Living in a small community is the equivalent to living in a small town, maybe even worse. Rumors had spread like the plague to everyone by lunch and then the assumptions began building upon those rumors like leaches sucking the safety the people once felt right out of them. By the time the rumors got back to Atlas and his mother it went as follows: humans killed all three of the poor kids and were using their carcasses as bait to lure the rest of them into one area where they could surround them and annihilate the rest; no one was safe anymore. The air once thick with grief was now congested with uncertainty and fear.

Things were spiraling downward as more people began shutting themselves away; some on the verge of just giving up altogether. One of them were already detained for attempting to take matters in their own hands. His mother could tell that if they didn't do something to fix it soon, they wouldn't have to wait for the enemy to find them, instead their people will walk right up to their front door.

But getting ahold of his father had been next to impossible the last few days. It wasn't like the man was going to come home just to calm his people down anyway. As far as Atlas is aware, his father had left the home to his mother for the time being, who in turn felt that Atlas was old enough to begin taking responsibilites. So feeling that he should be exercising his authority, his mother created a time for a small gathering where Atlas was to address the issues and hopefully put an end to the growin restlessness. That is easier said than done.

By early morning, Atlas has given up on sleeping. The constant repetitive questions loop through his mind like it is caught in a glitch. He has absolutely no idea how he is going to fix this. When he can take it no longer, Atlas slips out of the inn and heads straight for the one place he always goes when he needs to think clearly: the pier. It had been a few days since he'd last been there -when he had met her again- but it had been long enough that she would have stopped looking for him, right?

He stops at the edge of the pier. The water is clam, gently breaking around the rocks that lined closer to shore. He focuses on the mind numbing sound, somewhat forgetting the chaos left on the island as he stares over the bay dimly lit by the moon. Only a couple weeks until the super moon. Two weeks left that he should not even be contemplating the thoughts that now entered his mind.

Rule number one of his people: never enter the water unless it is the Dive. But it was easier said than done. A pull from deep within him grips at his soul, whispering to him that no one will find out. The pull fills him with the feeling of being in there, rushing throughout him like a tsunami. Everything else, all the anxiety, the issues, the rules, the facades...it all slips away. His natural existence encompasses him, changing his very identity. Though his conscious remains intact, it seems to shift as his natural gives him a sense of power, and it feels good. Real good.

Unable to hold back the urge to jump any longer, he steps back down off the dock onto the shrub covered grounds. Walking within the shallow pulse of waves, he follows the shoreline until he can see nothing but trees and water. By now he can feel his body stripping away the camouflage, the uncomfortable dullness of change. His heart pounds with anticipation. Removing his clothes, he tucks them away where they are hidden from possible adventurers, but easily recovered when he is through.

He makes his way into the bay, his original form now gradually making itself more and more apparent. A few more long, fluid strides and he dives, disappearing completely from view. The water calms behind him in an instant, erasing any trace of his being there. It is murky, visibility short and near impossible to see in the dark, but he no longer needs to rely on his sight alone. It's the other senses that begin to take more priority, increasing beyond what any human is capable of having.

He can feel the currents, the gentle pulsing as each tiny ripple passes. He can hear everything within miles. The ocean is far less silent than humans can imagine, but not annoyingly so. It's the sounds of life beneath the surface, nature that can only be heard by those who live within it. He can taste and even smell the minute differences in each change of waters. Very little about him is human anymore as he takes to the shadows.

He times himself two breaths. That's an hour and a half, two if he really pushes himself. Hopefully long enough that when he returns, his mind will be in order, and to find out anything for himself surrounding the incident. But he needs to stay cautious in open waters this time. He picks up his speed and disappears down the sound.

The time had gone quicker than he anticipated, and he came up just as empty as he left. He isn't sure exactly what he was hoping to find out there, but it didn't matter now. When he is human enough, he grabs his sweats and hoodie and replaces them on himself then heads back to the pier. He isn't ready to go home, not yet. It's peaceful out here, and with his mind finally clear he took the advantage to gather his thoughts. He walks back down the pier, watching the sky grow a lighter shade of blue before turning to a reddish orange on the Sun's approach.

It is just after the Sun rose above the buildings when a figure walks up next to him and stops. He glances only briefly before double taking his visitor. His thoughts scream at him to leave, but his body remains firmly planted where he stood, staring wide eyed at her bright smile. Had she not given up yet?

While his kind may be assuming it was the people from their history that is stirring things up, Atlas feels it has something to do with her. Everything was quiet until she came back. That smile may just be her way of silently laughing in his face. A foul thought suddenly crosses his mind as he continues to blindly stare. How easy it would be to end her here. There would be no witnesses and his secret would remain intact. All he needs to do is look into her eyes and drag her into the shadows. Easy.

"I had a feeling you would come back," she signs breaking the strange moment between them. Her eyes, which had been searching for his finally drop, stopping at his arms and his heart gives a thud against his ribcage.

"You are persistent," he hisses just above a whisper as he averts his gaze, frantically pulling the sleeves of his hoodie down to his wrists and hiding the lingering remnants of his natural form.

"Did you hurt yourself?" There is concern in her childlike features. She reaches out for his arm, but he pulls away turning his back to her.

Squeezing his hands into fists until his knuckles turned white, he begins back inland without another word. She has obviously seen something this time. The thought of ending her before she stumbles upon anymore truths begins sounding more appealing now, but then he'd have to place himself in the same category as his father and he refuses to let that happen. Biting his tongue, he presses on.