Can't Shred Our Love - Ripnami

Chapter 27

"Reincarnation is impossible," Coral announced to my statement. "I don't care what it says on the book, that's the simple truth." 

"But if he really is trying to reincarnate Whirlpool, we have to stop him! Whirlpool was – is – a power hungry maniac who wants to overthrow you and marry Anemone to become the king!"

"Don't say that. I know you and him got off on the wrong claw, but he really isn't as terrible as you profess him to be."

"But he really is!" I growled in irritation.

"And even if he is that bad, what do you expect us to do? Stop his reincarnation?" Coral asked.

"Well, of course!" I replied in a duh tone, frustration clear in my voice.

"And what help would that do? We already have an entire, as you so eloquently put it, power hungry maniacal organisation after us. What is one more maniac in comparison? From what you've told me, Typhoon was the organiser and genius behind the plans. If that's so, then it really is irrelevant."

I gaped in shock at her flawless logic at how I'd worried myself over nothing."I...I suppose you're right."

"So yes, we will do nothing about Whirlpool's reincarnation.  His reincarnation will not make much difference."

I smiled to myself. I'd never really doubted my mother's ability, only her moral, but I guess due to all the things that had happened recently, I just assumed that she'd fail to properly understand why I worried about certain things, especially since she made such a fuss about the princes being kidnapped without actually caring about their safety. But it seemed her ability to make decisions was still as good as ever.

"Don't worry about the organisation overthrowing us, dear. There's no way they'll be able to defeat our army," Mother reassuringly assured.

 I nodded and walked out of the room, walking towards where I'd agreed to meet Riptide, for our third date. I smiled to myself at the thought.

"Hey," Riptide grinned at me. I grinned back. "Hey there to you too."

"Right, I've planned out an hunting expedition first and then a visit to the cave once again." Riptide announced. I nodded and he leapt into the water. I followed him, diving into the water, cutting through effortlessly. I followed him through the scenic trail he'd planned to get to the hunting spot. Unlike the coral reef we'd gone through last time, this time, we swam in the current through mountainous areas. Gleaming crystals covered the walls of the surroundings, their facets of faces reflecting the sunlight from the setting sun. Phosphorus glittered at the base of the mountains, shining in different colours which were also reflected by the multifaceted jewels. Crabs scattered and octopi peeked out of caves, gliding outwards and back in. Fish darted past, colourless, yet their scales were so reflective that they were surrounded by a halo of orangey white light. We reached the hunting patch. Hundreds of fish darted, with other larger sea creatures abundant across the area, including whales, seals, walruses and sea lions, even a few sharks darting around. I swam after one of the walruses, dashing after it. However, after I caught it, I let it go; I wasn't that hungry and it would be cruel to eat it despite my lack of hunger.

A while later, we had chased and terrorised enough sea creatures, and I followed Riptide to the cave he'd shown me last time.

We surfaced up into a small underground lake. Phosphorous covered the ceilings, creating the mirage of a starry night. Somehow, there was enough to provide enough light, that plants blossomed around the edge of the water. A single tree stood at the centre, leaves yearning to the ceiling. There, Riptide had set up a small dinner. Fish, piled up high in platters, covered the floor. Small berries and leaves decorated the edge of the plates. Riptide smiled at me, and I smiled back.

"I know quite a lot about you now, I'd say. But I'd like to know more, namely, about the time in your past." I requested.

"My childhood was quite boring, really, until my father's desert. And then I was forced to do the most boring jobs. And of course, this bit you all know about."

"Still, I'd like to know more, if you're willing to tell me.

"Only if you tell me about your childhood." He bargained.

"It wasn't very interesting in the cave. Just Kestrel, Webs and Dune pushing us around." I responded.

"What was it that you said?" Riptide raised an eyebrow

"Fair enough. Deal."

Riptide sighed. "Well, until I was two, nothing happened. There isn't anything I remember as extraordinary, except for my mother's gentle face and my dad's laugh. But otherwise, it all seemed pretty normal. Of course, so was dad's constant disappearances into the war, and I didn't even really know when he deserted, until my mother was sent away. Then, when I was three, I was immediately sent as a guard at the border of the country. I can't say it was boring, for it was much more interesting than before, but still, it was often scary, although there wasn't much to it. I once met a young EarthWing in the army, but not much happened, and in the end he just left without me needing to attack him."

Suddenly, a distraction from our conversation, a cluster of flowers bobbed up their heads and began glowing brightly. The soft pink seeds of the dandelion waved around, surrounding the green bud inside.

"Those are promitto dandelions, I checked in the library," Riptide eagerly imputed. "I planned this so that we'd just manage to catch their seeds dispersing." 

The flower heads bobbed once again, then, rhythmically, in accurate tempo, the seeds drifted upwards and exploded outwards in a flurry of glowing pink dots.

"It's beautiful," I whispered. Riptide's smile grew.

"It's apparently a symbol of optimists and hope traditionally in the Earth Kingdom. I thought it was a fitting event to suit our occasion. Don't worry, Tsunami. Even if Whirlpool is reincarnated, I promised we'll be safe. "

"I love you," I smiled.

"I love you too." Riptide's snout brushed against mine, and within my stomach, a warm feeling sprouted.

a bit late, but hope you enjoyed