dreamed of paradise

Carina (Caw-ree-naw) "Cara" Soliz || 146 || Mermaid || EMT/ Student ((Mobile header by Kim x))

[ozheik]

@carasoliz

They had grown custom to their habits. Cara and him had interacted almost everyday, in one way or another. Quackert didn’t seem to begrudgingly look at the money or clothes that his best friend had left him. However, this day and a few days other something had changed significantly. One day of the pair missing each other was normal, but a second day was all but unheard of. 

Nested in a pile of clothes Cara had left, Quackert sadly nuzzled the cloth with his beak. The first thing the small judgmental terrorist noticed the golden hair at first and sped up towards the figure. Small wings flapped as he chirped happily, but when he noticed it was the female and not his male counterpart he let out a morose squeak in protest.

The clothes unmoved, the money untouched, and the Merman was nowhere to be found. 

[carasoliz]

Carina had been out of her mind in worry - as was customary in the state she’d been lately. Far away from the ocean longer than ever before in her life and her only connection to it being her dear friend Oz. She’d been trying to get in contact with him for over a day now which had begun to strike her as scary and unusual since the first hour she could not find it. It had been many more hours now and Cara had decided to take the day out of work in her anxiousness to find him. He couldn’t have gotten in trouble or hurt, could he? The mere thought sent her heart hammering in her chest.

She made it made to their usual lake spot, smiling when she noticed the little duckling rush over. He seemed worried too, especially since the disappointment was clear when he realized she was not his pseudo father returning. Cara bent down and picked him up with a sad smile. “I know, Quackert. I know... I’m trying to my best to find,” she said in mermish, scratching gently behind the duckling’s neck the way he liked it and then kissing him on the top of the head.

“Maybe... Maybe he left clues,” she murmured, carrying the little guy over with her as she wandered towards the sandy area of the lake. She looked around for what seemed a traumatically long time in worry before she caught sight of footprints leading into the forest. She bent down before them, putting Quackert down as well. “Do you think this is him?” She frowned. “Or someone else?” Cara looked into the forest... The last time she was in there, trouble had found her far too quick. She was loathe to go in but if her friend was in there... she most definitely would.

[carasoliz]

percystone‌:

“Sort of? Instead of wheels, the bottoms of the shoes are sharp blades, to kind of cut the ice and keep you steady on it. Or, uh… something like that… It was kind of fun once I managed to get the hang of it, though I was never going to be good enough for any kind of icecapade.” She offered a soft chuckle, trying her hardest to simply relax in the water, to not let the slightly weightless feeling of her lower body make her uncomfortable. It was a bit of a silly fear, water that she could literally stand up in and keep her head above water, but she could see areas of the same pool where she would drown if she tried to keep her feet on the ground. It set her heart beating a little too fast.

And then, then Cara was asking a question that made Percy want to back away and climb out of the pool. Because as much as she did trust Cara, the question ‘Do you trust me’ was one of those questions that terrified just about anyone who was asked it. It almost always led to something that was way outside of her comfort zone, and she was proven right almost immediately when Cara dragged her underwater and she barely had enough time to hold her breath and close her eyes, swallow back the half-scream that she wanted to get out. 

She was terrified to open her eyes, for a myriad of reasons, really, but the chlorine in the pool was a pretty good starter one. Her lungs were burning from the effort of holding her breath while simultaneously panicking slightly, and by the time the mermaid spoke, she was pretty resigned to the idea that maybe Cara wasn’t as nice as she thought, and really did want to kill her like half the rest of the town. The words the girl spoke, however, gave her a moment of pause and she peeked an eye open, sucked in a deep breath, almost shocked, and caught sight of the tail.

Holy shit the tail.

 Momentarily shocked, Percy could barely comprehend what the mermaid was actually saying to her, blinking and simply… staring. It was a strange sensation, being fully submerged and still able to breathe, and she had to remind herself not to hyperventilate.  “Terrified.” She finally managed to get out, in answer to the other woman’s question. “But… uh… being able to breathe helps. Your… uh… your tail is really… dope.”

Carina smiled at the compliment but focused on her friend. At least she had managed to reign in her panic. She’d known many who would still have trouble speaking normally after facing their fears. She was even relieved to see that she wasn’t angry either. 

