Glass

Glass

A Mermay Prompt

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You were shaking. A lot.

The excess magic from that candy was flooding your system and you couldn’t sleep. And there was a lot of excess.

You couldn’t bring yourself to drink coffee and you didn’t have any calming tea. The house had already been swept. Twice. The walls were clean, the windows were washed, the toilet was scrubbed, and you were sitting in your living room, bouncing your knee. Your mind was running at a thousand miles per hour and yet you still couldn’t think. You checked your phone.

It was 2am.

Had you really cleaned everything? Surely you missed something.

Your hands were twitching.

Everything looked polished. You’d even vacuumed the couch.

Your legs hurt.

Everything was dusted and mopped.

Your chest ached.

Maybe you forgot the dishes? Yeah, that was it!

You stood and paced into the kitchen where you opened a cabinet. Yeah, you hadn’t washed these. Reaching in with shaky hands you grabbed a stack of plates.

And dropped them as soon as they left the cabinet.

Shattered glass went everywhere. You immediately reached down to pick up the pieces and lifted everything you could find into the trash. You had more plates, it was fine.

Suddenly you didn’t feel like doing the dishes.

You couldn’t handle it. You had to do something. Or calm yourself down.

Maybe stargazing again?

The car keys found their way into your hands and you were off. It took forever to get there and no time at all. You hurried down the hill to your alcove, which was mostly flooded with the tide, and paced at the waters edge.

In your hurry, you’d forgotten your scuba gear. Not that it was smart to swim after dark but you weren’t smart right now.

The wind howled around you, threatening a storm, and the waves beckoned you forward. Your shoe sank into the cold water.

A familiar deep whistle split the air, making you suddenly aware of how close you were to the water. When you stepped back the whistle stopped.

A bright red orb floated over the water.

You stumbled back, tripped over your own feet, and landed on your butt. “H-H-Hey, b-big guy!” You stuttered and scrambled for your bag. When you couldn’t find it, you realized that in your scramble to get moving you hadn’t brought any food. “I-I d-don’t have f-f-food right n-now, b-buddy! B-But I c-can go g-get some!” You gestured a thumb over your shoulder.

He came out of the water towards you.

Oh stars, you were gonna die. He was gonna kill you.

You turned to run but didn’t even get to your feet before a tentacle wrapped around your leg.

“N-No! P-Please! Sir! I c-c-can get y-you m-more f-f-food! Please!” You gripped the loose rocks and tried to pull yourself away from the mass of muscle.

The whistle started again.

Fear and urgency left you, but you were still very aware of the danger you were in. “S-S-Sir. P-Please. I d-don’t w-w-want to d-die. P-Please.” Your voice was tired and jittery at the same time.

The siren pulled you closer until you were almost against his chest. He made a shushing gesture at you and reached towards you.

You closed your eyes, anticipating the giant’s hand to break your neck or something. You didn’t want to die, but there was nothing you could do.

Your eyes shot back open when he started petting your hair. What was he doing? You looked up at him.

He smiled kindly at you and let his low whistle fade to a stop. “You’re… okay.” He drawled slowly, as if the words were hard for him. “I won’t… hurt.. you.” With that said he turned his attention to your hand.

Still shocked, you followed his gaze. The eerie red light of his eye lit up multiple cuts and bits of glass in your hands.

“O-Oh.” Was all you could say.

He carefully held your hand steady and… started picking the glass out of your hand.

You stared openly, completely uncaring of if it was rude. “Y-Y-You-?”

“Shh.” A huge finger shushed you. “…Working.” He seemed very focused.

He was really picking the glass out of your hand. Just because. Surely that one day wasn’t enough to form a bond with the siren.

Carefully and patiently, he picked each and every piece of glass out of your hands. Your excess magic surged into your hands to heal the cuts once he was finished.

“Done.” He hummed. “Now, I can… give… answers.”

You didn’t hesitate. “W-Why a-are you helping-g m-m-me?”

He gave you a gentle smile. “You… helped… first.”

“I h-h-helped you?”

He nodded.

“H-How?”

“Food. Hungry. Hard to… catch…… normal.. prey.” He grumbled.

You blinked. “Were y-you st-st-starving?”

After a few moments, he nodded.

“Aren’t y-you p-p-part of a p-pod? Don’t your… f-friends h-help y-y-you?”

He shook his head. “Only… Nightmare. But… Boss’s… sleeping. Sleeps long… Very long…”

“C-Cross a-and K-K-Killer d-don’t help y-you?” You were starting to hate this energized stutter.

He looked you in the eyes with a desperation you’d never seen before. He shook his head.

“I-I’m th-the only p-person to h-help you? B-Besides N-Nightm-mare?”

Nod.

“W-Well.” You held out a hand. “I-I’m y/n. I-It’s n-nice to of-f-fficially m-meet you. S-Sorry f-f-for yelling-g a-at you earlier.”

