Shifting Tides
Closed Starter || @putsomeseaweedonit
The Levi siblings were a curious two, Gunnar found. Jasper, the elder one, was a strangely welcoming mer, it seemed. In the past, it felt as though he would attempt to associate himself as much as possible with Gunnar once he was the leader. However, it never escaped his notice that Jasper was similarly friendly with Adam, who invited a frenzy of corrupt and controlling egos to swarm around him like flies upon a fresh corpse. Jasper was definitely one of those egos, though Gunnar didnât mind much. As long as there was a sense of unity, the unnecessary tangle of political matters could wait indefinitely.
Clara was different. She seemed intelligent andâŠwarm. That was the best word for it, anyway. The aura of a healer was perhaps always warm, but it seemed to facilitate Clara far more than others. It made her appear as a beacon of trust within the colony, so knowing that her faith wasnât completely with him and his plight left Gunnar feeling uneasy.
She had questions, he was sure. He did too. He always did. Gunnar was born a warrior, after all. Being a political figure was the last thing he imagined himself becoming. Nevertheless, he entered into the position with his colonyâs vote of confidence. Well, most of the colony, that was. Any sense of apprehension was unnerving to Gunnar, and while he knew he would be unable to sway the opinions of many Adam-loyalists, he would do his best to surround himself with the voices of those who would remain truthful â not only to him, but to themselves.
A dinner seemed like the best idea. Food was one of the best social tools that the merpeople had, after all, and Gunnar was constantly hungry. People seemed happier when their bellies were full. Their dinner was a recent catch by Gunnar himself. It was a sailor on a nearby ship working the night shift upon the deck. It was easy enough to lure it to the edge of the ship, and almost too easy to drag it down and snap its neck. It took some small preparation with a very, very large sword, but in the end it was ready to be eaten, raw as it was. So Gunnar paced around his private rooms, waiting for Clara to arrive until he heard a disturbance of the still water by the entrance of his room. âCome on in,â He stated, hoping that it was, in fact, Clara on the other side.
Sheâd been invited to dinner with Gunnar, and it had been something that just wasnât refused if you had any etiquette seeing as he was their leader. Honestly, she wasnât sure what to expect and she had almost found herself late (testing a new plant by the lake.) Clara was also not one to be overly decorative. She just wore her regular dress under the water while she hurried down to his quarters.
At his words she did come in, a pack at her side filled with some bottles of plants and other useful things that she hadnât had time to drop off at her own place. âHello.â She  moved into the cavern and gently sat on one of the kelp seats.Â
Clara looked at the âfoodâ on the rocky mound in front of her and then over at Gunnar. âThis looks...â She poked it and lifted her brow just a little. â..human?â
Clara knew that lots of mers ate humans if they caught them. It was something she should be used to, but her colony never ate humans. They used them and left them (maybe her mother ate them? She wasnât sure,) but Clara never ate human meat. She wasnât against eating fish or something like that, but her stomach just churned at the sight before her. âDo you have some salad?âÂ
She tried to stay as polite and genial as she could because she knew why they were doing this. She knew that Gunnar wanted to be a great leader and she had a lot of respect and hope for him. But there were things she still didnât agree with him on..one of them being the execution of Adam.
Clara believed it was in bad taste to make oneâs first action as a leader to shed blood as well as a bad omen to the colony itself.Â