“You have been very dope.” It sounded like a complimenting word, though the mermaid was not 100% sure what it meant. She could kinda guess based by context. “Facing our fears can be very scary and uncomfortable,” Cara said, swimming around Percy, beating her tail gently and slowly so as not to go too fast. “But taking a leap of faith can be one of our greatest teachers... This is a good step. You do not need to take anymore if you do not want,” she said with a little amused smile. “-but I am still so very proud.”

She stopped in front of her, curling her tail below again. “If you would like to swim up, the bubble will pop when you touch the surface. It will also pop if you move too quickly forward... but that is okay.” She nodded. “If you move forward, then I you can learn to swim underwater a little. Learning underneath is better to begin with, so you do not need to be afraid when you are above and sink a little...”

“But it is up to you. I would understand if you have had enough learning for the day.” She chuckled under the water, the sound more muffled than above but much more clear than it would be for a normal human. Overall, Cara sounded like herself. She sounded very happy and impressed. “I still know one day you will be able to swim very well.”

[carasoliz]

❛ RELATIONSHIP BOARD

Carina Soliz & Priscilla Stone

[carasoliz]

lil-adamson‌:

At the comment Lil just shrugged, not feeling particarly one way or the other. Still she returned what she hoped was a comforting look. Dealing with the aftermath of hunting was never her strong suit, but she didn’t particarly think talking about violence was anyone’s cup of tea really. 

Lil looked back at the wolf, pondering for a moment. What Carina had said was something Lil thought an awful lot about.  “If it gives you any comfort, my dad used to say there’s a lot worse things that can happen then being dead. Don’t think whoever’s body that was would have wanted to kill his friends and family. He’s in a better place now - at least I think so. Don’t think hurting people counts when you aren’t in control.” 

At the request Lil broke out of her reverie and said simply, “Oh - I hadn’t realized I didn’t give my name. It’s Lil.” 

She would have reached to shake her hand, but Lil was all too aware of what she looked like. Grabbing her bag, she put the knife back into the bag along with the gun. She had followed the other’s gaze, and knew well enough people were weary around weapons.  After a pause Lil thought of something and said quietly, “And - Don’t worry. Once I get you where you need to go, I’ll come back and give him a proper grave. I’m not just going to leave him like that.  I just need to grab some stuff.” 

Lil. Carina put that in the back of her mind, wondering who exactly this woman was. A warrior? A guard of the town? Una policia? She could not imagine there would be any other jobs that would demand carrying such weapons and having such confidence and expertise killing other living things. It worried her and it was the only thing making her second guess smiling and thanking her profusely once more. But she seemed like a nice woman, kind and caring. It was that that made Carina withhold a barrage of questions, especially about the weapon she so nonchalantly cleaned of blood.

“I... I will be fine. I can go home, I know the way.” She said, wrapping her arms in front of her chest in a way that gave her comfort. It looked that way rather than indignant or with any sort of attitude. If anything, it seemed she was cold. But the weather was not what was making her shiver. “What is it you do?” Carina finally decided to use at least one of the many questions she had... the one she was most worried about.

“Your job...” She glanced over at the bag where Lil had put away the weapon. “You carry these weapons.”

[carasoliz]

ozheik‌:

Oz grinned down to Carina. Her heart was golden, and perhaps if they had never crossed paths he would be a very different person. It was her that imbued in his mind that intuitive empathy. Surely he didn’t get the ability from his parents, maybe just the general curiosity. However at the festivals whenever he crossed her vibrant persona he questioned everything he had been taught at a young age. Carina wasn’t only his best friend, she was his whole world. If anyone could bring him out of the lake it was her. It’s just he had doubts on the timing. 

“I will be right here.” He reassured her but glanced to where she had pointed. “I will leave those things there if they’re missing. So you know I took them.” He pointed to a shrubbery bush that only held an empty coffee cup for now. Oz’s own smile grew at her mention of everyday and he nodded firmly. “Every. Day. Maybe we can walk further a bit further each day and then I can meet you with the humans so it’s closer.” He suggested with a pained expression. He wished that he had been ready to live among the humans. There’s nothing more to tell her that he was ready, but he knew that would be a lie. And he didn’t want to lie to Cara. 

“Be careful. I’ll watch for you every day, and that’ll be my favorite time of day besides when the tide brings in a bunch of fish.” Oz beamed idly twirling a finger through her hair before he gave her one last hug and started to back away towards the lake. 