He grabbed and inspected your hand before letting you go. “…Name’s Horror.” He leaned in towards your face as you tried not to lean away. “You have… too much magic…”

You laughed nervously and dry. “Y-Yeah. K-Killer gave m-me a c-c-candy to h-heal this.” You pulled up your sleeve to show him the bite mark.

“Hmm. You… smell like him.”

“I d-don’t know w-w-what to say t-to th-that.”

“Heheheh.” He chuckled at you. “‘S not… bad. Who… bit you?”

Suddenly, the magic decided it wanted to be in your face. “Uhh… K-Killer b-bit me…”

The humor left Horror’s face. “…Oh…….. Then he… healed you?”

“Y-Yeah? E-Earlier? Yest-t-terday? W-When it was b-b-bright. B-But th-the bite d-didn’t heal… S-Something ‘bout i-intent.”

“Hmm.” Horror looked you over again. “…Did he ask you… about being… a siren?”

“B-Being a s-siren?”

He gave you an odd look. “Would you… like to… be a siren? He intended… conversion.”

“He w-what?”

The siren sighed. “The candy. Killer put… intent… to turn you into a… siren. It won’t-.”

“W-What?!?” You looked down at your legs, terrified. You couldn’t just turn into a siren! What if you turned into a siren while at your house?? You’d never make it to the water in time!

“Shh.” Horror put a finger on your mouth. “Let me… finish. It won’t turn you… into a siren. This type… of conversion… is long and… tedious. You have to… accept the change… and have… many doses of magic. The other way…” He frowned. “…is less pleasant.

“You have nothing… to be scared of. Your will can… stop the change… if you want. It takes weeks… if you choose to… convert.”

“O-Oh. So… I-I-I w-won’t turn i-into a s-siren out of n-nowhere?”

He shook his head. “Not enough… magic or consent.”

“W-Why would K-Killer d-d-do th-that?”

Horror shrugged. “Might not have… meant to. His intent’s… unstable. Maybe just meant… to keep you safe… and… unintentionally… wanted you… close.”

“Oh.” He… He wanted to keep you safe?

“……You….. wanna hug?” Horror awkwardly offered.

“I… y-yeah.” You hugged the siren.

Horror curled over your small form. He chuckled. “…Tiny.”

“N-Not you t-too!!”

Market

A Mermay Prompt

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Orcas liked toys right?

Would it be offensive to get a siren a toy?

You walked through the marketplace. It sat right by the docks but high enough above sea level to keep away from the tide. There was a reason for that, as half of the town had been swept away by a violent storm decades ago. That’s what you could piece together at least. Everyone told you a different story. The prince of the sea was angry at a sailor for doing him wrong. Two giant leviathans had gotten into a fight and caused the storm. Someone was selling the wrong fish on the wrong day. A few poachers had come through and “caused the storm??”

It was all nonsense to you.

You learned quickly just how fast gossip spread in the little town. With all the superstitious sailors and fishermen, something casual like seeing a crow eat a berry could turn into a blown out of proportion omen of death, plague, or murder. Anything and everything had to have a reason. You stubbed your toe on the way to work? Bad omen. Two fish swam around your feet when you went swimming? You’ll find your soulmate soon. Waves crashed against the rocks twice in a row? Big storm coming.

Absolutely ridiculous.

You entered the shop you were looking for, the bell announcing your arrival.

“Oh! Hey, y/n! Long time no see!” Greeted the clerk with a wave.

“Hello, Mister Ron.” You answered and turned to look at the displays.

There were a lot of toys to choose from. The beach balls, volleyballs, footballs, and frisbees were built to float on the water. Then there were the things that didn’t float. Buckets and shovels for sand castles, custom shoes with fun patterns on the soles to leave in the sand, and those fun torpedos and rings that sank to the sea floor for you to find again. Last but not least, there was a rack of plushies, all different sea creatures. Absently, you grabbed an orca plush and, after a moment’s hesitation, grabbed a shark plush as well.

“Anything I can help you with?” Ron asked from the counter.

You gave him a smile. “No, thanks.”

“You got family coming over?” Ugh. He was looking for gossip. Just like everyone else.

“No.”

“Friends?”

“No one is coming over.”

“C’mon, y/n! Don’t leave me hanging!” He teased.

Flashes of Killer saying something very similar made you pause. The teasing voice. The way he grinned at you as if nothing was wrong. Begging for information… and willing to kill you over it.

C’mon! Don’t leave me driftin’!

Do you know how easy it would be to sing those last notes?

You grabbed the closest thing and went to checkout. You had to get out of here. Ron gave you an odd look but didn’t pry as you bolted out of the shop. Your car was cranked and you sped home.

On second thought…

You turned to head to the beach instead.

Waves greeted you as you entered your alcove. Cross was nowhere to be seen. You groaned and sat on the rocky beach, the bag from the store still in your hand. Thankfully, you’d left the plushies in the car, but somehow still grabbed the bag. You reached in and pulled out a red ringed frisbee. Like the glowing thing Killer had on his chest.

