Two Headcanons For The Price Of One!!!!!

Two Headcanons for the price of one!!!!!

Horror is a sucker for dark humor. Especially jokes that make light of his old situation of slowly starving to death. A well placed pun is even better. You want to get on his good side quick? Make fun of starvation. Every else is really careful with joking about starvation in front of him because they think he’ll get upset but nope! He’ll laugh even harder than you.

A pun like; “And where are you from? Underfed?” Will earn you a burst of resonating laughter that you’d get from a bearded lumberjack.

And yes, the second headcanon is his laugh.

He laughs the kind of belly laugh you expect from an old bearded man that lives by himself in a cabin in the woods. The type of loud, contagious laughter that has people on the other side of the castle chuckling and wondering what’s so funny. He’ll slap his knee with an explosive thud and wipe the tears from his eyes when he’s done before telling you some of his own teasing jokes.

Good luck getting on his bad side now. He likes you.

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!!”

Plankton

A Mermay Prompt

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“Hunting lessons!” Killer added the dramatic flare of jazz hands.

You stared at him. “Hunting lessons?”

“Obviously.” He grinned and gestured at you. “You’re so skinny, you look like a pipefish.” “Hey-!” “So! I’m gonna teach you! We’ll start with the easy stuff since you’re inexperienced. Plankton are easy enough. Here.”

Killer spent the next hour teaching you how to catch plankton and other easy larger fish. After you started to get the hang of it, Killer proposed an idea.

“How about this, y/n? I’m gonna go that way, you go the other way, we’ll catch as much as we can and meet back up here. Just each of us hunting alone. Whoever catches the most fish wins!”

You eyed him suspiciously. “And what does the winner get?”

Killer’s grin widened. “A favor~. Whoever wins gets to ask a favor of the other. No questions asked.”

It was a trap. You knew it was a trap. But you really didn’t want to back down from a challenge. Besides, you were faster than Killer. Maybe that could give you just enough of an advantage to make it fair.

You shrugged. “Why not? Go on three?”

“Go!” Killer shot away from you.

“Hey!” You quickly turned the other way and sped to catch as many fish as you could. Cheater. You should have known he’d pull something like that. He was always trying your patience with stuff like that. Scratch that, he was trying everyone’s patience.

He was right about plankton being easier to catch, though you didn’t think the tiny organisms would count so you just ate them.

You’d barely caught your first fish when you felt something shift in the water behind you. Was Killer back already or did he just want to mess with you? Make you lose focus.

“If you want to win, you should go back to hunting.” You commented over your shoulder.

There was a pause.

“I’m sorry. I don’t believe that was meant for me.” Sung a new voice.

You spun sharply around. Your eyes landed on the most beautiful siren you’d ever seen.(don’t tell the boys) A golden crown on his head shimmered with a light that was rivaled by his friendly smile. His lower half hovered gently with two translucent fins as his tail curled gently under him, not quite touching the floor.

A seahorse siren.

“I don’t believe we have met.” He politely crossed his hands in front of him and tipped his head. He was surprisingly almost twice your length. “I am Dream. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh! Uh, I’m y/n. It’s nice to meet you too, Dream.” You tipped your head as well. “What, uh, what are you doing here?”

“I am on a mission to find my brother. He… He is in a bit of trouble and I wish to get him out. But first I must find him.” Dream glanced around, concern written on his face.

Another seahorse siren? You hadn’t seen anyone that looked like Dream. You gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry, I haven’t seen anyone.”

Dream nodded and gave you a sad smile back. “I should hope not.”

…

That wasn’t freaky at all.

“Ooookay?” You drifted carefully away, looking around for Killer. Where was that obnoxious skeleton when you needed him?

“Oh, I’m sorry, y/n!” Dream gasped, his eyes wide. “I did not mean to startle you! He is just very dangerous and I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Are you a new siren?”

You hesitated but answered honestly. “…Yes. Why?”

“When you get as old as me, it’s easy to see when someone is unsteady on their fins. Are you in good company?” His tone grew concerned as he became serious. Like he was hinting at something dark.

