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Hermes was never one to shy away from a challenge.
When his cousin Zagreus had first decided to make a bet with him, Hermes had laughed. It was a particularly overcast and stormy day; Zagreus had said that there was no way Hermes would be able to swim out and catch a wave with the way the weather was. But he was confident in his surfing ability and was quick to answer the challenge. Fifty dollars on the line if Hermes could swim out and ride a wave back without falling off his board.
“You’re absolutely mad.” Zagreus was shielding his face against the wind, grimacing at the way the waves crashed into the beach.
“Aww, worried you’re gonna lose your bet, cuz?” Hermes grinned, leaning against where his surfboard was planted firmly in the sand. “I’m already dressed and ready to go- but if you really wanna just give me the fifty bucks…”
He held his hand out expectantly, a cheeky smile on his face. Zagreus barked out a short laugh and shook his head. “Nope. Not giving you an excuse to back out now. Show me that your surf skills aren’t all talk.”
Hermes let out a whoop and grabbed his board. As he waded into the waves, the cold water bit through his wetsuit, and he had to fight to keep from shivering. On the shore, he could hear Zagreus making a cheeky comment about how he couldn’t stand the cold. But he was not about to lose this bet. Hermes took a deep breath and clambered onto his board to swim further out.
The swim was rough, with wind and waves fighting him the entire way, but it always felt so freeing to be out in the open ocean like this. As the current picked up, Hermes quickly pulled himself fully onto the flat surface of his board, letting out a triumphant cheer as he did. Normally he might try to show off a little more in front of his cousin, but the rough waves demanded all of his attention to stay upright.
If he had been paying a little more attention to Zagreus, he might have noticed the change in his cousin’s demeanor a little sooner. From the corner of his eye, Hermes caught sight of Zagreus trying to catch his attention, but he was too far out to be able to hear anything his cousin was saying. He assumed it was just a ploy to distract him from making it back to the shore in one piece.
Behind him, the incoming wave rose higher, casting a faint shadow over his small frame. The shadow grew slowly darker, engulfing Hermes in almost complete blackness. It took a few moments for gears to click in his head. It was overcast, sure, but there was no reason for the waves to make it so dark on their own.
He turned his head, and let out a surprised yelp at what loomed behind him.
In the waves, he spotted something huge and dark. All he could see was a massive bell, like on a jellyfish, and the beginnings of long, dark tentacles. If he had seen it from a distance, he might have taken it for an over-sized and discolored Portuguese Man o’ War. But he didn’t have time to dwell on that as panic set in.
Hermes slipped from his board and plunged into the cold waters. The waves picked up again, pitching him this way and that. His ankle was still attached to his surfboard by the board leash, and yanked him back as the current pulled his board further out. He struggled to undo the velcro strap that kept him attached to the board, finally managing to rip himself free.
He glanced behind him once, eyes stinging from the salty water, but he could still just make out the massive creature. For a split second, he thought he saw something peek out from beneath the bell of the creature, but he had no time to dwell on it. His lungs burned as he swam for the surface and took in huge gasps of air when he finally breached.
His breathing slowed as he let the tide push him back toward the shore. His surfboard was long forgotten now, floating aimlessly as the storm died down a bit. Hermes pulled himself through the water as quick as he could back to land, and flopped down on the beach as soon as he was far enough from the water.
“Hermes! Hermes, are you okay?”
Zagreus knelt down beside him, eyebrows furrowed in concern. His heart still pounded in his chest, but Hermes managed to give a weak thumbs-up in response.
“Good. Okay, um…” Zagreus looked around, and quickly grabbed the towel that Hermes had left on the beach. “Here, let's get you dried off. What the hell happened out there?”
Hermes shivered a bit as he wrapped himself tightly in the towel. Now that the adrenaline had left him, the cold water and cold wind was piercing through his wetsuit straight to his bones. “I...I dunno, man. Did you see it, though? There was something just...floating in the waves behind me, right? I’m not crazy?”
