Chapter Text
“Sure thing, ma,” Reiner huffed into the phone, running his large hands over his eyes and down to his chin. “I’ll call you in a bit.” Hanging up, Reiner slid his phone into his back pocket, taking in a deep sigh as he overlooked the shoreline he knew his entire life. He couldn’t even begin to attempt to hide the displeasure written across his face. Never once did he imagine he would be returning to the tiny little fishing town, let alone living at his own place. Reiner had just completed his Marine Biology degree, coming at number two in his class. He had job offers from labs across the entire planet, yet one call from his mom had him packing his bags for home. She had lost her job the previous year due to a tropical storm, and the entire town was too poor to offer her a new place of occupation. The only source of income in the village was at the fish market, and thus Reiner’s new career path as a fisherman began.
Although Reiner had returned, he had planned to isolate himself from the depressing town as much as possible to continue his studies in private. This was why he had lied to his mother about his return; he had truly arrived the night before, just past midnight, so that he could settle into his new home with ease. The house he found wasn’t actually all that new to him, seen as it was a pretty popular hang out spot for him and his friends as teens. It had been abandoned long before Reiner’s birth, having held stories of sea monsters that would prey on young fishermen and lure them to their deaths. This made the small shack of a house rather cheap for the current market.
Upon his arrival, it had been newly renovated, thanks to the money he’d set aside to travel the world. All sense of nostalgia was forgotten as he walked through the walls. Instead, it felt gloomy, like a dead end at the end of a very rough road. The only thing that hadn’t changed was the small dock behind the house, just down a set of old wooden stairs. Alongside the rocky shore and tall grasses, the very same dock he used to draw fish on sat. Only this time, there was his father’s very old, small motorboat. It sat as the only thing Reiner had to remember him by before he left him and his mother to live in the city. The red paint had faded to a dusty pink as the years went by, and the name written on the back was completely illegible.
The salty air stung at his nose as he looked over it all, frustrated that his life would bring him here. Going through his boxes, Reiner found his tackle box and fishing line, and set off to the shore with the peanut butter and jelly sandwich he’d made before his mother had called. He stepped into the boat, pulling at the engine a few times before it finally started up, cruising down past the rocks and out into the ocean.
Reiner didn’t last long in the sun before his hunger began to take over. He placed his unused fishing line down and reached for the small, plastic wrapped sandwich, taking it out as peanut butter melted over his fingertips. He sighed while taking a bite, chewing it so slowly that he began to lose his appetite. Just as he swallowed, a glistening yellow tail swam past his field of vision, one he recognized as cod. He prepared his line swiftly, applying the bait over the hook with his gloved hand before casting it out. The float bobbed under almost immediately, and Reiner stood as he began to reel in his first catch of the day. The boat stayed steady as he brought the fish to the surface and placed it in the cooler beside him, which was why he was rather concerned when he turned to see his sandwich absent from its place atop the hull.
“What… what the hell?” Reiner mumbled to himself, turning his full attention to the other side of the boat. He placed his hands along the edge as he looked over, searching for at least the wrapper. He glared out over a few yards before he rolled his neck with frustration, turning on the boat's engine to return home and cook the single fish he caught.
Upon approaching his little dock, Reiner was greeted by a very familiar face and a much, much nicer speedboat. He cursed mentally as he pulled up to the shore, taking out a rope to attach the cleat to the wooden post.
“Well, if it isn’t the big Braun!” The tall and skinny boy manning the expensive vessel called out, jumping off the deck and onto the wooden platform. “Never thought I’d see you again!”
“Hey, Bert,” Reiner replied while taking out the cooler, only slightly relieved at the presence of his old friend. “What brings you around?”
“Tell me why,” Bertholdt moved to Reiner’s side as he began to ascend the stairs of his house, “I had to find out you moved back to town through the guys at the wharf?”
“Man, I was planning on telling you later, I just haven’t fully settled in yet, besides, my mom thinks I’m getting here this evening,” Reiner answered as he used his back to open the screen door at the back of the house.
“Yeah, uh, about that,” Bertholdt began as he held open the next door while Reiner maneuvered past the bathroom and to the kitchen, dropping the cooler onto the counter harshly at the sight before him.
“Reiner Braun! How dare you arrive without telling me!”
“Hi, ma,” Reiner groaned, leaning his hands on the counter as the small woman scurried from around the corner. “I wanted to make some lunch for us to share and surprise you.”
