After following her through the thicket for a while, Ranma asked himself just how much the residents of this world would be like their counterparts from Nerima.
His question was answered when suddenly, the mermaid stopped and looked around. "They're nearby... I can hear them."
Ranma listened, but heard nothing but the sounds of the wind, and his own heavy breathing.
"I don't hear anything," he admitted. Tsaquasa grinned. "No, I didn't think you would... a mermaid's hearing is much better than that of a human. But they will be here soon... we have to disguise ourselves."
"Disguise?" Ranma wondered. "As what? As boulders?"
She grinned. "Good idea!" She grabbed into her ragged shirt and pulled out a pendant that kinda looked like a starfish on a chain...
She pulled Ranma close to her. "Don't move," she told him and grasped her pendant.
A slight glow of blue light surrounded them for a short while, then it was gone.
"Now, stay silent," Tsaquasa whispered.
Ranma looked around, but just couldn't see any way in which the starfish pendant could have disguised them. Besides, he was kinda uncomfortable, clinging that closely to an attractive girl... even if she looked like Tsubasa. It just called up to many unpleasant memories...
But he obeyed her and didn't move or make any sounds. A few minutes later, a few black knights were coming through the bushes.
'They have to see us,' Ranma thought. 'There's no way they could possibly oversee us!'
But even though he and his companion were standing right in front of the knights, they didn't seem to see them at all.
"Nothing here," their leader finally said. "Keep searching over there!"
And then, they were gone.
Grinning, Tsaquasa once again grasped her pendant. "Okay, I've dropped the disguise. As I said before: They can try it, but they won't find a mermaid that doesn't want to be found."
"But... why didn't they see us?" Ranma wondered. Tsaquasa pointed at her pendant. "Disguise magic! When I activate the starfish, I can make others believe that I am something else... like a boulder, in this case. And as you were close to me, you were disguised as well."
She grinned and put her pendant back under her shirt. "Normally, when we mermaids are under water, we would disguise ourselves as part of a coral reef, or big clams." She sighed. "But, as we are forced to live here, in the forest..." She shook her head. "Never mind... come, we are almost there." And she pulled Ranma along.
After running for a while, they reached a big lake in the woods... its smooth surface was sparkling in the moonlight.
"Well, here we are," Tsaquasa said in a melancholic voice. "Home sweet home..."
Ranma gulped. "Umm... you want me to dive down there?"
Tsaquasa giggled, as if he had said something extremely funny. "No, silly! You should know that such a small lake would be much too confining for a mermaid to live in... Sure, there's enough water for us... but sadly, not nearly enough space to swim around as freely as we're used to... We're living in a cave, over there..."
Ranma looked at the lake. Too small? It seemed pretty big to him... But then, what did he know about mermaids?
Then he realized what she had said. "We?" he asked. "There's someone else living with you?"
"Yeah, my elder sister," Tsaquasa nodded. "She's out right now, but she'll be back at noon..."
"Noon?" Ranma asked. "I've been here for at least two days, and the sun hasn't set even once."
"Of course not," Tsaquasa said as if he had said something incredibly stupid. "But that doesn't mean we haven't day and night, right? It's only a little brighter... but you can tell by watching the moon - if you can see it, it's night. Got it? Now, stop wasting time with stupid questions and follow me!"
Ranma wisely decided to shut up for now. He really didn't know enough about this world to make a fitting comment...
The mermaid walked over to a big boulder that was lying near the lake and touched it with her pendant... and it seemed to vanish. She grinned, when seeing his puzzled face.
"Yet another disguise?" Ranma asked. She nodded and gestured towards the hole that had appeared under the illusionary boulder. "Come, I'll show you our home... and don't worry! The black ones won't find us there."
Ranma stepped into the hole and saw stairs leading down into the wet earth. It didn't look too comfortable, but of course he didn't say anything... He wasn't planning on offending his savior.
After Ranma went down, Tsaquasa followed him, once again disguising the exit with her magic. Then they walked down the stairs.
