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Chasing Tail

"Hurry up slowpoke! Keep up!" Emilio swam behind his friends as he dove back into the water and tried to keep up. The young mer-seal had always played with his friends in the reef near Monk Island. But today, his friends wanted to explore beyond the reef. To a place where it was forbidden for his kind to wander off to but offered more fun to the teenage pups. The kelp forest. Their elders, including Emilio's parents, have warned them to never go near the kelp forest, for dangerous and vicious creatures like the Carchadontites, savage mer-sharks (merpeople of the Great White shark variety) who prey on their people the Califnians (merpeople of the California sea lion variety). The kelp forest was off-limits because it was taboo to be a hunting ground for Carchadontites. But it means nothing to young Califnians like Emilio's friends. To them, the kelp forest was a new place for them to play and chase each other.

Emilio always enjoyed playing with his fellow pups, but he knew his parents would not approve of this. So why is he still coming along with his friends? Peer pressure probably. He didn't want his fellow Califnians to think he was a sissy squid, and so he reluctantly followed his friends to a new place of excitement and fun. His decision to play hooky didn't sway his nerves away though. "I don't know guys. I think we should head back," said Emilio as they came back up for air. Califnians did have to come up to air after eight to twenty minutes spent underwater and they were already ten minutes in. Emilio had concerns that the Carchadontites might know of this, which made him more worried.

"Oh, don't be such a guppy, Emilio," said the Califnian. He was the designated leader of this small pod of merseals. "Who knows how long it's been since the last sighting of any stupid Carchadontites anywhere near the forest? Besides, everyone knows that those heathens hunt alone. If you're so concerned, then play the lookout."

"I am not scared, Chaton! There's nothing wrong with being heedful and vigilant is all."

"Then be vigilant as a lookout. Otherwise, you can either play with us or head home and be a tattle-fish. We came here for fun and that's exactly what we're gonna have." Emilio pursed his lips shut, hesitant to retort and that was the end of the conversation. They were near the kelp forest; a large, vast land of dense kelp that swayed in the water like trees in the wind. Swaying back and fro in a slow, rhythmic tempo in the murky fog of the ocean. A perfect place for Califnians chasing Califnians.

Swimming through the dark, blue open water, a being of dark slate-gray and white swam through its empty depths save for rays of the sun penetrating the water like beacons of light for creatures that may have lost their way. Creatures like Enid, a Carchadontite bored and looking for some fun. Normally, this would be a good day for hunting for her people. But for her, it was her people's tradition for a Carchadontite to seek out their first kill once they become twenty-one years of age. And that day has come for her. She had only a week to make a kill, otherwise, she'd be cast out of her tribe, and she'd have to venture into the waters alone. So far, she's had no such luck and it's been a whole day so far. Enid spotted something in the distance. Swimming closer, she could see it was a vast kelp forest. And there, playfully chasing each other within it, was a pod of five humanoid merseals. Three were males with dark chestnut brown, although some males have lighter coloring on their heads, sides, hinds, and bellies. The two females were tanner. All five of them had sleek, single-hair coats, which also distinguishes them from other merseals. One of the males was by himself watching the others play. The mershark smiled to herself. Maybe she could have a little bit of fun with these merseals. She only had four days left anyway. Why not? Using the dark of the ocean, she slunk around out of sight thanks to the dark gray on her back and sides. The perfect camouflage for her and her kind as hunters.

Emilio hovered over the dense kelp forest, his fellow merseals weaving through the strands of thick seaweed with ease and without a care in the world. He wanted to join in on the fun and play tag, but he was too smart and too cautious to take a risk. He wanted to be bold but was too level-headed to take the risk. If only Emilio had the right motivation, or at least the speed to escape in case of predators. He knew not of how fast he'd be; he only knew from stories from his elders that only so few of his people were swift and clever enough to evade quicker foes like the Carchadontites. He wished he knew how.

While he was pondering these thoughts, the young Califnian saw a small sliver of white in the distance before disappearing below the rocky valley. He urgently swam down to his fellow Califnians below him who were just taking a break in a small, bare clearing amidst the vast underwater forest. He immediately signaled for his friends to surface to tell them what was up. "Uh, guys? I think we should be getting back," Emilio said. A slight twitch of fear was in his voice.

Chaton, the Califnian who led them here, frowned at his nervous lookout. "Will you relax? There hasn't been a Carchadontite here for years. I think we should be okay."

