Aquata Cove

Waltz In The Dream

Atarah sits in her hut as she dips a handmade brush into a vial of octopus ink, and paints onto a large leaf with different symbols and elaborate designs. She presses her brush to her chin as she ponders for a moment as to how or what to base her next project on.

It's been a while since a merfolk showed up in her river, seeking help, and thus is running out of materials and substances from the sea. She may have to ask Belinda or Merrick for help in procuring more ingredients.

"... Hm?" She turns her head as she hears a flapping and the keen, high-pitched squawk of a seagull. She puts down her brush, and gets up to her doorway, to see the gull with a pouch tied around its leg. She holds out her arm to indicate the large bird to perch, which it did.

Atarah takes the pouch, opens it up, and plucks up what looks like a fleshy scale. She places it on her tongue, and promptly removes it. "Merreek?" She said with a curious quirk of the brow, "He should steel hab more scales to repel teh wata..." The seagull opens its wings, and flapped powerfully as it took off while the ancient walks back into her hut.

She puts the small collection of moist scales into a large sea turtle shell, holding a blend of different powders and dusts, and tossed them up and about in the hollowed shell.

"I must make deese quicker," She says to herself, "As well, find a wey to make odders for Amniens, as well as other Holsiens and Pisciens. Een cese one must hide in humans..."

She puts the large shell down, and starts to browse her half barren shelves, "I tink I should also make prices and deals for my halp..." As much as she likes helping lost merfolk, she is running out of stuff to use in her inventory; she probably only has enough materials to transmute and alter these scales for Merrick.

"EEEYAH! EEEYAH!" The seagull caws out.

"Oh?" She turns, and looks to same bird from a few minutes ago. "So soon? Deed I miss someting?"

Atarah walks to the gull, and accepts a leaf from its beak. As the seagull flew away, Atarah opens the leaf, and blinks as she sees a lock of deep red hair, and what seems to be a piece of flesh.

~~~

"Hmhmhm..." Triton Bertone smiles as he strokes Arnaav's head with one or two of his fingers as he sleeps, "Still so young and endearing... I can hold him forever..." Noita Rayette smiles as she feels his arm and pets her son as well.

"I still remember... You always annoyed him while you held him like this..." Rayette says, "And he'd bite you just to play..." Her eyes become misty as she recalls baby Arnaav biting on Bertone's finger with his tiny baby sharp teeth, they wouldn't even make a mark. It even developed into a cute habit to where Arnaav would ride Bertone's back, and every once in a while, surprise-bite on one of his ears.

Adra Nerissa draws a line of light along Merrick's chest, who is still feeling very drowsy, "You seem to me well, but the Sazae miasma has still not left your body."

"I see..." Merrick nods.

"We are still wondering how you are still..." Deilan fumbled for the words, "You! As far as we can see, and from what the Triton told us, you were in the fog of the Land Father's dreams. You should not have returned as you are now."

"What, disappointed?" Merrick smirks.

"N-No! That is not what I meant!" Deilan quickly replied, "It is just... How did you escape? How are you unchanged?"

"To be honest, I do not really know..." Merrick answered, "... Wait..." He thought, "Maybe... It was my scales..."

"Your scales?"

"Yeah. The ones that turn me human in the water. I showed you in the ship, remember?" Deilan's eyes widened greatly.

"Wait, what?" Nerissa says, "What do you mean, 'turn human in the water'?"

"It is a long story, I am friends with the Forbidden Ancient," Merrick says, "Very nice spirit, not at all forbidden."

"You mean to say that you were able to remain human under a Black Sun by that trick??"

"I cannot say for sure." Merrick shook his head, "I do not have any scales left - I put all of them on me before the sun's shadow touched me. And even then, I am told that I was buried under so much ice and ash. Even though I am here now, I cannot say for certain that I may have evaded the Black Sun's dreams. Something else might happen to me in time, or something has already changed that I am not aware of..." He clutches into the sand of the sea bottom.

"I think you are thinking too much." Deilan dismissed, "You do not want to cloud your head with endless questions and fears. I believe that you were just incredibly fortunate."

"What is done is done," Adra Nerissa says as she picks up Merrick's harpoon, "We can only move forward, and listen to Deilan," She smiled reassuringly, "I do not believe you will mutate in the future. It was just a miracle that you made it out of the Black Sun."

Merrick closes his eyes as he nods, before taking his weapon into his hand.

~~~

Adam rolls his head to crack his neck as he walks down the hall. Time for his next show at the Waltz - he's become quite a favorite at the club, good singer, looks handsome in almost any decorative costume he dons on the stage. This time, he wears bright sky-blue garments lined with a red sequin vest, and sparkly white shoes to match.

