#siren's snippets

[ghost-bxrd]

He huffs, clicking his annoyance in a sharp staccato from the back of his throat, before settling back more firmly against Bruce’s back, arms loosely circling the larger mer’s neck.

Just wait until I’m all grown, Jason thinks mulishly.

Dick and Bruce both tend to laugh or nip at him fondly whenever he voices this. Like they’re indulging a tiny pup saying they’re gonna be the strongest of them all.

Thing is, Jason knows he will be. Bruce and Dick just don’t get that he’s being serious. Neither does Alfred, probably. But at least he’s kind enough not to laugh.

But Jason doesn’t really care, either way.

Bruce rumbles a warning when Dick gets too close again with the obvious intent to continue his teasing, angling his unprotected belly towards the reef mer so Jason is safely hidden on the other side.

Dick pouts, coming closer regardless.

And promptly gets hit in the face with the wispy end of Jason’s long tail.

Dick splutters. Bruce’s shoulders quiver with suppressed laughter. And Jason shoots the older mer a toothy grin from over the safety of Bruce’s shoulder.

— sneak peek of the Mer Au 👁️🌊

[inafieldofdaisies]

Ship: The Chevalier and The Siren | Faith x Leslie

“Are you real?”, the words left his mouth, betraying the uncertainty Leslie felt as his hand retreated before it could make contact with her cheek. A part of him dreaded a repeat from the last time, how she had vanished into thin air, how her laugh had haunted him for far too long. Goddamn Bliss. “As real as the next breath you'll take.” He wondered if the smile Faith offered him meant to reassure him or only reel him further into some illusion Calahan would call a mindfuck. Does it even matter? “Yeah?” Silence hung between them as she grasped his hand in hers, warmth spreading across his skin at the touch. The move was a confirmation far stronger than anything she could have spoken out loud.

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[hufflepuffwritingstuff2]

Whumptober 2024 No. 17- Shipwrecked

Whumpee coughed up seawater. They distantly registered that they were lying flat on their back, their head resting on a warm, textured surface. Their eyes stung from the salt that had gotten in them, and they blinked rapidly to get it out. Their vision cleared and they stared up at an open sky surrounded by natural walls of stone. The stars twinkled down at them, little pinpricks of light against the deep blue and black of the night. It was after staring for a bit that they thought to wonder where in Heaven’s name they were.

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” a silky voice cooed.

Whumpee froze. They craned their neck back and saw what their head had been resting on. A pale-blue-skinned person smiled down at them, their fangs glinting in the moonlight. Their dark hair hung in wet curtains around their face and shoulders. Their tail sat folded neatly underneath them, the deep blue scales glittering against the rock. The siren’s eyes followed every little movement Whumpee made, including when they scrambled in their terror to sit up and get away.

“Hold on now,” the siren said, “where do you think you’re going?”

Whumpee went to reply, but just coughed up more seawater. They finally answered in a raspy voice.

“Don’t eat me!”

The siren titled their head, then laughed, the music of it bouncing off the cave walls.

“Eat you?” the siren asked, “what makes you think you’d be a good meal? Why, half of you would just taste like myself. Pardon my words, but you don’t look very appetizing.”

Whumpee’s chest rose and fell in rapid succession, over and over again as they struggled to get enough air. They went for the dagger strapped to their thigh. Their heart lurched into their throat when they felt nothing there.

“Looking for this?” The siren asked, twirling the dagger, “it’s very pretty, and I do apologize for stealing it, but I didn’t want to become sushi by your hand, especially considering I just saved you.”

“You… you what?”

“Saved you. Rescued you. Brought you back from the brink. Take your pick of phrases.”

The siren continued to stare at Whumpee, their eyes glinting with a playfulness and wonder, but noticeably not hunger or sadism.

“…But you are going to be in trouble if you keep panicking like that,” the siren noted, “why don’t you come closer and I’ll help you calm down?”

That could very well be a trick, and Whumpee thought as much. The siren sighed when Whumpee didn’t move.

“Alright, the old-fashioned way then.”

The siren opened their mouth and began to sing. It was a deep, ethereal sound, and suddenly all of Whumpee’s thoughts faded away like seafoam. All they could hear, think, and feel was the song. They crawled closer to the siren, staring slack-jawed with glazed eyes. The siren beamed, continuing to sing, and gently pulled Whumpee back into their lap. They ran one hand through their soaked hair while the other rubbed soft circles into the back of their hand.

“There now, that’s better,” the siren whispered.

“Who… who are you?” Whumpee asked, dazed but infinitely calmer than before.

“I am called Caretaker,” the siren answered, “and I found you right when your ship went down. Clinging to a scrap of wood like your life depended on it. Well, I suppose it did, but you couldn’t hold on for very long. I caught you just as you swallowed what must have been a lungful of water.”

“…What about the other people on the ship?” Whumpee asked.

“My clan is watching them,” Caretaker said, “don’t worry.”

