Work Text:
The door of the lodge burst open. The bustling room immediately fell into silence, the only sound the crackling of the fire, as everyone stopped and turned. Mama stood, silhouetted in the doorway, something huge leaning over her shoulder. Barclay threw the book he’d been pretending to read onto the coffee table and ran to help.
“What’s–”
“Here.”
Mama pushed the thing onto him. It was a man – a human man, as far as he could tell – sodden wet, freezing cold, a trickle of blood coming from his nose and another from his mouth. Between the two of them, they manoeuvred the man into the lobby and let him drop into a high-backed armchair near the fire.
“What happened to him?”
“Another attack. He was lucky I found him.”
“Where was he?”
“Buried in a snowdrift. There was blood all over… but its hypothermia we gotta worry about.” She pressed her hand to the side of the stranger’s face. “He’s out cold. D'you know if Aubrey’s around? She might be able to warm him up…”
“Nah, her and Dani went out a couple of hours ago.”
“Aw shit. Okay, we’re gonna do this the old-fashioned way. Barclay, he’s about your size…”
Barclay raised his eyebrows at her. “Alright, kinda." She conceded. “Go get some clothes, okay? And some towels. We gotta get him dry…”
She looked up at the room of nervous faces, watching her. “Well? Go help! Get some blankets or something. Jesus Christ, I gotta do everything around here…”
There was a flurry of movement. Mama turned back to the man, who was breathing shallowly, his skin pallid. She shook her head.
“Well this is just great.”
***
There was a fireplace crackling somewhere nearby. Magnus tried to stretch, but his arms were heavy, pinned to his sides.
Blood. A weight on his back, a roar in his ear. Freezing, burying, sinking snow.
He wrenched his eyes open with a shout.
He was wrapped in a thick, woollen blanket and lying, rather haphazardly, on a long leather couch. There was a woman staring at him, her face framed with a mess of dark hair, streaked with grey.
"You’re awake.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but his throat was dry and crackly. His tongue tasted of iron. He tried to shrug the blanket off, but she put a hand on his shoulder, keeping him still.
“Don’t tire yourself out. You nearly died.”
There was no way he could properly respond to that. The woman turned away from him and gestured to someone he couldn’t see.
“Barclay! Fetch me a glass of water.”
He could hear hurried footsteps, then suddenly a tall, rather hirsute man appeared in his eye-line, a glass of water in his hand.
“Hey, you’re awake!” He said, cheerily, “How’re you feeling?”
Magnus responded with a choking cough.
“Ah, right…"
He handed the glass of water to the woman. "Is he gonna be okay?”
“He should be…"
Mama tugged at the blanket, releasing his arms. He tried to push himself up from the couch, but his arms and shoulders ached, and there was a sharp burning pain where his hands brushed against the blanket. The man called Barclay bent down to help him into a sitting position. The woman handed him the glass of water, and he sipped at it, carefully.
"My name’s Mama. This,” she gestured with her head, “is Barclay.”
Magnus lowered the glass. He coughed again. “Magnus.” He said, his throat feeling like it was on fire.
“Do you remember what happened to you, Magnus?”
He shook his head. “Just… a sound. And then the snow.”
Mama sighed. “Well, that’s alright. You can stay here until you’re feeling better, okay?”
“I… thanks.”
“We look after people, here. You’ll be fine."
She left soon after, taking Barclay with her. Magnus swung his legs off of the couch to get in a more comfortable sitting position and placed the empty glass on the low coffee table in front of him. He pulled the blanket around his shoulders more tightly. Despite the roaring fire, he was still shivering.
"Hey."
He looked up. A man had entered. He must have been outside in the blizzard that was now battering the windows, wearing a thick winter coat and woollen hat, covered in snow. He had a deep purple scarf pulled up over his face so only his eyes could be seen. Magnus had never seen eyes like them – huge and so blue they were almost green.
"It’s Magnus, right?”
“That’s me. I guess… word travels fast around here, huh?”
“You could say that.” The man shrugged the coat off and threw it over the back of an armchair, revealing a skinny frame beneath the bulky fabric. Next, he pulled off the scarf – his face was angular, with high cheekbones and a slightly pointed nose. His skin, dotted with freckles, was flushed with the cold. The scarf was tossed onto the back of the chair too, followed by the hat, unleashing a cascade of long, blonde hair that tumbled down his back like a waterfall.
