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[songsinseaminor]

punkishpessimism‌

Arthur nodded, grabbing himself a fat slab of fried fish and pouring tartare sauce on top. “Certainly. It’s the same for me, but vice versa. Being a forest sprite, I don’t tend to go into the ocean much. I know that there is fish and seaweed that you can eat from the ocean, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge.”

Chewing on the fish, he asked, “What sorts of land foods do you know about?” He was curious, Roderich was Arthur’s first experience with a siren but it seemed that Arthur wasn’t Roderich’s first experience with landfolk.

Roderich tried to remember if he’d known that Arthur was a forest sprite. It certainly explained the thing with the vines from when they first met. (He definitely wasn’t still bitter about being so easily defeated.) 

For a moment, he paused to think, going over his memories. “Hm... Well, I have tried some fruits. Strawberries, I think they were. Those are very good. I had a dessert called a cake as well. That also had strawberries. I believe that to be my favorite of land foods that I’ve tried so far.” He missed the taste of it just thinking about it. “There have been a few other things that were all rather delicious, but I can’t quite remember what they were called. Most everything about life on land is still very new to me,” he admitted.

[songsinseaminor]

themightypebbles‌

Though she was tempted to stay in the water, she didn’t want to make Roderich upset. (She just seemed to enjoy picking on him a little). Her motive was decisively not in regards to whether she would freeze to death or not, however. She was still too stubborn to admit she was cold. No she got out of the water because he’d said so, that was all. Or that’s what she would tell anyone who asked.

She returned to shore and pulled on her heavy coats. With the water clinging to her clothes, the coats only felt heavier. Still, she stood at the shore to continue talking to Roderich – a mess of her own making.

Sticking out her tongue at Roderich, she added, “I don’t even know what ‘dwelling’ means. You’re just being rude. Pointing out our differences instead of ignoring them and trying to find common ground like a decent person. We could be similar, you just don’t wanna admit it.”

Even Roderich admitted to himself at this point that yes, he was a tad concerned for the girl, and it was obvious in his expression. “I am not being rude, you are being ridiculous,” he huffed, watching her shiver in the chilly air.

“As of right now, I can only see our differences, for starters, the fact that I am naturally able to withstand the temperature of the water on days such as this, and you are not. You ought to go get dry and do... whatever it is you land dwellers do after getting into the ocean. You look as if you will fall over at any moment.”

“ i swear to god i’m going to scream at the top of my lungs. “

Oh boy.

Feeling a slight panic, Roderich shot a glare at the girl. “Don’t you dare. I will drown you.” He wouldn’t. Even with his hatred for land dwellers, he couldn’t ever bring himself to harm a child. But good lord, he did not know how to deal with children. 

[songsinseaminor]

punkishpessimism‌

With a couple more chips in his hand, Arthur chewed thoughtfully on his own food as he observed the siren experience the glory of deep-fried slices of carbohydrate. 

“Yes, it’s potato,” He nodded, pleased that the siren had enjoyed the food. “Have you heard of them before? They’re round vegetables that grow in the ground, terribly delicious. Heaps of ways to cook them; boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew. Chips are by far the best way to consume potatoes though.” 

There was not even a hint of recognition on the siren’s face, none whatsoever. By this point he understood the concept of vegetables, but when it came to their specifics, he was lost. He shook his head.

“There are no potatoes in the ocean,” he stated matter of factually. “So it would be odd if I’d heard of them before.” Roderich took another one of the chips, munching on it thoughtfully. “The ocean certainly has many types of food, but it seems to me that there are just as many types on land that I have never heard of.”

[songsinseaminor]

themightypebbles‌

She didn’t seem to notice him flinch, assuming that he was simply swimming to keep up with the small current near the shore. She spoke between chattering teeth, “sea dwellers are people who dwell in the sea, right? I’m dwelling~ we’re not so different this way, right? I’m not ‘people like you’ I’m just people.” 

Although she tried to sound convincing, she was getting pretty cold. Luckily, she had left her heavy coats to warm up in afterward, but they certainly wouldn’t help her dry off afterward.

The siren was tempted to roll his eyes, but settled for a slight glower instead. “You are not dwelling, you are freezing. And we’re still quite different. Pretending we are the same simply by getting into the water does not magically get rid of our inherent differences.”