Whumpee’s fear must have shown on their face.

“They aren’t going to be eaten either,” Caretaker said, “only a very select few clans of sirens attack humans, and they all live in the Bermuda Triangle these days, so you’ve nothing to worry about.”

“What’s going to happen to me?” Whumpee asked.

“I suppose I’ll have to get you home somehow,” Caretaker sighed, “such a shame, I almost want to keep you.”

Whumpee blushed, unsure why exactly.

“Now then,” Caretaker said, “what do humans eat? And I suppose you only drink freshwater. We’ll figure this out together, er, what was your name?”

“Whumpee.”

“Whumpee, we’ll get you sorted, not to worry,” Caretaker smiled.

It would be some time before Caretaker found a way to get Whumpee home, and until they did, they would have a new friend from the surface world to take extra good care of.

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[watercolorfreckles]

hi, thank you so much for your wonderful writing :))

I've especially loved reading Deep Blue and I was wondering if you...do continuations? if not that's totally okay, just thought I'd ask :)

have some ice cream :) 🍦

Thank you, thank you! Sorry for taking so long to get to this request. Hope you like it!

Deep Blue - Pt. 4

siren x pirate

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

When his eyelids parted again, the midday sun split the room, haloing the sleeping siren in a honey blaze. Her hair pooled around her head in golden spires where she'd sunken against the cotton pillow during the night.

Her shoulders swam beneath the gauzy knit of the pirate's shirt, pearl-pink skin peeking free. She smelled of the ocean, all salted breezes and chalky sands.

She seemed peaceful, chest swelling with even breaths. An outsider may have labeled her harmless.

The pirate knew better.

His fingers itched to caress the delicate curls framing the siren's forehead all the same. The supernatural charm of a siren, he told himself. He caught his hand when it twitched halfway to action.

He stood up, tearing himself away from the magnetic pull of her. He turned around, shaking out the clumped waves of his hair. His clothes, too, were scratchy with the crust of dried salt. The folds of fabric creased like paper.

He stepped outside and cranked out several pumps of water from the rusted spigot, scrubbing it over his face and hair. The cool droplets streamed fissures down his neck and chest. He pumped fresh palm-fulls to spread over the rest of his exposed skin.

"If you're trying to drown yourself, I can do a much better job of it."

The pirate startled, straightening. "Golden. You're...- How are you feeling?"

Clinging to the open door, the siren stood awkwardly on foreign limbs. The hem of his shirt hung a few inches above her knees; a curtain brushing against his clumsy first aid.

Though her posture painted her a wounded damsel, her eyes were predator-sharp. It set his teeth on edge and sent something primal in his instincts jangling.

The siren's nose crinkled, scanning their surroundings. He tracked her gaze as it roamed over every rock and tree and bump of the earth. "What is that smell?"

The cabin boy snorted, cranking fresh water into his hands to dump over his head. "Dirt."

"Repugnant.”

"Yeah, well... As much as I love it, the smell of salt water and fish can get old as well."

When he glanced up again, he studied the siren more closely. Instead of itchy, irritated skin--sun-dried and chapped--she was glowing as ever. Her golden hair hung in silken waves hardly so much as mussed by his rough sheets, not gritty and salt-riddled as his own locks had been. Her skin faintly shimmered in the daylight.

The only thing about her that wasn't perfect was the red stain weeping through the muddied fabric of her bandage.

Her eyes followed the drip drops puddling beneath the spigot. She wet her lips.

The cabin boy watched her. "Are you thirsty?"

As he'd learned from his hours of curious reading, most sea creatures didn't drink water. They gained their hydration through the food they ate, or their bodies were designed to filter out the harmful sully of salt from the seas they swam in.

Though, his siren was a sea creature no more.

Her feet twitched, seemingly with the urge to take a step, but she hesitated, toeing the wooden step's treacherous edge without letting go of the door.

A small smile cracked the pirate's lips. This creature who had held his life in her hands mere hours prior, capable of capsizing ships and carving out the hearts of men, was afraid to walk. Afraid to fall.

Gravity did have an unforgiving vice above water that it didn't below, weightless and languid in all its honeyed drifting.

He found himself standing in front of her. Ever drawn to her as a moth to its fiery death.

She hissed at him when he offered his hands toward her, sounding like a startled housecat. Jerking back, her heels snagged the rim of the top stair and she fell with a yelp. "Don't touch me!"

Though the cabin boy held up his palms in surrender, the mermaid swiped at him with dull, paddy fingers for good measure.

"Easy," he said, "I was only going to help you."

"Why?"

His brow creased. "...Why?"

"Why are you trying to help me at all?" she demanded.

"You saved my life."

"I tried to drown you! You should have left me there, I would have been better off! Your 'help' is a scourge, a curse!" She pushed herself up onto wobbly feet, smacking his hand away when the pirate reached out again, reflexively, to assist her.

