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Moana loved the ocean. There was no place she’d rather be than under the waves, basking in the beauty of the sea. Unfortunately, she could never stay there for very long without having to come up to the surface and take a breath. She was very good at breath-holding, her best time was over five minutes, but she would’ve given anything to stay underwater for long, unbroken sessions.
So when Moana tried scuba diving for the first time, she was over the moon. Thanks to the oxygen tank strapped to her back, she could spend hours exploring the ocean to her heart’s content. She could dive much deeper than before with complete assurance that she’d have enough oxygen for the return trip, which would’ve just been a pipe dream before.
After getting certified and buying her own set of scuba gear, Moana went scuba diving every day, exploring every inch of the ocean in front of her. She discovered so many new things down there, from huge coral reefs to massive chasms, and dozens of new fish she’d never seen before. Every dive brought her something new to see, hear and touch.
But all of that paled in comparison to what she found today.
Moana was swimming along the sea bottom like she had done dozens of times before, when she noticed what looked like a clump of red seaweed flowing up from behind a rock. Upon closer inspection, she found that it wasn’t seaweed, it was someone’s long red hair billowing upwards. As Moana got closer, the owner of said red hair popped up right in front of her, startling her.
“MMPH!” Moana let out a muffled scream, jolting herself backwards.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” the redhead stammered, looking worried.
Once Moana got over her shock, she observed the woman in front of her. She wasn’t wearing any scuba gear, yet she seemed to be breathing and talking just fine underwater. She had kind blue eyes, rose-red lips that matched her red hair, and a gentle expression on her face. Turning her gaze downwards, Moana saw that the woman’s waist was attached to a long green tail where her legs should be, tapering off with two fins at the end. She was gorgeous, the prettiest woman Moana had ever seen, and Moana was very weak for pretty women.
“No way,” Moana thought, “Is she…a mermaid?”
“My name’s Ariel,” the woman said, smiling gently, “What’s yours?”
“Mmwwnn’hh,” Moana replied, the regulator in her mouth muffling her response.
“Huh?” Ariel tilted her head, confused.
Moana pointed up at the surface and started to swim upwards, with Ariel following behind. Once they broke through the waves, Moana spat out her regulator, ready to get some answers.
“You…you’re a…,” Moana spluttered, trying to form her thoughts into coherent sentences, “You’re a mermaid!”
“Uh huh,” Ariel nodded, “Have you never seen one before?”
“N-no, I haven’t,” Moana shook her head, “I thought you were make-believe creatures, like sirens or something.”
“Well, I’m real, I can assure you that,” Ariel giggled.
“I can see that,” Moana laughed, “Were you just hanging out by the rocks down there?”
“Sort of,” Ariel replied, “I was actually waiting for you.”
Moana’s heart leaped in her chest.
“W-waiting for m-me?” she stammered, “B-but how? We’ve only just met!”
“Well, I’ve been watching you for a while now,” Ariel explained, “You come by here a lot, you just never notice I’m here. Humans fascinate me, you see.”
“Am I the first human you’ve ever met?” Moana asked.
“No, but you are the first one I’ve ever talked to,” said Ariel, “My father doesn’t like it when I go out to watch humans.”
“Oh,” Moana lowered her head, “That doesn’t sound fun.”
“Well, he’s not here, so you don’t have to worry about being zapped by his trident,” Ariel laughed.
“Well, that’s a relief,” Moana chuckled.
“Anyway, what’s all that stuff you’re wearing?” Ariel asked, “I imagine some of it helps you breathe underwater, right?”
“Yep,” Moana nodded, showing off her scuba gear, “The mask over my eyes helps me see clearly underwater, these flippers on my feet make me swim faster, and this heavy tank on my back contains over two hours worth of oxygen for me to breathe.”
“Wow,” Ariel breathed, fascinated.
“There’s a nozzle on the top of my tank that’s connected to this air hose,” Moana continued, running her hand along the hose, “Air runs through the hose until it reaches the regulator. I put the regulator in my mouth, and air flows from the mouthpiece into my lungs.”
Moana took a breath from her regulator to demonstrate.
“Shhee?” she smiled around her mouthpiece.
“Amazing,” said Ariel, “I can breathe both water and air, so I suppose I never really thought about how land-dwellers like you work around not being able to breathe underwater.”
“And vice-versa,” Moana added, removing her regulator, “Fish can’t breathe air, though I don’t think anyone’s invented an apparatus to help them with that.”
Ariel laughed, producing a sound that was pure music to Moana’s ears.
“Would you like me to show you around?” Ariel asked, holding out her hand, “Maybe I can give you a peek at my home if my father’s not around.”
“That would be lovely,” Moana replied, taking Ariel’s hand.
Moana put her regulator back in her mouth, and she and Ariel dove into the deep. Ariel gently squeezed her hand and gave her a friendly smile, causing Moana to blush behind her mask. She already really liked this pretty mermaid, and in the back of her mind, she hoped that their newfound friendship would blossom into something more.