Thick coconut milk drizzled into the soup, and the pitcher's motion created a swirl of white cream on the red.

"Perfect." Hima's tongue poked out as she aimed the ogi to capture the spectacle. "Dalla's going to like this one."

"You're good with this digital marketing." Dea grinned, holding the pitcher above the bowl of tomato soup. "Done?"

"Yep."

She set the bowl on the conveyor belt, which whisked it away in a graceful arc to a far corner of the restaurant. "So, you wanna tell me what you talked about with Oomie?"

"Before that," Hima whispered back, craning her neck to check if the coast was clear, "you wanna tell me about this crazy plan of yours?"

Dea leaned against the counter, lost in thought. They were at the central island in the restaurant's indoor lagoon—a pool of turquoise hemmed in with chiseled white rock. Conveyor belts extended out like curving tentacles, their meditative glide adding movement to the largely still picture—a stark contrast to the dinner rush.

"Dea?" Hima peered at her. "Having second thoughts?"

"No, I'm just thinking." She frowned. "Serendiva is way too far for me to just swim. I'm gonna have to rent a vehicle and sneak out."

"I'm coming with you!"

Dea just blinked at her friend while excitement ballooned up like a pufferfish at the prospect of exploring the human city with Hima, but other considerations jostled it aside. "Nah, I need you to cover for me. Plus, the cow—"

"Seriously?"

"I don't wanna bring you down if I get caught. I'm the one trying to meet this human. I won't get you in trouble—no way."

"Dea—"

"Look, I'm only going for a quick look-see, okay? If I can't figure out the place or find my way, I'm coming right back."

"Um, you make it sound as if this is all settled." Hima shook her head. "First, you getting flushed out into the wild in a cyclone is one thing. But you can't just go out in a rented vehicle—you'd need a permit. Second, what I said before—how are you going to get around on land!"

"I can get the permit from school," Dea said with a determined nod. "My FYP proposal included some stuff I can tweak to warrant a field trip. They won't suspect I'd use it to visit a human city."

"Hm..." The other girl's forehead puckered into a frown while her deft fingers tapped on the ogi. "Filter looking okay?"

Dea leaned sideways for a better look. "Make it more pinkish. Looks good with the black bowl."

"Trying to give this a pastel goth makeover?" She chuckled.

"Hmph."

Hima proceeded to post it online with the air of a photographer showcasing their work. Her pearl hair, secured into a high bun, shone silver in the surrounding whiteness—as did the turtle logo emblazoned on the uniform that hugged her fit physique.

"That second thing is the biggest problem," Dea said slowly. "I can get the holiday gear at the cays, but those are just transporter boards."

"Definitely not gonna work."

"Imagine me zipping through their city, splayed out on one of those."

A laugh broke out of Hima. "Well, you'd need something more sophisticated then—a mobility device that would cover your tail."

"Mhmm." Dea made a drumming motion on the countertop.

"Except, such a thing doesn't exist in the market—unless you go ask the government or the humanology division at MerTech. And assuming they'd entertain the whims of a high school girl—"

"I'm graduating in, like, a month!"

"Okay, soon-to-be uni girl who wants to find a human dude—which is nothing short of scandalous—the tech they've got there probably doesn't have blending-with-humans as a design priority."

Dea nodded, deep in thought. "You make some good points..."

"You think?" Hima rolled her eyes.

"But I have an idea to circumvent that."

She facepalmed.

"Remember that story about the exiles some years back?"

"Yeah."

"I did some digging online," Dea said, bobbing up. "And there's a theory that they got into trouble for prototyping land gear!"

"Wait, really?" The other girl whirled around, the motion sending out ripples of water. "But that's probably just a conspiracy theory."

"Well, it's worth looking into—not like I have other options."

"Go on."

Dea lowered her voice to a whisper. "I even used Hyperiid to access the Dark C-Net, but I couldn't find out their location. Some say they might be living with the nomads or they're continuing their work somewhere secret."

"The government would keep tabs on them."

"I thought so too." She leaned closer. "I did come across a name."

"Ooh." Hima's eyes widened. "What?"

"The Sea Witch."

The very air seemed to hold its breath while Hima processed the information. A distant clink carried in the stillness.

Before anything more could be said, a ping interrupted them. The display at the checkout counter lit up, neon blue spilling onto white rock. A customer was requesting the bill.

"So," Dea said, moving to the panel and tapping a rapid-fire beat while Hima watched on, "I have a name, but I haven't made any more progress. This Sea Witch is a ghost—nothing but speculation."

"Okay, let's assume for a sec that you manage to find this Sea Witch and the exiles. And you actually get in touch with them—which is assuming a lot, if you ask me." Hima chuckled. "Then what? Why would they help you?"

"Money can buy goods and services, Hima."

"Which you don't exactly have? Or did you win the lottery overnight?"

"Nope." Dea stuck out her tongue. "I sort of have a plan there too."

"Like what? Rob a bank?"

"No." She shot out an arm to shove her, but Hima had quick reflexes. "First things first. Find the Sea Witch and then worry about the next step."

Another ping sounded—this time to announce a new customer. They looked at the circular depression in the wall that was the airlock door. It slid open with an audible hiss.

"Welcome to Casa Bava," Hima chirped, paddling around the counter, and suddenly halted.

