ƬHƐ ƬIƊƐƇALLƐR || Shadz' BBFC || Becoming a Fic Soon!
Jun 27, 2017 21:56:10 GMT -5
phantomstar57, Mᴏᴏɴ - -, and 1 more like this
Post by » ѕнαdσω ⚔️ on Jun 27, 2017 21:56:10 GMT -5
CURRENT WORD COUNT: 8036
Welcome
Welcome one and all! On this thread I will be taking part in ᴛᴜᴇsᴅᴀʏ 's WFF 2017 BEACH BASH FIC CLASH where the goal is to complete 31 prompts in 31 days. I will be aiming to write all 31 with each having high quality content.
Since all the prompts are 'beach' themed, I decided to make all my entries about my new story idea: The Tidecaller. You might have seen it and read it for Tuesday's Challenges, but here it will be fully explored. Each prompt will be a slice into the current Tidecaller's story. Ceto will be the eyes, ears, and mouth for all the prompts, but that doesn't mean she will always be the main focus. From what I have been able to discover about my little Tidecaller, she has a lot of very important characters in her life that affected her in ways that even I have not yet realized. This will be a discovery for both reader and author, and I can't wait to get started!
Below you will find information on the Tidecaller and the world she hails from along with a list of character names and their descriptions. I will also be including a soundtrack that I highly encourage you to add to. Sometimes readers will see something in a character that I haven't yet discovered, so hit me up with those song suggestions!
To my fellow authors attempting this challenge; I wish you the best of luck. I cannot wait to read all that you have to offer. Keep your head high and push through! You can do this.
But, pleasantries aside, I fully plan on winning, so watch out. I come on the waves with my Tidecaller.
- Shadowface (The Fallen Warrior)
Who is the Tidecaller?
The Tidecaller is an ancient entity who is believed to be reincarnated in the body of a she-cat in the Tribe of Roaring Waves every few decades. To be recognized as the Tidecaller, the young she-cat must be chosen by the Water Bearer who will ascend from the sea caves a few moons after she is born. Once the Tidecaller is named, she is taken away by the Water Bearer and trained to hone her powers. It is the Tidecaller's duty to bring change and ultimately prosperity to the tribe. With her powers she can tame and control the sea itself, giving the tribe many years of peaceful and prosperous living for as long as the Tidecaller lives. Once the Tidecaller dies, the tribe must wait until the Water Bearer emerges from the caves again to train the next Tidecaller.
How did the Tidecaller come to be?
It is believed by the Tribe of Roaring Waves that the ocean used to be a life-giving God. It was much more powerful than it is today, and had a consciousness and a physical body. But it was tricked and deceived by a lowly mortal cat who had lived for years on the ocean’s deserted shores. The cat had been fed up with its miserable, hard and lonely life, and so it stole the sea’s consciousness; the part of its power that gave the sea God intelligence and self-awareness and-according to many elders of the tribe-a heart. That cat became the first Tidecaller and the founder of the Tribe of Roaring Waves. Ever since then, the Tidecaller has been re-born again and again in time to keep the raging, vengeful sea in its place and thus halt the destruction of the tribe.
The Characters
Ceto: (means goddess of the sea) The Tidecaller. A tall, long-legged she-cat with greyish white sea-foam fur. She has dark grey almost black ears and tail with a lighter shade of grey splotches in the corners of her sea-green eyes. She has a brighter, whiter patch of fur on the bridge of her nose and cheek bones.
Wylie: (means well-watered meadow) Ceto's childhood friend. Brenna’s older brother. Lanky blue-grey tom with lighter silvery grey tabby stripes. Has a long tail with tabby rings and bright, shimmering blue eyes.
Brenna: (means little drop of water) Wylie’s kid sister. Small, blue-grey she-cat with a rounded face and large watery blue eyes.
The Water Bearer ( Ibai ): Outisde of the cave, the water bearer appears as a very dark, dusty grey tom-cat with a lighter, pale dusty brown undercoat and an almost black body coat. He is compact with strong legs and muscled shoulders. Inside the cave, his body is made out of clear sea water. Both forms, he still has cold, grey eyes.
Amatheia: ( means one who nurses the fish ) Ceto's Mother. A supple, sea-foam white she-cat with short, coarse, salt-stained fur with dark grey eye patches, ear tips, and tail. She has pale green eyes with blue flecks.
Meltem: ( means sea wind ) Ceto's Father. A tall, long-legged tom cat with a off-white base coat and bright, red-orange fur patches. He has soft amber eyes.
Kaito: ( means sea in Japanese ) One of the Divine Council members. His coat is on the thicker side with a pale, sandy color dominating most of his pelt. He has delicate, yet sharp off-white streaks placed in random spots on his fur, along with a few other muted colors that are slightly different shades from his base coat. He has, dark, muddy yellow eyes.
Argo: Amatheia's close friend. A tall, supple black she-cat with an abnormally short tail and bright yellow eyes.
The Songs of the Tidecaller
"What's Wrong" by PVRIS - Push and pull/Oh it's all getting old/No I didn't want this throne.
"Broken Crown" by Mumford & Sons - The pull on my flesh is just too strong/It stifles the choice and the air in my lungs/Better not to breathe than to breathe a lie.
The Prompts
The Key:
1. Starfish
2. Seafoam
3. Sand
4. Waves
5. Storms
6. Ships
7. Tide Pools
8. Message in a Bottle
9. Sharks
10. Squids
11. The Shallows
12. Sunshine
13. Shells
14. Fish
15. Palm Trees
16. Reefs
17. Jellyfish
18. Tides
19. Gulls
20. Diving
21. Kelp
22. Coral
23. Crabs
24. Swimming
25. Vacation
26. Pier
27. Shore
28. Driftwood
29. Breeze
30. Island
31. Undertow
1: No Legs
She walked over the sand, the waves bowing in greeting as she passed. Little eddies swirled toward the sea as the tide pulled inwards, reflecting the fast moving grey-white clouds streaking overhead that obscured the early rising sun every now and then. The wind was always pulling the clumps of moisture into strange patterns, which was why she walked along the shore so much. She liked to imagine different things in the clouds. A giant whale breaching the surface of the water, a jellyfish tangled in its own tentacles, or maybe even a feline riding the waves.
She halted her imagination though, as it was broken by loud, rowdy noises of a few of her tribe mates a few yards down from her.
They were all young toms, just barely training to be Barriers, protectors of the Tribe of Roaring Waves. They bounced around on the shore, kicking up wet clumps of sand, circling a central point where one of the toms was showing off something he had grasped in between his fangs.
A bright red starfish.
She gasped, horrified that they were harming a living creature. She wouldn’t stand there and let them hurt it and tease its freedom. They cruelly dipped it in the salt water pooling in a dip in the sand, and then would each take a turn pulling on it. One of its five legs had already been brutally torn from its glistening crimson body.
She took in a deep breath, her small sea-foam colored chest expanding as she ran towards them, her brow set in a determined angle.
“Hey, you bullies! Leave it alone!” She cried, skidding to a halt and kicking sand at them.
They winced and backed away, their expressions mutually amused. The leader though was annoyed. He dropped the amputated starfish at her tiny paws, casting her in his shadow.
“Why should you care?” He asked, narrowing his yellow eyes at her. “A starfish isn’t a cat. It can’t feel what we can feel. Go away and let us have our fun, kit.”
Her brow smoothed out, a puzzled look coming onto her delicate facial features. “Not…a cat?”
She hadn’t thought about it. Looking down at the injured Starfish, she couldn’t tell whether it was hurting. It didn’t move. It wasn’t screaming for help. It had no eyes, no ears, and no claws to defend itself. The only sign that it was a living thing was the small trickle of black blood leaking from its wound. She had no idea what it was like to be a Starfish. What was to say it had any feelings like hers at all?
“That is enough, Kylo. Shouldn’t you and your friends be at the Dune Pit already for training?”
The group of toms raised their heads to a new shadow being cast over her. A much taller one with larger paws and harder facial features. She turned to see a supple, off-white she-cat with sea-salt stained fur and grey spots around her pale green eyes. It was her mother, Amatheia.
Amatheia stood strong and proud, her gaze zeroing in on the injured Starfish.
“To harm a creature of the ocean,” she growled, casting her eyes onto the young Barriers, “is to anger the Sea God.”
They all shook in their fur, their eyes wide as they gazed upon her mother who was one of the nine members of the Divine council, the leaders of the Tribe.
“Yes! Sorry, Ama,” Kylo apologized, using her mother’s nickname out of familiarity.
Then they all turned tail and ran for the dunes beyond the beach, leaving behind the bleeding red starfish.
Her mother sighed, coming up alongside her and picking up the starfish with her paw, sliding her pads underneath it and lifting it up for inspection.
She watched her mother for a moment before asking, “can a starfish feel pain, mother?”
Amatheia brought the creature closer to her daughter so she could see the severed arm and the dark blood that still leaked from its veins.
“Whether or not the starfish is like us, that doesn’t make it any less of a living, breathing thing,” she said sternly, but gently. “It wants to survive and thrive like any other creature of the sea.”
A sadness came over her. She leaned forward, stroking her small paw over the rough surface of the starfish’s back. The red color of the creature was so pretty and striking.
“I’m sorry…they were so awful to you…it’s not going to die, is it mother?” She cried, her sea-green eyes glistening.
Amatheia purred, bumping her pale pink nose with her own. “You don’t give the starfish enough faith. It is much stronger than it looks,” she assured her daughter. “After a little while, it will regenerate and grow its limb back with no lingering effects from this ordeal. In fact,” her mother mused, tilting the starfish in her paw to look at it from a different angle. “If all of its limbs were torn off, it could still survive.”
