Chapter Text
The party had been going on for hours. Everyone was excited she’d finally signed a contract. It was the start of her career, the beginning of living her dreams. She’d taken lessons and spent years working hard to make it. As the party started to wind down, the worst words she could hear echoed through her mind again and again. Something that night she’d been excited to hear and happy to fulfill. That night as the clock struck midnight and she finally turned twenty.
“Sing us a song, Melody!” her agent called. She smiled and laughed at him. He wanted her to save her voice but was the first to ask her to sing at parties. She nodded and made her way to the microphone on the stage of the bar they’d rented out. She pushed her brown hair back from her face and smiled out at the faces around. Each so happy she finally made it.
“Well you twisted my arm,” she laughed. It was always such a happy memory until this. “I’ll just have to sing that new single we just signed at the label for!”
The room cheered, her parents,brother, and sister looking on happily. She took a deep breath to start her song, but it felt different, special almost. She was sure it was the drinks her sister let her try. She started her song, and the room silenced. It was like there was nothing left but her, it made her nervous. Usually there were cheers or comments as she sang. It was never silent like this, she slowly let her voice taper off. Her family looked at her scared, the others around seemed to be in a trance. It took a minute before all hell broke loose.
“Melody keep singing!” her mother screamed. She couldn’t though, hands reached for her. It wasn’t like anything she’d experienced. There had been overzealous fans and stalkers, but this was a riot gunning for her. There was a sound and something crashed down near her. Her face got covered and her vision faded to black.
The alarm blaring in her ears only made waking up worse. She has had that dream on her birthday every year since then. It was when her family finally let her in on the secret they weren’t entirely human. They were descendants of sirens, fucking mermaids were real and she was one. Her dad had been the only one in the crowd who was fully human that didn’t go after her. She groaned as she slammed snooze on the alarm. She hated today and nothing ever made it better. She had work though, at least her commute was easy.
She rolled out of bed mumbling about her annoyance on the way. She started her coffee and sat at her computer turning it on. Her commute was completed, she just had to get today’s tasks and be started. After all the time she dedicated to singing she never thought she’d actually use her degree. She was dropping out the morning after the party until everything went wrong. She stared at the computer for a few more minutes before caving. She sent an email to her boss claiming she was ill and shut the thing down.
A beep sounded and meant her coffee was done. She grabbed her notebook from her desk and retrieved her liquid energy. She made her way to her small table that overlooked the cliff of her home. The ocean was both calming and anger inducing. She used to love staring out at the sea every time she could. She sat with her back to it, opening her notebook and starting to write. She may not be able to sing anymore, but she could still write songs.
The morning seemed to pass quickly as she worked, only noticing the time when her phone jingled. Her brother was calling her. His name on her screen always made a little more of that anger she tried to send away bubble up. Her family shouldn’t do anything with music, but still named them all something related to it. Melody, Caprice, Aria, and their mother Rhapsody. It was all a sick joke. She sighed, Caprice wouldn’t give up as it was his birthday too.
“Hello,” she said. She barely spoke anymore, but her voice never showed the lack of use. Caprice usually came by today, spent the day with her. Aria tried to, but she hated that she’d failed to keep her safe that night. The two hadn’t spoken much in the last five years.
“Melody! Happy Birthday!” Caprice screamed into the phone. He was always bursting with energy, she used to be like that too. “How’s my favorite twin doing?”
“I’m your only twin.” She laughed a bit, he managed to pull her old self out now and then. “I’m fine, called out sick. I’m kind of shocked I didn’t wake up to you banging down my door.”
“About that…” she could hear the pain in his voice. He had a life unlike her, it made sense he couldn’t come. “I can’t make it this year. I have a great present to make up for it. I can also bring-”
“Cap, I appreciate it, but don’t lie. You want to spend time with your friends. It’s ok, I’m used to being on my own.” She wasn’t lying. Her family rarely came to visit her. They wanted to come more, but she wouldn’t let them. They didn’t need to worry about the one who stands out too much. She was the one who made this a problem. They’d tried to talk her out of singing for so long, she could have listened.
“Mel shut up. I’m not lying. Ok I don’t have a great present, but I didn’t want you to worry. I might have, just maybe, broken my leg at work and gotten stuck in the hospital.”
“What!?” she screamed. She’d stood from the chair sending it flying back. “How the hell did you do that?”
“I just knocked some stuff over. It’s fine, don't worry so much. I’m only sad that I can't go see my favorite twin.”
“Is Aria there? What about mom and dad? Are you alone?” She started pacing, her heart rate rising. She dug her nails into her free hand. She should be there for him. She glared at the chair she’d knocked over and kicked it. Hard. It went over the cliff and she didn’t care.
