Mermaids, Mafias, Misinterpretations...

Status
Not open for further replies.
Y

YamiCuoreLaroux

Guest
Original poster
The indigo-eyed merman blinked in slight confusion as he stared at the human that had just helped him, matching tail curled up in the warm shallows of the water. Was that...no, what was that? What exactly had just happened? This morning, he found himself stranded way too far up the beach and in danger of drying out because of the effects of the storm the night before, but now he was safely back in the water and trying to figure out how he had been lucky enough to not be killed or sold off to some human black market or something like that. Eventually finding his voice again, he finally attempted to do something other than just stare at his accidental savior.

"Hey...what's your name?"
 
Not entirely too sure what was happening. Vincent was sure that it was a person that he'd saved. Except...the tail. Why? Why did he have a tail? For a moment, he'd expected to be awakened from a dream. But, then he spoke. Vincent stepped back immediately. It was real?! He looked around to see if anyone else was seeing the same thing he was. Only to see, fortunately, no one was around.

He looked and began to stammer. "Uhm...I'm Vincent." He raised an eyebrow. "A-And you are...?"
 
Vincent... The merman replayed the name in his head for a moment in an attempt to memorize it before he noticed the question being asked of him. He started on a string of dolphin-like clicks and whistles before flashing a grin. "In your language, I think Runo would be the closest approximation, but I'm probably not the most reliable for translation, though." He pushed himself a bit closer, still careful not to end up in a place that was too shallow for him to move in effectively. "Thanks for helping me, by the way. That was pretty dangerous, but I'm glad that you were able to find me. I don't know what would have happened if a crowd showed up or something."

Honestly, the water felt better than he had thought it would after being stuck on the dry land for as long as he had. He could handle being out of water for a while, but it had been oddly hot that far up the beach and he could just feel the smaller fins on his arms getting way too stiff. It was pretty awful to experience. "Why were you down here by yourself, anyway?"
 
Why was he here? That was a good question. He had been hanging with the family, up until the point where he wanted to walk around by himself. It hadn't been much of a thought to him before. Just natural. He realized he wasn't answering the questioning, so he very quickly straightened himself up. "I had just been walking around before I saw you needed help. The natural thing to do was to save you...Runo, was it?" He gave a smile, to make up for his awkward silence. He walked over to Runo, closer into the water. He wouldn't want him to get stuck out on the water.

With his hand extended he said, "It's nice to meet you."
 
Runo stared at the hand for a moment, not entirely sure what to do with it. Eventually, he just took it with both hands and stared at it some more before he remembered the gesture that was supposed to go there. With a grin, he shook the offered hand with his own before letting go. Totally got it!

"It's nice to meet you, too! It's not every day someone's lucky enough to meet a savior this nice! Thank you for not letting me dry out!" He splashed around a bit happily, but his face soon changed into a look of sudden realization. "Oh, wait, this is a problem. I totally messed up here! Mm...but they don't have to know, right? I can just return before anyone finds out, tell them I just went out too far and take the punishment...maybe..." He pondered this with a worried expression, looking around as he tried to decide whether he could get away with this breach in the code. "Sorry, I have to go now. I'm sure they're worried about..."

The merman's eyes widened again at the sound of several dolphin-like noises not too far away. Ah! That's them!
 
"What's wrong?" Vincent asked, looking past his new friend. He could definitely see something in the distance, but couldn't make out what it was. What was that in the distance? He made his way deeper into the water, past Runo, to see if he could get a better look. "Hey...something's out there..." Vincent turned back to Runo, who didn't seem to look to happy. "Are you okay? Is something wrong?" Vincent heard the noises in the distance becoming louder. What?

"Dolphins? This close to the shore?" What's going on? "Runo, do you see this?" He walked back onto the shore.
 
"N-no! You have to go! I have to go! I'm sorry, but there's no time--!"

The unfortunate merman was cut off as he was pulled under the water and disappeared, leaving only several bubbles on the surface of the water and nothing else in sight to give an idea of what had happened. Even more swiftly, after a few more seconds, a small bunch of nets shot from the water toward the human standing on the beach, a few other figures somewhat similar to Runo popping up shortly after. Many of these finned being seemed a lot less happy to see Vincent than the other merman had been, however, and one continued to make several more sounds as if giving orders to the rest.

<<Don't let him escape! He can't be allowed to let any others know!>>
 
Vincent tried to take a step back, but the nets had caught him. Instead, he tried to look to Runo for answers. "R-Runo! What's happening?" He struggled to escape, to get answers. But when he tried to speak, he was pulled forward. Towards the ocean. Vincent's eyes widened, were they going to drag him into the ocean? He couldn't breath underwater!

As he got closer and closer to the water, his squirming continued. He didn't want to go underwater. "No, let me go! Let me go!" He cried out, to no avail. He rapidly looked around, waiting for Runo to say something to him, anything. "Runo! What's happening?" He called to the merman. He wasn't able to say much more, as he was submerged underwater.
 
The merfolk continued to drag the human along under the water, tugging the nets far out to where the water became deeper before acknowledging the fact that he probably couldn't breathe underwater and surfacing temporarily.