Zagreus shook his head. “No. I saw it too. I was trying to get you to come back to shore. But, uh, guess you couldn’t hear me all the way out there, huh?” He gave an apologetic smile, scratching his cheek sheepishly.
“No, it’s fine. I lost my board, but I’m in one piece at least, right?”
“Speaking of one piece, does this mean you lost our bet?”
Hermes snorted and smacked him in the arm lightly. “No way. I still made it out there in one piece. And if not for the unforeseen circumstances, I definitely would’ve made it back without falling. So pay up.”
The event stuck with Hermes for the rest of the day. So much so that he found himself back out on the beach that evening, searching for any signs of the creature he had seen. Sure, he might have been a little sniffly and maybe a bit on the warm side as a result of being plunged into cold waters earlier, but he had to know what it was. Had he imagined it in his panic? Or was there really something unexplained out there?
His sneeze was swallowed by the wind as he made his way further down the beach. He had told Aphrodite that he was going to spend the night with a few non-specific friends. He was about ninety percent sure she knew he was lying, but she hadn’t pressed it; only told him to make sure he was back in one piece the next morning.
As the wind began to pick up again, Hermes took shelter in one of the harder to reach seaside caves. The one he had taken refuge in was further off the beaten path than most; the water was deeper here, with scarcely any space for a desperate person to take shelter for a night. But Hermes was confident in his ability to navigate the cave, equipped with his phone light and a waterproof case.
He also half-hoped that his surfboard might have washed into one of the seaside caves, but he hadn’t had any luck yet.
He let out a defeated sigh, perching carefully on a slippery rock. Still no luck. Any time he thought he might have caught sight of the creature, it always turned out to be either a large clump of seaweed or driftwood. Hermes’ feet dangled just barely into the water as he peered around the cave by the light of his phone. It smelled distinctly more like fish here--he could only assume that some unsuspecting school had been washed into the cave at high tide and had yet to be able to make their way out.
His foot suddenly brushed against a smooth, slightly waxy surface and Hermes nearly toppled from his perch in surprise. But beneath him, bright even in the dark of the cave, was his orange and yellow striped surfboard.
He blinked in surprise, leaning down curiously to get a closer look. It seemed to just be floating in the relatively still waters of the cave, and there didn’t seem to be anything holding it in place. But as Hermes reached down to pull it from the water, it seemed to rise up to meet him. It was hard to see in the dark, but he could almost make out what looked like two seaweed covered sticks holding the board up from the bottom.
Hermes moved quickly to stick his board safely in the sand just to the side of the cave, but when he returned to investigate once again, whatever had been handing his board off to him was gone. He kept his phone light on, shining it everywhere in the cave and over the surface of the water, but it was too dark to see anything. He thought he might have seen something moving slowly along the surface, but even with his light it was still too dark to see.
He hesitated, unsure if he was seeing things again. Maybe it was just an abandoned pool float or something similar that had washed into the cave. He shook his head to himself. He was being silly. Of course there wasn’t anything in the cave. Nothing had passed his surfboard to him-- that just wasn’t realistic!
Still, it didn’t stop him from looking over his shoulder once last time before he left the cave.
“Um...thank you.”
His words echoed off the walls of the cave and he quickly hurried out to pack his board and head home. But as he left, he could have sworn that he had heard some sort of guttural growl in response.
“You saw a what ???”
“Shhhh!”
Hermes smacked at his cousin lightly, looking surreptitiously around before dropping his voice and speaking again. “I think I saw that thing from the other day in one of the caves,” he whispered.
He and Zagreus were out in the backyard as Hermes scrubbed grime from the cave off of his board. “It like...gave me my surfboard back! I dunno. It was weird. But I didn’t like. See it, see it, you know?”
“I...huh?” Zagreus could only give him a dumbfounded look. “I thought you said you found the board yourself? You’re saying some weird water monster gave it to you now???”
