Ixion had not thought there was much that could stun him at this point. After a cycle of travelling with Ferick and Zerim, pod-hopping and experiencing the cultures and ways of various open and mid water pods, he thought he had a fair idea of what to expect. But this blew his mind. It had been six moons since he had parted ways with his friends to remain in his current pod. Life with them was wonderful, but relatively mundane. He appreciated the more languid pace to their travels, as well as the routines and stedfastness that they maintained. It had been a pleasant change from the chaos that Ferick and Zerim so often sought out.

Now, however, he was discovering what a merging was. It was not something mid-pods ever did, so the concept was completely foreign to him, yet here he was, surrounded by at least four other mer pods all sharing the same vast reef as a resting point in their migratory routes. According to his new family, most of these mer would linger here for at least a few moons before splitting ways again, and it was a tradition that took place every three cycles. Ixion did not normally consider himself shy, but having been raised in a pod of thirty mer all this life, being surrounded by over two hundred now made him feel very small and out of place, and unsure of how to interact with so many new faces in the crowd.

Though he had grown close with many of his podmates, they had all scattered in search of friends from other pods that they had not seen since the last merge. Ixion understood, but it was leaving him feeling abandoned and out of place. He decided it would be better to back away to the outskirts for a while to regain his bearings. But as he turned to go, he crashed into another. The blow did not hurt him, but it was enough to knock the other mer to the sand below. Ixion winced. This was definitely not how he wanted to start out. He glanced down at the other mer and found her staring up at him as well. Her brown eyes darkened stormily beneath a furrowed brow and her lips were pulled into a tight frown. Her dark brown hair was puffed out around her head, likely displaced by her sudden tumble, but was gradually settling back down below her shoulders. Her scales glittered brightly in the sun in a shade of green so vivid, Ixion was beginning to question if he had known prior what green even looked like. Scattered around her were long strands of a very dark green plant that she must have dropped when they collided.

“I am sorry,” Ixion apologized as he dropped to the sand to begin gathering up some of the discarded plant stems. “I did not see you.”

“You should be more careful,” she growled back. “There is far too much commotion to be absent-brained like that.”

Ixion bit back a retort and reminded himself that this was his fault and she had a right to be irritated with him. “I know,” he agreed. “I am definitely out of place. I have never been a part of a pod merge like this before. I only joined up with my current pod a few moons ago. My birth pod was very small,” he explained. He had gathered up most of the fallen plant fronds, so he held them out to her.

She accepted them and sighed, but a lot of the tension left her shoulders and back, and her scowl softened. “I suppose this could all be pretty overwhelming if you are not accustomed to it,” she relented. “But still, you should try to be more aware if you are going to dwell in the center of the reef. Someone could get hurt, you are not small you know.” Finally, he saw a little mirth from her as she grinned and flicked her lime green fins.

Ixion snorted. Then his grin faltered as he realized he had not checked on her well-being. “Are you hurt?” he inquired.

“Just my pride…and well..these,” she lamented with a frown as she shook one of the sand-coated plants. “They are not so useable once they have been down in the silt like this.”

After fishing around in the sand for a moment, Ixion plucked up another shoot. It was covered in sand grains and they clung stubbornly to the gooey surface of the plant even when Ixion tried to gently brush them away. “What are they for?” he inquired. They did not look very appetizing to eat.

“They are medicinal. You chew them into a pulp and press them into gashes or bite wounds to help with infection and inflammation. Which is why sandy stalks are a problem. You cannot exactly rub grit into an open wound and anticipate a positive outcome.”

“You are a healer,” Ixion realized.

The girl inclined her head towards him and dipped her chin. “Almost, anyway. My training is nearly complete. Though I am going to have to replace these swiftly or my father is going to set me back. Silty fronds is a novice mistake.”

“I never introduced myself,” Ixion lamented. He picked himself up out of the sand and extended a hand out to her. “My name is Ixion. What is yours?”

Her dark eyes lingered on his outstretched hand for a moment before she reached out and placed her hand in his. “Rebecca.”

Ixion pulled her up out of the dust and took a moment to marvel at the difference. Compared to his darker gray-brown skin, Rebecca was pale. Not quite as pale as his mother, whose skin was pale white and veiny, but more of a lightly pink sandy hue that he had only seen since venturing to the surface waters. “Well, Rebecca, I have to apologize again for all of this. I feel it is only right that I offer my assistance in replenishing your supplies since I am the reason they were ruined in the first place.”

