Call of the Mermaid [M]

[Celegwen]

Raina felt her muscles tense at his touch. This was so far out of her comfort zone that she couldn't even see it in the distance. If they had been on land, his expectation would've been correct, but being under the water made a slap difficult to execute, at least one that she would've been proud of.

Instead, Raina backed away, looking at where he was holding her. She slid smoothly out of his grasp.

The mermaid took a breath, looking into his eyes and touching the necklace she was wearing. "Silas," she started quietly, eyes giving an unclear warning, "please, don't make me do it."

[Lowen Thorn]

Silas ignored her plea, but stayed in his position. "All I'm saying is that you didn't just come back here because you have a theory about me," he replied with a hint of impatience. "If it didn't matter, you wouldn't have let me see you back at the tavern."

He sighed, or at least what amounted to a sigh while submerged under water, and shook his head. "You don't know what you really did to me," he said quietly, slowly drifting toward her again, though it would almost appear he was doing so absently. "To give me such a gift, let me experience it for a day, and then tell me I can never come back here. To the sea of all places! You do know what my profession is, right? And there's a lot of sea out there! Am I suppose to just give it all up because you want me to?"

There was another sigh, and he was in front of her again. "Do what you gotta do then."

[Celegwen]

Listening to him speak was almost like listening to the last words of someone about to die. The last speech about why he did what he did. She never saw it through his eyes, never wanted to. When she had given him a tail, her only thought was getting him out of her life, but it didn't occur to her that she had actually introduced him to a new world.

Raina shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said, her hand gently against his chest with her eyes searching him. "If you can't give up the sea, then fine, but I won't be responsible for you getting killed coming after me." The mermaid placed her hand over the aquamarine and whispered, "r'dyuik," cancelling out whatever magic she had sealed into the necklace he was wearing.

[Lowen Thorn]

"Wait!"

At least, that's what he tried to say, but something was different. He could hear his own voice in his head, but he could tell it wasn't transferring over to Raina. Not only that, but he could feel his eyes starting to burn with salt.

Oh fuck.

Legs. He looked down to see his own legs, floating there a little less graceful than his tail would have. He shot his head back up to give Raina a hard glare. "Why did you do that?!" is what he wanted to say, and most likely his face already said for him. He peaked up at the surface, and then back to her, and then back to the surface again, and then back to her once more. His head was starting to thud - his body was telling him he needed oxygen.

He would need to breathe soon.

Wait.

He would need to breath soon.

Two can play this game.

Fighting through the obstacles that he was now presented with, he folded his over one another and continued to stare at Raina, this time almost smugly with a look that said it all.

He had no intention to surface.

[Celegwen]

Why are humans so stubborn? Raina thought to herself, watching Silas not make any move to swim ashore. She stayed where she was, waiting for the human survival instinct to kick in, but it seemed he was fighting his own instincts. But for what reason? Just to prove she wouldn't let him die?

The mermaid shook her head slowly. "Just swim up, you foolish bastard," she said to him. "Is proving a point really worth your life?"

His stillness despite the discomfort told her that he wasn't going to budge. Raina had seen people drown thousands of times, and it wasn't pretty. At that point, it was likely Silas' body had actually given up, though his mind might not have even consciously realized it. Even if he decided to swim up, the likelihood of him actually being able to were very slim.

Damn it, Raina thought with a grimace, swimming towards him. At that point, there wasn't time to enchant his necklace, or even help him to shore, so she really only had one other option if he was going to live.

She took hold of her own necklace, ripping it off with a wince and tying it in a fast knot behind his neck, deep blue eyes giving him a furious glare. "You're a fucking idiot."

[Lowen Thorn]

Stubborn? Yes. Fucking idiot? Also yes, but Silas couldn't help but muster a triumphant smile as the woman came to his rescue. He would've been a little more done for than he would have liked to admit if she had waited five more seconds, and he had already lost strength in the short span that he decided to be a jackass.

Then the necklace was bound around his neck, and he breathed new life. He could feel his tail underneath his torso again, but more than that, he felt his strength return. His eyes became more focused under the salty sea and no longer burned. He could breathe again.

Despite the cocky attitude, the sailor was sure as shit happy the woman decided to act against her better judgement.

"I knew you cared," he said as a soft, playful smile crept into his lips.

[Celegwen]

"Just because I don't want to watch you die doesn't mean-" She looked at the man, releasing a breath, knowing that he wasn't going to buy it either way.

