Aquatic Adventures - The Depthstriders: Part 3

Aquatic Adventures
The Depthstriders: Part 3

   Meline spotted the mysteriously appeared orange flowers painted on her tail a tad too late - she managed to wash off the majority of the dye but faint marks remained, to which the Depthstriders shrugged and suggested to wait till she sheds them out. Finding the culprit proved to be impossible, as Aethone kept her mouth shut, Cailu was as surprised as Meline to see it and Laniata had been called away by Ornaax to join yet another underwater race, this time a serious adult one. She had done very well in the test, the kiddie race, so Ornaax deemed her ready to try out racing with the rest of the clan.

   Fortunately Meline didn’t mind the upgrades her tail received, and Aethone even let the Haedians decorate her hide with their traditional patterns. She requested a less permanent paint option, and the Haedians gladly agreed. Having received more patterns on her already colorful coat, the three of them thanked the artists and crafters for hosting them. Cailu once more apologized profusely for the mess he had made and after getting even more reassurance from the Haes that everything was alright, they waved goodbye and carried on to explore more of the enchantingly beautiful cavern out of a fairytale.

   Their trail led them to a secluded pool where the Depthstriders seemed to be growing various aquatic plants, possibly for food or medicine. The pool itself was brightly lit up by the crystals, but there weren’t so many of them on the walls and ceiling. Being here was calming as the eyes could slightly rest from the vividness in the main areas and since all the Haedians were busy playing or crafting, it was quiet in this part, laughter and splashing sounding in the distance. Cailu approached the watery farm and examined the vegetation, while Aethone caught Meline thoughtfully looking at the smooth walls.

“You know what? I loved the murals the Watchers had and I feel like this spot here could use something pretty.”

   The Tyrian shared her idea with her companion, to which the Puller slightly furrowed her brows.

“Maybe this wall isn’t painted for a reason? Or they have planned something for it?”

   Aethone expressed her concerns, but from Meline’s whimsical expression it was clear she had made up her mind already. She headed back the way they came from, poking Cailu as she passed by him to get their guide to follow. They made it back to the crafting corner where the Haedians were busy sewing waterproof tent tarps and breaking clowning coral into suitable pieces, which gave Meline the opportunity to borrow some of the dyes and paints from the storage shelves. She also grabbed a few brushes and stuck them in Aethone’s mouth for her to carry them, and Cailu grabbed a basket with glowing coral in it. Being successful in sneakily taking the materials, the trio headed back to the farm room, prepared the tools and Meline started to sketch her idea on the wall. Both Aethone and Cailu watched with admiration how skillfully Meline did the sketch (constantly drawing in her notebooks has finally paid off). They recognized the shape of Ornaax jumping out of the water, splashes and waves elegantly around him while the background depicted the characteristic arcs and pillars of the Depthstriders’ world.

   Having finished the sketch, Meline started choosing the paints. At this point, Aethone decided to join in as she considered herself good enough to do some base colors, leaving the detailing to Meline. Even Cailu couldn’t resist and joined the mischief by drawing some fish and lily pads in the water. With the work distributed between them, the base of the mural was done surprisingly fast. Cailu decided to try out detailing the background while Meline worked on refining the main focus of the painting. Aethone placed down her brush as she didn’t dare to potentially ruin something from now on. Instead, her eyes stopped at the basket Cailu had brought along. She rattled the coral, thinking how they could use these.

“Hey Cailu, did you have something specific in mind for these?”

   Aethone turns to the Haedian, to which the other shakes head and smiles.

“Nothing particular, feel free to get creative!”

   Aethone hummed, picking up one shard to examine it closer. It didn’t seem fragile and was giving off a decent warm orange glow. The Puller looked around in the cave, and soon she got an idea.

   Meline poured a lot of thought and care into her work, occasionally arguing with Cailu over Ornaax’s markings. Aethone didn’t participate in the conversation as she was busy distributing the coral pieces on nooks and crannies, creating a mystical atmosphere in the room thanks to many glowing dots here and there. She had trouble racing some spots and that’s where Cailu joined in to help her as it was easier for him to climb on the slippery walls thanks to his hooked claws, dropping the pieces to higher slopes and corners. Meline was completely focused on refining Ornaax’s scales, so she didn’t even notice what the others were doing.

   It took them several hours, but to them it only felt like minutes as they were enjoying the activity so much. Snickering from excitement, Meline cleaned up after herself while Cailu and Aethone were admiring the masterful painting on the wall, taking in all the details and Ornaax’s perfectly fitting joyful expression. They gathered the leftover paints and brushes back in the basket, had Cailu pick it up and with the handful of leftover coral pieces, Meline marked the path like someone had done in her childhood bedtime story.

   The crafters had left their corner, so the bandits could place everything back where the stuff was before. They then decided to head back to the center to see whether Ornaax was already looking for them or not. Turned out he had almost forgotten about them as he was busy demonstrating their everyday carefree lifestyle to Laniata. Meline couldn’t hide her secretive grin.

“Ornaax, there’s a surprise for you.”

“Oh? Surprise? I love surprises! What is it?”

   The scaled Haedian lit up from excitement like a Yuletide tree as he swiftly got out of the pleasant water. Not getting an answer from Meline, nor Aethone or Cailu, he called out to his clan to play the game of seeking. The Depthstriders energetically started to fuss around, looking for the surprise Meline was talking about.

   It didn’t take long when one of the clan members rushed to Ornaax, face beaming from happiness as it informed everyone to have a look at one of their farming caves. Leading the way, everyone stormed after the Hae, our artistic trio and Laniata included. At the cave entrance, the Depthstriders were obviously excited as Ornaax approached, making way for him so he could also see what had happened. Meline and Cailu followed him close by, breath trembling from anticipation while Aethone decided to stay a bit further behind as the cave was densely crowded now.

   The moment Ornaax set foot in the cavern, he gasped loudly and his jaw dropped. He gasped a few more times, not believing his eyes after which the biggest and happiest grin ever took over his face, he swiftly turned around and gave Meline a tight wet hug, thanking her for such a wonderful gift while even having tears of joy glimmering in his eyes.