A pleasant young woman walks along the beach on a breezy summer morning. She wears a pink jacket over her bathing suit and stares at the sea. Her quiet contemplation ends when the soft spray of the ocean reveals the soothing tones of a melodious voice.
She follows this sight, approaching a rocky cove, the water lapping up around her ankles.
Perched upon the rock is a familiar sight—a fishy woman with the upper body of a proud warrior and a mighty tail that rests upon the cropping.
The woman on the beach nods when she sees the newcomer, a spread spreading across her lips. "What? Didn't want to bring your land legs?"
Alda smacks her tail on the platform, snorting slightly. "No. It is far too much hassle to get what I need to transform, Purity."
Purity rests her hands in her pockets, shrugging. "I figured you'd want to go another round, for nostalgia's sake."
"How short do you uperworlders live?" Alda asks. "It can't have been but a month."
"I'm just being dramatic," Purity resigns. "But I did want to give you some information."
"Your message said as much," Alda responds, tossing a glass bottle in Purity's direction.
Purity catches it, examining the contents. "Hey, and you filled it up, too. How nice."
"Sea water makes for a bad drink," Alda admits. "So, what did you want to share with me?"
Purity tugs the bottle under her arm, blowing a buzz between her lips, her gray eyes glancing around the cove. "Well, I looked into that cryptic notion you left me on back in the cave."
"About the cargo?"
"That's the one."
"And did you find what you were looking for?" Alda asks this, a slight smirk on her lips.
"Maybe. I don't know. It's hard to tell. Everywhere I look, it's like I'm hitting a brick wall. Or, uh, flopping on land, as it were."
"I can follow your analogy well enough.
"The thing is that I'm afraid of what it might mean. Something is going on in my city. Something underhanded, but organized."
"The waves remember a time before the city was the way it is," Alda says, stroking a finger along the rock, "But the people below feel there's nothing that can be done about our sister city. I was hoping you'd find the answer."
Purity sits, placing her bottle on the sand next to her. She wraps her arms around her knees, resting her chin on them. "If only things were simple. But that's why we have allies to help us out."
The mermaid snorts. "Allies… help. What good are they in the face of overwhelming odds?"
"You're a warrior," says Purity. "You should know that when fighting is needed, sometimes all we can do is our best to ensure the least damage happens. I throw myself in danger to save the people who could be hurt worse than me, and my friends help save me when I'm in over my head."
Alda leaps off her rock and splashes out of the water, sitting next to Purity now. "You're right. Sometimes, we have to plunge and find ourselves in the unknown depths. Who knows what more we can find out if we do?"
Purity smirks, shifting to face the mermaid. "You mean you're looking for some help getting yourself a pair of legs?"
"Not so much, no," says the mermaid, reaching over the bathing Purity and lifting the bottle up, clenched between her fingers. She shakes it and holds it up to Purity. "But maybe looking to show you a different perspective."
Purity grabs the bottle. "Well, if you want, I'm all for a new adventure myself!"