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bvidzsoo · 1 year ago

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Lullaby of the seas

Author: bvidzsoo

Warning: violence, blood, mentions of eating humans but nothing graphic

Pairing: Choi Jongho x female reader

Word count: 15,2k

Summary: Choi Jongho could be described as a dreamer; he loved folklore and fairytales. His father was a sailor and often brought his son out on the sea with himself, thus they lived off of selling fish and pearls. Jongho was well raised and always kind, a very hard-working son, therefore it came as no surprise that he accepted the job offer of a mysterious pirate when his father's house got destroyed by a storm. Jongho was quiet and didn’t bother others, did his job very well and secretly fantasized about meeting a mermaid one day. There was one tiny problem, the seas they sailed had no mermaids in them, only vicious sirens out for the blood of unassuming pirates and sailors. (Reader is called Sunmi in the following oneshots.)

A/N: Second part of the series is up, lovelies! It's like the Flash possessed me or something by how quickly I finished this part lol; I'll try to post San's part before I go on vacation, but no promises. I hope I did alright with this part, and don't be shy, leave feedback, let me know your thoughts! Enjoy now!

Taglist: @pingyu-in-wonderland @marievllr-abg @lelaleleb @loveforred @horanghae8 @jeonghanscarat7 @orshii @mundayoonimnida @m3tavita @silentcry329

Series Masterlist ↭ Previous Part

I sat on a rock, close by the shore, watching the waves crash against the beach, occasionally washing up pearls and seashells. The light breeze was slowly picking up into a more powerful wind, blowing my wet long, black hair in my face. The sun was setting in an hour, the air not as warm as it was throughout the day, and I took a deep breath, closing my eyes as I exhaled. This was my home. The sea. The ocean. The water. I have never touched land, or walked on it, as I lacked legs, as humans called them, to be able to do so. Instead of legs, I had a long-scaled tail, sturdy and strong. The black scales traveled up my stomach in an uneven pattern and covered my breasts scarcely, creating the illusion that they were molded into my skin. Despite sitting out in the sun quite often, I was rather pale, the only color on my face being my red lips which hid my sharp teeth, perfect for hunting. Despite popular beliefs, folklore was the one responsible for twisting the truth about Sirens, we only ate once a month and it was during the full moon. We recharged through the energies of the moon and through the blood of the sailors we took as our prey. Our beautiful voices lured them in, creating the perfect distraction for us to group around their boats and then attack as they were just waking up from the daze our lullabies put them into. No matter how cautious they were, they usually never made it out alive. The Raging Sea was our territory and despite sailors and pirates knowing about it, they still tried their luck and travelled through it. If the violent storms didn’t kill them, the sirens lurking in the depths surely did.

I opened my eyes and they fell on a large ship in the distance, sailing away peacefully, unassuming of the doom they were about to face tonight. It was a full moon and the swarm was hungry. Last month we didn’t find enough sailors for ourselves and had to share our prey among us, something which left us weaker than usually, thus we were starving, bloodthirsty and slightly desperate. Their blood wasn’t the only food, human flesh was tastier than anything else. Some were sweeter than others, mostly women, but we rarely had the pleasure to kill one, so we had to suffice with the disgusting sailors. Pirates were harder to trick, but if you stayed persistent, they’d willingly come to swim with you which made our job so much easier.

Bubbles travelled to the surface of the salty water before a head popped up to the surface, light green eyes staring into my icy blue ones, “Here you were.”

It was Serena, we were from the same swarm and she was someone I considered a friend. We usually stuck together when hunting in case anything went wrong, someone was there to help. Sirens didn’t make connections between each other like humans did, but I trusted Serena enough to allow her to approach me whenever she wanted. Despite living in a swarm, each one of us went on their merry ways, only reuniting when the full moon was to come up. We were stronger together than alone.

“Do you need something?” I asked her as she swum around the rock before pulling herself halfway out of the water, forearms resting on the solid surface. Serena’s head tilted and she smiled, her sharp teeth showing.

“Are you contemplating again?” She asked amused and I looked away from her, eyes focusing on the ship again. She followed my sight of line and her smile disappeared.

“About what?”

“Life.” Serena said, her expression mirroring mine. Our sharp eyes were narrowed and mouth slightly salivating at the sight of so many humans. We couldn’t help it; we were hungrier than ever before.

“I was actually fantasizing about the taste of those sailors.” I said to Serena, her eyes looking back at the ship.

“They are actually pirates,” She corrected me and then chuckled, “Silas asked us to meet near the cave, I came to let you know.”

I hummed and jumped off the rock, the cool water washing over my warmed-up body. My skin was slowly drying out from staying in the sun for so long and out of water, but it instantly rejuvenated once in the salty water. My body was light in the water and once Serena was underwater too, we swam off, headed to the cave. Our feast was soon about to start.

The sun had set hours ago and the pirates lowered their small boats into the water, getting into them with torches in their hands. The swarm watched from afar as they started paddling towards the small deserted island. There was nothing on it except for a little green here and there and perhaps pearls, it made no sense that they were headed towards it, but nobody seemed to care. To be fair, even I could only think about their warm blood gushing into my mouth once I ripped their throats apart. There were fifteen of us in the swarm, Silas being our leader. He looked at everyone before slowly immersing himself fully underwater, everyone following after him. Our scales had a light fluorescent color in the water at night, making it easier to see each other. And even if they didn’t, our light eyes glowed in the dark, making us scarier looking than we already were. We were creatures of the sea and darkness, designed to be alluring in order to survive. We didn’t have much purpose besides feeding and playing into humans fantasies about peculiar creatures. I’ve heard many talking about mermaids while they sailed the seas, if it wasn’t a full moon we usually wouldn’t harm them. I liked to follow them closely on those days, letting them catch a glimpse of my tail in order to make them think they were hallucinating or seeing a bigger fish maybe. I heard the stories about mermaids, how friendly and sweet they were. But in reality, there were no mermaids. Only Sirens. And we weren’t friendly nor sweet. We were dangerous and lethal.

The swarm traveled carefully, making sure to remain unseen until the right moment. There were three boats in the water and five of us swam underneath each one, listening to pirates’ conversation carried by the water. The sea was quiet tonight, the full moon high up on the sky, luminating their dark paths. It was as if nature was the quiet before the storm, the storm being us. I watched as a pirate leaned over the boat slightly, his face blurry through the water and I smiled. Wasn’t he so eager to get into the water? And he wouldn’t have to wait for so much longer. Silas’ whisper carried around us like a caress, resounding around us softly and clearly, as he let us know that it was time. Serena smirked as we made eye contact and then slowly surfaced, showing her face to the pirates. I swam up as well, only peaking my eyes out, nose and mouth still underwater. The men were staring at us in awe, looking at us as if they’ve seen the biggest treasure of their lives. My eyes ran over the boat filled with six men and I found one who looked horrified. His mouth has fallen open and if I didn’t know better, I would’ve said he stopped breathing by how red his face had gotten. He was shocked, but intrigued at the same time, as I swam closer to the boat, our eyes locked onto each other. His were a dark brown, and he pushed one of the man to the side to get to the edge of the boat. I pushed my head fully out of the water and smiled at him sweetly, hiding my teeth. His eyes were wide as he stared at me and I sighed dreamily, making his eyebrows furrow.

“You’re real?” He whispered, more to himself, as I parted my lips and allowed the first note to slip through them. Our voices were angelic, high and melodic, they could lure over even certain sea animals. I didn’t think the pirate’s eyes could get any bigger than they already were, but it did, so I continued singing the lullaby, holding eye contact all the time. His body slowly seemed to relax as my voice carried higher and higher, slowly waddling closer to his boat. The pirate was fixated on me, eyes slowly dazing over, mouth slightly opening. His brain was fogged and body probably going numb from the Siren song. It was like a sweet poison, overtaking your whole being, rendering you completely helpless, allowing us to be in full control. I reached the boat and touched the side of it with my hand, nails long and pointy, as the pirate leaned closer, over the boat. His cherry-colored lips were pouty and his skin tan from staying out in the sun. I smiled at him as a few of the sirens already brought their prey into the water with them and I allowed my hand to reach the edge of the boat, lightly graze the pirate’s lips. He smiled dazed and gripped the sides of the boat, my song luring him inside the water. And as he got rid of his jacket, the muscles on his high cheekbones twitched. I ignored it and gripped the boat, next to the pirate’s hand, our skins touching. His was extremely hot compared to my freezing one. I smiled sweetly at him again, nodding in reassurance. He seemed to be taking his time in getting into the water compared to most of companions, who were already in it. But I remained calm and patient. I caressed his hand with my other one, and his eyebrows furrowed. Perhaps my song wasn’t powerful enough, so I raised my tone, taking his hand in mine and lightly pulling on it. He started getting up from his seated position, finally manipulated into coming inside the sea. But the muscles of his face twitched again and his lips pulled into a straight line, suddenly snatching his hand out of mine. My eyes widened but I didn’t let that discourage me as I continued singing, voice louder and more aggressive as I maintained the eye contact, but the haze was starting to disappear from the pirate’s eyes. What was happening? Was I not powerful enough anymore? That was impossible, the full moon enhanced our powers.

“No, no, no—” The pirate started muttering to himself, shaking his head as he started blinking, “No—Stop!”

I gasped as my lullaby came to an end, watching the pirate jump up and shake his dazed mate, “No, stop listening to them! These are sirens, they’ll—”

The man behind him screamed as a Siren bit into him and pulled him underwater forcefully, snapping a few pirates out of their daze. They looked horrified as they jumped to their feet and grabbed their weapons. Silas’s high-pitched wail pierced the pirates ears as the ones in the water fought for their lives, only to have their necks pierced by the sirens sharp teeth.

“Father!” The pirate I tried to lure into the water screamed at the dazed man still sitting, hand in water, Serena whispering sweet things to him. I smirked and went underwater again, wanting to antagonize the pirate a little bit more. Chaos had already erupted, and the pirates in the water were lost forever, however, the ones in the boats searched for their weapons, wanting to harm us. As a bullet pierced through the water I hissed and crashed into the bottom of the boat forcefully, rocking it quite harshly. I heard thuds and got back onto the surface, watching as my pirate fought against Serena as his father still didn’t snap out of the daze. Gunshots echoed through the night and a siren wailed loudly, making my head snap in their direction. Their eyes were wide open as a bullet pierced their forehead, making me cry out loudly. It pierced the humans eardrums and I looked back at the pirate now aiming his shotgun at Serena, and I knew what I had to do. I quickly swam to the boat and jump out, gripping the pirate’s arm as I pulled him with me underwater. He had dropped his gun in the boat in shock and tried to swim away, but I wrapped my hand around their torso and head, holding them against myself. The pirate startled struggling and just to spite him more, I started singing, smirking at him when he realized what was about to happen. I opened my mouth wide, sharp teeth visible, as the pirate started choking on water, kicking anywhere he could to no avail, as my teeth sunk into his neck. I moaned at the taste of blood in my mouth, my body warming up from the top to the bottom. I closed my eyes as I took us deeper underneath, losing myself in my lust for his blood, sweeter than anything I have ever tasted before. I could feel my skin glowing, buzzing with electricity as I drank more, saliva mixing with blood at the thought of the taste of his flesh. I couldn’t imagine how tasty he’d be if his blood was this sweet. But as he finally stopped flailing around in my tight hold, something sharp pierced my neck. It was plunged deeper and the sudden pain shooting through my body made me release the pirate and scream loudly, the sound echoing around in the water, getting everyone’s attention around us. It was loud and filled with pain and I tried to swim away, panicked, but something grabbed my tail and started pulling me upwards. Bubbles left my mouth as I screamed for help, but Serena was nowhere. I knew nobody else would help me. Despite the fresh energy coursing through my veins, I felt power slipping from my fingers and tail as it went numb, the water around me colored a deep red. I was loosing blood dangerously fast and when my head suddenly hit the surface I choked, breathless and kicking around to get back underwater, but I was pinned against the sand. Someone was coughing on top of me, wheezing and groaning in pain. Our eyes connected for a second, revulsion reflecting on both of our faces, before I gasped for air, the world going black around me.

Falling unconscious in water could be just as scary as falling unconscious on land for a Siren. We could breathe underwater, but still needed to come up to the surface to take in some fresh air, or else our lungs would start burning, making us choke like any human being. Falling unconscious on land, however, nobody knew the repercussions of it as we’ve never ventured close enough to find out, but it most certainly meant death as our bodies dried up fast, scales itchy and head dizzy from staying out of the water for too long. So, waking up panicked and confused was rather understandable as I kept banging against something hard, my body curled up as if I was confined in a small space. When my eyes opened, I gasped, taking in my surroundings. All I could see were men, so many of them, walking around, talking loudly, peeking at me in horror. I swirled around in the water, heart beating fast as I slowly realized what was happening. I was captive. In a glass box of sorts, enclosed in a small space. I couldn’t even stretch my body fully, tail curled up, as my box was put on display in the middle of the ship, held down by several thick ropes. I was on a pirate ship. The pirates we attacked during the full moon, were here now, holding me captive.

I started breathing fast, heart beat accelerating even more, my lungs asking for fresh air as I started choking on the water. I looked around in my little cage, and noticed that the water didn’t reach the top of the box, and there were little circles cut into the top of it in one corner. So, holding onto the glass on both sides, I pulled myself to that corner as I raised my mouth and nose out of the water, taking deep breaths of air. I closed my eyes and tried to relax, pretend that I was in the sea, coming up for some air. If I didn’t stop panicking, I would die from choking. And that was a dishonorable death for a Siren, I’d rather die at the hands of a pirate. However, my little bubble of fantasy was destroyed quickly as something starting banging against the glass, making me jump and hit my head in the top glass. I heard muffled laughter and turned my head only to come face to face with a man. He looked amused as he tapped the glass again, taunting me with his wide smile. I snarled my teeth at him, but he didn’t look frightened as his eyes ran over my body. His blond hair was longer at the back and black was smeared around his narrowed eyes. The white cloth tied around his right forearm told me that he was the captain. His mouth started moving, but the glass was thick and I couldn’t make out their words, so I watched their lips move, trying to decipher what they were saying.

“Nice catch, isn’t she?” He said to his men, who seemed afraid enough to keep their distance from my glass box, “Wonder how expensive she’ll be.”

A strikingly beautiful man showed up, his wavy black hair pulled in a ponytail, a shiny golden compass around his neck, “We’ll ask around once we dock down in the Sun Set Kingdom.” He seemed to be the least interested in me, not even glancing in my direction as the captain turned his head back at me, a menacing smirk slowly sneaking onto his face. I could feel myself itch from his gaze, fury and helplessness overtaking my body.

“Thanks to you I’ll be filthy rich, gorgeous.” It was as if he knew I would understand his words, his lips articulating his words slowly and obviously, making me scream out. The pirates held onto his ears as I screamed, starting to throw my body against the glass. I wouldn’t let them sell me off to anyone. I couldn’t die like this. This would be a disgrace to my species, centuries of anguish to follow. If the world finds out we truly exist, we’ll be hunted down for the mere sick enjoyment of humans, eliminating our species. I couldn’t be the cause of it, the thought made me sick. It didn’t matter that my body was aching from how violently I was throwing myself against the glass, banging on it with my fist, even trying to break it with my tail knowing it was strong, but nothing was working. It seemed that it was unbreakable, but the mocking laughter of the pirates egged me on more to keep on trying, refusing to appear helpless and frail. As my lungs started burning from exhaustion, I knew I had to stop and take a breath, there was suddenly commotion in the crowd gathered around me. I pushed my head to the little circles, and took deep breaths, watching what was happening. A man appeared to be pushing everyone out of the way, screaming something. I tried to make the words out, but all I got was ‘stop’ and ‘get away’. The voice sounded almost familiar and when I turned around, my eyes fell on a very familiar face. I gasped as my icy blue eyes widened, dark brown ones staring back just as shocked. I snarled my sharp teeth at the pirate, hitting the glass with my fists, hatred radiating off of me. He was the reason I was here. He was the pirate I tried to kill, the one I bit, but then he stabbed me, brought me to land, and captured me. My eyes fell on the bandage around his neck and it made me touch my own neck, feeling the bump of a wound. It seemed to be sealed, and my eyebrows furrowed as I looked at the pirate, who seemed to be watching my reaction. I snarled again, and crashed against the glass, trying to scare him off like I did to the others who have already scattered around, but this pirate didn’t budge, he kept on watching me, eyes slightly wider. He seemed to be amazed, eyes taking in my body, freezing on my tail for a second, making me crash it into the glass, the pirate jumping in reaction. I was glaring at him hard, baring my teeth at him when he stepped closer to the glass, a hand touching it. His eyes carried resentment as his lips opened, “You should’ve swum away when I snapped out of your song’s control.”

I understood, because he mouthed it slowly, his eyebrows furrowing when I didn’t react. I just turned my head to look away, done with entertaining him. He did not deserve my attention. He made me wonder how he snapped out of the daze induced by the Siren song, but he’ll never hear my voice ever again. I wasn’t going to utter one word to these monsters. Despite the pirate’s fascination with me, he didn’t seem too keen of me, as I watched him walk up to an older man, who was holding a wooden cane, the resemblance between them quite obvious. So, his father survived too, what a pity.

Time seemed to jumble together, I tried to keep up with the rising and setting of the sun, but after a few days I lost count of it. I assumed I had been on this ship for around a week now. The Raging Sea could be tricky and hard to navigate, yet these pirates somehow sailed it without many difficulties. They seemed to avoid the storms best and travel around them, their navigator quite talented. Perhaps if I had known that their navigator was the pirate who captured me, I wouldn’t have thought that about him. The Sun Set Kingdom and the South Kingdom weren’t very far from each other, if you were lucky enough you could sail through the Raging Sea in two weeks, however, the constant storms made it sometimes impossible to get through it. Sailing out into the Black Ocean was even more dangerous due to its huge creatures, best you could do was say a prayer and hope someone in the Heavens blessed you to have an easy adventure, that is, if you believed in such a thing. Humans easily believed in anything, you just needed to appear even a little bit confident when trying to sell your idea, and there it was: a new belief, a new tale. I suppose the confirmation of our existence would just send them into a frenzy of confusion about what was real and what was not. Humans were afraid of the unknown, and I was considered already a dangerous creature. The fearful glances of the pirates working on deck never seemed to cease and if I happened to be looking at them, they’d shudder and look away, avoiding eye contact. I knew the fact that I was a Siren wasn’t the only scary thing about me, without my songs, my appearance was rather odd than beautiful.

However, there were some more daring pirates, who seemed to fear no God or even their very own Captain. I heard it loud and clear when he shouted that nobody was allowed to get close to the glass cage, touch it, or even think about opening it. I was a prize he wanted to sell, assuring his riches for a lifetime. However, three pirates seemed to be stupid enough to not listen to their captain as one evening, while I was thinking about the ocean, they approached me. It was a windy evening, waves crashing into the ship, rocking it left and right, yet the sky was clear and non-threatening for now. Here, the weather changes abruptly, but this being my home, I knew it wouldn’t storm just yet. My skin wasn’t as smooth anymore as it used to be, the water they kept me in stale and rather smelly. I was lucky they were smart enough to allow me to breathe fresh air, as I found myself needing it more often than usual. Being out in the sun all day long was taking its tool on me as well, my body not used to the constant heat. I would sit on rocks quite often, but never for too long during noon, and then I would retreat to the depths of the sea, where it was cool and dark. I sighed loudly as I watched the waves crash against the side of the ship, some water getting on deck. My hand reached out, almost as if I had forgotten I couldn’t reach it, missing my home like crazy. I probably should enjoy the little time I have left of being close to water, once we hit land, there’s no guarantee to what’s happening to me. Letting my guard down, thinking that I was finally alone on deck, was a mistake. I started humming to myself, missing the voices of the other sirens and our little games of hide and seek. Our songs weren’t just for luring in the humans, it allowed us to communicate between each other as well. The melody I was currently humming was the one Serena and I would sing whenever we finished hunting and were searching for each other, making sure we were alright. I could imagine her singing it after our last hunt together, never getting a response. At least she knew I was gone and she wouldn’t search for me, stray away from the swarm and endanger herself.

