The Shimmering Sea ((Haze!))

[CastlesInTheSky]

A young man with inky black hair walked across the sand of the beach with bare feet, his pants rolled up to the knees and his sleeves to the elbows. He seemed to be somewhat fascinated with the sand beneath him, picking up a handful and letting it fall out of his hand again. He was a glassmaker, and the sand was what had drawn him to the beach, to find if sand from different places could create better quality glass. Or, for that matter, different natural colour. Though, he had strayed from his original purpose, having never been to the beach before and becoming fascinated with his surroundings. He'd heard of shells, picking them up and examining their fragments with wonder.

Eventually, becoming tired from his antics at the coast, he laid out a cloth he had brought with him on a dock that appeared like it hadn't been used for ages and lay on top of it, laying his hands beneath his head and eventually dozing off.

[Haze]

Another day in the ocean. Another day of lazily exploring the depths in a way that could never grow tiring. The sea was like a blanket, thicker than the air above, but still thin enough not to smother. And that was what she loved about being what she was. The ability to experience both things. In fact, it had been some time since she had been to the surface and walked among the mainlanders. She was always curious to see how they reacted to different things.

The siren made a slow trail up towards the sun, her tail surging her upwards with the slightest of flickers. With a rush of bubbles preceding her, the Reevahn gently broke the surface, hair sleek against her skull, while the rest of her locks danced about her shoulders like seaweed, the shells interspersed through the tendrils occasionally catching in sun's kisses. Turning her eyes towards the shore, they fairly jumped with delight as she spied a lone man atop an empty, abandoned dock.

She knew this dock well. It was a favourite haunt, teasing the odd fisherman that came to tempt the ocean's children with promises of tasty morsels. She knew that she would be able to lift herself up, and rest her arms and head there, while her torso and tail hung in the water. With a little nod to herself, she dived under the water again, and within seconds was positioned with her head just a few meters from the sleeping man.

Tilting her head to rest on her arm, she pursed her lips. He was quite handsome looking, she decided in her initial observation of him. His dark hair was in complete contrast her hers, and there was no strange colouring to it, either. Not that turquoise streaks in her own white-blonde hair was unusual where she came from, nor the white little bubble tattoos beneath her blue eye.

Hello stranger, she said in her mind, and gentle and somewhat sneaky smile creeping across her lips. I think I might sing you a lullaby. And so she did, though without opening her mouth. The melody had no words, but spun in intricate patterns like colours weaving through the sky unperceived. I wonder, She thought to herself, even as she continued her enticement to him, if he will take the bait. I would so like to have a new friend...

[CastlesInTheSky]

The man lay on the dock, in a haze of sleep, the sun shining bright above him and warming his light skin. His hair was even more of a mess than usual, the short black locks sticking up this way and that in no particular pattern.

Within his dreams, he began to hear a sound. A lovely noise it was, something he had never heard before. It was a song, he knew, but he couldn't pick out the words. There weren't words, he didn't think, but in his state of sleep he couldn't decide. All he could think about was how beautiful a sound it was. It told him to wake, to look for where it came from.

The man slowly opened his eyes, surprised to realize that the song wasn't just from a dream. He sat up, confused, and turned around, looking around himself for where the song was coming from, who was singing it. He let out a startled gasp when he saw someone in the water not to far from him, his eyes widening. The song kept floating through his mind as he uttered, "H-hello there..."

[Haze]

Ahh, so he was stirring. She did think he might come out of his slumber to find the song. As he sat, she only lifted her head. Already the sun was drying the tips of her hair, and ringlets danced around her shoulders. Reevahn blinked with her eyes wide and innocent. The singing didn't stop, but neither did she open her mouth.

Her lips however, did curl into a beguiling smile, and her eyes turned warm and inviting. Gently she pushed off the little wharf, and disappeared under the water. Her song stopped abruptly then, and she pushed herself through the shallow water to pop up on the other side. "Hello yourself," she called gently, and reached out a beckoning finger, motioning that he should come closer.

"What is your name?"