She gasped, her small body trembling with excitement. “Really, mother?”
Amatheia chuckled, gently picking up the Starfish. “Yes. I would never lie to you. Now, let’s return this little one to the Tide Pools, shall we?”
She nodded, watching the starfish with large, round, expectant eyes, as if it would sprout another limb at any moment. She followed her mother to the other end of the beach away from the dunes where a part of the land stretched out into the sea and became rocky. Inside the cracks the sea water had eroded away perfectly rounded holes that held all sorts of sea life, including starfish.
Her mother placed the starfish in the biggest pool alongside a few other starfish that were more yellow or orange than red. The starfish they had rescued was special. One of a kind.
“I want to be strong like the starfish, mother,” she proclaimed, puffing out her chest. “I want to be able to survive with no legs!”
Amatheia chuckled, wrapping her tail around her daughter’s small, kit body, rubbing her nose on the top of her head. A protective embrace, though she cast her gaze out to the sea, a weariness building in them. The waves reflected in her irises still bowed to her young daughter.
“That would be quite a trait to have, Ceto.”
She halted her imagination though, as it was broken by loud, rowdy noises of a few of her tribe mates a few yards down from her.
They were all young toms, just barely training to be Barriers, protectors of the Tribe of Roaring Waves. They bounced around on the shore, kicking up wet clumps of sand, circling a central point where one of the toms was showing off something he had grasped in between his fangs.
A bright red starfish.
She gasped, horrified that they were harming a living creature. She wouldn’t stand there and let them hurt it and tease its freedom. They cruelly dipped it in the salt water pooling in a dip in the sand, and then would each take a turn pulling on it. One of its five legs had already been brutally torn from its glistening crimson body.
She took in a deep breath, her small sea-foam colored chest expanding as she ran towards them, her brow set in a determined angle.
“Hey, you bullies! Leave it alone!” She cried, skidding to a halt and kicking sand at them.
They winced and backed away, their expressions mutually amused. The leader though was annoyed. He dropped the amputated starfish at her tiny paws, casting her in his shadow.
“Why should you care?” He asked, narrowing his yellow eyes at her. “A starfish isn’t a cat. It can’t feel what we can feel. Go away and let us have our fun, kit.”
Her brow smoothed out, a puzzled look coming onto her delicate facial features. “Not…a cat?”
She hadn’t thought about it. Looking down at the injured Starfish, she couldn’t tell whether it was hurting. It didn’t move. It wasn’t screaming for help. It had no eyes, no ears, and no claws to defend itself. The only sign that it was a living thing was the small trickle of black blood leaking from its wound. She had no idea what it was like to be a Starfish. What was to say it had any feelings like hers at all?
“That is enough, Kylo. Shouldn’t you and your friends be at the Dune Pit already for training?”
The group of toms raised their heads to a new shadow being cast over her. A much taller one with larger paws and harder facial features. She turned to see a supple, off-white she-cat with sea-salt stained fur and grey spots around her pale green eyes. It was her mother, Amatheia.
Amatheia stood strong and proud, her gaze zeroing in on the injured Starfish.
“To harm a creature of the ocean,” she growled, casting her eyes onto the young Barriers, “is to anger the Sea God.”
They all shook in their fur, their eyes wide as they gazed upon her mother who was one of the nine members of the Divine council, the leaders of the Tribe.
“Yes! Sorry, Ama,” Kylo apologized, using her mother’s nickname out of familiarity.
Then they all turned tail and ran for the dunes beyond the beach, leaving behind the bleeding red starfish.
Her mother sighed, coming up alongside her and picking up the starfish with her paw, sliding her pads underneath it and lifting it up for inspection.
She watched her mother for a moment before asking, “can a starfish feel pain, mother?”
Amatheia brought the creature closer to her daughter so she could see the severed arm and the dark blood that still leaked from its veins.
“Whether or not the starfish is like us, that doesn’t make it any less of a living, breathing thing,” she said sternly, but gently. “It wants to survive and thrive like any other creature of the sea.”
A sadness came over her. She leaned forward, stroking her small paw over the rough surface of the starfish’s back. The red color of the creature was so pretty and striking.
“I’m sorry…they were so awful to you…it’s not going to die, is it mother?” She cried, her sea-green eyes glistening.
Amatheia purred, bumping her pale pink nose with her own. “You don’t give the starfish enough faith. It is much stronger than it looks,” she assured her daughter. “After a little while, it will regenerate and grow its limb back with no lingering effects from this ordeal. In fact,” her mother mused, tilting the starfish in her paw to look at it from a different angle. “If all of its limbs were torn off, it could still survive.”
She gasped, her small body trembling with excitement. “Really, mother?”
Amatheia chuckled, gently picking up the Starfish. “Yes. I would never lie to you. Now, let’s return this little one to the Tide Pools, shall we?”
She nodded, watching the starfish with large, round, expectant eyes, as if it would sprout another limb at any moment. She followed her mother to the other end of the beach away from the dunes where a part of the land stretched out into the sea and became rocky. Inside the cracks the sea water had eroded away perfectly rounded holes that held all sorts of sea life, including starfish.
Her mother placed the starfish in the biggest pool alongside a few other starfish that were more yellow or orange than red. The starfish they had rescued was special. One of a kind.
“I want to be strong like the starfish, mother,” she proclaimed, puffing out her chest. “I want to be able to survive with no legs!”
Amatheia chuckled, wrapping her tail around her daughter’s small, kit body, rubbing her nose on the top of her head. A protective embrace, though she cast her gaze out to the sea, a weariness building in them. The waves reflected in her irises still bowed to her young daughter.
“That would be quite a trait to have, Ceto.”
2: Wylie
The tide pools reflected the clear sky, casting a light, blueish glow upon Ceto’s young face. The ripples played with the white patch of fur along the bridge of her nose and cheekbones, causing it to glow brightly.
Beneath her sea-green gaze, a blood red starfish clung to the wall of the pool, its legs slowly wavering in the weak current moving between the rocks. Where the fifth leg should have been, two small white bumps protruded outward. Two new legs to replace the old.
Ceto smiled to herself. Amatheia had been right. She hadn’t given the starfish enough credit.
She took her eyes away, sighing as the breeze moved through her kitten fur. She lazily dipped one of her paws into the tide pool, gently caressing the top of the starfish. She wishes she could convey feelings to it. Convey how happy she was that it was alive and thriving. It gave her hope that she could be strong like that one day. That even when the legs were ripped from beneath her, she could still walk.
She raised her head to observe a few older Barriers fishing in the ocean waves, their pelts clinging to their skin. They poised on the sandbars with their paws raised, waiting for an unsuspecting fish to pass in front of them. Beyond them, where a part of the rocky shore stuck out into the water, a young tom-kit was standing on a large boulder and watching the others below him. From where Ceto sat, she could tell that he was around her age, his fur still mostly fluff. The sun highlighted a few tabby rings around his grey tail, but he was too far away to discern anything else.
Without warning, the tom-kit froze, his whole body going stiff, and then he tipped over, like a palm tree falling onto its side. With horror, Ceto watched as he went over the side of the boulder he was standing on, falling into the sea on the opposite side of where the Barriers could see him.
“No!” she screeched, catching the attention of the Barriers. She got to her paws and quickly ran toward the ocean, aiming to jump straight into the waves.
Her tribe mates were racing through the water toward her, wondering what had got her so worked up, but she didn’t pause to wait for them. She plunged straight into the first wave that crashed toward her, impressively keeping afloat and swimming out toward where she had seen the kit fall into the water.
“Wait! Ceto, come back!” One of the Barriers yelled. She didn’t listen. She wasn’t afraid of the ocean. She knew it wouldn’t let her drown.
“I’m coming!” She called to the young kit. He was floating in the water, not moving and unresponsive. His muscles were still rigid and stiff.
She dived under a wave as it came over her and then came up under the kits body, praying that she could pull him back to shore. She opened her jaws wide and grabbed his scruff, grunting in surprise at how heavy he was.
A slight, gentle current pushed against her side, steering her toward the beach where the few Barriers were wading towards her.
It was only a few moments until one of them had Ceto in their jaws, taking her away from the tom-kit. She protested, not wanting to let him go, afraid he had gotten water into his lungs. Another barrier, a tom with similar silver tabby rings around his grey tail like the kit, took his still body into his jaws and lifted him from the ocean, wading back through the waves until he could deposit him onto the sand.
The moment the kit was laid on the sand, his body began giving over to convulsions. His whole body wiggled like a stranded fish, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. At his mouth, a substance like sea foam pushed out from between his lips.
Ceto was placed down. Once her paws were on the beach she dashed over to the tom-kit and who she assumed was his father who was holding him as still as he could, his expression one of solemn patience.
“What’s happening?” Ceto cried, watching as more sea foam fell from the kits lips.
The kit’s father shook his head, his jaw clenched in frustration. “He has these every once in a while. They come and go…his mother died giving birth to him because of a similar episode.”
Ceto’s green eyes widened, feeling grief for the Barrier who watched both son and mate go through similar horrors. What if she hadn’t noticed his son fall from the cliff? Why was he up there in the first place?
Soon the tremors quieted, and the tom-kit fell into a deep, comfortable sleep. He was carried away to the Healers cove where he could be monitored overnight.
Ceto stayed by his side, nodding to her tribemates who praised her for her bravery. Of course, when it came to her mother and father, neither of them were too pleased. They didn’t want her risking her life so foolishly. She should have let one of the Barriers go and rescue him. But after Ceto’s mother had left and her father, Meltem, was alone with her, he gave her a wink and a nose-bump. He was ridiculously proud of her. He told her he wished he could have been there to see it.