“I’m all alone. Aria, mom, and dad are all working.” She let the silence hang, he was lying. “All right don’t twist my arm, I haven’t called them yet. I was hoping you’d take pity on me as your favorite brother to give me something super important for my birthday.”
“...No.” She could hear him nearly drop the phone. He thought she’d do this now, when he was hurt. Someone could hear.
“Please Melody, you know it was my favorite thing. I looked forward to it every birthday. It’s been five years, I just want to hear you sing again. I’m doing the eyes you know. I’ll keep doing them until you do it. I’ll come visit and do them too!”
“You’re insufferable. Are you alone? No one can hear your call?”
“Yes!” She could hear shuffling as he started to get comfortable. She hasn’t let a note pass her lips since that night, but Caprice tried every year to make her sing again. He was hurt, she could do it for once. “Ready!”
She took a deep breath, feeling that power from that night again. She felt anxiety in her chest rise, but it was the same she used to get before stepping on stage. She had this moment of exhilaration as she set the song in her mind. She was ready to sing a song for her brother. For the one who had to suffer in her shadow even once she was no longer in the limelight. The one who lost everything for her. She could sing for him and him alone at least.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Caprice, happy birthday to you! You made it a year, and you fought with your might. Now go have some fun and party all night,” she sang. She hummed a few more bars before going quiet.
She heard sniffling on the other end of the line, the cloud cover coming in made her shiver. Caprice had been supportive of her, fighting their family when they tried to stop her. A part of her thinks he blames himself for how bad that night turned out. Neither of them knew what could happen though. She almost couldn’t believe this was the same brother who used to pretend to be her when she snuck out to go to concerts.
“Th-thanks Mel. That’s the best gift I’ve gotten in years. You're the best,” he cried. Such a crybaby, she wished she could go to help him. It was still too dangerous for her to be around people though. There was still too much danger lingering from that night. She could hear voices on the other end, he’d have to go. “Doctor’s are back. I wasn’t supposed to be on the phone yet. I promise I’ll call everyone else so don’t do it yourself. I’ll visit soon, love you.”
“Love you,” she answered. The click took over her words. She sighed, it felt good to sing again. She hadn’t in so long, it felt like she got a part of her back. She turned around, planning to look over the cliff for the chair. She’d have to at least try and get it back. She froze, eyes meeting something that changed her world.
She tried not to panic, but her heart was in her throat. In front of her, was very clearly a stomach. It was like a wall of flesh taking over the horizon. She slowly started to crane her neck up, it felt like she’d never find the end. Finally she saw a tilted down head staring at her. She started walking back, desperate to get away. She tripped over her own feet, staring straight up into the eyes of this giant creature. She was in danger, she had to hide. Her voice had screwed her over again and now she’d probably die.
Her parents warned her about merfolk. They said they could be small enough to fit in her hand or large enough she was just a speck. This one looked like they could hide her in one hand, she’d be gone in an instant. They just kept staring at her, they needed to fucking act. They had to do something, anything so she could try to get away. She could sing again, it usually made others freeze up while she was going.
She tried to get a deep breath to start, but she couldn’t do more than gasp. The thing was shadowed as it stared at her, she couldn’t make out any of their features. She was told sirens were cursed, their voices meant trouble. Merfolk weren’t happy to find one usually, a giant one could easily get rid of her. She didn’t want to think about their methods too deeply.
Finally, FINALLY, they moved. Their large arm seemed like a mountain as she stared in fear. They moved their enormous hand towards her, she tried to slide away. Her voice was gone completely, she was going to die and it was her birthday. The hand was basically on top of her, she couldn’t run if it tried to grab her. She closed her eyes waiting for the inevitable, but heard a soft thunk in front of her. She slowly cracked open one eye and was shocked to see the chair she’d kicked. It was a little more banged up, but seemed fine to use.
The massive creature lowered themselves, pulling their hand back. They stopped once they were only a little above the cliff. They folded their arms then placed their head down on them. A chirp sound was made and started ringing through her ears. She covered her ears quickly, trying to make the feeling stop. She heard a softer chirp and looked back at the creature. They were looking at her, a sadness to their eyes.
She slowly pulled her hands from her ears and climbed to her feet. She stepped forward a bit and leaned on the chair in front of her. She saw the creature smile, teeth like knives making her shudder. Another chirp sound, still softer than the first. Were they trying to make her feel better? She started to calm down, at least she had a chance again. She studied the creature to try and clear her mind.
They had eyes that seemed as blue as the water with an undertone of green she’d never seen on a person. Their hair was pitch black, the contrast with their eyes astounding. They were good looking. She wondered if all merfolk looked so beautiful. They continued to stare at her, could they even make out her features? She wasn’t sure how to continue from this. She just wanted to go inside and pretend today didn’t happen.