"Chaton, I'm telling you. I just saw something out there." He gestured to them to swim up above the kelp forest and pointed to the open water past the valley where he last saw it before coming back up. "It was right over there, I swear."

Chaton half looked over to where Emilio was pointing and gave an irritated sigh. "Emilio, there's nothing there! Will you stop it?"

"Yeah, Emilio. You're probably overreacting," said one of the male merseals.

"I'm not overreacting, Otarii! I seriously thought there was something right there, I swear!"

"Maybe we should give Emilio the benefit of the doubt," said one of the females. "You'll never know when there might be something secretly stalking us."

"Thank you, Zalphie."

"There's. No. Danger. Here. C'mon, let's get back to playing." But just as soon as he and his brethren were about to get back to playing a large female Carchadontite swam into view just a few feet behind Emilio, unbeknownst to him. Emilio felt confused as his friends suddenly took off fleeing for some reason. It wasn't until he had a sudden sense of realization followed by a sudden sense of dread. He slowly turned around to see a large female Carchadontite looming over him. Her bottom half was white up to her upper chest and along her back to her three fins (the anal, the caudal, and the second dorsal) which were dark slate-gray. She had dark gray, wavy long hair, ocean blue eyes, and well-rounded ample breasts.

The Carchadontite flashed a big toothy grin at the young male. "Hiya," said the mershark. Emilio was stifling with fear, more so because of her large size and her smile full of razor-sharp triangular teeth. He let out a scream of fright, making Enid flinch with surprise, and then immediately swam for the cover of the thick, dense kelp forest. Enid, meanwhile, was amused by the frightened Califnian. "Skittish little fella," she said to herself. A small smirk evolved on her lips. "Kind of cute in a way." Perhaps she might have some of that fun after all. She allowed the merseal some time to hide before seeking out her "prey".

Emilio, meanwhile, scurried further into the kelp forest. His Califnian heart racing faster than he was, his adrenaline kicking in on instinct. His thoughts were swimming through his mind as he was speeding through the giant aquatic weeds. When he found a good enough spot to hide, he ceased his escape and prayed that the Carchadontite didn't find him. He forced himself to keep calm, even though his nerves were fighting against him. Fearfully, he looked up from where he hid to see the looming shape of the mershark swimming above him. Oh, why did he have to come along with his friends instead of listening to his elders? But more so, why did his friends leave him to this fate? He felt too afraid to feel betrayed now. But if he ever got out of this alive, Emilio was never going to forgive them for this.

Emilio waited for a few more minutes, freezing for the female predator to be gone. He knew he had to get to the surface soon. He didn't want to wait out the whole twenty minutes before making a beeline to his home. Slowly peeking out his head, the merseal looked around for any sign of the mershark. It all seemed like she was gone until he saw something moving through the kelp. Without any hesitation, he swam for home as fast as he could.

Enid, meanwhile, was playing the role of predator. She swam above the kelp forest, scanning for any sign of the little Califnian. She didn't know if he saw her, but she caught a little glimpse of him hiding in the thick kelp. Smirking, the female Carchadontite swam past him and dove into the thick kelp. Remembering where she spotted him, she slunk and slithered her way to him in hopes of flushing him out. Her turns were swift and tight, hoping to flush the little seal-man out. Enid heard a rush of water not too far from her as she saw it was the Califnian making a break for it. Her sly shark smile returned as she took off after him with a burst of speed.

Emilio glanced back to see the predatory merwoman had spotted him and now was closing in on her, fear clutching onto him tightly as death's shadow loomed over him. Closer. Closer. And closer still. He feared he wasn't going to make it to tell his friends off. Emilio pushed himself to the absolute limit. "Oh please-oh please-oh please-oh please-oh please-oh please," was all that was going through his mind. He braced himself for the inevitable.

Enid held back as she wanted the Califnian to have a chance to see if he could outrun her. When she felt it was enough, the Carchadontite put on the gas and tackled the little merseal from under him. They both broke the surface of the water and came rolling back down into the ocean as she clutched him tightly against her. The little guy was still tensed up as he prepared to get eaten. "Please, spare me," she heard him say to her. He had his eyes closed, not knowing he was going to live.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna eat you," she said to him. Enid released the Califnian in hopes it would convince him. The merseal slowly unclenched himself, uncertain if this was some kind of trick. "Relax, I didn't come out here to hunt you or your friends."