Now that he was able to breathe, Raina found herself with the sudden urge to stop his heart. Humans.

The mermaid turned her back to Silas, sliding forward slightly and sweeping her hair away from her face. Raina turned back around, folding her arms and glaring at him. "Why?" She asked. "Why won't you just go? You'd be perfectly fucking fine if you never saw me again, so why would you do a stupid thing like that?"

[Lowen Thorn]

Silas smiled before circling around her, swimming gently on his side. "Why does any man do something stupid?" he asked after making a full lap around her. "For a woman, of course. To impress her, or show her that he's capable or that he cares. C'mon, do you think I'd let myself drown for just anybody?"

He stopped and a slight exhale escaped his lips. "Why?" he repeated her question. "Why did you come back? Why haven't you killed me yet? You would be perfectly fine, if not better off, without me.. so why do you keep saving my life?"

[Celegwen]

"I told you," she said, momentarily clenching her jaw. "Apparently, I don't want to see you die. At the very least, I don't want to be responsible for you dying. That was the original plan, but..." Raina simply shook her head. "Plans change."

The girl ignored the circle he made around her, as she refused to let him think a small move of power like that had any effect on her.

Instead, she reached towards the disenchanted necklace, breathing new magic into the charm. "There," she said, extending her hand. "Your necklace is magical again. I want the other one back now."

[Lowen Thorn]

"No."

He shot her a quick grin and a small wave before darting up to the surface. "I think I'll keep it for now," was his reply before shooting out of the water and up into the air. He was just close enough to the docks to pull it off, thank gods, transforming back into human form while suspended in air. He managed to not only land on the dock, but by some sort of miraculous luck he also landed on both of his feet before quickly flinging himself forward in a mad dash back into the heart of Cerenis.

There was no time to look back to see if she was in pursuit, but he was sure of himself that she would be. At least he hoped that she would be, so he continued to run - one boot, no shirt, and all.

[Celegwen]

He's an overgrown ten-year-old, the mermaid thought, rolling her eyes.

She secured the other charm around her neck, then swam to the surface, lifting herself slightly out of the water with a smooth transformation. Raina landed gracefully on the water's surface, walking over the small waves past the docks to the shore. She waved her arm overhead without even glancing up and a strong wind began to pick up, making the rooftops rattle and a few benches overturn.

Watching his retreating back, Raina smirked. The only effect the hurricane-like winds had on her was making her fiery hair whip around, but she would certainly be the only one to completely resist her own magic.

"I just want the necklace back!" The mermaid called after him, not stopping, but not giving him the satisfaction of a real chase.

[Lowen Thorn]

Where did all of this wind come from?

He finally gave in and peered over his shoulder while he ran, barely spotting her off in the distance. Well, she didn't seem to be in any hurry. So much for that.

His neck whipped back around to face forward just in time to come face to face with the outside wall of a building. He was able to awkwardly lean back just enough to avoid cracking his skull open, but his chest and arms slapped the brick before he toppled backward and onto his ass.

Shit!

The roof of the building he was now under was rattling out of control, and the wind was blowing his hair in every which direction to the point to where it was becoming increasingly hard to see anything. Damn this stupid weather! What an inconvenient time for a storm to decide to show up and ruin all of his fun.

It wasn't until after he got to his feet and dusted himself off when realization sunk into his face. "Of course..." he muttered to himself.

It was her the entire time. Why hadn't he thought about that before? How could he have been so fucking stupid to not realize what she had done back on the island? Like he could have actually been so lucky for rain, the primary reason for his survival, to come through half-way through his trial. He sighed, shook his head, and turned to walk in her direction.

"If you detest me so much," he called out as he approached, "then why have you saved me not twice, but three times now?"

[Celegwen]

As he started to approach her, Raina waved her hand, as though sweeping the weather behind her. All became calm once more, and eyes appeared and vanished in windows to see what had happened without any questions answered.

It would've been easier than a shrug to act like she didn't know what he was talking about, but the look of certainty the man wore was more than enough for her to know he wasn't going to budge.

"I don't detest you," she said. "And I didn't save you on the island, Silas. Your song did." Raina shrugged slightly, glancing briefly at the ground. "I've killed thousands of people, singing for their deaths, but your music... It was different, and I hadn't heard music used for anything but darkness before then."

She folded her arms, right hand slowly rubbing her upper left arm, almost like she was rubbing away a phantom chill.

[Lowen Thorn]

"...My song?"

