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The ocean was a cacophony, an endless ebb and flow of water that swallowed the mysteries of the world.
Amelia stood above it all, golden hair tussled by the salted wind. She cared not for the gray skies and chilly weather, but a sense of longing always brought her back to this spot nestled atop the rocky cliffside. A bystander in her own life, she deemed herself. No longer able to do the thing she loved most.
She gripped her injured arm, mangled and tightly wrapped in a sling. It was healing, but it was doing so ever so slowly. Travelling back to the past wasn’t the safest of jobs or pastimes, it turned out, and dancing around mythical creatures was even more fraught with danger.
During this time of healing, the ocean was her only friend. It was always there, a constant in her life. The lapping of waves against the sandy shore brought her comfort like a lullaby. Amelia always found herself drawn to its everlasting tides.
Today was no different, she thought, her favourite coat snug and waving off the biting chill. It was like any other day until she caught sight of an unsuspecting lump resting halfway between the ocean water and cold sand. Her hair was long, like a ribbon blowing in a gentle breeze. Like a trickling ink stain on a canvas. She swivelled her head around and stared right into Amelia’s very soul. Eyes the colour of ocean storms, yet they carried a certain softness.
For once, Amelia found herself actually stepping onto the sand.
“I was sent by the ocean,” The girl explained, hands clasped in front of her politely. They both shared a look.
“By the ocean? The ocean isn’t a sentient being,” Amelia should’ve known better. All that time dealing with unnatural occurrences meant that she should’ve been a bit more open-minded, but she wasn’t.
The girl laughed, bringing a single, gloved hand to hide her mouth behind.
“Maybe not, but I can still understand it,” She held her hand out, inviting Amelia to shake it. A common courtesy between strangers.
“I’m Ninomae Ina’nis, but called me Ina,” Amelia took Ina’s hand in her own, the satin material of the girl’s purple glove felt cool against her calloused hands.
“I’m Amelia, Amelia Watson,” She introduced. Ina smiled at her, her eyes crinkling fondly at the corners.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ame~” She drew out the syllables of her name in a singsong voice. Amelia chortled, her eyes finally resting on all the abnormalities that the person in front of her had. Small, feathered wings curled delicately around her waist. Two nubs on the top of her head that would wiggle and twitch like a cat’s. Her side bangs looked nothing like a humans’, golden and squishy, like a tentacle.
“I’m not exactly normal,” Ina averted her gaze as she started walking away from the shore, closer to the carpark that lay just beyond the ridge. Amelia followed after her, curious. It was her need-to-know-everything nature making her put one foot in front of the other until they eventually stopped in front of her dingy, old car.
“But I promise, I don’t pose a threat. To you anyways,” Ina nodded to Amelia’s door before waving and turning her back.
“I’ll see you later,” She called before seemingly disappearing. Amelia blinked, looking back and forth for any sign that Ina had been there, but any trace of her left when she did. Amelia just shook her head, unlocking her door and getting in her car before driving back to her small apartment. This mystery could wait another day, perhaps tomorrow. But for now, she needed a nap.
The next time Amelia returned to the shore, Ina met her in the carpark. Her gaze looked less than happy, downcast as she nervously tugged on the fabric of her glove. Her eyes met Amelia’s as soon as she stepped foot out of the car.
“Hurry, I need your help!” She rushed forward surprisingly quickly, taking the blonde’s hands in her own before rushing down to where the ocean met the land.
The water was stained red, the sand an off pink colour. Much like the previous day, a mound sat on the shoreline, waves lapping over their dilapidated body. Their clothes were torn, revealing a set of fluttering gills lining their torso. Wounds crisscrossed across their small body, twining down her back to the tip of her shark-like tail. Amelia almost felt her soul leave her body.
“My friend,” Ina began, her gaze fraught with worry, “she was supposed to arrive with me. We were supposed to meet you at the same time, but she was late. I was worried when I didn’t see her, so I waited for her. And then the waves brought her ashore and I didn’t know what to do,” Tears leaked from her eyes. Amelia snapped herself out of her stupor and pursed her lips.