The sudden crash of something hard against the glass made me jump and I whirled around fast, eyes falling on three pirates who were smirking and slurring their words. They were swaying as they stood, probably drunk, holding tridents in their hands. One of them had a giant key in their hand and my eyes went to the giant padlock holding the top of the glass secured to the rest of it. I knew these dumb pirates could hurt me, but if I outsmarted them, I could escape. So I watched them innocently and figured out that they wanted to kill me before we’d get to land and sell me themselves, betraying their Captain. I chuckled, knowing very well they were just as dead as me once their captain finds out they are traitors. The one holding the key pushed his mate forward, and he crashed into the glass. He stared at me frightened and when I smiled and raised my eyebrows at him, his eyebrows furrowed. The other man, who was clutching his trident harshly, kept his distance, visibly afraid. The pirate with the key went to open the padlock, and that’s when I started humming loudly enough for them to hear me. Their bodies tensed, eyes widening as I lured them in with the song, eyes softening, lips pulling into a smile. The most frightened one dropped his trident and fell to his knees as he crawled towards the glass cage, watching me mesmerized as I got closer to the glass, bewitching them. The other pirate pushed himself against the glass, his weapon still in his hand, but he had obviously forgotten about wanting to kill me. The one holding the key, however, moved accordingly to my own will, leaning up on his tiptoes, hands gripping onto the padlock as a rather harsh wave crashed into the ship. I didn’t let that distract me as I continued singing the lullaby, pitch higher than before, icy blue eyes glowing in the dark. The three pirates became my puppets and I could feel my heartrate pick up as the one with the key finally inserted it into the padlock and slowly started turning it around. I pushed myself against the glass, hands on the top of it to break free once the padlock is unlocked, but the serenity and spell broke when someone came rushing down the stairs, screaming.

It was that one pirate again, my pirate. The one I almost killed, the one I wished nothing more than to kill. He almost fell off the stairs as his feet tangled together in his rush, a thick looking notebook clutched tightly in his hands. He was screaming at the pirates to stop listening to the song, but it seemed as though they were too deep in to even hear his words. So I continued my song, smirking at the desperate pirate as he shook the one holding the trident, and once he realized what was happening, tried to stop the one from opening the padlock. I was so close, one more click, and I’d be free. I started pushing against the glass, struggling to open it, I was so close.

“Kim Hongjoong!” The familiar pirate shouted at the top of his lungs, physically having to remove the pirate from the padlock, fighting against him as he cried out that he needed to open the lock. Seven other men came bustling down the stairs, eyes wide and sleepy as they assessed the situation. Everyone but the captain seemed to be wearing more casual, comfortable looking clothes, as they realized what was happening. I raised my voice higher, louder, allowing my voice to travel to their ears as well, watching as one of them tensed, appearing to be in a daze.

“No! Stop listening to her!” My pirate screamed again, somehow pinning the one with the key against the floor boards, struggling to hold him down because of his violent kicks and screams, “Think about something, don’t allow her voice to get inside your heads!”

But that one pirate seemed to be already under my influence, and I beckoned him over with the wriggle of my finger, a smile appearing on his lips, “Take Wooyoung away!” A taller man next to him, who seemed to be struggling against my lullaby as well, grabbed Wooyoung and dragged him away, slapping him hard when Wooyoung started screaming that he had to get to me. It all happened quickly, the remaining five pirates helped out my pirate in keeping the man down, taking the key from him and handing it to the Captain. His body seemed to be shaking, forehead sweaty as he approached me, eyes ablaze. He was fighting the siren’s song, but was close to giving up.

“If you don’t stop—” He gritted out, suddenly raising a shotgun against the glass, “I will kill you this second.”

Dying by a bullet wound seemed unworthy, but at least I wouldn’t get exposed to the horrors of other humans on the mainland. It seemed like a reasonable death all of a sudden, so I didn’t stop, just continued singing and closed my eyes. I heard the click of something, and I knew it was coming.

“No! Stop, Hongjoong!” I knew that voice, it was that pirate again, “Don’t kill her, please!”

The melody froze in my throat, eyes opening and falling onto that one pirate again. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was breathing hard, clutching that notebook again, looking at the Captain with pleading eyes, “Please.”

I took the momentum to my advantage and tried to open the top of the glass again, but the Captain acted first, locking the padlock again, throwing me million steps away from my escape. I screamed and bashed myself against the glass again, wanting to tear their throats apart. The pirates who came here initially to kill me snapped out of their dazes and looked around them frightened, bodies shaking as one of them started crying. I snarled and whipped my tail at the glass, making them jump.

“What were you doing here?” The Captain demanded to know, voice commanding. The three pirates lowered their eyes to the ground, shaking their heads and saying nothing. I glared at them, hissing when they wouldn’t state their reasons. My pirate noticed my anger and looked at me, approaching the glass cage. I refused to look at him, he once again stopped me from escaping.

“I asked a question!” The Captain shouted and the men shook their heads again, bodies shaking. I went to take fresh air again, lungs beginning to burn from exhaustion and my eyes fell on the Captain. If my Siren song couldn’t cause chaos, my words definitely would.

“They were here to kill me.” All heads whipped in my direction, shocked at the hear of my voice. It wasn’t as majestic as my voice when I sung, it was rather husky and scratchy, my throat currently burning too.

“She can speak?” One of the pirate’s who came down with the Captain wondered out loud, dumbfounded as he looked at me. But that was all I would say.

“Of course, she can.” The familiar pirate spoke up softly, eyes finding mine, “The only difference between a mermaid and a human are the tail and legs, San.”

The pirate looked at me as if asking for confirmation, but I just averted my eyes, disgusted by his attempt of making conversation with me. I was not a mermaid, I thought that was clear by now.

“Judging by your current positions and your missteps in the past,” The Captain spoke up, jaw clenched and eyes glaring down at the three pirates, “I’m ought to believe the monster.”

These humans were the real monsters, not me, “She’s not a monster!” My pirate snapped; eyebrows furrowed as he looked at me. Why was he defending me? What was it in for him?

“Whatever, Jongho,” The Captain muttered tiredly, “Takes these three to my office, I’ll take care of them.”

And just like that, one by one, all pirates retreated back to their previous activities, neither throwing a second glance my way. All except one. The one I tried to kill, the one that tried to kill me, my pirate. He lingered behind, almost by the stairs when suddenly he ran up to the glass cage, tapping the window softly. My eyes pierced into his as I glared at him, snarling.

“My name is Jongho,” He said cautiously, almost afraid to do so, “And yours?”

Siren’s names were sacred, so I huffed amused and turned around, ignoring his burning gaze on the back of my head. I refused to let him know my name. Realizing he wouldn’t get an answer, he walked off, notebook already opened as he made his way up the steps, a pen in his hand. He was peculiar. His resentment towards me was very obvious, yet his eyes held fascination each time he looked at me. I couldn’t decide whether he wanted to kill me or protect me.

And it only became more confusing as the week went by and this pirate continued to approach me more than once a day, talk to me, ask me questions. I didn’t answer him, I didn’t even listen to him at most times, glaring and imagining all the ways I would rip his throat out during the next full moon. I couldn’t bear being in this cage anymore. My bones were aching, my tail was numb from not using it for so long and the smell inside started making me nauseous. The circles allowing the air inside seemed to be getting smaller, suffocating me rather than offering fresh air. I was slowly going mad, banging against the glass, desperately trying to break it. I needed to get back into the sea, I had to save myself.

Two more days passed by barely, nothing happening as the pirates carried on with their usual shenanigans. My pirate, Jongho, as he had called himself, seemed to be glued to the glass cage, refusing to even sleep in his usual place, afraid someone would try to attack me again. I didn’t understand his concerns and why he was going out of his way to keep me safe when it was clear he hated me for what I did to him. I hoped he knew I would do it again, no feelings of any sort tying us together. A soft-spoken pirate, whom I noticed would check up on Jongho’s wound from time to time, seemed to be the only one able to convince the pirate to retreat to his quarters and leave me alone, scared for his safety. Jongho refused him numerous times at the beginning, but when the strikingly handsome pirate interjected with their conversation, Jongho finally seemed convinced enough to leave me alone. I couldn’t have been more thankful for the two for making the man leave, I have had enough of him. He talked a lot. He asked a lot of questions. But I also noticed he muttered a lot to himself whenever he was working on the maps, making strange lines with some sort of pencils and rulers. His eyebrows were always furrowed when he watched the stars with his binoculars at night, checking the direction of the wind every half an hour. If something seemed to confuse him, he’d curse to himself quietly and would start from the beginning, never giving up. The other pirates seemed to rely on him a lot, I figured that he was probably their navigator, his father helping him out from time to time. The two seemed to be quite close, often helping each other out. Jongho’s father was repulsed by me, it was quite obvious, and he screamed at his son often for not staying away from me, scared that I would bewitch him again, but Jongho remained persistent and kept on insisting that someone needed to keep an eye on me and who was better than him? Apparently, he knew everything about my species there was to know. I highly doubted that as all these stupid pirates seemed to think I was a mermaid, but Jongho was right in one thing. He somehow became immune to my Siren song, blocking his mind from my melody’s allure. I did not know such thing was possible, and even Jongho seemed surprised at his discovery. The thick notebook was with him at all times, and I found him doodling something in it while sneaking glances at me. I did not want to know what it was, I just wanted to be free.

And it seemed like my wish would become reality faster than I thought so. Except, it wasn’t exactly in the way I imagined it to be. And it just so happened on the night Jongho decided to finally leave me alone. But that was perhaps better, because I was woken from my slumber to the violent rocking of the boat, and fireballs flying in the air. I watched with wide eyes as a fireball flew over the deck, dangerously close, yet missed anything important. I didn’t understand what was happening until all the pirates ran up on deck, each holding weapons of all sorts in their hands. Most were shotguns and the tall one who took Wooyoung away seemed to be the one in charge of all the gunners. He was shouting orders left and right, instructing the rest of the men when to fire and when to duck down. He seemed to be the most skilled as his shots never missed their target. When another fireball wheezed through the air it crashed into the mizzenmast and broke it in half, sending flying wood all over the deck; I finally realized the ship I was on was under attack. An enemy was trying to kill us. I started laughing bitterly as a pirate screamed, his clothes caught on fire, barely believing that I would die from getting attacked by an enemy ship. It was the most hilar thing in the whole four seas and four kingdoms, I couldn’t believe it was real. Well, if I had luck, then I would die and if I was unlucky, then I’d be taken by the enemy ship and either sold off or killed on the spot. My future didn’t seem too bright at the moment and I found myself laughing at the chaos unfolding around me. I was right in the middle of it, yet remained safer than anyone else on this ship. I watched as the pirates protected their ship fiercely, the captain and two other men on his right and left, leading their crew and throwing small things overboard, them exploding once they landed on the other ship. I figured they were some sort of explosives; I have never seen them with my own eyes. I watched two men trying to fix the damages at lightning speed, one was the soft-spoken man, thought he was called Yeosang, and the other one seemed smaller than a regular man, but it wasn’t my place to question their appearance. I watched Jongho do his best in getting the ship away from the enemy as fast as he could, Wooyoung next to him, barking orders, pulling on several ropes as he was trying to fix the sail of the mizzenmast. Another hard rock of the ship sent the pirates tumbling down and I crashed into the glass rather aggressively as one rope holding the cage stable broke. I watched wide eyed as nobody paid attention to me, a siren being least of their concerns right now. And to my utter shock, three bullets came flying into the glass, but it was so thick that they remained stuck in it. I watched amazed as a thin crack ran from one of the bullet holes down to the bottom of the glass. This was my chance to free myself. Nobody was paying attention; nobody was here to stop me. Freedom was just a few steps away. So, gathering all my energy, I started throwing myself against the glass, groaning and panting when the little crack didn’t seem to expand. I was growing frustrated and I screamed and I whipped my tail against it with all the force I had left in my body, but nothing happened. I felt helpless, useless, and defeated. Cannonballs going off from underneath us deafened the humans on the deck for a second, my sensitive ears started ringing. I have never cried in my life before, but for the first time, I felt a lump in my dry throat, squeezing and squeezing. I had to try once again, get out of this prison. So, once again, I banged my tail against the glass, letting out a frustrated wail as nothing happened. The cannons went off again, shouts coming from all directions on the deck, and then something miraculous happened. The Heaven’s listened to my cry of help.

The glass started breaking more, the little crack growing, expanding all over it. I took a deep breath and held it for a second, placing my hand against the broken glass, lightly pushing it, not expecting much. But it broke. To a million of pieces, the salty water crashed against the floorboards and so did I, falling face first onto it. I gasped loudly, my heart beating fast as the muffled screams and shouts loudly enveloped my surroundings all of a sudden, the rocking of the ship more violent and real, now that I wasn’t confined inside the glass cage. The chilly air hit my skin like rocks, and I gasped for air, lungs filling to the brim with clean and fresh air. Breathing has never felt so good before. I couldn’t believe I was free. I didn’t even notice the shards cutting into my skin as I pushed up onto my forearms, wincing at the sudden pain shooting up my tail. My numb body was finally able to move, I could finally stretch out. I could finally escape. But as I started crawling towards a hole in the side of the ship, the pain in my tail became more and more unbearable, making me let out a painful scream. It paralyzed my whole body and I started shaking, scratching at the scales covering my body, itching terribly. What was happening to me? Was it because I was out of fresh water for so long? Was I dying? And as the pain became unimaginable, veins showing through my translucent body, head thumping and eyes popping out of its sockets, my body started convulsing. I couldn’t control it, all I could do was take it in, accept it, and scream. But my throat was so raw, no sound made it out anymore. I wanted to reach the water; I needed it. The Sea would heal me, the Sea would save me. Something started streaming down my cheeks and I would’ve laughed if I could’ve, I was crying. Sirens never cried.

And as my back arched of the floor, hands clawing at anything they could, it all stopped suddenly. My mouth was open, about to let out a gut-wrenching scream, but it all stopped. It just…stopped. The pain. It went away. As suddenly it came, as suddenly it went. I was gasping for air, touching my face and neck. Something felt wrong. My body…felt heavier. My tail…I couldn’t feel it. So shooting up in a seated position, I screamed at the sight. My tail was gone and instead two dangling abominations took its place. I had legs! I started shaking my head, muttering no to myself over and over again, pinching the skin and crying out when it hurt. I could feel them, but I couldn’t move them. They were so heavy I didn’t think I could even stand. How was this possible? Where did my tail go? Was I no longer a Siren anymore? My heartbeat picked up at the thought again, and I turned around, eyes falling on the sea through the hole. I needed to get into the water right now. But as I wanted to turn around and continue crawling, a burning wooden plank from the mizzenmast broke off, plummeting straight towards me. So, this was it, I would die on a pirate ship as a human, bringing shame to my people. I closed my eyes, unable to save myself, awaiting the excruciating pain, the heat of the fire, but it never came. Before the burning plank could kill me, a body crashed into mine, making me yelp, as we tumbled to the side, tangled together. I lightly hit my head in a barrel and groaned, my body feeling numb from the torment it went through in the past few minutes.

“Why wouldn’t you jump away if it’s falling straight at you—” The panicked voice stopped screaming suddenly, pushing themselves off me, “It’s—you?”

I turned my head and came face to face with a shocked Jongho, wide eyes running over my body before he stiffened and his face became red. He suddenly stood and ripped his long coat off of himself and threw it down on me, turning away, “Put that on.”

Despite the chaos going on around us, I looked down confused and realized I was totally naked, oh. I chuckled, finding the whole situation hilarious as I pulled Jongho’s coat over myself, mimicking the way he wore it.

The blast going off not too far away from us sent Jongho into action, making me gasp and tense, when one of his arm’s went around my torso and the other underneath my now, legs, more specifically knees. I started pushing Jongho away as he held me firmly in his arms, baring my teeth at him, about to sink them into his neck, but he threw me a glare and hissed, “Stop it, will you! I’m trying to save you!”

His words made me freeze and I stared at his profile as he ran around the pirates, avoiding bullets and explosions as he brought us to relative safety, having run down the steps, placing me down next to them. It seemed like I weighed nothing to him, he showed no signs of struggle to hold me despite my heavy good for nothing legs.

“Stay here until I come to get you.” He pointed a finger at me and hesitated for a second, until I nodded at him. Where could I even go? I couldn’t walk or run like him. My legs weren’t usable, they were an abomination, turning me into a freak I never was. I allowed my thoughts to take me away from the reality I found myself in, tunning out the battle sounds, cries and shouts. All I wanted was the sea and my tail back.

I had no idea for how long it lasted. Or how many died. Or if anyone even won. What was the reason of this attack? All I knew was Jongho coming back and lifting me up in his arms again, as if I was a feather, taking off towards another set of stairs. I held onto him tightly, watching his clenched jaw, his skin glistening with sweat and eyebrows furrowed. I had no idea where he was taking me or what he’d do to me, but I had no energy in me to fight back. I was even more useless now that I had legs. The ship seemed to have quieted down, no more screams and shouts, no more cries of pain, no more gunshots and cannonballs. The fight was over.

Jongho kicked a door open with his foot, and my eyes took the room in quickly, figuring it was a living quarter of sorts. There was a bed fit for one person, a huge desk littered with maps, notebooks, books, pencils and pens and ink. The floor next to the desk had even more rolled up papers, maps and books. There was a closet too, not too big, and next to it a wooden chair. The tiny window allowed me to see the moon, and I sighed as Jongho placed me down on the bed. It felt weird, the texture underneath my legs. It was soft and it didn’t hurt me. I touched it with my fingers, eyebrows furrowing.

“That’s called a blanket.” Jongho muttered as he started unbuttoning his shirt which was covered in dirt, sweat, and even blood. My eyes pierced him, watching carefully his every move. He turned around before opening his shirt, obscuring my eyes from the sight of his torso as he walked to his closet, opening it. He pulled out a clean looking shirt and dropped the one on him onto the floor, the muscles of his back showing. He was well built and strong looking, it shouldn’t have been a surprise that he carried me so easily. The view was gone as Jongho pulled the black shirt over his body, doing the buttons up to his chest. He grabbed another shirt from the closet and walked closer, his eyes watching me carefully. He was wary, as he should be. I was also wary of him; I couldn’t know what he’d do to me if I didn’t stay alert.

“Put this on,” He spoke up, handing the shirt to me, “I’ll be right back. You need more fitting clothes of which I don’t have.”

And with that, he turned around and quickly left, not closing the door fully. I stared at the shirt for a few seconds before deciding to put it on, the coat currently on me offering no warmth, I was freezing all of a sudden. I mimicked Jongho’s actions, pulling the shirt over my back once the coat was off, pushing my arms through the sleeves of the shirt, and one by one started doing the buttons. They seemed a little difficult at the beginning, but I got the hang of it as Jongho came back inside, eyes falling on me. Since I didn’t know how much I should button up, I stopped at my chest, looking up at Jongho when he cleared his throat.

“That’s too low for you.” He muttered and placed the soft looking garments in my lap, hands going to the buttons of my shirt. I recoiled and he pulled away quickly, holding his hands up, “I’m sorry, but you should do two more buttons.”

I just stared at him, with no intention of doing what he just told me, making Jongho sigh. He slowly approached me again, hands going to the buttons, letting him touch me this time as he made quick work and did the two buttons he said I should do. My eyes fell on his chest, on the black pearl he had on the string around his neck. As he went to step back, my hand flew out swiftly, gripping the pearl and stopping him. Jongho froze and fell forward a little when I tugged on the pearl, examining it from up close. He was hovering over me, arms in the air once again, eyes looking at the wall as my nose scrunched after smelling the pearl. It seemed to be authentic, and it was a black pearl. Those were really rare.

“My father and I used to be fishermen when I was younger,” Jongho spoke up, making me look up at him, “I like collecting pearls, that’s why I have this one. It’s rare.”

I nodded and slowly released the pearl, eyes never leaving Jongho’s. He gulped and pointed at the things in my lap, “There’s undergarment and pants, you should put them on.”

I looked down at them and gripped them, holding them up to my face. There was a thing which seemed to be smaller than the other one.

