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The docks were a constant hive of activity, the salty tang of the ocean air filled with the sound of human life. Hundreds of voices overlapped, echoing off the stone buildings and moored ships; sailors calling to one another from across the shipyard, mothers scolding wayward children, lovers reunited after months apart: each of them with their own individual lives, struggles, hopes and dreams.
When she rose above the waves, lingering beneath the warped boards of the dock, Rika could close her eyes and imagine herself among them. While her brethren in the deep sea scrapped over food and territorial disputes, the fleeting lives of humans seemed to be filled with so much more. Love and hate, fear and hope, anger and sadness and joy… They laughed, and cried, and fought, and sang, and Rika wanted nothing more than to understand them, to experience the highs and lows of their mortal lives.
The first time had been an accident. It had been so late at night, far later than any human would usually be awake - not that she had known that, of course. Back then, she’d had no contact with humans before, and had yet to comprehend the wonder of their existence. Even though it had been many years since she’d met him, Rika could still clearly remember the sound of his voice, floating through the still night air. An unusually quiet night for the ocean waves, his song had rippled across the surface of the water like a gentle breeze. It called to her in a way that none of her brethren’s songs ever had.
His eyes, deep and dark as the bottom of the ocean, glimmered with the colour of a stormy sunset, a crimson as brilliant and vibrant as a coral reef. When Rika met his eyes that night, perched on the edge of the ship, she glimpsed another world, his hopes and dreams framed by struggle and sacrifice.
At first, fear flooded his expression, but that soon gave way to a curiosity which mirrored her own, his eyes lingering on the scales which were scattered across her shoulders. His hair curved across the surface of the water like the light of the moon, his heavy coat darkening with the weight of saltwater, and yet when he gazed back at her, she could almost taste the emotions which lay within his heart.
Zen showed her the distant hope of a far off dream; the wonder of embracing your truest self. He showed her what it felt like to be swept away by the pursuit of an ideal, to pursue your dream no matter how impossible it might seem, always reaching toward the stars.
Months later, on a very different ship, Rika came across a young woman with a heart of steel, a quiet determination found in the line of her shoulders. As she strode across the deck, giving out orders, her voice never strayed into the raspy bark that Rika so often heard from ship captains, lashing sailors into line with a barbed tongue. No, this captain’s presence was commanding in its own right, her iron will and fierce courage earning her the genuine respect of her men.
She was far more cautious, when Rika approached in the early hours before dawn. The barest trace of first light illuminated the sharpened gaze of the ship’s captain, as strong and unyielding as the cliffs which surrounded the ship. Yet, as Rika gazed into her golden-brown eyes, the steel revealed a flintlock spark of passion, an enthusiasm which had yet to be extinguished. Carefully carried through years of hard, thankless work, she still carried that longing deep within.
Jaehee showed her the desire to belong, to find a place of your own and step outside the constrictions of social norms; the fires of a passion which years of downpour could not erase. A determination which outlasted even the fiercest winter, and a heart which refused to yield in the darkest night.
Then came a familiar face, on a familiar ship, bursting with vibrant enthusiasm. He shone like the sun amidst the blue sky, beaming from his perch upon the prow. Missing the scales they’d once shared, his legs swung idly above the surface of the water, his bright voice ringing through the air like a bell. He told her tales from distant lands, sharing stories of forbidden love, finding a way to be together despite a world which fought to keep them apart; stories of families who scraped by in life, yet spent every day cherishing the ones they loved; stories of princes who dreamed of the world beyond the castle’s walls, wanting nothing more than to experience a life of freedom.
In the space between his fingers, Rika could almost see the scales he once bore, the same shade of amethyst as his glittering eyes. Despite the passage of time and the fragility of his newfound humanity, he was the brightest she’d ever seen him, his smile beaming with an unfamiliar joy.
Yoosung showed her what a real heart looked like, the transformation from sea to land enhancing all the brightest parts of himself. He taught Rika the meaning which came with a shortened lifespan, a unique sense of purpose lent by a finite existence, the fragility of the human heart which held both joy and wonder until the very last breath.
The captain who followed was different to the others Rika had met; his quiet, solemn expression a stark contrast to the vibrancy of his predecessor. Cool and level-headed, he remained unaffected by the storm which raged around him, standing amidst the chaos like a statue carved from marble. His features were as unreadable as the deepest, darkest waters of the ocean.
Yet, that night, when she drew near, Rika finally glimpsed what lay beneath. Not unlike the surface of the water, which hid a world beneath the waves, his astonished gaze revealed a breadth of vibrancy and colour, a distant realm teeming with life. Starved of the affection he’d always craved, his heart opened beneath her patient gaze, uncovering the chasm he’d carved with each moment of solitude.