"Y-you're not?" Emilio asked unsure. Now feeling a bit outraged, he came off feeling a bit braver. "Then why did you come after me like that?!"

The Carchadontite towered over him by four feet standing next to each other as she looked down at him. She gave him a little shrug. "I just got bored. I saw you little guys playing and I thought I'd have a little fun too." She sees that he wasn't all that convinced. "Oh, don't worry. I promise I don't bite. Hard," she said with a slight bit of sly nature. "What's your name?

"E...Emilio."

"Hello, Emilio. I'm Enid. It's nice to meet you." She flashed a toothy smirk at the small merseal. "A cute name for a cute-looking Califnian_,_" she thought. Chaton fish-tailed steadily around Emilio, sizing him up as she continued to make conversation. "What...kind of game were you and your friends playing?"

Emilio struggled to answer her, on account of her making him nervous by her circling him. As if she was secretly seeing if he was enough to fill her belly. "Well..., nothing special," he managed to say carefully. "Just a game of tag. Something we usually do as pups."

Enid tilted her head slightly in curious nature. "Color me curious, but were you just playing referee? I don't recall a game of tag having anyone standing on the side."

"I do play," Emilio said in defense. "We don't normally play out this far, much less in this kelp forest. So I...self-elected myself as a lookout in case something...or rather someone dangerous was to come along."

"Someone like...me?" Enid tried teasing him a little as she suddenly lurched her head towards him, making him flinch.

"I'm not at liberty to say." Emilio never knew what to do if he ever met a Carchadontite other than flee for home. The benefit for a being of his species was that he could stay on the mainland for some time and her kind couldn't. He only prayed by all of creation that he didn't do anything to make her upset or want her to eat him. "But may I ask why you are here? Hopefully other than hunting down us Califnians."

"Well,...if you're really that curious, I was sent out to make my first kill. But I'm not much in the mood for killing honestly. At least, not now. What I'm more into is the chase. I love to *ahem* 'hunt down a victim' and chase them down just for fun. I mean, of course, I'll have to make a kill eventually. Otherwise, I'll be cast out of the tribe."

"H-how long is this hunting period exactly?"

"A week at the most. Today was just day one. So I have plenty of time."

"That's not reassuring." Emilio bluntly said. "How is this supposed to be reassuring for me exactly?"

Enid's mischievous grin switched to a sheepish one. "Eh-heh. Right. So, um, yeah. How about we don't think about that now? Can we maybe start over?" She cleared her throat before continuing. "Perhaps tomorrow? I'm sure you'd want to get back to your friends anyway. See you later, handsome." Enid waved farewell to Emilio and with a flick of her tail, took off and disappeared into the murky water. Only Emilio was left alone with the kelp forest, left to the sound of the waving kelp.

Still feeling shaken, Emilio hurried back home while double taking behind him in case the Carchadontite had a change of heart and wanted to make him a meal after all. The young Califnian soon came up for air, the warm sea breeze colliding into his face. Not too far away was the home of his colony. A small oceanic island made mostly of a sandy beach with a small cove behind it. Most of his people were lying on the beach absorbing the rays of the sun while others were playing among the rocky shallows leading away from the beach. So relieved he was to finally be home again but prayed his elders never found out about him and his friends sneaking off to where they shouldn't have.

Emilio went back into the cool water and swam the rest of the way home. He eventually found his friends who were both surprised and shocked to see him alive and demanded to know what happened. Emilio was obliged and told them everything. When he was finished, his fellow Califnians couldn't believe what he just told them, nor if they wanted to believe it. And apparently, such was the case with his parents who were both worried sick about him and understandably upset with him. He was considered lucky that he wasn't eaten alive that was for certain.

As he was out looking for food one day, his mind wandered to his encounter with the Carchadontite known as Enid. He felt completely confused about how to feel about it. On the other hand, she really could be wanting to make friends. The shark woman did seem to be friendly enough. On the other hand, it may undoubtedly be a small ploy to catch him off guard before sinking her jaws into him. In the end, curiosity won him over as he had an idea just to be sure.

