#also thinking about post-feeding sillies where they realize neither of them know how to patch up the wounds

[gearbox-doll]

... Thinking about vampire!Killua

Don't ask why

[falseroar]

The Light Keeper (Part 1)

((Story: William and his friend are finally ready to make the leap from sea to shore. It’s all William has ever wanted, but their last night together in the water may ruin all those carefully laid plans.

Warnings: mentions of blood and a shark attack.

A while back I kind of promised a fluffier fic to balance out the story I posted yesterday, and despite what it sounds like, this is it. This is another WKM Mer AU, a one shot completely unrelated to yesterday’s story, although there are some common elements like the “every step on land feels like knives” thing that I borrowed from Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid. It’s a one shot that, um, managed to double in size when I rewrote it, so I’ll actually be posting it in two parts today to make it a little easier to read. Oh! And if anyone is curious, William and the others like him have mer forms based off of nurse sharks, which are apparently pretty chill, tend to stay in one place, and hang out in groups during the day while hunting alone at night, with only larger sharks to worry about.

Part 2 is up now.))

The mer sighed, his thick gray tail stirring the water of the underwater cave as he lay with his head resting on his arms, eyes scanning the rocky surface of the bay’s bottom outside and down below. There was movement in the water, as always, the flash of silver as schools of fish dipped in and out of the current, the waving streams of kelp that together with the brightly colored coral served to hide those not willing to venture out into the open water.

And past all of that, the sudden drop that marked the end of the bay and the start of the vast and dark depths of the ocean.

Here, alone, he felt the sting of just how quiet these waters were now. Sure, there were boats on most days, trailing their nets in the water or dropping those silly-looking traps down, but even today there were no shadows cutting through the waves overhead. 

He’d already lost count of how many days it had been since the others moved on, in search of less dangerous waters, not helped by how many times he had drifted in and out of sleep those first few days. There were stories that there had been more mer in these waters, back before the humans settled the bay, but even he could remember when his people weren’t the only ones in these waters, when others from up and down the coast would stop by in their migrations.

Now it was just him and the one he spent every day watching and waiting for, quietly afraid that today would be the day they failed to return.

They were just so…small.

It was the first thought that crossed William’s mind that night, when he spotted the unfamiliar shape moving among the forest of kelp. And fast, he realized when the distant figure froze at his shout before taking off toward the rocks.

He tried to keep up, but by the time he reached the other side of the bay, all he could see was a pair of eyes staring back at him from deep within a crevasse that he would have thought too tight for even one of the young mer to fit in.

“Shh, I’m not going to hurt you,” he had said, but they just pulled further back into the darkness and refused to answer until he gave up and swam away.

Except then he was on the lookout, always keeping an eye on that side of the bay when he ventured out to hunt. He was more than willing to keep his distance, if it meant getting a better idea of the stranger in the bay with a tail and coloration unlike any he had seen before.

“A migrater, probably from up the river that feeds into the bay,” one of the elders of the group had said, when William brought it up. “They move from saltwater to fresh and back again, but I’ve never heard of one on their own before.”

The other elders had looked uneasy at that, sharing a few possible theories, but William had stopped listening at that point. He didn’t waste any time going back to the crevasse, and to the surprise of both the other mer and himself he managed to get halfway in with only a bit of a struggle.

“Have you ever touched grass?!”

If William had been the sort of mer given to thinking things through, he might have realized how terrifying it might be to have a strange and much larger mer forcing his way into your shelter, but then he also might never have heard the stranger speak.

“���What?”

“Grass? The green stuff that just pops out of the ground, like kelp, but it’s…Well, I haven’t seen any up close, but it looks different, does it feel different? Upriver, did you ever see any humans? Did they ever see you?”

Confused, the stranger had slowly answered his questions. Yes, they had touched grass, no, it didn’t feel like kelp. Yes, they had seen humans, but they had always been careful to never be seen.

Of course, that just opened the floodgates for even more questions, some of which the stranger knew the answer to, others they just shrugged at. Until, finally, just as William was about to leave and hunt for the night, it occurred to him to ask one more question.

“What’s your name?”

“…Y/N.”

“I’m William,” he said, reaching an arm into the crevasse to envelop their hand in his own. “I’ll be back tomorrow night, okay?”

Before they could answer, he was swimming away.

That’s how it went for a few months, with the strange new mer gradually opening up and even venturing out to swim around the bay with William, although they never strayed out for long at night. They listened as he told them what little he had been able to learn about the humans of the bay by watching them, listening in to their conversations on the boats or even on the docks of the town when he ventured close enough.

“One day I’m going to go up there,” William had said one night, as they floated on the surface.

