“Did you-“ Carter took a few seconds to catch his breath, “Did you all know that I’m just a tiny bit terrified of sharks?” Carter slumped, taking hearty breaths as he slowly calmed down. “Gosh…” He eyes drifted to Arria, and he smiled tiredly, “But I’m okay.”
Arria nodded, "Okay… good," He looked a few moments to catch his breath. After noticing how tired Carter looked, he added, "Let's head back, shall we?"
“What about the crystal?” Carter asked, turning to look at Herla more. He managed a smile, his pulse finally going back to normal. “What are you going to do with a thing so huge?”
"Put it with the rest of the collection." Herla said simply, shrugging a shoulder, "We deliberately made space for it. We've been tryin' to get that thing for ages."
Carter sighed, then shook his head a little and he got hold of the crystal and lifted it once more. He smiled at Arria, “Alright, we should go soon then…” I’ll probably need another potion soon… Carter gave a grin to Arria’s friends, “I’ll see you all later.”
"See you soon, Carter." They said, Gallion taking the crystal from Carter. Arria took his loves hand in his.
"Come on then." He said gently, starting to lead them back to the cave.
Carter smiled, moving to wrap his arm around Arria’s waist as they swam together. As long as there aren’t anymore sharks… “Your friends sure are something…” He sighed, looking in the direction the sharks were and shuddering.
Arria giggled and nodded, "Yup, they sure are. I didn't know you were afraid of sharks, if I did I wouldn't have made you do that for a stupid joke." He sighed and shook his head a little. He felt really guilty for Carter almost dying and it could have been his fault.
“It wasn’t a joke, though,” Carter drawled, “Because if I hadn’t done it, I would never have proved myself. Even if it had meant to be a joke, it would’be been cowardly if I hadn’t done it,” Carter mused, laughing a little bit to himself, “As long as I don’t have to encounter a shark ever again…”
“You wanted to be a merman, you’re going to have to encounter one sooner or later. And it was a joke, they already had accept you as part of the group.” Arria sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
Carter laughed it off. “I don’t care, as long as I’m with you,” Carter leaning in to sweetly kiss him. “Now we should probably hurry back, how much time has passed since the last potion?” He asked quietly, glancing down at his tail.
Arria’s eyes widened and he shrugged a shoulder, “I-I don’t know. Come on then, let’s hurry.” He quickly grabbed Carter’s hand, swimming hurriedly to the cave. God he hoped they were going to get there in time.
Just as they were getting to the cave, Carter started to feel it as the water became incompatible to his lungs, and he slowly felt that pain split down his leg. He winced a little, trying to hold his breath as long as possible.
"Come on, we're nearly here." Arria muttered, pumping his tail harder. Eventually, they made it to the cave and Arria pushed Carter the little way up to the air, following shortly after him.
Carter sucked in the air, relief coming to his tense lungs. He made a smile to reassure Arria he was okay when he started to tread water. I need another pair of shorts… Carter shook his head at himself, turning a shade of red. “Do you-Do you have another potion already ready?”
Arria nodded and pushed himself up onto the rocks, flipping some hair out of his face once he was up. He grabbed the bag he brought and gave one to Carter, “Here.” He ran a hand through his hair lazily.
Carter smiled a little, gulping up the potion. His legs molded back together, and he laughed a little once the heat disappeared from his face. “I should probably carry around a potion with me, shouldn’t I?” He mused, glancing down at his tail.
Arria smiled a little and nodded, “That would probably be best. Saves you nearly drowning each time it fades.” He shrugged a shoulder with a small sigh.
“Yeah, it would,” Carter laughed quietly, “I would need a belt or chest strap to carry it or something, probably. Is there like, a merpeople clothing store?” He laughed at the thought, leaning back on a rock.
“Yeah, for accessories and stuff for parties and so on. I’m sure there will be something like that for you.” Arria replied, cracking a smile.
Carter smiled, taking Arria’s hand, “Well then I want to go shopping~” He tugged Arria towards the cave exit excitedly, grinning at this point.
Arria rolled his eyes, “You’re like a little kid, I’m coming I’m coming. We have to drop by my home though first.” He said, laughing.
Carter pecked Arria on the cheek, “So… is there merpeople currency?” He asked, chewing his lip slightly. I wonder is Arria has a job… I wonder if I need to get a job…
“Yes, that’s what we’re going to get stupid.” Arrow giggled a little and picked up the pace of the swimming with a content sigh.
“What is it though? Gold? Silver? Shells?” Carter laughed a little, picking up his own pace to keep up with Arria. I definitely don’t want Arria to pay for my expenses…
“You’ll see.” Arria giggled a little and hummed quietly as they swam closer to his house.
Carter playfully narrowed his eyes, whining, “Tell me~” He blew bubbles at Arria’s face, making a pouting face.
Arria just giggled a little more, “Nope, you have to wait.” He smiled innocently at Carter.
Carter tipped his head back with a laugh, bumping his shoulder into Arria’s playfully as they swam up to his house. Carter tugged the door open for Arria with a gentleman’s grin.
Arria laughed, "Why thank-you." He hummed quietly as he swam into the house, heading right for the back room. He winced at the mess of everything in his room, books and potions littered everywhere, papers and other random objects. Shaking his head he headed for a drawer in the back.
