Marella woke up from her sleep when she felt warm breath brush against her neck, sending a tingling sensation through her. Slowly, Marella blinked, her eyes adjusting to the light streaming in. She raised her hand to rub her still-heavy eyes, then looked down. Marella was surprised to see Eldoris still hugging her tightly while sleeping soundly, his face hidden in the curve of Marella's neck. She wondered what Eldoris had done yesterday to make him so tired. Gently, Marella raised her hand to stroke Eldoris's head, not intending to wake him.
Marella felt Eldoris stir, slowly opening his eyes and blinking like a baby just waking up. Seeing this, Marella chuckled. In her opinion, today Eldoris looked nothing like the cold, annoying person he'd been when they first met. Is this really Eldoris? Eldoris, realizing his arms were still wrapped around Marella's petite frame, buried his head once more in the curve of her neck. Marella snorted and gently patted Eldoris's back. "Hey, wake up," she said. Eldoris looked up with a drowsy gaze and the classic expression of someone just waking up.
"What?" Eldoris asked softly, his voice sounding like a chirp.
Marella moved her hand, pushing Eldoris away. "Let go," Marella demanded, pushing Eldoris's body with all her might. However, Eldoris only tightened his embrace, causing Marella to yell in frustration, "WAKE UP! I'M HUNGRY!" Marella's shout made Eldoris open his eyes instantly.
Eldoris rubbed her ear with one hand, glaring angrily at Marella sitting next to her. It was truly annoying. She was still sleepy, but Marella had the nerve to scream right into her ear. Luckily, she didn't lose her temper. If it weren't Marella, Eldoris would have definitely killed her. But this was different; she couldn't possibly kill Marella. Marella patted Eldoris's hand, telling her to stop. "I don't want to eat seaweed," Marella said, causing Eldoris to raise an eyebrow.
"Then what do you want?" Eldoris asked sharply. She was still annoyed by the ringing in her ears, not to mention Marella's irritating attitude today.
Marella crossed her arms. "I want the crab that bit my finger," Marella whined. "You promised," she added with a demanding look.
Eldoris recalled what Marella meant until she remembered the crab that had bitten Marella's finger on the shore of the uninhabited island. Eldoris looked at Marella. "So? Do you want to go to shore?" she asked, met with an enthusiastic nod from Marella.
Eldoris let out a soft sigh. "Alright, let's go," she said, lifting Marella's body and swimming with her.
Once they reached the surface, Marella hurriedly crawled toward the shore with enthusiasm, followed by Eldoris. Marella lay down on the sand with a sweet smile that remained fixed on her full lips. "Doris, help me look for crabs," Marella called out. Eldoris followed Marella and pulled both of her arms until she sat up.
"There are wild animals!" Eldoris warned warily as she stared intently at a group of monkeys not far from them. Several monkeys were seen climbing a coconut tree laden with fruit. Marella's eyes widened at the sight of the coconuts hanging from the tree. It had been several days since she'd eaten her usual food, and she longed for the taste of young coconut. Marella dragged herself toward the monkeys, prompting Eldoris to follow her with a disapproving look. "Stop!" Eldoris tried to stop her, but Marella seemed unconcerned.
Marella arrived beneath the coconut tree. The monkeys stared at her in confusion; some nodded their heads and hopped around, making sounds like "uukk aa akk."
Marella gave the monkeys a friendly, meaningful smile, causing them to turn toward her. Some of them scratched their heads while making their characteristic monkey noises. This was indeed quite crazy. If she were a normal human with legs down to the coral, she'd surely be labeled as stressed, but she was now half-fish. Let's just call this communication among peers. "U u u aa ak?" Marella asked, even though she didn't know what it meant herself. She meant to ask about the coconuts the monkeys were picking. The monkeys hopped around, nodding their heads rapidly. Marella put on a pleading face, rounding her eyes like a puppy. "Yuk a a a?" she asked again, met with nods from the monkeys and increasingly loud noises. Then a monkey above tossed a young coconut at Marella, which she caught carefully so it wouldn't hit her body.
Eldoris arrived beside Marella and immediately snatched the coconut from her hand. "Don't! This must be poisonous," Eldoris warned, staring at the monkeys with hostility. The monkeys made a chirping sound, as if to contradict Eldoris.
Marella glared at Eldoris, then snatched the coconut back. "You have no idea how delicious young coconut ice is under the blazing sun," Marella snapped.
Marella waved her hand at the monkeys. "U uk uuk a a," she said to them, intending to say thank you.