“I’d say so. I was welcomed into the pod after they helped me convert so I’m not alone.”

Dream sighed with relief. “So it was conversion by consent. Good. That’s good. How are you adapting?”

That was a lot of questions that felt very close to personal information. You grew defensive. “Why do you need to know?” You accused.

“I just want to make sure you are doing well. It is very difficult for others to adapt to the water. If you are uncomfortable, I’d like to fix that.” He gave you a patient smile. Dream was offering you a different home.

“Well, thank you, sir. But my pod has been very nice to me. I will be staying with them.” You turned back towards your food. Right. There was a race going on and you were getting distracted.

“Wonderful.” Dream’s smile was in his voice. “Would you like any help hunting?”

Oh.

Oh, that was a great idea.

You gave the beautiful siren a smile. “Sure! I’m already behind and could use the help.”

The two of you collected enough fish for two Horrors, chatting all the while. You spoke of your life before the sea. He spoke of his interactions with people on the land. Jokes were traded as were laughs.

Dream followed you back to the place Killer said to meet.

“It was wonderful getting to know you, y/n.” Dream smiled happily, placing the fish in a pile with yours.

“You too. Thank you for helping me hunt. I’m don’t think I could have caught this many without you.” You admitted.

He laughed. “It was no problem. I’ve helped a siren before. He also was new to the sea but he wasn’t converted like you. He accidentally escaped captivity and was lost when me and Ink found him. We had to raise him like a guppy. I think you would have liked to meet him. His name was Cross.”

“Oh! You know Cro-?”

“DREAM!!!”

Dream’s expression went from fond to furious in a second as he spun towards the voice, magic pooling into his hands. Killer tackled him before the magic could form.

“You crazy! Suicidal! Shark!” Dream snapped, fighting Killer’s teeth away from his face. Dream was shockingly stronger than Killer but Killer was fast.

“Killer! Stop!” You yelled at the chaos. “It’s fine! He’s a friend!”

Killer growled and shoved Dream away. “That is no friend, y/n! Don’t trust him!”

With the added space, Dream’s magic formed into a bow with a glowing harpoon aimed at Killer. Dream growled back at the shark. “Don’t. Move. Killer.” Killer glared at the bow, his soul twitching in front of his chest. If you hadn’t spent so much time with him, you wouldn’t have realized that Killer was scared. Dream’s eyes shot to you. “Y/n. Get out of here and find your pod. I will take care of this feral siren.” Killer snarled.

You snapped. “You leave him alone, Dream! What is wrong with you two??”

Dream looked shocked so Killer answered. “Y/n. Dream attacked Boss first. We’ve fought before. He only ever hunts Nightmare through the oceans.”

“I did not attack first!” Dream said, snapping out of his confusion. “Your ‘Boss’ murdered thousands of people!”

“And you haven’t?” Killer parried.

“Of course I haven’t!!!!!” The seahorse looked and sounded insulted.

“Dream? What are you doing all the way out…? Oh.”

Everyone looked to see a third skeleton siren. This siren was colorful with a purple question mark for one eyelight and a blue octagon in the other. He glanced between the two aggressive sirens when his eyes caught on you. He blinked and suddenly his eyelights switched to a blue star and a yellow exclamation mark.

“Oh! Hello! You’re new!” The new siren chirped. He came closer to you and you saw that his lower half was a dull grey squid. A very big, striped squid.

“Ink! Get them out of here!” Dream commanded.

All hell broke loose.

Killer attacked Dream, Dream’s harpoon hit Killer’s shoulder, and a grey tentacle wrapped around your waist. You yelped as Ink sped away with you in tow.

“Killer!!!” You called out.

Killer looked up from his frenzy, white eyelights visible in terrified concern. “Y/n!!!”

Colors

A Mermay Prompt

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“Y/n?”

You tensed at Dream’s voice. You didn’t want to see him. You didn’t want to talk to him.

“I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry.” You felt him shift closer to your hideout. “I can tell you’re in there. I won’t force you to come out, but I’d like to talk.”

“…”

“…You said you work for Nightmare?”