He heaved a sigh, stepping back. “You would have bled to death.”

“It would have been better!” There was something terribly broken in her voice. A windchime once ringing melodic lullabies now cracked and shrieking. She staggered down the remaining two steps, swaying unsteadily on her heels. Her voice softened. “It would have been better than this.”

Guilt twisted the cabin boy’s stomach. “Golden…”

“No. I am now a prisoner in this…weak, defiled body. I have been stripped of every last thread of my identity. My tail, my strength– The ocean has disowned me, I am cursed to die a fumbling human. There is no greater disgrace! I want nothing more from you.” She shoved past him, limping and teetering as she went.

“Where are you going? You’re injured, hungry, and wearing nothing more than my shirt,” the pirate protested, following after her. “You can’t venture into town like that. Many men would take that as an invitation–”

The siren rounded on him, promptly stumbling and catching herself against his shoulders. Her eyes were alight like an August day.

“I know perfectly well what your kind feels entitled to when they come upon a beautiful woman. That is the very foundation of why you are so easily captured under our sway,” she spat. “Your desires overwhelm you, and our songs coax you to believe you can have all you want if only you surrender to us. I cannot make you believe what you do not already want to. You invade our home and hunt us in our own waters, you take and take and take, then call us monsters when we do not let you have us too. As if we are sunken treasure for you to pluck from the seafloor and sell to the next hungry pirate.”

Any response he had readied died behind the cabin boy’s teeth. He wanted to protest that they ‘weren’t all like that.’ That some pirates led with honor, and that many men were decent. He was decent, wasn’t he?

And yet… He still felt homesick for his captain, his crew, his ship. The very ones who cast him to his death for the mutinous act of having a heart.

He swallowed. “I freed you.”

“And for that alone, I spared you. Yet you damned me. Spare me further humiliation and leave me alone.” The siren gave his shoulders a sharp squeeze before letting go, limping away again in the direction she had chosen.

His eyes followed her, clumsy and graceless, all the way to the start of the dirt road that led into the village.

She would certainly be a spectacle there. With shimmery skin and perfect hair of spun gold, eyes like winter fire and only half dressed, she would steal the attention of every human she passed.

She might be found out for what she was. She might be overpowered and hurt, or taken advantage of.

The possibilities burned through him.

She’d begged him to stay away…

The siren’s bare feet kicked up dust along the path that sent her coughing, batting at the air with the same fury she’d faced him with moments prior.

The sight coaxed a tentative smile from the pirate’s mouth. Cursing the sky, the earth, the gods of sea and shore and everything else, he followed after the grounded mermaid.

He would not be responsible for any more of her misfortune. Even if it cemented his own.

He’d always thought the ocean to be fair, even in all its cruelty. It did not shrink itself for the convenience of others. Its crashing swells that swallowed ships whole did not ask for any less from the creatures within it.

He had to believe that there was hope for her, his siren, creature of water and night and song. She would be whole again. He had to try.

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[rottentiger-art]

A bit of My Jolly Sailor Bold's next chapter

[bardic-inspo]

Snippet Saturday

I think I've been tagged by a few folks lately, I've been behind and playing some catch up! But most recently I think it was @nyx-knox, @obsessedwhyyes, and @bakuliwrites. Thanks, friends!

A little more of Aeterna Nostalgia, Chapter 2:

[Astarion] hates that he sounds like a fragile spawn again. Something small and sniveling. He hates the word he says instead of the three that dance along the tip of his tongue. He’s rarely said what he longs to aloud. She’s always known it anyway, as well as the back of her hand.  But now, she stares at him scared, as if he’s a stranger. As if he’s a mere monster. As if she isn’t one, too.  There’s only one word for it.

Tagging in turn: @khywren, @xxnashiraxx, @bellasmumblingsandmusings, @inkymoonbunny , @amoremagnificentbastard ,

@toxictoad , @elinorbard , and whoever else sees this/would like to share!

[save-the-villainous-cat]

OPINION OK WRITING SOMETHING WITH SIRENS????

“Did you do a scan?” they asked and she was almost offended that they did.

“Obviously. She has vocal chords. She just doesn't use them for talking, I assume.” The protagonist’s colleague looked down into the already small enclosure the siren had to call home. “They’re obviously shaped differently. But all together, her throat is built just like ours. She should be able to communicate with us using her voice.”

“And you scanned her correctly?” The protagonist shot them a deadly gaze.

“I know how to do my job,” she said. “This isn’t the first new species I have encountered and it is by far not the first animal I have looked at. I have studied biology for years.”

Her coworker looked at her for a long time and then sighed.

“Make her talk, then. The only reason why you get to experiment here is because your subjects could revolutionise medicine...and the entertainment sector.” They pressed the reports she had requested into her hands with more force than needed. “Make her useful. That’s the only excuse for something to live here.”

Before they left, both of them stared at the creature below where only her shadow was visible. The siren was turning in the water with grace and once the protagonist was alone with her again, she felt an eerie cold that reached into her bones.