“Uh… thanks for giving me back the chair? I’m going now…” she tried. She took a few steps away from the chair toward her home. Sad chirps echoed around her, she reluctantly looked at them. What did they want? She wasn’t going near them that much was certain. They looked at her a bit longer before moving again.
They opened their mouth wide and seemed to mime something coming out. Did they want her to vomit? She took a few more steps away, the sad chirps got louder. They didn’t go as loud as the first one, thankfully. They made the motion again, then looked at her with sad eyes. Their eyes reminded her of Caprice, especially when he begged. It was exactly what she pictured-
“Do you want me to sing?!” she shouted. The creature made happy chirps returning to their position of head on their arms. She started shaking, this was bad. She can’t sing to a merfolk, they’d probably kill her and her family. She didn’t know how much was true versus legend, but there’s no way they weren’t hunters. She started towards the house, faster steps as she hoped to get away. The creature just made disappointed chirps as she finally got inside and slammed the door. She waited a bit longer before poking around to see out the window.
The creature had moved closer trying to peer into her home. She slapped a hand over her mouth as a scream threatened to leave her. Those eyes seemed to marvel at what they could see of her home, a chirp she hoped was just curiosity sounded. The creature’s hand came close and a yelp escaped her as she backed away from the window. She heard a sad chirp and braved another look outside. The creature was looking right at her, it almost seemed sad. They stared at her for a few more minutes before a new series of chirps sounded. It backed away from her home completely and she watched it disappear below the cliff. She was so fucked.
—------------------------------------------------------
“Byssal! Byssal!” he screamed. He’d found her, his destined. He never thought he would, plus she was so small. If he were full size she’d maybe be the size of one of his fingers. She was beautiful though, and he couldn’t wait to see her again. She must have been shocked to find her destined too, that’s why she hid. He tried to get her to sing again, if she sang more she’d feel it too. Byssal would be able to help him. He spoke some of the human languages.
“Even this big you act like a pup, what’s going on?” a merfolk about half his size said. He grabbed him and swam around in a circle, pure joy on his face. Byssal laughed, but was trying to be stern still. The spinning was making his braid come undone, freeing his green hair. A light sounding laugh came from behind him and a white tail was soon wrapping around his arm.
“Now, now Byss,” she said. “You and I both know you love how excited he gets. What is it this time, did you find more of those spell components we taught you about? We do need to restock on some of them.”
He let Byssal go and pulled Pelago from his arm. He sunk down a bit so they were both at his face. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling, they were never going to believe him. They’d told him how rare it was and how his size could cause some trouble with others, but he found her. She must be using magic to be human, or something similar. He knew those magics existed, she was probably closer to Pelago’s size in her real form. He wondered if her scales were brown like her hair or if they were a different color entirely like his.
“Hey,” a green fin slapped against his cheek and he came back from his own mind. “You were so excited calling for me like that, are you going to tell us?”
“I found my destined,” he said. His ear fins wiggled as he spoke, his excitement palpable. The two smaller merfolk shared a look before Pelago came up to his face. She put a hand on his cheek, rubbing it in a small circle.
“I know you love those stories, but it’s impossible to find your destined anymore,” Pelago said sadly. “The sirens are gone, the songs that link you stopped being heard a long time ago.”
“No you don’t understand, I went to that human house again. Something fell in the water and I went to look at it. When I came close I heard her sing. There was something about her voice, I grabbed the human thing and watched her. I could tell the moment I saw her, she’s my destined.” His tail was thrashing, they had to believe him. Byssal’s eyes turned dark, his ear fins flared as well.
“Did you reveal yourself to a human?” Kyrie drifted back, he hadn’t technically. The human wasn’t really human, she was one of them. That’s why she was his destined. He knew that’s what the feeling he had when he saw her meant.
“I can’t have revealed myself to a human when she isn’t a human.”
“Tides above how many times have I told you never to do that! This is why I wouldn’t teach you human languages either. If you keep insisting on things like this you’ll reveal us to humans again. Humans are the reason we lost sirens, why we no longer can find our destined.”
“Byss, stop. Kyrie, you found the human girl cute. It’s impossible for her to be your destined. No one can find them anymore. There’s more to the story than we ever told you.”
Byssal wrapped himself around Pelago, a bit tighter and he wouldn’t know she was there. She looked up at him before patting his cheek gently. She swam out of his hold and rested against Kyrie’s shoulder. She put as much of her weight as possible on his neck. When they first took him in he did this to both of them a lot. Byssal sighed and motioned for Kyrie to follow. They swam to the cave that they were currently using as a home, settling in before Pelago left his shoulder to rest between them.
“Sirens are gone because of the members of our kind who used to be relied on for their magic. They were called oceanids and had grown angry with the sirens. Oceanids were used for their magic, often played for fools by others of our kind. You see sirens and oceanids had one thing in common, neither could feel their destined bond. A group of scorned oceanids blamed the weakness of sirens, they thought if they spent less time above the water with humans they’d be strong enough to stir a bond in everyone. So they gathered others together, claiming it would increase the power of a siren’s song.
