Chapter Text
Branzy half heartedly shoved his uniform on as his morning alarm blared in the background.
He didn’t sleep particularly well last night- that was quite dangerous for where Branzy lived. Oh well- it wasn’t like the scaled death traps came near the cost anyway.
To many fishermen.
Branzy hit his stupid alarm- finally turning it off as he stumbled through the door to out into the hall of his ancient apartment building. He ran his fingers over the stone bricks left visible after the paint inevitably wore away.
No one ever came to re paint it- why would they? This place was never meant to house people for very long.
Branzy glanced at the weathered doors of his neighbors- various amounts of damage was dusted across each one. Signs of how long every neighbor had been gone.
One door practically had an entire colony of spiders living in front of it- the man who lived there had been gone for a year and a half now.
Betting had started around the apartment complex of when the old landlady would break into the guys apartment and start off the auction of his stuff.
The old man had obviously set up a long line worth of future pay if the old coot was still getting checks.
Branzy was looking forward to when the door would eventually be left open and he’d be able to get in there and make offers on all the guys stuff- the guy probably had some good tools laying around and he needed a new set.
The one’s currently hung around his waist were getting rusted and chipped.
Branzy stumbled out into the early morning breeze- the seagulls making a racket as usual, he quickly jumped on his bike and started heading to work.
There was a chance the old man was alive- but it was doubtful. He was a fisherman- a normal fisherman, so voyages out this long weren’t typical.
Also Branzy had seen the crew going out- they seemed… well, like the kind of guys to go for a swim upon seeing a pretty lady singing on a rock. To put it plainly.
He glanced out at the ocean next to him as he rode, it was a sunny day but there were obvious storm clouds raging in the distance.
Hopefully that ment ships coming in for repairs- that was probably a horrible thought to be hopeful about.
It wasn’t really his fault- after all who did want to be cooped up in a restaurant all day? Well- when working at said restaurant.
Branzy took a right onto the slightly old- but still stable, board walk jutting out from the sea. People often questioned why anyone would build something like it- and why anyone would go through the effort of maintaining it.
The truth was, too the second question at least, Branzy got bored vary easily. That- and he’d rather wade and swim through man-eating fish monster infested water than find a new job.
It was so incredibly difficult to find a job on this stupid island- mostly from the fact most businesses around here were past down from kid to kid for a hundred years, sometimes more- and were never hiring.
Branzy might be insane enough to go for a swim near the shore with about five fishing boats parked nearby at a time- however, he was not insane enough to go on one of those fishing boats after they went out of port.
Now why it was built in the first place- well, there wasn’t exactly a lot of space left on the island.
That was his best guess at least.
Soon he came to the restaurant/boat repair shop and set his bike down in his normal spot.
It was an odd combination at first glance, but it worked quite well. A group of sailors could come in, park their boat underneath the boardwalk, come up, get food, get their boat repaired, and then be out again.
Was real convenient.
Branzy was about to enter the shop when he saw an odd poster stamped on the wall- detailing the differences between sirens and mermaids.
Sirens:
Tail moves side to side similar to a shark.
Is far more fish looking.
Fish parts can be identified as a specific existing species.
Gills on neck and back.
Has claws built into hands.
Sings hypnotizing songs to leer in pray and can shape shift.
Sharp teeth.
Main pray is humans!
Born as a siren!!!
Mermaids:
Tail moves up and down like a dolphin.
Only the bottom half is fish like.
Fish parts are unidentifiable and look more like generic shiny scales.
Gills on face and neck.
No claws.
Can sing songs but can’t shape shift.
Sharp teeth.
Main pray is sea life.
Born as a human and is turned into a mermaid.
The poster was correct- those were the general distinctions.
Underneath it was written, ‘we serve siren meat, not mermaid!’
That was also correct.
Branzy pushed the door open and entered the familiar restaurant- the only person in the place was Rek- as usual.
Chief usually didn’t show up until a few minutes after opening.
“Good morning!” Rek waved, leaning on the bar counter.
“Morning, what’s with the fun fact list on the door?” Branzy asked.
“Oh- some people kept complaining about us serving siren meat, I think they’re getting confused between siren and mermaid- then again they could also be some of those people who get all in a twist over eating a sapient creature.” Rek shrugged.
Branzy rolled his eyes.“If you don’t like it don’t eat it- they eat us, so don’t see the issue.”
Rek nodded but was clearly more hesitant than Branzy was, he cared quite a bit about people’s opinions on him. Branzy had long stopped caring about peoples opinions- he’d always be the bazar mechanic guy no matter what.
Might as well be himself while he was at.
Suddenly the little bell on the front door rang and Chief stumbled into the building.
“So who wants to make a bet about if it’s going to rain or not?” Chief laughed, half of his body still hanging out the door.
“For how much?” Branzy asked, walking back outside. The storm was still right where it was when he rode over.
“I’ll bet you fifty that it won’t.” Chief shrugged.
Branzy glanced over at Rek who had also left the building and was gazing out into the distance.
He was staying quiet- checking the wind. Rek didn’t do bets, not for money at least- so he probably wasn’t going to weigh in until the terms were set. At least not verbally.
Branzy slyly watched Rek who glanced over at him, rolling his eyes.
“If you’re waiting for me to call it you might as well call it off.” Rek huffed- but there it was.
In Rek’s right hand, a little twist- a little roll of the wrist.
“I’ll take the bet.” Branzy smiled shaking Chiefs hand.
“So what do you think Rek?” Chief immediately asked.
“I think we need to make sure the shingles can survive a storm.” Rek replied- half glaring at Branzy.
“HOW?!” Chief immediately shouted- properly glaring at Branzy.