“Oh, man,” she mumbled. It couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes ago when the siren had woken up from the scans. She had been disoriented and slow but now, she was swimming around in circles. During the transport, her tail had been injured (which had made the protagonist curse the truck driver) but nothing had been broken. Just a few scales had been lost and luckily, only little tissue was damaged. Nevertheless, the protagonist had been furious that something like this had happened.

Admittedly, the protagonist had never worked on something this...challenging. Most of the time, she felt like a doctor experimenting on a patient. She felt cruel and insane but when the protagonist looked at the siren’s sharp teeth and her gills, she felt more like a scientist who was rightfully doing this.

Because it was for a good cause. Research and progress. It was important to never forget her goal.

She sighed and closed her eyes as her heart tried to calm down. Her gaze fell onto the dead fish in the bucket next to her feet. Their glassy eyes stared into oblivion and she felt responsible either way.

“Fine,” she mumbled to herself again and crouched down, her lab coat kissing the dirty floor. She took a fish out of the bucket and let it dangle in the water, still holding the cold body. It didn’t even feel real.

After a few seconds, she saw the moving shadow deep down stopping the circular round. Slowly, the siren swam up and soon enough, the protagonist could see her head break the water’s surface.

Her hair was long and dark, clinging to her head and shoulders. Her eyes were abnormally big and something about her seemed familiar to the protagonist.

In a way, she was quite beautiful and in a way, the protagonist began to hesitate. She held up the fish, showing it off as if to say “come and catch” but it felt weirdly wrong. However, the siren followed, dove down and came back up, holding onto the metallic platform the protagonist was standing on once she had reached her.

They were close, closer than they’d ever been when both of them were awake. Asleep, the siren didn’t look real but as her eyes stared into the protagonist’s soul, she was quite aware that she was alive.

“You sure are a sight for sore eyes,” the protagonist said. The siren didn’t blink. She didn’t answer either. “You must be hungry.”

She stretched out her arm as best as she could and to her incredible surprise, the siren tilted her head and let her sharp teeth sink into the fish, holding it in her mouth like a cat would.

The protagonist blinked, caught off guard and smiled.

“Huh,” she said. “You really are cute.”

She stretched out her hand to brush hair out of the siren’s face.

And something inside her stomach turned, it was a burning, a punching. As she touched the siren’s cold skin, she felt something she had never felt before.

She swore to herself to forget this but no matter what she did, this moment haunted her for weeks.

[occasionallysiren]

new oc dropping in like. half an hour or somethin

[themoonstonechronicler]

found the most OC Jane coded song ever and im going insane

hang on im listening

OH SHIT YEAH IT IS

[tabswrites]

Seven Snippets, Seven People

Tagged by @athenswrites here!

Tagging: @bee-barnes-author @mysticstarlightduck @rachaellawrites @talesofsorrowandofruin @my-cursed-prince @i-can-even-burn-salad @ahungeringknife

I have emerged from the fiery pit of hell (ToL Ch. 12) victorious!

One

Mara thought she had taken all of his pain that night, as he had done to her once before–and he was grateful for her sacrifice, even if it was futile. Fear had already settled in the cracks of his fractured mind. (ToL, Ch. 12)

Two

A sound like a crackling fire roared from the shadows behind Adrin. His head snapped back just as a ghostly white face loomed out of the darkness with emerald eyes that wept, leaving a trail of crimson tears. (ToL, Ch. 12)

Three

Her shimmering silhouette striding against the familiar brown and green landscape would have been captivating, if Oliver’s mind hadn’t begun to gnaw its teeth on something far more enticing. (ToL, Ch. 10)

Four (obligatory spooky snippet)

Piles of black ash littered the cobblestone path and the scorched grass on either side. In some instances, the ash had remained in its original form–twisted corpses with their arms reaching desperately towards absolution. (ToL, Ch. 9)

Five

Cloud let out a shriek and floated through the doors backwards, his watery black eyes blinking at her before disappearing.

Mara tsked. “Don’t be cheeky, you aggravating thing. I can’t walk through walls, now, can I?”

“Have you discovered any sort of ability, though?” Adrin wondered. “Who’s to say you can’t?”

“If it’s so simple, then, you do it!” she snapped. (ToL, Ch. 9)

Six

Luckily, he had opted for the chainmail for the journey–he wasn’t keen on wearing the full set of steel, nor was he willing to risk a visit from the Siren that would strip him bare. Now, the chainmail tunic and leather pauldrons he pulled over his head felt too light, too exposing in the face of what awaited him, even as beads of sweat ran down his face. (The Prince’s Shadow, Ch. 2)

Seven

Grotesque, leering depictions of demons that guarded rooftops, tasteful furniture, imaginative buildings with sculpted columns–the stonemasons of Toral mastered the rough, unyielding material with ease. Without them, Father would have no one to bring his elaborate architecture to life–but oh, how Mother loved to complain about their hands. (Siren Song, Part 1)

[intertexts]

🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹>>:))))

SIREN!!!!!! AA!!!!! rose attack in my inbox..... you get. the john silver -isms that have been percolating in my wips folder for months <3333

[ithinkyouhealedmyheart]

Werewolf!Kendall who happily pushes Siren!Ronnie around in her portable bathtub because she deserves to have fun like any other teenager who can walk on land. Kendall's tail wags as he talks about ice hockey because it's his favorite thing, and he gets to share it with someone else.