“The smaller one is to protect your genitals, and the other is to cover your legs. They are called pants.” Jongho explained as I had no idea what I was supposed to do with these, and looked back at him, but he had already turned around. I frowned, not quite understanding why. I placed the pants on the bed next to me and held the smaller ones up, looking down at my legs. How did I even moves these things? I bit my lower lip, trying to lift them, at least one of them, but they weren’t moving. Why? They must work like arms, so I tried again, but they didn’t even lift an inch off the bed. I groaned frustrated, but Jongho remained with his back facing me.

“I can’t—” I croaked out, embarrassed, “I can’t put it on.”

Jongho sucked in a breath, “Why?”

“I don’t know how to move my legs.” I whispered; eyebrows furrowed as I stared down at my lap. Jongho whirled around, eyes wide and a shocked expression decorating his face. He seemed embarrassed, as if what I just said was normal.

“I didn’t think you’d—I’m sorry.” He apologized, making me look at him confused, “Of course, you don’t know how to move them…may I help?”

I bit my lip and contemplated a little, nodding at last. I wouldn’t be able to do it without help, if he was offering it then I would take it. He seemed a little reluctant and hesitated when I reached my hand out holding the smaller pants, his eyes avoiding mine as I looked at him. He took it and then got down on his knees, fist clenching before his hand touched my calf. I gasped and gripped the blanket on the bed, skin very sensitive on my legs.

“I’m sorry!” Jongho apologized quickly, looking at me with a panicked look in his eyes.

I cleared my throat, “The skin is sensitive, that’s all.”

He looked at me for a second, before nodding and proceeding with his previous actions. He lightly touched my left calf before gripping it, his cold skin making goosebumps erupt all over my body. The feeling was new, unknown, intriguing. I watched as he tried to avoid skin contact as best as he could as he placed my legs through the holes of the small pants and then started pulling them up my legs, stopping bellow my thighs. He gulped and his eyebrows furrowed before he looked up at me, face flushed.

“I can’t—I can’t pull it all the way up if you’re sitting.” He seemed flustered; I did not understand why.

“Well, I can’t stand up.” I muttered, and Jongho nodded, seeming to think for a second.

“I’ll support you and then you can pull it up yourself.” I nodded at the solution and watched as he gulped again, his finger lightly grazing my thigh as he stood, gripping my forearms before he helped me up. I tried to stand on my own feet, but they weren’t working, without Jongho’s support I would’ve fallen. I gripped the smaller pants and pulled them up until they allowed me to, noting how Jongho was looking over my head, eyes never falling on me. These legs weren’t long enough as I appeared to be a lot shorter than him. I cleared my throat and he glanced down at me cautiously before sitting me back down and doing the same with the real pants this time, these being a struggle a little bit as they were tighter. The feeling was totally new, warmth covered my whole body, finally I stopped shivering. The pants seemed comfortable enough as they hugged my legs and I touched the fabric, hardly believing that I was wearing one. The silence was interrupted as hurried footsteps ran down the hallway, nearing the room we were inside, and the door was kicked open. I jumped at the loudness of it, eyes falling on seven other men. They were the same men that came up onto the deck the night those three pirates tried to kill me. The Captain stepped inside, followed closely by the strikingly handsome one, and the others seemed to push each other around in order to see inside the room. It was a peculiar image as one of them cried out before kicking the other one for biting them in order to get them out of the way. Did humans also bite each other? To my knowledge, they didn’t feed off of blood.

“Where’s the mermaid—”

“Hongjoong, I told you she’s not a threat—”

“Is that the mermaid?” The Captain asked horrified once his eyes fell on me. I looked at him with a glare, fed up with them using the wrong term about my species.

“I’m not a mermaid.” I snapped, flashing my sharp teeth at them, “I’m a Siren.”

There seemed to be a moment of silence filled with shock before the man standing behind the Captain spoke up, “Where’s your tail?”

I scoffed, slapping my thigh, instantly regretting it as pain shot through my muscle, “I would like to know that too.”

The Captain walked closer, grabbing my chin tightly, making Jongho protest, “Don’t be smart now, monster, what did you do to your tail?”

I slapped his hand away and hissed, annoyed that this man wasn’t afraid of me anymore, “I cut it off.”

I heard chuckles coming from the doorway, the other seven men looking at each other amused as Jongho seemed unimpressed and the Captain, drew his sword out, “Your legs will be the ones cut off—”

“Captain,” The strikingly handsome one spoke up calmly, placing a firm grip on the Captain’s shoulder, “I think she’s honest. She made no attempt to walk away from the falling plank back on the deck, meaning she’s never had them before”

The Captain huffed and placed his sword away, shaking the other man’s hand off himself, “Then where is her tail, Seonghwa?”

The two men looked at each other, but the handsome one, Seonghwa, shook his head, “I do not know, Hongjoong, I did not see what happened.”

Silence fell over the room, everyone confused as to how to proceed, until Jongho spoke up, “She could be shapeshifter. They have a tail in water and legs on land—”

“I’m a Siren.” I snapped, shooting him a glare.

“Is this your first time out of the water?” He asked and I looked away as I nodded, not too happy about admitting to personal things about myself in front of a pirate crew.

“You could be a shapeshifter siren, then—”

“Ten seconds ago you still thought I was a mermaid.” I threw Jongho a glare and he sighed, massaging his forehead.

“That is not exactly true,” He tried to defend himself, “Based on my studies you exhibited no behavior of mermaids, so I knew you were something else—”

“Mermaids aren’t even real—”

“Enough!” The Captain exclaimed and both Jongho and I shut up, looking at the wall, “I don’t bloody care what you are, just get that tail back so I can sell you.”

I snarled at the Captain and would’ve clawed his eyes out if I could walk to attack him, “Everyone, get back to your posts, we have a long night ahead of us to fix the damage Lee Yuri left behind.” The Captain’s mouth twisted, seemingly disgusted at the mention of the woman, his expression annoyed. Everyone yelled a ‘Ai, Captain, ai’, and then started leaving, but Jongho was stopped from doing so.

“Not you, mermaid boy, keep an eye on your monster.” The Captain said, holding him back from leaving the room. I sighed at the use of that term again, fed up with it.

“She’s a Siren, not a monster.” Jongho muttered as the Captain left too, slamming the door shut behind him. I looked at Jongho and he sighed, looking at me.

“You can sleep meanwhile I check the maps; I promise not to touch you without your consent.” Jongho said as he walked closer, making my eyebrows furrow.

“I’ll bite your finger off if you touch me while I sleep.” I threatened menacingly, making Jongho chuckle as he helped me lay down.

“I do not doubt that.” He whispered more to himself, pulling the blanket over my body, the feeling foreign. The bed felt comfortable. Very warm and cozy. It also smelled like salt water; it reminded me of the sea I missed so much. I sighed and closed my eyes, my back facing Jongho as he sat down at his desk, papers shuffling.

“You can call me Y/N.” I found myself whispering, making up a name on the spot. I would never let a pirate know my real name. Jongho hummed and said nothing, the sound of scribbling resounding in the room. The soft rocking of the ship quickly lulled me to sleep.

Time moved faster than the ship we were on, slowly, we were approaching the Sun Set Kingdom. You could see the shore in the distance, it would take around three more days to reach the mainland. I couldn’t ignore my feelings of distress whenever the topic was brought up by Jongho, who by the way, kept me prisoner in his room. Everyone else seemed afraid of me, not forgetting that I was still a Siren as a few days ago the tall pirate, who’s name I learned was Mingi, mocked me that I was a regular human now, so, I almost made him jump into the shark infested water, proving it to them that I was still a Siren. Jongho was rather appealed each time someone called me a monster, defending me, leaving me confused each time. He seemed to have gotten used to my presence in his room and spent most of his time with me willingly, either scribbling in that thick notebook of his, silence engulfing us, or he would ask me outrageous questions about my life. I rarely answered him, throwing him a glare each time he’d bring up the Siren topic, which he seemed to be obsessed with. Despite my protests, he also started feeding me fish, seemingly thinking I was some sort of pescetarian…that is until I threw up on him, he finally stopped playing smart with me. After that I explained, once again, that I only ate during the full moon and my meal was human flesh and blood, not fish. Those were my favorite’s and anything else made me sick. Jongho seemed terrified a little bit when he learned this information, muttering something as he started writing in his thick notebook. I started figuring out that he was probably noting down everything I said, it was probably his diary. His father, however, hated me and had a knife pointed at me each time we crossed paths, saying that he’d slash my throat if I dared to lay a finger on his son. To my amusement, I told him that I had to touch Jongho quite often as I couldn’t move on my own, almost getting my head cut off if it wasn’t for the Captain screaming at the man to stop. They were still trying to figure out how to get my tail back, and it was rather hilarious as I sat on top of a barrel, watching the men throw ideas at each other.

“Here,” The smallest looking pirate approached me, handing me a dark colored fabric, “They are undergarments, Jongho told me he borrowed one from me. You can’t have just one though.”

I took in the pirate’s appearance, the long curly hair and feminine voice confusing. Her hair was a vibrant red and her lips were plump, a little gap between her two front teeth as she smiled at me brightly, “What are you?”

The pirate chuckled, looking at a man who was carrying a list in his hands, checking the barrels on the deck, immersed in his job, “You’re quite brazen, aren’t you?”

“Am I supposed to be any other way?” I asked confused, not quite understanding this weird pirate. They just shook their head, pulling the bandana wrapped around their head off.

“I’m a woman.” I watched her open her shirt, showing the fabric wrapped around her breasts, flattening her chest. I knew she wasn’t a man, her voice too soft and face not as harsh as a man’s.

“Then why are you pretending you’re not one?” The woman chuckled as she buttoned her shirt up, making eye contact with the man checking the barrels. His lips pulled into a soft smile, eyes lingering on her for a second too long.

“It’s a long story, but I’m not pretending anymore.” She explained, reaching her hand out, “My name is Taeri, by the way.”

I looked at her out stretched hand and nodded, not quite understanding what I was supposed to do. She chuckled amused and took my hand, making me hiss, and shook it, “Don’t hiss at me and introduce yourself.”

I snatched my hand out of hers, not understanding her weird gesture, “Stop commanding me, my name is Y/N.”

Taeri ignored my words and stepped away, looking around on the deck, “Can you walk?”

“Not without support, Jongho’s been trying to teach me but I don’t want to walk.” I muttered, crossing my arms in front of my chest as my eyes fell on the mentioned pirate, he was checking his map again.

“You’re lucky you’ve got Jongho,” Taeri said quietly as she leaned closer to me, “The others wouldn’t treat you so kindly.”

“I do not care how I’m treated,” I snapped, eyes glaring at the woman, “I belong in the sea, not on land, but your Captain is hungry for a prize he will never get. I am worth more than anything in the four seas and four kingdoms.”

Taeri chuckled patting my cheek, making me pull my head away, “I like a woman who knows her worth.”

Before I could say anything else, she stalked away towards the pirate who had stopped checking the contents of barrels, and they started conversing as the man pulled her slightly closer to himself by her waist. I watched their interaction closely, noting how comfortable they seemed to be in each other’s proximity. The woman didn’t flinch at his touch, she even seemed to be enjoying it. The man was smiling at her and he adjusted her bandana before grabbing her hand and pulling her with him, headed towards the stairs leading downstair. Human connections seemed more complex than the Siren ones. That couple appeared to be…quite fond of each other.

“It’s time for your daily walking lesson, Y/N.” I jumped at Jongho’s voice being close to me, having not noticed him approaching me. I looked at him, analyzed his stance, and noted how relaxed he seemed. He was smiling as he extended one hand, even looking excited. I couldn’t exactly understand why this man seemed so amazed by me, always watching me closely, and paying attention to everything I said or did. He always apologized if he touched me unannounced and kept asking me if I was alright while he did so. I didn’t like people standing too close to me, but Jongho’s constant questions were irritating as I found myself more accepting of his proximity. He wasn’t as bad as the loud pirate he seemed to work with the most, Wooyoung. The first time he tried to touch me, I punched him in the face and ever since he’s been glaring at me whenever we made eye contact. I wasn’t some sort of animal put on display for others to touch or talk to whenever bored.

However, the little freedom I seemed to have was quickly taken away a few nights ago as I had attacked Jongho while he was asleep. I had warned him before, that if he ever fell asleep around me, I would attack him, but apparently he thought I was joking. I found it rather annoying as the Captain placed handcuffs around my wrists, securing me against the leg of the desk Jongho had in his room. He growled at me that he’d kill me if I dared to harm his crew even once more, making me chuckle as I started humming, warning him that I was still a Siren, and I could still make them do whatever I wanted to. Jongho had started training them in how to block the Siren song from getting to them, but the Captain seemed to still have trouble with it, so I loved antagonizing him. The attack I conducted on Jongho which led to my current predicament was a mere experiment, I felt like checking if I still had it in me. I was woken from my slumber by loud snores coming from the desk behind me, and when I turned around, I found Jongho with his head on the desk and eyes closed. I watched him, confused by the sounds he was making, until I realized it was probably snoring. He looked serene in his sleep, body fully relaxed. I could’ve easily ripped his throat out, so enticed by the thought, I found myself sitting up. I still couldn’t walk on my own, these legs were just too heavy for my body, but if I leaned against a wall and held myself up, they worked pretty fine. The were still sensitive and my feet would hurt if I stood on them for too long. I didn’t know having legs was this exhausting. After I reached Jongho, surprised that he didn’t wake up as I crashed into the wall and even fell a few times due to the rocking of the ship, I leaned my head close to his. I gripped the desk tightly, eyes trailing his smooth skin, missing my own being like that. My body was doing a lot better than I expected out of water, but it felt dirty and extremely dry. Drinking water strangely seemed to hydrate my skin though. Jongho sighed loudly in his sleep and my eyes fell onto his neck, the scar of my teeth never disappearing. The wound has healed, but the scar remained. I had a scar on my neck too because of him, at least we were sort of even. Jongho’s eyebrows furrowed and suddenly his eyes opened, making me take action. As he stood up straight, I gripped his neck and squeezed it, snarling at him as his eyes widened. He looked confused as he tried to pry my fingers off himself, making me chuckle. When I showed him my sharp teeth, his body tensed and suddenly he jumped up, twisting my wrist with one hand, making me hiss in pain. I couldn’t exactly react as he gripped my neck and suddenly my head was pinned against his desk, cheek getting squished.

“What in the Heavens are you doing?!” Jongho snapped, voice laced with fury and bewilderment.

“I told you I’d kill you if you fell asleep while I was in the room.” Jongho chuckled amazed, unbelieving what he was hearing. I smirked, but it was quickly wiped off as the door opened and his father walked in. He quickly created a big scene, totally unnecessary, and ten minutes later I was chained against a desk, forced to sit on the floor as the chains weren’t long enough to reach the bed. Hongjoong said if I behaved like an animal then I’d be treated like an animal, and after that I barely saw Jongho anymore, Taeri being the one checking up on me from time to time. She said we’d dock down soon, making me nauseous. That meant I was dying soon.

I had fallen asleep after Taeri’s visit, head resting against the wall as my lower back seemed a little numb from always sitting. This human like body was a rather painful experience. My head banged against the wall and I woke with a start, startled by the screaming coming from above me. My eyebrows furrowed as I looked around, and realized the ship was rocking terribly from side to side. Something wasn’t right, I could feel it in my bones. I quickly looked outside through the window and saw darkness covering the sky, rain falling rapidly. We had run into a storm. I looked around the room, realizing there were very low chances of survival on this ship, so I needed to leave now. I could use my legs this time, support myself against the wall, and just jump into the water. I had no idea what would happen if I did so, but I hoped I’d get my tail back. I tugged on the chains, but obviously they were too strong for me to break, and suddenly, my eyes traveled up to Jongho’s desk. Underneath all the papers, a shiny thing peaked out. The key. I gasped and leaned up, grabbing it, and hurriedly undid the chains around my wrists. I smiled in victory, excited to finally leave these awful pirates behind, excited to return back home. I could hear the Sea calling me as I carefully stood, trying to find my balance despite the harsh rocking of the boat. It was hard, but I wasn’t about to give up.

Finding support in the wall was hard, but I found myself out in the hallway, half dragging myself half actually taking steps as I walked. It must’ve been a hilarious view, but it was the best I could use my legs. The shouts of orders got louder and louder as I made my way up the stairs, only being able to take one step at a time. My thighs were a little bit numb by the time I made it all the way up the two flight of stairs, feet aching. I did not understand how humans were able to stand on their feet all day long. I had to grip onto the railing tightly as the waves rocked the boat aggressively, struggling to stand up straight. I peaked my head through the corner and watched as the pirates tried to hold the sails still, the Captain trying to steer the ship away from the storm, but that was impossible. At this point, they had to ride it out, we were too deep in it. I took in the situation, wondering whether these men and Taeri would survive this storm, so close to the mainland, yet so far away. What a pity. But once again, I had to take advantage of the situation and I made my way onto the deck, the rain hitting my face, making me look up at the sky and laugh. I haven’t felt water on my skin in so long. It didn’t feel like the salty water that I have missed so much, but it still felt majestic. My clothes got soaked in mere seconds and I fell onto my knees as a wave crashed into us harshly. But I had to get up, so I did, I gripped a barrel and pulled myself up, eyes falling on the railing. I just had to get to it, and from then on, I was free. I have never been so close to freedom before. And so, I started taking baby steps, legs and core tense as I tried to keep my balance, having to forget about the support of other things around me as I had to cross through the middle of the deck. But as I was walking, amazed by myself, someone blocked my path making me look up at them, their breathing ragged.

“Good, you’re here,” The pirate shouted over the loud thunder, and my eyebrows furrowed, “The more the merrier! I need you to tie those barrels against the mainmast, fast!”

He pushed a thick rope in my hands and my eyebrows furrowed as I watched the pirate run off, helping his mates in need. He was the man Taeri seemed close with, his name was Yunho, she has told me. I felt frozen to my spot as I gripped the rope, eyes falling on the three barrels Yunho was talking about. I wondered if he realized that I was the Siren and just went on, asking for help. I did not understand why, but I found myself walking towards the barrels, the rope already wrapped around the mainmast, I just had to push the barrels closer to it and secure the rope around them. It was rather hard, I could barely walk, let alone push some heavy barrels. And yet, I found myself on my knees, pushing with my whole-body weight, groaning when the barrels barely moved and the rain made it hard to see, the waves constantly making me lose my balance. This seemed to be an impossible task and I stopped, catching myself. Why was I helping them? I was their prisoner. They deserved to die. They took me away from my home and they want to sell me. If anything, their deaths will only bring satisfaction, not an ounce of regret or sadness. So I stopped. I dropped the rope and pulled myself up, ears picking up on a frustrated cry. It was a familiar voice and I looked in their direction, eyes falling on Jongho. He was by the railing, pulling on the rope of the mizzenmast’s sail, as it had sprung free from its place. He was screaming at Wooyoung to bring five men and help him tie it back before the wind rips their sail apart. There were tiny rips in the main sail already, which wasn’t a good sign. I took one step, two steps, three steps, and suddenly, my body was thrown against the wooden floor, head crashing against the barrel I was holding onto. Suddenly, everything was hazy around me, voices muffled and head throbbing. I couldn’t feel my legs nor my hands as I gasped for air, blinking but not seeing. Panick seeped through my body, hard to breathe all of a sudden as I clawed at my neck.

“Hey, hey!” The voice shouting seemed to be at a distance and I felt something colder than the rain pressing against my cheeks, “Y/N, hey! Calm down, you’re alright!”

I squeezed my eyes tightly shut together, when suddenly I felt a light slap on my cheek, the person talking to me demanding me to open my eyes. My eyebrows were furrowed as I forced my eyes open, seeing but black dots covered everything; Yunho was the one holding onto me, “Take deep breaths!”

I did that and found my vision clearing a little bit, but it was still hazy. There were zero chances that I could stand up with the nausea I was feeling. I have never been this sick.

“Everyone get under deck!” Suddenly a strong voice shouted over the thunder, “Right now!”

People started abandoning their previous tasks as everyone hurried underneath deck, but Yunho stayed by my side. He figured I couldn’t walk and suddenly I was hoisted up, carried towards the stairs as he looked around frantically.

“Yunho!” A feminine voice called out behind us and Yunho turned around, letting out a deep breath.

