Suspicious Seaweed - 2. Maren's Songs

I dove towards the reeds again, zooming past the bay root, picking up speed until I tucked myself away into the cavern I shared with my aunt, deep within the underground maze. The maze was a complex network of tunnels and chambers, each with its unique features and dangers. More bettas lived in these caverns, but no one knew the specific paths leading to one another's abode. My aunt and I had frequently lost our way during our first few moon cycles living here. I peered over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't followed before entering our dwelling.

Aunt Hali was waiting for me. She was an elderly pink and blue marble betta, her tail marred with several scars, but it was her faded colors that spoke most of her age. I could only imagine how bright and beautiful her colors had been in her youth. Hali wasn't related to me by blood; she was my mother's best friend who had stepped up when no one else would help raise me after my parents' deaths.

"Any losses?" she asked.

"Not today," I replied, subconsciously touching the mid-back of my tail where a few violet scales were already missing. The last several bettas who challenged me were less trained, so I came out relatively unscathed from those altercations. In the past, we had always kept on the move. But during our run-in with a small group of predatory loaches, Hali and I barely managed to hold them off. The loaches, with their sharp teeth and lightning-fast strikes, were a constant threat to travelers. Hali's movements were too slow, and mine were too inexperienced. We both grew weary of always being on edge.

Little did we know that settling down with our kind brought on an entirely different slew of problems. We had forgotten that even female bettas could be aggressive in defending their territory. Bettas were built to fight, and while I fought whenever I absolutely had no choice, I never enjoyed it.

"If we don't find you a less aggressive clan to join, I won't be able to rest in peace," Hali huffed. "Staying here holds the risk of you getting Locked."

The thought of ending up Locked with someone like Balar made me shudder in disgust. Being Locked meant that, due to shared aggression, a pair of bettas became locked in a synchronized battle, and a mirrored fight could last up to an hour. Those rumbles were downright exhausting, and I had been fortunate to avoid becoming Locked thus far. My fear usually overpowered any anger or aggression I felt towards Balar, but the blue betta wasn't infallible. Deep down, the aggravation I felt towards him was simmering.

"What about royal gramma basslets?" I prompted, my mind filled with images of my new acquaintance's orange eyes and smile.

"They're generally peaceful for saltwater mermen," Hali mused aloud. "Though the same can't be said about their Angelfish royals."

"So, they really are saltwater mermen?" I sighed in disappointment. While I had already suspected the water on the far side of the brackish water was home to their saltwater brethren, I had initially hoped Griffin was a freshwater merman like me.

"Yes, we need to find a peaceful clan so that you can be safe," my aunt affirmed.

While older bettas, such as Aunt Hali, were generally respected and less aggressive toward one another than they were in their youth, living in a betta community meant constant tension and alertness. I'd rather my aunt worried more about her safety than mine, but I'd do whatever she deemed necessary. She was all I had left in terms of family.

"Aunt Hali," I began. "Today, I heard a basslet singing a song about Maren. It involved a filefish and its friend?"

"Oh, every region has its share of Maren songs. We have several ourselves."

"Would you sing me one?"

“Maren embraces the sea and merkind. She hears all their pleas, and, in turn, she provides. Temples of devotion speckling the ocean," Hali sang. "United, unspoken, dispelling the omen. A gift meant to eat for all those who were chosen."

"For all those who were chosen," I mused aloud. "Who were the chosen?"

"No one and everyone. It's implied that anyone who seeks Maren will find her, if not in the form they initially believe, such as finding food when you're most in need," she replied before asking, "On the subject of eating, did you find something to eat today?"

"Yes," I lied. For the majority of the afternoon and night, I had been chased by Balar. If my aunt knew, she'd be even more worried than usual. "I'm just tired."

"Then, it's off to sleep with you."

"Rest well, Auntie," I said as I leaned down to hug her.

"You too," she insisted, hugging me back.

As I curled onto my side in my alcove, I couldn't help but wonder what type of food Maren provided her "chosen," and just who those "chosen" even were. If the group the song spoke about truly was united, then I felt a pang of envy for them. I couldn't envision a day when my betta brethren would be united in anything, given all the daily brawling we subjected one another to. As I drifted to sleep, my final thoughts were whether Griffin knew more Maren songs and if he'd be willing to sing for me again.