Call of the Mermaid [M]

[Celegwen]

Humoring his taunts would be one option, but Raina didn't want to let on that she was even slightly curious about the arrogant sailor.

"I could've asked for it," she said, sinking beneath the surface. "But that defeats the fun in just taking it."

Raina watched him dash away, grinning slightly to herself. He was enjoying this, but she didn't need him getting used to it. Last thing she needed was some asshole running - or rather swimming - around with a tail she gave to him.

Waiting for a little over three seconds, the mermaid started after him in perfectly streamlined movements. Her body and tail weren't even moving quickly, but she cut through the water with perfect fluidity.

Glancing over, Raina smirked. "You have a long way to go before you can challenge me, Silas," she said to him. "I thought about stopping you with a sheet of ice, but with the lack of a brain, your face is clearly the only feature you have that's worth anything."

[Lowen Thorn]

Silas smirked, not knowing if he should be insulted or take the little compliment she threw at him.

He opted for the compliment.

"All I heard was that you think I have a pretty face," he replied proudly, trying his best to keep up with the woman. "Yours is nice, too."

Try as he might, he couldn't keep up with the seasoned mermaid, and felt himself tiring despite the breath of fresh energy she blessed him with. Steadily, the distance between the two grew longer until he decided to stop and idle for a few moments.

He still needed practice.

"When we get back to the land, that's going to be it, right?" he asked the obvious. "Go our separate ways and all that? Tell me never to come out to the sea again or face your wrath?"

[Celegwen]

"You're so dramatic," Raina said, releasing a slight chuckle and stopping when he did. "But yes, that's basically it. When I bring you to land, I expect to never see you again. Am I clear?"

Part of her just wanted to be rid of him at that moment. She honestly didn't care if he took to sea first thing the next day, but the mermaid never wanted to cross paths with him again. If she did, Raina knew that she would probably be expected - almost required - to kill him then and there.

Of course it wasn't that she was incapable, but she didn't completely want to.

Deciding that he'd had enough time to rest, the girl started forward again. "The sea probably isn't the best place for you anyway," Raina said, glancing over her shoulder to make sure he was following. "You're a shit sailor. Do something on land: maybe become a bard or whatever those singing people are."

[Lowen Thorn]

"Yes ma'am, as clear as your beautiful blue eyes," he said almost absently, mostly forgetting that they could communicate telepathically.

Silas had every intention of seeing Raina again, despite her clear distaste for him. However, if she had that much distaste, she wouldn't have saved him. Not for a reason as terrible as "you're shitty at dying," at least. He grinned and followed her further through ocean depths, heading for land.

"Well, I am not a very good singer," was his idea of an honest reply. "But maybe you're right. I am pretty terrible at this whole sailor thing, maybe I'll take up something else. Maybe I'll use this little charm you have blessed me with and figure out a way to give people tails, so the ocean can be full of people like you and I alike. Then you would have all of the friends in the world!"

He could almost wince as he awaited the backlash.

[Celegwen]

At his humble reply, the mermaid stayed quiet, remembering that he wasn't aware his voice was what saved his life. Besides, there was no point in giving him that satisfaction.

Then, he talked about her magic.

"Your confidence is adorably misplaced," Raina said, not even turning her head. "I know every mermaid and merman in the sea, as we share kind of a telepathic bond, so the instant I saw someone unfamiliar, I'd kill you. Regardless, that wouldn't even be a possibility. Mermaid magic is impossible to replicate by anyone other than a mermaid."

Only half of that was a lie. She did share a bond with every merperson, but mermaid magic was easily replicated if someone knew how to do it. Her silver tongue was smooth though, so Raina hoped Silas wouldn't catch onto her little falsehood.

[Lowen Thorn]

If the man could snort under the water, he would have. He followed the woman with a sly grin on his face as he listened to her warning, twisting his body around in a circular motion as he moved forward a couple of times just for the fun of it.

"I had a feeling you were the type who couldn't take a joke," he teased. "But I didn't think you'd be a liar, too."

