Cold blood.
The Malletila Zora cough in slight disgust, her sharp fangs glinting silver in the pale blue frost of the full moon's rays. She tremble with pain and once again pants, her fins scrunch up as she try her best to not cry out. Ugly gashes and bloody cuts shredded the pearly scales of her limbs, and her hands felt numb from striking constantly with her glowing amethyst claws. Her teeth ache, having bitten through metal plates earlier and even broken some off, though this does not phase her as it'll grow back by the next two days. Her ears and tattered dorsal fin were pressed back with uncertainty, and velvety fins that dress her body were pulled or ripped. Again, these appendages will eventually return in pristine condition. However, while her broken frame is the source of her current physical misery, the scent of her own and the blood of the fallen overridden her delicate senses as they engulf the dimly lit waters in rusted red or deathly black.
The curse of being a shark...the curtains of red and black silk was almost intoxicating. The clouds of red and black bubbled tauntingly as they sizzle around her, teasing her, daring her to attack as they gently caress her cheeks in brisk whispers. How they toyed with her...the scent was sweet and heavenly, with the odd mixture of salt twisting their velvety plumes into whirling mist. They were sinisterly cold, she noted, a reminder of their ichthyoid ancestry. She shudder at their frigid embrace.
But she dwell little on the tempting liquid consuming her rational thinking, her sights lock on the figure before her in hopes of not losing her sanity.
His slick scales were a stark contrast to the darkness of the echoing seas around him; they blazed in a majestic snow white glow graced with beautiful, luminous swirling markings entwining across his lean, athletic body. The artistic patterns glisten softly, like twirling tidal waves of royal purple dotted with galaxies of starry specks glittering against the blackness. The pulsing lights reflected off of his beautifully decorated frame as they send rays of lights in every which way, though they fail to emitted their glow far enough to ignite the reef. His snowy denticles were as if they were bejeweled purely with molded pearls, slick with a brilliant, captivating majesty shinier then the brightest sapphire. Beady "pearls" which are in actuality are tint bumps that only male Zoras have naturally encrusted the grooves in between his scales, so minuscule that one would barely notice their existence least they catch a hint of light. The more she looks at him, the more his contrast between white and shadowy purple sprinkled with stars represented the time of day.
He resembles the personification of night.
Such beauty and loveliness of colors he has. The white represent the ghostly frost of the moon, and the waves of gentle luminescence represent the stars and constellations. Lulu can almost swear she can see the cosmos through his purple swirls of colors, and for a moment fooled herself into seeing literal space. A glitter of light blazed across his body from one marking to another effortlessly, then a shower of shooting stars races through his artistic patterns almost as if to show off and impress her, though he never looked over. The lights illuminated her face and a glint in her amethyst eyes reveal her fascination with the display of dancing lights before her. Its almost like a Moon Pearl, a sacred jewel with the ability to cast visions of the starry skies far beyond the heavens. Lulu recalled the tales concerning the scales of his kind being crafted into beautiful and exotic jewelries with different uses, and worth more then diamonds for their rarity and magical properties. And seeing his precious scales, like silvery pearly mirrors bless with an elegant glossy sheen and the rippling colors of the night, she can understand why these Zoras had been hesitant of approaching outsiders for centuries.
Their attractive jewel like scales and colorful patterns alone would make them targets of men blinded with greed.
He didn't say anything, nor did he look at her. Instead, his eyes, like twin sapphires, streaked with ruby stripes kissing the lower lid, stare down at the mangle body of a downed Zora, his expression unreadable. His eye lids were shaded in dark grey, a natural protection from the glare of bright light. His claws were a metallic blue, and his muscular chest, stomach and back were a midnight black rimmed with gold and electric blue, complete with entwining streams of artistic colors. Various shades of shadowy purples were adore regally on his head and across his body, and his neck and crown were adore in lilac and plum arrows respectively. Trident like symbols and arching designs ran along one of his strong arms and legs, but his right one was coated in a permanent tattoo with rivers of reds and blues with a questionable design resembling a skull on his upper arm.
He looks like a Zora one wouldn't try associating with if they could help it. He was well build and very large, his colorful body ripple with lean muscles. The tattoos alone makes her weary, having associated them with street Zoras as they all wore similar looking body paint. His mouth, though close, is a chamber of teeth as sharp as steel, cutting through basically anything with ease. Perhaps that's why his kind don't necessarily have the strongest bite force among the shark Zoras; their teeth are so wickedly sharp that they get the job done with minimal effort. She seen him in action when he assaulted the Zoras, his eyes blazing madly as he cut right through their metallic armors and severed their bones with minimal effort. Just gently touching his fangs will draw an insane amount of blood even from the most armored scaled Zoras. They are basically knives, and understandably most Zoras are wise enough to leave them alone or not agitate them badly enough to trigger an attack. This also holds true to his claws.
