58

Estre grins. "Fists it is."

Arraia looks less certain. "I wish I had my net and my rope," she says. "But it would have been to weird to bring weapons to the celebration. Whatever." She looks at Estre. "Ready? Together now, and…go!"

She and Estre both push off hard, lashing their tails, locking their heads down, each picking one guard to hit at ramming speed. The guards don't even have time to react before they're knocked down in surprise. Arraia and Estre each wrap themselves around a guard, holding them tight. The guards shout, but there's nobody around to hear them. Nobody but Cinza, who looks down at you expectantly.

You swim up the stem of the ballast to Cinza and heft yourself up into the air, flinching as you cross the water level and your tail shrivels and splits into two human legs. You shudder at the wrongness of the air. You never really appreciate how good immersion feels, and you can't even imagine how miserable it must be to be imprisoned up here in the emptiness.

Once you're up on the flat interior, you do your best to stand up, pushing your legs out wide as you stagger toward a surprised Cinza. She stands up deftly, gracefully, and easily meets you halfway. You almost forgot that she's been practicing walking for the past month. "You, Arraia, Estre—you're rescuing me? But why? I thought everybody hated me, thought I went too far. Why are you here?"