“Oh, don’t kid me, Reiner, I know you were just trying to get out of seeing me,”
“Ma, can we not do this right now?” Reiner sighed as he pulled out the catch, grabbing his unpacked kitchen knives before getting to work. “Look, you two can stay for lunch if you’d like, but I can guarantee I’m not going to be much fun today.”
“Need a hand with anything?” Bertholdt asked, taking the cooler off the counter and putting it in the sink.
“Nah, you can just chill on the couch for now. Ma, don’t touch that,” Reiner called out as his mother busied herself with the cardboard boxes strewn across the room.
“I’ll go help her,” Bertholdt replied, just earning a soft grunt from Reiner in response. There was no controlling the two of them, and Reiner just had to accept that for the rest of the day.
The afternoon passed by quickly, Reiner’s mother having unpacked nearly every box in the house while directing the boys around. By the time the matriarch had left, Reiner and Bertholdt were left on the couch with a few bottles of beer, exhaustion dripping from their brows.
“It’s good to see she hasn’t changed,” Bertholdt commented as he took a swig of his first bottle, Reiner deep into his third.
“Yeah, that’s for sure.” Reiner replied with resentment.
“Why’d you come back, man? You can’t stand it here. I mean, it’s good to see you and all, but you’re already miserable and it hasn’t even been a day.”
“Ugh,” Reiner took another sip, pinching at the bridge of his nose. “I don’t have a choice, Ma needs financial support and she’s too old to fish. Nor was she any good at it, anyway.”
“What happened to ocean science or whatever?”
“I’m still studying, just doing my masters online. At least I’m by the water, y’know? And it’s marine biology, bro.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Bertholdt stood up, stretching his arms high above his figure before placing his half finished beer on the small coffee table, “I gotta head back before I get drunk.”
“Sure,” Reiner replied, stumbling to his own standing position. “I’ll walk you out.”
A warm breeze grew strong as Reiner and Bertholdt walked down the stairs to the dock, dark clouds covering the starry sky over the distant waters. The two shared little words as Bertholdt boarded his extravagant boat, starting up the engine before calling back out to Reiner.
“There’s supposed to be a big storm tonight, man. Make sure your boat is covered, and don’t forget your tackle box!”
“Sure thing, thanks. Get home safe.”
“Thanks man, and hey, watch out for the sirens!”
And with that, Bertholdt took off alongside the shore, speeding out of sight. Reiner huffed to his drunk self as he turned his exhausted eyes to the small run down boat, looking at the tacklebox inside as it bobbed in the wake of Bertholdt’s exit. He reached over the hull to grab the kit and his gloves before he took a seat on the dock by his knees. The clouds were rolling in quickly, lightning illuminating the purple shades of the late evening sky. The stars immediately overhead were brighter than he could see at his university, but as they reflected over the water, he felt anything but bewildered. His eyes lost focus as the small waves crashed against the rocks beneath him, kelp billowing in the shallow tide. He almost dozed off until the sight of a large fish passed his gaze, moving rapidly between the rocks. Reiner shook himself awake as he inspected it, unable to make out its size or colour due to the lack of light. He quickly opened his tackle box and grabbed the fishing rod from the boat, all without moving his legs in the slightest. He slid on a glove as he baited the hook, trying his hardest not to make any sounds or sudden movements. He swung back his arm, thumb pressing into the release of the pole, when the head of the fish surfaced just a few yards ahead of him.
Well, he thought it was a fish.
The starlight illuminated the creature's features. Teal scales with an iridescent gold reflected from the sky, and two large webbed ears spanned from the side of it’s head. Dark, almost crystalline eyes, void of irises, stared directly into Reiner’s soul. What perhaps was even more shocking than the shape of its head was what was on it; extraordinarily long, dark green hair, reminiscent of the kelp and seaweed that was under it. Bubbles arose from under the water as it exposed its human-like nose and mouth, allowing Reiner to fully take in just how humanoid this creature was.
“Is it too late to ask for another sandwich?”
Reiner fell backwards, his fishing pole rolling off the dock as he let out a short and sharp yelp, his eyes glued open. He stood as fast as he reacted, turning his back to the dock as he drunkenly bumbled up the stairs in a panic. He slammed both doors shut behind him, locking them with shaking hands before running into the living room. He threw open the drawer of his desk in search of his textbook and journals, taking out pens, pencils, and erasers. He sat down as he fumbled through the pages, beginning to draw anything and everything he could remember.
Whatever the fuck he just saw, it was a hell of a lot more exciting than he’d expected his return to be.
