[center][abbr=Suiten][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/230311/09e37f447f3b4147d6f66d5a1e26118b.png[/img][/abbr][/center] [hr][sub][right][i][b]South Blue[/b][/i][/right][/sub] When Suiten left Ponson Island, she cut through the water in a straight line going north, the direction Silva had mentioned his grandfather spotted the 'Sea Lamp.' Before meeting Silva and Lide, she'd been taking a route that would eventually see her back to the edges of the Red Line, going diagonal across the South Blue from where the mountain spit her out. With no way to scour the entire sea floor, she'd just been kind of hoping she'd find something while exploring. The problem was, she wasn't an [i]explorer[/i], just a fish out of water. [i]But not literally, 'cause that'd be stupid![/i] Would it be possible to try and measure where the sun shone brightest in this part of the ocean? Where were the warmest parts of this sea? To identify areas that a tree like the one that fed Fishman Island sunlight were more likely to grow? Sure, but she didn't have that kind of time. She was just one girl - beautiful and brilliant, yes, but still. As she'd told the fishermen, theirs was the first hint she'd had since leaving the Grand Line. The excitement of finally having [i]something[/i] to go off of spurred Suiten onwards, swimming swiftly towards her goal. If it would a few days by boat, it would take her about half the time if she really pushed it... but it was better to pace herself. Still, her speed was much faster than the lazy flicks of her tail from earlier. [i]I wonder what exactly this lamp could be?[/i] She wondered, considering the nature of the Sea Lamp as she swam. [i]Silva said it was deep underwater, so that area's sea floor must be lower than around here. Then again, the area around that island was basically epipelagic... If the lamp is something fed by the sun it might not be deep enough. And if it's not... Piezoluminescence due to the water pressure? Then it would be something that dropped into the sea. Maybe... some mineral deposit that sits on an under sea vent that's re-emitting energy as light whenever the gas escapes and heats it up?[/i] There could be any number of explanations. It could even be a literal lamp, reflected off the ocean's surface and appearing as an undersea mirage to tired sailors. If it was even real, whether it was a natural phenomenon or not would be meaningless if that light was not in someway connected to the sun. After a certain depth the sun's rays couldn't penetrate the water, so nothing could grow on the sea floor... except in that one miracle spot in the waters straddling Paradise and Devil's Seas, fed by the Sunlight Tree Eve. But if she allowed herself to be optimistic, maybe the South Blue could be the home of Fishman Island 2. [i]Name pending. Maybe Merfolk Island this time! Eh, no... Suiten Island, ehe~[/i] It was a day later that she reached the first landmark. The reef the old fisherman mentioned was hard to miss, given all the sharks. Bull sharks with elegant horns sprouting from their heads and rings through their nostrils, tiger sharks with bold stripes and cute whiskers, shark-sharks that looked all... sharky... [i]I'm tired of describing sharks![/i] Suiten blasted right through the waters surrounding the reef after shouting at the toothy fishes to stay out of her way. They hurried out of her path as she swam through, looking at each other in confusion. Half a day after that, Suiten broke the surface of the water and peered around. This should be the area marked on her map. She hadn't seen anything underwater, and also didn't see anything while looking down. Similarly she hadn't seen much while making her way here except for fish. No lights around save for the blazing orb in the sky. If she had to wait around until night to investigate the area, then it would have to be in a slightly more interesting area than the open ocean. Actually, she did see something now that her gaze wasn't focused on or in the water. It looked like a bunch of trees. [color=salmon]"Wait a minute... No... did I overshoot?!"[/color] A couple dozen meters away was what could only have been the "Palm Forest." Hundreds of palm trees were sticking out of the water with no island in sight. Suiten swam over, finding their trunks just extended a ridiculous length down into the sea shelf below, giving the appearance of trees growing on the water. [color=salmon]"Aaaah... do I have to go back now? But I thought this was the place..."[/color] She pulled her map out to make sure, but she was no more a navigator than she was an explorer. She must have been pretty close to the area at least. Close enough, hopefully. She managed her frustration by jumping out of the water to snag a coconut and then bashing it against the tree until it cracked open. She took her snack with her as she slowly, almost stubbornly dragged herself back the way she'd come - though she didn't get very far. She swam at the surface to make sure she didn't end up somewhere she shouldn't, spotting a shark fin coming from the other direction. One of those sharks she'd seen earlier, maybe? Regardless, she called out to it. [color=salmon][i][/i][/color] The shark did not seem to hear her, so she tried again. [color=salmon][i][/i][/color] It didn't deviate it's course at all. [color=salmon]"What the..."[/color] [color=salmon][i][/i][/color] At this point Suiten had slowed her movement, her eyes narrowed in confusion. There was no way the waves of her voice didn't reach it, so she was completely puzzled as to why it wasn't following her instruction. Unless...? Curious, Suiten propelled herself forward. Finally she seemed to have been noticed by the shark thanks to the heavy splash as her tail hit the water before she dove. From this distance the figure was silhouetted, but it clearly had the fins and nose of a shark. When it spotted Suiten coming for it, it startled and zipped away. Though it was fast, faster than Suiten had thought at first, unfortunately it couldn't out-swim the mermaid. [color=salmon]"Aha!"[/color] Suiten exclaimed as she caught the fish by its tail. There was a curious sound, like cloth being torn just before the shark whirled around so that Suiten could see its face properly. Shocked, Suiten released her grasp on it. [color=salmon]"You're...?!"[/color]