One of the larger merfolk spoke again to a few others in the same dolphin-like sounds as before, but was soon interrupted as Runo surfaced near the group, followed closely by a few others. The merman started speaking with the apparent leader for a few seconds before being pulled back under the water, but soon surfaced again to lunge for the nets. Around his neck, he had been wearing a small polished stone on a string, and he tore it off to thrust it into the nets toward the human trapped inside. "You have to swallow it--!" Before any more explanation could be given, the merman was dragged back down again, this time unable to throw off the entourage to swim back up. He could only hope as they took him back to the pod ahead of the rest of the group that Vincent would take the advice, or he would probably drown before the following group made it back to where the rest of the pod stayed. As he was brought back to the caves that led to their home, he gulped at the upcoming meeting with the leaders that he would have to go to now. They would probably bring their captive in after they had finished with him, so he wouldn't know the verdict, but he could still hope for the best.

It didn't feel right at all having someone punished for helping him.
 
Vincent immediately reached for the object Runo threw at him. It couldn't hurt to try it, right? He knew Runo wasn't a bad guy. But whoever these other guys were, they didn't seem to be too pleased. Did they not want him to save Runo? Had he seen something he shouldn't have? Whatever it was, he was being dragged into the depths of the ocean for it, and he didn't like it. He quickly swallowed the stone.

Whatever happened, it helped. The pressure that was mounting on his lungs was now slowly being released. He took a deep intake of air, and began his earlier thoughts. He knew asking them wasn't going to help, they obviously couldn't speak. But why were they taking him? Surely, mermen meant no harm. Especially if Runo had been so friendly. He was placed in a small room. And without another sound, thye left, with only some to stay behind and make sure no funny business occurred. He kept himself as small as possible in the room, and muttered to himself. "Runo, what's happening...?"
 
After what seemed like way too long of a discussion over what had occurred, Runo was finally released from the hall and directed toward his room. His grandfather hadn't been happy, especially after finding what he had done with the pendant he normally wore. It was an important artifact of sorts, after all, though he didn't honestly think in the past that it would have been much use to him. He couldn't technically breathe underwater, but his kind could hold their breath for hours at a time and made use of chambers with trapped air bubbles for times they couldn't always be near the surface, such as during the night when they slept. It seemed more symbolic to him than anything. Swimming up to the chamber he kept as his own room, he sighed as he pushed himself to the shallows of the pool that took up about half the floor and closed his eyes for a minute. He doubted that he would actually fall asleep, but worrying over the morning's events was really tiring.

In the meeting room, the powerful-looking merman seated at the head of the table waited for Runo to be well on his way before signaling to one of the others to send for the prisoner. He heaved a slight sigh to himself as he waited. Normally, this wouldn't be such a problem, but he really hadn't planned on his grandson performing such a reckless act despite his odd fascination with the land-walking creatures. This was exactly the kind of thing that made him want to keep the boy away from the shore whenever possible, though he knew it wouldn't help much at this point; he could only do so much before the younger merman would find his own way around any rule or barrier he would set up. He was old enough to try for sure. Now the only thing left was to decide what was to be done now that there had been an incident.
 
Vincent wasn't entirely sure how long he had been waiting. For what? He wasn't sure, but he was waiting. He kept looking to the guarded door, waiting for Runo to come and say something to him. Anything, he didn't care. But, that didn't seem to happen. He wrapped a hand around the pendant given to him, allowing him to breathe. What's going on? He thought, looking around the room once more. He was glad that Runo had came to help him before, but he was sure that it wouldn't be possible anymore. He was probably on his own for now.

He heard the door screech open, and turned to see one of the merman who brought him here. Vincent stood to his feet. He saw how the mermen just waited at the door for him to follow. They don't even want to get close to me? Wow... He made his way out of the prison and was led down countless corridors. When the guards had finally stopped walking, Vincent looked around again. Is Runo gonna be in here? He swam through large double doors, revealing another merman. Vincent raised an eyebrow. Who was this man supposed to be? And where was Runo. When he turned to ask what was going on, he saw the guards leave the room. "Hey~!" He called out, then turned back to the merman. "What going on here?" The merman just stared ahead. "We need to talk."
 
Back in his room, Runo wasn't really sure what to do anymore. It felt like whatever was going on was taking forever, and it only made him worry more with every passing minute. What are they doing? Why is it taking so long? Is that boy going to survive? Grandpa really wasn't happy earlier...should I try to break in or something?

The anxious merman swam back and forth in the pool as one might pace a floor for a while, growing more impatient until he actually exhausted himself again from the stress. It had been a long morning already, and he was certain that whatever happened probably wouldn't be making the rest of the day feel any shorter anytime soon. Eventually, he returned to the shallows again. If it were anyone else, they'd probably know what to do, wouldn't they? A braver person would probably leave the chamber and break into the meeting room to help the human, right? Maybe that's what he should be doing...but then what? Even he couldn't fend off or evade the others for long, and Vincent would definitely be killed if he messed up...
You know...if he hasn't been already...

