“Because there's nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it's sent away.”

-Sarah Kay

Air. There was air filling your lungs. The burning pain in your chest slowly faded away. Kris' arms held you securely, making sure you didn't make any sudden movements. And soon, it didn't hurt anymore. It was as if you were breathing as you normally would on the surface. How was this happening when you were totally submerged in the ocean? This doesn't make any sense... How is this even possible? Your eyes shot open, quickly looking up at Kris in complete confusion. "W-What in the name of-" "Your body has transitioned into a state that allows it to inhale air from within water," he explained, brushing your flowing hair away form your face, "It allows those in tune to surface dwelling to visit what resides under the waters of Makido, for a finite amount of time of course."

You stared at him, processing everything. You looked all around, discovering that you had actually arrived at the entrance of a massive city. Beds of brightly colored coral decorated tall earthen buildings and even independently created its own flat surfaces. There was an extremely large area, almost like an open alleyway, where these platforms of coral seemed to be designated places of commerce. Each coral platform had a people standing there surrounded by their crafts, agricultural goods, and more, as well as shoppers looking about what they had to offer.

In addition to the bright reds, pinks, and oranges you saw, there was also a tons and tons of seaweed in every nook and cranny of the area. Small children giggled as they swam through the wriggly green leaves, chasing schools of fish around them. Both the ocean floor and the buildings had tubeular looking openings that released bursts of bubbles which floated up to the surface, almost as if the sea was breathing. What fascinated you was how the bubbles glimmered once they got to a certain elevation where the sunlight could hit it directly, creating a dazzling display. You assumed that this was the aforementioned "market" that Suho's mother had been referring to.

Kris released you a bit, leading your by the hand down to one of the earthen building entrances. "Look at these," Kris said as he brought your attention to a bed of strange looking purple and and pink, slightly translucent hairlike creatures. To you, it looked like some kind of flower. "What is this?" you asked him, extending your right hand to touch it. "Don't!" Kris shouted. You instantly retracted your hand. "What?" you shouted, startled by his loud response. "This is called sea anemone, its a kind of marine creature. If you touch its tentacles it will sting you," he warned. Blinking, you looked between him and the strange creature in front of you. It danced in the current almost hypnotically. And you found yourself unable to pull your eyes away form it. "It's so alluring, and yet also dangerous... Simply breathtaking," you whispered, completely overwhelmed by the sight before you.

Kris chuckle and nodded his head, "So are you..." You furrowed your brows and turned to him. "What?" He stared at you, a blank expression on his face. "Huh? What?" "What did you say?" "Nothing!" He insisted. Kris removed his hand from around yours in a flash. Shoot, he mentally cursed himself for losing himself in the moment, What's wrong with me? You initially thought that you must have heard wrong. However, the growing blush on the messenger's face only confirmed your suspicion. Does he like me? you wondered. Before you could press him further, a howl of excitement from behind you interrupted. "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" Suho screamed as he swam quickly to the bed of coral residing on the base of one of the city foundations.

The scribe squeezed the brown, black speckled little fur ball tightly, cuddling it with no intention of ceasing. You swam closer to him, trying to see what he was holding. "It's a Werrbling" Kai said in armament. "A what?" you asked as you finally saw a squishy looking face peek out from under Suho's arms. "A Werrbling. I heard that they are playmates for those who live around these parts," Kai explained. "Yes!" Suho added, "and this one is mine! Quin say hello to everyone!" As he released it, the speckled creature spring out from his grasp. It looked like a large mass that consisted mostly of medium length fur. As it rushed through the water you could tell it was extremely fast. It zoomed in between the eight of you, quickly stopping in front of each person to examine your faces before speedily returning into Suho's arms. The scribe held the creature in his arms with loving eyes.

"When I was younger, I would get into the water and swim around with Quin. That's how most of us learn how to swim and connect with the ocean." Suho said, rubbing the cute creature's head. It made a gurgling noise and rubbed its face against his chest, happy to see his long lost swim partner after being apart for so long. "So the tribe of Harum believes it is better to connect with sea by being taught by those who dwell in it than to learn from those whose livelihoods remain on the surface." you said, understanding where Suho was coming from. "That makes sense... Like the tribe of Iren, Rossen, and Isacin," Kai said, earning a nod from the scribe. "Because we learn from the creatures who dwell in the environment along with us," Baekhyun added.

He swam closer to