They were leading to a big cave, which actually looked much more inviting than Ranma had feared. There was a pair of beds, some cupboards, a table and some chairs. Also, several big jars were standing around, filled with clear water. The whole cave was illuminated with blue, shining crystals that were attached to the floor and the walls.
Ranma walked in and looked around. "Nice... place you got here," he said.
Tsaquasa walked past him and sat down in one of the chairs. "Nice?" she asked and rubbed her nose. "This isn't nice..."
Afraid that he had said something wrong, Ranma stayed silent.
"Once, sis and I have lived in the ocean, together with many of our brothers and sisters... and Mom and Dad were still alive as well. It was so beautiful... Every day, we could get up early, when the sun was shining through the surface, and we would play with dolphins..."
"I'm... sorry if I said something wrong..." Ranma said.
Tsaquasa sniffed. "It's all right... you couldn't know. Want something to eat?"
Ranma nodded, and she fetched some dried fish out of one of the cupboards.
While they were sitting at the table and ate, Ranma asked: "So... you two live here all by yourself? Why? What happened?"
Tsaquasa looked at him with a grin. "You really aren't from around here, huh? Ekana happened, of course... Her dark influence formed the Shadow Mountains around this land, and the way to the ocean was blocked.
My family was just visiting friends that have been living here in the forest... A family of wood nymphs. But, after those horrible days, when the sky turned dark and the mountains appeared, we were scared. And then, one day, the black riders came...
We still had no place to live, and so, to save my sister and me, Mom and Dad decided to stop them... But they had no chance against them..."
With tears in her eyes, the mermaid looked down at the floor. "They have been taken to Yokot Fortress... We haven't seen them ever since..."
She had stopped eating and looked very sad. Ranma wanted to say something comforting, when suddenly, someone else entered the room.
It was another girl, with the same wet hair Tsaquasa had, only hers was a shimmering black. She was dressed in similar rags, but in her right hand, she carried a long trident.
"You brought a visitor," she said. And then, after taking a good look at Ranma, she added: "You're the one they're looking for..."
"That's Ranma," Tsaquasa explained to her sister. "He has fled from the castle. I just couldn't let them get him. Please, Konaxu... he can stay, right?"
Konaxu? Yeah, that was what Ranma had guessed. Konatsu's double... of course, also a girl.
"Of course he can stay," Tsaquasa's older sister said. "At least for the night... Then we'll see..."
"Sis!" Tsaquasa shouted in bewilderment. "You're not planning on turning him over to the black devils, are you?"
"Of course not," Konaxu said. "But... I don't know for how long he can stay... You see, it's just too dangerous for us. If the black ones continue to search the forest, they might discover our cave... and who knows what they'll do to us. You remember what they did to Mom and Dad, do you?"
"I... I understand," Ranma said. "And I don't want to endanger you because of my presence... I'll just stay for the night, and then I will go on by myself."
"That's too dangerous," Tsaquasa protested. "And, where do you plan to go?"
"I have to find a way past the Shadow Mountains," Ranma said. "I need to find someone called Kasu..."
"The magical lady of Tokoi... I see," Konaxu nodded.
"Tokoi?" Ranma asked.
"The capital city of Ja'an," the mermaid explained. "Once you've managed to find a way past the mountains, the rest of the way will be easy to master..."
"I still say it's too dangerous," Tsaquasa mumbled. "But, if you want to send him to his doom... I won't stop you!"
Gritting her teeth, the younger mermaid stormed out of the room and up the stairs. Ranma looked after her in worry.
Konaxu followed his look and smiled. "She'll be okay! I think she just wants to take a quick dip in the lake, to cool down."
"I'm sorry if I have made her upset..." Ranma said.
Konaxu sat down next to him. "She just has to learn to make the right decision in a difficult situation... And believe me, if they wouldn't be looking for you, I would have gladly invited you to stay for a little longer."
"Well, one night is better than nothing, right?"
"That's right," she said. "Please, be the guest of the Pond Sisters... even if for one night."
Ranma smiled. "Thanks for the offer!"
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Wed, 01 Nov 2006 13:39)
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