Username: SushiFoxx
Cat Name: Nerissa
Gender: Female
Rank: Scout
Clan: Fallen Rose KingdomAge: 3 years
Prompt: 1002 wordsWater beyond and water within.
Nerissa practically lived in the water, despite being a scout she adored swimming. On quiet days she tended to speak away from the Kingdom and just go out swimming. She adored the quiet swishing of the water around her, the Clothmakers had specially made an outfit for her to assist in her swimming. Now she wore a scaled-like cape that helped her swim easier. Beads, seaweed, shells, anything she could find from within the water she would use to decorate herself.
Although, some days, it was rather odd.. If she looked hard enough into the river that stretched through the Kingdom she could almost see eyes peering out up at her. The eyes seemed to boil the water around her, those days she always appeared frazzled when she returned to the kingdom. It was not every single day that she saw the eyes, but Nerissa knew full well that they were there.
Gaze from within.
She was always more of an upbeat cat when around others, more extroverted as some would say. However, some cats have been saying that they've been seeing her drift away slowly, and become more reserved. It had become a slow but noticeable change for all of the cats she interacted with.
Some days she would barely even talk with the cats around her. On other days, she would never even be seen in the first place. The eyes were affecting her in some way, and she didn't understand. If she stayed within the water for too long her head seemed to spin, her vision fogging over. Nerissa didn't know what was happening to her, but she knew the change wasn't good. Yet, she couldn't seem to stop it.
A voice almost seemed to sing to Nerissa, it called her to the water despite her attempts to fight. It sang like a siren song, constantly dragging her closer, singing about her desires and hopes. It wasn’t the singing that scared her the most, it was the fact that Nerissa couldn’t seem to command her paws to move away. Would her love of water be the thing that ends her? At this point, she didn’t know, and the answer scared her.
Enchanting sirens call.
Enchanted. That was what the word was, Nerissa was enchanted, not by beauty, or kindness, but by a powerful figure that seemed to be steadily drawing her closer despite her attempts to fight it. There was no more running and she was horrified of that. Nerissa's paws moved against her will, drawing her closer to the inevitable. She had to run. She had to turn away.
Her attempts were futile and a panic fell over her. Eyes bore into her own from within the water. Nerissa knew that if she were pulled in, and dragged within, she would not be able to escape the fate that was held out to her on a platter. Everbound had warned her of the magic this Kingdom held from behind the depths, but Nerissa had not listened to the warnings sang at her. Now, she would have to remember her ignorance as the thing that would hold her fate in its hands.
She didn't know what was held in store for her, What would fate decide for her today. Screeches could be heard from above, the sun was sinking behind the trees. If something happened, Nerissa was almost confident nobody would find her. Every cat knew how dangerous the forest was at night. Nobody would help her if everything turned sideways, nobody would be able to support her, nobody, she was on her own.
A sea nymph.
The gods held her fate as the force dragged her beneath the surface. Her paws reached for the surface, not even her scaled cape could assist her. Never had she noticed just how deep the water was below. Darkness chased her and swallowed her senses. No longer could she see, could she smell or feel. The water tasted gravelly, and mucky, and clogged her throat.
Everything seemed to close up around her, no longer could she struggle for a breath. It was just darkness that forced her to close her eyes and accept that maybe she could not escape this. Even if she tried to swim nothing would work. A force restrained her and made everything so difficult. Silently she made out a wish, a wish to the Kingdom, a wish for them to remain safe. If she couldn't save herself she would at least try to save them.
Inky darkness swathed her senses and muted everything around her. Nerissa felt her consciousness slipping away no matter how hard she fought. It swallowed her whole like a dragon taking in its meal. Blackness gathered into a vignette around her vision. Who would miss her when she was gone? She couldn't help but wonder.
Blissful savior.
By some miracle, Everbound had found Nerissa dragged under the surface and hauled her back to the Kingdom. The she-cat gave off a different energy now, one that ebbed and flowed like the waves in the ocean. Nerissa finally woke to the world again, with Everbound hovering over her with concern. She was certainly surprised to see the witch hovering over her like a worried mother, but it was almost comforting dare she say.
Nerissa felt a change in her even as she pushed herself to her unsteady paws. 'Sea legs', as the humans called them, was how she felt. She felt as though she was still swimming within the water, treading the water to remain afloat. Strange, that was the only way she could explain it. It was almost comforting as if the water was constantly surrounding her.
Everbound simply watched her with a careful eye, ensuring nothing happened to the half-drowned cat. The energy surrounding Nerissa seemed to get stronger as she stood. Although Everbound was not certain Nerissa could feel it, she felt something was off, something was different.
Water beyond and water within.
"Nerissa, we have to talk."