--
The humidity of mornings was not something Reiner missed. His eyes blinked open as he came to, the feeling of dried saliva making its presence known on his cheek. He sat up abruptly, the papers of his late night scribbles stuck to his face from a mixture of the sweat and drool. The sudden movement sent his head spinning, a harsh pounding resounding in his temples. He groaned loudly as he peeled the sketches from his face, squinting at them as he tried to make out whatever he’d seen last night. Compared to his usual anatomy drawings, this was cartoonish. It looked like something he would’ve seen on one of his favourite kids shows, and left far too much to the imagination. Compared to his memory, this was a stick figure. He crumpled the paper with frustration and threw it at the bin beside the desk, missing by a whole foot. He stared at it for a moment before he stood, his muscles aching from the awful position he’d fallen asleep in.
Outside the bungalow, seagulls gathered and rejoiced very, very loudly. The storm uprooted most of the flora surrounding the bank, exposing the crustaceans from under the sand and washing up plenty of smaller fish. This alerted Reiner to the outdoors, the early morning summer sun blinding him as he stepped onto the stairwell. The scent of seaweed was pungent as the shore began to heat up, the aftermath of the weather leaving much more work for him to do. He slowly descended the stairwell, groaning at the sight of sand gathered in small piles inside of his boat. He looked around for his forgotten tackle box, noting the different baits and hooks spread across the rocks and what was left of the grass. He slid off his boots and socks and rolled up his trousers before stepping into the water, gathering what he could. He crouched lower, allowing himself to submerge his legs in the water as he inspected under the dock.
He took in a sharp yet silent gasp at the sight of the strange creature he saw the night before. It was half submerged, its head and upper body sprawled across the large rock directly under the dock. It was completely tied up in the remnants of his fishing line, the broken pole in pieces under the rock. A few hooks were snagged in its brightly coloured scales, but what was most alarming was the seeping blood from an impact wound on its forehead. Reiner gently placed the bits and bobs in his hand on the dock before he maneuvered underneath it, freeing the creature from the line and hooks. It was unmoving, but its chest was slowly rising and falling. He nudged its shoulder, silently hoping it would wake up and scurry off, but instead it stayed still.
Throwing all caution to the wind, Reiner reached underneath it’s scaled torso and brought it out into the sunlight, its head falling back to reveal it’s strikingly human features. Reiner held it tightly, making sure it didn’t fall back into the rocks and damage itself further. In all his years of training, he had never once considered something like this existing. Sure, he’d heard the stories from drunken sailors, but those were goofy fairy tales to warn kids about the dangers of the ocean. He slowly made his way back onto the dock, holding the creature horizontally before he climbed back up the stairs.
The wound on its head was rather intense. The fact that it was still bleeding was violently concerning, but there wasn’t really a national health line for ocean life. He kicked open his door and brought it inside, pushing open the bathroom and gently laying the cryptid into the bathtub. He opened his cabinet to find his first aid kit, thoughtlessly opening the small vial of iodine and taking out some gauze. Reiner cleaned the creature’s smaller wounds before tending to the large gash on its head, taping some gauze over it before standing up and observing the creature in full.
It was massive. The torso and head were, although remotely human, completely scaled. The algae-like hair was long enough to go far past its hips, yet it spilled over onto the floor as its head was propped up on the side of the tub. Gills protruded from its neck, yet it seemed to have no problem breathing from its nose. The webbed ears looked just like it’s hands; tight webbing between it’s fingers, each nail long and pointed, similar to acrylics of a few of the women he knew in his past. But what really made it fascinating was the tail. It was much longer than a regular human’s legs. It extended five or six feet, making it eight or nine in full length. The scales were just like its upper body, but the fins at the end were just the same as its fingers and ears. It looked like something out of a mythology book, and one for kids. But it was living, breathing, fully functioning, and in his damned bathroom.
Reiner stood up, his hangover long gone, and returned to his desk. He grabbed his phone and dialed his professor, but a flashing symbol at the top corner of his screen notified him of the lack of signal. He grunted with disapproval, figuring that the storm blew out the phone service across town. He returned to the bathroom, which was lit solely by the window above the bathtub, and attempted to turn on the light. It flickered for a moment before shutting off completely, alerting Reiner to the lack of electricity in his home. He huffed before heading back outside to fumble with the backup generator he’d had installed.
After restoring the power, Reiner got to work on cleaning up the dockside. He shoveled out the sand from his boat and used a hose to get what was left before he began to clean up the remains of his tackle box, throwing what was salvageable into the boat. After a short while, all that was left was to take care of the uprooted brush, all of which he shovelled into the bins that sat at the top of the staircase. A few hours later he’d completed most of the cleanup, save for what the seagulls prevented him from getting to.