Rebecca glanced up at him and her lips parted to say something before she hesitated. She glanced back down at their still interlocked hands and then back up at him. For a moment, it looked like she wanted to smile, but then something shifted and she shook her head. Her brows furrowed and her lips pursed, and she pulled her hand free from his grasp. “I think you have helped enough,” she muttered coolly. “Just…be more aware of your surroundings next time.”

She wove around him and took off with a flick of her fins that tousled Ixion’s hair up, and he was left staring after her with a strange feeling in his chest. He brought a hand up to where the tense knot was forming in his heart and frowned. He knew that there were plenty of differences between mid-mer and open-water mer, especially in their lifestyles and social cues, but while he was still learning, her demeanour shift had left him completely baffled. But despite her bristly personality, there had been a few moments where interacting with her had been pleasant, and Ixion strangely found himself wanting more of her company. He decided it must simply be curiosity, a desire to learn if her personality was truly prickly that she hid behind a polite façade or if it was merely a protective shell over a much kinder nature. He glanced down at the single plant frond still in his hand and twirled it between his fingers. It was not a bad idea, so he turned in search of a little guidance.

“What is this?” he asked as soon as he located one of his podmates and held up the tendril for inspection.

Jordan pursed his lips and examined the wilting plant gripped between Ixion’s fingers. His patchwork white and gold tail stirred the water and he shrugged. “It looks like marso grass to me,” he stated absently.

Marso grass. Ixion had never heard of it, though he had not been expecting to. “Where does it grow?” he pressed.

Now confusion flickered in Jordan’s hazel gaze and he frowned. “Uh, I think you can find it around the reef. I am pretty sure it tends to be in darker spaces, so try the crevices. But it is not very good for eating, so why do you want it?”

“I have to make amends for something,” Ixion replied. He thanked his friend and then took off to the fringe of the reef where the rocks cut deep grooves in the ground. Every day he found himself more and more content with his life. The world of the upper waters was beautiful and full of light and life that took his break away, and he had learned and experienced so much. But he still had a lot to adjust to and he knew that he had to make up for mistakes or strife he caused or he risked making enemies where he wanted to make friends.

He found a few nooks in the ground beneath some large, sprawling branches of red fan coral, and as he ducked his head inside, Ixion had to retreat as he spooked a small school of miniature reef fish that all went darting at his face in a rush for the exit. He shook his head and snorted bubbles from his gills before dipping back into the space and locating his prize.

Ixion spent a chunk of the afternoon collecting as many fronds of the marso grass as he could find. His fingers were stained an inky green from pulling up the plants, and he had been extra cautious to ensure that he did not crush or crumple them, or allow them to grow silty. While he knew very little about plants, he had learned in his time on the reefs that harvesting them meant he could only take so much from any given plant or new shoots would no longer grow, so he was very careful not to take too much so that he would not ruin the plants’ growth. The last thing he wanted was to kill of a plant that healers used to aid in mer recovery.

Once he had gathered enough to replace what he had ruined, Ixion set off in search of Rebecca. He knew her pod was part of the merge, so she could not be too difficult to find.

***

Though he had been optimistic in his thoughts, it actually had been more difficult to find her than he had originally anticipated. He was an excellent tracker, but he did not know her scent very well and there were far too many mer congregated for him to distinguish any individual from the group. But finally, he caught sight of her curled up on the peak of a large, flat-topped boulder. Her dark brown hair had been woven up into several tight twists and she currently had her fingers tangled in the long blonde tresses of another mer. This one was younger, perhaps thirteen cycles or so, and she was fidgetting as Rebecca wove her hair up too.

“I just do not understand,” the younger girl complained with a sigh. She beat a fist against her magenta scales and pulled her lips into a snarl. “How come you make a mistake and you get a ‘I am disappointed in you, Rebecca, you are better than this’, but when I mess up, father shouts and rants and makes like he wants to tear my fins off?”

“You caught the brunt of father’s anger because he was already displeased with me, that is all. Do not allow it to bother you.”

“You say that as if this is an unusual reaction. He is always angry with me, even when I have done nothing wrong.”

“Father is rougher on you because you are so unruly,” Rebecca scolded. “You do not think and you make trouble and run off and never do as you are told. But he and mother care for you just as much as me. You only make it harder on yourself.”

“Not all of us can be perfect.”

“I am not suggesting that anyone is perfect and you know that.”

“But our parents think you are. They never give you trouble. Well, except for today. I thought I would never live to see you get a scolding, even if it was a really lame one. That is why everyone wants me to be like you. No one wants me to be me.”