Dea's eyes ticked up.

A small mermaid drifted towards them. An oversized shirt flapped over a wiry figure, and a cap sat atop very short, funky hair. One side of the head was shaved almost bald, with a tattoo of a sea wave snaking amidst the stubble.

It was Oomie.

"Hey, Hima!" Oomie arrived at the counter in one smooth dive. "So I decided to check this place out."

"Hey."

Dea glanced at her friend's dorky grin and stifled a giggle.

Hima had a puppy otter crush on Oomie since middle school. She was her idol, inspiring her to embrace her love for fitness and even sign up for military service—compulsory only for mermen.

"Neat." Oomie panned her eyes appreciatively over the place before settling on Dea. "Hey, I remember seeing you in school back then."

"Yeah, two years younger than you guys." Dea smiled. "I'm graduating this year."

"Oh, right."

"We've been working the afternoon shift here for a while now," Hima chimed in. "Anyways, it's cool you dropped by."

Oomie leaned against the counter, hands down splat on the top. "I like this place."

"What do you like to have?" Hima's grin strained against her pink cheeks, unable to widen any further. "We've got killer ice-cream sundaes."

"Hm, I'd like that."

"Coconut milk or grain milk?"

"Coconut."

"Cool!" Hima gestured to the menu display with a flourish. "We have several flavors."

Oomie took a long minute to pick her sundae of choice while the other girl babbled away. Order placed, she retreated to a seat next to the windows—walls of glass with criss-crossing black beams that kept the ocean at bay. The largely unobstructed view was of a darker blue compared to the aquamarine that lapped against them. Dea watched Oomie slump against the chair like a lazy seal and flick away at her ogi. The sunset outlined her form as it crept down in muted beams, projecting patterns onto the coralline architecture outside.

Meanwhile, Hima rushed to the kitchen to personally oversee the sundae's creation, though the chef soon shooed her out. She emerged from the kitchen door and stuck her tongue out at the chef before returning to her station at the counters.

"Blossoming friendship, I see," Dea said, beaming. "Progress."

"Mhmm." Hima mussed up her hair and struck a relaxed pose against the counter, making Dea burst into giggles. "What you were saying—the Sea Witch."

"Well, I can't go on a wild penguin chase to find her when I have just one shot at getting out. I need a location."

"There must be a way to find out. Someone who knew her maybe?"

"Even if I find them, how can they possibly help?" Dea sighed. "They wouldn't have any idea either."

A thoughtful look clouded her friend's face as she gazed out through the windows, absent-mindedly following the slow glide of a ribbontail ray. Electric blue mottled its flattened oval of a body, popping out against the deepening shades of the ocean.

"It's kinda sad that the exiles can't contact family or friends," Hima murmured.

"This is why Hal the Moray Eel sucks." Dea folded her arms on the countertop. "He's got no mermanity."

"Speaking of exiles, about time the heir apparent returned and led the state. Maybe they'd be better."

"Maybe Massa's done away with the heir apparent."

"No way. I think they might not want to get into politics—must be living the life in the North."

"It's just as well, 'cause according to Gramma," Dea said, clearing her throat to mimic the old merwoman, "pipsqueaks shouldn't rule city-states."

Their laughter tinkled in the air, and Hima clutched her side with a snorting noise.

The ice-cream sundae arrived through the serving hatch—a glorious white swirl kissed with the blue-green of spirulina. Thick syrup dripped in rivulets, while a bright red acerola cherry sat on top. Hima rubbed her hands, lifted the dessert with veneration and placed it on a trolley to personally deliver it to Oomie.

"I'll be back," Hima whispered as an afterthought.

Dea grinned. "Okay."

Within the time it took Dea to attend to the next customer, Hima pushed the trolley to the white altar of a table at which Oomie slouched and proffered the dessert. Judging by the enthusiastic exchange Dea spied from the corner of her eye, the offering was met with satisfaction at the very least.

Hima returned like a mini tornado, sending drops of water flying in all directions. "I'm back."

"I see that," Dea said, and her grin waned into a half-smile. "I'm thinking there's only one way to learn more about the Sea Witch."

Hima narrowed her eyes. "Yeah?"

"You're not going to like it."

"Go on."

"Well, the state has the info."

"What, like, hack into the SBI records?" Hima let out a laugh. "That's impossible."

Dea threw her a look and crossed her arms on the countertop again. "You're a bucket of sunshine, Hima."

"I'm just being practical here." She slumped down next to her. "Or there's another way..."

"Yeah?"

"What you need is someone who's got the right connections."

"Mhmm."

"Like, someone who's a rebel—thrilled at the prospect of human contact and crazy enough to help with this plan of yours. Someone who has family in a high-ranking position with access to that kind of classified info."

Dea cast a sideways glance at the other girl, eyes narrowed. "Yeah, exactly that."

"I happen to know the perfect candidate." Hima shook her head as if she couldn't believe what she was getting herself into.

"What?" Dea straightened up. "Who?"

Hima said nothing. Light coruscated on the water surface and bathed her face in a dramatic glow. Dea followed her gaze to a window seat.

Oomie caught her eye and smiled.

Animal: Ribbontail Ray

https://youtu.be/V8qcJKlS_b0