Ceto decided to stay at the tom-kits side, whose name she learned was Wylie. His father stayed outside of the cove, talking with the Healer and the council. She wasn’t sure why the council would need to get involved, but she left them to it. Her mother was one of the nine on the council anyways. She would hear about it soon enough.
The cove was a quiet, tranquil place. It was beyond the ridge of sand dunes and was situated into the side of a hill. Here the ocean pushed into the land and provided a calm, small inlet. The ground was full of shallow pools and tall, waving green greases that whistled when the wind blew through them. Ceto didn’t come here much. The only time she could remember coming here herself as a patient was when she had a fever and needed herbs to bring it down.
But now Wylie lied in one of the generous grass nests, his breathing long, drawn out, and steady. Now that she was closer, Ceto could tell that his pelt was more blue-grey than plain grey, and his tabby stripes only covered his appendages, face, and tail. She wished he would open his eyes so that she could see the color. She was hoping they would be blue, like the ocean.
The moon was high now, casting a silver glow upon the sand and grass. Ceto was tempted to leave Wylie’s side and go walk along the beach, but she was too worried. She had never seen a cat suddenly fall like that, and it made her even more paranoid since he was her own age. How could a young cat live with such a threat hanging over him all the time? How often did these episode really happen?
There was a small gasp, and Ceto’s eyes tore themselves away from the outside of the cave and to Wylie who was beginning to wake up. She moved to go grab the Healer, but Wylie touched her side with his paw.
“No…please, don’t.”
Ceto tilted her head in confusion, but decided to let it go and sat back down. As long as he was awake and breathing normally, she didn’t have to go get the healer.
“Hello,” she greeted him. “I’m Ceto.”
Wylie’s eyes narrowed, struggling to stay open. “What are you doing here?”
Ceto looked around the cave, then back at Wylie’s puzzled expression. “Don’t you remember? You fell from the cliffs. I went into the water and saved you!”
Wylie looked even more confused. It was clear he didn’t remember. “Really?”
Ceto nodded, warily pressing the pads of her paw against his forehead, checking for a fever. “Yes. Your whole body went stiff-”
Wylie pushed her paw away gently, his eyes opening fully. They were a beautiful shimmering blue. “I know I had an episode.”
Ceto swallowed, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. “I-I’m sorry. You were just unconscious for so long…”
Wylie sighed. “Yeah…that always happens. I black out and don’t remember what happened.” He paused, locking his eyes with hers. “So you saved me?”
Ceto nodded, curling her tail around her paws.
Wylie smiled hesitantly. “Thank you…I guess I owe you one.”
Ceto shook her head, brushing off his words. “No, it was nothing!”
“It wasn’t nothing,” Wylie insisted, his eyes widening. “You went into the ocean to rescue me all on your own. And you’re just a kit.”
“So are you!” Ceto protested, her eyes gentle. “What were you doing up there anyways?”
Wylie shrugged, suddenly hiding his eyes from her. “I just…I just wanted to see what was up there.”
“You’re lying,” Ceto said, remembering back to what Wylie’s father had said about his mother. “You wouldn’t be lying if you were looking at me.”
Wylie still refused to look up, so Ceto nudged his head upwards with her tail, watching his deep blue eyes widen with surprise at her forwardness.
“It’s ok. You can tell me,” Ceto assured him. “I won’t tell anyone.”
Wylie waited a few moments, and then nodded, taking a deep breath. “I…my mother…that was her favorite place to go.”
She knew it. All the pieces were fitting together now. It was possible his emotions had triggered his episode. That was why he had been up there alone. He didn’t want anyone else to see his moment of private grief. Ceto was lucky to have both of her parents. She couldn’t imagine never knowing her mother.
Ceto smiled gently. “Maybe next time you want to go up there, I’ll go with you,” she said. “That way I can keep you safe.”
Wylie’s eyes glistened. He blinked rapidly a few times and then laughed, batting her tail away from his chin. “OK,” he lamented.
Ceto laughed with him, settling down next to him. She had a feeling that they were going to be quick friends.
“OK,” she purred.
Beneath her sea-green gaze, a blood red starfish clung to the wall of the pool, its legs slowly wavering in the weak current moving between the rocks. Where the fifth leg should have been, two small white bumps protruded outward. Two new legs to replace the old.
Ceto smiled to herself. Amatheia had been right. She hadn’t given the starfish enough credit.
She took her eyes away, sighing as the breeze moved through her kitten fur. She lazily dipped one of her paws into the tide pool, gently caressing the top of the starfish. She wishes she could convey feelings to it. Convey how happy she was that it was alive and thriving. It gave her hope that she could be strong like that one day. That even when the legs were ripped from beneath her, she could still walk.
She raised her head to observe a few older Barriers fishing in the ocean waves, their pelts clinging to their skin. They poised on the sandbars with their paws raised, waiting for an unsuspecting fish to pass in front of them. Beyond them, where a part of the rocky shore stuck out into the water, a young tom-kit was standing on a large boulder and watching the others below him. From where Ceto sat, she could tell that he was around her age, his fur still mostly fluff. The sun highlighted a few tabby rings around his grey tail, but he was too far away to discern anything else.
Without warning, the tom-kit froze, his whole body going stiff, and then he tipped over, like a palm tree falling onto its side. With horror, Ceto watched as he went over the side of the boulder he was standing on, falling into the sea on the opposite side of where the Barriers could see him.
“No!” she screeched, catching the attention of the Barriers. She got to her paws and quickly ran toward the ocean, aiming to jump straight into the waves.
Her tribe mates were racing through the water toward her, wondering what had got her so worked up, but she didn’t pause to wait for them. She plunged straight into the first wave that crashed toward her, impressively keeping afloat and swimming out toward where she had seen the kit fall into the water.
“Wait! Ceto, come back!” One of the Barriers yelled. She didn’t listen. She wasn’t afraid of the ocean. She knew it wouldn’t let her drown.
“I’m coming!” She called to the young kit. He was floating in the water, not moving and unresponsive. His muscles were still rigid and stiff.
She dived under a wave as it came over her and then came up under the kits body, praying that she could pull him back to shore. She opened her jaws wide and grabbed his scruff, grunting in surprise at how heavy he was.
A slight, gentle current pushed against her side, steering her toward the beach where the few Barriers were wading towards her.
It was only a few moments until one of them had Ceto in their jaws, taking her away from the tom-kit. She protested, not wanting to let him go, afraid he had gotten water into his lungs. Another barrier, a tom with similar silver tabby rings around his grey tail like the kit, took his still body into his jaws and lifted him from the ocean, wading back through the waves until he could deposit him onto the sand.
The moment the kit was laid on the sand, his body began giving over to convulsions. His whole body wiggled like a stranded fish, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. At his mouth, a substance like sea foam pushed out from between his lips.
Ceto was placed down. Once her paws were on the beach she dashed over to the tom-kit and who she assumed was his father who was holding him as still as he could, his expression one of solemn patience.
“What’s happening?” Ceto cried, watching as more sea foam fell from the kits lips.
The kit’s father shook his head, his jaw clenched in frustration. “He has these every once in a while. They come and go…his mother died giving birth to him because of a similar episode.”
Ceto’s green eyes widened, feeling grief for the Barrier who watched both son and mate go through similar horrors. What if she hadn’t noticed his son fall from the cliff? Why was he up there in the first place?
Soon the tremors quieted, and the tom-kit fell into a deep, comfortable sleep. He was carried away to the Healers cove where he could be monitored overnight.
Ceto stayed by his side, nodding to her tribemates who praised her for her bravery. Of course, when it came to her mother and father, neither of them were too pleased. They didn’t want her risking her life so foolishly. She should have let one of the Barriers go and rescue him. But after Ceto’s mother had left and her father, Meltem, was alone with her, he gave her a wink and a nose-bump. He was ridiculously proud of her. He told her he wished he could have been there to see it.
Ceto decided to stay at the tom-kits side, whose name she learned was Wylie. His father stayed outside of the cove, talking with the Healer and the council. She wasn’t sure why the council would need to get involved, but she left them to it. Her mother was one of the nine on the council anyways. She would hear about it soon enough.
The cove was a quiet, tranquil place. It was beyond the ridge of sand dunes and was situated into the side of a hill. Here the ocean pushed into the land and provided a calm, small inlet. The ground was full of shallow pools and tall, waving green greases that whistled when the wind blew through them. Ceto didn’t come here much. The only time she could remember coming here herself as a patient was when she had a fever and needed herbs to bring it down.
But now Wylie lied in one of the generous grass nests, his breathing long, drawn out, and steady. Now that she was closer, Ceto could tell that his pelt was more blue-grey than plain grey, and his tabby stripes only covered his appendages, face, and tail. She wished he would open his eyes so that she could see the color. She was hoping they would be blue, like the ocean.
The moon was high now, casting a silver glow upon the sand and grass. Ceto was tempted to leave Wylie’s side and go walk along the beach, but she was too worried. She had never seen a cat suddenly fall like that, and it made her even more paranoid since he was her own age. How could a young cat live with such a threat hanging over him all the time? How often did these episode really happen?
There was a small gasp, and Ceto’s eyes tore themselves away from the outside of the cave and to Wylie who was beginning to wake up. She moved to go grab the Healer, but Wylie touched her side with his paw.
“No…please, don’t.”
Ceto tilted her head in confusion, but decided to let it go and sat back down. As long as he was awake and breathing normally, she didn’t have to go get the healer.
“Hello,” she greeted him. “I’m Ceto.”
Wylie’s eyes narrowed, struggling to stay open. “What are you doing here?”
Ceto looked around the cave, then back at Wylie’s puzzled expression. “Don’t you remember? You fell from the cliffs. I went into the water and saved you!”
