As was that damned meeting.
Pam looked perfectly put together as always. She was an older female, but she oozed authority. She was used to telling others what to do - especially males. In the absence of both Fionn and Paul, the human resort manager, we were joined by Eneda, a female I'd only met once before. I dimly remembered that she was responsible of the island's finances, or something similarly dull. She was younger than me, with thick eyeglasses hovering on the tip of her nose and hair the colour of seashells.
Rainse looked her up and down, then exchanged a look with me. Not his mate. I gave him a barely noticeable nod. Nor mine.
It had become a custom among finmen on the island. Whenever we met a human female, we would wonder, was this her? Had we finally found our mate? So far, Fionn had been the only one to be that lucky.
"What news?" Rainse asked after greetings and formalities.
Pam smiled widely. "We have finally heard from the lab after submitting all your finmen's DNA samples. They've been analysed and compared to the women's DNA markers that we have stored in our database. I got the results two hours ago." Her dramatic pause drove me crazy. Was this the moment I'd been waiting for? My greenskin tightened at the thought.
Next to me, Rainse had his fists balled. His gills were fluttering ever so softly.
"There are two matches," Pam continued. I stopped breathing. "Neither of the two women was part of the contingent we sent to the island, so it will take some time to contact them and bring them to you. But we will work as fast as we can, of course. We know how desperate you all are to meet your matches."
I almost growled at her. Couldn't she just give us all the information at once?
"Who are the two males?" I asked, forcing myself to keep my voice neutral.
Pam checked her notes. "Pli'th and Hournn. It is your choice if you tell them now or if you wait until the women are on their way."
"Hournn is away on the Tidebound," Rainse said. I didn't have to look at my clutch-brother to know of his disappointment. I felt it too. Yet another setback. Another spark of hope extinguished.
I took a deep breath. "I think we should wait until he's back and then tell them both at the same time."
Rainse nodded. "I agree. They will be frantic once they find out. Let's not risk the peace on the island until we know for sure that the two females are on an air vessel."
"Air... Ah, you mean a plane," Eneda said, speaking for the first time. "I tend to agree. Paul is back tomorrow and I'm sure he will want to organise some activities for the lucky couples, introducing them to each other slowly. I know you finmen will want to rush into it, but remember, these women don't know that aliens exist. It will be a shock to them. Elise handled it remarkably well, but we cannot expect everyone to behave like that. I certainly didn't."
She chuckled at the memory but didn't expand further.
Pam and Eneda continued to chat, but I couldn't focus on their conversation.
No mate for me.
When we had submitted our genetic samples, we'd been so full of hope. The Hot Tatties agency had a vast database of human females. Surely there had to be a match. And there had been, for three of us. But none for me.
For some reason, my mind wandered to the diving instructor again. Her smooth black hair that I wanted to run my fingers over, her beautiful brown eyes that seemed to sparkle around the pupil, her tiny body that would fit so perfectly against my own...
No. She was off limits. Pam and Paul had made it very clear that staff on the island, especially the females, were to have as little contact with us as possible. After what had happened with Kelon, we'd have to earn their trust again.
After the meeting, I'd get Rainse to play that song for me on the humans' internet. And then I would go for a swim in the storm. It wouldn't be long until it hit the island. And there was nothing better than surfing the frenzied current brought up by a storm.
3
Maelis
A school of foureye butterflyfish swam past me, diving and ducking around the corals. They had a dark spot surrounded by a white ring on their sides, resembling a huge eye, to confuse predators. I always loved seeing these nimble little fish, especially when they swam in pairs. They were one of the few fish to mate for life. Not many humans managed to do that.
I watched them for a while. It was such a relaxing sight, hundreds of fish hunting for food around the corrals, completely ignoring my presence. I was alone down here, yet I was also surrounded by life. I would have smiled contently if I didn't have the regulator in my mouth.
I had to pull myself away from the reef. My air cylinder wouldn't last forever. If I wanted to explore that cave, I couldn't linger. I had no idea how big that cave was, how much time I'd need to explore it. With one last look at a butterflyfish couple, I followed a crevasse that I knew would lead me to an underwater cliff. Somewhere in its towering wall was the cave. I'd dived there many times before. The cave entrance had to be covered by something for me to not have spotted it in the past. Maybe it had collapsed over time, and I was setting myself up for disappointment. But I wouldn't know without first diving there.
I felt it the moment I broke through the thermocline. I wore my full-length wetsuit and only my face was exposed to the water, but it was enough to feel the change in temperature. I always loved breaking through this invisible barrier. It felt like going on an adventure.
The cliff face looked smooth from afar, but once you got close you noticed just how cragged it was. The ocean current hadn't smoothed the volcanic rock and wouldn't for a long time. Small fish swam in and out of cracks and holes, while others were feeding on the algae that was painting the grey rocks green. I knew of a small cave further south, a tunnel that narrowed to an arm's width after only two metres, but the cave I was looking for had been described as something much bigger. Maybe I was about to discover the local version of La Catedral, a stunning underwater cave in the Canary Islands that I'd been lucky enough to visit last summer. I would be very surprised if it was that big, however. I'd been diving here for years. I would have stumbled across anything as magnificent.
I swam slowly to conserve both energy and air, descending ever deeper into the dark waters. When it got too dark, I turned on my torch, illuminating the cliff I was using as a guide. The fish surrounding me here were smaller and less colourful than the ones at the reef. A whitespotted eagle ray elegantly floated in the distance. They generally avoided divers, but I would make sure to keep a safe distance from its venomous tail spines. Keeping aware of what else was swimming in the sea was important in these waters. Sharks, rays, jellyfish all posed a risk - but one I was willing to take.