A gurgle of bubbles whooshed out of his gills, and reaching out with his left hand, he grasp tightly on his bladed fin and yanked it out of the dead Zora's skull. As it slipped out of the wound with a sheathing sound of a sword, cool black blood oozed rapidly into the sea around them, further tainting the waters in its tempting toxicity as it hurried out of the stab wound. Lulu squeak as she try to hold back to urge to bare her fangs. Not only will it cause her to inhale the vile liquid and make her loose it, but exposing her fangs might send the wrong message to the male and thus trigger a fight. She is no pushover by any means and can hold her own in a fight, but the one Zora species she never in her whole life wants to engage in battle with was his kind.
The Sylovaakien Zora.
The male place the large blade into an opening slit in his lower right arm, slipping it in easily and making sure it reconnected into its socket. The palms of his hands are padded to protect against the sharpness of the sword he wields. After fiddling around a bit and fixing it snugly in place, he cast his beautiful gaze towards the violent waves above them as it glows an mystical azure hue during its raging fury. They crash and battled viciously, moaning painfully as the ocean churn inside out. Like the gales of the Watarara's Sky Kingdom, the brutal underwater currents whip and lash both their fins in every which way, his long dangling ear fins, tinted in tawny gold half way down, swooshing back and forth in the rhythm of the sea's wrath. Lulu stare at his scimitar fins, the signature weapon of Sylovaakien Zoras and the only one in Zora kind, as they bend and twist to the lashing sea gales while still retaining their iconic sharpness. They are extremely flexible even when in sword forms, and even more sharper then his fangs. In fact, they are the sharpest natural weapon on Termina, sharper then the mythical Great Fairy Sword. It was glazed with a shininess that one could see their own reflections on it, but in the middle lays a beautiful bejeweled symbol of the Zora's Sapphire, embedded into his fins by the Mother herself.
He turn to look at her, his eyes glowing softly. Lulu watch as he tilt his large snowy head slightly to the side as he lock his sights with her, the rays of moonlight rippling across his vibrate scales like shimmering waves. She knew that he was reading her, studying her closely just as the rest of his kind did. She knew from experience Zoran Heroes held the uncanny ability to sense wickedness within a person's heart thanks to their bizarre association with shadow magic despite their closeness to Nayru herself, and will slaughter that person on sight with zero hesitations. She by no means is a bad Zora by definition and thus he would most likely loose interest and disappear back into the inky depths, never to be seen again. So why does she feel this looming sense of distrust and dread gripping at her heart as the other stare at her? Perhaps its to do with the eerie unreadable expression he wore? Or his intimidating, erect sword fins that gives off the illusion of him being bigger then he actually is? Probably, her weariness were in relations to the fact that he wore that questionable tattoo? Or just the fact they he hadn't spoken at all the entire time they'd been here?
Maybe because the current season, autumn, is traditionally the time of year that Sylovaakien Zoras breed, and he sees her as a potential plaything? Oh, hell no! She'll rip his claspers off if he even thinks of going that far. They barely even know each other! Besides, Sylovaakiens and Malletilas breeding together rarely ends well anyway. Getting in a squabble with him during a courtship ritual will get awkward and messy very fast, something she learn from her perverted relatives when they try to mate with several Zoran Heroes; it only ended with both parties spatting hissy fits at each other.
During her thought process she nearly fail to realize that the male had slowly close the distant between them. He bounded over to her, bouncing with each step he took as he trotted closer to her. His caudal flippers were disrupting the silty soil as they rose in dusty clouds around his ankles. He slowly crawl to a stop as they came within striking range of each other, cautiously flicking his fins as he lower his head. He merely stare down at her now, his sapphire eyes still illuminating their ghostly glow as the lights of his marking died down. His tail slowly elongated with each breath he took as his muscular chest pumped out the water through his five gill slits. The frosty rays of the Naryu's lunar body shone from behind him, casting his faint silhouette a haunting hue of moon silver as they dance around his muscular frame. Shadows twisted and crackle from around his facial features.