“No, no! I mean, kind of? I found it while I was looking to see if I could find any signs of the thing that made me fall the other day. And then when I went to pull it out of the water it was like...like it was lifted up to me. Does that make sense?”
“Kind...of…?”
Hermes sighed loudly. Zagreus still looked baffled by what he was being told, and Hermes couldn’t blame him. He had described what he had seen to Zagreus the first time as best as he could, and now he was telling Zagreus that he thought he had actually seen the thing.
“Hermes, look, it’s not that I don’t believe you or something, but you have to admit it...sounds a bit far-fetched.”
“I know, but--” He paused, eyes brightening as inspiration suddenly struck. “Come with me tonight! I’ll show you where I saw it. It might still be there!” Hermes’ eyes glittered excitedly, as he leaned over his board to look at his cousin. “C’mon, cuz! It’ll be fun! You’re not scared, are you?”
Zagreus let out a huff and shook his head. “Of course not! Fine, I’ll come with you,” he said, lifting his chin defiantly. “Meet you on the beach tonight. And bring something better than your phone light.”
The sky was much clearer that night. The moon shone bright above them, casting the beach in a pale white light. Hermes walked barefoot along the sand, shoes dangling from one hand as he enjoyed the gentle waves as they rolled onto the shore.
“Hermes!”
He turned at the sound of his name, grinning as he waved Zagreus over to where he waited. “Hey, cuz! I was starting to think you weren’t gonna come,” he teased. Zagreus scoffed. “And miss the chance to see you be proven wrong? No chance. So show me where this jellyfish-man-of-war-terror-of-the-deep is.”
Hermes slipped his sandals back on quickly and nodded. “Right! This way, and try to keep up!”
He took off quickly down the beach, laughing to himself as he heard his cousin struggle to keep up. He made sure to slow down once in a while so he didn’t completely lose Zagreus, and finally slowed to a walk as they came close to the cave.
“Alright, this is where it was last night,” Hermes said, his voice dropping conspiratorially. “Stay quiet in case you scare it.”
Zagreus looked like he wanted to say some smart-ass remark, but kept it to himself. Instead he just nodded and followed as Hermes crept into the cave.
The cave was silent, save for the gentle sounds of water and wind echoing through the cave. Hermes had brought a higher powered flashlight with him this time. As the light flickered on, he had to keep himself from jumping at the sudden sight of a large shadow being cast by a rock protruding from the middle of the cave. Behind him, he heard Zagreus’ poorly concealed laugh.
“Oh, shut up,” he whispered. “Just keep an eye out for something big and black.”
The pair of them moved carefully along the shallow edge of the cave as Hermes swept the flashlight beam this way and that. More and more, it seemed like there wasn’t anything in the cave aside from jagged rocks that hung dangerously from the ceiling.
“I’m not seeing anything,” Zagreus murmured. “Are you sure you didn’t just see a floating garbage bag or something?”
“I’m sure!” Hermes insisted. “Look, I thought that thing from the other day was just like, some seaweed or something too. But I know I s--” He stopped, sweeping his light toward the back of the cave abruptly. “Look! There!”
The light landed on a buoyant, shiny, black...thing. Zagreus squinted a bit at it, head tilted as he tried to figure out what it was. Hermes held his breath, waiting for it to move, but it seemed to just float listlessly along the surface.
“I...Hermes, that looks like an empty garbage bag that blew in here,” Zagreus said finally.
Hermes let out a defeated sigh. “I know I saw something in here,” he mumbled.
Zagreus gave him a sympathetic smile, wading a little closer to pat his shoulder. “Hey, no worries. It’ll at least make for a cool story later.”
Hermes mumbled noncommittally, and made his way slowly back to the mouth of the cave, a few steps behind his cousin. He had been so sure that he had seen something, too.
He watched absently as Zagreus slipped his own shoes back on and said something about returning home. “You want a ride?”
He shook his head, looking back toward the cave again. “No, it’s fine. I drove out here tonight. I’m gonna hang out for a few more minutes.”
“Suit yourself. See you later.”
