Black Pearls - Yrkala

It was midnight, and the dark ocean was calm. In the shallows of the coral reef, only one thing moved. Legs pumped as a triangular fin cut through the water. Lonely amidst the rainbow colors of coral, the projection pointed to a massive dark shape resting just beyond the lifeless reef.

Cutting through the waves, the fin swam up to the side of the shape as quick as a bullet. Before it could ram into the side of the form, it stopped, and a clawed hand reached out of the water and felt the side of the colossal object.

Wood. Twisted, knotted, rough wood. So it was a ship, then. The hand dipped below the surface, and the fin circled around the ship.

Finding a satisfactory area, the hand jerked up again, claws digging in to the side of the ship. Another hand thrusted out of the water, grabbing a higher point. Hand over hand, the aquatic figure hauled itself up.

The figure crawled on to the deck and lowered itself into a crouch as it scanned the surface. Not much to see, courtesy of the dark. But its nose was better. Wet wood everywhere, wet hemp rope in a few spots, what smelled a bit like fish mixed with human seemed to have passed back and forth in a few spots.

The figure, keeping low to the ground, loped towards the front of the ship. A smell of rusted metal attached to a panel of wood, a door. The fish-human's smell didn't wander over here at all. It'd be safer to scavenge over here.

The door made tortuous creaking noises as the figure opened it, making the figure wince. Using its nose and spread-out hands, the being explored the opening. 4 doors, all closed, but not used; there was no alien smell on them. A quick opening of one door made the figure's eyes blink in confusion. Lumps of yellow coral were in a net tied to the ceiling, and they glowed! A blue, smooth-looking hand quickly shut the door. Nothing but a large soft pad and a sheet in there anyways. The figure was looking for tools, useful things.

A quick check of the other rooms established them to be much the same. Crawling further down the hallway, the figure found stairs leading downwards. They led further into the hold of the ship, which was...empty. Only rope twisted to form unused hammocks, here and there, and bizarre, room-sized chunks of raw wood, rough and uncarved, occupied the hold. A long, broad clawed foot kicked some rope away in disgust. This ship resembled a starving fish. The others that the figure had stolen from had much better loot.

The figure crawled away from the hold and up the stairs. In front of it, the door was closed. Didn't it leave that open? Yes, and there was a person there, as well. Its nose twitched as it smelled the fish-human scent, and the faint tingle at its tip told it of the fish-human's bodily hum.

Overpowering them would be easy. Just by twitching its tingling nose, it felt how high up the hum in the fish-human's body went. No taller than a normal human, and the figure was taller than those by a foot. Its arm flexed, ready to shove the lone fish-human out of the way.

The figure bolted towards the door, slamming it open with a shoulder, and came face-to-face with two humans, both illuminated by yellow glowing coral attached to the floor.

Both of the humans were female, and one of them wore less clothing than the other. That one, taller, was dark-skinned, her skin bronze-like in color, and had seaweed, or something like it, growing out of her head, kept in place by a red bandanna. She was curvaceous of form, with a thin waist between ample buttocks and large breasts. She smelled like the fish-woman scent. Gill-slits were closed on her neck, and her feet were paddle-like. She also had gills on the sides of her body, below her arms, along with solid green eyes and fin-like webbed ears. She wore pants that fit her tightly, a torn shirt held with only one button, and what looked like a flag, tied around her waist as some kind of decoration. The woman's body hummed quietly with curiosity and a little wariness.

The other woman was shorter, pale of skin and with stringy, water-logged hair. This one was not as curvaceous, and wore a simple clinging dress and boots that went to her knees. Her eyes were frosted over, and her lips were almost purple. She didn't have a hum to her body, nor did she have much of a scent. What little there was was exactly like the surrounding ship; wet wood and rope.

The glowing coral illuminated the invader as well, throwing light up upon her unclothed body. She was taller than both women, and utterly hairless. Her skin was blue-hued, with a paler underside. A triangular fin grew from her back, the skin there rough like sandpaper, and gills were on her neck. She was far more muscled than either woman, her strength formed similarly to a human's and quite present on her arms and legs, though a layer of fat smoothened her belly. Unlike the women, she didn't need clothes. Her firm teardrop breasts with their dark blue nipples were free and her buttocks uncovered. Black tattoos covered the right side of her body, scrawling lines and spikes swirling on her breast and buttcheek, lining her chin and eyebrow and tracing her thigh and arm.