Lulu stare back at the great mako Zora, a brief sense of enchantment accompanying her jittery systems as her webbed hands clenched the powdery sand tensely. He was a very attractive and marvelous representation of his species, blessed with the most vibrant and beautiful patterns she seen in any shark Zora. Even more so then other similar looking Zoran Heroes...But as she stare up at the Zora, she saw that all wasn't well with his regal appearance. There were slashes and bloody holes across his mid-section and gills, and bite marks raked across his shoulders and neck. Some of the red stripes running up from his jawline to his eyes were claw marks slashing open his snow white cheek, but his captivating orb of sapphire had been unharmed thanks to its protective, transparent membrane shielding it from assaults. She also notice their was a slight limp to his gait and he's favoring his right flipper as the left was held at a an odd angle, realizing that his ankle had been shot and swollen.
He's bleeding, she told herself in frustrations, knowing that if he get any closer the scent of his blood would finally cause her to snap. She slowly back away with a slight reptilian like hiss as his blood lazily slid through the openings, picked up by the whooshing currents and lash around them. It was as if the sea was trying to have her go insane and fight.
The Sylovaakien didn't seem at all phase by his injuries; he simply didn't feel his wounds, at least for the moment. He stare down the growling Malletila through his now slit eyes, calculating his next move carefully. Unexpectedly he kneel down to her level, his blue eyes taking on a particular glint. His fins stiffen and the look on his face seem to change to for a brief second. The Zoran Hero sniff the waters around her, to which Lulu reacted with flagged fins flailing in warning. Her heart rate accelerated as her mind went wild with horror.
'No you fool! Stop that! The scent of blood will taint your rational thinking! Don't sniff the water! Don't sniff the water! Don't-'
She were just about to rake his eye out, anticipating the inevitable attack that will transpire now...
When gingerly, the male cautiously snake his arm around her shoulders and stroke her delicate dorsal fin back. She froze, unsure of how to react as he gently caress her spine. His powerful arm felt like pure iron with how hard they are, and they ripple with lean muscles, but at the same time his winter scales were as if they were made of milk and honey with how silky smooth they felt. His large hand press down her fin as he silently soothe her, the pads in his palm massaging her strong back. She felt the tense muscles relax as he relive her tension, noticing that he fingers had callous as if he played an instrument of sorts. Though having been associated with the music industry, that was her first logical conclusion. Chances are he probably did.
But the curtain of blood had thicken now. The sinister waves of velvet danced around them, still mocking her and possibly the male as they engulf the pair. However Lulu realize they were no longer as icy despite Zoras being cold blooded and the autumn waters embracing the chill of the season.
The male grew bolder, as he slowly brought her to his midnight chest and allow her to rest her head on him. His body seem to burst to life as the cosmos of colors shimmer from his sangria markings. Lulu was too adsorb in the blood's strange rise in temperature to pay attention to his actions. When she did took wind of his behavior, a wave of shock wash over her slender features. Zoras felt cool to the touch, hence their blood. Every Zora she had contact with always had the same comforting coolness of their skin when touched. But this male felt wrong. Extremely wrong. He wasn't a stroke of chill that ran through a human when touched.
He skin felt warm, as if he were a mammal.
This is wrong....Very wrong! What kind of a fish, normal or anthropomorphic, feels like a literal mammal to the touch?
His blood mingle with the her own cold ones, soaking them in an unnatural warmth not commonly seen in the fish world. It stroke her cheeks and brush her fins, bathing her in tender warm calming gestures like the pleasant golden rays of Din's sun. She released a breath she hadn't known she was hold in, the sprays of bubbles pulsing through her gills like jet streams. She realize how foolish she had been as she remembers. Sylavaakien Zora evolved from Longfinned Mako Sharks (Isurus Paucus; meaning few, not many, rare, which makes sense as Zoran Heroes themselves are extremely rare) and are in the lamnidae family which consist of mackerel sharks like Great Whites and Porbeagle. These are the only sharks who are partially warm blooded thanks to special heat systems that warms the blood vessels. They rely on this for their active burst of energy during hunts, and are able to survive cold waters easily. As such Zoras such as Korieop (great whites) Makiiekdo (shortfinned twins of Sylovaakiens) and Zoran Heroes themselves are all warm blooded. The warmth also helps increase their brain power, specifically in Makos like him, making them extremely cunning and always alert. They are more intelligent then an average Zora. She simply never bother associating with these highly intelligent breeds because their beastly size and territorial behavior towards outsiders made them difficult to approach. Most Zoras wisely keep their distant from these self centered sea creatures.
Never had she experience such a comforting warmth from any Zora...
Except Mikau.
She snap her eyes open and abruptly push away from the male. He made a startle trill as she look into his eyes. He seem to had been agitated by her sudden movements, his sharpen pectoral fins rapidly fluttering in disapproval as he burn a hole in her skull with his stunning eyes. His gills puffed to accommodate for his displeasure and the corners of his mouth twitch as they pull back ever so slightly in a hiss...