Wylie looked even more confused. It was clear he didn’t remember. “Really?”
Ceto nodded, warily pressing the pads of her paw against his forehead, checking for a fever. “Yes. Your whole body went stiff-”
Wylie pushed her paw away gently, his eyes opening fully. They were a beautiful shimmering blue. “I know I had an episode.”
Ceto swallowed, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. “I-I’m sorry. You were just unconscious for so long…”
Wylie sighed. “Yeah…that always happens. I black out and don’t remember what happened.” He paused, locking his eyes with hers. “So you saved me?”
Ceto nodded, curling her tail around her paws.
Wylie smiled hesitantly. “Thank you…I guess I owe you one.”
Ceto shook her head, brushing off his words. “No, it was nothing!”
“It wasn’t nothing,” Wylie insisted, his eyes widening. “You went into the ocean to rescue me all on your own. And you’re just a kit.”
“So are you!” Ceto protested, her eyes gentle. “What were you doing up there anyways?”
Wylie shrugged, suddenly hiding his eyes from her. “I just…I just wanted to see what was up there.”
“You’re lying,” Ceto said, remembering back to what Wylie’s father had said about his mother. “You wouldn’t be lying if you were looking at me.”
Wylie still refused to look up, so Ceto nudged his head upwards with her tail, watching his deep blue eyes widen with surprise at her forwardness.
“It’s ok. You can tell me,” Ceto assured him. “I won’t tell anyone.”
Wylie waited a few moments, and then nodded, taking a deep breath. “I…my mother…that was her favorite place to go.”
She knew it. All the pieces were fitting together now. It was possible his emotions had triggered his episode. That was why he had been up there alone. He didn’t want anyone else to see his moment of private grief. Ceto was lucky to have both of her parents. She couldn’t imagine never knowing her mother.
Ceto smiled gently. “Maybe next time you want to go up there, I’ll go with you,” she said. “That way I can keep you safe.”
Wylie’s eyes glistened. He blinked rapidly a few times and then laughed, batting her tail away from his chin. “OK,” he lamented.
Ceto laughed with him, settling down next to him. She had a feeling that they were going to be quick friends.
“OK,” she purred.
3: I need you, Sandman
It was the only way to escape the cave.
It was the only way, I told myself.
There was no other way to see the things I would never see again for moons to come.
Dreams. Nightmares. Both I welcomed into my mind as I slept. To escape the grey walls and the dark shadows and the teasing blue glow at the entrance, I let everything and anything in. Everything about the cave weighed down on my creative energies, the energies that kept me happy, productive, and hopeful. So I had to make some energies of my own.
How could a cave do this to me; make me hate life, the very thing I was bound to protect? How many moons would I be forced to rot here, letting everything I had treasured be slowly taken from me? It was disintegrating in the waves of my growing power. A power that I was beginning to fear.
Could he tell? Could he see how this place was stripping me down into another one of the mindless masses? I was Ceto, daughter of Amatheia, one of the nine cats on the Divine Council. My father was Meltem, a strong and charismatic warrior with an honest heart. And I was the Tidecaller, sworn enemy to the Sea God who threatened to wash away my home and the Tribe who lived there. I was special. I was strong. I was Ceto…but did that mean anything in this cold, colorless world?
I dreamed of running along the shores of my home. The sea breeze flowing between my limbs and fur, carrying me high above the nine seas. I could see the ends of the Sea Gods domain, and I was no longer afraid. He and I both had limits. Both he and I had a wall that we could not go beyond…
Then there were dreams of rolling in the warm sand. Of rolling over to find Wylie by my side, his shimmering blue eyes glowing with warmth and joy. He was happy. He was safe. But then a shadow would be cast over us, and a giant wave in the shape of a powerful feline descended. That feline was me. I was going to kill Wylie.
But even those nightmares I let in, because at least, for a few moments, I could feel the sand beneath me. I could hear the sea gulls crying over head, and I could taste the salt on the breeze. It was an escape, no matter how terrifying.
No matter how terrifying, I used to tell myself.
Even with no legs, I would still walk.
Even with no sunshine, I would still smile.
Even with no drive, I would still get up and train until my bones cracked.
Even with no happiness of my own, I could still fight for the happiness of others.
But with no dreams…
I was doomed.
It was the only way, I told myself.
There was no other way to see the things I would never see again for moons to come.
Dreams. Nightmares. Both I welcomed into my mind as I slept. To escape the grey walls and the dark shadows and the teasing blue glow at the entrance, I let everything and anything in. Everything about the cave weighed down on my creative energies, the energies that kept me happy, productive, and hopeful. So I had to make some energies of my own.
How could a cave do this to me; make me hate life, the very thing I was bound to protect? How many moons would I be forced to rot here, letting everything I had treasured be slowly taken from me? It was disintegrating in the waves of my growing power. A power that I was beginning to fear.
Could he tell? Could he see how this place was stripping me down into another one of the mindless masses? I was Ceto, daughter of Amatheia, one of the nine cats on the Divine Council. My father was Meltem, a strong and charismatic warrior with an honest heart. And I was the Tidecaller, sworn enemy to the Sea God who threatened to wash away my home and the Tribe who lived there. I was special. I was strong. I was Ceto…but did that mean anything in this cold, colorless world?
I dreamed of running along the shores of my home. The sea breeze flowing between my limbs and fur, carrying me high above the nine seas. I could see the ends of the Sea Gods domain, and I was no longer afraid. He and I both had limits. Both he and I had a wall that we could not go beyond…
Then there were dreams of rolling in the warm sand. Of rolling over to find Wylie by my side, his shimmering blue eyes glowing with warmth and joy. He was happy. He was safe. But then a shadow would be cast over us, and a giant wave in the shape of a powerful feline descended. That feline was me. I was going to kill Wylie.
But even those nightmares I let in, because at least, for a few moments, I could feel the sand beneath me. I could hear the sea gulls crying over head, and I could taste the salt on the breeze. It was an escape, no matter how terrifying.
No matter how terrifying, I used to tell myself.
Even with no legs, I would still walk.
Even with no sunshine, I would still smile.
Even with no drive, I would still get up and train until my bones cracked.
Even with no happiness of my own, I could still fight for the happiness of others.
But with no dreams…
I was doomed.
4: Title here
This things here
5: The Coward
Grey. The color of tastelessness. It was the color that you associated with walking on a fine line, when you couldn’t choose between the paths dividing ahead of you. It was a cowards color. A color associated with indifference and indecisiveness. It was a color she had always hated.
And there was that color, shining out from the sea cave at the bottom of the cliff. It was a sign that soon her legs would be ripped out from under her, that her life was about to be hung upside down.
That grey came crawling out of the darkness and emerged into the sunlight. The grey was a pair of irises, searching through the crowd of tribe cats for the she-cat who would save them all. But how would this grey, dull, indifferent tom make this choice? Was it truly the ocean choosing, or was it him? How could someone with those eyes make a choice at all?
But the Tidecaller, the one who was to save them all, was not chosen by the ocean. It was the ocean who feared her, who bent to her will. In a way it chose her by fleeing from her. And somehow, the tom with the grey eyes could see that. He could see her.
He stopped in front of her, his form casting a shadow over her, a shadow that she would never be able to shake off again. For it was in those grey eyes that she saw the storm raging. A storm filled with danger, intrigue, and fear.
But the storm was grey. It was caught between two opposing winds. Warm and cold, fresh and salty, harsh and calm. It was the before and after, it was the beginning and the end. It was a force of nature slowly building on the horizon. And she was to live under it.
She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to go with him. But when the Water Bearer tells you that you are the Tidecaller, you must believe him. And deep in her heart of hearts, she knew she was the one who could control the tides. She had known from the first moment she touched the sea.
She couldn’t run from the storm now. He had come for her, and deep in his gaze, she could see a reflection of her thoughts in them. He didn’t want to do this either. But he had no choice.
He was a coward.
And there was that color, shining out from the sea cave at the bottom of the cliff. It was a sign that soon her legs would be ripped out from under her, that her life was about to be hung upside down.
That grey came crawling out of the darkness and emerged into the sunlight. The grey was a pair of irises, searching through the crowd of tribe cats for the she-cat who would save them all. But how would this grey, dull, indifferent tom make this choice? Was it truly the ocean choosing, or was it him? How could someone with those eyes make a choice at all?
But the Tidecaller, the one who was to save them all, was not chosen by the ocean. It was the ocean who feared her, who bent to her will. In a way it chose her by fleeing from her. And somehow, the tom with the grey eyes could see that. He could see her.
He stopped in front of her, his form casting a shadow over her, a shadow that she would never be able to shake off again. For it was in those grey eyes that she saw the storm raging. A storm filled with danger, intrigue, and fear.
But the storm was grey. It was caught between two opposing winds. Warm and cold, fresh and salty, harsh and calm. It was the before and after, it was the beginning and the end. It was a force of nature slowly building on the horizon. And she was to live under it.
She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to go with him. But when the Water Bearer tells you that you are the Tidecaller, you must believe him. And deep in her heart of hearts, she knew she was the one who could control the tides. She had known from the first moment she touched the sea.
She couldn’t run from the storm now. He had come for her, and deep in his gaze, she could see a reflection of her thoughts in them. He didn’t want to do this either. But he had no choice.
He was a coward.
6: Sailing Away
He called my name, and that was it.
I was to be the Tidecaller. I was to be taken away to train and hone my powers. I would not return for months. Maybe even an entire year.
Truthfully, at that moment, it didn’t bother me. I was a bit startled, but not surprised. I had known the presence riling underneath my skin was something massive, something that was attached to the wholeness of the ocean.
Even my own father had warned me of my power, of how one day it would send me sailing away to another world. A new era that would bring prosperity and peace to our tribe.
