Water was wet.

Very simple fact of life.

Turned out, simple facts weren't so simple, not if'n you were a Caller of the Deeps.

Was still wet, sure enough, Tamrie knew. Yet it didn't quite have the same feel, when you could breathe it easy as… well, breathing, she supposed.

Tamrie had expected to be carried along by the pod, after leaving shore. How else she was expected to keep up with the pod, she couldn't have imagined.

Wasn't so hard to imagine no more.

Tamrie's magic guided her, sure as the ocean was deep, lifting her along. Wasn't all natural. She'd had more'n a few bumps and bruises as she learned how things swirled and shifted 'round her podmates. Ocean wasn't hers alone.

And wasn't that just the most marvelous thing?

Even after a week swimming alongside them, it still amazed her that she was a part of a leviathan pod. They'd been taking their time, since leaving Cape Aeternia, each of them showing her new tricks or their favorite foods.

Of which, the selection was much more varied, and a great deal more cooked, than Tamrie had expected.

There was one of her podmates in particular Tamrie found herself growing close to. Rainbow Under the Moon that Never Grows Slow or Tired had explained that it was normal for a Caller to have more kinship with some leviathans than others.

New Aurora of the Northern Oceans Where Dwell Singing Crabs of Blue Light was one such leviathan for Tamrie.

Over the preceding week, they'd grown so close that she'd given Tamrie permission to call her simply Aurora.

That might've had a bit to do with Tamrie stumbling over the name each time she said it, but it was a sure enough sign of affection all the same.

Much fun as it was with her new podmates and learning the basics of her magic and all, Tamrie did find herself missing Perry and Ari an awful lot, even if she did cast them for half an hour every night after dinner.

Wasn't sure, but she wondered if the casting might've made it worse. As if it was a fresh reminder of what she'd given up.

Still, as the pod approached Spellford, she was grateful for the communication. Not quite as sure how to feel about the fact both her mum and High Lord Thozgar would be waiting to greet her.

Would've preferred her mum never met the man, truth be told. That ship had sailed long before she met Ari or Perry, but still.

"Are you not excited, friend-Tamrie? You get to go ashore and visit with your mother-birther and your friend's father-seeder. I would be most delighted to see my mother or my birther, and to have them be the same being would be even more exciting," Aurora asked, voice carried only to Tamrie through careful application of her magic.

That… wasn't something Tamrie was so good with. While her magic came much easier beneath the waves, it still took practice, especially if she didn't want to exhaust herself too much.

Turned out walking on water was easier than speaking through it, least for her.

So, she chose her words carefully. "It shall be exciting, most certain. Though I do not have so wonderful a relationship with my mother-birther as you have with either of yours."

"Sad, sad," Aurora sang back, the words entwined so that they carried a rather literal feeling of being embraced with them.

Another skill Tamrie had yet to achieve. Her efforts felt like little more than a rough tap, though Aurora was nothing if not encouraging.

Tamrie nodded, thankful the leviathans understood her human body language despite sharing approximately none of the same parts. Redirecting the conversation, her and Aurora were soon talking about what sorts of food Tamrie should bring back for the pod, one of the common duties a Caller picked up when they were on good terms with a settlement.

Much like any other sapient, leviathans enjoyed a good meal, even if their requirements for a decent snack exceeded most feasts.

Aurora explained that it was less about the nutrition and more about the experience. Even small portions could turn into a full meal with some of the spells Rainbow Under the Moon had.

They escorted her all the way to the dock, which had been cleared of all other traffic just for them. As she went up to greet her mum and the High Lord, Aurora and the others decided it was a perfect opportunity to practice Touching the Sky, as they called throwing themselves into the air with jets of water.

It made for quite the backdrop for Tamrie, stepping up from the ocean on a wave that rose to support her, leviathans playing in the background.

Meant it took her mum several moments to even register Tamrie had arrived, which she used to greet the high lord.

Curtsying as Arizar had taught her, Tamrie said, "Greetings to ya, High Shaper Thozgar."

"Seems my daughter's corrupted you already," Thozgar said, shaking his head. "Shame, you were such a sensible girl. Was hoping you might've knocked a bit of it into her."

"If'n you don't watch your mouth, I'll show you every bit of sense you need to see," Tamrie said, stepping forward to put her fist into his face before remembering herself.

"There she is," Thozgar said, grinning. "Glad to see my daughter wasn't wrong about you. Fast friends are not always good ones."

"You little… I've a mind to leave you here with my mum for that alone," Tamrie huffed, hands on her waist.

Unfortunately, that seemed to pull her mum's attention away from the leviathans. "Tamrie? When did… right, your letter said… but this."