“Come on, Taeri!” And the woman caught up to us and held onto Yunho’s bicep as the three of us left the deck, me confused about what was happening. The hallway was filled with the pirates, everyone panting and drenched.

“We can’t stay up there anymore, nothing we do can save the damage.” Hongjoong breathed out defeated, eyebrows furrowed, “All is left are the prayers.”

A deafening silence fell over the hallway, nobody saying anything as their fates sunk in. I gulped, suddenly feeling the doom looming over our heads. I would survive it; I was a Siren. But nobody else on this ship would. My eyes ran over the people’s faces, searching for only one. Jongho. He seemed nicer than anyone else on this ship. He treated me decently when everyone else called me a monster and was afraid of me. I found myself thinking about how he didn’t deserve a harsh death. He taught me how to walk. He tried to feed me; he brought me water. He dressed me up and always tried to keep his distance if it wasn’t necessary to be physically close. He told me stories of his life before he became a pirate, how his father and him would spend their days on a boat fishing. He loved pearls and even showed me his little chest filled with them, wanting to give me one but I didn’t want it. He was hardworking and dedicated, very good at his job. Yunho suddenly placing me down snapped me out of my thoughts and I realized how fast my heart was beating. I was scared…but not for myself. For Jongho.

“Where’s Jongho?!” And as if the Captain read my thoughts, he called out. Everyone started looking around frantically, checking who was standing next to them.

“Jongho?!” His father called out, pushing people aside as he looked for his son, eyes wide and frantic, “Where’s my son?!”

I gulped, doom settling in the pit of my stomach. Jongho wasn’t here. And he wasn’t on deck. And if he wasn’t here and there neither…he was in the water. I gasped and felt my body tense up as I grabbed onto the wall harshly and started moving without a second thought. I never knew legs could be this strong, they didn’t hurt as I found my balance without holding onto anything. I pushed the few people standing in my way aside, making eye contact with the Captain before I started hopping up the stairs. I couldn’t run, I still didn’t know how to move my legs accordingly, but this was the fastest I have ever moved. My legs carried me back onto the deck and my eyes settled on the water. There was nothing and nobody stopping me anymore from jumping in.

“What are you doing?!” I heard Hongjoong shouting after me as I gripped the railing, heart beating like crazy. The water has never looked more inviting than right now, and without a word, I found myself leaning over the railing, arms out stretched as I fell rapidly towards the water. I was smiling from ear to ear, waiting for the moment when my skin finally made contact with the water. And when it did, all my worries seemed to disappear. I gasped, bubbles surrounding my body and sticking to it, everything so much quieter underwater. My ears stopped ringing, my hair regained its glow and my skin felt new, clean, fresh. The heaviness bellow my waist disappeared and when I looked down, the ripped pieces of the pants floated away, my long and strong tail replacing my atrocious legs. I started laughing, tearing the shirt off my body, a lump in my throat forming. I was a Siren. My tail was back. I didn’t turn human. I was free. I started moving my tail, chuckling at how easily it moved, how light I felt again. But my moment of euphoria was interrupted by screams of help, making me turn around as my eyes fell on human legs. It was Jongho. And he was still alive. I swum over faster than ever, but when I tried to get onto the surface, a huge wave crashed against me and sent me deep underwater, away from Jongho. I shook my head and hissed, searching for him as I couldn’t see him anymore. My glowing eyes seemed to be of no help all of a sudden. I thought he was forever lost, swallowed by the depths of the sea, but I caught his body. Little bubbles left his mouth as he was being pulled deeper and deeper by the current. It looked like he wasn’t even fighting back, face almost serene as he accepted his fate. My heart clenched and I found myself near him in mere seconds, his eyes closed. I panicked, but knew it still wasn’t too late as I could hear his heartbeat now that I was back in the water. I grabbed Jongho’s cheeks, making his eyes fly open in shock, and pressed my lips against his. He didn’t seem to understand what I was trying to do, so I forced his lips open with my tongue and blew air inside his mouth, supplying his lungs with enough air for us to get to the surface. Jongho seemed be dumbfounded as I pulled away and wrapped my arms around him tightly, swimming towards the surface, feeling where the current tried to take us, but fought against it. Our heads popped above the water and Jongho took a deep breath, slightly choking as he started coughing and he clung onto me as I stared up at the tall ship.

“Kim Hongjoong!” I screamed as loudly as I could, allowing my Siren voice to carry it to the ship, above their deck. It didn’t take much for the Captain to look overboard and once again, I screamed, “Go to the kitchen window! I can hand him back through there!”

The Captain said nothing but I knew he understood as he disappeared from the railing, I looked at Jongho, who was smiling in awe at me, “Take a deep breath.”

He sucked in a deep breath and we submerged underwater again as I swum around the ship, towards the kitchen window. Jongho didn’t stop smiling and when I pushed him towards surface, he gripped my arms tightly and pulled me above water too, panting as he stared into my eyes deeply. I didn’t move as a wave hit us, but had to hold onto Jongho to keep him above the water, his body not strong enough to do so. The kitchen window wasn’t open yet, it took some time to get there from the deck. Jongho’s warm brown eyes were soft as he tried to push his hair out of his face, watching me.

“You’re so beautiful.” I felt my body warm up at his words, a little taken back by them. Despite knowing I was a beautiful creature, his words seemed to have an effect on me. I knew my eyes were glowing and my skin was almost translucent again, yet Jongho caressed my cheek and pulled me in. His warm lips were cracked from him biting them so much, but their plumpness made them softer than I imagined they would be. I found myself kissing him back eagerly, wondering where these desires were coming from. Our lips moved perfectly against each other; the waves not even capable of breaking us apart. Jongho held onto me tightly, lightly shuddering from the coldness of the water, holding my cheeks firmly. It felt overwhelming to be held like this, to have lips against mine, to have someone like Jongho call me beautiful. He was the beautiful one, in fact. I’ve never seen a human like him before. So joyous of what life had to offer him. Friendly and accepting despite the strangeness of my nature to him. When I pulled back, I couldn’t breathe properly. I never knew a kiss could steal your breath away. I gazed at Jongho starstruck and he chuckled, planting a shorter but strong kiss against my lips again. I suddenly wondered what love felt like. And if the person who loved you gave you kisses like Jongho’s all the time. How would Jongho be if he were in love with you? Sweet, attentive, and loving?

I could hear the pirates struggling to open kitchen window, they were annoyingly loud. I didn’t want our little moment to end, but I had to hand them Jongho. He was a human, and I was a Siren. We were creatures different from each other. Our lives had no future if intertwined. It was best to let go while you could.

“Sunmi.” I said to Jongho as I heard the window opening, “My name is Sunmi.”

Jongho’s eyes widened at the hear of my real name. One night, when he wouldn’t stop asking me questions, I decided to tell him that the name I told him to call me by was fake as Siren’s names were sacred and only their swarm knew them.

“We’re here!” I heard Hongjoong screaming from above us and I turned around, looking at them. Yeosang, who despite seeming so soft was awfully strong, was leaning out the window, being held by Mingi and Yunho. Hongjoong was also leaning out, held down by Seonghwa and the one pirate who thought I couldn’t speak, San. Jongho and I shared one last look before I swum him closer to his mates, raising him out of the water as best as I could, until Yeosang and Hongjoong were able to hold him by his arms.

“Goodbye.” Jongho mouthed to me and I smiled as I watched him being pulled back to safety, the window slamming shut once his body disappeared through it. I jumped back underneath, swimming further and further away from the ship, feeling the sea calling out to me, guiding me towards my home.

I knew one day Jongho would tell his children about his encounter with a Siren, and if they happened to follow their father’s footsteps and sailed out onto the Ragging Sea, I would make sure to save them if needed, like I have saved Jongho.

Next part (divider)

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miraclesabound · 1 year ago

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Spoiler-Heavy Review/Thoughts on "The Last Voyage of the Demeter"

The crowd at the theater grew to about 15, so still pretty quiet.

Short version is that I enjoyed this movie thoroughly, but it is truly gruesome. The entry will start below the cut with spoilery warnings, because even having read the book, there were some things that caught me off guard.

Warnings for this film include:

trafficking of a young woman as a blood bag/bride for Dracula

Use of racial slurs against both a Black and a Romani character

deaths of all animals on board, including livestock and a young boy's beloved dog - shown with full gore

death of three crew members by burning in the sun after vampiric possession, including the young boy (the captain's grandson)

One of those three choosing sunlight as their method of suicide rather than allowing themselves to fully turn into a beat.

In fact, no one dies peacefully - this version of Dracula is emphasized as truly beastly, relishing the fear of his victims.

I know we've all been rooting for the Captain (named Captain Elliot in this version), but the true protagonist is Mr. Clemens, played by Corey Hawkins. We never get his first name, but we learn that he's a Black English doctor making his way home from Bulgaria/Romania, and he offers his services to Captain Elliot when a previously hired hand refuses to touch anything marked with Dracula's symbol - the stamp of a black dragon.

Other characters include: Captain Elliot and his young grandson Toby, Anna, the young woman given to Dracula as a captive by her village, and the men of the crew, all of whom have sailed with Captain Elliot before.

Then of course, there's Dracula himself. I saw some reviews saying he's shown far too early in the movie - but it worked for me. We find out that Anna was locked in his coffin with him and was meant to sustain him for the whole voyage - so when we see Dracula, he's weak and wracked with hunger for losing his food supply when Clemens finds Anna and starts treating her. Since we see him like that early, there's room for him to grow to almost full power as he burns through the animals and then the crew.

I enjoyed just about every performance in the film, but Corey Hawkins (Clemens), Javier Botet (Dracula), and Woody Norman (Toby) were particular highlights. Clemens is your classic cynical scientist with a heart of gold, Dracula speaks less than you would expect but still has that taunting air, and Toby doesn't read as older than he's supposed to be.

As story beats go, I think I appreciated Anna's the most. I've said in my reread of Dracula that I wish modern adaptations did more with the people of Transylvania hating Dracula, and this version presented that in Anna's character. She's lived under Dracula's shadow as long as she can remember, even before her village elders handed her over, and once she's freed and recovered some of her strength, she's finally able to fight back. I'm a sucker for a character who knows they're doomed but still tries to do the right thing, and Anna is that in spades.

THE LIGHTING IN THIS MOVIE WAS ACTUALLY EFFECTIVE!!!! The daytime scenes were vibrant, and all the nights scenes are lit by an enormous full moon and several stars. It makes the shadow work less muddied than you might see in a more modern-style horror movie.

The movie ends with Clemens technically surviving, but still deeply traumatized and literally scarred - he and Anna scuttle the ship and jump overboard, but not until after Dracula has drunk enough from Anna to curse her and he's badly hurt Clemens' neck. Anna gives herself over to the sun so that Clemens can get to shore, and the closing scene is clearly a sequel hook as he hunts for Dracula in London - or perhaps the Count has already realized that Clemens is on his tail. This worked for me because the film stuck with Clemens. I kept expecting him to run into one of the core Dracula characters, and I'm not sure I would have liked that.

This is all a very long-winded way of saying that this was a film I truly enjoyed, and it is a LOVE LETTER to the book's thesis - the supernatural may have come out of hiding, but if we band together, evil may be halted - even for a little while.

Rating: 8.5/10

#dracula daily #the last voyage of the demeter #last voyage of the demeter

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cbs-scorpion-coffee-shop · 11 months ago

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Ok, hear me out:

Kratos, after the events of the Valhalla DLC, is sleeping peacefully in his home, until someone knocks on his door.

"I didn't know who else to go to." says Thor.

Thor, who had ascended to a higher existence after being killed by his father, rejected that existence and decided to live another live. He wanted to be better for his family, but he didn't want to return to them the way he was. He wanted to change first. So he went to the one person who knew how.

Kratos tells Thor about his past and he realizes that if Kratos can change then so can he.

"You kid is lucky." Thor says. "I hope mine can be as lucky as yours one day."

Kratos decides to take him to Valhalla as a start. An opportunity provided to Thor by Odin's betrayal.

Kratos goes to Lunda in the realm between realms and gets a mace and shield for Thor like the ones Modi had. On his way out of the house, Ratatoskr asks Kratos for a favor and says he'll reward him with materials. Kratos asks for another reward instead. For bitter squirrel to be Thor's partner in Valhalla. Kratos believed the similarities between them would make Thor feel at ease.

Kratos, Mimir and Thor, with much conversation between the three on the boat, go to the same shore and after much trouble, convince Freya to help them and not tell anyone. Especially Sif and Thrud.

"Well, at least with Odin gone, there's no one for him to serve. We could make good use of-" Freya says

"No." Kratos cuts her off. "He is Odin's monster no longer, and he will not be ours. To help us or not is your choice."

Freya sighs "I'm only doing it for you, you know."

"Thank you, Freya."

"Of course."

Thor, with bitter as a partner, tackles Valhalla.

Many obstacles stand in his way: The fact that he simply isn't a disciplined warrior, but a fat dude swinging a hammer, and the new weapons are something he isn't used to. The years of trauma inflicted on him by Odin. The death of his mother which he blames himself for. His refusal to embrace the Johtunar part of himself. His refusal to think and feel.

He tries and fails for many months. He lives with Kratos and Mimir and they get to know eachother better. He has Kratos train him, and eventually, with the help of Kratos, Mimir, Tyr, Freya and surprisingly bitter who turned out to be a better companion for Thor than Kratos could ever for, Thor manages to come to terms with his past, and finally battles Tyr and wins.

However, as soon as he peeks at what's behind the door, he quits. He decides that he doesn't wanna try anymore. Everyone else is wondering why, but Kratos knows why. He knows what's behind that door, or rather who.

Modi.

Killing his son. Thor could could never come to terms with that. It took Kratos over a hundred years to heal from that.

He goes to the spot where Modi died to remember his son. He looks above, and he is caught by the last thing he wished to be caught by.

Jormungandur.

He battles it, but due to not having his hammer, and the poison being his weakness, he loses and is knocked unconscious.

He wakes up a bed, wrapped in bandages. It wasn't Kratos's home, or any he'd ever known. The little boy sitting on the edge of the bed greets him. He has red hair darker than his and doesn't look older than three winters. His mother, a dwarf woman, tends to Thor and tells him that her husband saved him and to rest while her husband hunts for food. He tries to decline and just leave, but he can barely walk two steps.

Thor complies, and stays in bed.

He finds out that he is in a magical forest. Those unwanted and shunned by their own people come here to escape. Some dwarves, some giants, some Aseir, Vanir and many others, and that the forest is hidden by her husband's magic, and that he insisted on bringing him here.

Bedridden Thor occasionally talks to the boy and bonds with him. He finds out that the boy has giant blood in him, and works out that his father is a giant or at least has giant blood. No wonder his father never wanted to meet him.

The GiantSlayer he was would strike fear in any giant. He was nowhere near being better. His progress didn't matter to these people. but then why did he save him? That didn't matter as well. As soon as he gets better, he's leaving. It's better this way.

One day, he woke up at sunrise and found that no one was home. He found that he could walk and decided to just leave. He made his way through the forest, but it was a labyrinth. He found himself lost. It must be the father's magic. The excited laughter of the boy playing with his father and mother echoed through the forest. He wanted to thank them and say goodbye to the boy. He followed their voices. The boy was playing hide and seek with his father. It sounded like the boy was the seeker and his father was winning.

The father's voice was familiar. His heart grew heavy as he got closer to the source of the voice.

"It can't be." He whispered to himself.

He reached them, and the sight of the father struck him like a thousand lightning bolts.

Modi.

-Think I should continue this fic?

#god of war ragnorak #god of war ragnarok #god of war #gow ragnarok #kratos #gowr #god of war ragnarok valhalla #Thor #Modi #Mimir #Freya #Gow fanfic #Thor odinson #Odin

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cameronspecial · 1 year ago

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Thorn In Your Side, Rose In Your Hand (Part 1)

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x Reader

Warnings: None

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 3.5K

Summary: Y/N and Mason may have always been in each others’ lives, but Rafe hasn’t. As the trio grew, so did the long history of Rafe being a nuisance to Y/N.

A/N: So this is definitely he fell first and brother’s best friends fic. I also want to make it a slow burn but I might get too excited and make them get togother sooner then I would want.

Masterlist

Rafe Cameron has always been a thorn in Y/N’s side and it doesn’t help that he is her twin brother’s best friend. That meant he was there for every birthday, family dinner and trip with his smug face and stupid teasing.

Y/N is peacefully relaxing on her pool chair in the backyard when her bliss is interrupted by the calling out of a voice, “Hey Y/L/N! What is this god-awful music you are listening to?” She looks up from the book she is reading but quickly decides to pay no attention to the nuisance that appeared in her backyard. “Did you hear me?” Rafe asks as he approaches the girl. Without so much as looking up from her book, Y/N says, “Mason isn’t home right now. Just go up to his room. You know where it is”. Y/N doesn’t hear anything after that so she assumes that Rafe went into the house; however, she is sadly mistaken.

Y/N Y/L/N has always been a rose in Rafe’s life and it doesn’t help that she is his best friend’s twin sister. That means he has to go through every birthday, family dinner and trip with the constant reminder that she is out of reach.

The fact that Y/N isn’t paying attention to Rafe greatly irritates him because it’s all he ever wants, so instead of going inside the house as she expected, he approaches the speaker and phone placed on the outdoor bar. He picks up the phone and pauses the music. This catches the girl’s attention as she quickly looks up from the page with an annoyed look on her face.

“Rafe, unpause the music,” she orders. Rafe, finally glad to have her attention, smirks and holds the phone over his head, “You want your phone back? Make me.” See Rafe knows about the type of books Y/N likes to read, so making one of them come to life for the girl seemed like the best way to get her attention and maybe start something with her.

This further annoys the girl as she understands what type of game the boy is trying to play. But unlucky for him, Y/N has amazing reflexes and a plan. She puts the book down and saunters over to the boy. Once she is in front of him, she gently reaches a hand out to take the hand not holding her phone into hers and gently starts tugging him towards the pool, but he doesn’t realize that. She gets him with his back facing the pool then stands on her tippy toes and slowly starts to inch her lips closer to his.

Rafe thinks he knows what is about to happen, so he closes his eyes and starts to lean down. However, he is extremely shocked when he feels a push on his chest and suddenly he is falling into the pool. With her quick reflexes, Y/N grabs her phone from his hand before it can hit the water. She is laughing her head off as she watches the boy swim back to the surface. His face is annoyed, but she can see the hint of pride behind his eyes.

Her laugh is interrupted by someone else making their presence known. “Dude, why are you in the pool with your clothes on?” Mason questions from the gate leading to the front of the house.

——

Y/N Y/L/N and Mason Y/L/N have always loved the water. Their parents swear the twins had water in their veins instead blood. Beach days were plenty, but seeing the look of pure joy on the five-year-olds’ faces filled the couple with love and made the long hot days worth it.

It was on one of those beach days that Rafe Cameron entered their lives. Y/N was closer to the shore as she had always just enjoyed the feeling of being in the water, so she was elated with pretending to jump over the waves. However, Mason loved the feeling of the water moving across his skin as he swam. He always felt so strong and fast whenever he could swim more laps faster than his younger sister. Rafe had spotted the boy swimming laps from the shore and immediately wanted to have a race.

“Do you wanna race?” Rafe asked as he waded his way toward Mason. “Dude, I’m definitely faster than you,” Mason challenged, “Let me get my sister to judge for us.” Mason had loved calling people dude after he heard a surfer in a movie say it. He wanted to be as cool as him. “Y/N/N! Come judge our race!” the twin yelled to his womb partner. Rafe looked towards who Mason was facing and he swore his tiny heart had skipped a beat. Should he call a doctor? No, because the laugh that reaches his ears must have cured whatever happened to his heart.

The first thing Rafe noticed was Y/N’s smile. He swore it lit up the beach more than the sun ever could. Her laugh was as sweet as his favourite candy and he found it very fun to watch as she jumped over the waves. He loved that she did not have a care in the world that she looked a little silly.

