Shiori was swimming slowly through the streeets of the city, passing by shops and restaurants of bright coral. Her long tail flowed slowly behind her, and long brown hair covered much of her face. She kept her movements small, trying not to draw attention to herself. She wasn't really in the mood for a conversation, and she was even more afraid of the Delmare questioning her. I haven't done anything wrong. Just keep moving and they won't bother you.

Shiori wasn't headed anywhere in particular. She just needed to get fresh water. There was only so long you could stay in a small house.

Bubbles stuck his little face out of Shiori's hair. He was a sea snake, light blue with black bands. He was friendly, but way too curious. She gave him a gentle stroke with her finger and pushed him back. She should probably find somewhere more quiet.

Amphitrite peeked into her mother's bedroom. She's asleep. Good. She swam without causing any ripples and approached the back door. There's a moray meeting soon. I can't be late. She opened the door and swam outside. Her hand automatically reached up to touch her pendant, the clam with bioluminescent algae inside it. Deep breathes. You can do it. She had tied her long hair up in a messy bun and her scales shone a dim earie green colour, and Amphitrite was worried it would catch the attention of the guards. Delmare were very strict on punctuation, and if you were caught outside after lights out, well, nobody knows what happens. I can't get caught. I can't be followed. They'll kick me out. She thought frantically trying to cam herself down.

She battles against the strong currents, hiding from the gaurds working for the Delmare. There! She spotted the symbol of the Moray, an Eel twisted around a sphere. It was faint, but visible from the right angle. It was carved on the biggest coray in the grove, that grove in particular had multiple pathways twisting and turning from the circle in the center of it. Two lefts, one right Amphitrite recalled, and she swam down the pathway. She spotted a faint orange glow from an abandonned hut. It was one near the borders of the city, so not many liked living there. Found them! Amphitrite entered the hut, made of corals and rocks, perfectly sculpted like most buildings in the city.

Na Mara Muriel, prepare to be saved.

Cassiopeia/Female/Delmare

Cassiopeia sat down on her bed with a sigh. The council meeting was starting soon. More stress, more responsibilities, more snotty council members trying to manipulate her. She turned her head and looked out the window. She could see the blue lights flickering and twinkling in the houses. Not a merfolk to be seen from this distance. From here, it was so quiet. So peaceful.

But not in the chilling way of the empty palace.

She shivered. When she was a child, the palace was always bustling, either with guards, servants, maids or the occasional visiting aristocrat from the Coral Quadrant. But the day her mother died, everyone was gone. Her father rarely visited, and she had no other relatives, or friends. Only her responsibilities as the new leader of the Delmare remained.

And she was alone in this cold, wet world.

She eyed the clock on the wall, and sat up. It was time. Swimming over to her mirror, she ran her sharp, scaly fingers through her flowing lilac hair. She wondered what the council meeting would be about this time.

She picked up her twisting tiara and gently lowered it onto her head. She winced, her cyan scales glowing brighter for a moment. Even in the water, it was incredibly heavy, and made her neck hurt the second she put it on. She readjusted her hair and glided out of her room, leaving small whirlpools in her wake.

In the depth of the water, where the light usually struggled to reach, the Moray often met. Or so that's what they said.

If that was true, Xavier wouldn't have been out and about at that current moment. Granted it was technically after "lights out" or whatever but he didn't seem to particularly care. The only thing he could really worry about being spotted was his fair skin. A dark wrapping made of "knitted" seaweed dyed with squid ink was easy enough to hide that much.

The rest was an easy swim through the back groves of coral, the kelp grove and out to the outskirts. The huts out here were often only seldom used, a light on in a few of them weren't too suspicious at all. They tended to be for the look-outs, where lights' out and curfew didn't matter much.

His fan-like fin flicked through the water, guiding him into the hut as he shed the seaweed cloak and settled down. There was another of the Moray already there... an Amphitrite? Was that it? It was close if it wasn't.

Xavier lifted one hand, smiling faintly but remained silent.