You sighed and flopped onto your back. You really didn’t want to think about the shark siren but everything was reminding you of those encounters. The clerk, the shark plushie, the frisbee, even staring up at the sky reminded you of how he’d stargazed with you, his eyelights twinkling at the sight. He’d looked so harmless for a moment. Just a boy that got to see the stars for the first time.

“Ugh!” You stood up grabbed the frisbee and launched it at the horizon. The wind carried it further than you expected before in finally landed in the water.

Dang it, you could still see it!

You snatched up the plastic bag and stuffed it in your pocket. You weren’t going to litter, even if you were upset. Casting one last look, you hoped Cross was okay, you turned you back on the water to head home.

With a scratching sound, the frisbee landed next to you.

“That was fun! Do it again!” Came the familiar voice you didn’t want to hear.

Speak of the devil and he shall come.

You turned around slowly to see Killer propped up on a rock, his tail wagging behind him. The red thing you’d noticed before was floating boldly in front of his rib cage in the shape of a target. Wasn’t it a heart before?

His brow rose as you continued to stare. “Like what you see, y/n?” He grinned.

You looked at your feet where the frisbee still sat. “You want me to throw the frisbee again?”

“Frisbee.” He tested the word. “Can you throw it farther?”

“I didn’t even think it would go as far as it did.” You admitted.

The red rings above his chest twisted. That looked painful. “Then I’ll be able to catch it before it hits the water.” He challenged.

Something in you clicked at the challenge and you looked back up at him with a grin on your face. “Bet. You’ll never get there in time.” You picked up the frisbee.

His face lit up. “Oh! It’s on! Throw it, frisbee master! And watch me teach you a lesson!”

You threw it and a giant splash announced Killer’s scramble to catch it first. He got under it in record time and shot you a smug grin across the water. You smiled back and crossed your arms as the frisbee glided closer and closer to the siren until…

It arched sideways and hit the water several meters away from him.

You laughed at his look of confusion. After a few seconds of flabbergasted staring, Killer angrily snatched the frisbee out of the water and swam back to where you were laughing on the beach.

“What was that!? What did you do?!” He demanded, tossing the frisbee at you.

“I didn’t do anything!” You giggled. “The frisbee does that by itself!”

His grin widened. “Again.” He growled.

You nodded and sent the frisbee flying again.

And again, it arched to the side out of his reach.

“Why does it keep doing that?!?!”

“Because-.”

“Again!”

Several failed attempts later and you had to dodge the frisbee he launched at you.

“This is stupid!!” Killer snapped, his tail thrashing in the water. “Why does it do that?!”

“Will you let me explain?”

He glared at you. “…Fine. Explain.”

You held up the frisbee. “This bottom side is made to hold air under it while it flies. As long as it’s spinning, it won’t have a problem holding itself up. But,” You tipped the frisbee. “If it stops spinning, it becomes unbalanced and the frisbee will fall off the pocket of air it made and swing to the side. That’s why it keeps doing that.”

“Why does it stop spinning?”

“Because it was thrown too far with nothing to make it spin. When I throw it, I try my hardest to make it spin for as long as possible but over the water it has nothing to do but glide until it can’t spin anymore.”

“Well, how do I catch it?”

You smiled. “You have to over prepare for it to change course. Watch the way it wobbles before it falls.” You threw it without warning and he was gone.

His dorsal fin sped out to where the frisbee hovered and his head poked out of the water. He watched as it wobbled, arched, and hit the water without making an effort to catch it. He brought it back and repeated the process three more times.

On the fourth try he brought it back with a grin on his face.

“This time.” Was all he said.

The frisbee went flying.

His fin circled the area below it when it started wobbling. He shot to one side and came out of the water as it arched towards him. He stretched for it, it went over his head and…

He caught it.

“WOOOOOOOO!!!” He screamed in triumph, holding the frisbee above his head.

You watched him pump his fists into the air as you laughed and realized;

You’d just spent the entire day with Killer.

He hadn’t even threatened you.

And you’d laughed.

Huh.

Maybe you’d just gotten off on the wrong foot.

Or fin.

Semi Aquatic

A Mermay Prompt

(Note: …Horror)

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“Hello? Cross? Killer?” You called across the water.

No answer.

You could have sworn you heard something. You shrugged it off and set your bag down. The bag had more people food in it. You figured that whichever siren you saw first could have it so you sat down with a sigh and waited.

The wind wasn’t blowing very fast today, which was nice. It made things easier to hear. You sat back on your hands and closed your eyes, just listening.

There was sound everywhere.

The waves crashing on the rocks, the birds and seagulls singing, and the low, steady whistle of wind blasting through your alcove. The whistle called your attention, low and deep, it sounded like when the sailors would blow across those beer bottles.

Wait.

But the wind wasn’t blowing that fast.