Y/N quickly stops her jumping marathon when she heard her brother call out for her and ran over as fast as she could. As the young girl approached, Rafe noticed the pink and red roses that peppered the purple bathing suit. “Hiya, I’m Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N and I’m five years old. I have a twin brother and his name is Mason Byron Y/L/N,” Y/N greeted as she waves at the slightly shorter boy. Rafe thought her smile was even more dazzling up close. “Y/L/N, I like your last name. I think I’ll call you that. I’m Rafe,” he said nervously without thought. Y/N's lips dropped not even a millimetre because she was trying to hide her distaste for the nickname the boy gave her. There was nothing wrong with her last name, but she loved her first name. She thought it was unique and what made her different from the rest of her family. “Well, I think your name sounds funny. Can you guys just race already? Ready, set, go!” The young girl insisted as she watched the boys get into positions. The boys heard go and started swimming away from Y/N.

Although the name thing would seem to be something an adult could let go of easily, Y/N was five and she could hold a grudge like no other person even at that ripe age. She decided that as revenge, no matter who actually won, she would say her big brother won.

The race was neck and neck, but Rafe was clearly the winner. “Mason won,” Y/N declared as both boys looked at her with a glint of hope at being the winner of the race. The joy in Rafe’s face evaporated instantly and he got angry, “That’s not true.” “Yes, it is. I’m the judge and I said so,” the younger girl huffed. This caused Rafe to approach Y/N with an angry look in his eyes. Mason being the ever-protective brother acted quickly and pushed Rafe into the water. This caused Rafe to start crying and Mason to panic about getting in trouble. “I’m sorry but you shouldn’t have gotten close to Y/N/N like that,” Mason apologized profusely. “I’m sorry, Y/N and I’ll only accept your apology if you are my best friend,” Rafe concluded as he stood back. And they call little girls dramatic Y/N thought as she rolled her eyes at Rafe’s actions. “Okay,” Mason said happily as he hugged the boy. This upset Y/N as she felt she was losing her twin brother.

From that moment on, Rafe and Mason were best friends and Y/N vowed to never be friends with Rafe no matter what he tried to do. He just didn’t make a good first impression.

——

“I just don’t understand why you have to keep provoking her, dude. You know she isn’t your biggest fan,” Mason questions as he waits for Rafe outside of his bathroom door. Rafe pauses drying himself off for a moment as he tries to think of a response that doesn't sound pathetic, “You know it’s the only time that she actually pays any attention to me. She’s your sister and it would be nice if we actually got along.” Rafe continues to dry himself off and then changes into some of Mason’s clothes. “I don’t think antagonizing her is how you build bridges. That’s more like starting world war three. You know how long she can hold a grudge. Remember when you took her cookie that one time? She wouldn’t talk to you for a week,” Mason reminds Rafe.

——

The twins had just turned 8 and Y/N loved baking with her mom. She found measuring the ingredients fun and it amazed her how she can make something that tasted so delicious from random ingredients.

The twins were having a sleepover; Mason had invited Rafe, of course, and Y/N invited her best friend, Lacey. The children were in the kitchen enjoying the freshly-cooled cookies when Y/N felt nature calling. “I’m going to the bathroom,” the girl informed the others as she hopped off the island stool and went off to the bathroom.

Rafe had just finished his cookie and was in need of another. He reached for another cookie on the plate in front of the children, but when he spotted Y/N's half-eaten cookie sitting on her own plate, he couldn’t resist the idea of getting her attention. He took Y/N’s cookie and quickly shoved it into his mouth; surprising both Lacey and Mason. Before the other two could say anything, Y/N had returned from the bathroom.

“RAFE! You took my cookie!” She quickly accused when she saw her empty plate. With a full mouth, Rafe responded, “No.” This caused the girl to glare daggers at the boy and quickly turn her back away. “Well, I’m never going to talk to you again,” she promised as she stomped off with the expectation that her best friend would follow her, which Lacey did while also starting daggers at Rafe.

——

Rafe chuckles at the memory that Mason brought back.to mind. He had forgotten about that. “Yeah, but she got over that. I bet I can figure out a way we can become thick as thieves,” Rafe tells Mason. “Dude, even if you become friends with Y/N. It’s not like you can go any farther than that. I love you but I definitely don’t trust you with my sister’s heart. We both know how you are and we both remember the conversation I had with you when we were twelve,” Mason warns Rafe.

——

Rafe and Mason were outside practicing swimming laps in the pool. They were determined to be ready when varsity high school tryouts come around. “I need a drink of water, dude,” Mason tells Rafe as he got out of the pool and into the house. Rafe swam over to the shallow end so that he could stand up. He got curious about where Y/N was and looked towards her window. Y/N sat reading her book in her window book nook in her room. Of course, she was always reading. It was adorable watching her read because she would scrunch her nose at random times and it was so easy to read her expressions as her eyes glanced over the pages. He felt like he was reading the book with her. Rafe was so focused on trying to read the title on the cover of the page that he didn’t notice that Mason had returned from his water break.

“Will you stop staring at my sister like that, dude?” Mason grovelled as he swatted Rafe’s head quickly. “Like what?” Rafe groaned while he rubbed the back of his head where Mason’s hand hit. Mason rolled his eyes at his best friend’s obliviousness, “Like your heart is going to come out of your eyeballs like a cartoon character.” Rafe’s cheeks turned red at his friend's implication. “You know it’s not like that. She’s like a sister to me,” Rafe cringed internally at having to say that because it was far from the truth. “Good because I don’t want you guys breaking each others’ hearts. It would be a nightmare to be caught between siding with my sister and my best friend. Plus, we are too young to date anyways,” Mason said as he hopped back into the pool and both boys started their laps again.

——

Rafe finishes getting changed and exits the bathroom with a final shake of his head to dry off his hair. He places the used towel in Mason’s hand and walks toward the door that leads to the hallway. “Should we do a movie night tonight?” Rafe asks. Mason puts the towel into the hamper and follows the other boy into the hallway. “Yeah, we should ask Y/N/N though if she wants to watch with us. Lacey went to Paris for some cooking internship this month and I’m worried all she’s going to do while Lacey’s gone is read, chill by the pool and go to the beach. I saw her tbr for the month and I’m pretty sure there was like forty books on it,” Mason says as they head towards the movie room in the basement. “Haha, why does that not surprise me? Hold on let’s get everything ready first before we call her down,” Rafe says as he directs Mason towards the stairs when he sees Mason head towards Y/N’s room. Mason's confusion shows on his face but he follows Rafe downstairs, “Uhh, okay.”

Once downstairs, Rafe goes over to the popcorn machine and starts it up. “Go get the

sprite, KitKat and watermelon sour gummies from the kitchen, Mace,” Rafe instructs. Without so much as a complaint, Mason leaves the room and makes his way upstairs to get the snacks. The popcorn finishes popping and Rafe places it in the plastic containers that look like circus popcorn bags. He makes sure to layer the melted butter over the popcorn, so the butter gets to the popcorn on the bottom. He places the popcorn on the coffee table in the front. He walks over to pick up the purple fuzzy blanket and the big fluffy pillow in the basket in the corner of the room. After that, Rafe takes out his phone and hooks it up to the overhead projector. He quickly scrolls through Netflix until he finds Ready or Not.

Finally, Mason finds his way back into the basement with the instructed snacks and settles himself into the theatre chair after putting the snack on the table. “I’ll go get your sister,” Rafe quickly tells Mason as he makes his way upstairs to Y/N’s room.

He knocks on the door but doesn’t wait for a response before walking into the room. “Yo, Y/L/N. We are having a movie night and you are joining. No, choice,” Rafe orders, grabbing the book out of the girl’s hand. He makes sure to place the bookmark in between the pages before he places it on her book cart where he knows she likes to keep the book she is currently reading. “Hey! I was reading that. You know you can’t just come in here unannounced and interrupt my reading. I don’t wanna watch a movie,” Y/N criticizes as she tries to pick her book back up. Rafe ignores her complaints and just picks her up by the waist. He throws her over his shoulder and makes his way downstairs.

Rafe gently places Y/N in her favourite seat and swaddles her in the purple blanket. He gives her the popcorn and other snacks that the boys got ready. Once Rafe ensures everything is ready, he presses play on his phone and the movie begins. Y/N wasn’t shocked when she realizes what movie is playing. She lets herself smile softly hoping that it goes unnoticed by Rafe, but it doesn’t.

The snacks on the table are all her favourite kinds. The popcorn is made perfectly to her liking. The blanket and pillow are the softest and comfiest ones her family owns. And the movie, it is the perfect movie for her mood. Thrillers are for when she is in need to release some tension and annoyance because they are not too scary but always have the more satisfying type of violence. No matter how many times Rafe Cameron annoys Y/N, he will always know how to make it up to her in a way that could never make her truly hate him. It has been this way since the beginning of their relationship.

——

Five-year-old Rafe approached the twins sitting by their parents. Y/N and Mason were just finishing up their lunch when they saw that their new friend was coming closer to them. Rafe’s hand was behind his back and he softly sets himself beside Y/N so their knees were just barely touching.

He was comfortably settled, then he finally revealed what he was concealing for the girl. “Hi, Y/L/N. I’m sorry again for getting in your personal space. But I brought you a popsicle from my cooler. It’s watermelon flavoured,” Rafe shyly handed the popsicle over and he felt butterflies in his stomach when he saw the wide smile appear on Y/N’s face. “Thank you,” Y/N said quietly because she didn’t want to let her anger go, but she definitely wanted the popsicle. Rafe watched as the girl’s tiny hands struggled with opening the popsicle, so he gently took the popsicle out of her hands, opened it and then gave it back to her. He could’ve teased him, but he didn’t want to anger her further and plus he liked helping her.

——

It had been a week since Y/N had talked to Rafe and he had spent all weekend in the kitchen. He was surrounded by various batches of cookies; they all had various issues. One was too sweet, the other too salty, the next one was too hard. Y/N liked soft and balanced cookies. He watched anxiously as his nanny took the latest batch of cookies out of the oven. The cookies were cool when he took a bite out of one and realized they were perfect. “These are perfect for Y/L/N,” Rafe exclaimed. He quickly packaged the cookies in the basket decorated with roses and ran over to Y/N’s house.

He knew he wouldn’t need to knock on the door. It was the summer and there were only really two places that you could find Y/N during this season. Rafe made his way around the house to the pool to see Mr. Y/L/N at the grill cooking some burgers while he watched the twins in the pool. Mason immediately froze in the pool when he noticed his friend has arrived. “Dude! I didn’t know you were coming! Did you bring your swimsuit?” Mason screamed in excitement. Rafe shook his head and replied, “No, I just came to give Y/N something.” Y/N looked over at the mention of her name and immediately got herself out of the pool to see what Rafe brought. She looked into the basket and saw the cookies. One of the cookies was calling to her and she just had to take a bite out of it. The cookie melted in her mouth and she didn’t want to admit that these were even better than hers.

“I guess these are good. Thanks,” she admitted. Rafe beamed and nodded in delight. Mason heard what his sister said and it immediately caught his attention. He jumped out of the pool and ran to get himself a cookie. But before he could get his hand on one, Y/N put her hand out to stop him. “These are mine,” she quickly said while she picked up the basket and ran off into her room. Mason turned disgruntled to his best friend, “Why did I think that I could actually get a cookie? But at least she is talking to you.”

——

As Rafe watches the joy and comfort on Y/N’s face while they watch the movie, he realizes that he would always do anything he could to make Y/N feel safe, happy and calm. He might enjoy teasing her for attention but he never wants to make her truly miserable. He may not want to consciously admit it yet, but Y/N will always have the key to Rafe’s heart. He just wishes that she feels the same way about him.

Taglist: @itsalexwin @sublimepenguinpeach-blog

#thorn in my side rose in my hand #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron #rafe cameron fanfiction #rafe cameron imagine #rafe cameron x y/n #rafe cameron x you #rafe cameron series #outer banks #outer banks imagine #outer banks fanfiction #outer banks x reader #outer banks x you

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theauthorunicorn · 1 year ago

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Wildest Dreams | Nanami Kento

notes: his memories will always follow you around. we well be okay, it's okay to grieve and to be sad for Nanami.

Nanami Kento x Reader

⠄･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠄･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆⠄⠄･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆

Three years ago

"Malaysia, what do you think?"

You always love to read books. Piles and piles of them were put on your shelves every time you ran to a book store. Years before, you always wondered if you'd find someone who loved to read as much as you do. If you do, he's definitely one of a kind.

"Hmm, yeah, I think Malaysia would be great, Ken." You hummed as your hand scanned the shelves. You picked out a yellow book—definitely a young adult romance—that got many reviews online. You tried to read the first page to check if this might be the one that you'll bring home today. "What about it, though?" you questioned him while reading.

"Well, I somehow dreamed to build a house on an empty beach, and I was always wondering if you'd like to be with me. You know, living peacefully, waves crashing the shore will be our music every day, and the books bought through, mountains of it, will be read with you by my side with these cheesy young adult books that you love." He grabbed your book and scanned the cover immediately. He might be judging your choices. He raised an eyebrow, all the possibilities of you asking him something that the man on this book will do.

You chuckled lightly. "Well, I love this kind of book, and it makes my heart so full."

He smiled and continued reliving his dream: "We will have a lot of time to make up the lost ones, reading one book at a time. And I would like you to be with me, my love."

"Me too, Ken. Let's go to Malaysia."

He kissed your temple and wrapped his arms around you. This feels like forever; his warmth felt like home somehow. Kento was home.

⠄･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠄･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆⠄⠄･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆

Shibuya, October 31, 2018

You fell to your knees; your lifeless frame knew that it was all gone. That he was gone.

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seriowan · 2 years ago

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for the dancing and the dreaming (hunter x f!reader)

“Surviving is the bare minimum of what it means to live. Thanks to you, Omega knows how to survive — maybe you should show her what it means to live a little bit as well.”

summary: on the night of pabu's annual 'giving festival', omega opens herself up to new experiences while hunter's night takes an unexpected turn, leaving him with a memorable moment that might change the course of his life forever...

pairing: hunter x f!reader (nicknamed coral)

tags: spoilers for tbb s2ep13; love at first sight; meet-cute; first-meeting kiss; reader is described as wearing a yellow sundress; nothing but fluff! - brief mentions of tech/phee

word count: 5k

a/n: the second i watched episode 13 i got this idea to write hunter in a whirlwind romance with a pabu girl and three drafts later, this is the final product! i wrote it with MAJOR inspiration from tangled's 'kingdom dance' scene and that one scene from how to train your dragon, so prepare thyself!

radio: kingdom dance, alan menkin — for the dancing and the dreaming, httyd soundtrack

♡ masterlist ♡

Pabu was a true gem of nature, tucked away amid the endless oceans of its home planet.

As the warm sun kissed the little island, turquoise waters lapped gently against the grainy shores and ancient stone ports. Vibrant green brush and trees swayed in the breeze, their fronds whispering to one another. The air was filled with the sweet fragrance of exotic flowers, peppering the island in patches of oranges, reds, and pinks. Birdsong echoed alongside the crashing waves, moon-yo hoots and howls bouncing from one side of the island to the other. From the cobblestone streets and markets came the sound of life; cacophonies of chatter and murmurs, a blend of voices as the islanders bartered and laughed and greeted one another with merry smiles.

It was as if time stood still on Pabu, and every moment spent there was a moment of peace.

Hunter looked over the city from the balcony of Shep’s home, his stomach full and his heart more so.

He tuned in to Tech and Phee’s conversation, smiling into his cup of freshly squeezed juice when he mostly heard Tech’s voice going on about artifacts. A quick side eye and there Phee was, listening with her elbow on the table and her cheek in her palm, eyes locked onto his rambling brother as if he was the only person around.

Wrecker lay on a lounge chair, his hands behind his head and a dazed smile on his lips. With his belly finally full, the food coma hit him harder than ever, sending him into a blissful sleep that no one thought to disturb. Especially not when the sun was just right. Not when the winds carried the salty smell of the ocean and the sound of Omega’s laughter as she and Lyana chased the moon-yos around the balcony.

He looked over the city once more, watching as everyone lived their little slices of life. Couples walked hand-in-hand. Kids played ball and danced together, holding fizzing sparklers above their heads. An older man fed a cluster of moon-yos from a paper bag of scraps, waving at a woman as she walked past him with a basket of flowers hooked on her arm.

Hunter found it hard to believe that this island wasn’t a dream. Everything felt so serene and calm that it just… didn’t feel familiar. Not for them, at least. Not after years of missions and months of running and scavenging. After living day-to-day for most of his life, being able to sit and breathe felt odd. It was even more strange that he actually had to sit and wonder if he could call this island home.

As far as he could remember, home was never really a place but a people. His people — the one rambling on to an interested girl; the other sleeping peacefully on the lounge chair; the little girl who held Lyana’s hand as she scurried out through the gate.

Hunter glanced down at his cup and gave it a gentle swirl.

When did he last feel so content?

With the little voice in the back of his head reminding him that two of his brothers were out fighting for their lives (albeit for different reasons), he knew that he’d never have a total moment of peace… but, as small as this was, it was enough. Enough for him to close his eyes and take a deep breath. Enough for him to sit and actually feel the sun on his face. Enough for him to listen to the ocean, its gentle waves reminding him of a quiet Kamino.

Footsteps approached him from behind. He smelled the faintest scent of fruit as Phee leaned against the parapet, elbows up on the wall with a cup in her hand. She left Tech by the table, sparing a glance his way before turning towards Hunter.

“You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind,” she teased.

The opposite, actually, was what he wanted to say. Instead, he settled on, “It’s nice here.”

“Nice enough to stay?” She wasn’t pushing him but she wasn’t exactly being subtle about it either. Hunter knew that Phee always had two reasons for everything she did and when she glanced back at Tech, eyes softening, Hunter knew exactly why she posed this question.

He smothered the urge to smile and looked off towards the ocean, shoulders sagging as he struggled to come up with an answer.

“Think about it,” Phee murmured, nudging his arm with her elbow. “Take all the time you need. Pabu’s not goin’ anywhere.”

He hummed, the corner of his mouth lifting as he glanced from Phee to Tech. “Sure.”

An unspoken conversation took place as Phee narrowed her eyes, unable to hide the smallest trace of her smile. Hunter just arched a brow and she gave in with a sigh, shaking her head.

“You’ve got me there, Bandana. I think staying here would do you all some good — especially Omega. But, I’m not one for peer pressure. Maybe a walk through the city might help you come to a decision.” She looked over the city, her face lighting up when she noticed the streamers and decorations hanging from rooftop to rooftop. “Looks like tonight’s the Giving Festival.”

“Giving Festival?”

Phee nodded. “Everyone comes out for the Giving Festival and shares things like food, clothes, and jewelry — and everything’s free with no expectation to receive anything in return. They thank the ocean and the island for giving them a safe haven. It's why the kids get dressed in blue clothes and parade around with their sparklers. In fact, Omega and Lyana should be down there right now.”

He thought of it for a brief moment before nodding. Phee took that as her sign to leave but not without giving Hunter’s arm a squeeze. When she turned, Tech greeted her with the smallest smile — an action that Hunter seemed to notice happening more frequently than usual.

Leaving his cup on the parapet, Hunter removed his knife from the sheath on his waist and placed it atop the table. After a final glance back at his brothers, Hunter walked through the gate and left the balcony, entering the colorful streets of Pabu.

It took him a bit to get used to the sheer kindness that never seemed to run out from the island’s residents. Wherever he went, it seemed that everyone knew he was a newcomer, so he was often given cheerful waves and happy smiles. Some even stopped him, briefly chatting to introduce themselves before going back to their festivities. It was all odd, truly, but it was somewhat nice to be treated like a neighbor instead of a criminal on the run.

A father, as Shep had previously called him. Those words still echoed in his head and he had no intention of ever forgetting them.

Hunter’s walk through the city had its effect, as Phee suggested. The more he wandered, the more he wondered if he could live like the islanders: at peace and happy. Domesticity was never really an option until now, but as he watched the children play in front of their homes, parents watching from balconies and doorways, he imagined himself in their shoes. It was easy to picture Omega running through these stone streets, laughing as freely as she did when she first latched onto his heart.

It didn’t take long before he came across that exact sight.

Standing in the center of a busy market street, Omega and Lyana wore blue robes over their clothes and carried glowing sparklers in their hands. They both had blue powder staining their cheeks and nose, causing Hunter to smile when the girls shared a giggle at how they looked. It wasn’t until Omega turned towards a store and waved that he realized the two girls weren’t alone.