The day began to become unbearably warm and he retired back into the house, passing by the bathroom to check on the wounded creature. He gave the room a small glance as he moved towards his kitchen, but paused as he stepped further. He looked back quickly, his eyes widening at the sight of an empty bathtub.
There were two major issues with this.
Firstly, how the hell did it get out of the tub? It had a whole tail, and definitely couldn’t just mosey on out of a nearly meter deep tub. Secondly, if it had left, it would’ve passed him by the dock. So where the hell could it have gone? Reiner stood dumbfounded, staring at the empty room before the sound of his fridge slamming shut brought him out of his trance. He ran into the kitchen at lightspeed, stopping abruptly once he got to the counter.
There was a naked person in his house.
Hair covered their most important parts, but there was still a whole nude individual in his home. They were situated at the island in the middle of the room, unscrewing a jar of peanut butter next to some bread, jam, and a plate.
“Oh, hey dude, where do you keep your silverware?”
Reiner’s jaw slackened completely at the simple request, a tired eye twitching with confusion. He couldn’t even breathe, let alone respond, as he stared at the unknown human in the room. The person didn’t even look at Reiner before they asked their question, dipping one of their long nailed fingers into the peanut butter. Reiner’s lip snarled upwards at their action before he quickly grabbed one of his large kitchen knives, pointing it directly at them.
“How the hell did you get in here?”
They paused with their finger in their mouth, turning to face Reiner fully with wide eyes and a relaxed expression.
“I dunno, woke up in the tub.” They responded with a pop of their finger. “Why was I in your tub?”
Reiner’s grip on the knife slacked, his wrist going limp as the blade pointed towards the floor. His shoulders slouched as he processed their statement, eyes scanning through his thoughts before he let out a hearty laugh. He threw the knife onto the counter as he clasped a hand over his eyes, his laughter growing at the realisation.
“You? You’re the mermaid?” He guffawed, leaning on the island as the stranger dipped their finger back into the peanut butter.
“We prefer the term siren, but sure. But for real, why was I in your tub?” They asked with their mouth full, sticking up their finger as they began to search through the kitchen drawers for the cutlery.
“I don’t think you’re in a position to be asking questions.” Reiner responded, moving towards the drawer on the other side of the island and taking out a table knife and spoon before placing them on the granite. “But you were washed up under the dock with a nasty sc- wait, where did the bandage go?”
“Ah, I took it off, it was pretty useless.” They answered honestly as they grabbed the spoon and took out a massive scoop of peanut butter. Reiner observed their forehead, noting the lack of any wound. “You could’ve avoided this if you cleaned your shit up last night, anyway.”
“Well, excuse me, it’s not everyday you find a fish person staring at you in the water.”
“Siren,” they pointed their spoon directly at Reiner’s face as they leaned on the counter, taking another large spoonful of peanut butter into their mouth. “Beshidesh, ish not my fault you moved into my housh.”
“I beg your pardon?” Reiner laughed, grabbing the nearly emptied jar of peanut butter, much to the stranger's demise. “I own this property, thank you very much. And you owe me a thanks for getting you out of sight. If any other fisherman saw you, you would’ve been harpooned immediately.”
“Oh please, you’re barely a fisherman. That old boat isn’t gonna get you a place in the market. It’s not like anyone comes over here anyway.” Reiner rolled his eyes, a bit of heat approaching his cheeks at the truth of their statement. “Also, if you’re gonna have a conversation with me, can I at least borrow a shirt or something?”
“Oh, fuck,” Reiner caught on to the situation, turning around sharply at remembering that the person in front of them was indeed naked. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be back. Don’t eat any more peanut butter, you’ll get sick.”
“You’re not a fish doctor, man.”
---
“What did I tell you?” Reiner scolded as he held his house guest's hair back while they hovered over the toilet.
“Shut, eugh, up,” They groaned, glaring at him from the side. “It was so worth it.”
“Yeah, yeah, keep your head in the toilet, no way are you gonna get my bathroom dirty when I just moved in.”
“I’m fine,” They swatted his hand away, falling back onto their knees and leaning onto the wall. “It’s just been a while since I’ve had human food.”
“That much is clear.” Reiner responded, grabbing the damp towel from the sink and throwing it at them. They caught it, the water causing the webbing between their fingers to return, nails turning dark and hands scaled. They wiped at their mouth, leaving a trail of teal before they threw the towel back into the sink.
