Chapter 23

Sophie

Dark wine got better the more she drank it. She didn't really get drunk last night, but she did feel really light and free – kind of similar to being high on pain killers, but not quite as harsh. She stayed up late with Serval and the rest of the family while they ate and drank and listened to stories.

But now that she woke up, she felt like she had just gotten over the flu.

Her limbs were all heavy, like they had been packed with sand, and her brain was foggy as she pushed herself up in bed, spitting hair out of her mouth as she blinked sluggishly, groggy and out of it. And confused as to why.

She looked around, her mind needing a few minutes to get going. Like a faulty lawn mower – she kept yanking on the starter but got back only puttering and spitting.

The room was cool. It was a bubble room, similar to the one on the ship where it was round like a donut, with the donut ‘hole' being the bed. It still had a glass sleeping area, this time though it was a pretty purple and pink stained glass with glitter embedded into it. One section of the wall of the room was a huge window, half underwater, giving her a view of both the horizon and the pretty reef just outside that was filled with colorful, darting fish.

It was gorgeous. She was also pretty sure it was Serval's. The little single room had a kitchenette on the land side, which also came with a window, though it was more common for the family to all eat together. The small kitchen was for snacks or when they wanted privacy. Everyone had their own bubble home, and they were passed down or traded as needed. Since Serval, until now, had been a bachelor and was rarely here, his original bubble home was on the small side. However, since she was now with him, he had been upgraded to a large bubble while his old bubble would be going to one of the youngsters who wanted to move out on their own.

Her luggage was already here. They had been placed in a corner, her Earth bags looking very out of place. She remembered coming back last night. She remembered throwing down her smallest bag and throwing everything around looking for a pair of pajamas before giving up, grabbing Serval's discarded shirt, and sleeping in that. Then, she crawled into bed and passed out.

Serval must have stayed up later, cleaning the mess, because it was gone now.

And so was he. Sophie was alone in bed as she looked around, bleary eyed and so weirdly heavy. She wasn't in pain like she would be with an alcohol hangover, so that was a plus. It still took a lot more effort than it should have to force herself up and out of bed. She yawned, sleepy but not really tired, as she moved to the bathroom.

The privy was also on the land side, on the other side of the door from the kitchenette. It was the same size, but walled off for privacy and crescent shaped.

After freshening up, she returned to her suitcases and began looking for a bathing suit. She didn't know if Serval was going to keep their deal, so after grabbing one, she also grabbed a sarong.

The bikini she picked was called Golden Gal – all of the bathing suits in the collection had a name. The woman that created them had wanted cute and sexy bikinis that actually fit well. The Golden Gal, true to its name, was made of a fabric that shined like metal. The bottoms were boy shorts, matching the boxy shape of the tube top. Putting them with the golden choker, bangles, and gladiator sandals specifically chosen for them really brought it together. The entire outfit was meant to evoke gold bars.

But until she knew Serval kept up his end, she covered it with a pretty sarong dress that was royal purple with white floral lace patterning around the hems. After pulling it on, she emerged from the donut. A set of stairs led up from the entrance out and onto the land. The beaches on the inner curve of the crescent had sand, but here where the bubbles were half submerged, the angle into the water was a steep, rocky drop off. In the event of a storm or collapse, the donut was designed to just drop right underwater, keeping the occupants safe within. All of which had been explained to her by one of the cousins last night – she forgot who, and about half of what he said about them. There had been a lot of info dumped on her throughout the party, she couldn't keep track of it all.

When Sophie got outside, she was immediately greeted by family that were going about their day. Not everyone worked on the ovili farm. A few had kitchen duty, others tended to the nesting pools, while others still worked in the nearby sunken city in more standard jobs. Those had already left for the day.

Sophie asked if she could help, and then insisted when they tried to politely decline. They then asked if she could take the lunch cart down to the farm. The kitchen crew had loaded it up with a nice, hot meal, covered it to seal in the heat, and all that was needed was to bring it to the farm crew.

Sophie was surprised she had slept until lunch, but they just laughed, waving her concern away. The dark wine she drank was notorious for making people sleep after it wore off, alongside the post flu symptoms. It would get better as she got accustomed to it, and no one was surprised it put her out that long.

The cart that Sophie was given didn't actually need to be pushed, only led. It was an old one, they told her apologetically, so it didn't have an auto-routing feature. However, it was still cool because she just had to push a button locking it onto her, then she just walked and it followed her out of the kitchen, hovering down the stairs, and down the paths towards the bay. She made sure not to step off the paths since no one else did, and she didn't want to get in trouble by walking somewhere she shouldn't or falling into a pool.