The monkeys cheered, jumping up and down while raising their hands as if waving with their distinctive calls. Marella dragged herself away, followed by Eldoris, who felt annoyed at being ignored by Marella. She caught up to Marella, who was sitting on the beach. Eldoris sat down next to Marella, who looked confused as she stared at the coconut in her hand. "Is something wrong?" Eldoris asked, causing Marella to turn her head and hold out her hand as if asking for something.
"I want to borrow your knife," Marella asked.
Eldoris was quite puzzled by Marella's request, until she remembered that her weapon might be considered a knife by Marella. "What for?" Eldoris asked, raising an eyebrow.
Marella pointed at the coconut she was holding. "To open it," Marella said.
Eldoris extended her left hand, and a beautiful crystal-blue sword appeared. The sword's beauty seemed to mesmerize Marella. "Wow," Marella murmured. She straightened up and suddenly snatched the sword from Eldoris's grasp, then pried open the top of the coconut using the tip of the blade.
Eldoris stood frozen. How could the Siren race's most feared heirloom sword—feared in the deep sea for its immense power—be used as a fruit-cutting knife by a mermaid who couldn't even swim? It was a moment that truly insulted the Seawod sword. "Be careful," Eldoris warned.
Marella smiled as she peeled the coconut. "Don't worry, I won't get hurt," said Marella.
Eldoris frowned in confusion. "What I meant was, don't let my sword get scratched or nicked," Eldoris blurted out, causing Marella to let her smile fade as she gave a soft snort so Eldoris wouldn't hear it.
When she was done, Marella handed the sword back to Eldoris. She gently shook the coconut, the top of which was now open, then lifted it to taste the coconut water. Marella licked her lips and smiled contentedly. She turned to Eldoris, who had been sitting beside her the whole time, watching with a curious expression. Marella held out the coconut toward Eldoris. "Want some?" Marella asked. "There aren't any coconuts underwater, right? It's delicious, you know," she added.
Eldoris examined the shape of the coconut, which looked very unfamiliar to her. She brought her face closer to taste the coconut water, helped by Marella, who held the coconut against Eldoris's full lips.
Eldoris's eyes widened in surprise at what she had just tasted. The flavor was completely foreign to her tongue. She had never experienced anything like this in her entire life. Was mermaid food tastier than siren food?
Eldoris took the coconut and drank some more of the water. "It's so delicious—so this is what a coconut is called?" she asked, to which Marella nodded.
"Don't finish it—I still want some," Marella pouted, crossing her arms. She was the one who found the coconut; why was Eldoris trying to snatch it and eat it all?
Eldoris snorted lazily, then split the coconut in two with just one hand. This left Marella in awe once more. She wished she had that kind of strength too. Now that she was a mermaid too, surely she could have powers as well.
Eldoris handed half the coconut to Marella. "That's fair, right?" she asked. Marella nodded, reaching out to take it. But when she saw the coconut's contents, Marella remembered something.
Marella poured the coconut water into her mouth and sipped it until it was gone. She turned to Eldoris, who seemed to be enjoying the fresh coconut water. "Can I borrow a knife?" Marella asked, holding out her hand.
Eldoris blinked in confusion. "What kind of knife?" she asked. She didn't have a knife with her.
Marella frowned and snatched the sword beside Eldoris. With great enthusiasm, Marella began scraping out the coconut flesh using the sword. Eldoris, watching her, remained silent. What was this? Using a Seawod sword for something so simple? "Don't you know what you're doing?" Eldoris asked lazily.
Marella nodded. "This is called coconut flesh; you have to try it," said Marella as she offered a piece of young coconut flesh to Eldoris's full lips. Eldoris opened his mouth and accepted the bite directly from Marella's hand.
He slowly chewed the coconut flesh, then his eyes lit up. "You really know how to find good food," Eldoris praised.
Hearing the compliment, Marella's cheeks flushed red. "Here, let me scrape yours," Marella offered. However, Eldoris shook her head and grabbed the Seawod sword, then made it vanish into thin air.
"You're not allowed to do that to Seawod's sword again," Eldoris stated firmly, causing Marella's brow to furrow. "There are plenty of knives at the castle." The knives Eldoris was referring to were sea obsidian knives, sharpened to a razor's edge. Though made of stone, obsidian knives were far sharper than ordinary ones.
"You're such a cheapskate," Marella muttered.
🧜🏻♀️🧜🏻♀️🧜🏻♀️
*~*
"I've prepared your favorite food. When you come back, I'll treat you to as much satay as you want," Karang whispered softly.
"Join the ritual, Araya," Noel replied.
"You don't need to do that. You hate him, don't you?" Araya retorted sarcastically, her tone sharp as she glared at Noel with furrowed brows. Araya shot Noel a probing look. "Or..."
..."Eyes Of The Sea"...
..."Happy Reading"...