“...Now get out of the water. I’m not going to rescue you should you grow so cold you can no longer swim.”

“ i swear to god i’m going to scream at the top of my lungs. “

Oh boy.

Feeling a slight panic, Roderich shot a glare at the girl. “Don’t you dare. I will drown you.” He wouldn’t. Even with his hatred for land dwellers, he couldn’t ever bring himself to harm a child. But good lord, he did not know how to deal with children. 

[songsinseaminor]

themightypebbles‌

As she had started to get used to Roderich’s manner of speaking, she only smiled when he threatened to cast her away or drown her (again).

“oh… so by ‘someone like me’ you mean someone on the land?” She took off her heavy coats and swam out, only a little ways from the shore– not getting too close to him, but certainly closer. “Now I’m a sea dweller!” 

Pebbles laughed lightly while dog-paddling. She had no formal swimming lessons, but she had learned how not to drown in the small amount of algae-free water they had within the Orvun caves. However, she failed to realize how cold the ocean’s waves would be (despite the sun beating down) and she shivered.

“Wait, what are you--”

Before Roderich could finish his protests, the girl was in the water, and he jerked back a bit. It’d been a while since anyone had been in the water near him aside from Franziska. 

“...Just getting into the water doesn’t automatically make you a sea dweller,” he huffed, once his instinctive caution had calmed. “Get out of the water, or you’ll get sick.” He wasn’t sure of it, but he did think that land dwellers weren’t used to being in the water in the same way merfolk were. “Treowa might have a warmer climate, but surely you must realize that even here it gets colder this time of year.”

“ i swear to god i’m going to scream at the top of my lungs. “

Oh boy.

Feeling a slight panic, Roderich shot a glare at the girl. “Don’t you dare. I will drown you.” He wouldn’t. Even with his hatred for land dwellers, he couldn’t ever bring himself to harm a child. But good lord, he did not know how to deal with children. 

[songsinseaminor]

punkishpessimism‌

“Yes and no,” Arthur replied, trying to decide what exactly to start with. “It doesn’t really improve the flavour but it makes the texture wonderfully crispy.” He reached out and took a couple of the longer chips, opting to not dip them in the sauce before eating. “It’s up to you, you can eat them with sauce or without. I usually would eat chips with tomato sauce but I completely forgot to get any.”

With his bare feet dangling off the ledge and into the cool seawater, Arthur felt oddly nostalgic. It was the combination of sea salt and deep fried food, chilly ocean and scorching hot sun; memories of hazy summer days spent on the beach. Leaning back and reaching for more, he suggest to Roderich, “Maybe start with a chip. It’s nice and plain but still delicious.”

Roderich nodded, staying silent for the moment as Arthur explained the food in greater detail. The siren hated his lack of knowledge on these subjects, but it was still fascinating in a way to learn about them. 

“I... suppose I will try one then.” Trying to not seem to eager, Roderich carefully took one of the so called chips in hand, holding it up to get a better look at it, before taking a small, cautious bite. He chewed thoughtfully, then paused a moment to gather his thoughts. “...It is plain. But not in a bad way. I don’t think there’s anything I can compare it to, really.” His diet being mainly fish, any sort of fruit or vegetable was almost always a brand new flavor. “...I think I like it. You said it is made of a potato?”

[songsinseaminor]

punkishpessimism‌

Unwrapping the package, Arthur took care to not rip the paper too much as it would serve as a makeshift plate. The food had cooled slightly during the journey, but steam still burst from the food as it was exposed to the air. A healthy dosing of salt glistened on the golden shell of the chips and it took all of Arthur’s self control to not devour the food immediately. He was much more hungry than he initially thought.

“Yes, I do,” Arthur answered as he pulled out his pocket knife and wiped it clean on his hankie. “It’s normally fairly easy-going. I usually only get repair requests every couple of weeks but for some reason it seems like every person on the island has had an instrument in need of a fix.” Slicing the lemon in half and squeezing the juice out over the fish, he said, “I do hope that the food makes up for my absence.”