Branzy just chuckled. He couldn’t read the wind- but he could read Rek, which was functionally the same thing.
He glanced down at Rek’s right leg- or well, where it would be if it wasn’t cut off just below the nee.
Replaced with a prosthetic Branzy had made him.
Most people were caught off guard when they saw Rek’s various injuries and scars for the first time- when someone thinks of a scared man, they think of an older gentleman missing an eye.
Not young Mr spring in his step Rek. Yet, he had spent more time on the sea then some pirates.
He was born and raised a fisherman- a siren fisherman.
Branzy chuckled thinking back to when the three of them were kids and Rek kept trying to drag them onto his family’s fishing boat for a short trip. Not quite understanding why Chief and Branzy were horrified with the idea.
After all, if you were born in a blood bath- how were you supposed to know your tub is supposed to be filled with water?
The man had been harpooning sirens since his small hands had enough dexterity to hold the harpoon- that was, until Chief’s idiotic sister got charmed by a siren and steered the small fishing boat into a rocky beach.
Rek was eventually the only survivor of the crash- the few who managed to make it away with him quickly succumbing to injuries from the ordeal. Rek hadn’t been out sailing since.
Would fish occasionally though- whenever Branzy went down to repair the boardwalk.
Branzy glanced down at his own scared limbs, memories from the few times he’d been attacked by a scaled foe. Every one ended up on his dinner plate after.
Such is life he supposed.
Walking inside the restaurant Branzy quickly grabbed his repair kit and went up to check on the roof.
He’d much rather deal with that then working inside the actual restaurant. It’s not that he minded greeting and talking customers orders, or that he didn’t like cooking- he’s just a man of physical labor.
Besides- Rek and Chief were fine at both those jobs, Branzy’s the only one actually good at repairing things.
He also found it calming. The repetitive motion that he could almost do on autopilot- but couldn’t quite let his mind wander.
It was also quite nice out, not to hot, a cool ocean breeze drifting his way.
Unfortunately- that breeze soon brought clouds, that would soon bring rain, and Branzy probably shouldn’t be on the roof when that started.
He jumped off the roof- startlingly some passerby’s, before spinning on his heal heading inside the restaurant.
There weren’t many people inside, as usual. The only people who usually ate at the restaurant were sailors needing their boats repaired, and Branzy hadn’t been called to repair any new boats.
Unfortunately.
Again, probably a horrible thing the think.
“Is the roof looking good?” Rek asked when Branzy wondered in.
“Yup, we shouldn’t be getting any leaks.” Branzy shrugged, leaning against the counter.
Suddenly thunder boomed outside, loud, but not quite loud enough to disguise Chief’s yelp from the kitchen.
Pretty soon after that the place emptied out, no one wanting to be caught in the rain. After the last person had left the three of them started quickly cleaning the place- Branzy and Chief not wanting to get stuck in the rain themselves.
Alas, by the time the kitchen was cleaned all the way- it was absolutely pouring outside.
Pouring to the point Branzy doubted he could even manage to ride his bike in the weather.
“So… slumber party?” Rek suggested. He lived in a small apartment attached directly to the restaurant, so he didn’t have to worry about the rain.
“Oh hell yea- yep!” Chief yelped when another crash of thunder sounded through the building.
A few minutes later Rek and Chief were arranging tables and chairs around the restaurant to prepare to make a blanket fort- as Branzy fixed himself a drink at the bar.
Branzy was currently forbidden from assisting in the creation of blanket forts while sober until further notice. Currently his sentence had been going on for a year and a half, ever since he got to fixated on the project and kicked his friends out of their own fort to more efficiently build it.
Branzy was right about to chug his alcoholic beverage when the three of them were suddenly reminded that they hadn’t actually locked the front door.
Evident by the cloaked shadowy figure looming in open doorway. The pouring rain acting as a spooky backdrop.
The figure staggered in- dragging a corpse behind him.
“Heard you buy siren corpses.” The figure said- scanning the room.
“Depends on how old and how damaged…” Rek slowly explained, inching a bit closer to the corpse and the figure.
Branzy- not particularly liking Rek’s overly cautious pace, the still open door, and the stopping cloak dripping on the floor boards, rolled his eyes and walked up and kneeled down to examine it himself.
“Would you close that door and hang up your cloak? You’ll ruin the floor boards!” Branzy huffed- cautiously turning the body over- careful not to touch the venomous spines sticking out of it.
“Holy- is that a loin fish siren?!” Chief asked spotting the spines.
“Yes. Put up quite the fight.” The stranger huffed- Branzy finally heard the door shut outside.
“Sir- you can’t possibly expect us to-” Rek started.
“I’ll eat it.” Branzy cut him off.
He heard a face palm from presumably Rek’s direction.
The corpse was not in good condition. The head was completely gone- same with one of the hands- there were quite a few gashes covering the body that Branzy couldn’t identify what could have caused the damage and quite a few spines ripped out as well.
But it was definitely edible.
“Branzy that is so poisonous.” Chief mumbled.
“Only in the spines. Once those are removed the rest of the meat is fine.” The stranger explained- he had a slight amused chuckle in his voice.
Branzy was about to reply when he looked up and saw the stranger without his hood- he was wearing a half mask made completely out of siren teeth with red and black thread weaving between them.
He had dark brown- almost red looking eyes, and long straight black hair that- despite his hood, was dripping wet.
A dark feeling of dread filled Branzy’s stomach as he stared into the mans eyes. Like a deep black whirlpool that was slowly dragging him in…
He was broken out of that trance when the door swung open again- this time a furious looking girl and two other men walked in.
“CLOWN! How dare you just leave us at the boat!!!” She yelled.