Y/N wrenched their eyes away from the rotating light of the tall tower that stood apart from the town, on a patch of rock that jutted out between the edge of the bay and the sea beyond, and followed his gaze to the town itself. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but how?”

“There’s a deep, deep water mer, in the rift where the sun does not reach,” William said, pointing in what he thought might be roughly the right direction. “It’s said that if you’re brave enough and determined enough, you can make a deal with that mer for anything. Including a spell to walk on land. Of course, you have to have something worth offering in exchange, or else I would already be gone.”

“I’m glad you’re still here,” Y/N had said, surprising William. Before he could answer, they scrunched up their nose and asked, “But deep water mer, aren’t they…”

“Absolutely massive, I’ve heard,” William said. He grinned at the smaller mer and added, “They’d probably snap you up as a snack.”

They had shoved him away (or tried to), protesting that they weren’t that much smaller than him, and the conversation had devolved into a bunch of jokes until they gave up and swam away. At the time, neither of them could have imagined that it would be Y/N who ventured down into the rift.

Now, William rose up, visible joy and relief spreading across his face as he spotted the blue of his friend’s tail, the dark shape sticking close to the sand and rocks as they swam. As soon as they reached his cave, William swept them up into a hug.

“William!” They struggled, but not much and certainly not enough to free their self from his hold. “Do you really have to do this every time?”

“I missed you,” he said, only relaxing his grip a little but apparently still enough for them to slip away. “How did it go? Tell me everything!”

They tried not to, but he saw their smile at the now familiar words. Before answering, they swam into the cave and came to rest on the mossy floor with a tired sigh.

“First things first, how is your fin doing?”

“Good enough I don’t think I should have to just stay in this cave all the time,” William answered, but he turned so they could get a good look.

It had been a regular day, dozing on and off with the others, before there was a scream and a flash of blood in the water. Their shelter had always felt safe, but with the snapping and lunging jaws at the entrance it suddenly seemed like a deathtrap.

William didn’t remember deciding, or even thinking before he surged forward and tackled the predator, rough skin tearing at his own as he locked arms around the thrashing body and pulled it away so the others had a chance to flee. He did remember the pain though, when both bodies slammed into the rock and suddenly those terrible, hungry jaws turned on him and tore into his pectoral fin.

Y/N carefully removed the makeshift kelp bandage and studied the wound before admitting, “It does look a lot better.”

“Thanks to you,” William said, and they just shrugged.

Like they hadn’t been the first mer he saw after waking up, covered in bruises and scratches after having somehow fended off that great white shark who had found its way into their waters. Like they hadn’t silently decided to stay with him, allowing the others to move on down the coast. Like they hadn’t tended to his wounds, day after day. Like they hadn’t hunted for him to make sure he had enough to eat. Like they hadn’t returned one day after venturing down into the darkness of the rift, trembling and with their hair sheared off, but bearing two identical shell necklaces on two separate strings.

“I think everything might finally be ready,” they said as they closed their eyes. “According to the deep water mer, that pair of ‘scissors’ was the last of the payment. That, and explaining that the humans call them ‘scissors’ and not ‘two sharp blades working as one.’ Still don’t know what all of that stuff is for, but it’s the last time I’ll have to go down there.”

William ran a hand over the back of their head, feeling the rough edges where their hair had only just started to grow back, and felt them shudder but lean into the touch.

“I should have helped,” he said, not for the first time.

“Going up there is…Walking hurts, William, even when you’re not wounded. That’s why the deep water mer said—”

“That I had to wait until my fin was healed,” William finished. “Y/N, please, I’m ready!”

“…Tomorrow,” they said, closing their eyes once again. “Just let me rest, and tomorrow we can…”

“Leave.” William felt a thrill at those words, but something in his voice made the other mer raise their head and look at him.

“You could still try to find the others,” they said. “It might take time, but we know what direction they went. Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

“Am I sure?! Do you know how long I’ve dreamed of this? Even if—even if I thought I could ever swim like I used to, I don’t want to just find another place to settle down and spend my whole life in. I want to see the world, Y/N, and the deep sea…” William’s fingers brushed his fin and he winced. “Well, it’s never where I really wanted to go, is it?”

They relaxed at that, and William realized they had been worried for him, yet again. After all, they hadn’t asked before venturing down into the rift, most likely because they knew he would never have let them go on their own. He also realized that he wasn’t the only one whose life was about to change.

“What about you?”

“…It’s not like I have anything worth staying down here for,” they said. “Besides, someone has to make sure you stay out of trouble.”

“But isn’t there something you want to go on land for?” William pressed. “You’ve been up there several times now, is there anything worth leaving the water for?”

