My eyes feel heavy, my hands are shaking, and I want to go to sleep, but I need to keep going. A crash, I heard a crash and I think I know who caused it.
I need to see if everyone is okay. What if it was Korian? Oh, I hope it wasn't Korian; goodness knows I wanted him the least involved in this jumbled fish mess. But maybe it wasn't him, maybe he was safely at home cleaning fish or getting ready to head to bed early?
I had hoped he was safe at home but deep inside my chest, I was pained with the reality that it could be him. I wasn't as close as I used to be with him, but I still cared for Koi, and if something happened to him…
I shook my head, lightly hitting my face, "Get it together, Serina, I'm sure he's fine, right now you have bigger fish to fry. Literally."
I continued on the path a little dizzy, seeing the boat in the distance, and my stomach curled.
"Koi."
Without a second thought I dashed to the wreck, kicking my flippers off and diving into the cool water.
A rosy pink-shimmering tale replaced my legs, and gills formed on the side of my neck and stomach.
Sharp teeth poked out from my mouth, causing a bit of cherry, colored liquid to seep from it. But I just swallowed it and swam closer to the injured little ship.
It seemed like I was the first to arrive, so that was good, and by the looks of the crash, it seemed to be the work of- "A siren." I mumbled, using my arms to pull myself into the hole of the ship, quickly shedding my tail like a lizard.
Then shuffling out the shedded layer of scales, and pushing out it. Letting my legs hang on the side, I picked up the remains and held the sack in my hand.
"You got this, Serina, just for energy, think of it as a sushi dinner or something."
I gulped and took a bite of the salty scales, nearly wincing as the crunchy flakes crawled down my throat. Each bite was worse than the next as I heard creaking nearby, making me stop in my tracks.
I dropped the rest of the shredded tail into the ocean, swallowing the last bite I had in my mouth before running toward the mysterious figure.
"Korian!"
Korian rubbed his shoulder and pushed his hand against his stomach to hold himself up as I ambushed him into an embrace, "You're okay!"
He blinked back, eyes widened, and body trembling before he relaxed from my touch, "Wha-what are you doing here? H-how did you get here?"
I stood back in tears, clasping my hands together before watching as he almost crashed to the ground.
"Koi!"
"I'm fine, dealt with worse, just a bit of shoulder and waist pain, I'll get it checked out later." He turned to me, trying to pick himself up. "You still didn't answer my question. Did you take a boat here? How did you get here so fast? Didn't the crash recently happen?"
I bit my lip, pointing to his injured leg, "You're bleeding, we should get the ambulance." I looked around for a second before turning back to Korian.
He stared at the hole in his boat, giving me a sort of pouty face.
"Never mind the boat, I'm just glad you're not seriously injured. What even happened when you crashed!?" My voice seemed to heighten, but I caught myself. Clearly, Korian was confused as he massaged his sore shoulder.
"I was coming in from a late fishing trip, like usual, and then-" he clapped his hands together, "Bang, hit, right on the side of the ship. What was it? No idea, but it launched me hard onto the rail, and I nearly tumbled off." He scratched his head, "I didn't even get a glimpse before I was nearly knocked out." He took a deep breath and squatted down. "I was barely able to get up, but when I did, I saw half of my catch was knocked back into the sea. I'm not even sure if I can save the rest."
I walk over to him and put a hand on his forehead, "You still have that small motor boat attached to the back?"
"Yeah, but I don't know the condition of-"
My webbed ears flapped, hearing the sound of a motor in the distance. It seems someone else heard the wreck too and decided to check it out.
Korian winced, trying to pick himself up again, but I gestured for him to stay down.
"It seems like someone is on their way to help, just relax."
His brows rose, "Could you come sit next to me, if you don't mind? My brain is spinning, and I wouldn't mind company."
My face flushed, and I quickly shook my head, trying to focus on the situation at hand. "I mean, sure, I can um comfort you. I don't mind."
I could see a small smile crawl onto his gentle face, his scars giving a unique sense of beauty that made something in my chest warm. Just as it did when we were younger, his kind-hearted gaze stuck on mine, but before I could react, I heard the motorboat stop.
I squeezed my hand tight, going to check out who arrived, and not surprisingly, it was my brother. He lived close by, so it was easy to reach this side of the island if he needed to. My head turned to the person next to him, and I frowned, Sammie Lee.
"Serina? What are you doing here all by yourself? You should have come in got me." I held my hand out, pulling my brother into the heart of the ship. "I am sorry, I was nearby and wanted to make sure someone wasn't seriously injured."
He sighed, waving Sammie Lee up, "Well? Is Korian okay?"
I nodded, "Yeah, but he's going to need some first-aid."
He hit the red-cross bag on his side, "Already, prepared, thankfully, Sammie Lee was visiting. He wanted to talk to me about some things, but after we heard the crash, we came straight here. He already called back up as well."
Calling for back-up is good, but chatting with Sammie Lee? What could they possibly want to talk about?