You opened your eyes and searched for the sound. It was kind of echoing around everywhere but you finally managed to pinpoint a direction. Looking into the water, a broken skull stared back at you. He only had one eyelight under the fissure in his skull as he rose out of the water revealing his lower half.

He was a siren.

His bottom half was clearly octopus and his tentacles heaved him onto the beach and towards you. He kept that deep whistle going as he got closer. The tune was nothing special, just a deep note that would change pitch every now and then, but it still sounded pretty. You smiled at him but he didn’t smile back. He just crept closer and reached for you.

Oh! Was he hungry?

You turned away from him to rummage in your bag and pulled out the sandwiches you made. Turning back to him, wow he was close, you offered the food to his extended arm.

The whistle abruptly stopped.

And your fear came back full force.

You froze, hand still extended but noticeably more tense. Your eyes locked with his and he suddenly looked uneasy, staring at you as if he expected you to slap him. After a few moments of prolonged eye contact, his gaze shot down to the food in your hands.

Maybe he really was just hungry.

Ignoring the fact that he just crawled across the beach to get to you, probably to eat you, you offered the sandwiches again, pushing them into his hand.

He didn’t hesitate.

The food was snatched from your grasp and consumed before you could even flinch. He licked his fingers and looked at you hopefully. His whistle started up again.

“No, no. It’s okay.” You interrupted his whistle and pulled your bag around. “I’ve got more. You don’t have to convince me.” You pulled out a few more sandwiches and offered them to him. With how much pizza Cross ate the other day, you brought enough food to feed a party of twenty people.

The siren eagerly took your offering and ate silently as you slowly fed him more when he finished his.

You talked to pass the time. “I brought these for a friend. He’s a bit bigger than you, you might know him. Cross?” The siren glanced at you and made grabby hands for more food. You snickered. “Though, I don’t think there will be any left for him, huh?” He didn’t answer.

You rambled on about this and that, the weather, the superstitious townsfolk, the coral you’ve seen, the birds in your area. Everything and anything that crossed your mind. You had nothing else to do.

You ran out of sandwiches.

That made you pause. You looked down in the bag to see that it was, in fact, empty, and the octopus still wanted more. You showed him the empty bag. “Sorry, sir. I don’t have any left. You ate them all.” You explained, desperately trying not to lose yourself to your fear.

He looked at you, then the bag, then back at you. His expression was unreadable and you were slowly shrinking as he continued to stare.

A clawed hand reached for you, just as slowly as before, but this time without the whistle. Your eyes darted between his hand and his eye, trying to discern his intentions. Was he not whistling because he wasn’t going to hurt you or because he knew you wouldn’t run?

His hand landed on your head, lifted up, and patted you a few times. You blinked.

Was…

Was he petting you??

“Mmh.” He hummed. “Thanks.”

With that, he pulled away and sank back into the water without another word.

You stared after him.

You…

You hadn’t even got his name.

Begrudging

A Mermay Prompt

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“Please!”

“No.”

“Pleeeeaase!!”

“Y/n, I said no.”

“Pretty please!”

“…”

“…Pretty please with a cherry on top?”

“What is a cherry?”

“It’s a candy that grows on trees.”

“Oh.”

“……pleeaaaas-!”

“Fine!” Cross snapped, throwing his arms over his head. “But you have to do anything and everything I tell you without question or hesitation or I will haul you back here myself and you’ll never leave again! Are we clear?”

You nodded furiously. “Yes! We’re clear! I will do whatever you say for as long as we’re out there!” You spun around him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Don’t thank me.” Cross grumbled. “I don’t want to. You’re just difficult.”

You gave him an innocent smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about~.”

“Ugh. Let’s just go. Stay close to me.”

Cross led you out of the trench slowly. Like, really slowly. He went half his normal speed, obviously upset that you’d talked him into it. Instead of pushing him to go faster, which would most likely end in him moving slower, you just swam dizzying circles around him.

It was exciting! And you were sure Cross was excited too. He just had a thing about security and paranoia.

But it would be fine.

You’d met the townsfolk before. Surely they’d recognize you.

You had a plan. You’d just wait by the docks where no one could see your tails through the rippling water, ask if anyone could share their food, and get out of there before anyone questioned why two young adults were in the water for so long.

It was flawless.

You think.

“You’re sure about this?” Cross asked.

“Yep!” You whistled. “They should recognize me enough for us to grab something. It’ll be fine!”

“Don’t jinx it.” He grumbled.

“Well, I can’t jinx it if we don’t ever get there, slow poke!” You teased. “Are we close?”

He sighed. “Yeah. Just a little further.”

You trilled happily. “Can we go a little faster? I wanna see if anyone has some leftover pizza!”

Despite his grumbling, Cross moved faster after that, motivated by his favorite food.

You arrived at the dock in… not record time, but something. It took some convincing, but you finally got Cross to follow you under the docks to surface. Local chatter and footsteps filled the air as people hurried about their day. You could smell the bakery from here.

“I told you nothing bad would happen.” You splashed him.