She gave off a warning hiss-like growl at the two women. The pale one shrunk back, but the dark-skinned one spoke. "No need fer hittin' stuff here. It wouldn't hurt anyone anyways. No food either, no-one's gone hungry here. An' if yer lookin' for treasure, forget it. It's worthless," the woman said.

The aquatic woman looked back at the dark-skinned woman and held back a hiss. "I was looking for tools," she said, her voice heavier.

The dark-skinned woman scratched her hair. "Nope, don't got much in the way of those, either. Lily here can maintain herself. M'name's Shella, by the way. Ain't gonna go around without knowin' folk's name," the dark-skinned woman said.

The aquatic woman looked from "Shella" to the only other figure on the deck, "Lily?", the woman who smelled of the ship. Odd. "I am Yrkala," growled the aquatic woman, "I need tools to make other things, make a home."

Shella looked at Yrkala closer. She must be noting the large, wedge-like nose, the lack of a bridge, making the forehead smoothly translate into the nose, the triangular teeth, and the small ears, folded against Yrkala's head. In this new world, few had seen people like Yrkala.

"You must be new here," Shella said decisively.

"I know that this place is new. It is hurt-less, sick-less, death-less," Yrkala growled. "But I do not want what other people offer. I want home of my own, food to hunt!"

"Tough luck there, Yrkala, was it? There ain't anythin' else that moves but us thinkin' folk. No fish, no whales, nothing like that. Unless you eat people, there's nothin' to 'hunt'. An' you can't hurt people, so don't bother," Shella stated.

Yrkala had already found that out long ago, when she had lashed out against some human men. They had asked things of her and she was uncomfortable with what they wanted. A twitch drew her eyes away from Shella. The other woman, Lily, was steadily walking backwards, away from Yrkala and Shella. She was so small, but the oddity of her existence! No smell, no bodily hum! Yrkala's curiosity was aroused. She stood to her full height, and took a step towards Lily. Lily bolted, running along the wooden deck utterly silent and disappearing into the dark where the glow-coral did not grow.

Yrkala took just a single foot-step to follow Lily, a sense of the hunt forcing her movement and delivering her beyond where Shella stood. From behind Yrkala, Shella said, "She's gonna do that. She only woke me up because you were rootin' around."

Yrkala looked down at Shella. She came to Yrkala's breast in height. "She did not have a hum in her," she stated.

"Well, Shella don't talk, so of course she don't hum," Shella said.

"No, not like in noise. Like in body humming with life and motion," Yrkala explained, tapping the side of her nose and feeling bursts of a tingling sensation within it. "Smell it."

Shella nodded in what Yrkala guessed to be mock understanding. It must be tricky for those who couldn't feel the bodily hum. A great many things must sneak up on them. A question occurred to Yrkala. "Why are you near the reef? Are you not afraid that your ship will crash into the reef and be stuck?"

"I trust Lily to navigate her way around this place easily. She got stuck, not too long ago, but that was because of a freak storm made by a siren. Nah, I'm here for the coral. It's the only thing, other than us thinking folk, that is even remotely alive. It kinda bothers me, but it's also kinda soothin'. For me, at least," Shella rambled.

Yrkala tilted her head in confusion.

As if to answer her, Shella motioned to the glowing coral around them. "I can make coral grow how I want it. A few other things too, but I don't really know what to call'em."

Yrkala tilted her head the other way. There was a position, back among her home people, with something similar. "You are ocean shaman?" she asked.

Shella shook her head. "Cursed."

Yrkala twisted her face in disgust. "Do you hate it?" Yrkala asked.

"Kinda," Shella replied. "But between the curse and this world, this world is worse."

"No life to it," Yrkala said in agreement.

Shella stretched, raising one arm high and exposing her gills under it. "Anyways, I was caught sleepin'. Don't mind if you stay, don't mind if you leave," she said, then turned to walk into the darkness.

"Where would I stay if I were to remain?" asked Yrkala, calling after Shella. She wanted to know more about that pale woman. She'd stay on the ship if need be; she didn't have a den of any kind anyways.

Shella turned around and asked, "How do you sleep?"

Yrkala paused, thought about it, then answered, "Well enough. No bad dreams, but not many good ones either."

"No, I meant what position!" Shella said, pointing at the fin on Yrkala's back.

Oh! "Curled up or on belly," Yrkala answered.

