Zareb shoved Bastian behind him and growled at the newcomer. Varick bared his fangs at the show of aggression. Behind the two hostile mermen, Bastian and Varya shared a look of complete sympathy. The look said: We love them, but sometimes they are a handful.

"Zareb, stand down," Bastian whispered in a tired voice. "We need to see if Lachlan's okay."

At the mention of their green-tailed friend, Zareb looked stricken and turned to look at Lachlan's prone form. Varya laid a hand on Varick's arm and spoke low in a guttural language that Bastian didn't know. Slowly, the tall Selach relaxed and nodded, looking enraptured by whatever Varya was saying.

Zareb followed Bastian to where Ambrosia still rested beside Lachlan. After a quick glance, Bastian didn't see any obvious injuries, so he guessed that Lachlan must have been struck by some form of magic. His eyes met Ambrosia's, but she glanced away from him quickly before she spoke.

"Your friend should be fine when he wakes up. I don't know when that will be though, so we should move on. We'll have to carry him." Though she spoke without hesitation, Bastian thought he sensed nervousness from her. Before he could ask, Zareb interrupted.

"I'll pick him up in a moment. Just let me tie up the guards first." The dark skinned merman looked seriously at Bastian. "Stretch your tail. Properly." Then he turned and moved towards the unconscious guards.

Bastian snorted, but slowly stretched his tail. More cramps made his tail seize, but they grew less severe as the muscles extended . When he was limber again, he swam back toward Varya, passing the now tied up warriors. He felt a pang of guilt that these mermen were being treated like they were. After all, these were his people and they had just been trying to do their job. If it weren't for Varya...

The Triton looked up at the siblings and wondered what other surprises Varya had waiting for them. For the first time, he began to doubt her motivations. Why else would she keep something like this a secret when he had been nothing but willing to help?

His eyes must have given away his thoughts, because Varya's spine straightened and her chin lifted. She prepared herself to speak. 

"I am sorry I didn't mention Varick sooner, Triton." Varick looked surprised to hear her call Bastian by the honored title, but he held his tongue. 

"There are days of travel between my clan and your home. The travel is dangerous and tiring. If I had attempted the journey on my own, I probably would have died." Varya placed a hand on Varick's shoulder, even though he was taller than her. 

Bastian frowned at her. "What about your sharks? Couldn't you have come with just them to guard you?"

Varya shook her head. "I did not meet those sharks until I arrived in the shallow water again. The dark depths of the ocean are filled with canny creatures that are always hungry. I needed Varick to help me cross. And we will need him to get back to my clan. He is a good fighter, and a kind man." She bowed at the waist. "Trust me on this, Triton Bastian, as you have trusted me this far."

In light of the circumstances, it wouldn't be too bad if Bastian turned around right now. He could still go back and fight Arsenius for the title of Triton, and maybe no one had noticed his absence yet. It would mean he had given up on the first decision he had ever made as Triton.

It would mean giving up Varya and the chance for peace. Bastian sighed. 

"He stays near Zareb, Varya. And you must promise me that there are no more Selachs coming along for the ride. We've enough people as it is and I fear we will attract attention if we have any more."

Varya relaxed and gave Bastian a small smile. The expression of joy was out of place on her face. "Thank you, Triton. I swear Varick is the only company I brought with me from home, and the only one I ask to come with us. He will be a valuable addition to the group, I promise!"

Bastian looked back over to Lachlan, and saw Zareb hauling him over his broad shoulder. "Alright then, we can't stay any longer. Lead the way, Varya." He gestured towards the Eastern Seas, the water dark with the night cycle.

"Wait a moment," Ambrosia said as she swam near, "let's get rid of the robes. They'll only hamper our movement in the deeps." 

Ambrosia waited for Varya to slip her inky robe off before she tucked it into her traveling sack. Without the robe, Varya's gash was revealed in full. The wound was bright red, but did not look too deep. 

Ambrosia stripped off her own robe then, taking time to uncuff the robe at her wrists and from around her tail. For the first time since they'd met, Bastian got to see the color of her tail. Pale gold glittered in the dark water, like a faded shadow of his own vibrant tail. The gold was so light, it almost looked white. 

But it wasn't. 

Bastian opened his mouth to comment on how beautiful her tail was, but Ambrosia was already gesturing at Varya. "Go on then, Varya. Lead the way. We're on a schedule here."

Varya nodded and swam into the water, quickly fading into the blackness. Varick followed close behind his sister, and Zareb stayed on his tail with Lachlan still over his shoulder. Bastian offered his hand to Ambrosia.

Together, they swam after the others and faded into shadow. 

No one noticed the hand that dropped the shiny red scale which floated gently to rest in the sand. The same scale that was picked up hours later by a pair of mercreatures in dark robes. 

As the scale glinted in the early light of the day cycle, the two exchanged grim expressions. Then they followed the trail into the deep waters of the ocean.

~~~~~~~

Author's Note:

For your own sanity, do not spend as much time looking at deep sea creatures as I have in the past couple of days. It's freakin' scary!

Onto the important bits: SOMEONE is leaving a TRAIL! Any guesses who it is?