"Hi Mum," Tamrie said, offering her arms for a hug.

"Hi Mum, she says," Tamarah said in response as she clutched her tight. "As if this were just another day coming home for dinner. You are staying for dinner, aren't you?"

"If'n you want, I 'spose I could spare the time," Tamrie said, releasing her mum.

"And how about me. Am I also invited for dinner?" Thozgar asked, much to Tamrie's horror.

"Of course, High Shaper. It would be my pleasure to have you at dinner," Tamarah said, her face sliding into a face Tamrie had seen far too many times.

"Good. Then if you don't mind, I'd like to steal your daughter away until then. We have a great deal to discuss," Thozgar said, extending an arm to Tamrie.

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Him coming to dinner was almost worth the shock of her mum's expression as he led her away on his arm. Especially since dinner was most the day away.

"I don't want you to construe this as anything but what it is, miss Tamrie," Thozgar said as he brought them towards the lift that would take them to the uppermost holds. "I do simply wish to give you some advice, for both your new profession, and for the complicated situation you and my daughter have found yourselves in."

"Not sure if'n it'd be appropriate to get advice from my friend's father," Tamrie said even as she stepped into the water.

She was momentarily distracted from their conversation by the feeling of the lift around them. It was so different from how it had felt before. She could feel the power of the ocean pulsing alongside her.

It was a strangely comforting thing, to be lifted so high into the air by the lifts.

And she saw then, how the leviathans had been used for inspiration for the Tiderun. Or perhaps been inspired in turn?

If only she had someone she could ask.

Giggling to herself, Tamrie did exactly that. "Did you take inspiration for the Tiderun from the leviathans?"

"Not me, though I'm certain the original organizers were at least aware of the similarities," Thozgar said as they circled the city. She hadn't realized he'd chosen the exact same route she'd taken Perry on when she'd brought her beloved to Spellford.

The thought caused her smile to crack a little.

"Ah, and there it is. The pain of being apart. Young love. A thing I can admit I never quite understood. It was several centuries before a woman caught my attention in such a way. Not that I didn't have my share of trysts when I was younger, but those are hardly the same as love, are they?"

"Not by half-a-hold," Tamrie said, shaking her head. "Not that I'd have agreed a year ago."

"No, I imagine not. It all feels so much larger than life at that age. Like magic itself," Thozgar said, holding up a hand and having the water around them dance into it.

Inspired, Tamrie moved to copy him, but found the water strangely resistant.

Not that it didn't move, but it was more sluggish than she'd expected. Which meant she pulled harder than she maybe should've. And that meant that they were soon both soaked, though that was solved as quickly as it had occurred, Tamrie wresting the water away with the thought after.

"Well, that was rather bracing," Thozgar chuckled, patting her arm. "First piece of advice, just because the ocean is being held at bay, don't assume it's not heeding your call. It just has a little more of a barrier to climb before it arrives."

Tamrie nodded, cheeks still warm as she attempted to shove the water into the side of the lift.

"Ah. The lifts are designed not to allow anything, including water to pass into them outside of certain locations," Thozgar reminded her.

"Right. I knew that, just though it'd be different on account of… y'know," Tamrie mumbled, cheeks attempting to get even brighter.

"A logical mistake," Thozgar said, nodding with entirely too much understanding.

By the time they landed, Tamrie was glad she hadn't been able to get rid of the ocean water. It served as a constant connection, keeping her from feeling quite as disoriented as she was without it.

In truth, Tamrie was rather taken with the idea of walking about with more water than was likely reasonable.

"I must admit, my dear Alinar didn't believe it was proper to do such a thing," Thozgar said, stopping in place to inspect her.

Tamrie turned, trying to smooth out the ripples in her new ocean-made cloak. "Don't see why not. If'n I can get it to settle, it'd be like those capes that're in fashion every few seasons."

"It does have that look, you're correct," Thozgar said, nodding as he escorted her to another lift, this one taking them to a building she'd only visited a handful of times, despite working in the lower branch for years.

"The library of Spellford?" Tamrie asked in confusion.

"Did my daughter not tell you? Any visiting ensouled in good standing gets to peruse the spells we keep stored within," Thozgar said as he led her up the steps. "So, tell me, Tamrie, Caller of the Deeps… what sort of magic might you be interested in?"

"Do you… do you have any Ocean or Nature spells that might allow a Caller to return home… in a case of emergency or such. Just… just in case."

"Unfortunately, I do not. Such spells lie far outside a Caller's natural repertoire," Thozgar said, shaking his head before leading her into the restricted library.

Tamrie nodded mutely, and once inside dutifully looked through a couple books before choosing a spell that looked like it would be useful for keeping notes even if she was underwater for a couple weeks at a time. Perusing spellbooks wasn't nearly as fascinating for her as it were for Ari and Perry.