"There you are, decided to show up this time?" Comes a woman up next to Adam.

"Sup, Chloe?" He asked as they went.

"Nothing much. You gonna sing the right notes on your parts this time? Or am I going to have to carry your loose ass around the stage again?"

"Tell you what, Chloe, I will if you promise not to lip-sync this time."

"You're such a bitch." Chloe smirks as she lightly punches Adam's arm. Chloe is wearing a white sequin one-piece dress. With long, shiny sky-blue leaves, and blue slippers, besides the sunshine yellow wig under a white diamond hat.

"Nice dress, by the way. Did the kindergartener you stole it from fight back at all?" Adam shot while snickering.

"She bitched, but I gave her some candy in my Dad's van, we're cool."

"PFF! Oh my gaa-wd," Adam laughed.

"Love the it on you too. You do realize that comes in a men's size, right?"

"Aw, but if I got anything bigger, what could I lend you to wear to church?" Adam says along as they went.

"Screw you, cocksucker." Chloe smirked.

"Lick it, trash-hoe." Adam snidely gets in before the door opened, and they walked right up to the stage. They smile bright, big gleeful smile as they wave and walk along the Spring-decorated stage. Huge flowers decorate the stage as well as fake grass and enormous, seat-like mushrooms around here and there.

Besides Adam and Chloe, there are a handful of other dancers wearing very tight white sequin pants, and are otherwise shirtless as they wear buttoned-up blue vests. The audience cheers as they wave walk into their positions. The lights dim quickly, and the house came into total darkness as Adam and Chloe stood back-to-back.

"Wow. Surprised you didn't make out with the crowd this time." Chloe muttered very quietly, so that only Adam can hear her, "Feeling frigid?"

Some faint, playful melodies started to trickle in through the black.

"Please. I'm just giving them some recovery time after you blew them out after your last performance." Adam whispered back as they turned on their mics on their ears. Adam digs in his pocket for his Prop Mic - a fully functional microphone that is more customizable to fit decorative purposes, but is turned off if the performer is wearing an ear-phone. Chloe is also getting hers out too - Adam's mic is decorated like a red rose, while Chloe's mic resembles a yellow tulip.

"Remember, don't sing with your mouth full." Chloe whispered one last time as she can surmise that Adam's mic is in front of his mouth. He opened his mouth to retort, but the show's about to start. She wins THIS round.

The bright yellow spot light snaps on Adam and Chloe like a direct ray of sunshine over them. Adam puts his mic up to his mouth, and takes a couple of deliberate steps while holding out his other arm.

"~You don't have to look like a movie star~," He gracefully steps around to Chloe as he begins to sing, "~Ooh, I think you're good just the way you aaarrre~" He moves around to playfully trace his hand to her chin, "~Tell me if you could, would you up and ruuun awaaaay~ With me?~"

"~You don't have to roll like a millionnnaaaiiirre~" Chloe sings as she coyly turns and brushes off Adam's hand, "~Baby I would go with you anywhere~" She takes a few steps away from him, with Adam taking the same measured steps behind her, "~We don't need no gold, we'll be shining aaanywaaay~" She turns her head and grins playfully, "~You'll see~"

Other lightly warm-toned lights started to come on as the other male dancers chimed in their voices as Adam and Chloe danced the next few verses. "=You know can't nobody get down like us= We don't stop 'till we get enough= C'mon, turn it up 'till the speakers pop=" Adam and Chloe take their hands, and moved as if to walk away from each other "Break it down, show me what you've got="

"Ooh my my, baby don't be shy~" Adam sings as strides rhythmically in the smooth-flowing song, "~I see that spark flashing in your eye~" In a sleight-of-hand move, he puts the prop mic away so the audience didn't see, while he interlaces his fingers and pats his duo palms on his chest, "~My heart beats fast 'cause I want it all~" He prances over to Chloe in a few steps, "~So baby come with me and be my ooh la la~" Chloe twirls away from him as she goes to a large white daisy.

"~Take my hand, we can go all night~" Adam takes her hand after he dips and swerves to the side over to her, "~And spin me round just the way I like~" Chloe twirls beautifully as Adam holds her hand, before she spins softly with her back to his chest before tilting her head to look up at him, "~It feels so good, I don't wanna stop~" She twirls away and holds onto his hand "~So baby come with me and be my ooh la la~"

Their hands moved about, and parted before each one went to a respective plant - Adam going to a couple of mushrooms, and Chloe to a pink poppy. Adam takes his prop mic up again.