“Tomorrow. Right here.”

Carina let out a shaky laugh as he mentioned it would be his favorite day, apart from the fish. The memories of passing by the vendors in the festivals, so filled with fish and various plants and other far rarer and delectable mermish foods at the festivals went through her head. 

The two young merfolk separating from their parents and Cara’s elder siblings to race through the water and pick out the best fish and snacks they could find to eat as they watched the migrations and the various traditional shows together. The snacks and the time they spent together had more impact on her than any of the traditional mermish celebrations. She tried to imagine the two of them doing similar things now - on land. Hopefully some day.

“Good,” she said in Mermish still, beaming up at him as they seperated from the embrace. “Take good care of yourself until then, my friend.” Cara bent over to give him a kiss on the cheek before backing away and picking up her large work bag. She waved energetically at him, a bit of melancholy in her expression before she had to turn away to rush to her shift.

༻῾¦، END

[carasoliz]

percystone‌:

It was always such a strange thing, seeing someone who was technically so old talking about their past. It was like watching them scroll through memory microfilm. She could almost hear the click of the machine in the echo of the room as Cara recalled a memory from long past. It was different from watching a grandparent recall a memory in some way, very similar in others. Not that Percy had experience with many grandparents. The ones she had gotten when she was a teenager were nice enough, but it had always felt strange to call the elder Stones her grandparents, and their memories, crass as it sounded, didn’t mean much to Percy.

But she listened to Cara’s memory with rapt attention, following along with the other woman’s actions as she did, though she would happily admit that she felt extremely silly as she did. One foot tentatively lifted from the floor of the pool, though it made her nervous. Which, she thought, was rather ridiculous when she considered the things that she had gone through on a pretty regular basis in Ashbourne. 

“When I was a kid, maybe ten? Anyway, I was living with this group of kids, kind of like the group home here in town, but smaller scale, maybe twelve or thirteen kids… The lady that ran the place managed to get enough money to rent out a skating rink for one of the kids for his birthday.” She wasn’t quite sure what the point of the story was, besides maybe just sharing, since Cara had. “Ice skating, this was, and I remember being so wobbly on the skates. Must have fallen on my butt ten times. Just… kept laughing and getting back up.” A pause, and she laughed now, lifted her other foot finally, overcompensating with her arms a bit before she kicked once, getting a mouthful of water for her trouble when she dipped below the surface, popping up coughing and putting her feet firmly back on the bottom of the pool. “Trial and error, I guess, yeah?”

Carina listened with interest, still trying to keep half of her attention on how Percy was moving. So far, she wasn’t doing too badly. There was grace and confidence to gain but humans had innate, strong instincts. Especially for survival - they could survive just about anything, especially water, if they just followed their gut and tried hard enough. It was one thing that inspired her about them.

Cara, on the other hand, just went through the motions. Swimming with legs was just as easy as swimming with a tail, though certainly not as fun or effective. She couldn’t help letting out a small chuckle at the girl coming up to sputter up some water when she realized she was alright.

“Ice skating... It sounds fun. I know skating is with those wheel shoes. I did not see a lot this decade or last decade but there used to be a lot more people doing that on the shore. Is ice skating the same but on ice?” She smiled and gave Percy a moment to recover and answer and feel relaxed.

Then it was trial time. “Alright... I can see you’ve had a taste of it but now it is time for a leap of faith. Do you trust me?” Carina backed away a little in the water and beamed before diving in. She pulled Percy in with her, quickly at first but then gently and held on to her hands firmly as she did. By the time the human had submerged, the mermaid’s legs had been replaced by a bright, sunset colored tail that rested at the bottom of the shallow end of the pool.

She let go of one of Percy’s hands and moved her own to place it in front of her friend’s face. An air bubble began to form in front of the mermaid’s palms and she pushed it towards Percy’s mouth, giving her a small, fragile air bubble to breathe through for a moment so she could relax underwater.

“You can breathe for a a bit,” she said happily, voice eerily clear in the water. “How are you feeling? Keep kicking slowly and moving your arms,” she said, letting go off her hands completely now so Percy could feel just how amazing it was to look around and be under the water, even if it was just a pool.

[rogerdeakinsdp]

Ana de Armas as Carola in Mentiras y gordas (2009)

[carasoliz]

Carina Soliz + Tumblr Text Posts

(part 1/?)

