Minor Midnight Mayhem

The cool spring water lapped at Aether’s heels while she stared up at the stars again. She breathed deliberately, in and out. Her mind always settled when she just looked up and imagined the figures in the sky from those books in the library. A dragon, a knight, a griffin… of course, these skies were unfamilar, and she was left to make her own. It was bizarre to her still, but settled her all the same. She let her gaze fall from the heavens and back towards the springs, where Phantom drifted through the water, singing his scratching, echoing, discordant song once more.

Ever since she’d taken Phantom with her when she’d gone to bathe in the river once before, he’d insisted on joining her every time now. Or, well, insisted as much as Phantom ever did. He’d simply noticed her packing up her belongings and fixed his bright, pupilless gaze on her. She could feel the weight of his desire to feel the water in his gills and beneath his fins again, and when he’d asked her, “Swim?” She could hardly say no.

She’d found herself more drawn to the water ever since, too. She used to merely bathe to bathe, but she’d taken to sitting in the water longer for him, to let her ever-growing new companion enjoy himself, just for the happiness it brought her by extension. She smiled as she watched his sleek form, shrouded in stellar miasma, slip beneath the waves again. He tugged at her mind, a wordless request for her to join him beneath the waves.

“You know I can’t breathe water, bud. I can’t follow you too far down. But I can swim with you, if you’d like.” She chuckled, pushing up from the sandy shore of the beach to walk on in. The water felt delightful this evening, in a way she couldn’t wholly place. It didn’t take long for her to go deep enough that her feet no longer touched the bottom, especially not in these springs. She could see the glimmer of Phantom’s eyes amidst the shadows beneath the surface of the water as she stared down into the depths. She’d always liked these springs for how calm and secluded they were within the forest, but Phantom had a different interest entirely. He brushed against her leg, pushed her up and out of the water briefly with his body, and with a burst of giddy joy, rushed off into the underwater caves. She simply shook her head. The excitement resounding through their bond was all the confirmation she needed that he was alright, and probably unearthing another shiny rock. She just treaded water, enjoying the way the water felt as she pushed it down and away.

A few moments later, her shadow reemerged from the caverns and joined her at the surface. He brought his head up from beneath the water, and fixed her with that same expectant stare as always. “Together?” He asked, as he often did, hope and excitement warming her through the bond. She hesitated, searching for the words to politely decline. She could almost feel the instant withering disappointment through the bond, far harsher than she’d expected. It was crushing. She took another deep breath, in and out, and stared up at the stars. No, she’d face her fears a little tonight— for Phantom.
“Alright…” she cautiously extended her left hand towards him. Phantom just stared at her for a moment. She didn’t need their bond to tell her precisely how incredulous he was that she’d finally agreed. Or how excited. But since she had it, she could feel the immediate exuberance flowing into her as he linked his arm with hers. She didn’t even have the time to take a breath before he dragged her beneath the calm waves.

She held as much of a breath as she’d had left as he darted for the caves with her, brushing past sea grass and a handful of incredibly startled looking fish. She bit back the panic clawing at her as he brought her into the submerged labyrinth. To Phantom’s credit, for a moment, she did enjoy the caverns. The walls were marbled with softly glowing blue stones, and a few odd trinkets seemed to have been deposited amongst the sediment.
Aether’s curiousity only lasted a moment. She didn’t have air, her lungs were burning from her holding that quarter of a breath, it stung, everything stung. Her grip tightened onto Phantom, who met her raw panic with confusion and worry.

“I can’t breathe!” Her fingers dug into his wispy form as she tried to scream to him through the bond, but that only made his confusion grow. It was so dark down here in these caves, she’d never find her way back out on her own, even through the few turns Phantom had taken. “Help me!” She begged, clinging to his arm with everything she had in her. He turned to swim back towards the surface, the same clawing panic she felt reflected back at her through their bond, but her vision was already going spotty. She couldn’t help it, she gasped, and inhaled a cold lungful of water. She squeezed her eyes shut, expecting to choke. She never did. She gasped again, feeling the water moving in and out of her. She was breathing? Phantom stopped his rush for the surface, and turned to stare at her, a clear question in his six eyes as his panic ebbed slightly. “Safe?”

She breathed slowly, in and out, trying to convince herself this was real. “Yes.” She clung tightly to him. “I’m ok.”

The wave of relief from Phantom was so monumental that it annihilated any of her own lingering fear, even though her hands still trembled. He nudged his head against her in reassurance, then turned his gaze back towards the caverns. She took another deep breath, then nodded. “Yeah. I’m ok. Let’s check it out. Together.” She smiled. She could tell Phantom swam far slower this time for her benefit, allowing her to grow accustomed before showing her deeper, but his excitement for the caves permeated into her own mind. The faint blue marbling in the walls was a glittering, radiant beacon to him, and the trinkets on the floor were treasures he’d never seen before. And admittedly, she’d never seen anything like them before either. As he brought her down to examine them, she hesitated for a moment, and unlinked her arm from his. She let herself drift down to the floor of the cavern and picked one up. It appeared to be some rusted contraption of gears and metal, although certainly not one she had seen before. She turned back to show Phantom, who watched from over her shoulder. Excitement emanated from him. A small glass jar was clasped in one of his hands, and his transparent companion’s gaze was fixed firmly upon it. “Found yourself a little treasure down here too, eh?” She smiled. “This little cave is pretty cool, huh? Thanks for showing me.” She turned to stare around the rest of the cave. It seemed far easier now than it had earlier, though she didn’t fully understand why.  She let her gaze fall back down to the floor.  Maybe one of these little trinkets would be something familiar? As her gaze swept across the sediment, she noticed a large ovular lump of onyx, perfectly polished. “What’s this?” She scooped it up. It was suspiciously heavy. She turned back to Phantom, who stared straight at it. “Careful.”

She nodded. Phantom was right. It felt… fragile. Like she needed to take special care with it. “Ok. Let’s take our shinies and get out then, ok?”
Phantom was silent, as he often was, but she could feel his assent. She linked her arm around his once more, and he slowly brought them both back out from the depths. He helped her back all the way to the portion of the springs where she could safely touch the sandy bottom and she finally emerged back into the air. She sputtered for a moment, coughing up all the water that had filled her lungs moments before, but she was safe. That was incredible! She turned back towards Phantom, who finally drifted out of the water and into the air behind her, lazily humming once again, bottle still clutched in his hand. She grinned, and hugged him with one arm once again. “Thanks, bud. Let’s swim together next time too, eh?”