Viola wasn't entirely sure what was going on. Why Eva was pressing their mouths together was a mystery but a pleasant one. She had done it before to her cheek. It may have not made sense but she liked it.
Eva just as quickly pulled back and let go, putting distance between them in the water. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” she gasped breathlessly, her eyes wide, her face red. Viola was only more confused. Eva was upset, she did not like that. Human words were hard at times like this, when feelings began to overtake thought.
She reached out and pulled Eva close, pressing their foreheads together to try and comfort Eva. “Don’t be sorry, don’t understand,” she managed to whisper.
“O-oh,” Eva breathed, her voice shaky but she seemed to relax a little. “Can you bring us to land?”
Viola did as asked, a powerful kick of her tail bringing them to the ramp. Eva pulled away, tossing off the goggles and pulling off the strange flippers.
She lay in the water waiting, for what she wasn’t sure but Eva seemed to want a moment to herself. But now it seemed like it was Eva who wasn’t saying something like she had done before.
“Eva. You are hurting…”
Eva slumped and turned around, wiping at her eyes. “You don’t know what a kiss is… I just… I just forget that we’re from completely different worlds.”
Viola did not like her words, they felt cold and detached. Like Eva was pulling away and putting up her walls.
Eva sat, letting her head fall back against the wall. Viola could not tell what the human was feeling. Maybe anger, sadness?
She brought her fingers to her lips. A kiss is what Eva had called it. Why did this affect her so? The fact that she did understand only seemed to upset Eva further. That wasn't fair. Humans lived in far more complicated ways than blackfish, how was she to understand all their behaviour? Viola wanted to be angry but she just felt sad, her insides ached.
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“I do not like this. I will hunt food, then you explain why this… kiss is so important to you,” Viola said, slinking back into the water. She did not wait for Eva to reply, maybe some time to herself might give Eva a chance to think.
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Viola was taking her time to find something for Eva to eat, mostly because she didn't feel ready to go back. As she swam deeper she bit off another piece of her fish and swallowed. As beautiful as this place was, the illusion vanished when she went deeper. The artificial waters mirrored the lands of the dead despite Talbot’s best attempts. It got darker and colder far faster than it should, a constant reminder of this prison they were in.
She sent out clicks searching for anything fun to eat. The fish she was familiar with were already becoming scarce. She was hesitant to eat anything she did not know was safe, Mother had warned her how dangerous it could be. Lots of fish had patterns and colours she did not recognize, then there were things other than fish which she hadn't mustered up the courage to try. There was a strange crawling thing that seemed like a lobster but wasn't one. She had meant to show it to Eva but had gotten distracted.
Wherever they were, it was unfamiliar waters. And she had migrated plenty so that was saying something.
Something strange about the wall caught her attention. She changed course, gliding at a tilt to go investigate. The rock of this prison was surrounded by parted revealing dark metal. Something of human construction. It was bulbous, pushing out towards her with a strange pattern of lines.
It seemed like an oddity but then again, apparently, she knew little of humans despite her attempts. She traced her fingers over the shape before swimming away. She still needed to find food for Eva.
It was so very impressive that one simple invention had changed how humans lived so much from blackfish. Though Viola had never seen fire, Eva had told her some about it. Dancing colour which seemed to consume and eat away at the world but was smothered by water. Yet it was the catalyst for the clothing they wore, the prisons they kept her in, and even the food they brought her. None of it was possible without fire.
It had even shaped their diets and changed their bodies. Fire was why Eva could get sick from raw fish because humans had grown unaccustomed to such things.
Maybe without fire they would understand each other better.
She hardly saw how it mattered if she knew what a kiss was. It seemed similar to the way her kin nuzzled so she assumed it was a gesture of affection or something similar. If that was the case she was more than happy for Eva to show as much affection as she wished. She would be more than happy for Eva to do more than simply press lips to her face.
She hoped they would sort this out. She was somewhat worried Eva would be stubborn and sleep alone. Or worse entirely ignore her.
She did not like fighting with her kin, but she knew how to resolve such things. Humans were strange and Viola was out of her depth. She had gotten glimpses of human behaviour during her imprisonment and glimpses before that but Eva had been the only human to ever explain anything. Even in the few memories she had before no one ever explained things to her.
She did not have a good track record with humans but she wanted to give Eva the benefit of the doubt by now. Eva had proven she was good.
Viola scolded herself. There was no use rehashing all her worries. She and Eva would work things out, and if Eva didn’t want to then too bad. There was nowhere for either of them to go. Maybe Eva would be in a better mood after food. Maybe Eva was already in a better mood.
With that encouraging image, she focused on the task and swam off to find a good fish. If food had been enough to gain her trust then surely it would help resolve this conflict.