“I never said that.”

“…No. I guess you didn’t. But you live with him willingly?”

“……Yes. What’s it to you? Are you gonna attack me like Ink did?” You growled, bristling in your little cave. You glared at the entrance but, due to the bit of twisting the opening did, you couldn’t see out of the cave.

“Oh my stars- No. I will not attack you. No one should be attacking you this early into your new life. And I will have a discussion with Ink when I see him.” Dream sounded disappointed and angry. “He may be naive, but that is no excuse for his continued behavior. He will not go unreprimanded. I will make sure of it.”

Yep. They were brothers.

“You sound like Nightmare.”

Dream didn’t immediately respond. “…I’m not certain if that is a good thing or not.”

“Do you hate him?”

“My brother? No. No, I don’t. Our relationship is… complicated.”

“Complicated like attacking him after your mom died?” You accused, immediately regretting your choice of words. You could have been nicer about that. He had been very nice to you so far.

“……He… He told you about mom?” Dream sounded sad and surprised. When you didn’t immediately respond, he sighed. “I did not mean to attack him. He was scared. I was scared. There was blood and dust on mom’s stump. I just wanted answers. I hindsight, I should not have approached him in his violent state. Frenzies are easier to wait out than to calm. But I was not calm either. I got myself sucked into a fight with him and I haven’t been able to talk to him since. I promise you, I mean my brother no harm. I only wish to talk.”

That… sounded legit. “And Ink? What does Ink want?”

“Ink wants to feel.” Dream replied without hesitation. “He has no soul and believes saving people might help him develop feelings like most beings have. However, he follows me without question. If I tell him not to attack Nightmare, he will immediately stop. I’m sure of it.”

“You’re talking about me~!” Ink’s voice startled you and you backed further away from the opening of the cave. “Who you talkin’ to, Dream?”

“Ink.” Dream’s voice was threatening. “Do you remember that human siren I had you take to safety?”

“Oh! The pretty dolphin one?” The squid sang.

“…Yes. Did you attack them?”

There was a pause.

“Maybe? I don’t remember. I do remember them running though. Oh! They said that Nightmare was their Boss so I did attack them, yeah.”

Dream sighed. “Ink, you can’t just attack someone that works for or with Nightmare. Y/n wasn’t going to attack you.”

“Tell that to my arm.”

“What?”

There was a pause in sound as the water shifted slightly, most likely Ink showing Dream the multiple bite marks.

“…Y/n, why did you bite him?” He said seriously.

You growled. “He wasn’t letting me go! I don’t appreciate being kidnapped!”

“Woah! They’re here?” Ink wondered. Undoubtedly looking around trying to find you.

Dream groaned. “Ink, leave y/n alone. Don’t attack them. Don’t touch them. Y/n, would you please come out. We can take you back to Nightmare if you really want to go back.”

Oh, you really wanted to go back. The boys were probably worried sick. But it could be a trap for all you knew. Dream had immediately attacked Killer on sight. Speaking of which.

“What happened to Killer? Is he okay?” Your glare made it into your voice.

“Ah. Killer is… hurt. He is very difficult to dissuade from violence. He has attacked me before in my leviathan state which most would consider that equal to pleading for death. He was very lucky that Nightmare retreated that day. I almost killed him. On accident! I do not wish death upon anyone!” Dream quickly corrected himself. “If… If I could get close to Killer, I could heal his wounds. But I doubt he would let me close of his own accord.”

“I wouldn’t either if you shot me with a harpoon.” You growled.

Dream sighed again. “It was in self defense. I do wish he would not attack me on sight every time he saw me.”

“So are we going back to see the bad sirens?” Ink interrupted.

“Excuse me?!” You roared. Bad sirens?? What were they to Ink??? Dogs???

“I told you to stop calling them that.” Dream sighed a third time. His words calmed the water and you felt your anger leave you.

You inched forward. “I… I do want to go back. You won’t hurt me or my pod? Again?”

A gentle smile was in Dream’s voice. “We will not hurt anyone for as long as the water is calm.”

That was probably the best you would get.