It was my mother who shattered the illusion.
“Let go of me!”
I tried to look over my shoulder, but a gentle push from the water bearer made me turn away.
The sound of sand violently shifting and a grunt had me whipping my head around, but once again, the water bearer forced me to look away. He was beginning to walk faster.
“Ceto! Ceto, no-”
“Ama, you must stop this!”
“No! You cannot take her!”
I looked over my shoulder again, the tribe parting to make room for me and the water bearer who did not stop me from looking back this time. At the other end of the parted crowd my strong, resilient mother was shaking. Tears streaked down the fur of her cheeks, and her claws dug into the sand beneath her where two barrier’s lay groaning in the sand. It was reminiscent of a story I once heard from the elders of a past Tidecaller parting the sea itself so that she could save her mother from drowning. This time, it would be the mother saving the daughter.
Except she would fail.
“Water Bearer, you cannot take my daughter,” she demanded, her pelt bristling and her pale green eyes glowing with a fierce protectiveness.
The water bearer calmly turned to face her, his tail moving so it was laid over my shoulder blades.
“The Tidecaller cannot turn away from her duties,” he said, his eyes casting a ghostly light into the air. “Do you wish to doom your entire tribe just to be with your daughter?”
I remember looking at my mother with wide eyes, silently pleading with her to turn away and let me go. The tribe would not take kindly to an interruption in this sacred ritual, especially now that she had hurt a few of her tribe mates in order to get to me.
“Yes. I would choose my daughter over the tribe,” she hissed, shoving off her mate and my father, Meltem, who had come up to her to sooth her, his wide amber eyes gleaming with sorrow. “I have already sacrificed a sister to this cause. I will not let my daughter take on this burden as well.”
The cats around us cast wide eyes upon the water bearer, and a few of the elders backed away a few steps, putting a respectable distance between themselves and the conflict. It seemed they knew from experience that the water bearer would not take this protest lightly.
But the large tom casting his shadow onto me did not growl or scowl at my mother. Instead he gently tapped my shoulder with his tail tip, taking a step forward. It was like he was saying, be still, your mother means well. I will not harm her.
My heart hammered like a storm surge in my chest as I watched the water bearer gaze at my mother, the sea wind moving through his thicker fur. After a few long moments, he breathed in deeply before replying.
“Your sister served her tribe and her family well. Do not let personal feelings stain her fierce love. She died far too soon, but now Ceto must take her place. This is how it must be.”
His words were so collected, so far above the anguish and anger in my mother’s eyes, and yet, the conviction and sternness for which he spoke them…it hinted at deeper meanings.
He was scolding my mother.
Amatheia’s lip quivered with anger, the blue chips in her eyes growing larger as she locked her gaze with mine. She was begging, pleading with any god who could hear her to undo this path I was being set on, but no one would reply. I was to set sail across the sands to my new home. Not even my mother-the strong, compassionate she-cat who belonged on the Divine Council-could change that.
“Mother?” I asked.
Helpless tears streamed down her muzzle, but she still nodded, forcing out a pitiful smile. A smile that broke my young heart.
“It’s ok, my sea lily. No matter how long we are apart, I will always be here for you!”
I felt my own eyes tearing up, but before I could say what I was feeling to her, the water bearer nudged me onward, turning me away from my family.
As we made our way out of the last of the crowd, Wylie came weaving through the larger cats, his shining blue eyes wide and desperate and filling up with tears.
“Ceto! Ceto wait-”
I looked over my shoulder at him, remembering the way my mother had pushed through her emotions. She put on a brave face, even though something precious was being taken away from her.
I smiled at him, feeling my own tears slip through my semi-kitten fur. At six moons old, I would have been preparing to become a barrier alongside Wylie. What a shame it was to miss out on that.
“Don’t cry!” I called to him. “I will come back for you, and everything will change.”
Wylie halted, watching me walk away with waterfalls in his gaze. I feared those tears would never cease, just as mine did not.
I continued sailing across the sand alongside my new guardian, protected under his strong form and solid bearing. I had to put trust in him now to lead the way.
He was the only one I had left.
I was to be the Tidecaller. I was to be taken away to train and hone my powers. I would not return for months. Maybe even an entire year.
Truthfully, at that moment, it didn’t bother me. I was a bit startled, but not surprised. I had known the presence riling underneath my skin was something massive, something that was attached to the wholeness of the ocean.
Even my own father had warned me of my power, of how one day it would send me sailing away to another world. A new era that would bring prosperity and peace to our tribe.
It was my mother who shattered the illusion.
“Let go of me!”
I tried to look over my shoulder, but a gentle push from the water bearer made me turn away.
The sound of sand violently shifting and a grunt had me whipping my head around, but once again, the water bearer forced me to look away. He was beginning to walk faster.
“Ceto! Ceto, no-”
“Ama, you must stop this!”
“No! You cannot take her!”
I looked over my shoulder again, the tribe parting to make room for me and the water bearer who did not stop me from looking back this time. At the other end of the parted crowd my strong, resilient mother was shaking. Tears streaked down the fur of her cheeks, and her claws dug into the sand beneath her where two barrier’s lay groaning in the sand. It was reminiscent of a story I once heard from the elders of a past Tidecaller parting the sea itself so that she could save her mother from drowning. This time, it would be the mother saving the daughter.
Except she would fail.
“Water Bearer, you cannot take my daughter,” she demanded, her pelt bristling and her pale green eyes glowing with a fierce protectiveness.
The water bearer calmly turned to face her, his tail moving so it was laid over my shoulder blades.
“The Tidecaller cannot turn away from her duties,” he said, his eyes casting a ghostly light into the air. “Do you wish to doom your entire tribe just to be with your daughter?”
I remember looking at my mother with wide eyes, silently pleading with her to turn away and let me go. The tribe would not take kindly to an interruption in this sacred ritual, especially now that she had hurt a few of her tribe mates in order to get to me.
“Yes. I would choose my daughter over the tribe,” she hissed, shoving off her mate and my father, Meltem, who had come up to her to sooth her, his wide amber eyes gleaming with sorrow. “I have already sacrificed a sister to this cause. I will not let my daughter take on this burden as well.”
The cats around us cast wide eyes upon the water bearer, and a few of the elders backed away a few steps, putting a respectable distance between themselves and the conflict. It seemed they knew from experience that the water bearer would not take this protest lightly.
But the large tom casting his shadow onto me did not growl or scowl at my mother. Instead he gently tapped my shoulder with his tail tip, taking a step forward. It was like he was saying, be still, your mother means well. I will not harm her.
My heart hammered like a storm surge in my chest as I watched the water bearer gaze at my mother, the sea wind moving through his thicker fur. After a few long moments, he breathed in deeply before replying.
“Your sister served her tribe and her family well. Do not let personal feelings stain her fierce love. She died far too soon, but now Ceto must take her place. This is how it must be.”
His words were so collected, so far above the anguish and anger in my mother’s eyes, and yet, the conviction and sternness for which he spoke them…it hinted at deeper meanings.
He was scolding my mother.
Amatheia’s lip quivered with anger, the blue chips in her eyes growing larger as she locked her gaze with mine. She was begging, pleading with any god who could hear her to undo this path I was being set on, but no one would reply. I was to set sail across the sands to my new home. Not even my mother-the strong, compassionate she-cat who belonged on the Divine Council-could change that.
“Mother?” I asked.
Helpless tears streamed down her muzzle, but she still nodded, forcing out a pitiful smile. A smile that broke my young heart.
“It’s ok, my sea lily. No matter how long we are apart, I will always be here for you!”
I felt my own eyes tearing up, but before I could say what I was feeling to her, the water bearer nudged me onward, turning me away from my family.
As we made our way out of the last of the crowd, Wylie came weaving through the larger cats, his shining blue eyes wide and desperate and filling up with tears.
“Ceto! Ceto wait-”
I looked over my shoulder at him, remembering the way my mother had pushed through her emotions. She put on a brave face, even though something precious was being taken away from her.
I smiled at him, feeling my own tears slip through my semi-kitten fur. At six moons old, I would have been preparing to become a barrier alongside Wylie. What a shame it was to miss out on that.
“Don’t cry!” I called to him. “I will come back for you, and everything will change.”
Wylie halted, watching me walk away with waterfalls in his gaze. I feared those tears would never cease, just as mine did not.
I continued sailing across the sand alongside my new guardian, protected under his strong form and solid bearing. I had to put trust in him now to lead the way.
He was the only one I had left.
7: Title here
This things here
8: Title here
This things here
9: Ceto's Welcome
How much longer must I wait?
It had been several hours after a tsunami had made landfall on the Tribe’s shores, and already the council was keeping her from doing her duties. She had been warned by Ibai that the council would get in her way. She just couldn’t believe it was happening already.
“They are not as good willed as they seem, Ceto,” the water bearer said during training. “They will do anything to keep control over the Tribe and to do what they think is right for them.”
She sighed, leaning up against a pale, weathered boulder. The sand dunes before her stretched far into the sinking horizon, obscuring the rolling waves of the sea beyond. She already longed to be back on the beach. Even with how dangerous her first time back had been.
I saved Wylie and Brenna from a tsunami. A tsunami!
Ashamedly, she was still pulsing with excitement from the ordeal.
“Ceto?”
She turned, coming face to face with one of the council members named Argo. She had been a close friend of Ceto’s mother, and now, Ceto hoped, her greatest supporter.
Ceto dipped her head. “Argo.”
The well-muscled she-cat smiled genuinely, the grey hairs around her muzzle and eyes crinkling. “We are ready for you now.”
“Alright,” Ceto replied, following Argo around the boulder and into a small crack in the cliff side that led into the council’s chamber.