With the addition of the tartare sauce container, the glorious fried spread was completed. But before either had a chance to begin the feast, Arthur thought it imperative to actually tell Roderich what everything was. It was much too easy for him to forget that the siren wouldn’t have the same base knowledge as he did. “So…battered isn’t actually a type of fish.  Battered just means that it’s been covered in a thin layer of dough before frying. I’m not actually sure what kind of fish it is but it’ll be something local,” Arthur explained. “Tartare sauce is just this mayonnaise and caper sauce that’s especially tasty on fish and chips are just deep-fried potato.

“I see...” As usual, Roderich didn’t entirely understand everything that was explained to him. There were a lot of new things Arthur was saying, many of which he didn’t recognize at all. But, hating to feel as if he knew less than anyone else, he didn’t ask what mayonnaise or capers were. Or dough, for that matter. Regardless, it all looked and smelled amazing.

“So... you take fish and cover it in this... dough? And this somehow enhances the flavor.” He glanced eagerly at the food, lifting his hand slightly as if to take some. “Ah... and are you supposed to put the sauce on it..? And these “chips,” are they eaten in a similar manner? Or do you eat them plain?” As he spoke, Roderich realized he wasn’t entirely sure he knew what a potato was; yet another thing to add to the ever growing list of land oddities. 

[songsinseaminor]

punkishpessimism‌

Arthur rolled his eyes at the response, far more out of fondness than annoyance. “Well brilliant, because I come bearing takeaways, if you’d care to try some?” He asked, gesturing to the piping hot paper package in his arms. “It’s battered fish and chips with tartare sauce. I even brought a lemon from my garden to squeeze on top.”

Without even waiting for a response, Arthur immediately found himself a rocky ledge to sit upon. He was fairly confident that Roderich would love to try some; the siren’s innate curiosity was Arthur’s favourite part about him. It was something that he himself also had, the remnants of a childhood spent roaming the forest. It was also part of the reason why the two of them were even speaking in the first place. Had Roderich not been a siren, a mythical creature that Arthur had fixated on for years of his childhood, Arthur would’ve tossed him back into the ocean without a second thought during their initial encounter.

“Sorry I haven’t visited earlier, I got bogged down with all sorts of repair jobs as soon as I got home.”

When Arthur sat upon the ledge, Roderich hauled himself up out of the water as well, taking a spot a reasonable distance away, but not so far that they couldn’t interact. As cautious as he was, he still had to try this food the other had brought, after all.

“Ah, that’s right. You said you... fix instruments, correct?” The harp Arthur had fixed when they first met still sat in the back of Roderich’s cave, away from the water. He’d played it often since, though he was very careful to not damage the strings. “I suppose then,” he continued with a huff, “that your tardiness can be forgiven.” 

The siren glanced over at the package of food Arthur had brought. Though it didn’t smell entirely like the fish he was used to eating, he could still tell that it was indeed fish. “Battered...? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a battered fish before. Is it some kind from another island? And I know what a sauce is, but I don’t think I have had a tartare one before. Or chips.”

[songsinseaminor]

punkishpessimism‌:

@songsinseaminor

It’d been a little while since Arthur had seen Roderich. Practically the day after he’d met the siren, Arthur had been bombarded by instrument repair requests; he’d barely even had the time to go on his usual daily walks. His days had turned into an endless cycle of sleeping, eating, and repairing hordes of instruments. As he tuned the final string on an old Pfreitzchner cello, he let out a sigh of relief. Instrument repairs may be a job that Arthur enjoyed, but even fun things became strenuous after a while.

Having spare time felt strange now. He’d been so overloaded in work that he wasn’t even quite sure what to do with himself now that it was all over. With that thought, his stomach growled loudly and he knew what he was going to do.

A few hours later, Arthur was walking along the beach with a steaming hot pack of fish and chips he’d picked up earlier from his local takeaways place and a lemon he’d plucked from his garden. He wasn’t sure if it would be insensitive to eat fish in front of the siren, but seeing as the siren had literally tried to murder him upon their first encounter, he didn’t really care. 

“Roderich? You around?” He called out as he neared the cave.

Typically, upon meeting a land dweller that he didn’t immediately kill, Roderich would attempt to cast their meeting from his mind and, for the most part, wouldn’t think twice about them unless he happened to see them again. But Arthur had left quite the impression, for better or for worse. Since they last met, Roderich’s mind had frequently wandered to the memory of the music and instruments he’d been shown, and he found he longed to see the other again, if only to learn more of the music found on land. Not that the siren would ever admit to that; it was easier to pretend he wasn’t so curious that he’d willingly meet with landfolk to learn more.