He didn’t flinch, just glanced around suspiciously. “You say that now. Just don’t get too comfortable.”

“Relax!” You waved his suspicion away. “You just gotta be calm! Watch!”

“Wait! Y/n-!” Cross reached to stop you.

You drifted out into the open and spun a few times in the water. A few people glanced at you, smiled, and went back to their own business. You smiled back before turning to Cross who was barely glaring out of the water. “See? No one cares. Now come out here!” You shot water at him again.

He moved further under the docks, practically seething with caution.

You shrugged. “Suit yourself.” You spun a few more times, giggling and splashing in the water.

“Y/n? Is that you?”

You looked up at the man on the docks. He held a bag in one hand. “Oh! Hi, Ron! Water you doing?”

“Oh my stars.” Cross groaned at the pun, a smirk tugging at his face.

Ron looked worried and glanced down at the dock. “Are you okay? I haven’t seen you in town for weeks! Where did you go?? Is everything okay??”

Cross glared up at the wood that separated him from this new person.

“I’m fine, Ron. Better than ever actually. I’ve just been… taking a break from everything. Some things came up at home.” You paused.

Cross came closer to you. When you looked at him, he offered you a smile. You smiled back.

“Is someone down there?” Ron asked, kneeling on the dock. Cross growled and backed up again.

“Yeah. He’s a friend of mine. He’s just shy without his shirt.” You winked.

“I’m not shy!”

Ron chuckled. “I can tell.” He sat and kicked his legs off the dock, inches from the water. “So how long have you known y/n, pal?”

Cross grumbled. “I’m not your pal.”

You winced. Maybe bringing the least social siren to see people wasn’t a good idea.

Ron didn’t seem bothered. “I’m sorry. I just don’t know your name.” He set his bag next to where he sat.

“You don’t need to.”

Ron’s face twitched. “I’m not going to hurt you, buddy.”

Cross growled again. “I doubt you could.”

“Cross.” You sighed.

He looked at you sheepishly and stopped growling. “Cross. I’m Cross.” He crossed his arms under the water.

Ron nodded. “And how long have you known y/n?”

“A couple months I guess? How long have you known her?”

“Since we were little. Her and her Pops would come down to the shop every now and then. Speaking of the ol’ cow, how is your Pops?” Cross flinched at Ron’s choice of words.

Oh… right.

“I… Dad is gone, Ron. About a month ago…” You sank a little in the water.

Ron’s eyes widened. “Oh! I’m so sorry, y/n! If I had known, I never would have brought it up!”

“It’s fine. You didn’t know.”

“Dang… I didn’t think he’d go so soon. That man was a fighter. What happened?”

“…I don’t know. I was disowned and mom won’t tell me anything. Wouldn’t even let me go to the funeral…”

Silence.

“Woah. I always knew your mom was a bitch, but like, disowning? Damn. What did you do?”

You scowled at how he’d phrased that. Like it was your fault. “I don’t know. She never said. Why don’t you go ask her if you’re so curious.”

Cross’s low growl accented your glare perfectly and made Ron scoot back onto the docks.

“…I’ll keep that in mind.” Ron said somewhat awkwardly. “When’d you and your friend decide to go swimming?” He changed the subject.

“Just like, an hour or two ago.” You lied easily as Cross stared at you, concerned and nervous.

Ron chuckled. “You always did love the water. I wouldn’t by surprised if you grew fins and swam away one day,” Cross’s eyes went wide and you hoped neither of them could see you sweating. “Have you had lunch yet?”

Bingo.

“No, I don’t think so.” You answered innocently enough. “I guess I got distracted.”

Ron sighed, a fond smile on his face. “You’re gonna starve yourself one of these days, you know that? Someone needs to keep an eye on you. You hear that, Cross?” Cross startled when Ron leaned forward to peek under the dock and locked eyes with the terrified skeleton. “If I can’t, I need you to make sure they’re eating. They get their head stuck in the clouds sometimes and need someone to reel them back into reality.”

“…What?” Cross looked dumbfounded.

Ron smirked and explained his analogy. “They get so busy they forget to eat. But! Lucky you! I just happen to have some tacos on hand. The taco guy managed to hustle me into buying more than I could logically eat. Here!” He pulled a taco out of his bag and offered it to you.

You happily accepted the food. “Thank you! Cross?” You offered him the taco.

Cross stretched himself as far as he could to take it and you pulled back.

His eyes locked with yours in cautious confusion. “Y/n?”

You smiled. “Come out here first. No one’s gonna hurt you.” Ron chuckled at your mischief.

Cross grumbled and slowly drifted over to you, keeping an eye on Ron the entire time. When he wasn’t under the dock anymore, you handed him his taco and took the offered second for yourself.

Oh my stars! Normal food was so good! You hummed happily at a smiling Ron.

Crunch!

Both you and Ron looked over in time to see Cross’s taco crumble and fall into the water. He stared at it, his hands still near his mouth where the taco had been seconds ago. You couldn’t help but laugh at his lost look of confusion.