"~You don't have to wear no designer clothes~" Adam waves his hand and pulls at his dazzling red vest, "~Just as long as we're dancing on the floorrrr~" He and Chloe do a quick prance-across, passing each other in a playful dance, all the while, the other men dancing and back-up singing, "~Fingers in my hair and I'm letting go tonight~" Adam pushes his own fingers in his head as he tilts his head back, "~So freeee~"

Once again, the other male dancers chimed in their voices as Adam and Chloe danced the next few verses. "=You know can't nobody get down like us= We don't stop 'till we get enough= C'mon, turn it up 'till the speakers pop=" Adam and Chloe take their hands, and moved as if to walk away from each other "Break it down, show me what you've got="

"~Ooh my my baby don't be shy~" Chloe sings as Adam spins from her, "~I see that spark flashing in your eye~" She traces her fingers deftly along the upper left side of her face,

"~My heart beats fast 'cause I want it all~" She swerves her hips as she holds her hands and prop mic to her chest, before holding her hand out, "~So baby come with me and be my ooh la la~"

They pranced and danced together and held hands again, "~Take my hand, we can go all night~" Adam sings, "~And spin me round just the way I like~" He twirls from Chloe circling their arms, "~It feels so good, I don't wanna stop~ So baby come with me and be my ooh la la~"

The beat of the song pops and jumps as the dancers chant 'Ooh la la' in a hip-hop fashion, while Adam and Chloe waltz and jump and leap like a pair of swan lake dancers, until the music slows to a dreary pause as the other dancers become sluggish as well. Adam and Chloe face away from each other while still holding hands, before parting, and holding their own mics to their mouths with both hands.

"~Ooh my my baby don't be shy... shy... shy~" Chloe hymns and echoes gradually.

"~I see that spark flashing in your eyeee... 'your eye... 'your eye~" Adam sings back as the music plays along slowy, before picking right back up.

"~Ooh my my baby don't be shy~" Adam sings up as they commence with the dance furthermore.

"~I see that spark flashing in your eye~" Chloe collaborates as they spin and waltz opposite each other in a playful chase and run about the spring scenery.

"~My heart beats fast 'cause I want it all~" Adam moans in a melodic longing.

"~So baby come with me and be my ooh la la~" Chloe sings they hold their both hands and do a half-spin.

"~Take my hand, we can go all night~" Adam takes Chloe's hand.

"~And spin me round just the way I like~" Chloe continues as she is spun around by Adam's arm.

"~It feels so good, I don't wanna stop~" Adam sings as their backs meet again.

"~So baby come with me and be my ooh la la~" Chloe counters as they continue to hold hands, while the other male dancers swarm and dance around them in a circle.

"~Baby come with me and be my ooh la la~" The two dance more as the song and music flows into a finishing downpour of harmony.

"~So baby come with me and be my ooh la la~" The song finishes as Adam holds Chloe in his hands while the other blue-vested dancers kneel, stand, just posing in a neatly symmetrical fashion.

The crowd cheers as they smile and pose as the warm spot lights fly all around them, as the newly installed curtain descends over the edge of the stage. The dancers and singers stay in their pose, up until the curtain touches the floor.

"You are so gay." Chloe scorns while they keep posed.

"And you, madam, are a knuckle-dragging dyke." Adam retorts.

"Oh, shut up, you are so full of shit, your eyes are brown."

"Yeah yeah, and you're full of... Wait... Ah shit, the-the things are still on!"

"Wha- Oh- Ah goddammit!" They quickly switch off the buttons on their ears, but the laughter behind the curtain tells them that the damage was done. "Alright, now get off of me," Chloe growled as she shoved away from Adam, "I'm not a pile of jockstraps you know."

"Oh don't get your pussy dander up just because I look better in panties than you do."

"And can you dance less like a crippled walrus? You couldn't even keep up with me! Half the time, I was wondering where the hell you were off to." Chloe ranted.

"Oh whatever!" Adam threw his arms up as they two of them start walking to the door, "And what about you?! The only thing flatter than that last note is your chest!"

The other dancers can't stop snickering as the two of them went at it while walking, "Like watching a modernized battle of good and evil." One of them said.

"Yeah, but which one's which?"

"Both, I think. Depends on what time of month it is."

"Aw, dude!"

"Ugh, I should be drunk when we duet together," Chloe bitched, "~'Oh baby come with me and be my Ooh La La'~" She sang in a baby-like voice as she waved her hands in a mocking fashion, before flopping them back down.

"Pfff, yeah right," Adam said, "You're more like my 'Oh my God'."

"Ahhahahah," Chloe laughs, "What freakin possessed Jerry to put you up with me?"