[CastlesInTheSky]

The man's eyes widened as he studied the figure before him. A woman...a beautiful woman! Her hair was as light as the sugary sand on the beach, with streaks of turquoise withing here and there. Was she singing? Well, of course not, she wasn't opening her mouth. Maybe she was using magic? He didn't know, though he decided not to worry about that too much. When she disappeared into the water, he was a bit alarmed, but was pleased to see her pop back up again. He lay on his belly now, his hands grasping the edge of the dock as he peered at her with pure curiosity.

Ah, even her voice was beautiful! So sweet. His dark red eyes studied her carefully as he scooted as far as he could towards the water.

"I'm Phoenix. What's your name, beautif-er, miss?" He barely seemed to notice his slip-up.

[Haze]

So easy. So very, very easy. Just as he studied her, she made a mental image if his face. With him so close, and hanging so precariously, it would be no problem to lure him into the water. It was what her sisters would do. She pushed herself up with her tail, just a little closer. One hand reached to rest on the edge of the dock.

"My name is on the wake of every wave," she whispered, "in the hollow of every seashell pressed to your ear." She gave a light little giggle at her cryptic answer, and then let her hand fall away into the water. "If you listen very closely you might hear it."

Reevahn... Reevahn... She hushed her name towards him in song, and let the sound of it linger, filling every inch of airspace around her. She wanted it to draw him in. Draw him closer.

Not that she wanted to eat him. This was all just fun and games. "Did you hear that? What is my name?"

[CastlesInTheSky]

He was normally quite observant when he wanted to be, but he couldn't avoid the siren's lure. At this point, he was oblivious to the fact that she had him tied around her finger in a matter of minutes. He quickly glanced from her hand back to her face, listening intently to every word she said. If there had been cannons firing in the background he wouldn't have noticed.

"Listen..." he murmured quietly to himself. He did hear an answer! What was it, though...
He edged a bit closer, his eyes shut for a moment in concentration.

"..Re....Reevahn? That's your name?" He looked at her expectantly with all the excitement of a puppy waiting on orders from its master.

[Haze]

Reevahn lifted her hand again, and this time reached out towards his face. Water dripped from her fingers, and ran little streams down her arm. "That's right. Reevahn."

Well... this was as far as she'd ever got before. The last time she'd tried this trick, she'd only attracted a horse. And that wasn't a whole lot of fun. She couldn't talk with a horse. Bobbing there in the water, and tilted her head to him. "Pheonix..." She tested his name out. It was a foreign name to her, and the hissing of the 'x' was held longer than usual.

"Have you ever seen the bottom of the ocean, Pheonix? Would you like to? I could show you all sorts of wonderful things."

[CastlesInTheSky]

A small smile crossed his face, as he was pleased to have gotten her name correct. Reevahn. An interesting name. He had never met anyone with that name before. Everything seemed new to him at the moment.

He studied her, tilting his head to the side as well as he examined her. "I've never seen it...but how would I get all the way down there? How would I breathe? I am not a fish." He chuckled lightly.

[Haze]

"You ... you couldn't breathe down there?" The bewitching expression in her eyes turned to one of confusion. She didn't realise the mainlanders couldn't breathe just like her. They looked so very similar. Still, with his comment about not being a fish, she made a concerted effort to keep her tail well hidden.

"But I'm not a fish either, and you have lips," her finger touched his gently as she spoke, and then walked up his cheek to his nose, where she tapped him a few times. "And you have a nose. Just like me. So why can you not come with me?" She pouted, and slowly let her hand fall away. "Or are you just saying you can't, because you don't want to?"

[CastlesInTheSky]

Phoenix didn't understand the confusion in her eyes and seemed a bit confused himself for a moment, nodding to her question. A strand of his messy hair fell in his eyes, but he didn't seem to notice.

He became cross eyed for a moment, trying to watch her finger. He blinked as she tapped his nose, expression surprised. He seemed a bit displeased to have her hand fall away, but didn't comment.

"No, no, I promise I really wish I could come with you," He stumbled over his words as he spoke, eager to convince her that he was telling the truth, "But I really can't breathe under water. I can only breathe air, no matter what the circumstances." He studied her for a bit, curiosity returning. "So you can you breathe under water?"