Ceto barely remembered this place. She knew her mother, Amatheia, had been a part of the council, but her mother had never indulged her in the details of her duties. It had always been a well-kept secret, especially from the future Tidecaller.
The dark, stone passageway led deeper into the rock until a large space opened up. It was smoothly rounded, with a high ceiling and smooth, sweeping walls. Overhead, long, hanging blue glow worms provided enough light for everyone in the chamber to be visible.
Sitting on eight different raised stones was the Divine council. They were all Ceto’s age or older, and they all shared a similar frustrated look in their eyes. Some pelts appeared ruffled, and there was one tom who was favoring his left paw, one of his claws hanging a bit awkwardly from its sheath.
That’s why it had taken so long. They were fighting amongst themselves.
Argo led Ceto to the center of the chamber and then left her to join the other council members, taking a seat on the ninth and last seat.
Ceto formally bowed, touching her chin to her chest, and then lifted her gaze to the member who was sitting in the middle of the raised rocks: Kaito.
“Welcome home, Ceto,” he said curtly, no warmth present in his voice.
Ceto took a moment to take him in. He was two years her senior, but looked healthy and radiant as he had before she left as a six month old kit. His coat was on the thicker side with a pale, sandy color dominating most of his pelt. He had delicate, yet sharp off-white streaks placed in random spots on his fur, along with a few other muted colors that were slightly different shades from his base coat. The way his pelt clung to his muscles suggested a warrior’s life, one filled with daily physical challenges. His eyes, though, had changed. They used to be a bright, sunny yellow, but were now a darker, muddied version of their former selves.
“Thank you, Kaito,” she answered respectively. “And thank you, council members, for summoning here today.”
“You are most welcome, Ceto,” Agro replied, flicking her tail to include all the council members. “We were all…shocked, to see you arrive so suddenly today.”
Ceto smiled, nodding her head in understanding. “Yes,” she meowed. “I hope my arrival hasn’t thrown the Tribe into a fearful panic. My powers can be…overwhelming.”
“No, not at all, Ceto,” the tom with the mangled claw spoke up, his expression grateful. “It is your sworn duty to protect us from such dangers, and you did exactly that and more. We would have lost two tribe members today if it wasn’t for you.”
Ceto lowered her gaze, feeling warmth spread through her chest.
“But that is not why we called you here today,” Kaito said then, his gaze hard and unmoving. “We wanted to ask you why it took you so long to come back.”
Ceto lifted her head, guilt rolling through her, chasing out the warmth and raising goosebumps on her skin.
“Ah, yes. It did take a little longer than expected,” she agreed.
“A little longer?” Kaito said harshly, his ears twitching. “You were gone for three years, Ceto. Most Tidecaller’s return within the first year if not sooner.”
Ceto’s paws twitched in nervousness. She’d known this was coming. But how could she convince them that she had no choice? Ibai had refused to let her go, even when she believed she was ready.
“The Water Bearer believed I needed more training than the previous Tidecaller’s,” Ceto explained, her sea-green eyes moving down the line of council members. “He wanted me to be fully capable to handle whatever forces the ocean might throw at me.”
Actually, Ibai said I was the weakest Tidecaller he had ever trained, but telling the council that wouldn’t do any good.
Argo’s pale yellow eyes flashed to where Kaito sat, then moved back to Ceto. “That is perfectly understandable, Ceto. It is better that you are ready to face the challenges than to crumble at the first sign of trouble.”
“But,” Kaito cut in. “Three years is still a long time. She should have known what was happening here while she was in the water bearer’s cave with a full belly and a safe place to sleep.”
A few of the council member’s murmured their agreement.
Argo hissed her disapproval. “Kaito-!”
“Kaito,” Ceto interrupted, standing up straighter. Her eyes had become unmovable like his, but they swirled with an inner power capable of drowning them all where they stood. “I did not spend my entire three years there sleeping away with a full belly and a content lifestyle. I was pushed to my very physical, mental, and emotional limits,” she said, taking a few steps forward, her muscles rippling underneath her sea-foam colored pelt. “Every night I trained alongside the water bearer, usually without food or sleep. He did not spend all that time fattening up a fresh trout, he spent that time training a shark. He trained the Tidecaller, the cat who will save you from the clutches of an angry sea god.”
The wide eyes of the council members were now looking at her with respect, and a few of them even backed away on their rocks, feeling the threat of her power. Yet, still, at least half of the council looked to Kaito for his reaction. Even though it was supposed to be joint leadership, it was clear the sand colored tom had been pulling their strings for quite some time.
Kaito dipped his head ever slightly. “Well, if all of that is true, than you should be able to help feed the tribe. The ocean has been running dry. Food has become increasingly harder to find. Surely, Ceto, you can bring the fish back?”
Ceto flicked her tail in acknowledgement. “Yes, of course. But it will take time. I must make new currents to bring up plankton for the fish, and then once the fish return to the shallows to feed, we must wait till they respawn, or else we will threaten the species and never see food on this shore again.”
Kaito sniffed. “More time…well then, it seems the Tribe must take drastic measures to insure its survival while Ceto feeds the fish,” he taunted her, his face turning into a sneer. “We will begin fishing out of the Tide Pools tomorrow morning.”
The council members that hadn’t looked to Kaito for a response, including Argo, cast out growls of warning and disapproval.
“We’ve already discussed this, Kaito!” Argo hissed above the clamor. “The Tide Pools are sacred, and they can never be used as hunting grounds!”
Kaito rolled his eyes. “Why? In fear of further angering a god that already wants us all dead? I say let’s not let this sea god push us into desperation any longer. If we are hungry, we will hunt where and how we choose!”
Ceto followed the dispute, surprised that many of the council members were serious about desecrating a sacred site that had belonged to their tribe for so long. It was the one place life was left to nature, where it was never disturbed by outside forces. It was where injured creatures and cats alike were submerged and miraculously healed. It had been handed down by the sea god before he had his powers stolen from him. To hunt from it would be a great sin that may as well remove the healing powers of the pools.
“You must find food elsewhere,” Ceto interjected, her gaze meeting all of theirs. “If you must, use the pools to sooth hunger pains that are most serious, and then hunt among the dunes for snakes and other reptiles. We can make due until I can restore the shore’s ecosystem.”
Kaito laughed, pointing at Ceto with a shaking paw. “Do you see that? She expects us to live off of scaled, dry creatures while she hums over the waves and feeds the fish! It will probably take another three years before we ever taste fish again!”
An angry outburst followed. Members divided between trusting Ceto and hunting in the pools hissed and growled and snapped at each other. This wasn’t the council Ceto had hoped to come back to. She realized with a heavy heart that if her mother had still been alive the council wouldn’t have been so chaotic.
“Are you all finished bickering now?” She yelled, quickly making their heads turn.
She took a few breaths, calming herself to say what she had to next. “Look, give me a few days. If the fish do not start coming back, than you may fish from the pools once a day. But that is all. The last thing we want is for another tsunami to come rolling through and kill off more fish and possibly some of our tribe members.”
All of the council members, and even Kaito included, murmured their agreements. It was a fair and solid plan. The tribe could deal with a few scaly meals.
“And, one more thing,” Ceto continued, her ears slightly tilting back against her skull. “Do not call me Ceto. Address me as Tidecaller from now on.”
She then dipped her head-a lot more curtly than the first bow when she entered-and turned away from them. She did not once look back, only taking the presence of her overwhelming power with her.
The Divine Council let out a collective sigh.
The sharks had stopped circling.
It had been several hours after a tsunami had made landfall on the Tribe’s shores, and already the council was keeping her from doing her duties. She had been warned by Ibai that the council would get in her way. She just couldn’t believe it was happening already.
“They are not as good willed as they seem, Ceto,” the water bearer said during training. “They will do anything to keep control over the Tribe and to do what they think is right for them.”
She sighed, leaning up against a pale, weathered boulder. The sand dunes before her stretched far into the sinking horizon, obscuring the rolling waves of the sea beyond. She already longed to be back on the beach. Even with how dangerous her first time back had been.
I saved Wylie and Brenna from a tsunami. A tsunami!
Ashamedly, she was still pulsing with excitement from the ordeal.
“Ceto?”
She turned, coming face to face with one of the council members named Argo. She had been a close friend of Ceto’s mother, and now, Ceto hoped, her greatest supporter.
Ceto dipped her head. “Argo.”
The well-muscled she-cat smiled genuinely, the grey hairs around her muzzle and eyes crinkling. “We are ready for you now.”
“Alright,” Ceto replied, following Argo around the boulder and into a small crack in the cliff side that led into the council’s chamber.
Ceto barely remembered this place. She knew her mother, Amatheia, had been a part of the council, but her mother had never indulged her in the details of her duties. It had always been a well-kept secret, especially from the future Tidecaller.
The dark, stone passageway led deeper into the rock until a large space opened up. It was smoothly rounded, with a high ceiling and smooth, sweeping walls. Overhead, long, hanging blue glow worms provided enough light for everyone in the chamber to be visible.
Sitting on eight different raised stones was the Divine council. They were all Ceto’s age or older, and they all shared a similar frustrated look in their eyes. Some pelts appeared ruffled, and there was one tom who was favoring his left paw, one of his claws hanging a bit awkwardly from its sheath.
That’s why it had taken so long. They were fighting amongst themselves.
Argo led Ceto to the center of the chamber and then left her to join the other council members, taking a seat on the ninth and last seat.
Ceto formally bowed, touching her chin to her chest, and then lifted her gaze to the member who was sitting in the middle of the raised rocks: Kaito.
“Welcome home, Ceto,” he said curtly, no warmth present in his voice.