Shella walked back to Yrkala. "Well, best I got for folks I don't know much about is the spare beds. They're in that hallway you burst out of, not sure if they're the right size. There should be a cloth to cover the coral," she said, pointing at the door. "I'll be in me cabin if you need me, other side of the deck." Shella pointed back towards where Lily had disappeared into, before leaving herself.

Yrkala let herself into one of the unused rooms with the beds in them. She nearly hit her head on the door-way, and the coral was strung low enough to hit her head on that as well. She found the cloth to cover the coral easily, and she closed the door and covered up the glow. Alone in the dark, Yrkala let herself curl up on the surprisingly soft bed.

It wasn't quite like home. Home had caves and huts made of ships her people preyed upon. There'd be shelves to lay upon while sleeping, and places to put tools and fetishes for prayer. Above the water, in the air, it felt naked, something that Yrkala wasn't entirely wrapping her head around. No, not naked, just bare. Yrkala needed a home of her own, some kind of base to return to after activities.

She grumbled and rolled on to her stomach. Her thoughts drifted back to Lily. She had ran away so quickly! Yrkala did not want to hunt her, but there was something nagging Yrkala, something pulling on her to that woman.

Yrkala's thoughts froze. She was obsessing over one not of her people, and a woman, too! Strange, but it felt more okay. She had met human men while in this bizarre world. They wore pants, and she saw how their members bulged under it. They had drank her body in with their eyes. It was unusual, and disquieting. A few even wanted to mate with her, asking politely or, just once, trying to force it. Yrkala's stomach turned at the memory. She didn't like it much. She'd much rather think about, and be with, women. More comfortable. Not lying to herself. It was why she had struck out on her own, before this strange ocean took her and after it as well.

Yrkala having reassured herself, her thoughts comfortably drifted back to that small, pale woman who hid herself, before her thoughts subsided and sleep came for Yrkala.

* * *

Nothing to wake her up. Not hunger, not family, not time of day in this small room. Yrkala shook her head and stood up, scalp crashing into hanging coral. Yrkala cursed, and creaked open the door. What was she here for now? She was a guest, in Shella's home. Where was Shella?

Yrkala walked outside. She had to put a hand to her eyes. The sun was high over-head, and transitioning from the dark interior to the bright exterior hurt. Yrkala's eyes wandered the deck. Now, in the day, she could see how worn and grey it all was. The planks did not fit well together.

Stairs led to a part of the deck above where Yrkala had slept. Carefully taking the stairs, making sure her flipper-feet had places to firmly stand upon, Yrkala clambered to the front of the ship. She had heard that it had a special name, but it really was the front of the ship, nothing more.

The dark-skinned woman was there, resting in a strange laid-back chair with a metal frame. Yrkala had never seen anything like it before, even in wrecked ships. The hums from Shella's body were quiet and still. Was she sleeping?

Yrkala's steps made the boards creak nervously as she walked up to Shella. She wanted to ask about Lily.

Before Yrkala could open her mouth, Shella spoke. "You know, I been thinkin' it over. You're acting like you ain't goin' into what this place was made for. Are you just not interested?"

"In what?" Yrkala asked. Shella was speaking more and more in riddles, like she knew something Yrkala didn't.

Shella twisted up and looked at Yrkala. "In sex," she stated.

"Mating? Only for children. Many men ask me, I do not want them," Yrkala said.

"What about women?" Shella asked.

"Mating with women is ridiculous," Yrkala stated.

"What? You never tried?" Shella asked.

Yrkala shrugged. "It is not how my people do it. Mating is only ever for children. It would not be done to make friends."

Shella sat, turning her legs over the side of the chair. She looked pensive, then said, "I ain't talking about mating. I'm talking about sex for the fun of it."

Yrkala snorted at this statement, thinking of her tribe. All traditions, even child-making, involved the hunt. Large fish for good luck, or eating the enemy for war. Sex for the fun of it, as Shella described, would be ridiculous. It does not compare to a full stomach!

Something nagged her about this whole thought, though. "Is that not mating, though?" Yrkala asked.

"Kinda. It's more recreational. It's for feelin' good. Do it with someone you love, feels even better. You're from a tribal group, ain'tcha?" Shella asked.

"Yes," Yrkala rumbled. "Family group, people come and go, share stories of heroes and hunts, and thank Mother Ocean for food. Sometimes war with other ocean people. There were people, back home, in ships like yours. They had tubes that burst like thunder and hit others with small balls that hurt. They had clothes, like yours. Wanted us to wear clothes. Clothes do not work well for swimming."