The wii on her hand hadn't affected her at all that she could tell. Her hand looked and felt the same. She wasn't sure if they were still there after washing off, but Serval bathed, right? They should still be there.

The ovili farm took up most of the bay. The ovili grew in relatively shallow water – still deep to her way of thinking, but not to the allowee. As Sophie started walking down the path towards the beach, where a group were processing the harvest for the day, she could see a bunch of them bobbing in and out of the surface.

She tried to look out for Serval, but all the males had white skin, and a lot of his family shared that navy blue coloration, so she couldn't really spot him.

But she did see something glowing.

Cocking her head in confusion, she headed towards the people washing and sorting the ovili. The little mollusk came in a curved shell, like a ‘c', and had to be washed and pulled out. The meat was put in buckets based on size if it came out in one piece with another bucket for broken ones, while the shells were put in a different bucket, their plain brown coloration largely unimpressive.

Even uncooked though, they still smelled amazing. Just a bit more like saltwater now.

Some of the family saw her coming and they called out in welcome. Either because they were happy to see her or because they were happy to see lunch.

"Where's Serval?" She asked as one of the cousins took control of the cart.

"He's harvesting," one of the aunts responded, gesturing towards the water. "I'll go let them know that the food is here; he'll come out."

Sophie followed her to the water's edge and watched as she went in just far enough to put her head under the water.

And let out a long, drawn-out call, like that of a whale. Sophie's eyes widened in surprise. She recognized the sounds. It was the deep language Serval sometimes used around her. The vowels were longer under water, but they were still detectable. He had been literal when he said that it was the ‘deep' language.

In response to her call, all the people that had been rushing about in the nursery reefs began swimming back in. Sophie looked around, curious.

The beads made more sense now as they emerged, dripping in water. Fabric would be unnecessarily heavy and cumbersome underwater. The beads however soaked none of it up. But what really surprised her was the glow.

It was the blue glow of the wii, but it was covering their bodies. Not randomly, but in distinct, individual, curving lines. One of Serval's cousins came out, the glow down his arms like two full, tribal sleeve tattoos, before becoming solid around his fingers. Valorei popped up after, rushing out with a wide grin, the glow circling around her neck, down her chest, and also solidly around her fingers. Like she had dipped them in wii. And as she came out of the water, Sophie could see that it covered her toes and feet as well.

The coldest parts of their bodies were brightly lit. Where they weren't warm enough, the wii were creating that glow that kept them warm in their pools. That meant the fingers and toes were solid, glowing blue, as well as the sweeping, curving patterns on their bodies.

Everyone had a pattern, but everyone's pattern was unique to them in both shape and placement. Sophie's head whipped around, looking at them all in wonder and joy.

And then Serval emerged.

He had swum close to the beach so that when he stood, he came up until the water was around his thighs. He shook his head, his olules unbound and free, sending water scattering. It dripped all down his mostly nude body, trailing along all the lines of his muscles.

Dripping off his beads.

He had worn them for her, as requested. He had a choker of beads around his neck, and two more around his biceps. His chest was bare, but he had a loincloth style skirt slung around his waist that covered his dick and ass and nothing else. A shallow ‘v' at the top teased her with the promise of his groin. Another band of beads wrapped around his thighs. They were all in a variety of bright, eye-catching colors forming a very sharp, square pattern on the skirt.

And he was glowing too.

His feet, his hands, and there on his chest. Swirling around his pecs, his nipples, down until they reached the edge of his ribs. It tapered off then, trailing in a thin line down the center of his rippling abs as he walked up the beach. Right towards her.

Sophie was pretty sure she was drooling. She quickly closed her mouth as the others around her laughed good-naturedly.

Serval smirked as he stopped directly in front of her. Posing. Standing so that his flaccid dick was creating a distinct bump under the beaded skirt.

"Sleep well?" He asked, completely innocent, as though she wasn't staring at his cock right in front of his family.

"Huh?" She forced her eyes up back onto his face.

He chuckled, taking pity on her and adjusting his stance so his dick was a bit less prominent. Only a bit though because she could definitely still see it.

"I thought we had a deal," he said, looking her up and down. "Not that I'm complaining. I like this dress too, but I do believe this is well within human modesty standards."

That challenge brought her back to life. She focused back on the conversation with a smirk.

"So we did," she said, popping a hip. "I just wanted to make sure that you kept your end of it before I gave you mine."

She reached up to the knot at her neck and pulled.

Serval's eyes widened, clearly shocked, as her dress fluttered to her feet. She struck her own pose, meeting his challenge with full confidence, as she heard one of the cousins suddenly hit the ground. Serval blinked rapidly, his brain short circuiting just as hers had, as he struggled to find words.

Sophie laughed, holding out her arms as she spun for him.

"Like it?"