It was nice, that the library did the copying for her, seeing how much she struggled with such.

After they finished, Tamrie expected Thozgar to send her on her way. "Could I perhaps interest you in a tool my wife once treasured? I fear it has gone unused for some time, but it might be of use to you."

"Oh? What's this now?" Tamrie asked, half-distracted as she wondered if maybe she ought to cut her visit short. Being around people was good, but the High Shaper, affable as he was, wasn't what she'd been missing. Not by a mile.

"It is a device I built for her that allowed her to join me within my Memory Palace," Thozgar said as he led her towards one of the waterlifts. He stopped next to it, arms folded in gentle repose as he waited. "I'm afraid such spells were as far out of her grasp as the others you asked about."

"Suppose it'd be good to have, next I see your daughter," Tamrie said, giving him a half-smile.

"She's quite cross with me, for not mentioning it sooner," Thozgar chuckled softly as he gestured her towards the waterlift. "Though perhaps if she'd mentioned sooner she had a Caller of the Deeps about, I could've offered."

Tamrie flushed, since it'd been her own fault. None of them had known, on account of her own fool self.

Soon they'd ascended to the guarded gates of the administrative palace, a simple building with huge amounts of traffic. Thozgar received a couple nods, but little more as he led her into a quiet office space.

Tamrie almost didn't notice the effect as they passed through a wooden door, moving from one space to another.

But the sudden presence of the ocean above her was impossible to ignore. As was the sudden view a girl could only get in the Lower Holds. Much as she was used to magic shuffling her about, she still cast a glance back at the door. The effect had been much less noticeable than the Waygates.

"A personal indulgence," Thozgar said, gesturing at the expansive view of the ocean above, drawing her attention away from the door. "I feel closer to her here, even now."

"Terrible thing, what happened," Tamrie said, turning away from the door and moving over towards the man who was standing next to a large rectangular box, similar to the chamber she'd ascended in. At least at a glance. She suspected Ari and Perry'd tell her how it wasn't similar at all. Then she frowned at it. "Far too big for me to packing about."

"That it is," Thozgar admitted, chuckling again even as he brushed it off.

"Good thing you're not going anywhere. At least, I hope you're not planning to leave us again so soon," Perry said, his unexpected voice not just getting Tamrie to spin about, but to throw her entire cloak of water at him.

And Ari.

Cause of course they were just standing there, smiling like fools that'd caught a fish by its tail even as she blasted them in the face with water.

She'd seen that there were other people in the room, she just hadn't cottoned on to the fact it were her people. Even Tamrie was surprised by the force she threw herself into their arms, laughing as she pulled the water away, shaping it into a cloak once more.

"Oof. Think she's getting stronger," Perry said before kissing the top of her head.

"You are simply not as strong as you think you are, my dear," Ari said even as she laid her head against Tamrie's other side. "I do hope this isn't an imposition."

"Course not," Tamrie said as she let them go. "But how'd you get here? And why're you here?"

"Pretty sure you can guess the second," Perry said, not quite letting her go. Then he smiled as he added. "We didn't want you to have to face your mum for dinner on your own."

Ari laughed, shaking her head. "As for how we are here. Do you not remember our excursion when we last departed, so Perry could set a Recall point?"

"I… think it'd be understandable, if'n I didn't think you'd use such a thing, just to visit," Tamrie said, wiping at her face, not sure if she was crying or if she'd just caught herself with the water.

"Admittedly, we do hope to get some business done while we are here," Ari said, nodding. "However, it could have waited."

"Or been handled by someone else," Perry added. "Don't let her fool you, we're here for you."

"It's ready, Ari," Thozgar said, accepting a hug of his own from his daughter. Then he turned to look Perry up and down, before nodding and walking off.

"Wait, you don't we're to… the three of us, together… for how long?" Tamrie asked,

"Long as you like. Maybe long enough we're late for dinner," Perry said, causing Tamrie to check, and confirm that it still wasn't even noon.

"Might be, I'd be okay with that," Tamrie said even as they each took her by an arm and escorted her towards the device Ari's father had been working on.

Ari nodded, kissing Tamrie on the cheek. "For one last night in port, we would appreciate it if you would join us in our dreams."

After making sure everything was set, Perry sat at a chair just across from the Memory Palace pod, Ari taking a seat beside him. She felt it then, the pod pulling at her mind, singing her softly to sleep, their minds hovering nearby, like leviathans in the deep.

"Gonna be a wet one," Tamrie said, laughing at the blush she got out of both of them as she slipped beneath the waves. "Minds as dirty as ever, you two."

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