Chapter Text
Dawn was settling in, the sky orange with warmth. Light glimmered along the surface of the ocean as though it were a mirror of the sky. The only break in the mirror was the head of a young boy surfacing, appreciating his place among the waves. He looked around and dove back under the water. His daily routine would not be interrupted by anything, but the good weather was appreciated. Besides, it was always fun to listen to music and watch the daybreak.
Sora flicked his tail as he pushed through the early morning currents. To match the beautiful dawn, they were easy to maneuver through. There was no shortage of excitement within him. His heart beat as though he were swimming for his life. This daily routine was just that, but he would never tire of the highlight of his day. It was worth every single danger, every single day to day tight-lipped attitude about where he went and what he did at dawn every morning.
He crested gently approaching a rocky ledge that was just within his reach. He grabbed its edges, hoisting himself upward. The sun warmed his back as it peaked further over the horizon. His tanned skin soaked it up readily as he hoisted himself over, blue tail flopping onto the rock. He sighed gently as watched the dawn. Normally, he wasn’t one to suntan. Other merfolk enjoyed it, but he did few things without purpose, being the adventurous type that he was. This was for a friend-- one that was late.
“Sora!”
Fashionably late, then. That was a comfort more than anything.
Sora turned and smiled, “Emyd!” The merman sat up and put his hands behind his head, watching the blond human jog up to him. Strapped to the other boy’s back was a large blue sitar. Once he sat down he promptly brought it to his front. Sora crosses his arms, “You’re late.”
“No way! You’re early today,” said the other with a laugh, shoving the other gently.
“What can I say? The currents were good. We should go swimming.”
Emyd released a sarcastic laugh, “Not in my concert clothes.” Emyd was dressed in one of his best, a blue double-breasted jacket and one of those poofy neckerchiefs that felt soft against Sora’s fingers when he was allowed to touch them. He was so rarely allowed--Emyd feared any dampness on his attire could alert his family to his morning routine.
The sun caught the glimmer of Emyd’s necklace-- a simple silver musical note on a matching chain. Sora recognized the eighth note anywhere. He had to look at enough of Sebastian’s music to know by now. Sora never participated in the concerts back at the palace. Mostly he was to set up instruments for the musicians to play. He never complained, though. It gave him plenty of free time to explore his vast ocean home.
Emyd nudged him, smiling, “Ready?”
“Of course. You?”
“You have to ask?” Emyd strummed gently and began to play a tune. Sora smiled, moving himself over to rest against Emyd’s arm, knowing he had dried himself enough. They laughed and Sora began a shaky note. His friend Princess Ariel was always the better singer. To be honest, Sora was a passable singer at best, but Emyd never seemed to care. Of the two, it was clear to see who was the musically inclined, though Emyd’s necklace probably alerted anyone to that quickly without demonstration.
When they had first met, Emyd had been strumming happlessly, but beautifully, and Sora had piped in quietly from beneath the rock. However, he had swam away before Emyd could find him. But Sora returned, ever curious of the musician. He had no idea what Emyd was-- back then, he was simply a being with no tail. When Sora had asked Sebastian, the crab seemed like he could have died on the spot. It took coaxing, but Sora quickly found out what Emyd was. A real-live human! But to this human, Sora was no more than a legend. What a laugh that had been!
The first time Sora had hauled himself onto the rock to say hello, Emyd had fallen off of it and gotten soaked to the bone. Perhaps when one almost drowns, you can’t help but become friends. After that, the two began to meet, every morning to sing and strum. Music danced softly up to the sky in tribute to the dawn. When they had first started to do it, they were barely anything more than children. They were still young, but ten years had passed since they had met each other. Sora planned to give Emyd a gift to celebrate it soon.
It was a forbidden friendship that felt like it had lasted a lifetime.
“...We should do this tonight and watch the sunset!” Sora declared excitedly.
Emyd ran a hand over his slicked backed hair, a small length of it dangling in a ponytail. He sighed, shaking his head, “No can do, Sora...Concert. Again.” He picked gently at his jacket, tugging as though the sheer weight of it was too much for him.
“Man, you’re busier than Ariel…” replied Sora, resting his hands behind his head. But Emyd was a ‘prodigy’. Whatever that was. Sora huffed and thought, “Then let's sit out under the stars one night.”
Emyd smiled, “Alright! Stars one night soon...That’s a can do!” He shoved the merman gently causing Sora to lean over before shoving him back, smirking. Emyd strummed idly staring up at the rising sun. He sighed gently, “...What do they say about the stars where you live?”
“That they’re other worlds,” sighed Sora with a smile, “Just waiting to be discovered. What about yours?”
“Glowing balls of gas.”
Sora laughed, leaning over. Waves of laughter rocked through his body. With an infectious air, Emyd began to laugh as well. Both boys could have laughed forever in that moment. That could have been their life forever. A laugh. A smile. Their songs. The sun beating down on them both as they willingly let it become part of them, entwining with their being. These moments were what their memories were usually like.
Life was simplicity.
Life was about to get more complicated.
It began with a roaring trumpet, causing Sora to flinch and cover his ears. When it was over he turned to Emyd who was looking at him quizzically, lips parted slightly in confusion. Sora furrowed his brows as he tried to figure out why Emyd looked so puzzled. Had only he heard the trumpets? He opened his mouth to ask his friend, when a flash of light flared.