Emilio couldn't believe he was doing this. He soon found himself carrying a handful of fish early in the morning. He just prayed that no one saw him sneak away, questioning him about where he was going with food. The merseal swam until he reached the same kelp forest from his near-death experience. "Why am I even here?" he thought to himself. He figured he'd probably give it ten minutes and if Enid didn't show up, he'd head right back home immediately. Plain and simple. Sure enough, he soon saw her there. Laying on the sandy ground next to the kelp forest. With a nervous gulp, he timidly swam towards her.

Enid happened to look up and saw her new seal friend showing up. She had been waiting for him for about fifteen minutes, worried that she had scared him off. Fortunately, it didn't turn out that way. She smiled and got up to greet him. "Hey! I didn't think you were going to show up."

"I didn't think so either," he replied. "I wasn't at first, but I went against my conscience." He then grumbled under his breath reluctantly, "Again." The merseal presented her the fish he carried all this way. "A little...peace offering in hopes that you don't...well you know."

"Aww, how sweet." Enid took the offering from him, smiling with attribute. "Just what I always wanted." She teased him with "I guess I won't have to eat you after all." Enid could see that he wasn't completely relaxed and was getting a little exasperated. "Oh, lighten up a little. If I wanted to eat you, I would have done so already." She ripped into the carcass of one of the fish, her teeth gnashing and chewing into its flesh. Enid eventually finished her meal of a fish and a half and placed the rest of it in a crevice large enough in a small rock formation not too far from the kelp forest. It was sitting just outside a large coral reef.

"There. Now we got that taken care of, let's have some fun huh?" she suggested, putting on a friendly demeanor and wanting to move on with today. "Let's start with some stalk-and-prey."

"Stalk-and-prey? Just what exactly does imply?" Emilio asked carefully.

"Just like you're game of tag, but a bit different. The acting "predator" must find the acting "prey" hiding from them. When I was little, we Carchadontites would play this game to better ourselves as hunters. But in this case, we'll only play this for fun. So for the sake of enjoyment, you can go first as a "predator". All you got to do is cover your eyes and count to say...fifty before coming to find me. Does that sound okay with you?"

Emilio thought about it for a moment. Maybe he could give this a try. She had a point though. She could have killed now if not yesterday, and yet she didn't. Feeling a little more at ease, he offered a small shrug and said okay. Grinning, Enid had Emilio cover his eyes and start counting slowly. She immediately made her way into the thick kelp forest to find a good spot to hide. She used the darkness of her back to blend with the thick blackness emitted from the murky ground. She snickered, believing he'd never find her immediately.

Reaching fifty, Emilio began looking for Enid as he swam over the kelp forest to look for her. It felt strange, a Califnian playing the role of "predator". Flicking his tail flippers hard, he propelled himself along, his eyes searching for any signs of his "prey". He leaned his body in the direction he wanted to go while his eyes scanned every possible inch of the biological quagmire. Meanwhile, Enid would look up on occasion ever so slightly in case she had to give chase. Her anticipation grew as she sensed him getting closer.

Emilio went a little closer in hopes of detecting her outline. He made another round when a small flash of white came within his line of vision. Swirling around, Emilio could make out the shape of the large Carchadontite. "Found you!" he declared. He tagged her on her dorsal fin, which triggered her to take off and make the merseal give chase after her. Enid felt exhilarated that he finally found her and flashed him a mischievous look as if she was encouraging him to chase her. And so he did. He struggled to catch her swimming at a faster speed than him. Unbeknownst to him, however, Enid was only toying with the Califnian. She knew she was able to outpace Emilio, but still wanted to give him a fair chance while not making it look like she was going easy on him. She dodged him a few times before she eventually got tagged by him.

Feeling less tense, Emilio started to enjoy himself. He never thought he'd have this much fun with a Carchadontite. He played the prey this time, not having to have his guard up in fear of being in someone's stomach. Both prey and predator played stalk-and-prey throughout most of the day until Emilio had to go back. Otherwise, both of their tribes would get curious and not like what has developed. By the end of it all, Emilio was looking forward to seeing his new friend again.

And so it went through most of the week. Emilio would bring a small bit of fish for Enid and they both would enjoy the day chasing each other through the kelp forest. When they weren't, they sat on the sand together and chatted for hours. Each saw a little something different in the other, developing a bond of trust. But Enid soon realized that it would have to end as the final day of her hunting trial was fast approaching. No sooner had she realized this than when she ran into two of the clan leaders from her clan. When asked about her progress, Enid was hesitant about telling them and they were not pleased when she did. They gave her a stern warning, either make a kill within two days or don't bother coming back. Their final word on the matter, the clan leaders swam away into the darkness of the ocean.

