The Cage [PRIVATE]

Caden stop swimming for a moment to watch little Nezumi, she was determined to find whatever it was that she had spotted. Caden herself was curious too, so she treaded water with only her eyes above the surface to watch Nezumi and find out what the shiny thing was.

Nezumi stopped for a bit and looked at what is was, Caden got a little closer too and noticed it was money and treasure; not that they could use any of it, in this world it was utterly useless. Nezumi however seemed to be enjoying herself very much and Caden loved to hear the girl laugh; she swam forward more and noticed the water got slightly colder than before. She hated to ruin Nezumi’s fun, but had no choice “Nezumi, the water is getting better.” She said somewhat randomly, but calmly.

Nezumi had gone off on her own for a bit, looking at her newfound treasure; at least she was happy. Caden had swum ahead quite a bit more; she knew Nezumi would follow her. She was now in the part of the cave that was completely safe; the water was cold, but not really cold; just colder than the 60 degrees she was used to from the German Sea. She decided here was safe enough for Nezumi to touch, but it still was dangerous with all of what could be in the water; but Caden was here to protect her from any real harm. “I am over here, Nezumi” she said rather loudly, echoing slightly as so she could hear her and pinpoint her location. She treaded water with only her eyes above the surface of the water to keep an eye out for the girl, she left her neck and body underwater because she liked it underwater more than on land; it felt good to be in water.

She saw Nezumi running back with a collection of treasures and her eyes widened slightly; she hoped she didn’t have to lug that around on her back. Caden signaled Nezumi to come in the water because she wanted to see the girl swim with her; and see if she knew any tricks too. Caden debated on teaching her some tricks, and wondered how well she could pick them up. Laughing slightly, she held out her hand for Nezumi to grab while jumping in, in case she was scared of just throwing herself at the water. “Don’t worry I don’t bite…much” she added with a laugh. Then her eyes widened, and her face went blank, what if little Nezumi didn’t think that was a joke? Oh dear. “I was just kidding by the way…” she started off awkwardly “Come in, the water is nice” she finished with a sigh and one of her toothy, awkward smiles.

Watching the girl walk into the water, she noticed her shiver slightly; she must think it was cold. Caden was adapted to just about any temperature in water, so she didn’t really notice much. She tightened her grip on Nezumi’s hand slightly as she inched deeper into the water; making sure the girl didn’t fall, Caden watched her carefully.

Caden decided to surprise the girl, hoping not to scare her too much; Caden grabbed her other hand and rapidly pulled her in the water and neck level. She used her elevated knee to push one of Nezumi’s feet upward, giving her something to stand on so she could have her head above water to prevent her from drowning. “What do you think?” she asked with a gentle laugh.

Her scream echoed throughout the cave. Caden listened hard; still holding Nezumi tightly, the cave began to rumble and bits of rock began to fall around them. Oh dear god, she thought to herself. “Nezumi…” she started off nervously. “Get your things, and hurry up!” she added more sternly. Picking the girl up with all of her might she lifted her onto the rock, waiting for her to climb up and get her things.

“Don’t worry Anica, I wont leave you here!” she slipped out. Anica…that was who Nezumi reminded her of…that’s why she couldn’t kill her! “I know you may not like this, but trust me…okay? I want you to crawl into my mouth; I am going underwater to get out of here… it is the only way out. And if I swim underwater you will touch the acidic water outside. Please trust me, I am not going to swallow you” she finished with tears forming in her eyes. Caden cared a lot about little Nezumi, and she didn’t want to see her die here…her only way of getting out was if Caden swam, and Nezumi couldn’t. She hoped the small girl understood this.

“Alright, hurry” she said to the girl, there wasn’t much time. Opened her mouth; once Nezumi had climbed in, she clamped her teeth shut, making sure not to touch Nezumi of coarse. Looking around her, Caden saw the cave was coming down faster. Diving underwater, she took off like a bat out of hell. Dodging bits of rock and mutated seaweed, she surpassed all obstacles without injuring herself. She had exited the cave completely, looking over her shoulder; she watched it fall.

Jumping up, she turned to go back to the shore. Caden swam at a fast pace; she wanted to let Nezumi go before she got too uncomfortable. Lifting her head above water, she opened her mouth momentarily, giving Nezumi some air. Closing it quickly, she kept swimming. The shore was now a foot away, diving into the water a few feet; she jumped out and touched ground. Bending over, she opened her mouth and extended her tongue, waiting for Nezumi to crawl out; hopefully…unharmed.

Looking at Nezumi, she noticed that the only scratch on her was a cut on her shoulder; she had more than likely grazed it on one of her teeth. Moving forward, Caden licked the wound, wiping away the blood; hopefully this would take away the stinging. “Sorry about that kid” she said sympathetically. She ran forward a bit, finding a long palm tree leaf; picking it up she walked back to Nezumi. “This may feel weird, but bare with me”

Taking the leaf in both hands, she rubbed it over the girls’ body; this would dry her off as much as possible. Once Caden was done, she tossed the leaf behind her. Glancing over Nezumi’s body, she felt she was dry enough…hopefully she didn’t hate Caden for putting her through that.

“So…besides a near death experience, how did you enjoy the adventure?” she added with a sarcastic tone, but a slight laugh.

“Agreed” she said in a flat tone while looking at the poor girl. “Are you alright, Nezumi?” she asked in a soothing voice. Caden knelt down on one knee, looking into her eyes; something was still wrong, or maybe she was still in shock. Either way…Caden made it clear to herself, she would protect Nezumi. With her life. Always.

“No, Nezumi…I l-“she started to say love…but couldn’t do it. “I think you are a nice girl, all I wanted was to make sure that you are safe.” She finished, somewhat lamely; but nicely nonetheless. Caden placed her hand atop the girls’ head and patted her softly, still looking into her eyes.