“They fell for the lie and sirens lost control of their voices. The call with humans became too strong, bringing them to death rather than guiding them. In the water their voices were heard in every sea, it created disasters for merfolk of all sizes. Some disasters became history that is still affecting our lives today. Humans and merfolk alike tried to silence the song, fear driving them. It became bad enough that the spirit of the sea became involved.
“Unfortunately, the combined power was so great even the spirit could not save them. They were turned human and told to never sing again. It was their only safety, human blood would overpower the siren’s songs until sirens were gone from the world entirely.” Pelago started to move closer to Byssal, as if she were trying to hide from Kyrie. “The oceanids were punished for their cruelty, even though many had no idea of the true motives behind the spell. They had the color stripped from their fins and scales, all of them would forever be stark white. A clear sign to anyone that they were near an oceanid.
“Oceanids became outcasts, and stories of the terror brought from the distractions last until now. Like the story of larger merfolk going without food long enough they enter an instinct driven state and devour anything that they can, even their own kind…”
It took a minute for the words to sink in. White scales and fins meant that Pelago was an oceanid. Then the stories, stories that were the ones that made him be left alone, she got blamed for. Pelago had to suffer for things she didn’t do just like he did. He wished they told him sooner. He reached out and pulled her close, hugging her tightly. She took a bit before tentatively hugging him as best she could, it was always a bit weird with how much bigger he was.
“I’m sorry you’ve been punished for the past too,” he whispered. He felt her tense a bit and then heard quiet sobs. She’d probably been worried about this for a long time. Pelago was the kindest person in the sea if you asked him. She shouldn’t be punished for a past she didn’t even take part in. He pulled her away and looked at her with a new light on his eyes. “Wait, isn't this perfect then?”
“What?” she asked. He let go of her and swam back a bit to be looking at both of them.
“You could show they still exist and help the other oceanids because she exists. She’s alive and living so close. Just help me talk to her!” He couldn’t stop his tail from swaying as he grew more and more excited. Byssal swam up close to his face and grabbed him the best he could.
“You aren’t going near the human again. You’re daydreaming because you like humans. Stay away from her or we’re going to leave,” Byssal growled. Kyrie swallowed, staring at the smaller mer threatening him. He could just ignore him, he could fight back against this idea, but it was Byssal.
“I have to hear her again. Let me hear her sing again and then I’ll believe you and I won’t go near the humans again.”
“Are you asking to be killed?!” Byssal dug his claws into Kyrie’s face. “She’ll tell other humans and they’ll come and wait for you. They’ll kill you and hunt all of our kind down.”
“She didn’t Byss, she just hid in that weird human cave.” Pelago laughed at what he said, he couldn’t remember what they told him the humans lived in. “Byss I just need to hear her sing again, please help me…”
“It can’t hurt to just hear her sing once, we should-” Byssal growled, cutting Pelago off.
“If she is a siren it’s dangerous to be near her. If she’s not she’ll get us killed. I can’t stop you Kyrie, but we won’t help you talk to a human!”
Byssal grabbed Pelago’s arm and pulled her with him as he left. Kyrie watched, a feeling like the one he had when Byssal first found him filling his chest. He’d never let them get hurt, but they wouldn’t help him. A part of him wanted to just beg Byssal to forgive him, pretend he didn’t see her and ignore that pull to see her face again. He couldn't, he'd been watching her for so long, even before she sang today. She was cute and seemed kind. Even if he was wrong he wanted to talk to her.
He made up his mind and decided to visit her again the next day. Byssal just wouldn’t be able to know. He’d act like he’s just going into some of the caves nearby then double back. They hadn’t heard him trying to talk to her today so it would be safe. She just had to give him a chance. He let himself float to the ground sliding onto his back and staring at the opening the others left through. He’d wait until the next sunrise at least.
When Kyrie woke up, Byssal and Pelago had come back to their home. The two curled up on his chest like usual holding each other. He smiled, they’d always been kind to him. No one else wanted someone who’d be as big as him around, but they took him without a second thought. He carefully put his hands over them and he heard the calm chirps as both relaxed more. He tilted his head and saw the moon was still out, he could sleep more.
Over the next few days Byssal kept a close eye on him. Every time Kyrie tried to go out to swing back he was there. He was almost convinced he’d be kept from going back, but Pelago got involved. She said something that got Byssal to leave him alone and Kyrie took his chance. He rushed back to that cliff and waited. He at least hoped he could just hear her, but everything was silent.
He took a deep breath before slowly lifting himself out of the water. He didn’t see her, but the clear opening from the other day was blocked. He had to lift himself a bit higher before he could lean in close enough to look at it. He stared, wanting to see through the strange covering she’d set up. He let out an excited chirp as a small face appeared in the clear spot. He smiled as he got to see her closer, brown hair was tied up and she had something strange on her face making her eyes weird.