Ronnie who is afraid to sing because she doesn't want to put Kendall to sleep, but if he needs help sleeping, she won't think twice about it.

Franken!Carlos who has come so close to electrocuting himself and Ronnie on numerous occasions just because he's so hyped about seeing water. And Vampire!James, with the help of Zombie!Logan has tried to hold Kendall back because something in him snaps at the thought of Ronnie getting hurt.

Ronnie, who can shapeshift, and Kendall almost cried the first time because he thought she had disappeared. His friends never let him live it down.

Kendall goes to James for advice because he's overthinking. James suggests he just use his hypnosis powers, but Kendall doesn't have those.

Carlos and Logan chilling with Witch!Mama Knight because they're getting secondhand embarrassment from Kendall.

[hufflepuffwritingstuff2]

Could you write the siren villain singing the hero to sleep prompt? I love siren characters hfkfjffhd these prompts are giving me life right now ❤️

Hi anon! I’d love to! Thank you for requesting this, here you go!

From this prompt pack

Hero staggered into the cave, their clothes soaked through. They collapsed against the cavern wall, breathing heavily. That storm was no joke, it had practically torn their ship in two. They only hoped the rest of the crew had managed to survive. Their hand rested over a gash in their side, red seeping through their chilled fingers. Pink decorated their cheeks as the early stages of a cold settled in their chest.

Hero stared into the pool of water fed by the ocean at the cave mouth. They tilted their head as the pool started to ripple. A scaly face poked their head out from under the surface. Hero stumbled back, reaching for their knife strapped to their thigh.

“You!” Hero shouted weakly, “get away from me!”

The siren, Villain, rose a few more inches out of the water. They looked Hero up and down with their slitted eyes.

“You’re hurt,” Villain said.

“And I bet you just love that, don’t you?” Hero snapped, “bet you’re desperate for a taste of me-”

“Well yes, but not in that way,” Villain smirked.

Hero ignored them, continuing to fuss.

“Bet you just loved watching my ship go down. Bet your little friends had the time of their lives snacking on my crew-my family- you just came here to get the last snack, that’s it, isn’t it!?”

As Hero spoke, tears started to sting their eyes. Their whole crew was probably long gone thanks to the sirens.

“Hero, calm down,” Villain said softly.

They hauled themselves out of the pool and sat at Hero’s side. They gently wiped their tears.

“I called my brethren off,” Villain said, “your crew is fine. They all made it to an island not far from here. I came here to fetch you.”

“Ha,” Hero scoffed, “more like they all made it to Davy Jones’ Locker! Leave me alone, I’m not falling for any of your tricks!”

Hero curled in on themselves, sobbing quietly. Villain took another look at their wound; it looked pretty bad, they needed to treat it, but they got the feeling that Hero wouldn’t let them anywhere near it. Not to mention, they wouldn’t be able to move them with an injury like that.

“Hero, stop, please,” Villain said gently, “if you work yourself up, you’ll make your injury worse. Let me just take a look at it and-”

“No!” Hero shouted, “go away! For the last time!”

Villain bit their lip and sighed. It looked like there was no other way. Villain opened their mouth and started to sing. It was soft and gentle at first, then became a little louder. Hero turned to look at Villain, and their eyes glazed over. Villain beckoned them forward, still singing. Hero crawled over to them, entranced. Villain laid Hero’s head in their lap and started to stroke their hair. They gently closed Hero’s eyes for them. Hero drifted off to the sound of Villain’s song. Once they were sure they were asleep, Villain gently maneuvered Hero back onto the cave floor and got to work.

…

Hero woke up with a start. They felt grains of sand sticking to them, and a soft pressure around their torso. They looked down and saw seaweed wrapped snugly around their wound.

“Hero!”

Hero turned and saw First Mate swiftly approaching them. They bent down and hugged them, careful not to aggravate their injury.

“We were so worried about you,” First Mate said, “when Villain’s sirens brought us here, no one could find you. We thought that you- well, it doesn’t matter. Villain found you and brought you back.”

Hero’s mind was racing. Villain was telling the truth? The last thing they remembered was yelling at them to go away… how did they bring them here? Villain watched the reunion from a safe distance. Their Hero was safe, and that was all that mattered.