He said that mostly to himself as he continued to walk into her direction, his arms folded over one another and eyes soft in thought. That's right, he thought. He did sing a song back on the island.. when he was sure that he wouldn't wake up the next day. He had almost forgotten.

As he reached her, his eyes lit up and his arms separated and widened as if he were about to hug her. "Raina!" he said excitedly. "That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me! I didn't know you were listening!"

His grin was broad and cheesy, and he removed the necklace from around his neck and cupped it in the palm of his hand. "Okay," he said with a heavy breath. "If it's what you want, I'll stay away from you and the rest of your territory, but only because you're kind of my favorite person."

He gave her a sly wink and tossed the necklace delicately into the air. "Catch."

[Celegwen]

The mermaid caught the necklace, turning the jewel over in her hands with a slight smile. "I'm not a person," she said, looking up at him and securing the charm around her neck. She removed the other necklace, tossing it to him.

Raina stepped forward, touching the necklace again. She looked at the messy state he was in and smirked, shaking her head.

"Do us both a favor," she said softly, taking his hand. The mermaid closed her eyes, gently kissing the back of his hand. She released his hand and looked up at him. "Forget me." With that, Raina turned away from him to start back towards the ocean.

[Lowen Thorn]

Favorite mermaid, then, he thought as he absently caught the necklace.

He was surprised. He wasn't expecting her kiss on his hand, and though the surprise was a pleasant one, it caught him off guard and did something to him that didn't happen often: left him speechless. "I.." he stumbled on a breathy word as the woman walked away from him.

His face was hot. Maybe he was a little embarrassed, or a little flustered, or a little shy, or a little mad. He couldn't really tell, and he didn't really care. "Sorry. No can do," he finally said before taking a brisk step after her. "You can ask me to leave you alone but you can't ask me to forget you. That's insane."

[Celegwen]

Raina stopped, listening without turning around. She wasn't sure what else she could say. Of course he would forget her: it would take some time, sure, but the human memory won't hold onto someone forever.

Telling him to fuck off definitely would've been smart, and keeping both necklaces would've given her pretty solid insurance, but something fought her doing either of those things. It was easier to tell him to just wipe her from his mind, rather than tell him he couldn't see her again.

When he finished, Raina turned just barely, looking mostly over her left shoulder at him. "What do you want from me?" She asked softly.

[Lowen Thorn]

She's going to fucking kill me.

That's all Silas could think about as he looked at the woman. Every movement she made caused his heart to race further. His palms were almost sweaty and his mouth was starting to dry. Why? Why was he so nervous all of a sudden? He never got nervous! Yet, now his heart pounded and thundered through his chest to the point to where he felt like he couldn't breathe. It was almost worse than drowning!

'She's going to fucking kill me,' he thought again as he absently stepped closer to her. He didn't even quite process what the woman had just asked him, though it was pretty obvious by her stance.

"I just want to try one thing before you go," he managed to say, shakily stepping in front of her.

'She's going to fucking kill me.'

'I don't care if she does.'

Without warning, Silas leaned forward and pressed his lips onto hers, wrapping an arm around her waist and placing his fingertips gently on the lower section of her back.

[Celegwen]

Raina felt her heart racing against her chest, and the wave of emotions was greater than any flood she had ever caused. Fuck it, she thought to herself. Her arm wrapped around his neck, while her hand was just at the nape of his neck. She took a breath, pressing slightly closer into his body.

There had been several times that she had to kiss - or almost kiss - a man to get him into the water, but this was the first time that there was some kind of effect on her. It was a warmth that she didn't want to let go of.

She pulled away from him, her fingers touching her bottom lip with a look of confusion and slightly regretful hesitance evident on her face. Her eyes closed, and she quickly wiped her hand on her cheek, hopefully hiding a stray tear.

Raina looked at the man standing in front of her, shaking her head slowly. "I have to go," she barely breathed, moving to hurry past him.

[Lowen Thorn]

Wow.

That was fucking incredible. Silas stood there delightfully dazed after she pulled away from him. He really didn't know what came over him, what possessed him to do that, but he was so glad that he did.

His hand had subconsciously traced her cheek, moving hair out of her eyes and tucking it behind her ear just in time to see her wipe away the tear. "Raina," he started to say, but then she had moved away from him. Go? Where was she going? His heart immediately dropped and his mind raced with the thought that he had just done something wrong. "W-Wait, don't go!"

He stepped after her, reaching out to grab her by the hand. "Will I see you again, at least?"