He chirped again trying to coax her out of her cave. He thought there was a chance as she moved, but she just started shaking. He brought a hand up hoping to try and show she was safe. He heard her scream as her face disappeared. He chirped again, she should know these. Even when the languages differed the chirps were known. He chirped a few more times before backing up. He kept his face level with her cave, but she didn’t come back. He would just have to keep coming back until she believed he wouldn’t hurt her.
He backed up staring down at the ground, the spot he had leaned on holding an imprint of himself. He let out a sad chirp before turning away. He chose to make a larger splash as he left hoping that she’d at least hear him. He made sure to go out deep for a while before returning. While he was just floating in the deep waters Byssal’s chirps sounded out. He turned to see the older mer swimming up to him.
“You went to the human didn’t you?” he asked. Kyrie wanted to deny it, but the way Byssal spoke told him more than he needed. “You’re going even if I stop you aren’t you?”
“It’s her Byss, I know it is…” he whispered. Byssal came closer, floating just in front of his face. He didn’t look angry this time.
“Fine, prove it and we’ll help you. I’ll stay nearby and if I hear danger we leave and you give this up. Deal?” Kyrie moved upright, staring in shock at Byssal. He pulled him close and hugged him. Kyrie curled up holding Byssal as tightly as he could, he missed when he was smaller than him.
“Thank you.”
He spent the next few days going straight to that cliff. Each day that clear spot was covered, Pelago told him it’s called glass. One day he even tapped on it, but he just heard her scream again. One day he showed up and stayed silent and rested his head on his arms against the cliff. She looked out and disappeared before he could try anything. He just kept up calm chirps hoping she’d come out.
Another week went by with no change. When he got comfortable leaning against the cliff he just let out a low chirp. This time something was different, the thing blocking the glass moved and he could see her. He smiled, she had to finally believe he’s safe. She moved the glass and stormed out, as she came closer he noticed she looked angry or sad. He chirped again and she glared up at him.
“What the hell do you want!?” she shouted. He tilted his head and chirped confusedly, he couldn't understand her. “Can’t you just leave me the fuck alone? Kill me or don’t I can’t do this anymore. I haven’t been able to work or answer a single call from my family. Just make your damned decision!”
He tried to speak, but no sound came from his mouth. Byssal and Pelago never taught him how to communicate above water outside of chirps. He frowned a bit before trying to reach out to her. She stumbled back and fell off her feet. He jumped up leaning over her and chirping in panic. She scrambled back a bit more and he stayed still. He pulled away and tried to show what he thought would help. He chirped as he brought his hand up his throat and away from his face. He heard her start laughing and got worried again.
“Are you kidding me?” she said. He tilted his head in response. “You want me to fucking sing? I’m not going to sing for you. I’ll die before I sing again, especially knowing monsters like you are here!”
He chirped more, he couldn’t tell what made her seem so angry. He started to lean close again when he heard Byssal’s chirps nearby. He had to go to him. He gave her a sad chirp before leaving, hoping at least that would help her calm down. He made it as clear as he could he was leaving, a large splash following his dive. He saw Byssal close, he must have heard her. If he would just help they could figure something out.
“She won’t sing. She said that herself. It’s time to give this up stop visiting the human,” Byssal said. Kyrie sank to the floor, she just had to sing and they would all know. Byssal didn’t wait for him to answer and left.
Kyrie just sank further laying completely flat on the ocean floor. It hadn’t been a long swim out here for him, but it was far for the others. He hoped staying close would help him think. If she wouldn’t sing and they wouldn’t help he had to come up with a plan. He sighed and watched the bubbles that came from him float to the surface. If he could at least understand her it would help. He flipped to be staring out into the deep sea. He could just leave now and avoid this feeling for good.
“Kyrie,” Pelago’s whisper made him jump. She swam out from by his ear and rested on the ground in front of him. He tried not to let her see how upset he was. “You really do think she’s special don’t you?”
“I know she is Pel…” he murmured. “If I could understand her at least maybe I could do something. At least convince her I won’t hurt her, I can only guess she thinks I will.”
“There’s something that can do that… It’s a risk though, you might suffer a lot.” He pushed himself up towering over her, the sand causing a cloud around them.
“What is it?” She gave him a sad smile before swimming up and placing a hand on his face.
“You really do still act like a pup. Follow me.”
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Melody sat there for a long time before she could bring herself to even think. The merman just left her. She offered herself up to die and she was still alive. Part of her was relieved that he’d actually let her go, but she couldn’t relax. She shouldn’t have survived, the second he heard her sing she should have been dead. She almost wanted to talk to him, but that would just guarantee her death. She would have stayed there longer if drops of rain didn’t start to fall on her.