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[watercolorfreckles]

Deep Blue - Part 3

Part 1, Part 2

The sea became an inky black, or maybe that was just his vision tunneling. His head swooped with hungry shadows ready to swallow him down into that darkness.

The pirate blinked forcefully, shaking his head and tossing away with it the heavy tug of unconsciousness.

He had to stay awake.

He could see, now, that the water wasn't black, but red. With every stroke of the siren's tail, plumes of blood sullied the water.

The siren's movements began to slow, and the claws gripping the pirate's collar eased. He glanced down at her, through the bleary haze of salt water.

The siren's eyelids sagged. With a final languid sweep of her tail, the siren fell still, drifting motionless in the brackish water.

The pirate ripped away from her, kicking for the surface. His lungs ached and his ears popped with the changes in pressure.

Breaching the surface, he gasped in a greedy gulp of air. Coughing and panting, he scanned their surroundings.

The view was different, now, than it was where they’d entered the water. His attention snagged on the hollowed-out, fallen tree that helped orient him: They had traveled a significant distance around the crook of the bay. The fisherman was no longer within sight.

The shoreline wasn't terribly far. He could certainly swim that distance, even if it left him aching.

His gaze traveled back down to the smear of bloody waters around him. The siren was hurt badly...

If he left her, she would bleed to death.

Groaning, the pirate dove back down. He squinted, eyes readjusting to the darkness until he found her again. She looked almost peaceful then, suspended in the silky depths, golden hair floating around her head like a halo.

Grabbing the beautiful, deadly creature under the arms, the cabin boy hauled her to the surface. When he broke through, his breath came ragged with effort.

Keeping hold of the siren, he reclined to float on his back. He kicked his legs and towed her with him.

It was a slow and grueling process, fighting the waves that tumbled over his face to stall his breath. Only able to use his legs to swim, dragging the dead weight of the siren required all the strength in his arms.

It felt an eternity later that the pirate collapsed on the sand next to the beautiful, deadly creature he'd lowered down with care.

His limbs burned.

But the siren was still bleeding.

The harpoon had splintered in half upon impact, leaving its head buried within the scar of jagged flesh it had carved into the tight knit of her scales.

The sunlight traced the angles of her face, ethereal and unmoving in sleep. She looked like the sort of statue carved of marble that artists spent an eternity molding to angelic perfection. The gold of her tail outshone the sun.

Her blood stained the sand.

He groaned again. "Why do I feel responsible for you?! You just tried to kill me! If I left you here, that would be my right."

The pirate watched the siren as if expecting a reply. 

Throwing his gaze heavenward, he murmured a curse.

She would never survive here on the shore, not after his boss had the opportunity to flood gossip through the whole town of what he'd seen.

He shoved to his feet despite the protest of his legs.

"Alright, alright, I won't leave you, Golden. Don't worry."

The pirate slid his arms under the siren, bracing himself before heaving her into his hold. His muscles strained with the effort and he swayed on his feet, off balance.

He clenched his teeth and took one step, then another. He finally stepped into the treeline, carrying the mermaid the painstaking distance back to the abandoned cabin he'd claimed as the place to rest his head since coming to this dull, little town. 

Kicking open the door, the pirate plopped the siren onto the bed, shoving the door shut again and letting himself crumple to the floor.

He still needed to tend to the siren's wound, and he would. Just after a moment's reprieve.

After the first slow blink, his eyes were too heavy to open again.

He fell into slumber as though sinking over the edge of a drop-off.

---

The cabin boy woke to the sound of screaming.

He sat up in a panicked jolt. "What-"

His gaze met the siren's.

The... former siren's.

Where her tail once was, two human legs sprawled in its place. The spearhead and wound were still there, however, marring the smooth flesh of her bare upper thigh.

The pirate quickly averted his gaze. "What-" he repeated.

Fury burned behind the gold of the former siren's eyes. "What have you done, you insufferable human!" she screamed.

Snarling, she lunged at the pirate, promptly wobbling and crashing to her knees.

The cabin boy caught her by the shoulders.

She recoiled from his touch, hissing and swiping at him with nails far duller than the claws she'd once possessed.

Easily snatching up her wrists and squeezing, the pirate held her still. "Easy. Easy. You've lost a lot of blood."

Their eyes met. Hers, a knife's point. Her bare chest heaved with quick breaths.

The pirate made a point not to look.

He could see the exhaustion sweep over her as she slumped back against the bed frame, pressing a hand to her wound.

The cabin boy let her go, watching her carefully. "I'm going to get something to stop the bleeding and clean that. Don't move."

He felt her gaze on him as he retrieved a bottle of rum, a towel, a wooden spoon, and a spare bed sheet. Returning to her side, the pirate carefully lifted her back onto the bed.

The siren hissed again like an animal and skittered back until she hit the wall. "Get away from me."

"I'm trying to help you, Goldie," the pirate said, exasperated. "That could get infected. Besides, do you expect to walk around with that broken harpoon in your leg?" He paused and blinked. "Granted, I haven't deigned to expect you to walk... at all." He gestured to her newfound limbs.