[carasoliz]

percystone‌:

Simply floating at the edge wasn’t so bad. The water was a little cold, but that was improving, somewhat. And hanging onto the edge, that was good, too. She knew that her feet wouldn’t touch the bottom unless she was absolutely submerged, and drowning definitely did not sound like a good idea. Cara’s praise for her actually managing to get into the water was embarrassing, and Percy was positive that she was blushing, but she still felt a smile tugging at her face. “I got into the water. Wouldn’t say that’s too much of an accomplishment.”

One of these days, Percy might let the little wins be wins. For now, she was still trying to relax a little in the water, arms clinging a little too tightly to the side, even more so when the arm was offered to her. It would probably be fine, she tried to reason with herself. Cara was a mermaid, and an EMT besides. She wouldn’t let Percy die in a pool. It was hesitantly that she reached out and took the girl’s arm, pushed away from the wall a bit, trying a little too hard not to flail.

“Not sure I’ve quite had my sea legs since I left that water I was born from.” For a moment, she dangled, felt herself sinking, and she kicked, trying not to sink, and clung just a bit harder to the mermaid. “Right, maybe we should start right at the beginning. Not sure I even know how to float without a wall’s help. Was it this hard for you to learn how to walk when you tried out land for the first time?”

Carina gently and slowly led her over to the shallower end, but it still required her trying to keep herself up until them. She was happy to see Percy was not doing too badly with it, even if the grip she had on her arm was getting very tight. Cara finally managed to get them to a place where she could feel her feet brush against the floor or the pool and pulled Percy in.

“It is just lack of practice,” she assured her, making sure Percy’s feet were touching the bottom before putting her arm down. She smiled at the memory and question and glanced up at the ceiling with her eyes as she thought about it, shrugging. A long exhale and she looked back down, grinning.

“My, that was so, so long ago... When I was old enough, my parents tried to teach me to walk on rocks far from shore but I was but a small child. It wasn’t until I was... perhaps, a young adolescent in human terms, that I was able to go on shore. I was very wobbly,” she said with a small chuckle. “I did fall... I scrapped my knees on a few rocks.” She chuckled again at the memory.

“Now, moves your arms this way...” Carina instructed, pushing the water to the sides in front of her to show her over and over. “-and try to float without your feet touching the ground beneath you. And keep moving your arms as such. It will help you stay up before you start kicking your feet... Once you do, you can start trying to come to me and kicking your feet further from the shallows.”

“Sometimes, learning takes a leap of faith. Every scraped knee was worth it for me.”

[carasoliz]

lil-adamson‌:

Lil nodded, looking down at the wolf for a moment before standing up and getting her gun. She’d have to clean her knife, but that wasn’t to bad all things considered. 

“I’m good. Didn’t get bit at least, and I’ll be able to take care of any scrapes. Thank you though,” Lil said looking up at the woman. She could tell that she was more distressed by the creature being dead.

“Don’t know what the proper term is for it, but sometimes they -” she nodded to the wolf as she found a scrap of cloth out of her bag she’d dropped to clean her knife off, “ go berserk. I think it’s some sort of sickness. Vampires got something similar but I don’t deal with those a whole lot. They lose any semblance of personhood - soul maybe that they got left. It’s like rabies. They don’t know what their doing, but if they keep going around they’ll hurt other people. If it got any closer to town, I’m sure people would have died. ”

She stood up after her knife was clean and tried to calm the other. “ Do you need a ride somewhere? I know that wasn’t exactly pleasant.”

Carina visually looked over the woman, even as she reassured her she was alright. But when quickly satisfied that she seemed alright, she then turned and bent down to look at the wolf more carefully. Her expression filled with multiple emotions - horror, sadness, guilt, fear and relief. She didn’t realize she was holding in her breath until she backed away from the fallen creature and looked over at the stranger. Her eyes were wide.

“You have saved my life and the lives of many then... I cannot thank you enough,” she breathed out shakily, mustering what she hoped looked like a smile. It was partially a grimace. Cara was still very shaken up. “I had never seen one before... I am just...” She frowned, looking down at the creature, “-feeling badly. If this creature lost a soul... it meant it once had one. I do not like it when a life just...”

