Work Text:
Freddie loved his river. From the start of the river where it broke off from a much larger river Freddie had only seen a few times, and never leaving the safety and familiarity of his side of the water, to the little pool several miles down with tiny waterfalls where he and his parents had made their soft beds of knitted algae.
The water of his river was crystal clear. His parents had told him horror stories of other rivers that had become polluted, dark and brown. But their river was hidden from the rest of the world. No one ever came there. The only visitors Freddie had ever seen were one or two of his father’s friends from when they had come from a larger river and the creatures that came to slake their thirst with the cool water.
Now that Freddie was older, though, he started to wonder more and more about what the rest of the world was like. He spent more time away from the little pool that was his home, away from his mother always distracted with caring for his baby sister, away from his father always complaining about Freddie’s head being in the clouds.
But Freddie’s head wasn’t in the clouds. It was on the land. He would spend hours with his head out of the water, lounging on sun-warmed rocks or dragging himself onto sandy banks to play with snails and crayfish. Freddie would dream about what it would be like to live on land. To be able to spend more than a few hours out of water.
What would it be like to have legs? Freddie liked to think about what sort of legs would look best on him. Certainly nothing furry. Hooves probably wouldn’t look good on him, either. Perhaps the scaly claws of the birds who dipped their beaks into the water to catch fish. Or like the powerful and sleek legs of the frogs that could hop almost the entire width of the little river.
It was on a day like this, far away from the little pool where his parents lived their stagnant lives, that Freddie met someone new. He was perched up on a rock, his tail swishing back and forth in the current as playful little fish tried to nip at the tips. Freddie’s chin rested on his folded arms, a bit melancholic as he daydreamed his life away.
Suddenly, there was the sound of something stepping through the grass and fallen tree branches towards the river. A creature emerged, one like Freddie had never seen before. It was similar to a mermaid, at least from the waist up. But the creature was tall and walked on two legs that seemed so much more like arms than Freddie could have ever imagined for himself in his daydreams. On its head was hair much like Freddie’s, but long and curly in a way Freddie’s had never been. And tied around its middle, where Freddie’s skin turned to scales, was something bright and flowing, reminiscent of cloth his mother made or his father bought, but made of a much different material. Freddie couldn’t help but wonder what was beneath the cloth.
The creature knelt on the soft sand and cupped its hands, bringing water to its mouth to drink. Freddie decided the creature must be male, at least by its body shape. Or perhaps the creature did not have unnecessary gender assignments like mermaids did.
But it was beautiful. The long lines of the creature’s body were alluring. And even more, the way the legs bent, so unlike any animal Freddie had ever seen. And feet, with strange short fingers sticking out. Freddie was quite enamoured.
One of the fish who had been chasing Freddie’s tail chose that moment to jump momentarily into the air, splashing loudly. The creature’s head spun towards the sound, towards Freddie, and Freddie couldn’t scramble off of the rock quickly enough to hide.
It was safer in the water, but Freddie couldn’t bring himself to swim away and hide. The creature was fascinating.
“Do you speak?” Freddie asked the creature, wondering aloud.
The creature gasped, taking a step back but not running away either. There was a long pause before it opened its mouth again. “You’re a mermaid.”
That shocked Freddie. How the creature knew what Freddie was, but Freddie had no idea what it was. “Yes,” he replied simply, moving slightly closer.
“I’ve never seen a mermaid before. You are so rare now. I thought perhaps you were all… gone.”
Freddie wondered what the creature meant by that. But there were more important questions to ask first. “What are you?”
The creature’s head tilted in confusion. “I’m… well, I’m a fae. My name is Brian.”
“Brian.” Freddie tested the name out. It felt nice on his tongue. “My name is Freddie. Might I ask… what is a fae?”
Brian’s hands twisted together and his legs shifted back and forth in a way Freddie couldn’t take his eyes off of. “You don’t know?”
“I’ve never met… well, anyone who wasn’t a mermaid.”
“I guess that makes sense. This river is protected. It would be the safest way to live.” Brian said this to himself, something Freddie found himself enjoying immensely. It was… cute, the way that Brian worked the puzzle out loud and drew his conclusion. “Is it alright if I sit here?” Brian asked, motioning to the rock Freddie had been lying on. It was drier than the sand, presumably preferable to someone who lived out of the water.
Freddie nodded and moved closer, drawing himself up to sit so that the top of his body was out of the water, but his tail was still completely submerged. If he wanted to, he could reach out and touch Brian’s leg. But Freddie thought that might be rude.
“There are many kinds of fae folk. Different shapes and sizes. But I’m like you. I was born of magic. I have legs instead of a tail and I can’t breath under water. But other than that, we are quite similar.”
Unsure quite how to process this knowledge, Freddie simply nodded along. He had so many questions for Brian. But he worried that he would get annoying and Brian might leave if he asked too many. But soon it became clear that Brian had just as many questions for Freddie. They asked each other about their lives, their families and their homes, the foods they ate and the activities they enjoyed. Brian soon told him that there were more than just mermaids and fae, the world was filled with intelligent creatures who could talk and think, even some that weren’t born of magic at all.
The two of them talked until the sun began sinking in the sky.
“I have to go back soon. My parents will be wondering where I am,” Freddie informed Brian reluctantly.
“I must leave as well. But… perhaps I can come back another day?”
Freddie nodded eagerly. “I would love that.”
As Freddie swam back to his home, he couldn’t help but look back at Brian. Such a magnificent creature. Freddie couldn’t wait to see him again.