DEEPSEA

by solstyce

"Mom, how far up are we?" came the small, chiming voice. The creature who said it was a streak of silver, illuminated by the faint light of early morning. Neopia Central was just a swiftly-fading coastline now, pushed further and further into the distance with each wingstroke. The silver streak was a Shoyru, slightly larger than what a normal one would be. Her name was Autropos, widely known in places, virtually unknown in others. Her blue eyes were deep, almost black, like strange sapphires in that silvery sea.

Above her flew another creature. Strangely, this one wasn't that large... she was four feet, if that, and a streaming streak of green and gold. The streak was a pixie, however strange that might sound. A distant relative of the Faeries, and it showed. She had clear, butterfly-like wings, silver if any color at all, interlaced with a sort of network of spiderweb-like, silver veins. Her golden hair streamed behind her, her robe a conglomeration of green strips of cloth. Wherever she flew, a trail of golden dust trailed behind her. Her name was Solstyce. She smiled down at Autropos, green eyes flashing, and yelled back, "High enough. We should reach Mystery Island by lunchtime, and I have a friend there that has a decent supply of Muntando Fruits we can lunch on."

Autropos did a backflip. She had never had a Muntando Fruit before, and heard that they were rare as rain in a desert. Solstyce simply put her finger to her lips, shushing little Autropos, and flew on.

Sun faded to a bright, slightly hot day. The sea was like blue glass, and in some areas, Autropos could look down and see right through the clear water to the bottom of the sea. Once or twice, she thought she saw a playful Flotsam playing amid the near-nonexistant waves. It was a sight of one of those Flotsams, actually, that got her attention wandering. And before she knew it, something smacked her on the forehead. She looked up, blue eyes darting about as she peered about for her unseen assailant. She looked behind her to see her mother, Solstyce, arguing with a young, fast-moving Air Faerie. It seems that in her hurry, she smacked into Autropos' head. And that's all she remembered, before, spiraling down towards the water, hitting with a sickening smack...

Drip. Drip. Something cold running down her neck. A few eyes focusing on her, then shuffling away. Her own eyes opening to darkness. My gods, am I blind?! What happened? Screaming, but unable to hear your own sounds. In desperation, turning back to sleep, cold and wet, silver skin clammy and freezing...

Opening her eyes again. This time, a bit of blurry light. Something there, what was it? Focus, Autropos, focus! Squinting, light less blurry. A few sounds running through her head. The thing ahead shuffling and moving towards her. It's skin like a dolphin's, but red, dark red like stones. Like blood. Teeth, smiling, a few words. "Not often we have a Winged one down here..." in a hissing voice.

Blue eyes open. This time, focused, able to see the room. It was rock, with a strange pattern of light twisting along the roof. It seemed to be a cave, but worn away into an almost perfect sphere. The light on the roof seemed to be the only one. Autropos was laying on a stone table, cold under her cold skin. There was something above her, holding something in it's hands. It reached towards her, the red thing, placing a wet strip of... something over her left ear. And all sound that could have entered slipped free.

"NO!" she yelled, slipping free of the strip of wetness and off of the stone table. She was disoriented, dizzy, but managed to stand still and not fall. She blinked her eyes, finally capturing a look at her captor. It was an aquatic being, normally red but darker for being under the sea for so long. It's eyes glinted like it's teeth, and in it's hand was a long, greenish length of seaweed, woven into a wet bandage. The thing didn't smell so good, either. And the creature was a Jetsam.

"Stay back! BACK!" cried Autropos, stumbling backwards against the wall, feeling along the slimy stone for a way out. The room was almost perfectly spherical, no door, nothing... until her feet found the edge of the water. It was a sharp drop, sudden, but not very deep. The Shoyru, surprised at her foot not hitting solid ground, slipped into the water with a splash. She sat in it, barely hip-deep, but still scrambled away, getting deeper in. The Jetsam, stunned at first, quickly took action... and was much swifter in the water than Autropos. It swam directly under her, and lifted her onto the stone again. But the cold water seemed to have shocked the silver Shoyru into some sort of action, for it jumped straight out of the fish's arms, back into the water. And, using both it's legs, arms, and wings, swum quickly down into the murky depths.

Lungs burning. Eyes clouding with water again, darker but lighter up ahead. Hit the floor, further on. Light ahead, light ahead. In the light now, lighter water. Red thing behind again. Swimming quicker now. Up, up, lungs demand it. Shoyru's can't breathe underwater... Darkening now, cloudier. Jetsam just a red blur, but light brighter. Splash.

Autropos surfaced in the midst of the same blue sea. The sun, so high before, was now cresting the western horizon. It was near dinnertime, as her stomach told her. But no time to eat. There was still that pseudo-shark behind her; she could hear the swishing of it's tail displacing the waves. So she did the only thing she could do. Jumped. And trusted her wet, silver wings to take her higher. Just before red jaws snapped the water where she was swimming.

It didn't take long to find her Solstyce. She was still arguing with the Faerie, tears streaming down her face as she wailed about her only pet. The Faerie seemed annoyed more than anything, and surprised when silver arms slipped around Solstyce to hug her. "Autropos!" the pixie cried, and the reunion happened.

"C'mon, kid, we can still get to the Mystery Island before dinner..." smiled the pixie, and flew off, with her Shoyru safely in her arms, into the setting sun.

The End