“It is not nice to wish misfortune on others,” Rebecca retorted. “I never want for you to get into trouble. And I want you to be you, I just want for you to be the best version of yourself is all. That is all anyone wants. No one is expecting you to be me.”

“Mother and father do.”

“They have never said that.”

“Not with you around. Ow.”

“Sorry,” Rebecca apologized as she tugged on a few more strands of the girl’s hair. One more twist and she dropped her hands away. “There, you are finished,” she announced. “Look, just…do not antagonize them. You know how they are, but you always push too far. Just behave yourself and you will not have such a hard time.”

The younger mer – Iliene – scoffed. “What, so they can pretend to love me the way they pretend to love you. Which one of us is living the lie, Becca?”

Ixion frowned as he watched Rebecca stiffen. Her shoulders hunched and her lips pulled back into a snarl. “I am only trying to help you. It is not my fault that you are a brat and mother and father punish you for it, so stop taking your errors out on me. Grow up a little, Iliene, you are not a child anymore.”

Ixion frowned. He was beginning to feel like he was eavesdropping on a private disagreement and knew he should not continue to linger without announcing himself. He set his jaw and swam forward.

Meanwhile, the younger mer shook her head and snorted loudly, but there was a raw clog in her throat when she spoke. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Rebecca,” she spat before she whirled around to swim off and Ixion had to pull to a halt so that he would not experience another collision today. “Oh…umm…sorry.”

“It is alright,” Ixion assured her.

“You again,” Rebecca observed. As quickly as it had come on, her fury seemed to vanish and a small, neutral smile touched her lips as she leaned back on one arm and flicked her fins. “Was there something you needed?”

“I came to apologize.”

“You already did,” Rebecca interjected.

Ixion shook his head and extended the marso grass to her. “Properly,” he added.

Rebecca’s gaze dropped to the fronds in his hands and her lips parted slightly. For a brief moment, her smile twitched just a little wider. But then it faltered and her brows furrowed. “I hope you did not rip the whole plant out,” she warned.

Ixion shook his head. “I was very careful,” he assured her. “I know having too many fronds plucked can kill the plant and the last thing I wanted to do was make it harder to harvest more in the future. I only took a few pieces from any clusters that I found.”

“I am impressed.” Her polite smile was back, but there was a twinkle in her gaze and her tone was sincere. “Thank you, but you did not have to do this.”

“I did,” Ixion insisted. “I ruined your supplies and I needed to make that right.”

Rebecca finally reached out and took the marso grass from him. “Well, thank you,” she caved.

Though he reminded himself that he had interrupted a conversation between her and who he assumed was her sister and knew he should not overstay his welcome, Ixion found himself hesitant to excuse himself.

After a moment of awkward silence, Rebecca tilted her head. “Ixion, right?”

“Yes.”

“You mentioned that you are new to your pod. Where are you from originally?”

Ixioni grinned and sank down so he could sit on the lip of the rock Rebecca was still settled on, taking her inquiry as an invitation to linger. “My birth pod dwells in the mid-waters.”

“Really?” Finally, some genuine interest was leaking into Rebecca’s tone and a light sparked in her gaze as she leaned forward a bit. “What is it like?”

“Wait, you are a mid-mer?” Suddenly, Ixion had Rebecca’s younger sister practically in his lap she had swum so close. He had to lean back a bit just to be able to see more than her ice-blue eyes staring at him eagerly. “That is so cool! Is that why you look so weird? Is it true that mid-mer banish their kids? Is that why you left?”

“Uh…”

“Iliene!” Rebecca snapped. “You are being incredibly rude. Here, take these to father, take credit for collecting them.” She dumped the marso grass Ixion had collected into Iliene’s hands and made a shooing motion.

“But I want to hear-”

“Go,” Rebecca ordered with a snarl in her tone. For a moment, it looked like Iliene wanted to argue, but she finally turned and retreated without another word. As soon as she was gone, Rebecca sighed. "I am sorry about my sister. She does not mean any harm, she is just...spirited."

"That is alright. I have met far more headstrong mer. She seemed sweet, maybe just a little conflicted,” Ixion remarked.

Rebecca sighed. “There is a lot of anger in Iliene. Most of it is directed at our parents and some of it is justified, but she is making things harder than they need to be too,” she admitted.