Emerging from the doorway of a dome home was the woman he saw from Shep’s balcony. While she didn’t have a basket of flowers hanging from her elbow anymore, she carried two necklaces of sea glass in her hands and gave them to Omega and Lyana. From where he stood, Hunter could hear the gratefulness in Omega’s voice as the woman tied the thin string around her neck. Her nimble finger worked quite quickly before she took a step back, gently brushing a strand of hair out of Omega’s eyes.

The action was so soft that it made Hunter watch her with a peculiar gaze. She was beautiful, but she had a certain quality about her that outshone her beauty — a genuine energy that she revealed as she spoke to Omega with ease.

When she turned her head, Hunter noticed the flower poised behind her ear — a bright orange flower that brought out the color of her cheeks and the vibrance in her eyes. The woman crouched, her yellow sundress settling around her like a river of color. She grasped Omega’s hands and squeezed, grinning up at her before winking. Omega giddily nodded her head up and down and squeezed the woman’s hand as she turned, pulling her along as they both followed Lyana down the road.

The woman’s dress billowed after her as she ran. She had a captivating smile, cheeks flushed and eyes blazing. The wind blew through her hair as if it was created just for her, carrying her laughter to his ears.

The moment they took the corner, Hunter followed, interested to see where this night would take him.

You liked Lyana’s new friend. Omega was a firecracker of energy and curiosity, roaming to and fro with the intention to seek, find, and explore. When Lyana brought her to your doorstep and made introductions, you just knew that the little blonde was bound to become a new regular in your jewelry shop. She loved exploring the various things you created, including the sea glass necklaces.

When it came time to meet the girls outside, you made sure to grab the necklaces she’d been eyeballing. Omega’s expression of shock was worth it when you presented it to her, and her soft voice of thanks was enough to make your heart melt.

True to the promise you made to both girls, you took Lyana and Omega to the market square full of music and dance. Omega’s eyes were full of amazement as she looked over the festivities. Vibrant colors glowed from the lanterns hanging overhead. Streamers swayed in the wind like spinning ribbons of silk. Dancers formed circles that spun quickly, cheering and coaxing others to join. Lively, upbeat music played from the performers standing around a tall statue. They played with passion, dancing alongside a few children that joined their sides.

You held both Omega and Lyana’s hands as you guided them to the dancing circle in the center of the square. While Lyana was excited to join, Omega’s reluctance grew until she pulled her hand away, shaking her head as she took a step back.

“I can’t,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve never danced before.”

You smiled softly. “Would you feel better if I went first? Then you can see how it goes and if you want to join, you can jump in next to me and Lyana.”

Omega nodded and you grinned, turning to face the circle. Adjusting the flower in your hair, you picked up your dress and barged into the dancing circle, joining those who moved in unison. It took a moment before you caught up, but falling into step was easy. You spun and twirled and danced like there was no tomorrow, eyes shut as you switched partners and crossed the open circle alongside others. As the circle broke apart, paving way for duos and trios to have their own moment of dance, you noticed Omega and Lyana holding hands while they jumped back and forth and all around, laughing and giggling like girls in their prime.

The music picked up its pace and the circle reformed. Dresses were kicked up and hands were clapped loudly, laughter and whistles echoing from the bystanders that watched. Entranced by the pure jubilance of the music, and the energetic feeling of the dance, it was as if the world melted away, leaving nothing but you and the music.

You closed your eyes to enjoy the moment when suddenly, your balance slipped away as you bumped into the person beside you. Just before you could hit the ground, a pair of hands grabbed you by the elbows, hauling you up to a firm chest. Planting your hands on the figure’s vest, you struggled to catch your breath as you laughed, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“My goodness,” you gasped, shaking your head. “I’m so sorry-”

The moment you looked up, all of the words just left your lips. A knot twisted in your gut when you met a pair of rich brown eyes, that crinkled with amusement as they gaze down at you.

“Careful,” he murmured, his voice low and steady.

You wet your lips, uncertain if you could even speak, when Omega’s voice suddenly echoed from behind you.

“Hunter!

She and Lyana ran up to you and the man, halting in their tracks the moment they saw the odd position you were in - your hands on Hunter’s chest with his on your arms. They looked at one another with wide eyes and started giggling, causing you to take a step back and shyly fiddle with the flower behind your ear, cheeks as red as the lights above you.

Hunter put his hands on his hips, a little furrow in his brow, but he didn’t seem threatening. It was the observant gaze of a father.

You couldn't help but stir at the sight. Not only was he protective but he was quite gorgeous. He had the structure of the marble statues you’d seen in the Archium. Soft features, like the roundness of his jaw and the curve of his nose, but there was strength as well. Strength in his rich brown eyes as they moved from you to Omega.

And that strength, however threatening it may have been to others, softened when he placed his hand on Omega’s head, teasing her with a little tug on the ends of her hair.

“Having fun?”

It was easy to admit that you were entranced by everything about him - from the way he carried himself to the way he spoke. He was both gentle and sturdy, something that drew you in and made it impossible to look away.

“Yeah!” Omega giggled, breathless from the amount of running she did earlier. “Lyana took me around the market and look-!”

Shoving her hands in her pockets, she pulled out various little trinkets: a knife made of whalebone, bracelets fashioned from polished stone, a ring of silver with a little opal on top, chewing gum from sweet sap, and a few others that she’d been gifted by the market goers.

With the tip of his finger, Hunter nudged around the items in her palm before offering her a small smile. He gave the blue powder on her cheek a gentle swipe with his thumb before settling his hand on her shoulder, eyes shifting to you.

You stuck your hand out, smiling bashfully.

“Everyone calls me Coral around here,” you said, managing a small chuckle. “And I promise that I’m not as clumsy as I seemed earlier.”

“I know,” he remarked, shaking your hand. When he noticed your odd look, he backtracked, eyes widening just slightly. “I mean I saw you, uh, dancing. You’re good — at dancing, I mean.”

Ignoring Omega and Lyana’s giggles, you bowed your head in thanks, your voice soft as you hummed, “Thank you, Hunter.”

He gave a small smile. “My pleasure, Coral.”

“It’s a giving festival, Hunter,” Omega sang, nudging his side. “It’s custom here to give something to someone that you meet for the first time. Look, Coral gave me a necklace from her shop! Lyana has the same one so we’re matching.”

Hunter frowned, glancing down at his empty pockets. He flashed you an apologetic look and you couldn’t help but giggle. “Sorry, I don’t have anything on me at the moment.”

You shook your head, removing the flower from behind your ear. Taking a step forward, you closed the gap between you and Hunter, tilting your head to look up at him as you tucked the flower in the breast pocket of his vest.

“It’s not a matter of obligation,” you murmured softly, adjusting the petals so that they were all on display. “It’s just a matter of acceptance. You’re new here, so we give you-” You glanced down at Omega and winked. “-and you, these gifts to welcome you to Pabu. You accept these gifts; we accept you.”

Lyana smirked, adding, “Kisses are accepted too!”

“Alright that’s enough from you two,” you interrupted, shooing them away when the two girls started giggling. “Go back to dancing — and make sure you get some of those dragon candies before Sebby runs out!”

Lyana gasped and snatched Omega’s hand. As she began to pull her away, Omega gave you and Hunter a happy wave, turning with a laugh that made Hunter’s eyes soften.

“She hasn’t been this happy in a long time,” he noted in a quiet voice, unable to look away from the girl even when you glanced at him. “Things have been… they’ve been tough on her.”

“I know,” you murmured, causing him to arch his brows in surprise. “Omega kind of told me everything about your current situation. She told me so much about you and your brothers, I practically feel like I know you already.”

“Of course,” he sighed, shaking his head. “Sorry, she has a habit of doing that.”

“Don’t worry,” you assured, nudging his side. When his lip twitched up, you smiled. “I can keep a secret. Besides, I’d like to see her around more often. Lyana has a hard time making friends and Omega’s brought out a side of her that I haven’t seen before — she just looks so youthful when she isn’t shouldering some of Shep’s burdens. Being a single father is tough on the two of them and I think having some support is doing them both some good.”

What you said must have resonated deeply with Hunter for he fell into silence, a distant look in his eyes as he watched Omega receive a cup of steaming candies from a stand. She looked his way and lifted the cup above her head, a toothy grin forming when Hunter nodded at her in approval.

“Thank you for making her feel accepted here.”

“Of course… but what about you?”

He glanced down at you and arched a brow.

“Do you feel accepted here?” You clarified, gesturing towards everyone in the market square. “I know how hard it can be to settle down. I had a similar experience before I found myself on Pabu. It took me a while to adjust but once I did, this place became my safe haven like it did for so many others.”

Hunter took a moment to look over the festivities. He watched the people smile and dance and greet one another. He watched them live their lives, sighing.

“As long as Omega can find a home here, that’s all that matters.”

“It isn’t a crime to put your own needs forward, Hunter. Think of what’s good for you as well.”

“We still have unresolved matters,” he explained with a trace of frustration; not at you, but rather at the ‘unresolved matters’ that he mentioned. “There are things that need our attention-”

You removed your hand from around his arm to place your palm against his chest. He stopped talking, his eyes honing in on yours as you peered up at him with a seriousness he hadn’t seen before.

“Can you resolve any of those things from here?” You questioned, arching a brow.

He hesitated, then shook his head.

“Then it’s best for you-” You glanced back at Omega, “-and her, to put those aside for now and just accept this time of peace. She needs your attention too, not just your protection.” Giving him a little smile, you fiddled with the flower in his pocket, murmuring, “Care to take a bit of advice from a stranger?”

Hunter’s eyes crinkled as he nodded, amusement in his voice when he hummed, “Go ahead.”

You absentmindedly adjusted the petals as you spoke. “Surviving is the bare minimum of what it means to live. Thanks to you, Omega knows how to survive — maybe you should show her what it means to live a little bit as well.”

“How do you suppose I do that,” he asked with a sincereness that made your heart shatter. “Us clones don’t do much living — all we’ve ever done is survive.”

“Learn from others,” you suggested. “Learn from their experiences and their own lives… and if you feel comfortable with accepting help, let us show you so that you can show Omega.”

Hunter’s nod was so sudden that it made you furrow your brow in confusion.

“Alright,” he said without an ounce of hesitation.

“Alright?” You echoed, shocked by how quick he agreed.

To your surprise, Hunter took your hand in his own, engulfing your fingers, and began to pull you towards the girls across the square. His expression was muted but there was a little smile on his lips as he said lightly, “We need to learn how to live, right? Then show me how.”

You laughed as you nodded, squeezing his hand back in return. “Alright, but you can’t get mad at me when the time comes for you to step out of your comfort zone. Living doesn’t mean it’s always comfortable.”

“I can handle a bit of discomfort."

“We’ll see about that."

You called out for Omega and Lyana as you approached them, earning wide-eyed looks of excitement the moment they noticed you and Hunter holding hands. To their dismay, you let go just to give Omega a gentle nudge toward Hunter.

“Hunter said he’d like to dance with you,” you lied, causing Omega’s eyes to widen as they flicked up to him.

“Really?”

His reluctant gaze shifted from Omega to you, narrowing just slightly before he looked back down and offered his little girl a small smile, nodding. When he held out his hand, Omega grasped it with excitement and pulled him to the dancing square, rambling on and on about the things she experienced while he was busy talking to you. As he was pulled into the sea of dancing duos and trios, he looked back at you with a mixed expression, causing you to giggle and wave.

“You like him,” Lyana sang by your side, tugging on your dress. “I think it’s cute. You can’t stop looking at him with googly eyes.”

“Don’t act like this wasn’t part of your plan, squid,” you huffed, earning a giggle. “You and Omega don’t exactly look as innocent as you think you do.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she sang, taking your hand and squeezing it with a hopeful gaze. “Do you want to dance with me?”

“How could I ever say no to you? Lead the way, squid.”

And lead the way, she did. Lyana pulled you into the circle right alongside Omega and Hunter, swinging you into a spin the moment she had a grip on both of your hands. You spun and spun with her, laughing alongside her giggles, cheering when everyone clapped in unison. Out of the corner of your eye, you caught a few glimpses of Hunter and Omega. It wasn’t so much of a duo dance as it was Omega dancing while Hunter held her hands, occasionally spinning and hauling her up in the air just to hear her laugh.

All that mattered was that Hunter seemed to be enjoying himself. He didn’t have the same stress that you noticed in him earlier; no more tense muscles or furrowed expression. Peace sat in his eyes as he danced with the little blonde, living off of Omega’s happiness.

Lyana spun and spun you until suddenly, without warning, she let go of your hands, sending you stumbling into the person beside you. You went to apologize but stopped when Hunter’s familiar face looked down at you, his hands sprawled across the plain of your back to keep you upright as he held you in a dip.

Omega and Lyana both giggled as they began dancing together, acting as innocent as the little devils could.

“What did you say about not being clumsy?” He teased, causing you to flush with embarrassment.

“Second time's a charm?”

Hunter lifted you, taking your hand to guide you into a spin. He pulled you into him, bringing your back against his chest.

“Thank you,” he murmured against your ear, “Tonight’s been fun.”

“See?” You hummed, guiding him in a gentle sway from side to side. Almost instantly, the music softened and the upbeat tune became a gentle, harmonious song that eased a bit of peace through the energetic festival. “Can you feel that peace? That is the difference between living and surviving, and there’s so much more for you to experience, too.”

“Will you show me?” He asked, causing you to turn your head and give him a credulous smile.

“Does this mean you’ve decided to stay on Pabu?”

“I think that’d be best for all of us.”

“Then yes,” you agreed. “I’ll help as best as I can… but can I ask why me?”

“Omega likes you,” he said with an audible smile on his lips, “And I… I trust you... so far.”

“I’m honored,” you murmured, breaking into a giggle when he spun you around to face him. Your hands slid up and over his shoulders, interlocking behind his head. It was an involuntary gesture to look down at his lips but you couldn’t help it.

Hunter had this protective, genuine feeling that made you feel so safe near him. It was an odd thing to notice about someone when first meeting them, but it was only solidified when watching him and Omega. He had a specific gentleness that he kept reserved for her and now, as it seemed, for you as well.

What you didn’t expect, however, was for him to feel the same way as you.

“Was Lyana telling the truth earlier?”

“About what,” you murmured, forcing your gaze to go from his lips to his eyes.

“About a kiss being a gift.”

Your mind went blank. It took a moment before you nodded, finding the confidence to move your lips and speak. “She was.”

He guided you into another spin, gentler than before as he pulled you into his chest. “What does it mean?”

“It’s an invitation,” you explained softly. “A gift of vulnerability, as well as a promise. They aren’t given unless they are genuine — it means you find enough value in another person to give them your affection rather than an item. Kissing someone at the Giving Festival is typically a sign of courtship.”

“Courtship?” He questioned curiously. “You carry that tradition around here? Didn't take you for an old-school type of girl.”

“Well,” you sang, causing him to chuckle. “The elders call it that. I mean, it’s just dating among the younger generations.”

He hummed, slow movements swaying you to and fro. As he danced with you around the statue, passing the band that played their gentle tune, he noticed the beautiful flowers on the floor and stopped to pick one up. With gentle fingers, he tucked it behind your ear and gave you a small smile when he noticed how red your cheeks had become. Just like the flower in your hair.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked gently, tucking away a strand of hair that fell in front of your face.

You tilted your head up to him, smiling to hide the fact that your heart was practically beating out of his chest.

“Yes,” you breathed, your stomach twisting with anticipation.

His hand cupped the back of your head, the other gently resting against your back. Hunter pulled you close enough for your chests to touch before he lowered his head, lips skimming over your own.

“Are you certain about this?” You whispered against his lips. “You hardly know me.”

“I know enough to be certain I want to kiss you,” he hummed. “Are you?”

You couldn’t help but laugh, shaking your head.

“Just kiss me, handsome,” you said with a smile. “We’ll figure out the rest later.”

He smiled as he kissed you, lips curled in amusement even after your lips collided. You couldn’t help but giggle against his mouth when his hand wove through your hair. It was an even bigger surprise when he dipped you, earning a few cheers and hoots of encouragement from those who stood by — including Omega and Lyana who seemed to be the loudest (and happiest) of the spectators.

When he pulled away, he never truly left. He kept his hand interwoven with yours, keeping you by his side as the dancing resumed and the festivities regained their upbeat tempo. Hunter pulled you out of the crowd and even though you didn’t return to the dance, the night continued with you showing him various different things throughout the market. From different juice stands to candies (which he denied rather quickly), you showed Hunter all that the market had to offer before stealing him away to show him the island itself.

While Omega and his brothers were distracted with the festival, you brought Hunter to the sandy shores. You removed your shoes and coaxed him to do the same before dragging him to the water. He cringed at how cold it was and stiffened when you splashed him, earning a glare that slowly turned into a smile when you turned to run away, laughing as loud and freely as one could.

And so the night continued — with music echoing from the city while water splashed and laughter bubbled from the sandy shores. The Giving Festival continued into the morning, and when Omega and Lyana tiredly returned home to find Hunter still missing, the two girls shared a knowing look that washed their fatigue away. They gossiped back and forth about you and Hunter, whispers turning into giggles that then turned into gasps when they realized that Hunter might, someday - possibly - plant roots on Pabu.

It occurred to Omega then, as she sat on the floor of Lyana’s bedroom surrounded by blankets and pillows and snacks, that the Giving Festival did, in fact, give her something. It wasn’t jewelry and it wasn’t candy, although she did hold every gift very close to her heart. It wasn’t Lyana and the new friends she’d made that night, including you and all the others she met.

It was a new home — and that was the gift that Omega found herself cherishing the most.

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(i'll be replying to comment reblogs in the comments of this post! just so that there isn't too much clutter on the dash 🫶🏼 a huge thank you to those who always have something nice to say about my writing. i might not always respond but please know that you all have my heart and my endless thanks for being so kind and encouraging. may the universe give back the same kindness you've given me, and i having nothing but love for you all!)

#hunter x fem!reader #hunter the bad batch #the bad batch #hunter #hunter tbb #bad batch hunter #hunter bad batch #hunter x reader #hunter x reader fluff #fluff #sw tbb #hunter fanfic #hunter fluff

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ash5monster01 · 1 year ago

Text

Perfect To Love Part 4

Pairing: Steve Harrington x FemReader!PlusSize

Warnings: fluff, mentions of bullying, body image issues, fat shaming, angst, trust issues.

Summary: Beth Walker was used to living in the shadows. She had only one friend and anyone else who paid her mind usually bullied her for her size. So she learned to keep her mouth shut, her head down, and her heart closed because she had to accept the fact that she would be nothing more than the fat girl to people. That is until Robin decides Beth needs more in life and that might just include a boy who she never would’ve thought could see her for who she truly was.

word count: 2,427

Part 3 ←→ Part 5

Masterlist

That night Steve drove with no destination in mind, it wasn't until he found an empty spot next to Lovers Lake did he pull the car to a stop. When Beth questioned his choice he quicky assured her it was just by chance with pink ears from embarassment which Beth thought was cute. So they laid by the shore, eyes cast over the sky of stars, and talked about anything and everything. It surprised them both how easy conversation was between the them. It was as if they had been friends for years, not an awkward beat of conversation anywhere. Despite the hiccup at the party Beth found herself having a great night, Steve's presence being more comforting than expected.

They had talked so well together Beth didn’t end up getting home until late, all the lights off in her home, Steve cutting the engine and rolling to a stop in front of her house to not alert anyone. She teased him for a moment, how it must be a trick from years of sneaking out girls. He just shook his head, big dough eyes staring her down as he told her a quiet goodnight and she slipped out the car. Nancy was long gone now, but Robin was piled in a heap, snoring away on the side of her bed to which Beth just chuckled and got ready to join her in slumber.

“God, you better not of screwed me Rob” Beth muttered, dipping underneath the covers beside her. Robin continued to breathe peacefully but she was awake. She heard her and she hoped that it wasn’t the case either. Beth and Steve deserved this kind of love.

