the wreckage scavenging for any antiques she can dig up and sneak back home with her. After hours of searching through a quarter of the wreckage, she notices fluorescent lights scattered along the ocean floor not too far from her position.
"Hmm? Where'd all these pretty lights come from?" The confused mermaid spins around and realizes that she's traveled much further into the unknown than she originally thought. "Heheh, whoopsies." She giggles, pressing her fingertips against her lips.
"I suppose I got carried away. Oh well." She grins as she raises her shoulders and throws her hands to the surface. While in that pose, all the trinkets she's collected slowly fall off her body. However before they can fully leave her body, her brain is quickly reminded of the colorful lights in the distance. She then immediately scopes the area until she finds the direction her eyes caught the lights.
Dawn's heart races a million beats per minute as the direction of the fluorescent lights are in her sights. Her rising level of curiosity overwhelms her to the point of rushing off to the closest one without caution. Upon her arrival, she scours what seems to be endless debris.
Before long enough, she comes across someone trapped within the wreckage. Her eyes covered in gloss, Dawn subtly smiles as her cheeks turn bright red. Her heart fills with joy and excitement and gently folds her hands against her chest. With lustful eyes staring down onto the mermaid, she takes in a deep breath and whispers.
"She's... She's... She's beautiful."
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