Those fangs...so frightening...
Lulu cursed herself for her actions, remembering how skittish Sylovaakien Zoras are. They'll attack for the slightest movements, trigger by their desire to hunt. They are true carnivores of the Zoran race, encouraged by their high prey drive, and the wrong move can be disastrous.
'Now I've done it...'
But the beautiful deadly Zoran Hero wasn't growling at her, she soon concluded. Instead he held the wound in his adornment, waves of sparkling crimson flaked with hot white light flashing across his markings to signify pain, and she came to the realization that her sudden actions had accidentally hurt him. Guilt wash over her systems, and against her better judgement of taking the opportunity to get away from him, she reach out a regretful hand and gently touched his shredded cheek. He completely froze at her actions and his fins tensed dangerously, not looking up, but she knew his gaze was staring right at her for any sudden actions. As tenderly as she could, she caress his cheek and brush away the silt and mud clinging to the tooth like grooves of his pearly scales. Her fingers careful not to prod his bleeding gashes, she stroke the side of his face with much care and gentleness. His blood felt so warm as it wrap around her hand, so alien of a shark to have access to. She could feel the hot veins pumping under his skin, comfortably heating his body above the frigid water temperature. He still didn't budge from his frozen state, but she saw his regal patterns changing colors in accordance. They shifted from a stinging red to a turquoise blue, with sprinkles of cerulean dust and azure stars.
Lulu could feel a slight rumble vibrating from his throat, and his colors tone to a navy blue. He close his eyes momentarily and allow her to continue stroking him before slowly lifting his great head, his sights lock right at her. Lulu felt a sudden chill when she saw those cold sapphire eyes ablaze, but she held her breath as they commit a staring contest. Despite his apparent hostility, Lulu did not remove her hand from his face despite the threat of him biting it off. She felt a kinder connection to this individual who reminded her of an old friend from long ago. His eyes were finally calm, a glint sparkling within his pools, and his muscles relaxed. To her surprise the Sylovaakien Zora lifted his right hand and set his palm atop of hers on his cheek. His hand dwarfs her own, but their fingers entwine around one another and he gently stroke her own hand with his thumb. He rumble softly, enjoying her touch, and Lulu found herself purring with him. A wave of peace wash over them both, Lulu felt her heart pounding in her chest as their gazes connected once more.
It was at that moment that she finally understood his true intention.
Without hesitation, she carefully lean into him and nuzzle her head onto his chest, her previous fear evaporating with the waves as the currents tumble over them, threatening to knock them over. The Sylovaakien Zora made a small whistling squeal as he now held her protectively in his strong arms, rooting himself firmly in the loose sandy ground as he resist the angry ocean. Lulu felt his heart thumping against his great chest in her ear as she held onto him for dear life, finding the rhythm relaxing as pump the soothing warmth across his body and comforted her cold scales. Her own heart hammer against her ribcage, and she felt herself trembling with a hint of joy and nervous fear as she contemplate what she'd just done.
His muscles relax, and he flutter his fins lightly as he lay his head atop her crown, wrapping his long slender tail around her small frame. He close his eyes and savor the moment, chuckling sadly to himself as he stroke her. A wave of emotions flooded his conscience, memories of the past overwhelming his visions. Images of simpler times cast over the world, and in the sunny tropical bays of Zora Cape he saw himself as a pup running across the white sands as he chase a giggling Malletila guppy. Behind him was the loud cheers of a Trejax guppy, his trademark head fins nearly covering his emerald eyes as he try to keep pace with them. Soon they all pounce on each other in a heap of laughing Zoralings, tossing powdery sands and wrestling playfully as their parents watch proudly. Looking down at her, he knew this was the Zora of his childhood, and a sigh of gratidute escape him as he thanks Nayru for their reunion.
Lulu remain nestle in his embrace, safe from the cruel world around them. Her breath grew raspy, and her tattered body tremble as a wave of emotion threaten to break through. She felt small bubbles pooling at the corner of her eyes as tears well up, fluttering free in twiddling dances as they escape into the open waters as tiny orbs. But she felt compel all the same and a small smile grace her lovely, gleaming face. She knew now that he would never leave her again; they had found each other at long last, and the tender warmth of his powerful arms promise her that for now on they will always remain together. That she should never fear of being left alone again. That she no longer has nothing to fear as long as he is by her side.
Finally, she had found him, for she knew it at the bottom of her heart.
She had reunited with Mikau.