So when he heard a familiar voice call out his name, he pushed down his immediate excitement, hesitating only a moment before swimming towards his cave. He peeked out from beneath the surface, squinting at the visitor, only relaxing when he was certain it was Arthur (though he could tell from the sound of his voice to begin with).

“Of course I’m around,” he grumbled, expression only slightly betraying the fact that he was happy to see him. “This is where I live.”

[songsinseaminor]

themightypebbles‌

“While I’m glad that I don’t bother you… what do you mean by ‘someone like me’ …?” She tilted her head. 

Although she had been upset, it should be noted that she no longer was threatening to cry. If anything, she was even more curious about Roderich.

“I-- I don’t mean anything by it,” Roderich huffed. “I’m not explaining everything to you. Just be grateful that I don’t cast you away, or drown you like I said I would. You’re still a bother. All landfolk are a bother. You are just... slightly less of a bother than others.”

“ i swear to god i’m going to scream at the top of my lungs. “

Oh boy.

Feeling a slight panic, Roderich shot a glare at the girl. “Don’t you dare. I will drown you.” He wouldn’t. Even with his hatred for land dwellers, he couldn’t ever bring himself to harm a child. But good lord, he did not know how to deal with children. 

[songsinseaminor]

themightypebbles‌

While she missed the mumbled statement, she still understood the meaning behind what Roderich was saying. He *wants* to be left alone…? 

The girl looked slightly distraught and stopped splashing the water, “Oh… I see… I must be bothering you, then. I can leave you alone, if that’s what you want.” But then I’ll be alone again, too.

Oh no. Now he’d upset her. As prickly as he acted and seemed to be, Roderich easily turned soft. 

“...Well, I--” He let out a tired sigh. “...I’m not so easily bothered by someone like you.” It was half true. While he found children utterly exhausting, at least they mostly were harmless and didn’t wish him any ill will.

“ i swear to god i’m going to scream at the top of my lungs. “

Oh boy.

Feeling a slight panic, Roderich shot a glare at the girl. “Don’t you dare. I will drown you.” He wouldn’t. Even with his hatred for land dwellers, he couldn’t ever bring himself to harm a child. But good lord, he did not know how to deal with children. 

[songsinseaminor]

themightypebbles‌

“Oh, so it’s a secret? I can keep secrets!” She bounced up and down in an excited manner– splashing him lightly “…but wait, how come it’s a secret? What’ve you got to hide?”

Since Pebbles herself was from a secret society of people within the Orvun mountains, and she was the only member to be seen in hundreds of years, it was safe to say she was not good at keeping a secret. She often told people about the map on the stone around her neck and where she’d come from, but finding other secrets of the world made her happy. She would try her best to keep Roderich’s livelihood safe, but it wasn’t likely to stay that way forever. It wasn’t in her nature.

To say Roderich was skeptical of the girl’s ability to keep his existence a secret would be an understatement. Brows furrowed together, he spluttered as he was splashed, backing away slightly with a grumble beneath his breath.

“It is a secret because I wish it to be. I’ve nothing to hide but my own security and privacy. Though clearly, the latter is rarely respected...” The last part of his statement was mumbled, not entirely meant to be heard, though he somehow doubted that she’d leave him be even if she did hear him.

“ i swear to god i’m going to scream at the top of my lungs. “

Oh boy.

Feeling a slight panic, Roderich shot a glare at the girl. “Don’t you dare. I will drown you.” He wouldn’t. Even with his hatred for land dwellers, he couldn’t ever bring himself to harm a child. But good lord, he did not know how to deal with children. 

[songsinseaminor]

themightypebbles‌

“Mine aren’t painted. I’m not fancy enough, I guess… but some people do it! I’ve seen it!” She nodded, as if agreeing with or talking to herself. “Yours are very pretty. They don’t have to be decorated ‘cause they already look so nice.”

She ran her hands through the wet sand, getting her hands increasingly messier as she did so. It was probably for the best that she didn’t have painted nails– she was only a child, after all. 

As she did this, she peered around him, “are you all by yourself out here?” It was a question she had gotten often these past few months, but it was unusual for adults she met to be completely alone.

