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You frown at the stone that's lying at your feet, shrugging its shoulders up at you, as if to say to you: 'It's not my bloody fault that your day is shitty, I'm just an inanimate stone!' It's the last straw though. The last of a whole bundle of straws that have been thrust at you, one after another this Monday. A shitty Monday to beat all shitty Mondays. A cracked phone screen and lost front door keys. And now the lake was laughing at you, as it threw the stone that held all of your frustration inside it, back at you.
"So…" you shouted out at the still and smooth as silk lake. "Is this the stone that is the 'bad luck comes in threes' thing? If so, it's too bloody late! I've had more than three bad things happen today! Do your worst, you stupid bloody lake!"
You bend down and pick the returned stone up again. Screaming out your hate as you fling it as far as you can. Narrowing your eyes as it plops underwater. Widening them again, yelping, as you have to skip to the side, to avoid being hit by the once more returned stone again.
"What the fuck!" Once more you scream and throw the rock back into the briny deep.
You mask the dying sun from your eyes with your hand and frown at the ripples that swirl and swoosh around the glass-smooth surface of the lake. The rock doesn't return this time, but you take a step back, as the swirls curl closer and closer and closer to where you are standing. Another scream falls from your mouth as the water rises up and up in a tsunami wave that falls on where you stand. But still, you don't run. You can't run, even if you wanted to. Because the wave has a-hold of you. Seaweed wrapped around your legs and arms and you're trapped there. Pinned! You scream and scream and scream. But stop and fall into silence, when a loud growl rumbles through your body. Ripping through you, like an earthquake through soft sand and mud. You close your eyes and wait, trying to flinch back, trying to escape and run, but the seaweed is wrapped tight and taut around you, holding you in place.
You hear the water lapping at the pebbles and feel the strands of weeds pull you down the beach and into the sea, until your feet are cold and covered by the gently lapping waves. Your movement is halted and you feel someone's warm breath brush its fingers across your face. Whoever's breath it is, has your nostrils flaring, as you smell in the salty sea upon its tang. You open your eyes and blink into another pair of eyes. Hazel. With green flecks. Human. But not. You blink and stare at the beautiful eyes that belong to a man, but not a man. The eyes are too large to be a mere human. The frown is too big. The glare is too sharp. Not human. But, what?
You feel a growl rumble run right through you again. Travelling through your chest to wrap around your innards. Skittering, jittering pebbles knock their knees next to you as you stare into those human, inhuman, eyes. Eyes that blink, as a drop of blood falls from the shelf of the dark frown above where they glare out at you.
"Oh!"
A large, clawed, scaled hand drops your rock at your feet.
"Oh…"
The beautiful eyes narrow and the being moves away.
"Wait!"
The glare returns to you, one eyebrow crooked upwards.
"Sorry… I'm sorry. I didn't realise. I didn't know that anything… that anyone was… I mean I'm probably hallucinating or something? You're probably a 'past its sell-by date' ham sandwich, that'll be another bad thing for today then. Not the rock returning, not that it was returning, it was you, the gone off ham, but—"
Another growl.
"I'm babbling. Sorry. Again. I… I mean… It's not everyday you see a… mermaid?"
Another growl.
"Oh. Sorry. Merman? I guess, because. Um… No seashells."
A narrowing of those beautiful eyes.
"Oh. Yes. Um. You know. Seashells? Mermaid bras?"
A huff. A flick of clawed fingers and the seaweed strands fall from you, freeing you. The being turns to leave, but curiosity forces you to splash closer, to reach out and touch a large, scaly hand.
"Wait… please… I'm sorry…"
The beast turns back and regails you with another raised eyebrow. Your gaze flicks to gill slits that flap and gurgle at his neck, beneath his ears.
"Um… But you're not a maid are you…? The lack of shells… Um… I'm babbling again. Sorry. For rambling and sorry for hitting you. With the rock…" You reach out, catching the drop of blood from the cut above his eye, before it falls into one of those swirling, pretty eyes of his. Your fingers reach up and wipe the smear of blood away from the wrinkly-wronkly forehead and you freeze, as you hear a deep sound. Not a growl. A sigh? Yes. A sigh.
"So… Hello? To the first lovely thing to happen to me today. On Monday. A horrible, awful, no good Monday. Except that you're here now and… It's all good now. I think? Um… You're not going to eat me are you?"
A bubbled huff and a shake of his shaggy head.
"Um… or… will there be any ravaging…?"
The man, not man, tilted his head to the side, frowning at you.
"That's a no then, I guess? Never mind…"
Large, hazel eyes blink at you.
"Oh… Um… I have half a ham sandwich, if you want. Should be tuna I suppose, you being all fishy. Or would that be cannibalism? Um… Hang on…" You pause your ramblings to rummage in your bag. "Here…?"
A smile grows on your face, as long clawed hands reach out and take the food from your hand. The sandwich was raised up to be held beneath a long, regal nose, where it is sniffled and snuffled upon. The bread is poked and licked at. And then it's swallowed whole, no chewing. You giggle as he sneezes. "Oh, I forgot about the mustard. It's good though, yes?"
A soft growl, a halfway huff, a gurgle and a nod.
"Yes. This Monday is not so bad, after all," you giggle, as a long nose sniffs at your hair and long, clawed fingers run all over your body, tickling you, turning your giggles to full laughter. Your laughter grows louder and more joyous, as he offers something you assume is his version of such: huffed humphings that fell from his wide, smiled mouth. A mouth that is full of long, sharp teeth that don't scare you. How could they? Not when he's laughing with you. And definitely not when his hazel eyes glow and sparkle so prettily.