Uriel struggled to stay afloat against the harsh current. His head started to feel light, a throbbing migraine building behind his eyes. Every breath tasted of salt. Every swallow brought more seawater into his churning stomach.
He blinked a few times, trying to focus. He was searching for any sign of land, or any solid object for that matter, but there was absolutely nothing. It was all the same view: the black water, the sky with countless stars. At this point, Uriel hoped that he would find another sign of life in this inescapable sea, it didn't matter if it was the beautiful rainbow serpent or the nocturnal blind bat.
Uriel's arms felt like lead. His legs wouldn't kick anymore. He was incredibly tired. The unfortunate blondie tried to stay awake by blinking a few times, but the migraine in his head and the sound of the wave current didn't help whatsoever.
His head bobbed a few times. Despite the boy's best effort to stay awake, it was all meaningless when his eyelids slowly descended, blocking half of his vision. Before Uriel could succumb to his slumber, he noticed a faint yellowish glow in the far distance. He didn't know if it was a human nor a hungry carnivorous monster. But the sleepy adolescent didn't care at this point.
In his last effort, he pushed all his remaining strength to raise his hand, waving it a few times before the darkness finally swallowed him whole.
---
A normal teenage boy usually dreams of being successful, eating a bunch of their favorite food, becoming independent, driving a car, owning a huge house, or even dreaming about a beautiful girl. Sadly, Uriel didn't get any of this when he heard the sound of an animal groan.
It sounded like a whale's song, but stretched and distorted into something mournful. It was a heavy, resonant groan that rolled across the air in this trapped sea.
Before opening his eyes, he took a deep breath first, because he knew after seeing those two beasts fighting, he'd definitely encounter more weird animals that were only supposed to exist inside a book.
He lifted his eyelid, eyes immediately shooting up at the view before him. Just a few inches away from the blondie was a wide, long, opal-shaped sea creature with half of its body in the water and half on the surface. Its skin was dark like the water, with gray scratched-up bones circling all around its body.
But what made Uriel's eyes widen wasn't the weirdly shaped creature; it was instead the fully cloaked figure standing on top of the monster. The figure wore a ragged mantle that hung past its knees, tattered at the edges and stained dark by saltwater. The hood was pulled low, swallowing the entire face in shadow. Not a single feature was visible.
It was also holding a walking stick that was as long as the cloaked figure. On top of the stick hung a lantern that looked older than anything Uriel had ever seen. Its frame was wrought iron, crusted with rust and barnacles. The glass panels were clouded and cracked, but inside, a small amber flame burned steady, untouched by the sea wind.
He continued to stare at the contained light inside the fragile glass. It radiated the same color as the yellow glow he had seen in the distance.
"You... I saw your light before I passed out. Please help me. I have no idea where I currently am!" Uriel was practically pleading toward the person riding on top of an odd creature.
The mantle figure tilted his head a bit, seeming to examine Uriel's whole appearance. After the examination was done, the figure extended his walking stick. The bottom of the rod was in front of Uriel's face. With a moment of relief, he happily grabbed onto it, and the figure slowly and carefully guided his walking staff with the happy blondie coming along with it.
His shoulder touched the oval-shaped sea creature as the owner of the walking stick retreated its rod. Uriel was so happy he grabbed onto the top of the monster, pulling himself out of the water that had nearly killed him. He sprawled across the creature's cold, rough skin, coughing so hard his ribs ached. Black seawater dripped from his mouth, his nose, his hair. He spat until his throat was raw. Then he just lay there, chest rising and falling, eyes closed, listening to the sound of his own breathing.
He lay there for a while, until a moment of realization hit him. He swiftly got up and bowed his head repeatedly to the mantle figure.
"Thank you so much. Without you, I would've been dead!" The figure looked up and down at Uriel's body, noticing how the boy wasn't wearing any shirt, and the only thing he had down there was holding on for its dear life.
The mantle figure opened its mouth and finally spoke a word. "Where's your clothes?"
Uriel flinched. He hadn't expected a voice at all, let alone one so deep. It was a man's voice, low and steady, with a weight behind it that felt older than the figure looked.
"Uhhh... it's a long story..." The boy shyly rubbed his blonde hair while smiling awkwardly. The figure, though, didn't seem too interested. He turned his head away from Uriel and tapped his walking staff.
The lantern on top of it dangled a bit, along with Uriel, when the sea creature responded to its rider and moaned loudly, echoing across this vast black ocean.
The creature began moving. Its body undulated beneath Uriel, its massive form gliding through the black water with a slow, steady rhythm. With each movement came a deep, resonant whoooom that seemed to come from inside the creature itself, vibrating through its skin and into Uriel's aching bones. The rhythm was steady. Like the breathing of something that had been swimming these waters long before Uriel was born.
Now that Uriel was out of the violent waves he had been forcefully dropped into, the sea didn't seem so bad as long as you weren't in it. Maybe it was because of the melodic sound coming from the creature, along with the slow and steady natural breathing of the ocean. All of this felt so peaceful and calm.
"Wow... Where am I even at---" Uriel's words were interrupted when a shirt and a pair of pants were suddenly dropped onto him. The figure had given Uriel the clothes. He turned his head again after throwing the fit.
"Wear those. They may not be comfortable, but it's better than nothing..." Uriel was flabbergasted by the act of kindness from this random stranger he had found on this unknown sea. He simply smiled and put on the clothes.
The shirt was a ragged plain crimson tunic with a bunch of holes in it. Same went for the pants. But just like what the stranger said, it was better than nothing.
After putting on the clothes, Uriel peeked his head a bit at the standing mantle man. The blondie wanted to start a conversation between them just so they could know each other more.
"If you don't mind me asking.....what's your name?" This was the universal way to start a small talk with new people. Although the cloaked figure remained silent, with his body still facing the opposite direction from Uriel.
Uriel waited a bit, but began to sigh when there was no answer coming from him. Just as he was about to give up, a familiar deep male voice echoed across the ocean waves.
"Seawatcher..." Uriel's eyes widened, and his head quickly turned toward the man while smiling from ear to ear.
"Seawatcher?" he asked for confirmation, and the man simply just said:
"Yeah... you can call me that..."