Roderich didn’t particularly think his hands looked either nice or not nice. He had long fingers, his claw-like nails sharp and deadly. Many lives had been ended by his hands. So it was a bit strange for this child to think anything positive of them.

Her next question was met with a slight frown. “Yes, I am. I prefer it that way. The less who know I am here at all, the better.” 

“ i swear to god i’m going to scream at the top of my lungs. “

Oh boy.

Feeling a slight panic, Roderich shot a glare at the girl. “Don’t you dare. I will drown you.” He wouldn’t. Even with his hatred for land dwellers, he couldn’t ever bring himself to harm a child. But good lord, he did not know how to deal with children. 

[songsinseaminor]

themightypebbles‌

She continued to laugh as he protested, deciding to take a seat where the waves would only brush against her feet.

Pebbles then held out her hand and wiggled her fingers, “I mean, I guess I could see that… but they look pretty. Humans paint their nails as decoration, you know? Yours are decorated like that and then some. I like them.”

“...Is that so?” Roderich paused, wondering if he’d ever seen a human before with decorated nails. He couldn’t remember. He didn’t exactly pay attention to that sort of thing. “I... don’t know if I knew of that before.” He glanced at his own hands with a frown. “Though, mine are not decorated.”

“ i swear to god i’m going to scream at the top of my lungs. “

Oh boy.

Feeling a slight panic, Roderich shot a glare at the girl. “Don’t you dare. I will drown you.” He wouldn’t. Even with his hatred for land dwellers, he couldn’t ever bring himself to harm a child. But good lord, he did not know how to deal with children. 

[songsinseaminor]

themightypebbles‌

She laughed again as the water splashed her, jokingly saying, “oh no you are trying to drown me!”

Pebbles studied his claws for a moment as they shook hands, though she wasn’t afraid of them. She’d gotten pretty used to Abel’s claws at this point. “Those must be useful.” She nodded, gently placing her hand at her side once again. 

“I am not--” he began to protest, before realizing she was joking and trailed off with a grumble.

“...I suppose they can be,” he said in response to her comment. “Mostly for hunting. But for anything else, they do get in the way a bit.”

“ i swear to god i’m going to scream at the top of my lungs. “

Oh boy.

Feeling a slight panic, Roderich shot a glare at the girl. “Don’t you dare. I will drown you.” He wouldn’t. Even with his hatred for land dwellers, he couldn’t ever bring himself to harm a child. But good lord, he did not know how to deal with children. 

[songsinseaminor]

themightypebbles‌

Still laughing she said, “okay, okay. Don’t be all offended. I’m sorry… you just looked really scary for a second when I first saw you, that’s all. Now you seem less scary…” 

She walked towards the shore, holding out her hand to shake, “um… I’m Pebbles!” 

Roderich wasn’t certain how to respond to that, so he didn’t. It didn’t seem like a good thing to seem less frightening, but at the same time...

He shook the thought from his head, glancing at her hand a moment. What was he supposed to do with that again? He hesitated a moment, then very cautiously shook her hand, careful of his claws, though not bothering to try to keep water from splashing her. “...Roderich.”

“ i swear to god i’m going to scream at the top of my lungs. “

Oh boy.

Feeling a slight panic, Roderich shot a glare at the girl. “Don’t you dare. I will drown you.” He wouldn’t. Even with his hatred for land dwellers, he couldn’t ever bring himself to harm a child. But good lord, he did not know how to deal with children. 

[songsinseaminor]

themightypebbles‌

At seeing his panic, Pebbles began to giggle, though she held her hand up to hide it so as not to offend him too much.

“I-I’m sorry, you just… you sounded so funny just then. Like really official. Most people don’t sound that way when they’re scared… just when they’re mad at you for breaking the rules. That was silly!”

“I was most certainly not scared,” Roderich insisted, mildly offended. “And it was not meant to be silly, it was meant to be stern. It’s rather inappropriate threaten to scream at someone who meant you no harm.” 

“ i swear to god i’m going to scream at the top of my lungs. “

Oh boy.

Feeling a slight panic, Roderich shot a glare at the girl. “Don’t you dare. I will drown you.” He wouldn’t. Even with his hatred for land dwellers, he couldn’t ever bring himself to harm a child. But good lord, he did not know how to deal with children.