Despite Beth's original plan to find things about Steve she didn't like she couldn’t seem to find anything worthy of being a reason. There was only one thing she had, one reason, huge enough, to avoid him at all costs. Yet when she tried to remind herself of the reason the image of his big dough eyes, floppy brown hair, and lopsided smile made her start the process over completely. So that’s how she went through the entire week, trying to remind herself to not get to caught up in the world of Steve Harrington because she had watched hundreds of girls do it before and get hurt all the same even if she wasn't in the same league as any of them.

Steve Harrington doesn’t have a good past.

It was reason enough. It’s not right to judge someone by the mistakes they have made, but Steve’s was hard to ignore. Years of using women, bullying other students, popularity so ego inflating it was blinding. Yes he very clearly showed he didn’t act that way anymore, but forgiving someone for things that they’ve done can be hard no matter how much they’ve changed or how regretful they are. It didn’t help Steve seemed to not remember her entirely and that was the only point to prove that maybe Steve wasn’t regretful at all. He may have changed but he hadn’t bothered once to clean up his past, and that past included her.

By the time the weekend rolled around Beth was thankful to be out of school, so it could provide her opportunity to do things to keep her distracted. Daydreaming in class made it easy to slip into questions surrounding the Harrington boy, but a sunny Saturday in her driveway working on her car kept the haunting thoughts away. He couldn’t reach her here, or at least that’s what she thought.

“You weren’t lying, you really can fix a car” Beth jumped, leaning up out of the hood to see Steve standing beside it. A reason Beth had liked this car so much was the hood opened from the back instead of the front, a shield from others, but apparently a shield for them as well. Considering she didn’t have time to notice the boy was approaching her.

“Somewhat, yeah” Beth nodded, wiping her hands of grease, suddenly self conscious about the fact she was dressed only in some comfy shorts and tank top. Not enough coverage to hide her fat she thought.

“You break down?” he asked, curiously looking into the car to see what she was doing. It didn’t matter anyway, he didn’t understand the inside at all.

“Not exactly, she started clicking this morning so I borrowed my Moms car to go get a new battery. I’m hoping it solves the problem and isn’t the alternator” Steves eyes widened as the foreign language left the girls mouth, shock painting his features.

“I uh, what’s an alternator?” Beth giggled lightly, unable to stop herself and Steve realized how damn cute she was. Like a cuddly teddy bear that made him feel safe, he wished he could keep her forever. A safe haven from the nightmares in Hawkins.

“An alternator is this” then Beth was pointing to a part under the hood, finger tapping it lightly. “when it’s running it’s helps charge your battery and the other electrical components of your vehicle. If that doesn’t work, your car doesn’t work”

“Seems simple enough” Beth laughed again, shaking her head lightly and pushing some hair back with her arm so she didn’t get grease on her.

“Simple but expensive to replace. She’s only two though, and this is her original battery. Doesn’t help the car sits all winter to avoid salt on the roads. It’s more than likely reached the end of its life, and this will solve our problem” Beth told him, now pointing to the new battery on the pavement beside her.

“Could you teach me?” Beth’s heart stuttered as the boy looked down to her, so innocent and curious on how to change the battery in the car. She couldn’t say no even if she wanted too.

“Yeah Steve, of course” Beth placed a hand on his back, nudging him to take her place, and his stomach erupted with butterflies that he wished he could ignore. This was never the plan, falling for a girl to pure for the world.

“What do I do first?” he asked curiously and Beth smiled as she grabbed a socket wrench and handed it to him.

“Well first we have to remove the bar holding the battery in place. So use this to remove these two bolts. A battery can’t work sliding around” Steve nodded, that made sense. So he listened to what she said and began to loosen the bolts until they slipped right off.

“Look at that, you’re a master at it already” Beth praised and he blushed fire truck red, hiding his face by looking down at the battery. Beth removed the plate and smiled softly at the boy.

“What’s next?” Steve asked, a bit nervous about doing work on a nice brand new corvette.

“Now you remove the cables, negative first, positive second, and once they’re removed make sure they don’t hit. I don’t need you electrocuted” Steve’s pulse went faster at the notion but nodded nonetheless as she handed him the wrench to loosen the bolts on the cables. Once they were removed she placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Alright, go ahead and lift it out” Steve nodded, hands gripping the side and freeing the battery from its confinement.

“That wasn’t too bad” Steve said once he set it down, his hands a bit smudged with grease but a wide smile on his face.

“Yeah, it’s easy. Now do exactly what you did in reverse. This time positive first and negative last” Steve nodded, lifting the new battery and placing it inside. Slowly and carefully he accepted tools from Beth, connecting the positive, negative, and then bolting the bar back in place so the battery wouldn’t move.

When Steve turned to Beth for confirmation that he did good he was met with a large smile, her big bright eyes crinkled from how huge the grin was, and he wished he was allowed to kiss her right then and there. It was the first time in his life he realized someone was proud of him and that alone made him want to love the girl forever. The feeling was enough to overwhelm him, chest tightening.

“Go ahead and try it out” she told him, nudging him towards the corvette. Steve ducked down, almost knocking his head on the roof before settling in the seat and reaching for the key. As he turned the key the engine revved for a moment and then it sparked to life, a loud rumble and proof he had done it right.

“You did perfect Steve” she praised as he turned it off and got out. Much to his surprise she wrapped him in a hug. Steve stood for a moment, unsure how to respond before slowly wrapping his arms back around her, his chin resting perfectly a top her head.

“Thank you” he told her softly and Beth smiled and pulled back before handing him a cloth to wipe the grease from his hands a bit more.

“Now that we’ve been thoroughly distracted, what’re you doing here Steve?” Beth asked, her hands propped on her hips. A nervous hand flew to the back of Steve’s neck, now at a loss for words because he forgot he had to explain himself.

“I uh, um. I just haven’t seen you all week. Robin and me usually hang out but she took an extra shift. I wanted to stop and see you, I had fun the other night so I just figured you wouldn’t mind” Steve rambled softly, Beth’s eyebrows raising the more he talked and heart racing faster due to each word. She hated that he made her nervous. Now that was another reason.

He makes me nervous.

“You wanted to hangout?” Beth asked, surprise that he had actually wanted to see her again.

“Yeah, if you wanted. The kids wanted to go see some new movie and I was gonna drive them, I figured we could do something while they did that” Beth’s eyes widened just slightly, mouth gaping for just a moment before nodding.

“Yeah, okay. I mean we can watch the movie with them too if you want. I just need to get changed” Beth pointed a thumb over her shoulder and back to her house. Slight panic set in over the fact Nancy wasn’t there to help her pick an outfit.

“Okay, yeah” Steve nodded, realizing he was acting like he did in middle school when he talked to a crush.

“Come on in, you can wash that grease of your hands” Beth was telling him as she closed the hood to the corvette and grabbed the battery off the pavement. Steve followed her into the garage where she set it down and then led them into the house. He was shocked to see she could lift the battery with ease considering how heavy it was.

“Bathroom is down the hall to the left, I’m gonna run upstairs” Steve nodded and Beth rushed off as he looked for the bathroom to wash his hands.

Once she reached her room she quickly searched her closet for a decent pair of jeans, removing the shorts and slipping them on all while trying not to topple over. The real issue was her top. She didn’t own very many nice shirts and without Nancy’s opinion she didn’t feel comfortable grabbing one. Then she realized she shouldn’t be something different for Steve, so she grabbed one of her T-shirts, a Goonies on to be exact, and slipped it on. After some new deodorant, perfume, and fixing her hair she was rushing back down the stairs.

“Ready?” Steve asked sweetly and she nodded, grabbing her wallet and following him out the door. It was surreal being in the front of the BMW again but comforting nonetheless. They shared easy small talk the whole way to their destination, Steve asking more about cars that he was curious about.

Then they were pulling up in front of a house Beth had never seen before, and Steve was honking the horn leisurely like it was something he did everyday. Then Mike, Lucas, and Dustin were clambering out the garage, yelling ‘you’re late’ while clearly bickering about who got shot gun until they spotted Beth already inside. “Beth’s here?”

“Hey Beth” Lucas smiled widely, in hopes to cover up Dustin’s confusion about her presence.

“Hey boys, you excited for your movie?” she asked sweetly, looking back at them all pushed together in the back seat.

“Were you two hanging out or something?” Mike asked curiously, ignoring her question completely.

“Beth showed me how to change a battery in a car” as Steve said this the boys immediately erupted into giggles in the backseat.

“He can barely rewind the tapes at family video and you let him put a new battery in your corvette?” Dustin asked between laughs and Beth smiled widely.

“I did, and he did really good” all the boys watched as Beth’s arm lifted, her hand landing on Steve’s arm that held the steering wheel and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Dustin did not miss the way his ears turned pink. That’s when he realized he liked her.

“Whatever you say Beth” Lucas chuckled as Steve pulled back out on the road, heading for town to a theater he had once vandalized.

“You guys going on a date or something?” Mike asked curiously since he knew Steve wouldn’t sit through the movie with him.

“What? No, we’re just hanging out. I’m allowed to spend time with people while I wait around for you shit heads” Steve shot back and Beth’s stomach dropped. Of course Steve couldn’t see her romantically, she was too fat. Beth’s head dropped, gazing at her legs and wishing they weren’t so big, small thighs just like Nancy’s. Dustin noticed and made a mental note to yell at Steve about it later.

“You could always watch the movie with us” Lucas muttered and before Steve could respond Beth was lifting her head.

“That actually sounds like fun, let’s join them Steve” she said and he looked to her with confused eyes, wishing she wanted to go get something to eat or coffee instead. He liked talking to her. Yet he knew not to put up a fight.

“Yeah, okay. Let’s do it” he nodded while agreeing and Beth gave him a pressed smile before turning back to the road. Steve now sad because he had to sit next to her for the next two hours without saying a word.

Tag list: @kindablackenedsuperhero @rinarecommends @starryeyedpoet17 @crustless-toast @loverofmarsss @alexa-33 @bethanysnow @middle-of-the-earth @princessadriana4-blog @mochminnie @legendaryhumandiplomatgoop

Comment if you want to be added to the tag list :))

a/n: I actually own a blue two toned 1984 corvette and I work as a parts girl in a mechanic shop so I write most of this stuff from my knowledge. if you guys would like pictures of the corvette described in this series I would love to provide them so you guys can get a better idea on the car that is a key part in this series <3

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kjcreed · 10 months ago

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The Jewel of Seven Stars | Chapter 2

Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Series Masterlist Prologue Chapter 1

Warnings: profanity; illegal transportation; shooting (guns); violence

Pronouns: they/them

Summary: The year is 1954. 9 years after the Second World War ended. Most people in the blooming city of New York should be living pretty peacefully by now. And most of them really are... Well, except for you... And your brother Tony for that matter. Your father was an archaeologist working to uncover the truth about the legend of Queen Nefret and the prophecy that has been engraved on the walls of her tomb which your father discovered with his team. The only problem is that he went missing and now it's your job to find him. But what if you unintentionally become a part of said prophecy? And what if you meet a persistent librarian and her extravagant brother along the way?

Disclaimer: This story is inspired by the 1999 film The Mummy, partly inspired by the book The Jewel of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker and a little by the life of Queen Hatshepsut.

The trip has been going well for you and your brother so far. You talked some more and figured out where exactly the talisman is supposed to be. Everything was going great so you can just imagine the disappointment when one of the passengers wandered into the storage room in search of a bathroom and then proceeded to notify the crew.

"Great plan Y/N!" Tony yelled hysterically as the two of you dodged crew members left and right. "How was I supposed to know some idiot would walk in?!" You yelled back at your brother. "What do we do now?" Tony asked as you rounded a corner.

You looked ahead of the boat and when you saw that your destination was just in front of you a light bulb lit up inside your brain. "We jump." You said and started making your way forward. "Are you crazy?" Tony started freaking out as you dragged him through the crowd of panicking people.

Tony was the first one to throw himself overboard because you even granted him a little boost with a not-so-small push… something that you were probably going to talk about later. You were running after Tony but just as you were about to jump, your body collided with a smaller one and the both of you lost balance.

Luckily, you steadied yourself quickly and your hands wrapped around the other person's waist. Both of you looked up at the same time and the whole world stopped for a minute. You and Wanda just stared at each other. Yes, our Wanda from before... This was your first meeting, but certainly not the last one.

It was when heavy footsteps started getting louder and almost too close that you retracted your hands from Wanda's waist. "Sorry ma'am. " You bowed your invisible hat and shot Wanda a smile before jumping overboard and joining your brother in swimming to the shore.

Wanda watched the two of you swim away as her brother rushed to her side again to check if she was alright. And then she heard gunshots. Some of the crew members started firing their rifles at you and your brother.

"Stop shooting! Are you out of your minds?!" Wanda yelled at them over the gunshots. They stopped shooting for a second. "B-but-" "But nothing! You can catch them on the island later or something. They're people, you can't just kill them." Wanda continued telling them off and by the time she was finished, all the men looked like little boys that were just told off for stealing candy.

"Are you absolutely insane?!" Tony yelled at you as the two of you crawled to the shore and somewhere remote. "This was such a bad idea." Tony started pacing back and forth. "What the fuck have you gotten us into?! They shot at us! We could have died today!"

You just sat on the ground and watched your brother lose his mind. "We never should have come here." You stood up from your spot after Tony said that. "And what do you wanna do now, huh? Go home?" You questioned and Tony nodded hesitantly.

"Tony, the moment we step onto that boat, we'll get arrested. Besides we can't just pack our bags and leave when our dad was most likely sucked into a sarcophagus by a fucking mummy or something!" You threw your hands up in frustration.

"So get your shit together, Tony." You said sternly. "Because there's only room for one mentally unstable sibling and that's me." Your last words made Tony let out a weak chuckle as he plopped down on the ground, finally stopping with the pacing.

"What's the plan, Y/N?" Tony looked up at you. You smiled at your brother before replying. "We need to get a boat… aaand something to eat because I am feeling ravenous!"

"Who do you think were those people?" Wanda asked her brother as he led her through the crowd of people at the town's square. Pietro shrugged. "I dunno… Probably just a couple of criminals."

Truth is Pietro did know. He recognised the person who got close to his sister. You’re his supposed 'friend with a historian father'… And he stole that book from you when the both of you were drinking at the bar.

"They didn't look like criminals." Wanda furrowed her eyebrows. She couldn't get the image of the mysterious person out of her mind for some reason. "Well, they did sneak onto a boat and took a trip illegally." Pietro quipped as he opened the door to the Inn that they would probably be staying at for the night.

"You don't know their situation." The girl protested as she trailed behind her brother towards the counter. The door to the Inn opened and closed once again. "Two rooms please." Said Pietro to the innkeeper, ignoring his sister as she went on about the two. Truth be told, he was feeling rather nervous at the idea of running into you again.

"Hi. Could we get two beers?" Pietro whipped his head to the side and lo and behold there was you and your brother sitting at the bar next to them, so he faced the other way. You turned your head to the side and glanced at Pietro before turning back around, pausing for a second, and turning back towards the boy.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" You tilted your head to the side inquisitively. Pietro turned to you with a horrified smile. "No, I don't think so. I just have one of those faces y'know?" He chuckled nervously. You squinted your eyes at the boy, scanning him for a moment. "Yes... Perhaps." You laughed and turned back around.

Pietro was about to let out a sigh of relief, but a hand made its way to his collar quicker and assumed a firm grasp on his shirt. And before he knew it, Pietro was being dragged away and pushed into a wall by one Y/N Stark. "Where the fuck is that book you little weasel." You gritted your teeth.

"One drink. I just wanted one drink." Tony mumbled to himself, watching his sibling tiredly. "Piet!" Wanda gasped and started to make her way to her brother.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Pietro stuttered out, with his hands in the air. "Oh, I think you do. Otherwise, why would you be here?" You pushed the boy into the wall again, towering over him with the few centimetres you had on him.

"What is going on here?!" Both you and Pietro froze in place and looked up to see a huge man towering over the both of you with his arms crossed. "Out." He stated, simply. Both of you were still stuck in one spot before the presumed owner shouted. "Now!"

Wanda ran after the two of you outside and Tony couldn't help but laugh at the scene you caused. He secretly loved being a part of your crazy plans and he liked your wild personality. He also loved seeing you getting your ass kicked out.

That joy was of course short-lived. "You too." Tony looked up to see the owner of the Inn glaring at him and so he complied without an ounce of resistance.

"What the hell was that?" He called out to you as he walked out of the door only to see you staring daggers at the stranger you attacked just a few minutes ago.

"Yeah! What the hell was that?" Wanda put her hands on her hips. "Do you have a reason for assaulting my brother?" She added, staring at you.

"Well… Your brother did steal one of the literal two things that our missing father left behind, but maybe I'm overreacting." You quipped back sarcastically before turning to look at the girl. When your eyes met, both of your mouths turned into an 'o' shape, suddenly realising that you've met before.

You stared at each other for a moment too long before Wanda processed what you said and turned to her brother. "Pietro… What are they talking about?" The boy looked at the ground before replying. "The book." Wanda gasped.

"You stole it?!" Her voice got higher. "Yep. And now he's going to give it back." It was Tony who spoke up this time, walking towards Pietro and extending his hand. "He doesn't have it." Wanda quipped. You and your brother looked at each other confused. But your questions were answered when Wanda took the book out of her bag. "I do."

"Great." You said, before walking up to the smaller girl and reaching out for the book, only for it to be taken further away by Wanda. You raised an eyebrow at the brunette, wondering what she was on about. "Give it back." You warned. Wanda looked you dead in the eyes and said. "Let us come with you."

Your faces were so close together that it took you a minute to respond. "Listen, lady. You have no idea what kind of thing we are dealing with here. It's not some adventurous field trip so why don't you just spare us the trouble and give me the book." You explained before placing your hand on the journal Wanda held.

"It's not like you can really stop me." You said before taking it from Wanda's hand and turning around to walk away. "I know how to read ancient hieroglyphics." Wanda's words made you stop in your tracks.

You looked to your brother who was already looking at you with wide eyes. "Do you really?" You turned around to face the girl. Wanda just nodded timidly but with a determined look on her face. "Besides, don't you need four people to fulfil the prophecy?" It was Pietro's voice that cut through the minute of silence.

You and your brother looked at each other as if telepathically communicating. You then nodded at each other before turning to the Maximoff twins. "Fine."

“Are you really sure about this, sestra?” Pietro whispered and leaned a little towards Wanda as the two of them walked behind you and Tony. The plan was to look around the pretty small island in hopes of finding a sailor willing to take you to your destination.

“What if they kill us or something?” Pietro whispered urgently into Wanda’s ear. Before Wanda could reply, you beat her to the punch. “You know we can hear you right?” You said somewhat uninterestedly, still walking with your hands in the pockets of your slacks, not looking back at the twins.

“And you said it yourselves, we need each other so… Killing you would be counterproductive.” You add, still pretty bitter about the whole thing. Tony nudged you with his elbow, silently urging you to lay off the guy and not scare him and his sister away.

Pietro was about to retort with something witty but Wanda shot him a disapproving look before speaking up. “This is probably going to be a long journey, so I think it’s best if the four of us at least try to get along.” She said in a weirdly authoritative voice which made you and Tony turn around.

“I actually agree with her.” Your brother turned to you and you looked back at him before looking at Wanda and then at Pietro. “Alright… Just one thing I gotta do first.” You say before turning your body fully to the bleach-blonde boy and looking at him for a minute.

Pietro was about to say something to break the awkward silence, but your fist colliding with his cheek prevented him from doing so. Wanda slapped her hand on her mouth when she gasped as Pietro fell to the ground and Tony’s eyes widened in surprise.

You then crouched down next to the guy and offered him my hand. “I’d say we’re even now…” You say with a small satisfied smile. Pietro looks at you for a long moment before accepting your hand, chuckling as you pull him back to his feet.

“So we’re good?” Pietro asks when you both stand upright, still holding onto your hand. “We’re good, Piet.” You tell him with a wide smile on your face as the two of you shake hands. It felt good to let out the resentment you held for the man who stole your book and when he returned your smile, you figured he felt the same sense of relief.

Meanwhile Tony and Wanda watched the whole thing, bewilderment taking over their expressions. When you and Pietro shook hands with smiles on your faces, Wanda and Tony looked at each other as if to say ‘Are you seeing this shit?’.