Hermes watched his retreating form for a few more moments before wading back into the cave. He frowned to himself as he made his way over to one of the rocks that poked up from the bottom of the cave and settled on it. He had been so certain that he had seen something the other night. Something that couldn’t just be explained away as beach trash.
He moved carefully to slide off the sharp rock when a dim purple glow caught his attention. Hermes nearly slipped in his surprise, and scrabbled at the rock to keep himself from falling any further. He managed to climb back onto his perch, watching the glow move slowly toward him. It seemed to come from the thing Zagreus had dismissed as a trash bag only a few minutes prior. With the glow coming from it now, it was evident that it was anything but.
The top of the creature was a slightly translucent black, with something that seemed to hang from the middle of it. The purple bioluminescent glow seemed to emanate from around the rim of the creature’s bell and down what looked like mile-long tentacles.
Hermes’ mouth hung slightly open as the thing drew closer. For a moment, he thought that it was raising itself up on the long kelp-like tentacles. But as it came closer, it became clearer that it was the thing that hung in the middle of the creature’s bell that was setting it upright. He still couldn’t quite make out what it was, but its bell was slowly pulled back by long, bony fingers, revealing a humanoid, if extremely gaunt-looking, figure.
The translucent black bell fell behind it like a robe, trailing down the creature’s back and into the water. The rim and tendrils attached to it still glowed with a faint purple. Perhaps in another situation, Hermes might have found them to be something incredible to look at, but panic gripped him as they moved slowly closer.
“Um. Hello.”
The creature tilted its head, mouth moving slowly as it attempted to form words. All that came out was a low growl that shook Hermes down to his bones.
“Are, uh...did you give me my surfboard back?”
The creature stared at him blankly. So it could speak, but it couldn’t understand all of what Hermes tried to say.
He tapped his chin, the panic slowly starting to leave his body. This creature clearly wasn’t trying to harm him. Maybe it had gotten stuck in the cave? He certainly would not have been surprised if one of it’s unnaturally long tentacles had gotten snagged on something.
Huge purple eyes continued to watch his every move as Hermes stepped back into the shallow mouth of the cave. The creature made a noise of surprise as the water splashed around his shins. “N-no, I’m fine! Nothing’s wrong, see?” He lifted his leg from the water and kicked at the surface lightly, sending up a salty spray of water at the other. “Oh- sorry.”
The creature was motionless for a few moments; then one of its tendrils slowly lifted out of the water and fell back against the still surface of the water with a loud plat , splashing Hermes lightly as it did. Hermes let out a surprised laugh. “Okay, okay. I get it,” he said with a slight grin. “You got jokes. I got jokes, too.”
He shifted to lean against the jagged rock behind him. “Hey, so...why didn’t you come out when my cousin was still here? I was trying to show him! Now I just sound nuts.” His lips twisted into a pout.
The creature didn’t respond, only continuing to watch Hermes curiously. It shifted, backing against the far wall of the cave and carefully arranging itself to mimic his pose. Beneath the water, Hermes could see tentacles shift and cross as the main body of the creature crossed its arms.
“You know, I don’t even know what you are,” he commented absently. He shifted against the rock, leaning back against his arm, this time keeping his eyes on the creature as it moved. Sure enough, the creature shifted again to copy him. “I mean, it’s kind of a mouthful for me to call you ‘big jellyfish man-o-war monster’. I wonder if you have a name.”
There seemed to be mild understanding as he spoke. As if to respond, the creature made a noise like gargling rocks. It frowned some at the noise that left it, clearly not expecting to sound the way it had. It opened its mouth again, letting out another low groan, but Hermes could almost make out what sounded like speech.
“Cchhhh...hhhrrr...rrrnnnn…”
Hermes’ brow furrowed, trying to parse out what had been said. “Ch...Cairn?” No response. He pursed his lips, looking to the ceiling in thought. “Cha...Char...Karen? No. Char...Chi…? Mmm...Chaaarrr...on?”