He summoned a little extra strength to catch up to her, gliding through the ocean alongside the woman. "Are your mermaid senses telling you how far away we are from land?"

[Celegwen]

"Didn't think I'd be a liar?" She said mostly to herself. "When we first met, I told you I loved you, did you?"

Raina turned around to face Silas with a slight smirk. She swam upwards, peeking out of the water just enough so she could see without being noticed. They were barely two hundred meters away from the docks of Cerenis. There were a few ships nearby, as well as some fisherman dragging nets in with children running on the docks in the early daylight.

The mermaid lifted her head out of the water, glancing around. "This is where we part ways," she said simply.

[Lowen Thorn]

Silas returned her smirk and his eyes followed her. "I never said you lied about everything," he thought to himself.

He swam up to surface just enough to peak at his surroundings, just as he did, and smiled just enough for the ocean water to slip into his mouth. Cerenis. It felt like he hadn't seen the mainland in ages. Back when he was on the island, he couldn't think of anything else he'd rather see.

Yet, now he almost felt resistant. It would be great to walk again, eat food, drink booze, join in the laughter at the local tavern.. But even if it was just for a short period, how is a man suppose to go back to that after experiencing... this?

He could think about that later. He should just be grateful that he had a second chance.

"Hate to hear it," he replied after a few pondering moments. "I was really enjoying our relationship."

[Celegwen]

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Raina breathed, rolling her eyes as she turned away. "Get a hobby, Silas. Stay out of the water. Or I really will have to kill you next time."

Without giving the man the slightest opportunity to answer, the girl submerged herself again, beginning to swim away.

Raina surfaced one more time further away from Silas. "And take my advice. Don't let them see your tail." With a light chuckle, the mermaid dove into the water, fan-like fluke flicking water in the air, as she disappeared to the sea.

[Lowen Thorn]

"S-Sure thi-"

He started to answer, but quickly realized he was talking to no one but himself. He glanced around above the surface for a moment before submerging himself under the water again, eyes searching for one last glimpse of Raina before she was out of his life forever.

No one. No where to be found.

It was almost.. bothersome.

However, the woman was right, and he did need to take her advice. He couldn't just swim up to the docks, tail and all, in some grand fashion. He would need to get just close enough to make a swim for it in his human state before climbing up the docks.

He shipwrecked out at sea and had to swim back to land. That's what he would tell them. Hells, it was basically the truth.

[Celegwen]

About time I was rid of him, Raina thought to herself, as she swiftly made her way to the island cove in which her clan made its home. Though not even midday, the sun was already hot, and the mermaids decided that they'd allow ships to pass through unharmed that day. There was really no purpose in cooking themselves for the deaths of others.

"What happened with the sailor?" One of her sisters asked, braiding another mermaid's hair and lounging in the shade the cove provided. "Just how mangled have the birds made his corpse?"

The redhead laughed lightly, almost trying to dismiss the topic. "How would I know, Stasha? You think I cared enough to check?"

The girls giggled together, and Raina took a breath, gracefully sliding onto a branch leaning into the water with her head resting on her hands. She was back where she belonged with her sisters, though part of her just wasn't at ease. She felt restless, but assumed it was because she was lying to her sisters about the human that she couldn't get off her mind.

[Lowen Thorn]

It wasn't as big of deal as he thought it would be, and that was something he was grateful for. Raina was right, as soon as he reverted back to his normal human form he felt his bones weaken, and the hunger and dehydration kicked in, but he powered through enough to pull himself onto the docks until several passerby's noticed him and came to his aid.

His crew was thankful that he was alive, but that didn't stop them from giving him shit about going out on his own and destroying the ship in the process.

"How did you possibly accomplish that?" they asked.

"There was a storm. I lost course and crashed into some jagged rock," was the lie he heard himself often tell.

Meeting someone like Raina was a story for the ages, and one he would have absolutely loved to tell in the past. However, he felt like he shouldn't say anything, so he lied and kept that little event to himself.

