Anna eagerly swam down into the rocks, hoping and praying that she had found the necklace that she'd been looking for. Granted, it would be odd for a necklace to appear so soon after Aaron used it up but she had a bit of faith that lady luck was smiling on her today.
Anna was just a few feet away from the object that caught her eye - One more kick of her fins and she'd be a human again!
Anna joyfully picked up the object to find...
A piece of gold.
No necklace.
Eric caught up to see the hope in Anna's eyes come crashing down. It wasn't the thing that she was looking for. In her desire to contact her folks, her eyes and eyes tricked her. That realization hit her hard.
Eric put a comforting hand towards Anna's back. He felt especially guilty because he was the one who essentially pressured Aaron to use up his necklace in the first place. He couldn't help but feel like Anna's misery was his fault. After a few minutes, Eric sighed and turned to see that Anna was starting to eye her found object.
Anna was quiet as she examined the piece of gold - Maybe it might've been part of a necklace but it broke off.
Looking closely, the piece of gold seemed to have Aztec Nahuatl and artwork engraved on it. It was then that Anna was starting to recall some of her elective studies regarding Mesoamerican History.
Within the center of the coin is an image of a noblewoman wearing a cotton headdress over her straight hair, a triangular cape, and a skirt. Within the writing and art is her name: Chalchiuhtlicue. Otherwise known as the Woman of The Jade Skirt.
Anna smiled a bit. That water goddess was known for being associated with fertility and childbirth, a bit reassuring for the mermaid to see after leaving her nest to the unknown forces of the ocean.
Eric could see the smile on her face and asks. "What did you find?"
"A piece of Aztec gold." She said as she handed him the piece.
Anna could see the gold shining on Eric's awed eyes. "Do you recognize it, Eric?"
"As much as I want to say, otherwise, I don't know what it is," Eric said as he handed the gold back to Anna. "But I think it's worthwhile to hold onto it. If a starfish found here could transform a human into a mer, who knows what a piece of Aztec gold could do?"
Anna agreed and held onto her finding by putting it into the logo'd shopping bag that Eric brought home earlier. Just for sentimental purposes, Anna also decided to add a starfish and gold rock into the bag to remind her of her first travel in the Tide Beds.
Eric swam by Anna's side. "So, would you like to come to my home now?"
"Yeah, I feel satisfied for now. Hopefully, it won't be our last time being here." Anna replied.
"Agreed. It's important to keep your head up. There may be no necklace today, but tomorrow might change that." Eric said, extending his hand to Anna like a knight giving his hand to a princess.
She smiled and happily took Eric's hand. Before long, she and Eric were swimming along the deep again.
Anna was quite excited to see Eric's home. The idea of staying somewhere that isn't purely sand and kelp was quite appealing to her after the allure of the mating cycle ended.
"I’m looking forward to seeing your humble abode, Eric!" Anna said with glee.