Magnus realised he was staring. The man didn’t appear to notice. “Is it just me,” he said, “or is it really fuckin’ cold in here?”
Magnus laughed. “Man, I thought I had hypothermia or something. It’s so fucking cold.”
“From what Mama said, you probably do have hypothermia. Want a drink? Something warm?"
"God, yes.” Magnus tried to stand so he could follow him, but his legs buckled beneath him and he found himself collapsing back onto the couch.
The man was, suddenly, right next to him, a hand on his arm. “Woah there, hot stuff. Mama’ll kill me if I let you hurt yourself. Stay here.”
Magnus watched as he walked from the room, intrigued. There was something about him that felt vaguely familiar – something unsettling. It didn’t help, of course, that he was absurdly beautiful.
He was trying not to dwell on that thought when the beautiful man came back, using his hip to open the door, carrying two steaming mugs topped with wobbling peaks of whipped cream.
“Here you go…” he passed one to Magnus and sat down on the couch next to him.
Magnus took the warm mug in his hands appreciatively. The heat made his fingers sting, but it made the rest of his hands feel warm, unfreezing his blood. He took a deep drink, then immediately spluttered.
“What is—”
“Brandy.” The man took a sip from his own mug with a smile, “Really helps warm the blood on these cold days."
Magnus coughed, feeling his face turning red, laughing. He took another, much smaller sip.
"It’s good,” he said, finally. “Thanks.”
“No problem."
Magnus couldn’t help but look at him. The man sipped at his drink appreciatively, inhaling the rising steam. When he leant back, Magnus saw he was wearing a necklace made of puka shells. It put him in mind of the beaches he’d visited as a teenager, back when he’d tried, and failed, to learn how to surf.
They sat in amiable silence for a while, before the man rose with a sigh.
"I should get going…” he said, glancing down at Magnus. “Mama’ll be after me if I don’t go help with…” He stopped himself, taking another cautious look at him, “Well, you know. Lodge stuff. See you around, Magnus.”
He gave Magnus a quick wave before leaving. Magnus sighed, leant back into the couch, and drank his cocoa, watching the fire dance.
***
Magnus couldn’t sleep. The bed the lodge had provided was comfortable enough; but his mind was racing, his body was stiff, and his fingers still stung with the bite of the cold. Mama said his hands would heal, in time. For now, he just needed to rest.
But resting was easier said than done. Even beneath the thick, warm blankets he couldn’t escape the feeling of being trapped beneath the snow, the disorientation of not knowing whether he was facing up or down, the taste of blood in his mouth. In the silence of the lodge, all he could hear was the thudding of his own heart in his ears – and that horrible, gurgling roar.
He retraced his steps again, for the hundredth time since finding himself bundled into Mama’s truck and rushed to the lodge. He’d been exploring, hiking through the woods, picking his way up the side of the mountain. There’d been… a sound. It sounded like ripping fabric, like a tear in the air itself. And then there’d been a horrible, heavy weight on his back, and that roar, and then… darkness. Snow and darkness.
He stared at the beamed ceiling of his room. Trying to sleep was useless. He pulled the sheets back and swung himself out of the bed, heading to the sink bolted to the other wall. He poured himself a glass of water and sipped at it, trying to get his head to stop spinning.
He paced around the room, and his eyes fell on something tacked to the back of the door. A map. He approached to get a better look; when he’d arrived, he’d been too disorientated and in too much pain to care about what else the lodge had to offer. It wasn’t a very thorough map, he had to admit – much of the lodge obscured, rooms left unlabelled. He was sure the lodge was bigger than the map made it out to be, but he’d been so confused when they’d brought him in that he wasn’t sure if he could trust his own memory.
He glanced at the intricate, alpine clock hanging on the wall. It was nearly two in the morning – far too late for the bar to be open, or to grab a snack from the kitchen. But… he looked again. Behind the lodge, near the edge of the forest, was a little round sketch labelled “hot springs”.
He stretched his shoulders, feeling the ache in his muscles, the stiffness of his joints.
Fifteen minutes later, he was heading out through the back door of the lodge towards the forest. He’d pulled a robe over the pyjamas they’d given him, along with his thick hiking boots, a towel slung over one arm. His breath clouded the air in front of him as he walked.