Ixion chewed his lip. He knew that what he had overheard did not make him privy to any sort of opinion or comment, since he had not been invited to that conversation, but he could smell the unease rolling off of the mer beside him. He suspected that Iliene was not the only one who was bitter and struggling, just that Rebecca hid it better. He risked reaching out to touch the top of her hand, which was bracing her upright. “You do not need to explain,” he assured her. “We only just met and while I am happy to listen if you are just hoping to talk, you do not need to feel like you have to share details of your private circumstances to explain the actions of another. I am sure there are plenty of wild rumours about mid-water mer, I am not offended.”

The lingering tension in Rebecca’s posture fled and she slumped, although she did shift her hand subtly away from his touch, so he returned his hand to his lap instead.

“I think you are the first person not to pry or try to offer sage advice,” Rebecca revealed. “I appreciate it.”

“It is none of my business,” Ixion agreed.

“I…I would be curious to hear more about what life is like in the deeper waters…if you do not mind sharing,” Rebecca ventured. “I have only heard stories.”

“I do not mind. Life in the midwaters is different than what I have experienced up here. It is darker, there is less light.”

“How dark is it?” Rebecca interrupted, then bowed her head when she realized that she had interrupted. “Is it like night all the time?”

Ixion pursed his lips and mulled it over. “No,” he replied carefully. “The nights are darker than they are up here, but the day is more like…late dusk. Not when the fading sun paints the sky in darker oranges and pinks, but after, when it fades to gray but there is still lingering light.”

“That…that sounds a little gloomy.”

Ixion inclined his head and nodded. “I suppose it would seem that way if you were raised up here, but it was all I knew so it never bothered me. Besides, there was light sometimes. Often, glowing plankton would flow up for a short time from the depths and it would be like swimming through stars. Sometimes it continued past us or sank back down after a short while, occasionally it would just wink out where we were, but those bursts of luminescence are a sign of hope and luck to us.”

“I have seen the glowing plankton too,” Rebecca admitted. “It is very pretty, although up here it congregates on the surface in bright blue waves that gradually fade or get swept away.”

“I will have to look out for that then. I have missed it since leaving the midwaters.”

Rebecca hummed in agreement.

“Our pods are smaller than the pods up here,” Ixion offered after silence lapsed between them for a few heartbeats. “Food is scarcer the deeper you go, so large groups would starve. My birth pod had eight permanent members and two young mer when I left. But most of us are very strong trackers. You have to be, when you need to travel further and look harder for food.”

“That is a small number compared to most pods I have met,” Rebecca agreed. “Life sounds harder, but you speak of it with so much fondness…why did you leave?”

“It was my time.”

A frown marred Rebecca’s previous content smile and her brows furrowed. “Ixion, please do not think me callous, but…what Iliene said earlier…it is a rumour about mid-mer that we have heard. Is…is it true?”

Ixion shrugged. “Yes and no. Banish is a very harsh term that implies we are not welcome back, and that is not true. I could return anytime I wished, but to some extent, it is also true. Because our pods are so small, children are trained as well as possible in all the skills they need to survive on their own, and when we are grown, we are sent out to find our own way. Otherwise, the pod risks growing too large, and we would never be able to find mates or pods or lives of our own. I am not sure if all mid-pods are like that, but that is how I was raised.”

“Do you ever miss your parents though? It must have been hard to leave your family.”

“I do miss them. I love my birth family a lot and I plan to visit them in the future, but we are not raised to lament what is lost, but rejoice in what is gained. I have had an incredible experience since leaving the midwaters, and sometimes you have to leave what you know in order to find happiness in something new. If my future lies elsewhere, I am only denying myself a chance if I am too afraid to leave my birthpod.”

Rebecca had redirected her gaze to her tail as he spoke. She absently traced at her scales with a finger and hummed. “I suppose so.” She sounded thoughtful, but did not offer up anything more.

Ixion decided it was best not to question her, so he just pressed on. “It has had some challenges though. With different cultures, it means I know very little about the proper social interactions of surface-pods and I am unused to large gatherings like this. Our initial meeting is not the only incident I have had. I have been gone from the midwaters for almost two cycles now, but I still have a lot to learn.”

“Sounds like you need a guide,” Rebecca commented. “Someone to show you around and help you learn to navigate social dynamics and gatherings.”

“That would be nice,” Ixion agreed. “Are you offering?”

Rebecca began to laugh and her lips pulled into a wide grin as she nodded. “Yeah, alright. It might be fun, so why not?”

“Friends?” Ixion inquired as he reached out a hand to her.

She eyed it for a moment and then clasped it in a stronger grip than he was expecting. “Friends,” she agreed. “But only on one condition.”

“What is that?”

“Someday, I would like to swim through the stars too.”

Ixion smiled and joy expanded in his chest. “I think I can help with that.”