[ Lachlan ]

"Are we going to talk about it?" The silence had been slowly crushing Lachlan's spirit for three days. Only the occasional song that he sang to light up the armband interrupted the solemn swim east.

"Talk about what?" Militum's voice had gotten even more gruff without use. The big merman didn't pause to listen to Lachlan's answer. He swam as steadily as the sun rose every dawn.

"The fact that we had to leave..." Lachlan couldn't bear to say her name. Not yet. "Her behind." He swallowed hard, hoping that his nerves didn't show over his face. What would he do if Militum never talked to him again? Would he have to continue his search for Bastian all by himself?

Lachlan shook his head to get rid of the useless thoughts. Militum would never abandon the search for Bastian, though he might refuse to speak to Lachlan any more than was strictly necessary. And really, that would not be so different from the past several months.

"What is there to say?"

Surprise rendered Lachlan speechless. It wasn't a direct denial of the situation they were in, but it was not what Lachlan had been expecting. He'd thought Militum would be angry, or depressed, or trying not to emote at all. Instead, the warrior's pragmatism came out ahead of all the other things he might be feeling.

What is there to say? Other than 'I'm sorry'? The words were empty, even in his head. Nothing could comfort Militum. Nothing could bring Melodia back. What Militum was holding onto now was the slim bit of hope that he had for the future; for the idea that he would be able to bring Bastian back to his home and rightful place as the ruler of the Naiads. That hope was the same thing that drove Lachlan forward each day.

Lachlan closed his eyes for a few moments, swimming straight ahead as he searched his mind for anything that could be said. Instead of words, a song resonated from a distant memory. The first song Bastian had ever learned, though he could not replicate it, was one that Melodia often sang to him.

He took a deep breath and sang the soft notes. "While you live, shine." The gentle rhythm rolled through his body. "Have no grief at all." Lachlan opened his eyes to see Militum facing him, no longer moving. "Life only exists for a short while."

Militum opened his mouth and joined Lachlan for the final line, his deeper voice giving the line a more full sound that filled the water around them. "And Time demands his due."

As the final notes faded away, Militum lifted his fist to his heart and bowed to Lachlan. He didn't say anything else before he turned around and continued to swim, but Lachlan understood the meaning behind the warrior's action.

Thank you.

The emerald-tailed merman smiled and followed his companion, feeling that there was less tension between them. The next week passed in a brighter mood, and Lachlan began to look forward to meeting the augur. He wondered what the human would look like, and why the Sun should dislike men enough that Zareb's mother would warn them against going.

Other than Selene and the Ocean, Lachlan didn't know much about the gods. They all seemed so far away, above the surface of his entire world. Some of his Selkie family would tell stories to him when they visited, but they were distant things that meant nothing to him.

Militum looked over his shoulder at Lachlan. "We're getting close, I think. The water is shallower here, and there are many more human ships. Be careful you don't get too close to the surface."

Lachlan nodded. If the Undine were at war with the humans, then he didn't want to get close enough to be mistaken for one. His curiosity nearly killed him as they wove through the waves. This close to shore, the water was less predictable and it kept trying to throw them toward the land.

Finally, Militum angled himself toward the shore and swam slowly. Lachlan moved to his right side and kept as close as he could without crowding the warrior. The water around them was lit with gold as the sun baked the water to a warmer temperature. Lachlan felt himself relax.

"How will we know when we found the augur?" He asked Militum.

"I think that might be her." Militum gestured in front of them to a pair of legs in the water. White cloth floated around the legs and seemed to glow with the light that it reflected. Militum hesitated.

Lachlan broke the surface of the water to get a better view of the human. Her hair was dark as the night, providing contrast to the white dress she wore. She looked young to him, a slender twig of a person.

She looked at him and waved.

He swam closer, until they were only a dozen hands apart. Here, the water was almost too shallow to hide him. His tail glimmered just under the waves, green and blue mixing to make a mosaic of light. Lachlan kept his gills under the water as well, holding only his head above the waves.

"Hello," she said. "I've been expecting you." Her brown eyes were large in her small face, lending her an air of innocence. There was a beach behind her, with white sand that stretched for a distance. But there was no one else on the beach at all.

"Hello." Lachlan smiled. "Are you the augur of the Sun?"

"I prefer the term oracle, but yes." She returned his smile. "You're here to ask me something, aren't you?"

"Yes. I want to know where my brother is." Lachlan felt the words were heavy in his mouth, like a weight he couldn't rid himself of. "I've been looking for him for a long time now."

"Do you have an offering for the Sun?"

"A gift." Lachlan reached into his pouch and pulled out the hair pin. The teardrop seemed subdued in the bright light of the day. He pushed himself forward along the water until he was close enough to hand over the pin.

The girl took it gingerly between her fingers and turned it over. Her brown eyes were intense as she investigated the gem. In her hand, the tear began to glow softly and the air around her turned dark. Sparks of light light the darkness until it looked like the augur was surrounded by her own little piece of the night sky.

The pin caught fire, though she didn't seem bothered by that fact. It turned to ash in her grasp, and drifted off into the wind. Without the Moon's tear, the darkness faded and daylight returned.

"The Sun accepts your gift." Now her voice was layered, as though another voice spoke along with hers. She met Lachlan's gaze, and her pupils were molten red in the calm brown of her irises.

"You who seek the ruler of the Naiads, seek in vain. Your Triton, Bastian, gave his entire body and life for the sake of the Selachs. He has passed from the mortal realm, broken and shredded by the magic of Neptune."

Fun fact, the song that Melodia sang to Bastian as a baby is a real song. Called the "Seikilos Epitaph", it is the oldest recorded song that we have ever discovered. It was found on an Ancient Greek stele (like a tombstone), and includes not only lyrics but a complete composition of music, though it's very short. 

While there are lots of arguments about the translations (because Ancient Greek and the way we write music have changed a LOT over the years), I wanted to share it with you guys, but it's not on youtube. So here is the link for the audio, and please believe me when I say it is worth the copy/paste to hear it! (Might be easier on desktop than mobile, but hopefully this will work for you guys. If not then you can find the wiki article on the Seikilos Epitaph, and then play the audio directly from that page!)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Ο_Επιτάφιος_του_Σεῖκιλου_-_Epitaph_of_Seikilos.ogg