It wasn’t a trick.

They really took you back to where you last saw Killer. There were a few stray sharks in the area, munching away at the fish you’d caught earlier but they didn’t give you any trouble as you swam past.

There were particles of dust and magic in the water that set you on your toes. Or fins, or whatever.

“Where’s Killer?” You asked.

Dream shook his head. “I don’t know. I had to break away and retreat when Horror, Cross, and Dust all pounced at me. Killer should be fine, I only shot him twice, but he was losing consciousness when I last saw him.”

“And you’re only telling me this now??” You snapped.

Ink’s eyes shot to you at your outburst, a target in one eye. You shivered and backed up.

“Y/N!”

A blur of black and white shoved its way between you and the other two sirens. The rush of water shoved you apart.

Arms wrapped around you from behind and pulled you away from Dream and Ink. A voice spoke above you.

“Y/n, are you okay?” Cross practically growled as he glared across the water at Ink.

“I’m okay.” You responded, hugging his arms to your chest when a flash of color caught your eye. You looked back at Ink to see him flared up, tentacles spread in intimidation.

His stripes were rippling, one moment grey and the next a vibrant rainbow. The colors were mesmerizing. Like staring at oil. Reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, indigos, and violets. Every color shifted and twisted, getting bigger and brighter with every passing second. It was absolutely beautiful.

You couldn’t see.

The water moved, someone was calling your name, and someone else was yelling. You turned your head to realize that someone’s hand was over your eyes.

“Y/n? Y/n, can you hear me?” Came Cross’s terrified voice.

“I… I can hear you.” You mumbled, clearing your head.

“Oh, thank the stars!” Cross sighed with relief, hugging you close.

The hand left your eyes but you were facing Cross now. You could hear Dream chewing out Ink behind you. Something about testing boundaries and power happy sirens.

“What happened?” You asked.

Cross frowned. “Ink doesn’t always use his voice to catch food. His body can change color quickly and it hypnotizes everything that looks. Even sirens. We’re lucky Dream stopped him before he could get caught in it too.”

“…He’s not a squid, is he?”

Cross scoffed. “No. He’s a cuttlefish.”

“Oh…” That was concerning. You curled into Cross’s chest.

Cross looked down at you. “You want to go home while they’re busy?”

You nodded.

He switched from hugging you to holding your hand, giving you the freedom of movement, before heading home.

One last thing occurred to you and you chuckled.

Cross raised a brow at you. “What are you laughing about?”

“I always knew cuttlefish were soulless.”

Cross burst into laughter.

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!!!”

Communication/Language

A Mermay Prompt

Masterlist

Prev / Next

“Hey, y/n!” Killer greeted.

You gave him a halfhearted nod and returned back to your food. It was weird only eating fish and sea weed. Not that it was bothering you.

Killer leaned over your shoulder to nip at the fish in your hands. You swatted him away without a sound and Killer backed up. “…You okay, suckerfish.”

You nodded and smiled at him. No. No you weren’t okay. But it was fine. It had only been a week since you’d moved in. And you still couldn’t speak properly. But it was fine. You’d figure it out.

“Killer.” Nightmare called from the crevasse.

Killer shot away with a singsongy, “Yes, Boss~?” and disappeared into the trench.

You sighed through your nose. You were jealous. Yes, jealous. Killer was always talking and singing all the time, and the others did too, but you couldn’t even sing a siren song yet. All you could do was chirp and whistle.

A few minutes later, Killer swung by to tease you again on his way out. That was another thing. The boys could leave the trench for one reason or another, sometimes the Boss would send them on missions you weren’t allowed to know about, but you couldn’t leave unless absolutely necessary. No one let you go anywhere, especially by yourself. Even now, Dust was watching you from his cave, ready to stop you if you tried to leave.

“Y/n.” Called Nightmare.

You shivered and looked over at Dust, who shooed you with a hand. You gently set the half-eaten fish down and cautiously swam into the trench. You hadn’t been to see Nightmare by yourself before and you were terrified.

“I’m not going to bite you. Calm yourself.”

