Reborn as a Side Character in the Beastworld

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-five

On the orders of the Bailey's Burrow kings, a peacock named Adam, who was mated to Sera, and an eagle named Quinn, who was newly mated to Eve, stood on the beach in their beast forms after having flown for over twelve hours. With their exceptional eyesight, they scanned the waves at the edge of the continent, searching for any sign of the mer tribe. Quinn spotted it first. There, behind the tall rocks at the river's outlet, was a flash a light, iridescent blue, different than the blue of the sky or sea.

The eagle let out a shrill call and shifted into his beastman form. "You there! Are you part of the mer tribe? We have a message for your king."

Sharp indigo eyes peaked over a boulder that hid most the beast's body and looked suspiciously at the birds.

With no reply forthcoming, Adam shifted and inched his way closer as well. "We have news of the mer tribe's female. She arrived at our village yesterday and we seek her mates."

A mer of about twenty years used his arms to pop up and yell confidently at the birds, "What kind of scam are you trying to pull? Our female is safe and sound in her cave."

Adam and Quinn looked at each other with shared confusion.

Quinn spoke first, "Are you sure? That can't be right. Is your tribe's female not name Qin?"

The angry smacking sounds of a large fish tail reached their ears. "Ha! I don't know how you learned her name. But it doesn't matter. Have the two bird tribes finally joined forces in an effort to deceive and betray us? I won't believe anything that comes from your beaks. If you were going to lie, you should have chosen something more believable!"

Then the blue mer dove into the water behind him and disappeared, leaving the two tired flyers to contemplate their next move.

"What should we do now?" Adam asked Quinn.

Quinn rubbed his chin in thought, "Let's wait for a while. If they really do have thier female in their cave, they won't return and then we can fly back tomorrow and report it. If not, the mers will become anxious and seek us out soon." Quinn answered.

Adam nodded and sought out shade beneath a palm tree. Picking up and cracking open a coconut, the peacock sat back and got comfortable in case their wait was a long one. Quinn soon followed suit.

Bluepool's body felt tight with anxiety and doubt as he sped through the water towards his home in the reef. He hadn't  expected his daily sunbathing to be interrupted by such nonsense. But a shadow of doubt crept into his scales, spurring him down into the ocean depths. Jin, their king, had been monopolizing their female for years. Even though Bluepool should have been given the right to mate with Qin when he achieved his third stripe, Jin had prevented it. The words the birds had spoken felt like it might be a key to the chest of answers he'd been seeking for years. If what they'd said was true, then Jin had been hiding Qin's absence and lying to all of them.  Determined to confront the mer king, Bluepool's expression turned to worry. If Qin was really missing from her cave, then their tribe could be on the cusp of extinction. Though he had turned the birds away, he prayed to the Beast God that Qin was somewhere within reach.

With the immense strength of his tail, Bluepool cut easily through the water until he saw the gold glint of Jin's scales headed deeper into the reef. With anxiety that could not be relieved until he knew the truth, Bluepool unhesitatingly approached. "King! I have news!" He said, waving to catch Jin's attention.

The tired looking mer stopped and cast dead eyes at the young spirited male. "What is it?"

Bluepool spoke as fast as his tail could flap, "Two birds came to the beach and told me that Qin is in their village. That can't possibly be true can it? Qin is in her cave, isn't she?"

Jin's eyes opened wide in surprise and then he nervously looked around at the other nearby males. "Of course, she's in her cave. What nonsense." The king tried to brush off the accusation and then swam close to Bluepool and whispered in his finned ears. "Follow me. Now." He ordered and took off towards Qin's cave without a backwards glance.

Bluepool, thinking he was finally going to be given the chance to see Qin and possibly mate with her, followed excitedly. With a nod to the guards positioned just around the corner and out of visual range from Qin's hidden home, King lead Bluepool to the very entrance. The inside, that should have been beautifully lit with the many luminous pearls gifted to the tribe's female, was dark. Bluepool's hope faded as dark as the cave.

"She's not here." He whispered in disbelief. Then he looked to his king who's wrinkles around his tired eyes and frowning lips seemed deeper in the darkness as though the shadows had become part of him. "For how long?"

"Ten years." Confirmed the king's deep flat voice. Bluepool looked at Jin aghast as his words destroyed any trust they'd had between them. He'd been lied to for so long. They all had. The king's expression turned from grief to frustration "What did the birds say. Tell me everything."

"They said she's at their village." He confessed out of habit. "How?... Why did you keep it a secret for so long?"

"I have been sending the elders out every year in search of her. I held hope that she'd one day return." The king spoke in a heartless tone. Then he seemed to rouse himself to be the leader he was, "Where are the birds. We need to find out where their village is and retrieve her. This will be just between you and me. We must bring her back."

Though Bluepool felt the betrayal of his kind deeply, he didn't argue the point. They had to bring her back. "This way." The younger mer said and took the lead, heading back to the beach and the birds that he hoped were still there.

Luckily, the birds were spotted napping beneath a large palm tree. They shifted their tails to legs and roused the messengers. Jin demanded even the smallest details from them. He asked for the location of the village, the size, the leaders, and a description of the female they claimed to be Qin. At her description, light came back to the eyes that had been dark for so long. King finally felt real hope.

"We'll take the river. You will fly above us and lead us. What took you a full day should only take us a day and a half. Less if the water is high." The tetra marked male demanded.

Though Adam and Quinn didn't like his tone, they agreed to his orders as they were still within their own kings' instructions. The two mers where noticeably anxious to go. So, they wasted no time and began the journey back without delay. None of the beasts spoke after that. The mers were lost in their own personal emotional chaos and the birds simply didn't care to know what thoughts were rolling around in the fishes' heads. It didn't matter. All they cared about was getting back to their home and their mates. The sooner the better.