The wind never stopped at Neralis Shore.
It slipped through the cracks of warped wood, dragged salt across skin, and settled on the tongue like something that didn't belong there—but refused to leave.
Kaelith stood where the wet sand met the dry.
Each wave crept forward, swallowed her feet, then pulled back again.
A rhythm.
Predictable. Repetitive.
Supposed to be calming.
Behind her, laughter scattered across the air.
Children ran in uneven lines, their feet kicking up sand, voices overlapping—too loud, too bright, like they were trying to prove something to the sky.
Kaelith didn't turn.
Her gaze stayed fixed on the sea.
One wave came. Broke. Receded.
Another followed.
Then another.
Her head tilted, just slightly.
There was a delay.
Small.
Almost nothing.
But enough.
"Kaelith!"
A voice cut through the wind.
Fast footsteps followed, uneven, rushing.
"You're counting waves again, aren't you?"
No response.
Another wave rolled in.
It climbed higher than the last.
Cold water brushed against her ankles.
Too cold.
"Hey."
A hand waved in front of her face.
Only then did Kaelith blink and shift her gaze.
A girl stood there—hair tangled by the wind, cheeks flushed, smiling too wide. The kind of smile that tried a little too hard to exist.
"What are you even looking at?" she asked.
Kaelith stared at her for a moment longer than necessary.
As if deciding whether the question deserved an answer.
"…the water."
The girl groaned. "Wow. Really helpful."
She threw her hands up dramatically.
"You're weird, you know that?"
Kaelith didn't argue.
The wind pressed harder, carrying with it the faint creak of old wood from the buildings behind them—if they could still be called that.
The girl glanced back at the sound for just a second.
Then smiled again.
"Come on. We're building something. If you don't help, you're automatically the loser."
Silence.
Kaelith's eyes drifted back to the sea.
Another wave came.
Too fast this time.
"…later," she said.
"Later when?" the girl snapped immediately.
No answer.
Far out, the surface of the water looked smooth.
Too smooth.
Like something beneath it was holding it in place.
The wind died.
Not slowly.
Just—gone.
The laughter behind her still existed—
but it sounded farther away now.
As if it had stepped back without moving.
Kaelith took a step forward.
The wet sand shifted under her weight, pulling slightly at her feet.
The water reached her again.
Colder.
Her eyes narrowed.
Something moved.
Far out.
Small.
Barely there.
A distortion.
Behind her, the girl kept talking, fast, restless—
"You always say later. Later, later, later—"
Kaelith spoke, quiet, cutting through her words.
"…do you see that?"
"Huh? See what?"
Kaelith didn't point.
Didn't move.
Just stared.
The surface rippled.
Not with the wind.
Not with the tide.
Something underneath shifted.
Against it.
Her brows pulled together slightly.
Another wave formed.
Too quickly.
Too close.
For a fraction of a second—
the water didn't fall.
It held.
Then collapsed.
Kaelith didn't move.
Her gaze locked onto that same spot.
A moment ago—
something had been there.
Not drifting.
Not carried.
Moving.
Against the tide.