Slowly she climbed to her feet. The rain was picking up quickly, strong winds joining and whipping her hair around her face. She wanted to just go inside and take a warm shower, but a deep chirp froze her. She looked towards the sound, a green haired merfolk was holding themself out of the water. They weren’t looking at her though, they were staring down at the beach. She knew what that meant and everything in her screamed to just continue inside.
She didn’t listen to the screams in her mind. She found a bravery she didn’t know existed running towards the merfolk that glared up towards her once she moved. She had the beach in view and oddly enough she smiled. This one was smaller than the one who’d been harassing her. They shifted their gaze back to the beach and she saw someone there. She was sure the merfolk could come closer, but that person wasn’t steady. They’d probably barely survived getting here.
She had to force herself to start moving again. She slid as she ran down the wet sand. Melody just barely kept her footing and rushed to grab the arm of the stranger who had washed up here. There was a growl from the monster watching them and she started pulling the human stranger. They were slipping more than her as they climbed up the sand, but the slam of a clawed hand near them pushed them both forward. She would have fallen if they didn’t grab her, but they turned her around and she got a good look at the face glaring after them.
Their sharp teeth were bared and their eyes glowing an eerie green reminiscent of fairy tale villains. She watched their hand coming closer and she couldn’t bring herself to move as the distance disappeared. They could almost reach the two humans and Melody could feel her heart pounding. The person holding her pulled her closer and managed to climb up the sandy hill. The clawed hand couldn’t reach them now, at least if the merfolk stayed as far from the beach as they were. They growled again, but softer chirps came from further out in the water. The one grabbing for them let out another angry sounding chirp before leaving.
“Holy shit,” she breathed. She wasn’t sure she could bring herself to stand, the stranger just looked at her. A crash of thunder followed by lightning striking too close for comfort spurred her back to action. She pushed herself away from the stranger and grabbed their hand. “We need to get inside, it won’t be safe out here much longer.”
They didn’t answer but followed her. The rain had gotten worse during that short interaction and had soaked through her clothes. She was more aware than she’d like to admit of the masculine figure of the person she was leading. Black hair just below their, his , shoulders and light blue eyes that burned on her back. The pale skin felt almost odd from someone who had been out at sea, but she couldn’t judge much. If they had blood like her own it wasn’t particularly common to tan.
The wind picked up more and the stranger actually stopped making her stop along with them. They looked down at her for a moment before bending a bit and snaking an arm behind her knees. She squeaked as they lifted her a blush spreading quickly over her cheeks. She’d never been thin and someone carrying her like this seemed impossible. She stuttered as she tried to form a coherent thought. He acted like she weighed nothing and she just felt her mind going blank as they walked to her home.
They crouched down letting her back on her feet at the door. She opened it quickly, the wind pushing it forward and slamming it against the wall. She hadn’t noticed how bad it was while they carried her. She stepped in and focused on shutting the door. The stranger had to bend to enter the house and grabbed the door pushing it with ease. She shivered as she looked up realizing just how large the person she’d brought home was. If the merfolk hadn’t been attacking them she would have avoided ever being near them.
“I…,” she started. Those eyes felt familiar almost, but the only blue eyes she knew of were a much less human shade. She shook her head walking away and trying not to think about the few feet of height difference. She wasn’t even that short, she was a bit over five feet. “I can go get us some towels. Just wait here.”
She rushed off trying to focus on anything but the situation. She found a flashlight before grabbing the towels, just in case. She didn’t really want to wind up unable to see after how things have been lately. She went digging in a closet to pull out some of the clothes her parents had left with her for their visits. The clothes would be small, but better than what they were…were they wearing anything? She’d been so distracted it only just occurred to her that she’d been held to their bare skin, had their clothes been ruined?
She forced the thoughts aside just picking out the largest sizes they’d left behind. She’d try her own, but that height would make anything look strange. She ran back through her home, the thunder filling her mind with fear. She had images of the black haired merfolk ripping open her home or the green haired one clawing their way from the beach flashing through her mind. She walked right into the person, they grabbed her shoulders before she fell backward. It felt weird how easily they seemed to control her.
“I brought you a bunch of towels,” she started. She looked them over, a bit shocked to realize they had torn remnants of a shirt and some skin tight shorts. The shorts had a strange tint to them, like they’d glow if the light was right. They moved to grab the towels and knocked her from the studying of their form. “I, uh, brought some clothes too. I don’t think they’ll fit great, but it’s gotta be better than nothing.”
She held out the clothes, but they just looked at her. She shook her arms and they finally grabbed the things she held. She watched in shock as they started slipping on the new shirt without taking off the tattered one. “Wait!” She didn’t want to help, but she wasn’t going to risk them getting sick. If they were this big they had gigantism or something and she wasn’t risking that weak immune system this far out. She took everything back, and waved for them to lean down.