“What the hell just happened?” Wanda broke the silence after a moment. “I literally have no idea.” Tony sighed and looked away from her to look back at you and Pietro. “But I have a feeling this is going to be a really long trip.”

Author's Note

And that's it for the second chapter! The gang is finally all together now and I wonder what else fate has in store for them. Thank you so much for reading and also thanks to everyone for the likes on the first chapter. I really hope that this can be something that you, my dear readers, enjoy and as always if you have any ideas on what I could do to help you read my works better, it would be much appreciated.

See you guys again soon :)

Series Masterlist Prologue Chapter 1

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villainsimpqueen · 2 months ago

Text

"See more than just with your eyes"

The one-shot contest winner @nonamevenus One-Shot!

This one shot is about Her Oc Na'ali and Tsu’tey meeting and building chemistry till the day they are each others.

I had so much fun writing this One-Shot!

As always my pages and fics are always and all 18+! Ageless accounts and minors will be blocked!

To the One-shot

“We will adapt!” Jake’s words rang out over the crowd, speaking not only for his family but for Tsu’tey as well.

“We will adapt.”

The day replayed in Tsu’tey’s mind like a relentless echo—Jake’s promise to the Water People’s leaders, to the clan, to everyone. Tsu’tey tried, struggled, to adapt to this clan's ways, but his cup felt too full to understand, too full even to want to learn. His only relief was seeing that Neytiri also struggled to adapt to the Metkayina ways as much as he did. But that relief was short-lived as he watched her, his friend, begin to adapt as quickly as her family.

Outsider.

He knew, deep in his heart, that he did not belong here. He belonged back at his true home, with his true clan. But he had made a promise to his brother and to his sister that he would stay with them to help protect their family—his nephews and nieces. He loved them dearly and did not want the Sky Demons to ever bring them harm. They had already managed to get a hold of the Sully kids once; Tsu’tey would be damned if they laid a demonic finger on them again without his blade slicing through flesh, taking their hands as trophies.

He hadn’t been made War Chief without reason, after all.

Not that it mattered now. The Metkayina were a clan of peace; there would be no wars. They did not engage in such things unless it was direly needed. There was no War Chief of the Metkayina; such a role would fall to their Olo’eyktan if ever required. They didn’t even patrol their own islands. But he did.

Some habits die hard.

He rode his ikran around the island, staring down at the people below. The Water People were carrying out their tasks: hunters out fishing, gatherers collecting resources, children being taught the skills and ways of their people. It was so similar to what he was used to, and yet so different that it poisoned his heart with an ache he knew nothing here could cure.

His eyes drifted from the island to the distant cays on the horizon. A soft pat on his ikran's neck guided the flying beast toward them.

Somewhere alone—where he could sit and think in silence.

His ikran swooped low, its wingtips skimming the water before landing on a low-hanging tree on one of the smaller cays. Tsu’tey carefully climbed down, sliding along the tree until his feet dug into the sand, and he began moving further inland. From the sky, he had seen that the cay encircled a pool of water in its center—a serene spot, he thought, to ponder what clouded his thoughts, what held him back from adapting like the others had.

The walk from the beach to the high-rooted trees was not an easy one, which brought back some familiarity and heartache as he made his way through mangrove roots and limbs to reach the cay's small lagoon-like waters. Right before he would break through the trees, his ears perked up as he heard splashing. Carefully maneuvering around onto mangrove roots, he peered out to the lagoon.

Bright, shimmering waters moved calmly, where crystal clear depths revealed an endless valley of thriving, rich coral reefs. Soft waves pushed onto the lagoon's shores, and each gentle wave glimmered with reflections of the sun. Small fish creatures swam peacefully in schools as Tsu’tey’s eyes moved over the lagoon. His ears twitched at a splash, narrowing as something moved through the waters before emerging.

Hair flew up, spraying water droplets around before falling onto turquoise shoulders, water-reflected cyan stripes merging and splitting down the figure's back. The braids cascaded down to the middle of the figure, and he paused as he watched her move, swimming in the lagoon. Her ears perked, and her head turned, scanning the tree lines where he ducked down, making sure to stay out of her gaze while keeping his on her.

Her cadet eyes scanned before the woman ducked under the waters, vanishing where the coral leaves descended down into the deep, disappearing into darkness.

Only then did Tsu’tey move, heading to the lagoon’s edge, looking down at the water, his eyes searching for where she had gone. Confusion formed on his features when she did not resurface anywhere else in the lagoon. Staring at the water made him clench his teeth as he backed away, not trusting its edges. His tempted curiosity damned, he perched in the sand, staring out over the lagoon.

He was not a swimmer.

“He is an idiot,” Neytiri muttered as Tsu’tey watched with her at the docks, seeing Jake trying to overdo himself all at once. He chuckled, crossing his arms as he watched his brother-in-arms get flung from the sea animal that had taken off.

“He is,” Tsu’tey remarked, a smirk finding its way onto his lips, his tail moving idly behind him.

“But at least he is trying,” Neytiri spoke, cocking her head at him, making his ears slick back.

“I will not swim. I am not meant to swim,” he answered with narrowed eyes and slicked-back ears.

“You need to learn,” his friend coaxed, prompting a hiss from him as his tail twitched.

“I do not need this.”

“Tsu’tey, it has been weeks,” Neytiri tried to press, but she was met with the sight of his back as he stormed away from the docks. A whistle on his tongue, and with the swift beating of ikran wings, Tsu’tey was soon off again, soaring the skies that led him away from the Water People’s village. Her own ears slicked back as she watched him fly away with concern, a sigh leaving her. She prayed to the Great Mother that Tsu’tey would find a home here as she had learned to find one.

The laughter of her children brought her attention away.

The cay was a place he would continue to go, landing his ikran on its beaches and swinging through the mangrove roots and tree limbs, always stopping before the tree line in different locations. His glowing green eyes cut through the treeline's shade, out onto the lagoon.

Glimpses.

He was always able to catch glimpses of the woman of the lagoon.

Today, as he leaned against one of the many mangrove trunks, he watched her sitting on rocks near one of the lagoon's sides. Her braided hair was twisted up into a messy bun, and her hand came down with a thunderous whack with a rock in her tightly fisted palm. She brought it down two, three times before moving her hand away, the other grabbing something bright orange and fleshy to her lips, sucking it into her mouth, a soft smile gracing her face.

He recognized it—the flesh of a prickly animal the Metkayina liked harvesting and eating alone or mixed with sea grain. He did not like its taste; the texture of mush did not sate his appetite. However, watching the mysterious woman of this cay’s lagoon eat it with such satisfying content made him want to experience such a simple joy.

She never stayed in the lagoon long. Washing away the animal's remains, she would stand, and his eyes would take her in with sudden awe as the sun reflected on her skin before she dove off the rocks back into the lagoon's waters, blending entirely in where he could no longer make out her shape as she vanished into the darkness.

An underwater cavern, he believed, led out to the open ocean surrounding the cay.

Typically, this is where he too would leave the cay, but today he walked out onto the lagoon's beach and moved to the rocks, where he laid down a small trinket between some rocks where it could not be washed away.

He still did not know if this water woman was real or a play on his eyes for feeling alone in this new, bizarre world he had followed the Sullys into. The small trinket he left behind on the rocks would be his proof.

If it remained there on his return the next day, then the woman was never real.

But if the trinket was gone, moved by hands—perhaps her hands—then she was, in fact, very real and now aware of his visits to the cay’s lagoon.

He had wanted to rush to the cay quickly this morning, but instead, he found himself pulling stupid kids apart from a petty fight, dragging his nephews, the Metkayina Olo’eyktan, and Tsa’hik’s son and his friends away. Having to deal with dragging them all to be dealt with by their parents had been an ordeal.

He had stayed with Tuk, keeping an eye on his youngest niece while Jake and Neytiri went to make peace and make their sons apologize for causing trouble.

“And then we saw these little tiny fish—they were like butterflies, Uncle Tey!” his small niece Tuk excitedly chattered as he sat beside her, finishing the weaving of a basket that Tuk was supposed to do on her own. He hummed at her chatter, acknowledging without fully paying attention as he fought with sea nettle to bend and twist under his fingertips.

“Uncle Tey, where do you go every other day?” Tuk's soft little voice broke his focus, making him look at her.

“A place to think and observe, little one,” he responded, watching how her little features formed into soft confusion.

“Dad says you go and sulk.”

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Your dad is an idiot,” he grumbled, causing the little one to giggle.

“But he’s trying to help you, like Mom,” Tuk said, her eyes earnest and wide. She didn’t understand the weight of his burden or the ache in his heart. She only knew the simple wisdom of a child—that everyone should try to get along, to fit in, to find joy.

He sighed, setting the half-finished basket aside. His large hand gently ruffled Tuk’s braids. “I know, little one. But sometimes… sometimes it is hard to change.”

He was glad when his ears perked up hearing of footsteps and turning his head to see her parents. He had left her with them and quickly left the Metkayinas island once more, Taking flight into the sea satly breezes as he did not even need to guide his beast anymore, the Ikran knew where he wanted to go and took him so without any hesitation in the beat of its mighty wings.

The rocks were where Tsu’tey went when he didn’t catch a new glimpse of the lagoon’s woman. Moving to them, his eyes searched the place where he had left the trinket, only to find it gone, replaced by a bracelet of frosted sea glass, woven in a delicate pattern. He took it gently, his tail swaying as he felt the prickling sensation of eyes upon him. His own eyes scanned the water, catching sight of a partial glimpse of a woman’s head breaking the surface—cadet eyes staring back at him, her ears perched well above the water.

Tsu’tey moved his hand from his side to his forehead in a respectful greeting, dipping his head down as he did so, showing the mysterious woman some deference.

Her eyes narrowed as she rose from the water, droplets cascading off her form like crystals. He kept his attention solely on her.

“You are a persistent presence here,” her voice carried across the lagoon, making his ears perk and flick.

“I do not mean to disturb—”

“Do not speak differently than your actions. If you truly meant not to disturb, you wouldn’t have come here repeatedly to stare at me for a solid month,” she cut him off, her tone blunt, as her eyes assessed him with suspicion.

“You are far from where you belong,” she commented, her cadet eyes meeting his.

“I left my homelands to ensure my friend's family stays safe while they seek refuge with the Metkayina,” Tsu’tey explained, watching her so intently that he wasn’t sure when he had last blinked.

“And yet I find you here, bothering me with your staring from a distance,” the woman countered, making him clench his teeth at her brashness. Yet, he couldn’t deny the truth in her words. Resetting his jaw, he attempted a different approach.

“And what is the name of the woman who likes being alone?” he asked, pressing lightly but cautiously.

She stared at him sharply, examining him with an unwavering gaze. Her jaw shifted slightly as she let a clicking noise escape her lips.

“Ne'ali.”

Tsu’tey’s lips twitched into a smile he had to bite back, and her eyes snapped back to him with sharpness.

“It is an honor to know you, Ne'ali,” he responded respectfully, watching as she scoffed and turned away from him, reentering the water.

“Do not disturb my serenity.”

And yet, despite his efforts, he continued to do so.

Every few days, Tsu’tey found time to leave the Metkayina village, flying his ikran to the cay where Ne'ali seemed to reside. Their initial meeting emboldened him, and he began walking out from the mangrove trees to the rocks each time he visited, finding things to occupy himself. He dangled his legs over the edge of the rocks above the water, carving wood to pass the time or to appear busy whenever she arrived from the underwater caves that led to the open ocean.

Sometimes, she acknowledged him with narrowed eyes, shooting him a glare as if his very presence aggravated her. He pretended not to notice, carving away at the limb in his hands. When he finished an animal or whatever he had created, he would leave it behind on the rocks, ignoring how, once he started entering the mangroves, he could hear the splashing of water. Once deep into the treeline and out of her sight, he would turn to see her examining what he had left behind.

Sometimes she took the carvings; other times she left them, but always placed in the cracks of the rocks where the rising tide couldn’t sweep them away.

A collection was growing.

“You do not swim?” Ne'ali’s question came more as a statement, causing him to pause mid-carving. Glancing up, he saw her approaching the rocks from the lagoon's beach. His eyes furrowed at her question, casting a sidelong glance at the ocean as if it were something terrible. His tail cracked behind him like a whip at the very thought of it.

He remained silent as she crouched down, keeping a respectable distance between them.

“I do not know how,” Tsu’tey admitted forcefully, meeting her gaze. He refused to feel ashamed or embarrassed. He had never needed to learn—his life in the forests had made climbing a priority, with flying his ikran, hunting, and fighting following closely behind. Swimming had never been on his agenda, nor had he needed it. The water holes back home were shallow creeks that barely reached his knees. Rivers? He would never go deeper than his chest, still able to walk.

Ne'ali held his gaze for a moment, her head tilting slightly as her ears flicked, thoughts passing behind her cadet eyes that she kept to herself. Then, she rose to her feet, her wide tail swaying with her.

“I shall teach you,” she stated firmly, making a motion for him to follow.

She didn’t give him much choice.

“Why are you smacking the water as if it’s a drum?” Her voice rang out over the waves as Tsu’tey’s arms flailed, colliding with the water as he desperately tried to stand on the tips of his toes, keeping his head above the surface.

“How else am I supposed to hit the water when swimming?!” His voice hissed out, barely louder than the foamy water swirling just under his chin.

“You’re not seeing my motions,” she said, grabbing him and pulling him to the shallow waters where he could rest on his legs. There, she clacked her hands, making him focus as she cupped her palms.

“See my hands?” she emphasized strictly. “When they meet the water, do they echo? No. They meet it with care. My fingers aren’t spread in all directions like branches—they’re enclosed, cupping like a bowl.”

She moved her hands and arms, letting herself float in the lagoon’s waters, demonstrating the movement as she swam around him, her head remaining above the water.

“See how I caress the water, filling my hands like a bowl? That is how you should meet the water, not like this!” She flailed her arms mockingly, slapping the water the way he had moments before.

“This doesn’t move you or keep you up! You’re thrashing around like a newborn, and even they know how to float!” Ne'ali chastised him, humor dancing in her voice as a rare smile touched her lips.

Tsu’tey’s ears slicked back, and without a word, he stormed toward the shore.

“I will not be ridiculed,” he muttered, bitterness lacing his words.

Ne'ali watched him leave, her cadet eyes tracking him as he disappeared into the trees. A soft whisper escaped her lips, meant only for herself.

“And yet, you will return to bother me more, skxawng.”

And he did return. In the following days, Na'ali was not surprised when she finally heard him approaching again. She did not turn to face him, focusing instead on the seaweed she was twisting and weaving into new netting along the lagoon’s beach. Her ears tipped slightly at the sound of his footsteps—the only acknowledgment of his presence as silence filled the lagoon, broken only by the gentle waves and the occasional leaping fish.

“I apologize for how I acted,” Tsu’tey's voice came softly from behind her. “Time and reflection have allowed me to see my ways more clearly.”

She greeted his words with a sigh, setting her half-finished net aside before turning her head to look at him. His ears were down, his tail low—a pitiful display.

“Are you ready to see with more than just your own view?” she asked bluntly, pressing him to understand if he was truly ready to listen and learn.

“I am willing to try again,” Tsu’tey answered, and she responded with a nod, standing from the sand and walking into the water. Her tail glided effortlessly through the waves as she raised her hand, beckoning him to follow.

And see, he did.

Na'ali found herself grinning when he finally managed to keep himself from flailing. Within hours, she had him leaving the shallows to swim with her to the middle of the lagoon. In less than half an hour, they reached the center, where he lay on his back, floating beside her as the sunset painted the sky in hues of gold, purple, and pink. The last of the Great Mother’s blazing suns were beginning to depart, and the moon was creeping in, ushering the grand eclipse that would bring the night.

The lagoon’s waters began to shimmer with luminescence. Na'ali tilted her head slightly, glancing at Tsu’tey. His bioluminescent freckles glowed brighter than hers, their light dancing on his skin. His eyes were closed, his face peaceful, as if he had finally found stillness within. When he opened his eyes and looked at her, the brightness of his green gaze startled her.

A forest.

She could almost see the very homeland he had left behind reflected in his eyes. His lips curved into a gentle smile that made her pause in her thoughts.

“This is peaceful,” Tsu’tey admitted softly, and his words struck her with an unexpected sense of pride. She grinned before turning to the star-lit sky.

“You should keep your eyes open more often,” she teased.

After that, he grew more daring. Tsu’tey began to swim farther out from the shorelines, not just at Na'ali’s secluded lagoon but also in the village. He swam with his chosen nephews and nieces, and his sudden embrace of the Metkayina way did not go unnoticed by the Sully children—or by their parents, who watched from the docks in disbelief.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Jake muttered to his wife as they watched Tsu’tey swimming. “He’s actually out there.”

“About time he got over himself,” Jake added with a smirk.

“No,” Neytiri corrected, her lips curving into a smile. She placed her hand on her mate’s arm, her eyes brightening with a quiet joy.

“He has found another,” she said, a note of celebration in her voice. She began to move toward their home, leaving Jake with more questions.

“You mean a woman?” Jake asked, following her as she started preparing dinner, her grin growing wider.

“Another who can make him smile, like Sylwanin once did,” Neytiri revealed, grinding herbs as she spoke. “I hope to meet this person, to see who has brought warmth back into my friend's heart.”

After all, no one with a strong heart should be alone.

The wood crackled as flames danced into the salty sea breeze, carrying the scent of fish being cooked.

“Do you plan to always stay on your own?” Tsu’tey asked, turning to look at Na'ali, who sat beside him. She was watching him as he turned the fish over the coals, the bundled herbs stuffed inside its split side. The aroma seeped into the tender flesh as the oils sizzled and dripped onto the hot stones.

Na'ali's response didn’t come as quickly as usual, and concern crept into Tsu’tey’s features. He noticed her distant expression before she blinked it away and met his gaze, her cadet-blue eyes locking onto his.

“Are you planning to make your presence in this woman’s life a permanent one?” she asked, a playful note in her voice as she deflected the personal question back to him.

Tsu’tey’s eyes crinkled with amusement, a smirk tugging at his lips. He took the bait, teasing in return.

“If she would have me,” he replied.

Something shifted in Na'ali’s eyes—a softness forming within them as her ears fluttered, and her cheekbones darkened with a deeper hue. She turned her face to avoid looking at him, but her fingers shyly grazed his, a warmth sparking through their touch. Tsu’tey moved his fingers to interlock with hers, his warm palm enveloping hers gently.

“I will not move into another village,” her voice wavered slightly, but Tsu’tey knew Na'ali was firm in her words. He squeezed her fingers gently in reassurance.

“I know. I wouldn’t ask you to,” he said softly, watching her. Hesitation only lingered for a few moments before he carefully cupped her cheek with his other hand, turning her to face him. He stared into her alluring cadet-blue eyes.

“Oel ngati kameie, I do not want to change you, Na'ali. You are beautiful as you are.”

His heart was fully on display for her, his eyes radiating warmth and affection as his hand rested gently on her darkened cheeks.

Na'ali struggled internally, years of solitude fighting against the urge to pull away, to protect herself. But the strange desire to guard that tender look on Tsu’tey’s face—one she was sure no one else could bring out in him—kept her still.

Her lungs burned as she forced herself to take a breath, her chest rising and falling with each shaky inhale. Her entire body felt alive, pulsing with warmth as her trembling hand covered his, pressing his palm firmly against her cheek. She closed her eyes, unable to continue looking into the forest that lived in his eyes.

She breathed, and Tsu’tey allowed her the space to do so without any pressure, simply staying by her side like the air she needed. When she opened her eyes again, she greeted him with azure eyes, glowing with the light of new love—a calm ocean stirring with the promise of endless depth.

“She would have you,” Na'ali whispered, clinging to his hand softly, a silent plea in her gaze.

“If he promised to stay.”

Tsu’tey brought her into his arms, holding her close. Always offering her safety, always allowing her the freedom to flee if his touch became too much. But when she didn’t pull away, his heart pounded with joy as he rested his chin on her head, his tail swaying gently. His eyes flickered to the fire before them, watching as ash and flames danced toward the starry sky.

“I have nowhere else to go,” he whispered, feeling her lean more into him.

“Oel ngati kameie, Tsu’tey.”

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