Jumin taught her endless devotion, a desire for love as deep and timeless as the ocean tides. He showed her patience, quiet kindness, a gentle hand masked by a carefully made illusion of apathy; a loyalty which could not be moved by even the earth itself.
Armed with her deepened understanding of humanity, Rika dared to venture even closer to shore, gazing upon the docks with an ever building desire to know these people, to glimpse their lives, to feel fear and hope, love and loss the same way that they did.
It was there, on the end of the furthest dock, that she found him. There was a hollowness in his gaze that could have only been carved from the acute pain of a love lost, a trust betrayed. He sat alone, overlooked by the few passing bystanders who headed to their homes for the evening, leaving the one solitary man to his own company, staring blankly into the horizon. The sharp line of his jaw underscored the battle of his existence, a resilience built from fighting for every breath.
Beneath the mask lay a quiet hope, left untouched, hidden from the outside world. A small bud amidst a sea of ash and dust, yet to open in the spring. A potential which had yet to blossom, watered by a gentle hand, showed the light of day so that it might bloom at long last. Through all the cruelty of the world, he still held compassion and kindness within the embers of his heart, waiting for the day where he might stoke it once more, a would-be hearth for the home he hoped to build.
Saeran showed her the fragile hope of a man who had nothing left to lose, a strength which was forged from the fires he refused to yield beneath. He showed her true bravery, kindness and contemplation; a keen intelligence and quiet perseverance which would outlast his physical existence.
The man who shared his face was both similar and different. Where his brother was a still garden growing amidst the ash, he was the forest fire which refused to be extinguished, a star blazing in the depth of the night. He tore across the boat like a meteor across the sky, filled with the energy and vibrancy of a summer’s day.
Yet in the moments between, when all was still, she found him staring up at the stars, a raw, deep ache torn wide open. When the tears finally spilled over, Rika saw the void within his chest where something had been torn from its rightful place; an earth without a sea, a sun without a moon, a day without night. She saw a man who would sooner tear the flesh from his bones than watch another be injured, who would sacrifice his life many times over before seeing someone he loved be in pain.
Saeyoung taught her the true depths of love: warmth, affection, adoration, kindness, selflessness, integrity, devotion, sacrifice; the desire to place another’s well-being above your own. He showed her grief, and loss, and the wound left behind when love is torn apart.
Rika found that self-same grief in a pair of mint eyes, quiet and calm as he called to her from a distant shore.
He came searching for her, following rumour after rumour, tracing her travels across the ocean. When at last he found her, Rika saw the resigned determination in his gaze, recognised the pain in his smile.
“What is your name?” His voice, so unlike the others, was as rich and warm as a beam of sunlight, breaking through the darkness of the deep.
“Rika.” When she gazed up at him, something distilled in his expression, filtering through the careful veil of calm. “Why did you look for me?”
“I’ve heard of you.” He smiled, sadly. The curl of his lips only laid bare the raw, aching grief in every line of his face, every premature wrinkle, aging well before his time. “I have been looking for you for a long time.”
He described them all, one by one, recounting the same faces that Rika had come to know so well. Their names, their dreams, their ambitions; the things they’d seen and done, the places they were going, where they wanted to go, who they wanted to be. Even though she’d learned so much from their encounters, he showed her so much more, revealing the deepest, innermost parts of their truest selves.
When she turned that gaze to him, she found only a deep compassion, a quiet sadness, an aching fatigue which cut him to the bone. The dark circles beneath his eyes belied his state of being, accentuating the pallor of his skin.
In spite of his tired expression, when Rika reached out her hand, he took it, watching the shape of her hair as it coiled along the surface of the water.
“Come with me. They’ve been waiting for you.” Her voice, smooth and silky, erased the final traces of tension from his face, a gentle quiet seeping into his expression.
“Okay.” V sighed, a quiet laugh escaping into the still night air, lit by the final traces of a golden sunset. “It’s been too long... I’m ready to see them again.”
She stared at the soft skin of his hand in hers, tracing the lines of his palm.
“Thank you for telling me about them. I still have so much to learn.” Rika blinked, smiling, the softness of her expression belying the bared edges of her teeth. “Will you teach me more?”
“Yes. As much as you like.”
His hair, sinking beneath the waves, was as fluid and graceful as the waters she called home. She could see each and every breath which left his lips, tiny bubbles streaming upwards towards the light.
Rika carefully helped him shed the waterlogged coat which wrapped around his shoulders, lightly tracing the line of his sternum with her fingertip, gaze locked with his as she watched the last trace of light fade from his tranquil eyes, savouring the taste of his quiet devotion.