The sea is vast, so time wonders over
Be vigilant or become a loner.
Adapt like Tali with essence,
Or stop in the path of vengeance.
-Gus
“Do all high-leveled supernatural people suck, or just the ones we know?” Moni pouts as she flashes between her red and dark brown bark. I understand her frustration. I’m tired and angry too.
‘Why can’t they just come straight out and tell us this shit?’
‘It’s probably in the rules, puss ‘n boots,’ Knots answers my rhetorical question.
At least I think it was rhetorical.
“Looks like it’s a dead end here,” Rez calls back from the right side of the land. If we all lay out and stretch out flat across the sand with our arms over our heads to each other’s feet, we would probably reach around the small island—if we can even call it an island. “Here, let me see that,” she says, reaching for the paper. Her brows pull together as she rereads the paper, and her lips pull up in a tight line as she bites her lip.
I swear she’s so cute when she’s concentrating. She lets out a sigh and shakes her head.
“I swear, the first part sounds like gibberish to me, but the second part sounds like something we need to do to continue on, maybe?” She shrugs her shoulders.
“We think we found the solution,” Ryker calls out, holding up something that looks like a cross between a star fruit and a horned melon.
“What the hell is that?” Zeke asks, as his nose wrinkles with disdain.
“Tali Essence,” Ryker announces, like we all know what it means. Maybe instead of sharpening his weapons, he should have worked on his brain. We aren’t all mind readers.
“According to the research we found in Death’s Window, this fruit should help us navigate through Tranquil Waters,” Levi suggests, holding up the yellow fuzzy item with small black spikes. The entire fruit itself is as big as his hand. “It's said for travelers of Tranquil Waters, it brings out one's true essence of the dew, and allows them access to the waters below.”
“OH!” Moni sprints around all of us, leaving behind a green streak. “Adapt like Tali with essence! That’s so cool that we figured it out,” she whoops and hollers, smiling big before immediately stopping in front of us. “Wait.” Her mood swiftly changes. “So, it’s supposed to allow us to survive in the water?” she asks, looking like a dark rain cloud.
I don’t blame her, I’m nervous too.The fuck is the dew, and do I even want it?
Before anyone can answer, her eyes roll back and she crashes to the ground.
“Well, I didn’t see that coming.” Chester’s cheeks turn bright pink as he rushes to pick her up and brush the sand off of her.
“I guess she’s getting used to the coffee,” Knots chuckles. “I was wondering how long it would take.”
“That’s one,” Zeke calls out, holding up a finger.
“Are we taking bets again?” I ask, already guessing in my head.
Chester shoots us a glare and a cute little growl before he wakes up Moni by nuzzling along her neck.
“Did my magic coffee wear off?” Her eyes go wide as she looks up at all of us. “I didn’t even feel that one coming on,” she softly admits and turns into Chester's chest.
He holds her against him as he stands and rocks her back and forth. He’s such an overachiever, but I can’t deny he’s a good mate.
“I don’t know how I feel about that fruit. What is dew, and why does mine need to be measured to be granted access to this place? It sounds fishy to me,” Knox admits as he stares at the fruit against Ryker's chest.
“It’s supposed to bring out your true essence so the water can accept you or not. Think of it as a purity test. And the dew, according to the reading I did, is a reference to the magic inside of us,” Levi tries to explain another way.
‘If that’s the case, most of us are going to die because that Harpy is pure evil, so that water and this place are a toxic wasteland. I don’t want to go swimming in sludge. How the hell did Serafin live here so long?’Rez mutters to herself.
‘The water must have been purified where she lives.’I wink when Rez looks at me with a sly smile.