He heard the hot springs before he saw them – the gentle, constant trickling of water. He turned the corner into a plume of warm steam that smelt, ever so slightly, of Sulphur. The springs were beautiful, edged with huge, mossy boulders, and tendrils of steam rose from the surface of the water giving it an ethereal, other-worldly appearance. He headed over to the largest boulder and threw his towel over it before undoing his robe and slipping it off. He shivered at the sudden bite of cold, reaching down to pull of his boots and placing them neatly near the edge of the pool.
He was reaching up to pull off his nightshirt when there was a distinct splash behind him. He froze.
“Hello?” There was no response.
Against his better judgement, he knelt down next to the edge of the pool, peering in. In the darkness, it only reflected his own face back at him. He reached down, trailing his fingertips through the water, gasping at the warmth. It made his hand tingle.
There was movement on the other side of the spring. He looked up to see a trail of bubbles breaking the surface followed by neat little ripples, disturbing the otherwise still water. He stared, entranced, until they had gone.
He swallowed. This was a natural spring – no doubt there were little inlets beneath the water, or loose pebbles – that was what the splash must have been: a loose pebble dropping into the water. He peered over the heap of boulders into the forest beyond, bathed in darkness. His fingers tensed. Maybe coming out so late had been a bad idea.
But… the water was warm, and inviting, and the steam felt good against his cold face. He rose, wincing at the stiffness in his joints. No; he was being paranoid. What was going to happen to him at a hotel, for God’s sake?
Moving quickly so he didn’t feel the sting of the cold for too long, he struggled out of his pyjamas, took a deep breath, then let himself slip into the water.
It was glorious. The pain and stiffness in his shoulders quickly disappeared as he lowered himself in. The pool was surprisingly deep – deeper than he was tall – but had a carved-out ledge running around the edge which he could sit on comfortably while keeping his head above the water. He sighed, watching his breath mingle with the steam.
Something brushed against his leg.
He froze. Then there it was again – a splash on the other side of the pool.
“…Hello?” He called again, feeling stupid. The thick steam obscured the other side of the pool. Was there someone there, or was he imagining it?
Splash. He span around just in time to see something sink beneath the surface of the water. Someone was in there with him.
“Sorry! I… I didn’t realise there was anyone else out this late.” He was met with further silence.
And then something emerged. It came slowly, cautiously; dark, wet hair - more like seaweed - pressed against skin that, in this light, looked almost green. The tips of two pointed ears came next, water dripping from them, and then a pair of eyes – huge and black. And then it stopped. It stared at him, the water lapping at the eyes in a way that made Magnus’ own eyes sting.
Magnus was aware that he was staring, but felt unable to look away, compelled to watch. Whatever it was blinked at him – huge, green eyelids moving across the eyes instead of down them, putting Magnus in mind of some kind of reptile. He swallowed, heavily, incapable of breaking that weird, dark gaze. Every instinct was telling him to run, to get out of the pool and keep running till he was out of the strange town. But…
The head tilted to one side, curiously. Hair floated up, spreading out around the face on the surface of the water like pondweed. It watched him for a moment, then ducked back underwater.
“Uh…”
And then it was there, right in front of him. Magnus let out a startled yell and slipped from the slippery ledge into the pool. He spluttered, treading water.
The creature rose from the spring. It was humanoid, with a long skinny neck. Its shoulders protruded from the surface of the water; it had a narrow but strong-looking frame with unnaturally deep collarbones. There were thick, dark lines – almost like scars - running from its sternum to just below its ears; three on each side. The ears weren’t just pointed: they were scalloped, fin-like.
It grinned at Magnus – and its mouth was full of rows and rows of tiny, pointy teeth.
Magnus gasped, taking in another mouthful of water, gagging. The creature looked annoyed, placed two wet, webbed hands on Magnus’ shoulders and shoved him back towards the ledge.
Magnus gripped onto the edge of the pool, getting his breath back. “What… the… fuck?!”
The creature folded its arms. “You’re welcome."
Magnus blinked at him, trying not to slip under the water again.
"It’s Magnus, right?”
He nodded, silently. Now he had found sturdier ground again, now he didn’t feel like he was drowning, he could take a closer look at the creature. It looked… familiar.