They took so long to answer that William began to fear there wasn’t going to be an answer, until they said, “It’s…beautiful, in a different way than the water. It hurts to walk, but feeling the grass under your feet makes it feel worth every step. And the music…”

They stopped, smiling at some memory, and William felt the tension easing in his chest. Enough to tease, “Now, I remember there was something about a way to get rid of that pain. What was it again…?”

Y/N turned their head away, but William just swam to their other side and pressed his face close to theirs until they answered. “True love’s kiss can make the spell permanent and banish the pain of leaving your world behind. Apparently.”

He cracked up into a laugh at their expression and the less than enthusiastic way they said it, same way the deep water mer did when they learned that particular part of the spell.

“So, have you found any dashing princes up above?” William asked. “Any fetching ladies catch your eye?”

“William.”

“At least tell me you’ve learned the light keeper’s name.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Then what have you even been doing up there?!”

“Getting what we need to survive,” they said, using their tail to push him away. “You keep this up, and I won’t tell you where I hid the clothes.”

“Joke’s on you, you already told me,” William said. They had explained how they had found a place near the shore to hide money and clothing, both of which they had been surprised to find was so easy to obtain in exchange for a few dozen pearls, although neither could figure out why the human in question would want so many.

“Like you were actually listening.”

“I wonder how it works if your true love isn’t a person,” William mused.

Y/N tried not to, but eventually gave in and asked, “Want to explain what that’s supposed to mean?”

“What if my true love is adventure, is exploration, is a little bit of madness every now and then? How am I supposed to kiss that?”

“Carefully.”

William chuckled, and as silence started to descend upon the cave an idea struck him.

“…Let’s swim up to the surface.”

“What? Please, William, I’m so tired—”

“But this could be our last night like this!” William shook their arm as gently as he could. “We can look at the stars together.”

“There aren’t any stars, there’s a storm coming in.”

“Even better!” William tried shaking them again, but they just groaned. “Come on, you love riding the waves. And maybe we’ll see someone?”

His encouraging tone did little to stir the other mer, and after a minute or so William decided it was time for desperate measures.

“Wha—William!”

Y/N’s eyes shot open as they felt the shell necklace go up and over their head, but the other mer just gave them a smile before leaving the cave. As he expected, it didn’t take long for them to catch up and start swimming circles around him as he ascended, eyes on the necklace clenched tight in his hand.

“Be careful with that!”

William answered by putting the necklace on to go with his own before catching the small mer in his arms. “Come on, we should see how your ‘true love’ is doing! Do you think he’ll be wearing the yellow again?”

“He’s not my true love, I don’t even know anything about him,” they protested.

“I know he looks like a clownfish in that getup,” William said.

“He does not! …He looks like a yellow tang.”

William laughed and pulled his friend up with him, until they both surfaced in the midst of huge waves that drew the water up before sending it crashing down, the roar of the swell almost as loud as the wind and thunder overhead. A bolt of lightning split the sky and William felt Y/N’s grip on his hand tighten.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” he said, or tried to, but he wasn’t sure if they could hear his voice over the noise. Still, they followed his lead and together they swam along, occasionally allowing themselves to be picked up and carried along with a wave that upon impact would leave both of them spinning along in its currents before another tried to drag them in. Above and below the water, they could hear each other’s laughter, enjoying the ride and the sudden shifts from air to water and back again

In the middle of the bay though, away from the rocks, the waves weren’t quite as rough and the two mer were able to tread water and watch the light spin around the top of the strange tower, illuminating the bay and the sea out beyond.

“Do you think there any ships out there?” William asked, peering out toward the horizon or the little bit of it that could be seen through the roiling clouds and water.

“I hope not,” Y/N said, before suddenly tightening their grip on his hand again. “William, that wave!”

He saw it too, already larger than any of the others before it and gathering strength as it passed through the narrow opening of the bay, drawing in the water until it seemed impossible that they could not see the corals down below. And drawing in the mer too, as they realized when they tried to dive and swim to shelter, only to find themselves rising higher and higher.

Just as the wave crested and began to descend upon the bay, William felt Y/N’s hand slip out of his own.

Once it was over, William found himself alone in the open water, dazed but uninjured. And with no sign of the smaller mer, no matter how far he swam or how much he called above or below water. He resurfaced what felt like hours later but may have only been minutes or even seconds after the crash and called again, tears joining the saltwater in his eyes so that he could barely make out the rocks in the distance. Much less make sense of the sight of the yellow-clad figure moving there, not until it was too late to do anything about it.

((End of Part 1. Link to Part 2.

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