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The cave was quiet as Bam broke the surface of the water, pulling himself up onto the sandy shore. Though it was nearly noon, the sun high in the sky, only a few streaks of sunlight snuck through the cracks in the cave, casting enough light for Bam to see as he shed his sealskin, but not enough to illuminate the entire stretch of sand.
As Bam shook out his now-humanoid limbs, there was the sound of skin shifting across sand, then glowing blue eyes opened in the darkest corner of the cave. Other shimmering lights followed, a blue shine under the skin of an eel-like tail. The light reflected off of wickedly sharp teeth as Aguero yawned, his arms stretching over his head.
Something warm and fond swelled in Bam's chest at the sight. When they'd first met nearly a year ago, Aguero never would have let Bam see him just upon waking, let alone with his long hair mussed and sandy, a stray jellyfish's tentacle from his last meal tangled among the strands.
Bam dropped his coat in a pile on the sand, making his way over to Aguero with a delighted grin.
"Bam," Aguero said exasperatedly, "you need to be more careful with your coat."
"It's just us here," Bam pointed out as he settled down on the sand beside Aguero, reaching over to pull the tentacle from Aguero's hair. "It's safe."
Aguero's lips split into a clever smile. "What if I've been playing the long game?" he murmured, voice resonating almost hauntingly in the small space of the cave. "I could be waiting for you to let your guard down around me so that I can take it when you're least expecting."
Laughter burst out of Bam's lungs, and he tilted sideways until his shoulder bumped against Aguero's. All throughout the time they'd known each other, Aguero had been quick to warn him against trusting a mer from the Khun swarm of eels. Yet Bam knew by now that it was all talk. Aguero had saved him from an abandoned fishing net with his teeth and claws, had fed him with the spoils from his own hunts, had let him stay in his hidden cave to rest after long days. If Aguero wanted to hurt him, he would have done so a long time ago.
"What would you even do with it?" Bam teased, brushing some of the sand off of Aguero's pale skin.
Aguero hummed, plucking the last scrap of the jellyfish from Bam's fingers and popping it in his mouth. He pressed into Bam's shoulder, looking at him past lowered eyelids. "Maybe I just want to keep you," he said, voice light, spanning the delicate filament of feeling between them that they had yet to put a name to. His fingers drifted over the bare skin of Bam's leg, his smile no longer quite reaching his eyes. "You can go wherever you'd like, whenever you'd like, but I can't follow."
It wasn't the first time Aguero had expressed the sentiment, a quiet sort of bitterness over his sensitive eyes and pale skin that kept him either in the dim space of the cave or deep enough in the ocean that the sunlight wouldn't reach him. Nothing else could contain Aguero, but the same traits that made him a dangerous predator in his family's territory were what trapped him in it.
"Someday," Bam told him, reaching down to lace their fingers together. "I'm going to find a way to bring you with me into the sunlight. I promise."
Aguero blinked, then laughed, and the darkness in his face fled. "When you say things like that," he said, his free hand coming up to caress Bam's face, "I can't help but believe it." Though the tips of his claws were sharp against Bam's cheek, there was no pressure behind them, no threat of breaking the skin. "No matter how impossible."
"It's possible!" Bam exclaimed. "There are sea witches—"
"Sea witches?" Aguero echoed, his eyebrows shooting upward. "Do you know one?"
Bam nodded. He hadn't seen Rachel since she left him for the surface, shedding her tail and fins for a human form, but once he found her, surely she'd help him. The last time he'd been to the surface, asking around about her, an apothecary named Michael promised that he had a way to get in touch. Whether Bam could trust him to be telling the truth, he didn't know, but it didn't hurt to investigate.
Aguero's head tilted ever-so-slightly, a curious smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "You're something else," he told Bam, voice barely a breath.
"She'll know how to help," Bam promised. "I'm going to try to meet with her next time I go to the surface."
The corners of Aguero's eyes tightened, even as his hand traced gently over the planes of Bam's face. "Be careful," he warned. "Sea witches will give you what you ask, but they'll always ask for more than you can give."
"Don't worry," Bam told him. "She'd never hurt me. I'll be back before you know it."
Bam was late.
That, in itself, was not usually a reason to be concerned. Bam had a tendency to get sidetracked by anyone who ever needed help, whether a sea creature or a land dweller. It was rarer for Bam to return to the cave on time than late, so really, it was nothing less than ridiculous that Aguero was sitting on the shore waiting for him, sheltered from the moonlight by an outcropping of stone.
His tail still stung from the rocks he'd dragged himself across to reach this spot, but he ignored it as the sound of wingbeats reached him. An albatross landed on the sand and began hopping around, its head turning as if looking for something. Something dangled from its beak, gold glimmering as it caught the moonlight. Its gaze fell on Aguero, and with a few more beats of its wings, it landed beside him, dropping the pendant it was holding on the rock below.
With a sickening crack, the albatross's form stretched, feathers melding into skin and beak splitting into nose and lips. After a few seconds, Isu's human form stood before him, stretching out his newly-transformed limbs.
"I asked around," Isu started, leaning down to pick up the pendant. "The sandpipers who have a nest near here saw Bam come by for his pelt, but someone else apparently got here first."
Aguero's heart dropped, but he kept his expression steady. "Explain." On land, Bam was always careful with his pelt and careful not to let his nature slip to anyone who might use it to hurt him. It seemed impossible that anyone would be able to take his coat, but it would, unfortunately, explain his tardiness in the worst way possible.
"They weren't here when the man found the pelt, apparently, but they saw when Bam came back and couldn't find his pelt. The other man showed up pretty soon after and said something that made Bam follow him."
Aguero's claws scraped against the stone as his fists clenched. "What did the man look like?" he forced out through gritted teeth.
"You know birds aren't so great at describing people," Isu hedged, but when Aguero glared at him, he continued. "From what I could gather, he was blond, with long hair, but that's all I got."
"That gives me nothing," Aguero snarled, and Isu held his hands up in surrender, the pendant dangling from his fingers. Despite his rising fury, Aguero's gaze darted to the way it swayed.
"I know, I know." Isu offered him a sympathetic smile. "But they said Bam threw this in the water—" he wiggled his fingers, making the pendant dance— "so I figured he meant it for you. I got Hatz to fetch it because it was too deep for me to grab."
Aguero held his hand out, and Isu dropped it in his palm. Instantly, he felt magic running through it, the sensation reminiscent of an ocean current under his skin. What it did, he wasn't entirely sure, but there was a reasonable assumption to make based on his last conversation with Bam.
Thought Aguero wasn't sure how he felt about relying on some random sea witch's magic— even if Bam trusted that sea witch— he needed to be able to withstand the sun if he was to go after Bam. He clasped the necklace around his neck. As the magic washed over him, he shivered, but the effect was immediate. The world around him dimmed, as if less light was reaching him.
Isu gasped audibly. "Your eyes stopped glowing," he said, voice hushed. "What is that—"
"Bam told me he'd find a way for me to follow him into the sunlight," Aguero replied, forcing his voice to remain even. "This must be it."
"Oh." Isu's lips pressed together. "So you're going to...?"
"Of course I'm going after him," Aguero snapped, pushing himself back toward the water. No matter what, he was going to find a way to get Bam back.
And he knew exactly who could help him.