Both saw that, even if Emyd had not heard the trumpets. Sora grabbed onto his friend’s arm, finding it in the blinding light. He could barely see Emyd through how bright the light was shining. He yelled for his friend, but he could barely hear his voice-- it sounded like no more than a whisper. Still, he thought he could hear Emyd calling for him. The human’s arms reached out and wrapped around Sora, pulling the other to him safely, trying to shield the other from the bright light.
It was only then that Sora realized he was being tugged away. Something unseen was at his back, his shoulders, his tail , pulling him away and upwards. In his chest, Sora’s heart beat harder and louder than any drum he had ever heard in his life. It felt like it would jump straight out of his chest and into Emyd’s. Sora wrapped his arms back around his friend, trying to hold onto the blonde’s lithe frame as if it were an anchor. This only resulted in the opposite effect.
Sora realized, through what he could hear of Emyd yelling, that he was tugging the other along with him. Sora needed to let go. Whatever was about to happen, Emyd had a concert tonight. He needed to get home. With panic, Sora tried to break his hands away and found that he could not. It was as though he and Emyd were locked together, being tugged toward the dawn that they had just been singing to. His eyes had long since been closed to shield from the bright light. The trumpets had begun to roar again, further drowning out the sounds of Emyd screaming. Had he been screaming too? His throat felt sore enough for it.
And in an instant, it was over.
There were no trumpets. Once they quieted down enough, he realized that Emyd was close-- close enough to hear his breath and heartbeat. They were alive. They were okay. Sora’s eyes fluttered open. This was not their rock. In fact, he couldn’t imagine they were anywhere Sora knew at all. There was a tall towering building made of some material that was a rosy beige-- or perhaps the rosy tint was a trick of the light. Sora could not tell. When he looked up, the roof on each of the towers glimmered in greens and blues. Had there been sunlight, Sora might have been blinded. But there was no sunlight, there were only stars twinkling in the distance.
And it was in that moment, Sora realized that he was standing. And when he almost fell.
Thankfully, Emyd had been quick to catch him. Sora looked down at himself. His usually sleek dolphin-mimic tail was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he was wearing what appeared to be some sort of red jumper with a blue jacket. On his feet-- Oh by Poseidon, his feet!-- he had on large yellow shoes. His new legs wobbled, unused to existing. Emyd’s hold tightened to keep his friend steady. They looked at each other-- Sora could read every emotion on Emyd’s face. The other had always been an open book. There was a smile, but his eyes screamed fear and nervousness. Wherever they were, they certainly were far from home.
But Sora had legs .
“Are you two alright?” The voice who asked had a firmness to it, but it was soft and comforting not unlike the hum of a mother’s lullaby. Perhaps, she sounded a bit weary, too. Emyd and Sora looked at her.
She was an average sized girl with blue hair, wearing what Sora could only describe as a very large one of Emyd’s neckerchiefs, but Emyd knew to be a toga, though not a long one. It was blue and white and dropped only to her knees. At her waist, a sword was strapped to a belt and she wore a silver chest plate on her front. She stared at them, raising an eyebrow and looking between the two boys.
“Fine...Not used to walking,” replied Sora.
“...What?” she asked, her head tilting.
“Uh...Nothing,” he said waving his hands, which caused Emyd to let him go. Sora tried to stay on his own two feet but ended up falling flat down on his end. He sighed and smiled, putting his hands behind his head and laughed, “I’m just tired, don’t worry about me.” The girl didn’t seem convinced.
Emyd spoke before she could press him for a further explanation, “...Uh, Sora?” Sora looked up at his friend but saw the other staring at the small grassy area beside them. Sora turned to look, his eyes widening a little. They weren’t alone and it wasn’t just the blue haired girl. Besides the three of them, there were seven more people regaining their senses of balance in the grassy field below the tower.
Sra’s eyes were first drawn to a girl in a pink dress being steadied by a taller, older boy with silvery blue hair that went over one of his eyes. Then an older boy-- almost a man, really-- wearing nothing but a strip of fabric around his waist standing on the balls of his feet and his knuckles, looking at them all suspiciously. Two boys were eyeing him up uncertainly, one with fiery red hair and one with blue. Both were dressed in nothing more than pants and opened vests with the exception of a twisted yellow bandana around the redhead’s neck.
Another boy was sitting down as well, staring up at the stars as though he were searching with his big blue eyes. His spiky blond hair was peaking out of a fuzzy white hat with ears. And then finally, one more boy, closest to the tower. His face was beaten with sun and he wore several layers, looking like they almost once been part of Emyd’s wardrobe, but only if he had spent several days in them without a wash. He too had a bandana, though his own was wrapped around his forehead, and Sora caught a glimpse of jewelry on him despite him hiding in the shadows cast by the tower.
Sora grabbed Emyd’s hand, it's familiar presence a grateful grounding tool, and let the other balance him. His legs were still quaking a bit, but as long as Emyd was near he could be supported. Fear swirled around in Sora’s chest, panging at his heart as though it were trapped in a storm. They were so far from home...But Sora’s adventurous spirit was already braving the storm in his chest.
“Emyd,” he said, softly, but gaining more confidence as he went on, excitement reaching crescendo, “I think...this is another world!”