"I don't know - I suppose every Piggy needs a Kermit - maybe this is Jerry's way of saying to cut down on the Snowballs."

"Oh hell no!" Chloe bites her lip as she swings at Adam, "Go blow yourself."

"Working on it. I just barely found out that Auto-Felatio doesn't mean a blowjob in a car." Adam replies to his dance partner's amusement, right when they come to Chloe's changing room.

"Alright, here's where I get off."

"Right, I'll alert the janitor, tell him you're getting it on again."

"Hah! Ok, see ya, Adam."

"Kay, tell Rajani I said 'Hi'~" Adam says with a girlish tone and smile.

"Chow." She says before she enters her room.

"Still fighting with your boyfriend~?" Comes a flirty voice. Chloe looks up, and grins as she sees a welcome piece of Indian love wearing a rather short green and neon pink cheerleader uniform, "Is he still mad that I'm still wearing his costumes?"

"Pfff, hahah," She laughs, "Afraid so," Chloe walks in and locks the door, "He just won't take a damn hint~"

"Oh, he's just sticking with you for the kids." Rajani says as she moves her flashy pompoms up behind her head, "Doesn't he even know about me?"

"Oh no~" Chloe prowls over and sits on Rajani's lap, "If he ever knew, he'd take my ass to court."

"Nuh-uh. Not while it's still mine."

"Mrawr~"

~~~

Adam huffs as he steps into his own changing room, removing his red sequin vest. "Lucky bitch... Gets to get laid before me..." After hanging up the vest, he starts to unbutton the blue shirt while looking at his roster. His lips mumble as he looks along the names and times for today's performances.

"Okay, on again in 15, think I'll do New Divide... Then a duet with Drake... Then recovery and set-up..."

-Knock Knock Knock-

Someone raps on his door three times, just as he shrugs off his shirt. He walks over, and opens it to flurry of plastic wrap and flowers.

"EEEEE ADAM, you were phenomenal!!" Before Adam could respond, he feels a very quick constriction around his arms and torso.

"HNNH!" He winces as he backs off, just before the sudden guest does, "Ahh- Easy, easy!" He grunts as he gently pushes away Jessica.

"Oh my gosh, Adam, I can't get enough! I-I-I just need to hear more, you know?! And oh my gosh, you're just so freakin perfect!"

"Th-Thanks, Jess, I really appreciate it." He says awkwardly. Jessica, Adam's biggest fan. A couple of weeks after Adam became a part-time performer at the Dream Waltz, this woman comes to Adam's dressing room just to gush over him - she never misses a show, and she always has a huge bouquet of flowers for him every time. He's really flattered, but he still feels awkward about meeting a fan, he doesn't quite know how to respond to such fawning.

"Oh my gosh, you were fantastic as always! And I- Oh these are for you!" Jessica thrusts the flowers into Adam's face, just giving him moments to grab them.

"Thanks, Jessica, these are um, these are even better than yesterday's."

"Oh~" Jessica shakes her head as she swoons, "Anything for you, Mr Bryant~"

"Please, just Adam." He says as he turns and puts the flowers on the vanity desk, "Sorry, I forgot to put a shirt on. I was just-"

"Oh it's not a problem, Adam~!" Jessica pipes, "You're just so gorgeous; you're stunning in voice and sight~!"

"Th-Thank you, um..." Adam said, "Listen, it's been GREAT seeing you again, but uh, I gotta tell the stagers the next song I wanna sing."

"What?? No! Can't you stay??" She begs as she takes Adam's hand, "I've been waiting all day to meet with you!"

"I'm sorry, but I really don't have time, Jess," Adam says a little hastily.

"Ok! Ok, I'll just wait for you in here then!" Jessica says as she sits down on the chair.

"Actually, you can't be in here alone." Adam told her, "You don't work here, and this is where I change my clothes."

"It's ok, I'll be quiet, I promise!" Jessica smiles brightly.

"I really can't have you in here, even with me is pushing it. Come oonnn," Adam takes Jessica, and leads her to the door, and closes it.

"O-Ok, OOH! I almost forgot!" Jessica says, "You wanna go to Red Robin tomorrow?? My treat, I know you love it there!"

"Shhhiit," Adam smiles, "I would love to, but I have the night shift at the Fish House."

"Ok, how about lunch??" Jessica persisted as Adam walks backwards away from her.

"I'm helping a friend move!" Adam called back.

"Wednesday??"

"G-Guitar practice!" He lied again.

"OOOOHHHH!" She screeched with delight, "You play guitaaarr?? I LOVE the guitar!" Adam pulls his phone out, and swipes it once.

"Ah shit, I have to go! There's a huge mess out back, I'll see you later, Jess!"