*epipelagic zone: The uppermost part of the oceanic zone, lying above the mesopelagic zone, that receives enough sunlight to allow photosynthesis.

Coventina looked around, making sure her brother Ecthelion whom she shared a cave with, did not stir in his sleep. His head rested on a pillow, his golden yellow hair floating gently inches above his face. His tail was a midnight blue, embroided with gold scales as mine was blue. Coventina always admired his tail much more than hers; people say he had the same tail as Orcinus, the first merman to live.

“Sorry brother” Coventina mumblea, as she swiftly swam out of the sea cave and into the open water.

Where the merpeople lived, the sun did not shine, you had to swim up a few corals in order to reach the sun zone. They hid that deep so no humans could find them. The merpeople never went to the surface of the water. The closest they would get to it was a deep-sea coral reef. It was where the sun and moon shone, however still deep enough that no human could distinguish what animal was swimming there.

As an heir to the oceananic society, Coventina was not allowed to go up to the light zone. Only non-pure bloods of the first merpeople were to go up to the light zone, because their tails were simple and blended into the coral reefs.

Coventina never listened to the rules anyway. Every night she would swim up to the surface and watch the moon set and the sun rise. That's what she was doing now.

She swam swiftly through the waters, careful not to make any sound because surely anyone would hear it being this deep in the water.

It seemed like ages until she saw a breach of light, and finally she reached the sandy bottoms where crabs battled each other and naive fish swam aimlessly. A shark circled distances above, but she wasn't scared. Merpeople are the top of the chain in the ocean, they're respected by all marine life.

As Coventina approached the shark she realized that it was hunting down a couple of fish, whom were trying to swim away.

“Stop that! Let them go.” she tells the shark, and grudgingly it obeys. Although merpeople weren't suppose to interfere with the food chain in the ocean it still bothered Coventina when they attacked each other. It reminded her of humanity, except marine life doesn’t kill for pleasure; only survival. The shark gave her one last glance, then flipped it’s enormous body, swimming out into the open sea, somewhere beyond the quiet reef.

Coventina swam up, up, and up. All around her was elaborate coral, growing out of the ocean floor in ignorant delight. Purple, blue, pink, red, orange, yellow, colours that language is yet to define paint these oceanic plants into shelters for marine life.

Moonbeams danced upon the ocean floor, casting diamond-like shadows over the crabs shells as they waddled their way into hiding. Coventina watched them curiously, wondering why the moons light was so much more beautiful than anything she’s ever seen. She imagines the humans, walking on their strange green coral, looking up at the moon, their feet still on the land.

Finally, Coventina reaches the surface. Her head pops through the water, lightening from the lack of water pressure.

She looks up at the setting moon and rising son and it taken in by aweh. The pinkish orange sky reminds her of the corals you find in the light zone, where the clown fish like to swim, however there’s something different about it too.

Amidst the beauty Coventina hears a cry, a cry of a marine animal. She looks around, trying to find the source of this painful noise when she sees a pod of Orcas rushing towards the shore of the waters.

Confused she dives down and rushes her way over to the pod who are swimming in a hurry.

“What’s happening” she asks a female orca.
“One of our young has gotten himself beached on the surface!” the Orca cries.

Coventinas actions were instant, she dashed towards the shore, ahead of the pod and towards the shores to help the young orca.

When she reached the shoreline the sun was rising, and the Orca began to grow more and more scared as the tide descended back into the ocean.
When Coventina reached the shore she dragged herself with her arms over to the Orca on the sand, her tail limply behind her.
“It’s OK” she comforts the Orca, patting his head to calm the poor guy down.
 

The sun was risen now, and Coventina was slowly