“Yeah, tacos do that, Cross. Here, watch me.” You showed him how to bite the taco without it shattering in your hands. It was a delicate art but you did your best to teach him.

Ron offered Cross another taco which he took, too focused on you to be suspicious of Ron at the moment. He carefully copied your movements and took a large bite out of his taco.

His eyelights twinkled into stars and spun. The rest of the taco disappeared in his maw and Cross licked his fingers as you laughed at him.

Ron looked stunned for a second. “Woah. I mean, I knew monsters ate food differently but damn. You inhaled that sucker. Want more, big guy?” He offered another.

It was snatched and consumed as well. Over and over, as Ron would offer more, Cross would devour each taco without mercy or shame.

“You like it, Cross?” You giggled, careful to keep your taco out of his reach.

He spared you a glance and grinned between bites. “Better than your sandwiches.”

“Hey!” You splashed water on his skull. “I don’t see you making actual food!”

“Actual food? Is that what you call that stuff you fed me?” He teased back.

“Excuse me!! I’m sorry for feeding you!! Next time I won’t show you the wonders of fast food! See how much your uneducated tastebuds cry over something you can never reach!”

A small wave had you sputtering.

“Why, you-!”

“While I hate to interrupt…” Ron glanced between the two of you. “..whatever this is. I actually have to be somewhere. It was nice checking up on you, y/n. Keep them safe, Cross. Bye, you two!” He waved and yanked his bag away from Cross, whose hands were sneaking into the bag, before leaving the docks.

“Bye, Ron!” You called after him and sighed. That was really nice of him to share so much of his food with Cross. And nothing bad had happened, just like you’d predicted.

“…Your food’s still not as good.”

“CROSS!!!”

Repaired

A Mermay Prompt

(Note: I changed the nickname at the end to fit Killer better)

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"Hey! Heeyyyyy! Y/n! Pspspsps!"

You sighed. "What do you want, Killer?" The emergency bag of food was set down next to the cliff. Just in case.

You heard him giggle from the water. "I have something for you~!”

Suspicious.

“What is it?” You turned to face him, taking in the sight of his strange red glowy target thing. You’d tried looking up if sirens could get some sort of magic parasite but the only thing that came up was suckerfish.

Killer gave you an innocent grin and held out a closed hand. “Why don’t you come find out?”

You hesitated, obviously. He hadn’t exactly proven himself trustworthy. The scars on your arm testified to that. Your hand subconsciously reached for your shoulder where the scars still marred your skin.

Killer grimaced.

“Look. Y/n. I… I wanted to give you this.” He couldn’t maintain eye contact and was remarkably still. “I just… would you just take it? Please?” He shook his hand a little at you.

Confused by his behavior and a little intrigued, you slowly closed the distance. Yes, he had attacked you, and almost killed you. But, for some odd reason, you wanted to trust him. Maybe because of the way Cross talked about him like an annoying younger sibling. Maybe because you had played frisbee with him the other day. Or maybe because you didn’t want to hate him. Hatred had only ever hurt you in the past and you’d promised yourself never to do that again.

With more confidence than you expected from yourself, you reached out to take whatever Killer had to offer.

What fell into your hand was a small pearl with red twisting through the iridescent white. The colors almost seemed to glow as you twisted it and it glittered up at you. It tingled.

Killer’s empty hand rubbed the back of his skull. “It’s uh, it’s a monster candy.” He mumbled. “With enough intent, it can heal wounds, bruises, cuts… and scars sometimes…”

You raised a brow at him. “Sometimes?”

His face flushed red and he crossed his arms defensively. “Well, it depends on how old the scars are and how much intent was put into it. So don’t expect it to work or anything. My intent hasn’t been used like that before. Probably won’t even work.” He grumbled.

“You made this?”

“…Yeah.”

Oh.

He was apologizing.

You rolled the candy around in your hand. Now that you knew it was there, you could feel the intent inside. Care, concern, appreciation, and guilt. He really did regret attacking you, didn’t he? Deep behind all that, you could feel a very specific want. Probably a wish he had made while making the candy. Wanting to make you to feel better or something, you couldn’t tell, but it was very convincing.

You really couldn’t stay mad at these sirens, could you?

You sighed and closed your hand around the candy. “Thank you, Killer. I really appreciate that.”

His face lit up at the thanks. “Don’t think too much about it.” He dismissed. “I’m not making you another one.”

You could tell he was trying to stay cool about this but really just wanted to scream in victory.

You turned around and walked back to your bags. Pulling out a ziplock bag, you dropped the candy in and set it down so it wouldn’t get dirty. Then, slowly and carefully, you took off your swim shirt. You wore a tank top underneath, so you weren’t going indecent in front of Killer, you just wanted to see the scars before you tried the candy.

Killer’s mouth was hanging open when you turned around. When he caught your eye, he grinned at you and bounced his brows.