“Dude, I’m going to be completely honest with you, you are a lot more relaxed about this than I was expecting.”
“Hah,” Reiner sighed as he leaned back on the tub, his back hitting the cold tile and window. “That makes two of us.”
“Well, don’t you have questions?”
“Of course I do, but probably way too many.”
“Well, I’m all ears,” They brought up their knees and placed their hands atop them with a slap. “Go on, ask away.”
Reiner thought to himself momentarily, trying to decide just what he should ask first. There were a million curiosities he had, but barely any made sense to ask to another sentient being without seeming offensive.
“Okay, uh, first off, how many of you are there?”
“More than you’d think,” they responded, “Especially in coastal towns like this. Probably a good tenth of the population here is siren-folk. What else?”
“Oh, wow, okay…” Reiner reacted, “What makes you sirens rather than mermaids?”
“Well, mermaids don’t fucking exist.”
“Okay, jeez, just asking!” Reiner defended.
“It was kind of a stupid question.” They mumbled,
“Alright, fine, fine. How do you know english?”
“I went to school, dumbass. You’re not very bright, are you?”
“Well sorry, I’ve never met a cryptid before!”
“Oh, so now I’m a cryptid, huh? You must have very few friends.”
“Same to you!”
“Alright, my turn to ask questions.” They changed the subject abruptly. “Why did you take my house?”
“This isn’t your house, you didn’t own it.” Reiner rebuked. “But I had to move here to take care of my mom.”
“This is like, at least five miles away from the nearest neighborhood. Why so far?”
“I didn’t want to move back, if that’s what you’re asking. I was about to start my masters degree.”
“Oh, really? You don’t seem very educated.”
Reiner paused, irritation boiling over from the quick quips. He bared his teeth slightly as he glared at them, a mischievous smile smugly tied to their face.
“Okay, sorry, sorry. What were you studying?”
“Marine Biology.”
“Hah! That’s rich!”
“Alright, fish. You should go back to the water.” Reiner stood, pointing at the door.
“Oh, c’mon! Doesn’t the science guy want to know more?”
“Not if you’re gonna act like this, seriously, I brought you into my home-”
“My home,”
“-MY HOME, and took care of you, and you’re acting like a fucking child. Seriously, who raised you?”
The stranger pursed their lips momentarily before shrugging their shoulders and standing, moving towards the door. They sent Reiner a displeased glare before swinging open the two doors, taking one step out. Reiner watched as they paused, eyes widening before they retracted a few steps, the doors staying open.
“Oh, sorry, didn’t know you were busy,” The voice of Reiner’s childhood friend resounded, separated from his body.
“Bertholdt?!” Reiner ran out of the bathroom, facing the back exit to see his friend moving back to the stairs. “Hey, man, what’s up?”
“Oh, nothing, just wanted to see if you were alright after the storm. Looks like you’re doing, uh, better than alright,” Bertholdt gestured to the person inside, who was still slowly retracting into the kitchen.
“Them? No, no, we’re not, we didn’t, they’re just, they were…”
“Hey dude, it’s chill, good to know you’re getting some action.” Bertholdt threw up his hands as he moved down the stairs. “Swing by my dad's place if you’re available later, he wanted to talk to you about the market.”
“Ugh, sure thing, Bert. I’ll see you later.”
Berthold sent him a tight lipped smile before boarding his boat again and speeding off, sending Reiner back into the house with embarrassment.
He closed the doors with a huff before he moved into the kitchen to see his new acquaintance staring at him with intense fear and distrust.
“What the hell’s gotten into you?”
“How do you know him?” They asked with a trembling voice.
“Who, Bert? We grew up together, why?”
“He’s a Hoover…” They whispered, backing up even further until their back hit the counter.
“And what?” Reiner sighed.
“They… they are not… they’re a very bad family.”
“What do you mean? They own half the town, what the hell did they ever do to you?” Reiner quipped.
“It’s.. nevermind.” The fear that washed over them dissipated slowly. “I should go.”
“Yeah, you probably should.”
Silence followed their interaction, Reiner biting at his bottom lip as the siren nodded. The stranger moved past reiner quickly, exiting out the doors. Reiner followed behind from afar, watching as they ran down the stairs and to the dock and threw off the shirt and shorts Reiner had let them borrow and tossed them into his boat.
“I’ll… I’ll see you around.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Reiner called out. The stranger nodded their head at him before jumping into the water, just the glisten of their tail visible as they swam quickly into the deeper waters. Reiner walked down to grab his clothes, staring out into the tide with a twisted brow.
What the hell just happened?