“Wait…” Magnus squinted through the steam. “You're… you’re that guy, from the lodge! The pretty dude who brought me cocoa!”
The creature smiled, a little smugly. “I suppose I must be."
Magnus realised what he’d just said. "I mean, ah…” he was glad for the heat from the pool, stopping him from blushing.
“It happens, darling, I wouldn’t worry about it.” The strange man swam around the pool in neat little circles, keeping his eyes on Magnus.
“What…” Magnus couldn’t find the right way to word it that didn’t sound insulting. “What… are you?”
He stopped swimming and turned to stare at him, then edged closer.
“When Mama brought you here, did she tell you anything about the lodge?”
Magnus shook his head.
“Hmm, I thought not. I mean, why would she?” He laughed – it was melodic, trilling, reverberating off the surface in the water in a way that Magnus wasn’t even sure was possible. He extended a hand. His skin really was green, and his fingers were unnaturally long and slender with thin, iridescent webbing between them. “I’m a siren,” he said, as Magnus gingerly took his hand.
Magnus marvelled at how soft and slightly slippery his skin was. “Like a… like a mermaid?”
The siren extracted his hand and laughed again. “Something like that, I suppose. My name is…ah…”
“What?”
“Well, it’s a little tricky for humans to pronounce. You’re not…” he ran a finger over the lines running up his neck, "built for it. You know? Just comes out as this awful spluttering sound.” He eyed Magnus suspiciously. “Don’t laugh."
"Why would I…”
“They call me Taako, in general.”
“Like the…”
“Yes! Yes, like the…yes. Okay?”
“Okay.” He spotted the look Taako was giving him. “I’m not gonna laugh!”
“…Good. You can keep calling me ‘the hot dude’ if you like, though. That’s far better."
"Actually, I said you were the…” Taako raised his eyebrows with a little smirk, and Magnus realised he’d been tricked. He huffed. “…You’re not gonna, like, drown me or something are you?”
“Moi?” He shot Magnus an insulted glare. “Of course not. What do you take me for?”
“A… a siren? With all the… sinking ships and drowning sailors?”
"Psh, where am I going to find a ship around here? No, darling, I’m not into drowning people. You’re safe."
"Oh."
Taako blinked in that unsettling, reptile way, then ducked beneath the water again, emerging on the other side. He leant against the edge, his long arms resting on the lip of the pool. Magnus was aware of movement beneath the water again, and then, rising from the bottom, came something long and scaly and…
It was a tail.
The tail was long and slender and sparkling, even in the darkness. The scales spread from the tail up his body, twisting around his torso in little, twinkling fractals. There were two dorsal fins halfway down, floating in the water like they were made of chiffon. The tail ended in a wide fluke – the same thin skin of the dorsal fins, laced with light. Taako spotted him watching and laughed, twisting the tail around to splash him.
"Distracted?” He drawled, clearly trying to elicit a reaction.
“It's… I mean… I’ve never even seen …”
“Not many people have. You’re very lucky, you know.”
“I… yeah.”
“There’s only a few humans who’ve seen me like…” he waves a hand, gesturing down the length of his body, “Like this."
Magnus’ mouth opened and shut wordlessly. The siren rolled his eyes and ducked back under the water, popping up next to him.
"If you want to run away, I won’t be mad. Much."
Magnus jumped. "It’s not… ah…” He struggled to find the right words. “I’m not, like, scared."
“Oh? Good.”
“It’s just… a lot. For one day. This morning I thought I was just gonna go for a hike…”
“And here you are, at three in the morning, having an intimate swim in a magical hot spring with a mermaid after being horribly attacked by an eldritch beast.”
“…I thought you said you were a siren?”
“Potato potahto, darling."
"Wait. This pool is magical?”
“Did I say that?” He gave Magnus a wicked, sideways glance. “Anyway; how are you feeling? Recovered after your little… incident?”
“Actually… yeah. Everything hurts a lot less.”
“But it still hurts?”
Magnus shrugged. “Everything always hurts.”
He leant back, his head resting against the stone rim of the pool, and let his eyes drift closed. He felt ripples of water lap against his arm, but didn’t open his eyes, enjoying the heat seeping into his bones.
Something gripped onto his shoulder. Something warm and damp.