Her fingers brushed over her bag, unzipping it with frenzied worry. She dug around haphazardly, struggling to find the first aid kit she always brought with her. It would be enough to staunch the bleeding till they could make it somewhere safe, probably her own apartment.
It was arduous work, especially with only one usable hand. The dorsal fin on her tail had a chunk taken out of it, looking suspiciously like a bite mark. The smaller fin was almost completely detached, only a few threads of old string holding it together. Amelia bit her lip but started her work. Ina hovered behind her, hands cupped nervously as she offered any help she could.
Cleaning her wounds wasn’t hard. The endless supply of water was handy, and although saltwater probably wasn’t the best for cleaning wounds, it would have to do. Ina’s deft hands worked on wrapping bandages, their clean material stark against her blue-gray sharkskin. Meanwhile, Amelia was busy, re-stitching her tail fin.
The duo worked throughout the afternoon and well into the night, the darkening sky becoming more and more of a problem till Amelia deemed the task now impossible. Ina helped her carry the figure back to her car, the poor girl now more bandages than what she used to be. Ina settled in the passenger seat, casting nervous glances back at her friend every now and again. Amelia just concentrated on getting them somewhere safe.
“She’ll be okay,” Amelia assured Ina. Her friend didn’t look entirely convinced, but nodded anyway, trying to focus on the rhythm she tapped against her own thigh.
By the time they got back, the moon was high in the sky, casting a silver sheen across the small town Amelia resided in. Sneaking in their injured friend would be trouble enough, but after lugging her onto Ina’s back and draping a blanket over her, it almost looked like Ina was an old lady with a hunched back. The chances of this working were astronomical, but with a little luck, it just might work.
The person managing the desk gave them an odd look as they passed through, but otherwise didn’t say anything. Either they were too tired to care, or didn’t get paid enough to ask questions, Amelia assumed it was the former. They arrived at the elevator with no trouble, stepping into it as it dinged cheerfully.
Together they carried the injured person between them, shuffling down the dark hallway carefully. Snoopy neighbours loved to gossip, Amelia found out, and she didn’t particularly fancy her privacy being invaded over bringing people home late at night.
They set the shark-folk up on the couch, wiggling a pillow under her head and removing the blanket to be washed.
“You can sleep in my room, Ina. I’m gonna stay up a little more to work on our friend here,” Amelia shuffled through her cabinets, eventually pulling out her medical kit. Ina watched her for a few moments before eventually leaving.
“Take care of Gura. I’m trusting you,” Were her parting words. Amelia sighed, tying her hair up in a messy ponytail before getting back to work.
Hour after hour of her unwrapping bandages to clean her wounds properly passed. Her fingers were numb from stitching wounds and scraping against rough shark scales. Her eyes were bloodshot and tired, and her thoughts began to fuzz until Amelia deemed Gura to be stable enough to heal on her own.
She shrugged off her coat, draping it over the unconscious shark-girl before ambling down the hallway and to her room.
Ina was tangled up in her blankets, her brow creased in worry even as she slept. Amelia sighed again, grabbing a spare blanket and pillow as she accepted another night of sleeping on the floor.
“There’s enough space for the both of us,” A small voice spoke up. Ina rolled over, her eyes droopy with sleep. She yawned and opened the blankets, allowing the tired blonde to shuffle in next to her. It was awkward. They both tried to stay as far apart as possible, but Ina might’ve been smudging the truth about the bed being big enough. No matter how hard they tried, their legs always brushed over each other, or they would shuffle around and all of a sudden their faces would be mere centimetres apart.
The door to the bedroom creaked open, and a small figure walked in. Her hair was frazzled and swept everywhere, but her fierce, blue eyes seemingly glowed in the dark.
“Ina?” The aforementioned person mumbled and waved her hand. Gura yawned and walked around the bed, her tail sliding against the floor. She managed to squeeze in behind Ina, and all of a sudden Amelia was shoved into her embrace. A flurry of apologies spewed out of her mouth, but Amelia just shushed her.
“We’ll talk about this tomorrow,” She whispered, too tired to deal with any of this. The room fell silent, a comforting ambience settling over the scene. Everyone else was too tired to deal with this, too. So, they all slept instead.
And so, the ocean had sent its messages in the forms of two new friends for the lonely Amelia.