Ceto took a moment to take him in. He was two years her senior, but looked healthy and radiant as he had before she left as a six month old kit. His coat was on the thicker side with a pale, sandy color dominating most of his pelt. He had delicate, yet sharp off-white streaks placed in random spots on his fur, along with a few other muted colors that were slightly different shades from his base coat. The way his pelt clung to his muscles suggested a warrior’s life, one filled with daily physical challenges. His eyes, though, had changed. They used to be a bright, sunny yellow, but were now a darker, muddied version of their former selves.
“Thank you, Kaito,” she answered respectively. “And thank you, council members, for summoning here today.”
“You are most welcome, Ceto,” Agro replied, flicking her tail to include all the council members. “We were all…shocked, to see you arrive so suddenly today.”
Ceto smiled, nodding her head in understanding. “Yes,” she meowed. “I hope my arrival hasn’t thrown the Tribe into a fearful panic. My powers can be…overwhelming.”
“No, not at all, Ceto,” the tom with the mangled claw spoke up, his expression grateful. “It is your sworn duty to protect us from such dangers, and you did exactly that and more. We would have lost two tribe members today if it wasn’t for you.”
Ceto lowered her gaze, feeling warmth spread through her chest.
“But that is not why we called you here today,” Kaito said then, his gaze hard and unmoving. “We wanted to ask you why it took you so long to come back.”
Ceto lifted her head, guilt rolling through her, chasing out the warmth and raising goosebumps on her skin.
“Ah, yes. It did take a little longer than expected,” she agreed.
“A little longer?” Kaito said harshly, his ears twitching. “You were gone for three years, Ceto. Most Tidecaller’s return within the first year if not sooner.”
Ceto’s paws twitched in nervousness. She’d known this was coming. But how could she convince them that she had no choice? Ibai had refused to let her go, even when she believed she was ready.
“The Water Bearer believed I needed more training than the previous Tidecaller’s,” Ceto explained, her sea-green eyes moving down the line of council members. “He wanted me to be fully capable to handle whatever forces the ocean might throw at me.”
Actually, Ibai said I was the weakest Tidecaller he had ever trained, but telling the council that wouldn’t do any good.
Argo’s pale yellow eyes flashed to where Kaito sat, then moved back to Ceto. “That is perfectly understandable, Ceto. It is better that you are ready to face the challenges than to crumble at the first sign of trouble.”
“But,” Kaito cut in. “Three years is still a long time. She should have known what was happening here while she was in the water bearer’s cave with a full belly and a safe place to sleep.”
A few of the council member’s murmured their agreement.
Argo hissed her disapproval. “Kaito-!”
“Kaito,” Ceto interrupted, standing up straighter. Her eyes had become unmovable like his, but they swirled with an inner power capable of drowning them all where they stood. “I did not spend my entire three years there sleeping away with a full belly and a content lifestyle. I was pushed to my very physical, mental, and emotional limits,” she said, taking a few steps forward, her muscles rippling underneath her sea-foam colored pelt. “Every night I trained alongside the water bearer, usually without food or sleep. He did not spend all that time fattening up a fresh trout, he spent that time training a shark. He trained the Tidecaller, the cat who will save you from the clutches of an angry sea god.”
The wide eyes of the council members were now looking at her with respect, and a few of them even backed away on their rocks, feeling the threat of her power. Yet, still, at least half of the council looked to Kaito for his reaction. Even though it was supposed to be joint leadership, it was clear the sand colored tom had been pulling their strings for quite some time.
Kaito dipped his head ever slightly. “Well, if all of that is true, than you should be able to help feed the tribe. The ocean has been running dry. Food has become increasingly harder to find. Surely, Ceto, you can bring the fish back?”
Ceto flicked her tail in acknowledgement. “Yes, of course. But it will take time. I must make new currents to bring up plankton for the fish, and then once the fish return to the shallows to feed, we must wait till they respawn, or else we will threaten the species and never see food on this shore again.”
Kaito sniffed. “More time…well then, it seems the Tribe must take drastic measures to insure its survival while Ceto feeds the fish,” he taunted her, his face turning into a sneer. “We will begin fishing out of the Tide Pools tomorrow morning.”
The council members that hadn’t looked to Kaito for a response, including Argo, cast out growls of warning and disapproval.
“We’ve already discussed this, Kaito!” Argo hissed above the clamor. “The Tide Pools are sacred, and they can never be used as hunting grounds!”
Kaito rolled his eyes. “Why? In fear of further angering a god that already wants us all dead? I say let’s not let this sea god push us into desperation any longer. If we are hungry, we will hunt where and how we choose!”
Ceto followed the dispute, surprised that many of the council members were serious about desecrating a sacred site that had belonged to their tribe for so long. It was the one place life was left to nature, where it was never disturbed by outside forces. It was where injured creatures and cats alike were submerged and miraculously healed. It had been handed down by the sea god before he had his powers stolen from him. To hunt from it would be a great sin that may as well remove the healing powers of the pools.
“You must find food elsewhere,” Ceto interjected, her gaze meeting all of theirs. “If you must, use the pools to sooth hunger pains that are most serious, and then hunt among the dunes for snakes and other reptiles. We can make due until I can restore the shore’s ecosystem.”
Kaito laughed, pointing at Ceto with a shaking paw. “Do you see that? She expects us to live off of scaled, dry creatures while she hums over the waves and feeds the fish! It will probably take another three years before we ever taste fish again!”
An angry outburst followed. Members divided between trusting Ceto and hunting in the pools hissed and growled and snapped at each other. This wasn’t the council Ceto had hoped to come back to. She realized with a heavy heart that if her mother had still been alive the council wouldn’t have been so chaotic.
“Are you all finished bickering now?” She yelled, quickly making their heads turn.
She took a few breaths, calming herself to say what she had to next. “Look, give me a few days. If the fish do not start coming back, than you may fish from the pools once a day. But that is all. The last thing we want is for another tsunami to come rolling through and kill off more fish and possibly some of our tribe members.”
All of the council members, and even Kaito included, murmured their agreements. It was a fair and solid plan. The tribe could deal with a few scaly meals.
“And, one more thing,” Ceto continued, her ears slightly tilting back against her skull. “Do not call me Ceto. Address me as Tidecaller from now on.”
She then dipped her head-a lot more curtly than the first bow when she entered-and turned away from them. She did not once look back, only taking the presence of her overwhelming power with her.
The Divine Council let out a collective sigh.
The sharks had stopped circling.
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18: Push and Pull, Steal and Return
“Push, and pull.”
“I know, I’m trying…”
“You are not trying hard enough. You are still missing the pull. The tide does not go in only one direction.”
Sweat beads along Ceto’s brow, slipping down the crevices of her frown. Before her, the ocean struggles in place. A wave about three tail-lengths tall has come to a stop mid-crest, a few drops of sea water escaping from the formation and falling into the sea below. With her left paw extended, Ceto’s entire body shakes and struggles just like the body of water she has filled with her power.
Her fast, frustrated breaths echo too loudly in the cave around her, loosening her focus. The sea casts an eerie blue glow upon the grey walls of her home, the waves making erratic ripples upon the stone that reflect in her stormy, sea-green eyes. From the dark tint of the water, Ceto can tell that it must be nighttime outside; most likely a full moon with how much the water glows beyond the entrance of the cave.
“Focus,” a distinctly male voice hisses behind her.
She sighs longingly in response, ripping her gaze away from the only window into the outside world she has known for the last two years. She so desperately wants to see how the moon plays with the grains of sand on the beach, and how the blue waves turn silver and white under the light of the stars, but she knows she will never see such a sight again if she can’t master the power of the Tidecaller within her.
No thanks to the Water Bearer, she thinks with surprising, unchecked anger shimmering in her gut. He chose me for this. He is the one keeping me here.
Or is he?
The simple thought loosens the last bit of control she has on the wave and it drops and splashes back into its natural formation, splattering Ceto’s face with cool salt water.
After a few brief, silent moments, she growls in frustration, wiping her face with her paw and flicking the excess water on the floor. “Perfect! Just perfect,” she hisses.
“You are distracted today,” the Water Bearer says, his voice intrigued.
Ceto looks over her shoulder, her eyes accusing. “You just noticed that today?” she asks lightly. She can feel her anger shimmering beneath her skin, ready to come bursting forth in the form of freezing waves.
In the shadows cast by the walls of the cave, Ceto can just make out the swirling shape of the Water Bearer, his cold grey eyes reflecting the ocean, just as hers had moments before.
“I know you’ve always had trouble focusing your power,” he replies smoothly, not reacting to her unusual aggression. “But you have never been this sloppy during training.”
Ceto takes a deep, salty breath in, and lets warm air out. She knows she is being unfair. It is true that all day today she has been messing up every single one of his instructions. She has let negative thoughts consume her and take her away from her goal.
Whose goal is it really though? Mine, or the Tribe’s?
She shakes her head, frustration welling up inside of her once again and threatening to drown her. She just wants to go home. She’s afraid it’s been too long, and that none of her friends or family will remember the young cat she once was. They will all be too afraid of her to love her.
“Being the Tidecaller is a lonely existence,” the water bearer says, his voice quiet and gentle.
Ceto looks up at him, showing surprise at his caring response. She has become used to his harsh ways of raising her. He’s never once comforted her, or came to sleep next to her on cold nights. Instead he leaves her alone all day and then comes once the moon begins to rise to train. It was hard at first, to suddenly no longer have parents that loved and supported her at all moments of the day and night. Instead she got a strict, immortal, emotionless being whose only contact with the outside world was when he went to collect the next Tidecaller every few generations. And even with that, he was terrible at casual conversation. All he knew to do was to train and advise the Tidecaller. She had to admit, it was both annoying and endearing.