She kept telling herself not to overthink their height. It was probably not uncommon for people to be this insanely tall somewhere in the world. She slid the tattered shirt off and bit back a groan. It was bigger than anything she had. She unfolded a towel and helped the stranger to dry off, thankful when they took over from her. They at least knew how to deal with a shirt on their own and she nodded. When they picked up the pants she turned away.
“I’ll be back in a minute, I’m going to dry off and change.” She ran quickly from the room and up the stairs. Melody shut the door and slid down leaning her head against the wood. She felt like an idiot. She invited a random person into her home who was twice her height at least. As much as she wanted to pretend they were just someone with weird blood like her they might have been another merfolk who wronged the green haired one. “I hope I can live to regret this.”
It took everything in her to climb back to her feet. She slipped into a set of pajamas quickly and grabbed two blankets. She tried to rush back to where the stranger would be waiting, but the crashing thunder had her freezing every few steps. She couldn’t believe the merfolk would give up so easily, or miss a chance like this. By the time she made it to the stairs, the stranger was hunched over seeming unsure how to follow her. She made a noise to let them realize she was there.
“I got us blankets, let’s go back to the living room,” she announced. The stranger gave her a look that she didn’t want to read. It made her think of things she needed to forget.
Melody dropped the bigger blanket for them as she entered the room. Then she wrapped the other around herself and sat in a corner that would be safe if the wind shattered the windows. The stranger watched her and stepped over their blanket going to the glass door. She grimaced when she heard a crash that had to be a tree falling.
“I don’t know how often you’ve dealt with storms like this, but generally you want to stay away from the glass.”
She watched them back away in fear. Seems like it’s not common to have storms wherever they washed up from. She just watched them as they finally grabbed the blanket and tried to copy her. They couldn’t curl up in the corner like she had or wrap themselves as tightly in the blanket. She’d need to get bigger ones. She jumped as that thought crossed her mind. She didn’t intend for them to stay here; she didn’t need to get huge blankets for a potential monster. Thunder crashed again and she stared out the window.
She tried to stay in silence, she honestly did, but she couldn’t. All her life nerves made her act to fill silence and now was no different. First she started tapping on her knees, but it wasn’t enough. She switched to knocking against the wall. The stranger seemed to find that interesting so she smiled, knocking along to a tune in her head. She started to click her tongue along to the imaginary music, the closest she could get to singing. The large face had a look of awe as she continued and she felt an urge to sing like she never had before. She would have if there wasn’t another crash of thunder along with a power surge.
“Ok great, we’re probably going to lose power. I have an idea, why don’t you tell me why you washed up on the beach with a fucking merfolk trying to pull you back into the ocean?” she asked. The close call had her nerves on high alert, either they talked or she did. She didn’t want to be the one talking. They just shrugged their shoulders and shook their head. “So you just aren’t going to tell me?”
They shook their head.
“ Can you tell me?” This time their head shake seemed almost more sad.
“Can you even speak?” Another negative. “Ok fine well we can figure something out I guess… Well… too many names for a guessing game that way. Pronouns first I guess, is it they and them?”
They shook their head.
“Ok.. he and him?” A nod. “Cool, at least when I tell anyone I can now affirmatively say I let a ten foot tall man in my fucking home.”
Melody looked outside as more thunder crashed. The rain was coming down harder and she needed things not to be so quiet. She swore she could feel the shadow of the man looming over her. She’d need to give him some kind of name until he left. She started to curl in on herself more when he shifted closer. She glared up at him, but the concern on his face made her pause. She sighed, she’d fill the silence.
“Storms like this always remind me of my brother. We used to run outside to play in the rain. I’d be singing as loud as I could when the thunder came and he’d be running around practicing some new sport. We swore for years about how we’d be the most famous pair of twins ever.”
She just kept going. Telling the stories she never thought about anymore. She was grateful when the storm died down and the man started to fall asleep. Once he was out she felt comfortable enough to slip away. She opened the glass doors slowly and made sure they closed without a noise. In the cold night with the storm finally over she stopped holding back. She hummed a little to herself. The same thing she’d sing in the storms back when she was a kid.
Melody fell asleep outside in the quiet, woken up by the strange man shaking her lightly. His looming figure almost had her scream, but the events of the night before came back quickly. The first thing she had to do was contact emergency services for him. She had no idea if he was actually safe after that night. Leading him inside with her, she grabbed her phone from where she’d left it on the floor. She grimaced when she saw the lack of signal and internet .
“Fuck,” she sighed. He turned her face to look at him. He was so touchy, it was weird and nice at the same time. “No service and no internet. We might be stuck here a while if the gate’s out down the road. I’ll go check, you can wait here.”