You shook your head at him. No shame at all.

The candy was back in your hand by the time you brought yourself to look at your scars. Pink flesh greeted you all across your arm in wicked scratches and cuts, the bite mark being the most obvious problem as it had almost taken part of the bone with it.

You took a shaky breath and, without letting yourself overthink it, you tossed the candy it your mouth.

It evaporated immediately with overpowering the taste of salt. Your face twisted in discomfort at the taste and you stuck your tongue out.

“Heheh.” Killer chuckled. “Maybe I shouldn’t have made it in the water.” He didn’t sound sorry.

Magic flooded your body and you felt it rush to your arm, ready to get to work. It felt so hot. Not scalding hot, but really really warm. As if you’d hugged the outside of a volcano. You weren’t in the fire but you could feel the potential.

You looked down at your arm and gasped. It was healing before your very eyes.

The scars sealed right up without a blemish.

Until the healing reached your bite mark.

The magic slowed considerably when it reached the biggest scar. Slower, slower, and slower until it stopped, leaving the massive bite mark mostly untouched.

You blinked at the scar, wishing it away with each blink.

“Oh.” Killer didn’t sound surprised. “I should have known that would happen.”

You looked up at him. “That what would happen?”

He absently gestured at his teeth. “That bite came with the intent to scar. The uh, the angry intent fought against the healing intent and won.” He gestured shamefully.

“Then why did the others heal?”

“I wasn’t thinking about them.” He shrugged. “My intent at the time was to bite you and leave a scar. The other scars were from me fending off your weak attacks.”

“Hey! I’m not weak!” You scoffed at his teasing.

Big ol’ grin answered you. “Your arms could barely move.”

“That’s because I was in the water!” You snapped. “You come up here and wrestle me and we’ll see who wins!”

He propped up his chin in his hands. “You’re cute, little suckerfish. Thinking you can take on a shark.”

“Suckerfish??”

Kelp

A Mermay Prompt

(Note: aggression(it has begun))

Masterlist

Prev / Next

“Y/n.”

“No! Nope! Nu uh!” You shook your head and pulled away. “I’m not eating what is basically sea grass! Do I look like a cow to you?”

Cross held out the kelp to you. “A what?” His head tipped to the side like a big puppy.

“A cow.” Realizing that wasn’t an explanation, you gestured how big a cow was. “It’s a big land animal with four legs that eats grass. The bulls have these long curving horns so they can fight off predators.”

His eyes widened. “It has four legs and weapons??”

You snickered at his reaction. “Yeah, there’s a whole sport around bull fighting. It’s really dangerous even though cows aren’t predators.”

“They’re not predators… and they’re dangerous? Have… Have they killed anything?” His eyelights were tiny in his sockets.

“Oh, yeah. I don’t know the details, but I know that many people and animals have died to a rampaging bull. It’s not fun.”

Cross didn’t respond.

Looking back at him, you finally noticed why. The guy looked absolutely terrified. Of cows? Well, you hadn’t done the best job explaining their softer side. You cleared your throat. “But they can be really gentle. When I was little, I went to a ranch and got to feed one. That was fun.”

“Mm…” He mumbled, still staring into space.

“Cross?”

His eyes snapped to you, he shook his head and sat straight. “Anyways! You still have to eat this.”

“Noooo!” You stepped out of his reach. “You can’t make me if you can’t catch me! Ha!”

Cross grinned smugly at you. “You remember how you learned about this type of conversion?”

Your eyes narrowed suspiciously. “…Yeeaahhhh? Horror told me. Why?”

“Heheheh.” Came a familiar chuckle behind you causing a chill to go up your spine.

You spun around to face Horror, who had sat himself right in your pathway.

He waved his fingers at you. “Hi.”

A glare was shot at Cross. “Two against one is unfair.” You pouted, earning another chuckle from Horror.

Cross shrugged. “I planned ahead. And Horror was the only one of us that can get on land without getting stuck.”

You crossed your arms, careful to keep an eye on Horror’s curling tentacles, and grumbled. “I still don’t want to…”

A sigh came from Cross. “Y/n. If you want to be a siren, you have to ease into the diet. If you convert without preparing, you’ll throw up everything we feed you. It’s an annoying process but a necessary one.”

Horror hummed in agreement.

“Uuuggggghhhhhhh! Fine! But it’s gross!” You stormed over and carefully took the soggy greens. “…..Gross.” Your nose wrinkled at it.

Both sirens laughed at you and waited patiently, looking away for your comfort.

It looked and felt so gross. Your gag reflex had you sticking your tongue out and looking away. It was necessary. It wouldn’t hurt you… right?

An idea came to mind.

You spun on your heel, much to Cross’s confusion, and marched back to

Horror. His tentacles moved out of your way as he gave you an amused look. Splitting the clump of kelp vaguely in half, you offered him half and his eye dilated at the offer.

“Y/n, he doesn’t-.” Cross started.