The creature lifted his head, violet eyes fixed on Hermes now.
“Charon? Is that what you’re called?”
Charon made a noise of approval, his bioluminescence glowing brighter for a moment.
“Charon,” Hermes repeated, testing out the name again. “I like it. You can call me Hermes.”
“Hhh…Hhhrr...mmm...mmss…”
“Close enough.”
Hermes glanced toward the mouth of the cave. The moon’s bright glow reflected against the slowly rising tide. Inside the cave, the water began to stir with a little more force as waves pushed and pulled at the shoreline. It was late now, and if he wasn’t careful, Hermes would get caught in high tide. The last thing he wanted to do was return home in the middle of the night soaked down to the bone.
“I should get going. But, hey, if you’re still here tomorrow, I’ll come back again in the evening, okay?” Hermes smiled to Charon, watching as he slowly sank back into the water. His bell was still pulled back, floating gently behind him and appearing almost grey in the moonlight. If he understood what Hermes was saying, he gave no indication.
As he moved toward the mouth of the cave, Charon seemed to finally understand what Hermes’ intention was. Without warning, one of the shorter tentacles lashed out and wrapped around Hermes’ ankle. He let out a yelp, barely catching himself in time to stop from crashing into the water.
“Hey!” He looked back at Charon with a frown, trying to tug his ankle free. “I said I’d come back tomorrow, okay? I gotta get back home. Even if I think it’d be really cool to stay and talk at you more. But I promise I’ll be back. Okay?”
Hermes gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile and without thinking, offered his pinky out for his promise. Charon looked at him, puzzlement flitting over otherwise unreadable features for a moment before lifting an arm slowly and mimicking Hermes’ gesture.
He grinned, moving a little closer as the tentacle loosened around his ankle and hooked his pinky with Charon’s. His skin was cold to the touch and slightly scaly, like the underbelly of a snake. “There. Now I can’t break my promise. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
True to his word, Hermes returned to the cave the next night. And the next. And the next. He began taking to surfing in the evenings and waiting until the beach emptied to see Charon. He had tried to see him once during the day, but Charon had refused to surface. Hermes could only surmise that it was due to the fact that even by the cave, the beach was still too busy and bright.
His visits were not always the most conversational, but Charon seemed content to sit and listen to him talk about what had happened during his day. Charon would occasionally try to communicate back with him, but it was clear his way of communication was not meant for speaking on the surface.
An evening like any another came along. Hermes had been chattering away about one thing or another, while Charon listened patiently. He floated near the mouth of the cave while Hermes sat nearby at the edge of the water, toes poking into the wet sand. Hermes had gotten mostly used to Charon’s odd behaviors, so when he felt the gentle brush of one of the miles-long tendrils against his shin, he paid it no mind.
“--was really just being mean at that point. I mean, come on! Zag didn’t have to just say that in front of people, right?”
Hermes.
He jolted upon suddenly hearing his name. Or perhaps thinking was the better word? He looked around wildly, leg jerking away from the tentacle that rested against his leg. “Wh- Ch-Charon?” He blinked at his companion in bewilderment. Charon only looked back at him, unblinking. His bell was wrapped loosely around the humanoid figure that Hermes had learned was the main part of his body.
“Charon...I thought you couldn’t talk above the surface. Though...I guess it’s not really talking, is it.”
He frowned in thought to himself, starting slightly again when he felt a tentacle rest against his leg.
Thoughts.
“Thoughts. Okay. How come you didn’t do this earlier? We could’ve had actual conversations!”
Scared you the last time. Did not want that again. Needed you to trust first.
“Oh...you mean when your tentacle grabbed me that first night? I thought you just didn’t want me to leave. I wasn’t really scared. Just...surprised, I guess.” Hermes smiled gently, reaching into the water to touch the tentacle gently. It slid slowly into his hand, twining through his fingers. The texture of this particular one wasn’t unpleasant--a bit slimy, but smooth and soft in his hand. Around it, different types of Charon’s tentacles swayed gently in the current; some long and thin, others wider and slightly ruffled.