The following night, after a day of rest, food, and water, he was at the local tavern with the rest of his crew. Stale smoke and the smell of alcohol twisted around the establishment, blanketing the small room of patrons whose laughter and clinks and clanks of their mugs overpowered the bard on stage desperately trying to entertain.

"What's wrong, Silas?" a voice cut through the man's thoughts. It was a fellow sailor, brows furrowed and lips in a small frown as he studied the survivor's blank stare. "You don't seem like yourself."

Silas gave him a slight shrug before sipping his ale carefully. "Just thankful to be alive," he said softly, barely audible through the roars of the crowd.

"Silas! Play us one!" another called out, much to the bard's distaste. "Sing us one of your songs!"

Oh fuck. Why now?

Silas loved to sing, and he would be lying if he said he didn't love the spotlight, but his mind was on other things.. on someone in particular. But as the moments passed, his comrades' requests became more of a demand, and their cheers only guided him to the stage.

Fuck it.

He didn't know what to play, so he just started strumming the guitar that was offered to him, and he sang a song unusual for the bar scene, in which the words were seemingly appearing out of thin air. It wasn't an uplifting tune to rally the masses, a comedic hymn to encourage their laughter, but instead an almost melancholy melody that demanded their attention.

And for the moment, that's what they gave him. The crowd silenced for the first time that night and listened.

[Celegwen]

Frustration was probably a more appropriate word for what she was feeling, but Raina found her frustration quickly spiraling into anger. The mermaid never showed or even felt the slightest hint of weakness, so whatever she was feeling at that moment had to have been the effects of some kind of powerful magic.

As the night fell, the mermaids parted to cover more sea. Glancing around for any leering eyes, Raina submerged herself and sped towards the docks of Cerenis. It was a much quicker trip that time, as she didn't have a human trying to learn his tail along the way.

Under the cover of night, she slid onto the beach. Her long tail split into legs, and the unique patterns on her clothing appeared to cover her human body. If he dared to cast this spell on me, he's going to be the one to remove it, whether he likes it or not, she thought, walking briskly through the quiet streets with pursed lips.

A familiar voice caught her attention, the same sound that she had heard not a week ago on the beach. Raina followed it to a small tavern with two lanterns hanging on either side of the door. There were a few houses nearby, one with clothing hanging on a line outside. She trotted over, taking the brown cloak and wrapping it around herself, as she made her way back towards the tavern. She pulled the hood over her long hair and walked inside, keeping her head down.

The girl waved off one of the barmaids, simply sitting at the corner table in the back of the room to listen to the man sing. It's not magic, she told herself, absently touching the necklace she wore and watching him lose himself in the music.

As his song would come to a finish, the mermaid felt a small smile relax her lips. Raina stood up and made her way towards the door. "I told you a bard would be a good profession for you," she said telepathically, pulling her hood back slightly to glance at him over her shoulder.

Raina quickly left the tavern, tossing the cloak over the line from which she had taken it and quickening her pace to a sprint back towards the blackened sea.

[Lowen Thorn]

It was the strangest feeling, but while he sang his song he felt like he could feel her. Maybe it was just the enchantment she placed over him that made him feel that way. Not actual enchantment but the pure feeling of being mesmerized by her as a person, the feeling that hadn't left his side whenever he left her side.

He felt like he was singing to her.

And then the song ended, and there was applause.

Oh.

Well that was certainly nice to hear. He grinned from ear to ear, a little breathless at the positive reaction. He handed the wooden guitar back to the bard of which it belonged, and his eyes peered around the establishment as he stepped off of the stage.

With an absent mind, he cupped the necklace that hung around his neck before the familiar face slid into his mind.

'I told you a bard would be a good profession for you.'

Glancing at the door, he saw her. It was brief, and then she was gone, but he recognized that face, those eyes, anywhere. "Sweetheart!" he yelled almost involuntarily before quickly dashing after her. "Out of my way!" he cried as he pushed past one of his fellow sailors before exiting the tavern and looking around frantically.

Gone.

"Damn, where'd you go?" he asked under his breath.

There was no sign of her on land, so that could only mean one thing.