The siren bared her teeth. "This is your fault! Any siren can give up their tail by venturing onto land and drying out. Such is a disgrace! Should a siren want to subvert herself into human scum, the ocean will indulge her."

The cabin boy raised his hands in placation. "Then when you're better, I'll take you back to the water."

"No," she snapped. Her gaze dropped down to her legs, blonde waves curtaining her face. When she spoke again, her voice was raw and soft. It carved its way through his chest all the same; the warbling hum of a plucked violin string. "It... It cannot be undone."

Something twisted in the pirate's stomach.

He should be glad to leave the ocean with one less monster; to make the waters an ounce safer for fellow unsuspecting sailors.

His thoughts flashed to the heaving storms able to capsize ships; to the rocks and reefs the sailors must avoid, and the gaping expanse of open ocean when no land is in sight.

Sailing the Deep Blue was never about safety.

Dangerous as the creature before him had been, she was a creature of the sea. To take that from her would be to cleave the fins from a fish, or cut the wings from a bird and call it justice.

He swallowed. "I'll do what I can for you, Golden," he said softly, lifting the towel.

The siren flinched, eyeing him pointedly.

Meeting her gaze briefly with a look of what he hoped was reassurance, he proceeded slowly, pressing the towel around her wound. "I need to get the spearhead out. This won't be pleasant. Bite down on this." He held the wooden spoon out to her.

The siren glared but obeyed, taking it between her teeth.

The cabin boy did his best to ease the spikes of the spearhead out without ripping it out straight backward. Harpoons were made to hook into the blubber of whales, not with the intent of slipping free seamlessly.

When he'd positioned the weapon so that he could remove it with the least damage possible, he pulled it out.

The siren shrieked, dropping her head back against the wall.

"Shh, shh, all done, it's done," the pirate said, pressing the towel more firmly against the wound. "You did great. All that's left is to clean and dress the wound." His hand moved on its own, tucking the siren's hair out of her eyes.

Her attention snapped to him. But she didn't bite or claw or hiss.

For a moment, he could only stare, transfixed.

Becoming human did not dull the allure of her.

Clearing his throat, the pirate bit the cork of the rum bottle, spitting it aside. "This will sting..."

He poured the alcohol over the afflicted flesh and the siren softly screeched again.

"I'm sorry, golden, all done, see?" Quickly tearing the spare sheet into strips, he set to work wrapping the wound and tying the makeshift bandage off. "There."

He glanced up at her again. "Oh. Here."

He shucked his white button-down shirt off and wrapped it around the siren's exposed shoulders.

Her face creased with confusion as she lifted one sleeve.

The cabin boy's lips twitched up into a smile. "You put your arms through. Like this." Using gentle fingers, he helped her thread her arms through before working on the buttons, averting his gaze and fumbling awkwardly as he did so.

"There." When he looked back up at her face, the siren was already asleep.

He studied her in the dimming light. Something about her registered as angelic. Nothing so deserving of the title of sea demon.

And yet… It would be foolish of him to let himself become ensnared by the lethal creature that wanted nothing more than to drown sailors such as him. Beautiful as she may be.

What had he gotten himself into?

The pirate leaned back against the wall and listened to the steady swell of the siren's breathing.

Part 4

Thank you to @valiantlytransparentwhispers and @writing-on-the-wahl for being betas :)

General Taglist: @pinned-to-the-wahl, @valiantlytransparentwhispers, @distance-does-not-matter, @redbircl, @lilaccatholic, @crazytwentythrees, @thelazywitchphotographer, @chibicelloking, @lolafaiy, @thinkwrite5, @putridghost , @tobeornottobeateacher, @sunflower1000, @bouncyartist, @feyriddle , @yet-another-heathen, @silverwhisperer1, @distractedlydistracted, @pensivespacepirate , @appleejuicee, @deflated-bouncingball  @maybe-a-cat42

 , @m0chik0furan, @mercurymomentum, @fairysprinkles, @vuvulia, @amongtheonedaisy, @rose-pinkie, @trappedgoose-in-a-writblr-room, @scorpio-smiles, @inkygemuwu, @wolfeyedwitch, @thewhumpmeisterx3000, @ikiiryo, @moonquires, @lem-hhn, @fanastywhump, @smallangryfish, @ladybookworm @freefallingup13, @acaiaforrest, @a-blue-comedy , @puppyaddict, @talkingsperm , @qualitychaoslover, @deckofaces ,@7eselt, @annablogsposts, @lunatic-moss-studio, @medusas-hairband.

[lexiklecksi]

Share a writing snippet (tag game)

Thanks for tagging me @squarebracket-trick to share a writing snippet. These are of my NaNoWriMo wip, my fantasy novel "Drachenbrut". For my dear English readers I've roughly translated my German writing below the cut, but please note it is NOT reflective of my writing style and if something sounds weird I got lost in translation. To the few people who actually read it, I am very grateful. This is a snippet of a scene told from Varuna Kailani's pov, mother of the siren sisters and the exiled Meara Kailani. (Click for the oc intros and here for my master post.)