Enid slowly sank onto the ocean bed, her head filled with worry. What was she to do? She didn't want to be banned from her only home. On the other hand, she couldn't kill her newfound seal friend either. How could she even break the news to him? What would he even say or do once she does? She buried her head in her hands, praying for a miracle. A small tapping on her shoulder brought her back to reality. Looking up, she sighed as she saw it was her lovely seal friend with a smile. His smile weakened a little when he saw the state of weariness of the mershark.

"Something the matter?" he asked her.

"Oh, Emilio. Oh no, it's...fine." Enid should have left it at that but relented with a sigh. She couldn't do it. "No, it's not all right." She stood up and faced him, a small bit of her shadow masking his face. "When I said I was sent out into this big, blue wet world to hunt for my first kill, I...wasn't quite clear about it with you." Her hands twiddled nervously together as her lips thinned tautly.

"About what exactly?" Emilio asked warily. A quivering shiver of panic started to creep into his nerves, making him feel suddenly colder than the water was feeling now.

"You see when a Carchadontite is set loose on her first hunt, she has five days to come back with a kill. Unless I do, I'm...no longer part of the clan."

"And...how many days do you have left to do such?"

"Only two more days."

"And do you plan to kill me now?"

Enid swirled fast to face Emilio. She instantly pulled him into her arms and held him close to her bosom with great love and ardor, Emilio was caught off guard and didn't expect this to happen. "No. No, I would never do that. I wouldn't wish for any harm to come to you."

Emilio, his face still pressed against Enid's bosom, wanted to believe but still had to ask her as he struggled for some air. "And why's that exactly?"

Enid tilted the merseals' head up to look at her. "Because of how dear of a friend you are to me," she said with sincerity.

Emilio took a good look at the female Carchadontite's face. There was no lie in the mershark's eyes. Part of him felt a bit foolish for wanting to doubt her even though it still stuck with him in the back of his mind. He offered Enid a small, reassuring smile and made her hug the little merseal even tighter. Emilio felt some regret on the account of her almost suffocating him again but was still happy to see her smile. But this led to the most important question. What were they to do about this predicament?

Two Carchadontite males hovered over a small reef just about twelve miles from their village. These males, however, were the two tribal leaders who were charged with seeing Enid's progress with her first hunt. They wore attire that signified their rank; coral necklaces of exquisite design with their tribal insignia of a great shark tooth shaped out of volcanic rock in the center. Upon their foreheads, they bore a tattoo that indicated a special trait like a great hunter or a great warrior.

They folded their muscled arms in impatient disdain for the young mershark. The tribe only ever rarely had to banish someone for failure to bring back a kill. But to banish someone who hasn't made at least an effort to hunt for prey was even more of a rare reason. "What is keeping Enid?" one of them asked aloud. "If she doesn't show with some form of quarry, I'll be more than happy to banish her myself."

"Patience, Akula," said his fellow Carchadontite. "I'm certain that she will. She may be free-spirited, but surely she will deliver."

"Well, you may be optimistic and trusting, Squalo. But I am not. That's just the problem. That pup's been nothing but free-spirited since she reached early youth. That Enid has got to learn to respect tradition. Hopefully, banishment will teach her that."

Squalo rolled his dark eyes in annoyance. "Must you be so nonindulgent? I'm sure she is more than aware of the consequences. You're just being too prudent." He then grumbled, "Like you always were."

"I heard that!" Akula scowled. "I am not a prude! I just care for all that our tribe's established, is all." He huffed with dismay and turned his attention back to looking for Enid. Scanning the vast blue nothingness, the clan leader saw a familiar shape in the distance. He squinted and placed a hand above his brow. As the shape got closer, Akula could make it out clearer. Indeed it was Enid swimming up to them. And it looked like she was dragging something large behind her.

"Well, well. It looks like maybe you won't have to banish our little rebel after all." Squalo said to Akula wearing a shit-eating grin, giving him a nudge.

Akula frowned with doubt in his mind. "Let's just see about that."

Enid presented herself to both clan leaders, dragging what appeared to be a merseal; bloodied up with teeth marks on its neck and limp in her arms. "One dead quarry as I promised," she said to the two older Carchadontites. She held up the all-dead Califnian in both hands, limp and looking lifeless. "And a Califnian for that matter."