It is his only duty, she reminds herself, to train the next Tidecaller, until she is ready to fulfill her own duty to the tribe. Emotions would only get in the way.
“Is there any way not to be the Tidecaller?” she asks suddenly, her voice just as quiet as his.
The water that makes up his body twitches and roils, adjusting to make his would be brow scrunch up in confusion.
“What do you mean?” he replies, his voice louder and sharper.
Ceto flinches, hating the guilt prowling inside her gut. “I mean…is there a way to return the Tidecaller power?”
The water bearer comes up next to her, the blue glow inside the cave passing through his body like any other body of salt water.
He doesn’t meet her stare as he says, “the only way to return the power you have is to die.”
She shakes her head, the thought of purposefully offing herself just so that she can escape this pitiful existence turning her stomach into a pool of acid. “No. That’s no solution,” she says with conviction. “The Tidecaller would only return once again to a new host inside of the tribe. Someone else would have to be taken away from their family…I’d rather take on the burden then be the coward that drops it in someone else’s paws.”
The water bearer doesn’t turn his head, but his eyes slightly move to the corner of his vision where Ceto stands, her black tail drooping and her sea-green eyes glazed over in exhaustion and defeat.
He sighs, his watery lungs bubbling. “The ocean chose you. There was a reason, a very important reason, for taking you away from your home. You have to learn how to control this power on your own, and how to preserve both it and yourself so that the tribe can live in peace for years to come.”
Ceto’s eyes wander to the open end of the cave where the sea sways gently under the low arching roof. She knows very well that she has no choice in the matter. The ocean is growing stronger every day. It will only be a matter of time before it takes back what was stolen: the power of the Tidecaller. It is believed by her tribe mates that the ocean used to be a life-giving God. It was much more powerful than it is today, and had a consciousness and a physical body. But it was tricked and deceived by a lowly mortal cat who had lived for years on the ocean’s deserted shores. The cat had been fed up with its miserable, hard and lonely life, and so it stole the sea’s consciousness; the part of its power that gave the sea God intelligence and self-awareness and-according to many of the elders of her tribe-a heart. That cat became the first Tidecaller and the founder of the Tribe of Roaring Waves. Ever since then, the Tidecaller has been re-born again and again in time to keep the raging, vengeful sea in its place and thus halt the destruction of the tribe.
Without her, the Tidecaller, her tribe and her family would be swallowed by the sea.
But two years have passed since she began her training. She should have been ready many moons ago. By now, the ocean could have…
“Why is it taking so long for me to learn how to control my powers?” Ceto asks the water bearer.
“Because you are the weakest Tidecaller I have ever trained,” he replies bluntly.
It takes a few moments for the shock and stinging hurt to pass through her so that she can respond. “Oh?”
The Water Bearer sits, curling his tail around his watery paws. “I believe the ocean has taken some of its power back each and every time it clashes with a new Tidecaller,” he states, his gaze analyzing the ripples on the walls. “Each one of you has been weaker than the one before. It seems eventually the Tidecaller will cease to exist.”
Ceto can’t help but ask him one last question. “Then what does that mean for you?”
For the first time since she first saw him emerge from this very cave, he smirks, a kind of wicked humor glittering in his smoldering grey gaze.
“I guess I will have to return what I stole from the Sea God as well.”
“I know, I’m trying…”
“You are not trying hard enough. You are still missing the pull. The tide does not go in only one direction.”
Sweat beads along Ceto’s brow, slipping down the crevices of her frown. Before her, the ocean struggles in place. A wave about three tail-lengths tall has come to a stop mid-crest, a few drops of sea water escaping from the formation and falling into the sea below. With her left paw extended, Ceto’s entire body shakes and struggles just like the body of water she has filled with her power.
Her fast, frustrated breaths echo too loudly in the cave around her, loosening her focus. The sea casts an eerie blue glow upon the grey walls of her home, the waves making erratic ripples upon the stone that reflect in her stormy, sea-green eyes. From the dark tint of the water, Ceto can tell that it must be nighttime outside; most likely a full moon with how much the water glows beyond the entrance of the cave.
“Focus,” a distinctly male voice hisses behind her.
She sighs longingly in response, ripping her gaze away from the only window into the outside world she has known for the last two years. She so desperately wants to see how the moon plays with the grains of sand on the beach, and how the blue waves turn silver and white under the light of the stars, but she knows she will never see such a sight again if she can’t master the power of the Tidecaller within her.
No thanks to the Water Bearer, she thinks with surprising, unchecked anger shimmering in her gut. He chose me for this. He is the one keeping me here.
Or is he?
The simple thought loosens the last bit of control she has on the wave and it drops and splashes back into its natural formation, splattering Ceto’s face with cool salt water.
After a few brief, silent moments, she growls in frustration, wiping her face with her paw and flicking the excess water on the floor. “Perfect! Just perfect,” she hisses.
“You are distracted today,” the Water Bearer says, his voice intrigued.
Ceto looks over her shoulder, her eyes accusing. “You just noticed that today?” she asks lightly. She can feel her anger shimmering beneath her skin, ready to come bursting forth in the form of freezing waves.
In the shadows cast by the walls of the cave, Ceto can just make out the swirling shape of the Water Bearer, his cold grey eyes reflecting the ocean, just as hers had moments before.
“I know you’ve always had trouble focusing your power,” he replies smoothly, not reacting to her unusual aggression. “But you have never been this sloppy during training.”
Ceto takes a deep, salty breath in, and lets warm air out. She knows she is being unfair. It is true that all day today she has been messing up every single one of his instructions. She has let negative thoughts consume her and take her away from her goal.
Whose goal is it really though? Mine, or the Tribe’s?
She shakes her head, frustration welling up inside of her once again and threatening to drown her. She just wants to go home. She’s afraid it’s been too long, and that none of her friends or family will remember the young cat she once was. They will all be too afraid of her to love her.
“Being the Tidecaller is a lonely existence,” the water bearer says, his voice quiet and gentle.
Ceto looks up at him, showing surprise at his caring response. She has become used to his harsh ways of raising her. He’s never once comforted her, or came to sleep next to her on cold nights. Instead he leaves her alone all day and then comes once the moon begins to rise to train. It was hard at first, to suddenly no longer have parents that loved and supported her at all moments of the day and night. Instead she got a strict, immortal, emotionless being whose only contact with the outside world was when he went to collect the next Tidecaller every few generations. And even with that, he was terrible at casual conversation. All he knew to do was to train and advise the Tidecaller. She had to admit, it was both annoying and endearing.
It is his only duty, she reminds herself, to train the next Tidecaller, until she is ready to fulfill her own duty to the tribe. Emotions would only get in the way.
“Is there any way not to be the Tidecaller?” she asks suddenly, her voice just as quiet as his.
The water that makes up his body twitches and roils, adjusting to make his would be brow scrunch up in confusion.
“What do you mean?” he replies, his voice louder and sharper.
Ceto flinches, hating the guilt prowling inside her gut. “I mean…is there a way to return the Tidecaller power?”
The water bearer comes up next to her, the blue glow inside the cave passing through his body like any other body of salt water.
He doesn’t meet her stare as he says, “the only way to return the power you have is to die.”
She shakes her head, the thought of purposefully offing herself just so that she can escape this pitiful existence turning her stomach into a pool of acid. “No. That’s no solution,” she says with conviction. “The Tidecaller would only return once again to a new host inside of the tribe. Someone else would have to be taken away from their family…I’d rather take on the burden then be the coward that drops it in someone else’s paws.”
The water bearer doesn’t turn his head, but his eyes slightly move to the corner of his vision where Ceto stands, her black tail drooping and her sea-green eyes glazed over in exhaustion and defeat.
He sighs, his watery lungs bubbling. “The ocean chose you. There was a reason, a very important reason, for taking you away from your home. You have to learn how to control this power on your own, and how to preserve both it and yourself so that the tribe can live in peace for years to come.”
Ceto’s eyes wander to the open end of the cave where the sea sways gently under the low arching roof. She knows very well that she has no choice in the matter. The ocean is growing stronger every day. It will only be a matter of time before it takes back what was stolen: the power of the Tidecaller. It is believed by her tribe mates that the ocean used to be a life-giving God. It was much more powerful than it is today, and had a consciousness and a physical body. But it was tricked and deceived by a lowly mortal cat who had lived for years on the ocean’s deserted shores. The cat had been fed up with its miserable, hard and lonely life, and so it stole the sea’s consciousness; the part of its power that gave the sea God intelligence and self-awareness and-according to many of the elders of her tribe-a heart. That cat became the first Tidecaller and the founder of the Tribe of Roaring Waves. Ever since then, the Tidecaller has been re-born again and again in time to keep the raging, vengeful sea in its place and thus halt the destruction of the tribe.
Without her, the Tidecaller, her tribe and her family would be swallowed by the sea.
But two years have passed since she began her training. She should have been ready many moons ago. By now, the ocean could have…
“Why is it taking so long for me to learn how to control my powers?” Ceto asks the water bearer.
“Because you are the weakest Tidecaller I have ever trained,” he replies bluntly.
It takes a few moments for the shock and stinging hurt to pass through her so that she can respond. “Oh?”
The Water Bearer sits, curling his tail around his watery paws. “I believe the ocean has taken some of its power back each and every time it clashes with a new Tidecaller,” he states, his gaze analyzing the ripples on the walls. “Each one of you has been weaker than the one before. It seems eventually the Tidecaller will cease to exist.”
Ceto can’t help but ask him one last question. “Then what does that mean for you?”
For the first time since she first saw him emerge from this very cave, he smirks, a kind of wicked humor glittering in his smoldering grey gaze.
“I guess I will have to return what I stole from the Sea God as well.”
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