There was no warning for when Malia's debt to the sea would be settled. According to Beatrice, she would remain green as long as the water was providing her with life; she would stop being green as soon as that debt was repaid. It didn't leave much room for planning ahead, but Beatrice assured she wouldn't immediately drown again once she earned her mortal life back.
"What about you?" Malia asked as they lay in the sand of Okeanos's park, resting after a day of training. "I'm sure you've saved more people than you can count."
"For my initial debt, yes," Beatrice explained, absentmindedly scratching Sebastian's head as he napped between them. "But as long as I continue extending my life, the ocean will continue to provide me with the necessary energy. And after a thousand years... it accumulates."
Malia bolted upright. "So the ocean is a loan shark!"
Beatrice raised her eyebrows. "Exactly how long have you been waiting to use that joke?"
Malia shrugged innocently. "Not long."
"Hm."
With that, Malia quietly returned to the sand. She was still brimming with questions about Beatrice's plans and if she even wanted to return to land. At the same time, Malia could tell the topic bothered her, and Beatrice's energy would go from silky warm to jumbled chaos the instant it was brought up.
While Malia knew they had to talk about it at some point, especially when she was determined to return to land, she was reluctant to disturb the peace. She would bring it upâeventually. But in the meantime, she just wanted to enjoy their time together while it lasted.
She hadn't realized how little they had left.
They were patrolling the waters, Sebastian trailing along after them, when they sensed it: an enormous ship, an intense heat, and thousands of screams.
A massive cruise ship was on fire, with smoke billowing from its middle decks and passengers crowding on the promenade. As lifeboats were lowered, the stream of neon orange life jackets flowed into the dark blue ocean, but it was clear that their speed would inevitably lose to the raging fire behind them.
After exchanging quick glances, then simultaneously telling Sebastian to stay, Malia and Beatrice went to work.
First, they split up between the port and starboard sides, then continuously channeled water into the blazing compartments. Whenever they sensed a soul trapped in the ship, they would pull them out with the water before continuing to fight the fire. That was what Malia did, at least; Beatrice could perform the two tasks in parallel, and Malia found herself more in awe than ashamed of her own abilities.
When the larger parts of the fire were extinguished, they regrouped at the aft end, and Beatrice launched Malia into the air with a geyser of water. Together, they navigated Malia through the maze of passageways to the decks below, putting out fires as she passed by. She passed a few humans too, and as she pulled them into the current behind her for Beatrice to take care of, they were either unconscious or too panicked to notice her unusual appearance.
At least, that's what she thought.
The ship's crew had control of the fire within the hour, and Malia returned to the sea to wait for the human rescue teams to arrive. When she reentered with an extravagant dive and a stream of white water, she expected Beatrice's wide smile. She wasn't prepared for Beatrice's laughter to abruptly cut short, nor for her face to fall as quickly as the bubbles rose back to the surface.
"Malia..." Beatrice whispered.
At first, Malia was confused; and then she knew. There was only one thing that would make Beatrice stare at her with solemn sadness. And when Malia's gaze slowly dropped to her own arms, twisting and turning her limbs to examine her unfamiliar tanned brown skin, the hollow pit in her stomach felt just as crestfallen.
"I'm... not green anymore," Malia said, her mind unable to conjure any other words.
"You are not," Beatrice said simply.
Malia looked up, needing to see Beatrice's expression for herself.
For a moment, there was nothing but the blank stare Beatrice would frequently give Malia when she first arrived in Okeanos. Then, like a switch, her face transformed. While her mouth was turned into a slight smile, her glistening eyes told a different story, and Malia wasn't sure which was the truth.
"Congratulations," Beatrice whispered, her voice as even as the waves above them. "You've finally reached your goal."
Had she?
"Yeah," Malia replied automatically, and she looked up at the sunlit waters, hoping it could warm the chill in her chest. "Yeah, I guess I did."
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