“Shut up, Cross. If I’m going to eat this, I’m going to share.”

You could have sworn Horror’s eye flickered into a heart for a second. He gently took the clump and held it close. He grabbed a droopy leaf and held it up, waiting expectantly for you to do the same.

With a small groan, you lifted up a piece, maintaining eye contact, and copied him as he ate his.

Oh, that was salty!

Your face pursed at the taste, gaining another chuckle from the tall siren. Once you got past the sea water… it didn’t taste… bad. Just like a sea salad.

Horror smiled and encouraged you to continue. You both ate your section of sea weed without much other than a few tense expressions as you bit into the next leaf.

Before you knew it, your hands were empty and Horror was licking his fingers.

“Was that so hard?” Cross teased his eyes darting between you and Horror.

“Yes.” You snapped back. “But… it wasn’t… terrible.”

Horror chuckled again and leaned over you. “Lil… baby.”

You gasped, offended. “Excuse me?!?”

Horror was leaning over you and… purring? Was that purring or a different type of whistle? And how did he do that? You could feel the sound in your ribs. When you looked at him, his eyes were closed as he leaned towards you.

A growl from Cross startled you.

“Horror.” Cross threatened. His claws were digging into the beach as if he would come after you.

Horror’s eye opened slowly and you shivered. His eye blazed with a protectiveness you hadn’t seen before as he glared at Cross.

The purr melted into a growl.

That… wasn’t good.

You were between two aggressive sirens. And neither of them seemed to notice you, fully focused on each other.

Deciding to back out of this situation, you slowly stepped away from Horror. Surely they wouldn’t start a scuffle randomly, right? You didn’t want to risk it.

You bumped into a writhing tentacle.

It immediately gripped your leg, Horror’s attention shot to you with a glare that could kill, and you froze. Would he hurt you while he was like this?

With a small gasp, Horror’s expression snapped from angry to scared. Him and his tentacles reeled away from you.

“…Horror?” You asked. Was he okay?

With a whine and a pained look, Horror turned and retreated into the water with less than a splash, leaving you staring after him.

What…

What just happened?

“Are you okay?”

You looked over at Cross. There were marks in the beach where his hands had dug into the rocks.

“What happened?” You asked, still tense.

Cross’s face gained a purple hue. “Uhhh, Horror forgot himself for a second… It’s okay. He, uh,” He gave the water a quizzical look. “He didn’t want to hurt you.”

Comforting.

“You sound surprised.” You raised an eyebrow at Cross.

“Well, he,” Cross grumbled. “He doesn’t like people. Except for Nightmare, I guess, but Nightmare spoils him.”

“Spoils him?”

Cross waved his hand dismissively. “He helps Horror hunt. Which is du- unnecessary, Horror can hunt for himself, and Boss doesn’t help anyone else.” He grumbled and crossed his arms. “It feels like he only helps Horror because Horror’s an octopus too.”

Oh.

Big boy was jealous.

When Cross finally looked back at you, he startled at your glare.

“Cross.” You growled slowly. “Do you know why I met Horror? How I learned that whistle?”

He shook his head.

“Because he was starving. I sat on this beach and waited for one of you to show up when he found me. He was hungry and he saw an easy target. Do you remember why I survived?”

“You fed him?” He answered, uncertainly.

“Yes. And when I offered the first sandwich, he stopped whistling. I was terrified. But I offered again. I can only imagine what it was like for him. Starving for days maybe weeks, when, what you thought was going to be your next meal, offers you food instead of running away when they had the chance. How would you feel if you were starving, attacked someone, and they gave you pizza?”

His mouth opened and closed a few times before he answered. “…Horror was starving?” You nodded. “But… he can lure, right?”

“If you mean lure like ‘sing and people will walk off a cliff for you’, no.” You shivered. “Horror can’t lure. His whistle only removes fear. I could have walked or run away at any moment, even while he sang, and he could do nothing to stop me. Cross, he can’t hunt like you and Killer. Didn’t you know?”

Cross shook his head. “Sirens can’t affect other sirens, so we never knew. He had a whistle, we assumed it worked. He never told any of us otherwise.”

You looked back across the water. “From what I’ve seen, he doesn’t like talking around you. He talked to me, a lot, the other day. Maybe he talks to Nightmare too?”

“That… would make sense.” Cross said. “Oh my stars, this entire time…? And we never noticed? No wonder I’ve never seen him eat when Boss is asleep.”

The birds and waves filled the silence for a moment.

“…Are you okay?”

You looked back at the siren and shrugged. “Better than I should be, worse than I could. Why?”

“He grabbed you.” Cross’s face was tense with concern.

“Yep. And let go immediately after. His tentacle didn’t hurt me, Cross.” You scolded.

He didn’t look sorry as he changed the subject. “Come here. I need to give you some magic for the conversion.”

Your face wrinkled humorously as you walked toward him. “You make it sound weird.”

“The anti-drowning siren maker then.”

“Nope! The last one was good!”