Citizen 1346 Serpentine

Serpentine frowned up at the sky above. The waves lapped the side of nir boat, as it rocked gently on the waves past the breakers. The nets in nir boat were empty, waiting to be filled, and the moon glittered off the waves, low in the sky, lighting everything in a subtle silvery light. As it caught the water and flashed off of wrinkles in the surface of the ocean, it almost seemed to reflect the twinkles of light above. 

But the map of lights that spread across the sky was far different than the pale imitation on the waves below… 

The pinpricks of light stood out against a velvety darkness that shone with hidden depths. The more one looked, the more small pinpricks could be seen in the depths of the sky… but that was not what Serpentine was looking for. Ne was looking at the larger, clearer dots, that sprawled across the sky in a map that could always lead nem home. 

And to nir preferred fishing spot. 

Ne begun to paddle, surroundings quiet except for the sound of the waves against the hull, and the splashes as nir paddle hit the water. The lights of nir island retreated behind nem, and other isles loomed like hulking behemoths around nem. Ships glinted on the water, lanterns alight, and Serpentine went in a wide berth around them. Ne had no desire to tangle with the navy… 

The stars led nem to a secluded spot, a deep underwater sinkhole surrounded by reefs. Serpentine sometimes wondered if it was some ancient impact crater, but whatever it was, the surroundings reefs kept most others away. Ne glanced at the sky, took nir measurements, and adjusted course slightly, sliding between the reefs in nir shallow-bottomed boat. 

Ne checked the stars again, nodded, then snagged a rope with a hook on the end, took a breath of magic, and dove beneath the surface. 

The inky darkness of the water surrounded nem, and ne brightened nir halo, revealing the surrounding reefs and the seeming unending darkness of the sinkhole. Ne hooked the rope into one of the reefs, then glanced up to make sure it was securely tethered to nir boat above. Ne gave it a few tugs, then nodded to nirself and swam back up to fetch nir nets. 

Fish flitted around nem, uncomprehending of the light of nir halo, but jerked and fled at Serpentine’s approach. They didn’t know what ne was, but they knew ne was a predator, a stranger to their underwater realm. 

Nets fetched, Serpentine turned back to the water and dove beneath once more. 

The night’s fishing was a success, and Serpentine packed nir nets, full of flopping fish to sell at the market, into the bottom of the boat before fetching the makeshift anchor once more. Ne picked up nir oars and stared up at the sky, orienting nirself. 

While ne had been underwater, hours had passed, and the sky had shifted. The stars turned on their axis, and ne used a particularly recognizable isle along the horizon as a marker to triangulate how much they had shifted. Ne checked nir measurements, then turned nir boat and began to row. 

Ne set the star ne used as a marker for nir isle at this time in nir sights, then focused on navigating out the reef. That done, ne checked the star again, and began to row. 

What with the rotation of the night sky, ne used a different start to navigate home depending on the time of night. If ne was out in the open ocean, ne would need to use certain tools and a compass, but given the isles around that ne could use as points of reference, it was easy to tell what time it was. And, therefore, what stars to use to navigate home. 

Ne rowed slowly, the moon having set, and only the majesty of the night sky sprawled overhead. Constellations wove patterns through the cacophony of sparkling lights, even brighter now that the moon had gone, and Serpentine glanced up at them absently from time to time. Those in the Dome and those in the Isles had slightly different names for them, ne had learned. Those that came to the surface choosing names and shapes that more reflected what they had found above, while those in the Dome keeping the familiar names given by the Elders. 

Ne sighed, shaking nir head to rid it of thoughts, and continued on rowing, dark water lapping at the hull. 

As with other nights, the star Serpentine had chosen lead nem home safe and sound.

~ silverystormwing