"Is there any term, in your language, for a person who'd have sex with someone of the same gender?" Shella asked.

"No, none," she replied. She had already recalled the ridiculousness of the concept.

Shella leaned back and hummed to herself. "Hey, do you prefer women?" Shella asked.

Yrkala blinked. What a weird question! "Of course! I am one!" she replied.

"No, like, if you had a choice between a man or a woman, and if you could have sex with either one of them, which one would you choose?" Shella continued to ask.

Yrkala tilted her head. The man was mating, it was the way things were done, according to her people. But Yrkala just wasn't comfortable with a man as a partner. She'd feel happier, she thinks, if it was a woman. "I would take woman, but that is not how my people do things," Yrkala gave her answer.

"I can help you with that," Shella said.

"You are woman-lover?" Yrkala asked. "Is Lily yours?"

"Nah, Lily's her own person. But I go both ways," Shella said.

Apprehension welled up in Yrkala. She had a distinct idea where this series of events was going. She wasn't so sure she'd give herself up to someone she just met, and wouldn't likely spend the rest of her life with. "What if I would want to learn with someone I knew and loved?" Yrkala asked.

Shella stood up and stretched. "Come on, it's empowering. Makes you more assured of yourself. You learn about yourself, what you like, and what you want out of your partners. If anythin', you deserve it, just to know more about yerself."

Knowing more about herself was good. Empowering sounded nice, even if it was another riddle Shella spoke in. Knowing what she wanted her partner to be like was also good. Shella was making her offer of teaching seem better and better. "Fine. I shall learn about being with women from you," she said.

"That's the spirit!" Shella said, slapping Yrkala's hip. "Come on, follow me."

Yrkala followed Shella to the other side of the ship, to a pair of large double doors. Shella opened one, and Yrkala ducked to get into the room. It was large, with massive windows letting the sunlight in. The light cascaded around a huge hunk of coral and a human-made standing box with a door on it. In the center of the room, with wooden columns stretching from floor to ceiling, was a colossal bed. Pillows were scattered along the bed's surface, along with a swarm of cloth sheets. Broad as it was long, it could easily hold Yrkala, even with her long flipper-feet stretched out, and have room to spare. Yrkala could not imagine any kind of person, human, her folk, or otherwise, who could be rich enough to own such a gigantic bed, or massive enough to use it!

Shella coughed to get Yrkala's attention. She had her hands to the button of her shirt. Did Shella have something more under her shirt than what Yrkala expected?

Shella's fingers passed the button through the slit, and let the shirt slide off. Dark teats with peg-like nipples on soft, smooth, globular breasts. Not even a tattoo. Then what was the point of wearing a shirt? Yrkala felt a little bit disappointed.

Yrkala mentally compared her bust size to Shella's. Just by looking, it looked like that their breasts were of similar mass. Shella was, however, physically smaller, so her breasts were a larger part of her body. Was that important?

Shella untied the flag and let it flutter to the floor. It was obviously decoration, just like how Yrkala would wear a necklace once she had accomplished enough. Then, Shella hooked her thumbs into her pants and pulled them down, bending her legs to keep ahold of them all the way down. Smooth bronze thighs and buttocks displayed themselves to Yrkala. They, too, did not have any marks on them. It was a lot like the shirt, Yrkala felt. They didn't cover up any surprises. What was there looked good, even if Yrkala felt Shella was small, so there shouldn't be any kind of shame from it.

As Shella turned to face Yrkala, Yrkala saw her mound, free of hair. Several of them men who tried to mate with Yrkala had hair surrounding their members. Maybe that was the was the reason? No, that didn't make sense. It was part of her body. Yrkala didn't think it would be shameful.

Shella eyed Yrkala, noting her gaze. "Like what you see? Gettin' hot anywhere?"

Yrkala met Shella's gaze. "No, I am not getting hot anywhere. I am wondering why you wear clothes when there is nothing shameful behind it, like a wrongly-used tattoo."

Shella shrugged. "Gets cold sometimes," she said. "Decoration, too. Curiosity is a powerful asset."

"Now," Shella said as she took Yrkala's hand and led her to the bed, "Let's get you to find out more about yourself. If anything feels wrong or hurts, tell me. I ain't ever been with somebody of your kind, so I don't know what's different from my usual partners."