She walked away grabbing a hoodie on her way out the door. She slipped it on as she neared the path into the woods, bits of panic seeping in. No one but her family knows where she is, no one can find her, she’s safe now. Those few statements felt like a mantra at this point, she’d never be safe. It didn’t get easier with the damage of the storm growing worse with each step. She had no idea what to do if the gate was damaged, or worse she was found.
The damage started to lessen and Melody felt hopeful. The trees near the gate might be fine so she doesn’t have to worry about anything. The stupidly tall man in her home was easier to handle than the outside world at this point. One last big fallen tree stood between her and the gate. She looked over the fencing on each side, procrastinating checking the spot that matters. Satisfied that the fence remained solid she took the few steps around the part hiding the gate.
“No…” she breathed.
She ran up desperate to move the trunk of a tree from the gate. It was tilted over so someone could climb over and into her world. The things she’s been hiding from since that night, the person she was afraid of, flashed through her mind. Melody pushed desperately against the dead weight of the felled tree. Her vision grew blurry with tears and her breathing sporadic. She had to fix this, the gate was dented too, it was too low now. This can’t stay like this.
“No, no, no,” her vision was swimming. She couldn’t breathe. “He’ll find me. I’m alone. No one’s here. He’ll take me. He-”
Suddenly the tree was moving. Her arms fell to her side as she watched the massive thing get lifted into the air. She fell to her knees as the huge man she thought had stayed behind swung the tree away from her, felling more as it moved. He let it go and actually stumbled from the impact. It was the first time she realized he’d been taking lighter steps around her. She climbed to her feet and ran towards the controls for the gate desperate for it to open.
Melody frantically hit the buttons feeling a fresh round of warm tears on her cheeks as nothing responded. This gate didn’t have a manual control, it was supposed to be safer. She heard the sound of warping metal and felt her blood run cold. Slowly she turned to look at the monster she’d let in, only to see him fixing the gate. The warping sound came from him straightening the metal bars and smoothing the rest to the intended curve. He turned to her once done and she started shaking, but she wasn’t going to just wait.
“What the fuck are you!?” she shouted. He came closer, the step was eerily silent to her now. “Was this all some fucked plot by the merfolk, are you one of them?”
The huge form came close and she felt her tears falling faster. He was looming over her, she would need to step back to see his face clearly.
“If you want me dead just do it! I’m trapped here, you can have your fun ju-” His hands landed on her shoulders, any confidence was falling away from her. She couldn’t give up though, craning her neck to look straight up at the shadowed face above her.
“Just don’t hurt my family, just kill me and go leave everyone else alone. I’m the problem please I-”
He crouched, his face in front of her own now. She wanted to scream and run, but she needed to keep everyone else safe. The man slowly brought a hand to his own heart. He moved the other to rest over hers, the hand felt like a knife poised to stab through her. The man just stared at her longer before switching the hands between them. She didn’t understand, but he wasn’t attacking her. That made her almost angry, she pushed the hand away and put her own against his chest curled into fists.
“Just do whatever you’re planning!” She slammed her fists against him. She was pointedly choosing not to think about how easily he let her guide his hand away. The arms that were too big and could bend metal started to surround her. She pounded her fists against his chest more. “Just kill me and make sure that people know I’m fucking dead so my family can go back to the lives I ruined!”
The arms tightened their hold and she was pressed against the chest in front of her. She waited for the grip to tighten and slowly crush her. A hand was carefully placed on her head and started to pet her. The grip around her tightened slightly, but it actually felt kind of nice. She was pressed into the large chest, his form felt all encompassing. She didn’t know what would happen, but everything she’d held in started to slip out.
Melody yelled at him while crying for what might have been hours. She just rambled begging him to kill her if that’s what he wanted. She did add to at least spare her brother; she ruined enough of his life. She’d go quietly if he promised that. He didn’t do anything but hold her tightly and pet her head. When she finally went hoarse from her screaming and the tears stopped he moved again.
Gently he picked her up in his arms similar to how he had the night before. She didn’t worry about how heavy she was after his feats of strength. He held her close as he moved along the path. Melody’s eyes went wide as he walked. He’d moved the trees that had blocked her path earlier. He must not have lifted them until the one on the gate so she missed it. She looked up at the man’s face. She couldn’t understand him.
When they got back to the house he set her down, but stayed crouched to look at her. She stared into his eyes unsure what he expected. After a few minutes of staring he stood straight and turned away from her. She watched as he made his way towards the beach. She could let him go, return to what her life should be. Just hope the merfolk don’t kill him as he tries to get somewhere safer, or if he camps out there until things come back on.
“Wait!” she found herself shouting. Whoever or whatever this man was, she didn’t feel like she was in danger. “We should head inside before it gets dark… We haven’t eaten yet either.”
The man seemed almost too excited by her words, but followed her inside.