“God, are all humans this tense, or is it just you?”
His eyes snapped open. Taako was clinging onto his shoulder, his fingers pressing into his skin. It wasn’t an altogether unwelcome touch; his skin was tingling slightly beneath the siren’s hand.
“Only when they get attacked by a monster and buried in a snowdrift.”
“That does sound pretty stressful.”
His fingers dug into Magnus’ flesh. Magnus winced and was about to pull away, when it felt like his skin had been plunged into icy water. He looked down. There was a bright, bio-luminescent glow around the siren’s hand. A cold, tingling sensation spread across his shoulders, making the hair on the back of his head stand on end. There was a little vibration – like his blood was fizzing – and then the tingling stopped. The siren moved his hand away.
“Better?”
Magnus twisted his shoulders around. The pain was completely gone.
“Y…Yeah. How did you—”
He waved an impatient hand at him. “If I say ‘magic’, will that be enough for you?”
“Probably?”
“Then it was magic. Because, you know: siren."
Magnus blinked, staring at the impossible, beautiful, unearthly man. "…I think I might be dreaming.”
“Ohh, a good dream, I hope. I can pinch you, if you like?”
His dark eyes were sparking as he grinned at him. There was something deeply unsettling about his teeth, the way they looked like they were made for ripping and tearing, and the way they contrasted against his lips, which were plump and soft-looking and an eerie dark green colour, like the bottom of the ocean. He couldn’t stop staring at them. He edged closer, shuffling along the ledge, until their arms were pressed together. Taako’s skin was pleasantly cool.
Somewhere, in the distance, something roared. Something deep in the forest, horrible and unknown and –
Magnus froze. Even in the heat of the pool it felt like his blood had turned to ice. Taako noticed immediately.
“Was that…?”
“…Yeah.” Magnus took a deep breath. “I should… go back inside."
Magnus went to pull himself out of the pool and then had a sudden, unpleasant realisation. He’d stripped off to get into the pool, which meant if he got out…
He swallowed, heavily.
"Turn around.”
The siren rolled his eyes at him. “ Really?"
“I’ve not got… I’m naked!"
He blinked, his huge eyes sparkling. “And?”
“And turn around!”
He rolled his eyes - “Psh, humans.” – but turned anyway, his hair floating around him in a neat spiral.
When he was sure Taako was facing the other way, Magnus quickly pulled himself out of the water and hastily wrapped the towel around him. “Okay, ready."
The siren turned back around. He swam over to the edge of the pool, crossed his arms on the stone and peered up at Magnus. Still warm from the hot water, Magnus stood in the cold air, steam gently rising from his skin. Taako tilted his head to one side.
"Will you be okay out there?”
Magnus paused, one hand reaching for the robe that he’d left on the boulder. The siren was watching him. His eyes, dark as they were, were visibly taking him in, moving up and down his body. Magnus’ heart skipped out a quick, erratic beat.
“Yeah. Probably."
Taako smiled and pushed himself away from the edge, his webbed fingers briefly clinging to the side of the pool. His hair fanned out around him in the water, his slender, scaled body glinting in the moonlight. He performed a neat little backflip and Magnus watched, entranced, as he disappeared backwards beneath the water. His head and his long, dark hair… then his chest, speckled with dark scales, then his entirely inhuman hips and then the long, languid length of his tail. The tips of his fluke silently disappeared beneath the water.
Magnus watched the surface of the pool for a little longer, wondering if he’d return. Once the water was still, the bubbles gone, he pulled the robe on, grabbed his boots and pyjamas, and turned to leave with a little sigh.
He’d made it three steps when there was a sudden loud splash and the sound of wet footsteps. Magnus turned. There was the siren – no, there was Taako – the green, scaly skin and reptilian eyes gone, his hair now that blonde cascade, dripping wet, pressed to his forehead. He pushed it out of his eyes with a smile, showing off his perfect teeth.
He was also, Magnus could not fail to notice, completely naked. Naked, that was, except for the puka shell necklace gently resting against his collar bones.
"Shall we?”
Magnus couldn’t quite find the words to respond.
“Wanna come raid the kitchen with me? We’ve still got some whipped cream left…”
Magnus forced himself to say something. “Hnk.”
Taako rolled his eyes and walked off, leading the way. "Humans.”