Letting out an exasperated breath, the dark-haired male rested his arms on the side of the pool and placed his head on top before closing his eyes again. His mind already becoming fuzzy from everything that had passed since that storm the night before, he began to drift off before he could think much more on it.

Maybe some miracle will happen...and I'll see him again after I rest...
 
"What do you want with me?" Vincent asked, though he was sure he was in no place to start an argument. The merman just glared at Vincent, giving him the most blank stare. Vincent steeled himself. "Are you going to answer my question?" He asked, his question echoing around the room. The merman finally began to swim over to Vincent, causing him to step back.

"Where's Runo?" Vincent asked, not sure if the merman would answer or even could answer his question. But finally, he heard an answer. "You don't need to worry about him. He isn't in danger." Vincent looked around the room again. "But I suppose I am?" The merman didn't acknowledge Vincent's question. "You weren't supposed to see us. And now that you have..." "Are you going to kill me?" The merman stopped swimming. A small silence filled the room as if he was contemplating to kill him or not. "No, Runo wouldn't like that." The older male paused. "What I have in mind will keep all parties happy, if you agree." Vincent thought about what was just said. He knew that if he didn't agree, that he would most likely be killed.

"Fine, so what did you have in mind?" The merman went back to where he was before Vincent entered the room, at the head of a table. Vincent sat at the table as well, farther away from the merman. "I'll need to send for my grandson."
 
After some time, Runo found himself awoken by the sound of someone calling. As he blinked his eyes open, he somewhat lazily pushed himself out to the deeper end of the pool where the exit was before he remembered exactly what was going on. Vincent! I have to make sure he's alright! Speeding up, he left the chamber quickly to find a couple of his grandfather's messengers requesting that he go back to the meeting room. It seemed that a decision had been reached after all, and he was to be present for the official announcement.

With this in mind, the young merman swam to the meeting chamber as quickly as he could, hoping for the best. Entering the room, he could still feel quite a bit of tension, but he couldn't help feeling just a bit better when he saw the other young male still alive. He offered a small smile in an attempt to maybe help the poor boy relax a little, but it was probably pretty clear that he was quite anxious about the outcome as he moved to face the older merman on the other side of the table. "You called for me, sir?"
 
"Yes..." The merman, Runo's grandfather, turned to face Vincent. He was just shifting around, not really looking anyone in the eye. He was glad to know that he wasn't alone in the room anymore. At least Runo was here too. "Land-walker, I have a proposition for you." Vincent nodded. "I'm all ears, what do you want?" Runo's Grandfather looked back to Runo, sighed, then looked back to Vincent. Vincent could tell he didn't really want to do this. "Well, what do you have in mind?"

The older merman took a deep sigh. "I propose...you stay here." Vincent paused. "...what?" The elder looked to his grandson, Runo. "Well, does this offer suit you?" He looked to Vincent, "Will you accept?"
 
Stay...here? Runo wasn't sure what this meant.

...But this meant that he wasn't going to be killed, right? That was good.
The younger merman glanced hopefully toward his grandfather before looking back at Vincent. "You should be fine with breathing underwater now, so it shouldn't be a problem, right?" The thought was actually somewhat exciting, even. He could learn so much with him around. "It's pretty nice here, and I can show you around. I think it's a good idea."
 
"Stay here...?" Vincent asked. He wasn't quite so sure that he could. Or should for that matter. After all, what would his family say? Weren't they worried already? He glanced over to the elder merman and then down to the table in front of him. It wasn't like he could refuse. They would kill him then. And then, he wouldn't have to worry about seeing his family again.

"I suppose...I could." He said, looking up to face Runo. "It is pretty nice here." And I don't really have a choice. He looked back to Runo's grandfather. "Sure, I accept." He looked back to Runo and smiled. Runo's Grandfather stood. "Very well. The engagement has been decided." He walked around the table to wards the door. "We will begin preparations immediately."

Huh? Vincent thought. "Wait, what!?"
 
Engagement? Runo was slightly confused for a moment as well. Who would he be engaged to all of a sudden? Looking confusedly toward his grandfather, he tried to figure out what the reasoning was, but couldn't quite seem to get it. All he remembered at that moment was that Vincent would probably have to stay with them.

"I don't think we have a guest room ready right now, but you can stay in my room for the time being. The bed's big enough."

As he attempted to pull Vincent to his feet, something about sharing a room seemed to jog his memory and he stopped for a moment with a slightly stunned look.

"Uh... well... we should go take a look. I'm sure you'll like it. I hope..."
 
"Yeah..." Vincent said. He was still confused as to what the old merman meant. What engagement? And to whom? He stood to his feet. "Let's go check that out." He breathed out. He tried to give Runo a genuine smile. And then he followed the other boy out of the room. Though his thoughts hadn't left the earlier conversation. Would Runo know what his grandfather meant?

Neither of them spoke as they swam to Runo's room. Finally, Vincent did break the silence. "Hey, Runo..." He said, eyes looking towards the ground as he followed his new friend. "Do you know what he meant by 'Engagement?'" He waited for the other to respond.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom
Back