Page 97 of Citrine

He wastes no time now that he's decided, and I realize just how fast he has been going the whole time as we move across the rocky structures of the lake.

"Slow down! I can't swim that fast!"

He doesn't slow down. He just drags to a halt, almost throwing me into a spin. I feel something pop and just pray that it's not my shoulder that got dislocated. I flex it and it doesn't seem broken. After confirming that, I glare at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You asked me to hold your hand."

"Yeah, and you almost broke it. Would it kill you to go steady? Did you learn how to swim by going as fast as you can?"

He doesn't reply but I can tell he isn't pleased. Lack of sleep can make people grumpy, I know that, but I also need to know if there's more out there. This might be my only chance to find out, and I'm not going to waste it.

"Remember the way I taught you to. Be gentle. Be kind. Just lead me along and don't drag me along."

He stares at me for the longest time. I thought he would insist on returning to the cave, but he just holds out his hand again.

"I will be… kind."

His effort surprises me. I give him my hand and we try again.

This time, he goes slow and steady. I try to copy his swimming but it's hard since he has many legs, and I have just two. The only thing we have in common is that he keeps them together to go slow. I do the same, moving my body the way he does.

After a while, I realize the fins make it easier to copy the fish and I remember the times of my youth pretending I was a mermaid.

I look down at the rocks and fish and marvel. It's beautiful. Many of the fish blend into the rocks as they duck and hide from us, while others have surprisingly bright coloring for a lake. It's incredible.

There are thousands and thousands of the blue snails lighting up the lake bed, illuminating the outline and contours as I get close enough. The water isn't murky, which makes me wonder if it is a glacial lake. Except there is a current, so maybe it is more like one of the Great Lakes.

Such a mystery.

"How big is this lake?"

"Small."

My brow furrows. "Not compared to an ocean," I tell him. "How much more of it is there than what we've seen?"

"From the taste and the currents, where we are in just one small part."

"And you didn't explore?"

"Why would I?" he retorts. "There is no salt, so all I will find is more terrible-tasting prey."

I let out a huff of bubbles. "It's beautiful, Wroahk. I can't believe you didn't want to see more of it."

"It's just water. There's nothing to see."

I laugh, ignoring his cynicism. I try to pull him down with me, intending to touch the rocks. He pulls me back, a frown on his face.

Well, that's new. Human expressions look odd on him, but I like what it says about his inner changes.

"What are you doing?"

"I want to see it up close. It's not everyday you get to explore an unpolluted lake."

"You do not know what is hiding down there. Why do you want to see it?"

"There's just fish around here. I think we'll be fine."

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