Ein röchelndes Husten neben mir schreckt mich auf. Ich summe meinem Mann leise seine Lieblingsmeldodie ins Ohr und sein Husten versiegt sogleich. Wie lange werde ich ihn noch am Leben halten können? Er ist immerhin zwanzig Jahre älter als ich und seine Haut wird immer fahler, ist beinahe so grau wie meines Hammerhais Ilukas. Die kurze Ablenkung hat Nerida gereicht, sie ist mit Nalu in der Nebenhöhle verschwunden. Ich fasse es nicht, dass sie vor Kurzem noch an unser Gewissen appelliert haben, Meara wieder nach Hause zu holen und sich dann völlig daneben benehmen. Die letzten Perlen werden abgezählt, ich muss alle schleunigst wieder versammeln, bevor mein Mann seine abtrünnigen Töchter bemerkt. Mit einem Wink deute ich Kairi an, ihre Schwestern zu holen. Sie nickt ergeben und krault fort, während ich mein liebstes Lächeln aufsetze. „Ich danke euch, dass ihr den weiten Weg auf euch genommen habt, um mit uns zu handeln“, säusle ich. Keano nickt zustimmend und Malio blickt für einen Moment weniger finster drein. „In Gezeiten wie diesen ist es wichtiger denn je, die Beziehung zwischen unseren Familien zu stärken“, fahre ich laut fort. „Uns wurde auch schon zugetragen, dass die Thalaneh sich mit den Nerisura verbündet haben“, spricht Malio abschätzend. Mein Mann verzieht gequält das Gesicht, es kränkt ihn zutiefst. „Wir danken für den frischen Fisch“, erwidere ich diplomatisch und bemerke erleichtert, dass Nerida und Nalu im Torbogen aufgetaucht sind. „Das Meer verabschiedet euch“, wünscht mein Mann auf Wiedersehen. „Wir schwimmen mit euch“, antwortet Keano und treibt zum Ausgang.

I'm tagging @vintagecivet @lavender-laney @charlies-storybook @holdenmarrswritings @betweenthetimeandsound

Rough English translation:

A rattling cough next to me startles me. I hum his favourite melody quietly in my husband's ear and his coughing stops immediately. How much longer will I be able to keep him alive? After all, he's twenty years older than me and his skin is getting paler and paler, almost as grey as Iluka's, my beloved hammerhead shark. The brief distraction gave Nerida a chance to slip away into the neighbouring cave with Nalu. I can't believe they recently pleaded to our remorse to bring Meara back home and then completely misbehave on such an important day. The last pearls are counted, I hurl everyone back together as quickly as possible before my husband notices his renegade daughters. With a wave, I gesture to Kairi to fetch her sisters. She nods devotedly and swims away while I put on my favourite smile. “Thank you for travelling all this way to trade with us,” I purr. Keano nods in agreement, and Malio scowls for a moment. “In times like these, it's more critical than ever to strengthen the relationship between our families,” I continue aloud. “We've also been told that the Thalaneh have allied themselves with the Nerisura,” Malio spits dismissively. My husband pulls a pained face, looking deeply offended. “Thank you for the fresh fish,” I reply diplomatically, and realise with a gulp of relief that Nerida and Nalu have appeared in the archway. “The sea bids you farewell,” my husband says. “We'll swim with you,” Keano replies and drifts towards the exit.

WIP only tag list (comment + if you want to be added or - to be removed): @matcha-chai @callmepippin @zettelkaestchen @silversynthesis @ladywithoringes @stargazingandpoetry @scaevolawrites @lyra-brie @constellationapex @eos109 @azriel-alexander-holm @cirianne @charlies-storybook @betweenthetimeandsound @captain-kraken @thesorcererspen @poetinprose

[bardic-inspo]

Snippet Sunday

Tagged by @honeybee-bard. Thanks, Bee!

A bit more from my untitled modify memory fic in which a happily evil ever after with A!A and his vampire bride is interrupted when someone sets her memory back to pre-tadpole.

We have some tentative flirty banter 👀

“Mm,” Naomi ponders. “Awfully secretive for a pair that purportedly kept nothing from each other.” “It’s just--” Astarion huffs, starting again. “You must understand, we never had to say so many things before. We were of the same mind. We communicated well enough. It just didn't need to happen out loud.” Naomi eyes him over the edge of an aged tome. “Does my sweet, alleged husband tire of my voice so quickly?” He huffs again, softer this time. It sounds suspiciously like a laugh. “Ugh,” he groans, “you’re too adorable.”

Tagging @nyx-knox, @wilteddreamsofbaldursgate, and @dez78 if you're working on anything you'd like to share! No worries if not.