The Bird and The Fish by Cinn of Slumberland

The Bird and The Fish

 Please bear with me as I'm still getting used to the site and how to format on here. Also, I started this story a few weeks ago and Kagome and Sesshoumaru originally had different names because I wrote it for a friend who doesn't know anything about IY. I'm reposting this like five minutes after posting and deleting it because I forgot to go back and change the names to their real ones. Whoops.

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“A bird may love a fish, but where would they build a home together?”

- Joseph Stein, Fiddler on the Roof

“The Ocean is always so much more beautiful when it rains,” she said only to herself as she gazed up to the water’s surface, her cerulean eyes glowing with bright bioluminescence. Her inky black tresses floated around her face, almost indistinguishable from the dark water as she sunk down into the soft sandy floor until she lay on her back, watching as the sky wept into the water. She wore nothing to conceal her breasts but around her waist hung a belt made of several strands of very fine grasses woven together with pieces of glass and coral dangling down against her skin.

The swell of her hips diverged into two long legs, making her appear almost human if it weren’t for the semi-translucent indigo fins that shot out at the sides of her thighs and calves, ending in delicately formed tips.

White sand drifted up in the water before settling to lightly cover her pearlescent skin. All around her were craggy formations of cold rock, reaching from the ocean’s depths upwards as if they longed to feel the salt air beyond the surface. She almost laughed at the idea. They belonged to the sea, she mused, and in the sea, they should surely stay. Hearing a noise from outside her hiding place, she sat up, her trance broken.

“Stay here,” she jokingly warned the rock with an amused smirk as she rose to investigate.

“You’d only erode into dust.”

She floated up, pushing the water down with her hands in long strokes, her webbed fingers helping her rise to the tops of the rock formation. Looking around, she could see nothing. For a moment, she was befuddled. She knew she’d heard something.

Suddenly, she felt a cold nose press into her back and she turned to see a large white seal staring back at her playfully. She giggled and rubbed the seals head.

“Nixie! Where have you been, silly girl?” she asked as she touched her forehead to her companion’s. The seal swum in a large circle, leaving a trail of bubbles as it flapped its flippers. The mermaid laughed again and shook her head at her friend’s antics as it as it swam away, teasing her into a game of tag.

They chased each other over coral and sand as a million brightly colored fish darted beneath them through rainbow sea anemones. The sun was beginning to shine now and illuminated the water in mystical, shifting light while they played.

They dove in between rows of tall plants that made it seem as though they were flying through an underwater forest, the seal staying just out of the mermaid’s reach long enough to pop to the surface for air before resuming the chase.

Their game ended when, at last, they came upon the mermaid’s home. Outside of her cave, all covered in sea grass and coral, a mermaid with silver-gray hair moved her hands through the water, gesturing with care. Lines drawn by wisdom and joy crinkled around her eyes and cheeks as she spoke. All around her, young mermaids lounged in the sand and on rocks, listening as she weaved a tale.

As the dark haired mermaid and seal approached, she lifted a hand and called out to her, “Kagome! Your sisters were looking everywhere for you! We were growing worried.”

The younger mermaid settled down near the matriarch’s feet, her seal companion nestling its head in her lap.

“I’m sorry, mother. It began to rain and the surface looked so beautiful, I lost track of time.”

A young mermaid with shimmering white hair sat up from the sand.

“Mother was telling us the story about the girl who fell in love with a human prince,” she said dreamily.

At this, the dark haired mermaid rolled her eyes, a lopsided smile gracing her lips.

“Again?” she asked.

Another mermaid with auburn hair tied up with twin strands of pearls sighed and slung herself over a rock dramatically with her hand to her forehead, as she exclaimed, “But it’s such a sad, beautiful story!”

The older mermaid chuckled, “Alright, alright. Settle down, now, children. Where was I?”

She pondered for a moment, collecting her thoughts before resuming the story.

“Ah, yes. Then, the little mermaid threw herself into the sea, certain that she would turn into sea foam...but just when she thought all hope was lost, miraculous beings of light and air surrounded her.”

The mermaids all exclaimed and leaned in, hanging on their mother’s every word.

“When they spoke, only a beautiful melody escaped from their lips and as they floated all around her, they told her that if she came with them, she could live among them and that if she swore to spend 300 years doing good deeds, she would find peace at long last. And so, the little mermaid was lifted into the sky and for 300 years, she used the powers bestowed upon her to do goodness in the world and create happiness for others.”

When the story was finished, the mermaids all sighed and hummed, contemplating the fate of the tale’s heroine.

One young mermaid with black hair and a small pony tail on the side of her head piped up, asking, “Mother, are there really b-beeens of light and air?”

The older mermaids all laughed melodically at their little sister’s innocence. Their mother scooped up the child and brushed her hair from her eyes.

“No one has ever seen such a creature, darling,” she murmured gently.

The little girl bowed her head dejectedly. Sensing the child’s disappointment, Kagome sat up and tickled her belly, causing the little girl to break out into a fit of laughter.

Kagome chuckled and assured her, “Anything is possible, though!”  

With that, they all began to converse about their day and what kinds of treasures they’d found and soon, all talk of mysterious creatures was forgotten.

Elsewhere, golden, shimmering eyes surveyed the ground below.

An extraordinary man with long silvery white hair tied in a braid soared through the air.

Attached to his arms were huge golden wings, like an eagle’s, and a reddish leather loincloth held up by a strip of white fur with several fang-like stone beads hung around his waist. His feet were covered with small feathers and ended in long, sharp talons.

Flying in great circles, he spun as he flapped his massive wings, reveling in the glory of the sky after the rain.

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Next chapter up tomorrow. It's 5:30 am here and I'm quite loopy.

Update: Fixed the formatting. I hope.