"Stop! [b]Stop![/b] [b][i]Stop![/i][/b] [b][i]STOP![/i][/b]" Rainbow's voice rose in pitch and volume as they hurdled towards the whipping wall of water. His knuckles were white on the helm as he desperately wrenched it from side to side. The ship stayed on course, following the bright golden beacon of rippling mane. 

Edward did not stop.

Caleb was starting to wonder if perhaps he had made a bad decision. His stomach lurched and his eyes remained transfixed on the spinning storm before them. As they drew closer still he could barely distinguish that anything existed outside of the storm. Wind and rain lashed his face and his clothes whipped about his body. A loose rope cracked and snapped. The ship groaned. Rainbow was praying to what Caleb would have suspected was a god he had never heard of, had he even heard the prayer.

Edward was looking like he had never been happier. He practically danced upon the ragged sea. "Just the fun part now! And then we'll be able to talk!"

Caleb did not agree with Edward's idea of "fun". The impossible storm became worse. Caleb was blinded by the aggressive gray. The whole world shuttered and howled. His ears rang with the noise of it. He had never heard anything that consumed him so completely. Not even the screaming in his dreams drowned out the world the way this storm did.

For just a moment Caleb loved the terror of it. For just a moment he completely forgot the lives he had taken, the blood he had spilled, the worlds he had ended. His world was ending. He threw back his head and laughed.

The laughter died in his throat. For one thing, the rain had almost instantly tried to drown him. For another, the storm was over. He lowered his face as tears and water coursed down his face. His hair was plastered to his forehead and neck as small waterfalls surged their way down his skin. 

Edward popped up beside the battered craft. "Hi!" Caleb waved back weakly. Rainbow retched somewhere nearby. Edward seemed pleased with their current state of affairs. "My friends are ready to meet you!"

"What sort of a godforsaken idea was that?" Rainbow demanded. He had recovered himself well enough to shout at the young hippocampus, his face lime green in rage and possibly seasickness. "You nearly killed us all!" Edward gave no answer except to disappear below the alarmingly calm waters. 

[b]"Now that wasn't very kind."[/b] A voice from the formerly-Flower-board side of the ship thundered into their consciousness. Caleb felt more than he heard the words.

[i]"You've hurt little Eddy's feelings."[/i] Like music in a memory the second voice wove into their minds. Something about it made Caleb feel light enough to walk on water.

[b]"He doesn't often bring us visitors, I would expect better behavior from someone he considers to be a friend."[/b] The deafening crash of the words caused Caleb and Rainbow both to clasp their hands about their ears. Caleb felt as if someone was pounding upon it with a mace each time the being spoke.

Caleb turned slowly. Rainbow was already staring at their newest companions. Before he could stop the words Caleb asked, "What are they?"

Rainbow frowned. "A merman and a siren."

[i]"Oh they're mortals! your voice is too much for them."[/i] The melodic answer was such a startling contrast that the poor boy nearly wept at the words. The siren ruffled his feathers. He perched on the edge of the ship, his winged arms folded across his chest. The hypnotic quality of his voice was gone, but Caleb still thought it to be the most beautiful voice he had ever head. 

"My voice?" Though still powerful, the first speaker was at a comprehensible level now. "You nearly have the poor child diving over on your first syllable." The merman assessed the two people on deck, then sighed. "I will go and get Edward. Valentino, find out about our visitors. Make sure they are worthy of being his friends." Gracefully the merman disappeared below the disorientingly calm sea.

Valentino rolled his eyes and rearranged his wings more comfortably. "My dad's the lord of the ocean, I'm king of the sea. Do what I say, Valentino." Even while mocking his companion he sounded appealing. A fond smile settled on his lips and he shrugged his shoulders. "Can't say I hate him for it. Alright you two, what are you doing with Edward?"