[Celegwen]

She'd heard him call out, but that wasn't enough to keep her there. She'd be a fool if it had been.

Raina raced across the docks, pushing off at the end and connecting with the water in a perfect and silent dive, legs disappearing into a tail as soon as she was submerged in the water.

The mermaid started swimming away, though she suddenly stopped, realizing that the last thing she needed was him following her to the cove. He hadn't been there before anyway, so the others would know that she led him straight to their home.

Fuck, she thought, turning back around and peeking up at the docks.

Raina decided to wait there until she was sure he wasn't coming after her. It was dark enough that no one would be able to see her unless they were really looking, so she wasn't worried about any wandering eyes.  She stayed mostly still in the water, tail waving slightly and arms holding onto the dock as she watched to see if he would chase her.

[Lowen Thorn]

May as well dive right in.

That was his only thought as he sprinted for the docks. Through his pants and his legs slapping the cobble-stone alleys, he momentarily forgot how exactly the transformation from human to merman, and vice versa, worked. Thus, as he ran he stripped off his shirt about half-way through to his targeted destination, and managed to kick off one of his boots as well before a not-so-graceful dive into the sea.

His tail took form, as well as the rest of his improved features, as soon as he submerged under the ocean surface. "Where are you?" he asked rather quickly, eyes focused. "Why'd you come back? I never thought I'd see you again."

He grinned playfully, still searching for her. Perhaps he jumped in the wrong spot.

"Shouldn't it be easier for me to find you?" he almost huffed impatiently. "Can't I use mer-magic or something like that? Hellooooo?"

[Celegwen]

Raina watched his less than graceful transformation, as he stripped and made a shaky dive. She smirked slightly, submerging herself and watching him begin to look for her. I knew he'd follow, she thought.

"Desperation's a bad color on you, Silas," she said to the man, passing underneath him while the faint blue glow illuminated her body. "I told you not to come back to the sea or I'd have to kill you."

Not wanting to hold his gaze, the mermaid swam around him, forcing him to turn with her if he wanted to keep her in his sights. It was more of a power play than anything else, but Raina wanted to remind him that they were in her world and he was trespassing.

She stopped, eyes holding a strange combination of conflicting emotions. "Is that what you want?" She asked. "For me to kill you?"

[Lowen Thorn]

Silas mustered a small smile and spun around as she stopped to meet her face to face, almost a if to block her path. "We both know you're not going to kill me, Raina," he said, eyes locked into hers. "If that was your intention, you would have done it a long time ago."

Abruptly, he leaned back and placed his hands behind his head, almost as if he were lounging back on a bed of some sort. His eyes were no longer on her, but instead up where the sea met the surface.

Why'd you come back? Was it to listen to me sing again? Do you really think I'm that good? Hey, I'm in the sea again but you haven't killed me! What gives?

All questions he thought about asking, but he settled for none of them.

"I missed you too."

[Celegwen]

"You think I-" Raina scoffed, folding her arms over her chest and looking at him. "Oh, shut up. That's not-"

The mermaid could've easily come up with some kind of lie that would fool anyone, but Silas having spotted her last one about the inability to replicate mermaid magic had her doubting whether she could actually slip a different one past him.

"Fine," she said, pursing her lips briefly. "I had a theory about you, but it doesn't matter now. You can't stay like this or my sisters will catch on and you will die. Be it by my hand or one of theirs." Raina shook her head, looking over her shoulder. "This is the last time I'm coming to you, and I hope that you value your life enough not to come after me."

[Lowen Thorn]

Silas decided to be brave.

Braver than brave, he thought. Perhaps just plain stupid.

With a furrowed brow and an amused smirk, he straightened up and met her eyes once more. "Pretty adorable how flustered you are right now," he teased as he swam closer to her. "I think I would rather risk death if it meant I would get to see you again, especially when you act like this."

Delicately, he placed his hands on the woman's forearms, a slight involuntary wince sneaking in and out of his face as he was sure she was about to smack him. "I'm curious," he said on his bravest day. "What's this theory?"