Still not scared?
“You haven’t really given me a reason to be. I mean...maybe the first time I saw you-when I wiped out when I was surfing-because. Y’know. Giant sea monster thing. But you never actually hurt me. And honestly, I think you’re pretty neat. My uncle Poseidon- he goes on all the time about how there’s so much undiscovered in our oceans, and how we know more about space than the ocean and all that stuff. I never really took him seriously about it. I mean, I know it’s true, but until I saw you--”
The tentacle squeezed Hermes’ hand tightly.
Talk too much.
Before Hermes could say much more, several more tentacles wound themselves up over his legs and waist. He squeaked in surprise as Charon pulled him closer, a low chuckle escaping the other at his reaction.
“C-can I help you?” Hermes managed. He was grateful in that moment for the dark of the cave. He could feel the flush crawling up his cheeks from being so close to Charon.
Charon only tilted his head before leaning down and pressing their foreheads together. You are warm. Red. Sick?
“N-no-- wait how did--” Hermes stopped and shook his head. He shouldn’t have been surprised that Charon could see in the dark on top of everything else. “Nevermind. No, I’m not sick. Just. Um. You’re, uh. Really close.”
Charon pulled back abruptly, the violet glow that emanated from his eyes flickering as he blinked. Better?
Hermes was acutely aware of the sudden coolness surrounding him when Charon pulled away. Charon might have been a cold-blooded creature, but there was still enough body heat that came off of him to make a difference in the otherwise cold cave. “Oh. Um. You didn’t. I mean. It’s. Well…”
Talking so much, yet saying nothing. Charon’s chuckle vibrated down the tentacles that still held Hermes. Prefer to be close?
“I mean...if you want to,” Hermes mumbled, looking away from him. “I don’t really care…”
Tentacles drew him close again so the pair of them were nearly chest to chest. Too close?
Hermes shook his head quickly, not trusting himself to speak. The flush on his cheeks sprawled down over his neck and shoulders. Another laugh. Charon moved one of his arms slowly, resting a hand at the nape of his neck. Being this close to him, Hermes could see the sharp white teeth that flashed in Charon’s mouth, illuminated only just by the purple glow of his bell.
“Heh. Um. Don’t bite me with those shark teeth, yeah?”
Never hurt Hermes.
The tentacles holding him in place loosened and carefully re-wrapped themselves around Hermes almost protectively. Despite how soft and pliable they felt against his skin, he couldn’t help but feel safe. A shy smile crept onto his lips and he shifted to better lean into Charon’s hand. “I should hope not.”
The pair of them stayed like that for a long while; Hermes cradled in Charon’s careful embrace, and Charon floating contentedly at the surface of the water. The slight current that came from just outside the cave rocked the pair of them, and Hermes felt his eyelids slowly grow heavy movements. He knew it was well past midnight now, but he was loathe to leave Charon’s comforting hold.
As if reading his mind, Charon slowly pulled the tentacles away and nudged Hermes back toward the shore. Can’t sleep here. Can’t hold you above water all night.
Hermes smiled sheepishly and nodded. “Yeah, guess you have a point.” He wanted to say that he was happy to sleep in the cave to remain close to Charon. That even with the unpredictable ocean just beyond the cave mouth, he had felt safe in his hold. But he didn’t dare to give his thoughts voice.
But he didn’t need to.
Think as loud as you talk. Nowhere for you to sleep in the cave. Hermes flushed bright red again. Of course it would make sense that Charon could hear his thoughts as well as Hermes could hear his. He laughed softly, one tentacle lingering on Hermes’ ankle. Tomorrow.
The empty feeling around his ankle was stark as the tentacle curled back toward Charon. Hermes watched as he pulled the bell carefully back over himself and sank slowly back below the surface of the water until all that he could see was the translucent black bell that floated along the surface.
“Tomorrow,” Hermes replied.