[Haze]

Reevahn snorted, as if it was the stupidest question on earth, but didn't reply straight away. Beneath the surface, her indigo tail swished to and fro, readying to move. "I don't know... let me check." She slowly lowered herself back into the water, letting it slip up over her chin, mouth, nose, until just her eyes were blinking up at him. Those eyes, one blue, one green, blinked at him in innocence for a moment, and she disappeared back under the water.

And hid herself beneath the dock. She stayed there for a full minute, maybe more, wondering how long it might take for the stranger to get worried, and poke his head under to find her.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Phoenix hadn't expected that sort of reply, slightly alarmed when she submerged herself below the water and, in moments, disappeared. He scanned the water for her, waiting for his acquaintance to reappear. However, he saw nothing. Becoming a tad worried, he moved his face closer to the water, but wasn't able to see anything.

Figuring it was the only way to see if she was still there, he dunked his head just below the water, spotting her just a ways away. What was that...did she have...a tail?

He had only been underwater for a moment before he came back up, shaking his head to cause some of the water to fly off. His eyes were stinging a bit, and that was the chief reason for his ascent. He rubbed his eyes, muttering.

[Haze]

As his head appeared in the water, as clear as crystal to her eyes. She giggled, the music of her laughter clear and unmuddled by the density of the water. She wiggled her fingers at him in a coy wave. And then he was gone. She rolled her eyes, disappointed. He really wasn't joking. He couldn't breath underwater.

But she could breath just as well in water as in air, and an idea struck her. Floating off a little ways back from the dock, she stealthily drew herself up onto the shore, and as soon as she had, the indigo tail disappeared. In it's place were a pair of dainty legs, covered with wide, gauzy trousers of the same colour as her tail had been. Her torso was just as scantily clad.

From there, she started to cough, sitting with one hand pressed to her chest as she pretended to be struggling for breath.

[CastlesInTheSky]

Phoenix heard her coughing and turned around quickly, almost tripping over himself as he hurried over to her. Was she alright? If she wasn't, it would be his fault.Well, indirectly. Either way, he was concerned.

"Are you alright?" He barely rested his hand on her back, not sure what to do.

[Haze]

From the corner of her eye she watched with delight as he stumbled his way over. She never imagined that her song could so easily trap a man in such a web that he was concerned for a complete stranger. And an odd looking one, at that.

Reevahn finished her faux coughing fit with a pitiful little 'ahem,' and then looked across with a little grin. "I'm okay. Seems I can't breathe underwater after all," She lied easily.

"So tell me, Pheonix... why were you sleeping on a dock? Do you not have a bed of your own?"

[CastlesInTheSky]

Phoenix sighed, running a hand through his hair. Well, why in the world was she trying to breathe underwater then? Why did it matter? The song's effect seemed to be wearing off a bit.

"I was sleeping there because I was taking a nap. I was just tired and sorta fell asleep, I guess."

[Haze]

"Oh." Reevahn fell silent for a moment. There wasn't much she could say to that. Tiredness happened. And he wasn't staring at her like he had been. Not that she was a vain character - she had just wanted to see how long the effects of her song might linger once she had stopped.

He had seen her tail though, she was sure. Turning her gaze towards the ocean, she tapped along her thigh in thought. "I've heard people say that mermaids and sirens live in the oceans. What do you think? Have you ever seen one?"

[CastlesInTheSky]

Phoenix shrugged. "Well, probably, I'd say." He had seen her tail, but wasn't sure if she was a mermaid or a siren or what. In his mind, for some reason, there seemed to be something of a growing gap in his memory of what happened just a few minutes ago. Some nice music or something? It wasn't exactly gone from his mind, just fuzzy and confusing.

He shook his head, trying to gather his thoughts. "Well, what are you exactly? Not trying to be rude, but I swear I saw your tail under the dock, there."

[Haze]

"Tail? What tail?" Reevahn feigned surprise, and prodded at her newly acquired legs. "I have legs, see?" She grinned at him, and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Cautiously, she began to roll over onto her knees, and sat back looking at this acquaintance with an curiosity.

"Maybe you sat out in the sun for too long?"