U
upscalerat
Guest
Original poster
There was always some fun for mermaids after a particularly nasty storm. Though they were rather solitary creatures, they would often group together to loot through the lost goods and treasures of a sunken ship, and they were often rather civil about sharing what they found. This storm had been particularly violent, though, and Talora was, for now, alone in her searching. Admittedly, the skies were still dark and rumbling, and the water still lapped angrily around her, but Talora had not wanted to wait. She wanted to collect what she would and move on, before the sharing started.
Perhaps, though, the silver tailed woman was too hasty, as when Talora broke surface, the ship was still quite intact. She pouted and pushed her black hair out of her brown eyes. Yes, there it was, still floating, rocking against the waves. She was too early. The mermaid watched lightning crack through the sky. It was followed by a low rumble of thunder, and if she strained her ears, she could hear the shouts of people aboard the ship.
She could imagine them, little ant-like figures from this distance, running around with ropes, tying them and untying them in an attempt to be safe. They shouldn't have come so far, Talora thought, if they wanted to stay safe. Here, large rocks jutted from the water. It was perfectly navigable in clear weather, but no one wanted to be in it in stormy waters like these. The mermaid envisioned the ant-men preparing their life boats and readying emergency supplies. How quaint.
The ship lurched forward, and smashed against a rock. Little things fell off. Wood? People? Goods? Far away as she was, Talora couldn't tell. "But if I got closer... Maybe I wasn't too early after all," she told herself, and slipped back down beneath the water to go see. The journey underneath the water wwasn't much easier; true, she didn't have to deal with the waves crashing over her head, but there were more rocks that she would have liked. It took her a few minutes to reach the ship, where she surfaced again.
Wood... Wood.... Wood. More wood. Talora sighed. "Nothing of value? What use are they?" While drifting through the broken pieces of wood, though, the mermaid noticed this one was oddly shaped. She swam over, and put a hand on it... Hair. This was a human! She looked up, but the sailors seemed to be busy running about, doing whatever it was they were doing. None of them had noticed this one's fall, apparently. Talora turned his head to make sure that his nose wasn't submerged with water, and started to drag him away.
Swimming while holding onto something- or someone- was difficult enough; swimming while holding onto something that couldn't go under water was nearly impossible. It took Talora several hours, if not longer, to drag the man over to an island not so far from where he had fallen overboard. It wasn't a particularly large island, but there was fruit and some animals on it; enough resources for a human to survive, at any rate. Pulling the man onto shore was the most difficult part. Talora had to pull herself up, too, until she finally managed to get them both out of the water.
She put an ear to his chest; he was still breathing, but... Talora tilted his head sideways again, and pushed down on his chest. Some water spluttered out. Much better. And the sun had come out from behind the clouds, in time to set the skies ablaze and set. Talora stayed on the shore and watched it until her tail and hair were dry. The scales fell off until she had legs and, shakily, she stood. Taking a step nearly caused her to fall, but still, Talora went to the forest and, as best she could, collected some of the fruit growing from the trees.
She only collected an armful before returning to the still sleeping man. Talora dug a hole in the sand, a few feet above him, and put the food in there so it wouldn't roll away, then sat by the man again. "Wake up," she whispered to him. With no sign that he'd heard her, Talora crawled down to the water, and shifted herself so that her legs were under the waves. After a few splashes, her scales grew back, and Talora crawled back to the man with her tail in tact, and sat beside him, ready for him to wake.
Perhaps, though, the silver tailed woman was too hasty, as when Talora broke surface, the ship was still quite intact. She pouted and pushed her black hair out of her brown eyes. Yes, there it was, still floating, rocking against the waves. She was too early. The mermaid watched lightning crack through the sky. It was followed by a low rumble of thunder, and if she strained her ears, she could hear the shouts of people aboard the ship.
She could imagine them, little ant-like figures from this distance, running around with ropes, tying them and untying them in an attempt to be safe. They shouldn't have come so far, Talora thought, if they wanted to stay safe. Here, large rocks jutted from the water. It was perfectly navigable in clear weather, but no one wanted to be in it in stormy waters like these. The mermaid envisioned the ant-men preparing their life boats and readying emergency supplies. How quaint.
The ship lurched forward, and smashed against a rock. Little things fell off. Wood? People? Goods? Far away as she was, Talora couldn't tell. "But if I got closer... Maybe I wasn't too early after all," she told herself, and slipped back down beneath the water to go see. The journey underneath the water wwasn't much easier; true, she didn't have to deal with the waves crashing over her head, but there were more rocks that she would have liked. It took her a few minutes to reach the ship, where she surfaced again.
Wood... Wood.... Wood. More wood. Talora sighed. "Nothing of value? What use are they?" While drifting through the broken pieces of wood, though, the mermaid noticed this one was oddly shaped. She swam over, and put a hand on it... Hair. This was a human! She looked up, but the sailors seemed to be busy running about, doing whatever it was they were doing. None of them had noticed this one's fall, apparently. Talora turned his head to make sure that his nose wasn't submerged with water, and started to drag him away.
Swimming while holding onto something- or someone- was difficult enough; swimming while holding onto something that couldn't go under water was nearly impossible. It took Talora several hours, if not longer, to drag the man over to an island not so far from where he had fallen overboard. It wasn't a particularly large island, but there was fruit and some animals on it; enough resources for a human to survive, at any rate. Pulling the man onto shore was the most difficult part. Talora had to pull herself up, too, until she finally managed to get them both out of the water.
She put an ear to his chest; he was still breathing, but... Talora tilted his head sideways again, and pushed down on his chest. Some water spluttered out. Much better. And the sun had come out from behind the clouds, in time to set the skies ablaze and set. Talora stayed on the shore and watched it until her tail and hair were dry. The scales fell off until she had legs and, shakily, she stood. Taking a step nearly caused her to fall, but still, Talora went to the forest and, as best she could, collected some of the fruit growing from the trees.
She only collected an armful before returning to the still sleeping man. Talora dug a hole in the sand, a few feet above him, and put the food in there so it wouldn't roll away, then sat by the man again. "Wake up," she whispered to him. With no sign that he'd heard her, Talora crawled down to the water, and shifted herself so that her legs were under the waves. After a few splashes, her scales grew back, and Talora crawled back to the man with her tail in tact, and sat beside him, ready for him to wake.