Right. Negativity. You took a few deep breaths as you descended to the floor of the trench, stopping when you were level with his eyes.

He smiled kindly at you. “It has come to my attention that you have not been using your voice, refraining from speaking even in casual conversation.”

You sank a few feet in embarrassment. He wasn’t wrong.

“If you do not practice, you will not develop a voice or a call. Do you know what that means, y/n?”

You shook your head.

“It means you will never become independent. If you cannot use your voice, you will die if you get separated from your pod. Either from starvation or because a larger predator attacked you. Your voice is very important. So I’ve decided to teach you.”

What.

You looked up at the kraken in confusion. He was going to help you? He wasn’t upset that you’d failed to even try?

“As I understand it, you have made quite the impression on my pod. Usually after I’ve rested, Horror would be all over me. He has only come to me twice without being called. The others are sharing food with him too. Cross and especially Killer haven’t shared their meals in decades. And Dust, though you hadn’t met him before, has been visible almost constantly since you arrived, sitting in the edge of his den instead of the very back.” Nightmare encouraged softly. “You have fixed multiple problems, that I have spent years trying to fix, within a few weeks. I wish to thank you. So I am offering my help in your speech therapy. Do you accept?”

You nodded furiously. You’d given up trying to speak to the others. If he could fix your voice, you wouldn’t say no to that. Do you know how hard it is to communicate with someone when you can’t use your voice and don’t know sign language? It’s stupid difficult.

Nightmare grinned. “Good. Now, let’s start shall we?”

Nod nod nod.

Killer swam over you and poked your head. “Hey, suckerfish~!”

“Hhhhey.” You managed back around your food. ‘H’s were hard.

Killer flipped out and spun back around to face you. “What? Y/n, what? What did you say?” He was excited.

You took a moment to swallow. “Hhhey.” You grinned.

A sharp whistle pierced the water and Dust flinched away as Killer cheered you on. “You did it! I knew you could, suckerfish!” He hugged you, shoving you to the side.

You chirped angrily at being manhandled until he stopped. “Mmm- Mmmmnnn- Nnnniiigh…d…mmmmaaaare…hhhhep mmmme.” Scratch that. ‘N’s were harder.

“Wait. Boss helped you?” You nodded and Killer looked even more confused. “Huh. He doesn’t normally do that. Whatever. What have you learned?”

“Sssssssssounnnnndsssss.” You struggled. “Nnnnnnothhhhhhh- thhhhh- iinnnnnng b-big.” ‘Th’s sucked too. You actually gave up on that sound. “Jussssst worrrrdssssss.”

“Liiiiike? C’mon, suckerfish! Give me details!”

You frowned at him. “Toooooo mmmmmuch.”

“Too much what?”

“Too much overstimulation, Killer. Leave them alone.” Dust growled, speaking for you where you could not. You didn’t know how he knew what you meant but you appreciated it.

“When did you become the y/n expert?” Killer snapped. “You’ve barely met them!”

Dust, not caring for Killer’s fit turned to address you. “Was I correct?” You nodded. “I rest my case, Killer. Talk their ear off for all I care but don’t force them to talk when it’s already hard enough.”

Killer struck his tongue out at Dust who ignored him in favor of lying down in the entrance of his den. Without someone to mess with, Killer turned on you and started getting in your space. He tried to grab your food and you slapped his hands away.

“Get yyyyyourrr ownnnnn.” You snarked, pushing him away from your fish.

“Aw, c’mon!” He twisted away from your hand and tried to come back for your food again.

Being trained to deal with sharks, you decided to try something on him. Killer darted forward and you dropped your food to grab him with both hands. You flipped him with his tail upright and he stopped moving, stunned. You happily dug back into your food. Get rotated.

“What did you do??” Dust exclaimed, staring wide eyed at a frozen Killer who couldn’t even speak like that. “He’s quiet! What did you do to him?”

You smiled at Dust and continued eating without answering.

Dust looked excited and worried at the same time. “…Can you do that to all of us?”

You almost choked on your food as you laughed. Dust looked more and more concerned as you didn’t answer.