She trailed off and shook her head, looking back at the other. “I would, please... just like your name first. My name is Carina. I, um... I thank you again.” Her gaze moved down at the weapon, and all at once she begun to look more wary again. Weapons put a bad taste in the mermaid’s mouth and effectively raised her blood pressure, especially after witnessing the violent raid on her community.

[carasoliz]

ozheik‌:

They were meant to cross paths, and it did feel Oz’s humble heart that his best friend wasn’t one of those deceased among her people. That had been his largest fear, and the second had been coming to the land. Her smile was one of the most infectious he had ever encountered. No matter who he grinned at or new friends he found. Hers was always the smile that stood out to him, even when it changed meaning. He was much more attuned with human’s emotions if only he could realize it. It was arguable, but he liked to think his ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’ grin was different than his grin he had now being reunited with his best friend.

“All the fish we could eat. I’ll grab us some seasoning too. The plants are not that bad here to have with.” Oz explained with a sincere smile. It was hard to feel sad or uncomfortable for too long with Carina around. That was probably the thing he looked less forward to was catching up on his end. He had always lived a more submerged life than Cara, so he enjoyed hearing her stories where his were.. less enjoyable. “I’ll tell you everything. We will eat, learn, catch up, and swim together whenever you’re free.” Oz reassured and took another step forward to pull her in for another hug. “Three moons? I’m not going anywhere I promise. Now that I know you’re here, I will be content being here and waiting for you.”

“Good. Yes,” she agreed, feeling a bit choked up. Carina had always been overflowing with emotions - as changeable as the tide when it comes to her feelings and waves of them that could be just as powerful as a stormy sea. She was loathe to leave her friend how but she was also devoted to the new work she had picked up. She wanted to make this place her home, and so she had to go and learn and be the healer the humans and creatures needed her to be.

“I-I shall try to stop by tomorrow. If you are not here, right here, do not worry I shall...” She looked around and then pointed to a cluster of rocks, smiling. “I will leave a note there and clothing and currency for you to use. And if you take them I will know you are okay.” Cara looked back at him with a wider smile. “Okay? Everyday, I will be making sure you are okay and then go to my classes and work. Once my training finishes, I shall have days off and we can do even more. Just stay safe. I will figure out a way for us to be closer.”

[carasoliz]

Happy (early) birthday, Dany!

[carasoliz]

DEEP SEA MERFOLK

❝ These creatures are similar to their Arctic counterparts. They are able to withstand high pressures and the low temperatures of the deep sea. Similarly, they live off the hunt and are nomadic, moving to wherever they can find their prey. Due to their natural habitat, this variation of Merfolk suffers from discoloration. Their skin is almost see-through, with bioluminescent limbs. They are skilled predators and will attack anything edible. They rarely encounter humans in their lifetimes, but when they do, they too become a sizeable meal. (x) ❞

[carasoliz]

ARCTIC MERFOLK

❝ These creatures are able to withstand the low temperatures of the freezing Arctic waters. They are larger than the regular merfolk, depending on their body fat to keep themselves warm. They are also much stronger and prey on bigger animals than the rest of their kin, like sea lions, seals and even walruses. (x) ❞

[carasoliz]

FRESHWATER MERFOLK

❝ These creatures live in rivers, lakes, swamps and other in-land sources of water. They are farmers, scavengers and hunters all in one, and live between water and land, having a great deal of contact with humans. Unlike tropical merfolk, however, this contact is done out of need, not curiosity. They are very unsure about humans, especially when they move into their territory, and are prepared to defend it. (x) ❞

[carasoliz]

KELP FOREST MERFOLK

❝ These creatures are farmers, organized in family units in areas rich with kelp. They cultivate the kelp and other sea plants, while also domesticating sea animals in order to eat their eggs. They do not hunt, and often provide smaller, satellite cities near the area with food in exchange for other goods and even protection. They have a better relationship with sea animals than most merfolk. (x) ❞

[carasoliz]

OPEN OCEAN MERFOLK

❝ These creatures are vicious protectors of their homeland. They are the merfolk from sailor tales, the ones who sink ships and drown men. They are the majority of their kin, scattered around the world in small cities ruled by a democracy of Senators. They are very organized, with a clear social structure and hierarchy. Their cities concentrate hundreds of merfolk that work together to defend their territory. They are not only hunters, but scavengers and farmers. (x) ❞