"Yes, so you have," Akula said unphased, his arms still folded. "But is it truly dead though? Let's find out." He glided over to inspect the supposedly dead merseal, Enid looking a bit nervous. He scanned the body, his eyes fixated on every inch of the corpse. It looked convincingly dead. It was the bite mark he was focused on. It didn't look like she ripped it with her teeth. "And just how exactly did you kill this Califnian?," he asked the female Carchadontite.

"Simply put, I waited for an opening, latched my teeth around his throat, and dragged him down as far down to the bottom of the ocean as I could go. The miserable thing struggled all that he could, futile as it was. In the end, it was all over."

The clan leader raised a questionable brow. "Indeed." There was one last thing for him to do: the sniff test. Akula leaned down and sniffed the body. He reeled back from the sudden strong stench violating his shark nose. The pungent odor smelled like month-old dead fish. "Why does this seal smell so terrible?!," he exclaimed.

"Oh, this guy became so desperately hungry, that he decided to feast on day-old tuna." Akula looked bewildered at the young mershark who shrugged in confusion. "I'm in much disbelief as you are." Squinting at Enid, Akula squinted at her with determined thought.

"So Akula, are you convinced yet?" Squalo asked his comrade.

Akula sighed in defeat. "Oh, all right. You pass the trial, Enid. You're still a part of the tribe," he grumbled.

Squalo smiled satisfied as Enid looked relieved and proud that Akula was satisfied enough with the results. "Well done, young Carchadontite. Enjoy your kill." He looked at the foul-smelling Califnian with slight discomfort. "As best you can. We, meanwhile, shall report to the rest of the tribal of your success. Just be sure to return as soon as you're done, understood?"

"Yes sir," Enid said affirmatively. She puffed up her chest with pride. With a grunt from the reluctant Akula, the male Carchadontites swam off with their powerful tails back to the clan. Enid watched them until the last bit of dark gray shark skin disappeared out of sight. "I think they bought it," she said finally.

As if by magic, the supposedly dead merseal known as Emilio suddenly snapped to life. "Are they gone for certain?" he asked.

"Uh-huh, I think we can stop with the act now."

With a great sigh of relief, Emilio flipped himself up and stretched. "Good thing we found that week-old dead seaweed. I don't think the dead fish alone would have been enough to sell it."

Enid wrinkled her nose, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, you might want to wash that off before it gets worse." During the whole exchange with her elders, Enid fought so hard not to gag from the smell that snuck its way into her nostrils.

The young merseal chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, I'd hate to be smelling like rotten ocean vegetation and I don't think my people would either." He grinned sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck gawkily. For a moment, an uneasy pause settled between them before Emilio finally cleared his throat. "Anyway, the important thing is that the plan worked. You get to still be part of the clan, I get to live, and we both get to still see each other." He suddenly felt worried about the possibility that they may not be able to. "We can still each other right?"

Enid smiled reassuringly with warmth and fondness. "Definitely. But I should probably get back to my clan first. They'll be expecting me to return so I can be initiated as a recognized adult Carchadontite. We can meet back here in...let's say three days just to be safe."

Emilio felt a little disappointed, but he knew it was probably for the best they played it safe. It would be suspicious if Enid left so suddenly after her clan initiation. She didn't say that they couldn't so he had that to look forward to. "I guess this is goodbye for now," he said with a small smile. Until we meet again, Miss Enid."

"Until then, Emilio." Emilio had the slight hope for a hug as did Enid, but hesitated. "I'd hug you, but you're still kind of smelly," she said trying to be polite and chary not to be otherwise.

Emilio grinned blushfully. "Yeah, no one cares for smelly Califnian anyway." Both seal and shark chortled in amusement and awkwardly went for a handshake. Emilio was about to break off the handshake, but Enid decided "to hell with it" and abruptly pulled Emilio into a loving embrace. Emilio, temporarily caught by surprise once more, relented, and returned the hug. Both felt happiness in each other's arms and held on for a little longer before separating for a moment.

"When we meet again," said Enid.

"When we meet again," said the merseal. With one more embrace, the two broke apart and began to swim back to their homes. They stopped about twenty feet apart to look back at each other and waved goodbye before pressing on. Each of them looking forward to the next time of chasing tail.