Look! Actual paragraphs! Resembling a plot, even! With descriptive words! AND MERMAIDS! You guys, this makes me so excited. Like you don't even know.
You guys, I am forever shipping Jason/Murderous Mermaid. NO REGRETS, BABY. THIS IS MY OTP. FOREVER.
Review, please. *swings machine gun in hazardous manner*
Involving Mermaids
The boat sails over the Mediterranean, floating on the wind. He is lying on the deck, his winds steadying the boat under his back as he closes his eyes against the sun in the cloudless sky. He can hear the others moving around - Leo muttering something about the lack of coffee, Annabeth pacing around, Percy stumbling and cursing every time the winds shift. He grins, and sets the boat back down on the sea. He's tired, anyways. And he figures Percy could use a break.
He's floating away to sleep, to a dream about dragons and towers, when he feels someone toeing his side. He opens his eyes, ready to mouth off to whoever decided to disturb his slumber, and sees that it's Piper, looking beautiful and windswept against the sky. He decides not to say anything.
She pulls him up, and they lean against the railings of the boat, sea spray hitting their faces. "So…" She fumbles for words. She puts her braid in her mouth and chews the end, making the awkward gesture graceful, somehow. "So." He echoes her. It's weird with her, after Camp Jupiter, after everything that happened there. After stumbling around topics none of them wants to broach, they end up looking out at the sea, so beautiful under the sky, with none of them saying a word.
He is staring at the sea, wishing he could jump in. But that would be suicide, so he doesn't dare do anything but lean over the railings and breathe in the salt water scent. Through the sound of the waves and seagulls and Leo still muttering over the lack of coffee, he hears something different.
Something beautiful and eerie and what is that? It sounds like a… woman? A woman singing? But Annabeth doesn't sing, and Hazel doesn't care, and Piper doesn't dare. Who is it? He doesn't care, actually, because it's so beautiful. Unearthly. He doesn't realize it, but he's leaning dangerously far over the railings, and far away, he can feel Piper pulling at his arm, asking him what he's doing. He doesn't answer her, because he's found a face in the sea foam. He can make out green eyes, deeper than the ocean, framed by red hair and pale fluid skin, rising up out of the water to meet him. Coral red lips float into a smile as the unearthly voice rings out of them and soft, tender…claws? reach up around his neck and pull him under.
…
He can't breathe. He can't breathe. He can't breathe.
…
Hands - claws - hold him down underwater, his thrashing body making the water unsettled. Floating red hair tickles his face while coral lips inch ever closer to his mouth, baring pearly white teeth - fangs - floating closer and closer to him. Green eyes deeper than the ocean laugh at him, glinting with unfamiliar emotions. The arms that pulled him under now caress his face as the coral lips touch first his cheek, pearly white fangs biting in and drawing blood.
She - it - pulls away, blood floating from his cheek to her - it's - mouth, connecting them with a strange, floating chain. She - it - is pleased, smiling smug with those coral lips. She - it - bares her - it's - teeth again and moves close once again and he's closing his eyes, wondering if he's going to maybe die and he can't really breathe and really, he never imagined death by mermaids so this is a very new experience, when he is hit with a jet of scalding water. No, not him. The claws holding him. Red hair floats around and she - it - hisses in pain. Hands grab his arm and roughly pull him up - at least, he thinks it is up - and his head bursts through the surface of the water and his lungs gratefully take in the air.
…
Percy hauls him back on the boat, before jumping back into the water. He leans against the hull, covered in a blanket by Annabeth and shivering and holding a burning mug of hot chocolate - "No coffee, but this is good enough. I guess." - from Leo. Percy clambers on board, dripping water everywhere and starts swearing. He's not really listening, but he makes out the phrases "murderous tribe", "not allowed", "ceremony", "rite of passage" and "my father will hear about this".
He manages a watery grin, holding up his burning mug of hot chocolate and joking, "Who'd have thought Ariel had fangs, right?" Percy snorts. "Not Ariel. Halle."
"Of the sea. Go figure." He feels Piper take her hand off his shoulder. Funny, he didn't notice it was there until it was gone.
…
The next few weeks are a blur of keeping him away from railings and battle plan and suddenly he's in the middle of the war and things are not looking good for them. There's a giant, he's not sure which one, they all look the same when you're suffering from major head injuries, and it's been after him from the start. He puts up a valiant fight, as only he could do with so many concussions - really, he should get a couple of CAT scans after this is all over - but he's not Superman, and he finds himself being pushed to the edge of the lake - because there's always a conveniently placed large body of water - and he's making his final wish. He loses balance and he nearly falls in and he's saying farewell to the cruel world, when a wave of red hair and pale skin and green scales streaks past him and jumps onto the giant, baring fangs.
It turns out even a mutant giant Hades-bent on his destruction is unprepared for being attacked by a murderous mermaid who is possibly immortal. That's the only explanation he has for how the giant dies before his astonished eyes, anyway.
She somehow gets back in the water and before diving back down, she turns towards him. Meets his eyes. And says, "My kill." And he nods. He figures he owes her that much, at least.
…
They win.
…
Four years later, he retires from being Praetor in favour of going to college. But as he lies on his bed staring at the ceiling, he doesn't want to go to college. He doesn't want to do anything, really. He just wants to maybe take a nap for eternity.
He wonders if it's normal for someone to be so weary.
…
He slides out of bed and walks out the door. Out of the camp. Walks all the way to the bay with no shoes, because he figures his feet need to breathe sometimes too. And at the bay, on the rocks, against the moon floating in the horizon, he sees her silhouette. From this angle, she looks almost human. He stumbles over the rocks, tripping a couple of times but managing not to fall and die a pitiful death. She doesn't turn. She doesn't need to. He finally gets to where she is, and sits down beside her. Their fingers end up intertwined. They look out at the distance, where it's too dark to see the horizon. They can't see the difference between the sky and the sea.
This time, when she pulls him under, he doesn't protest. He figures it's about time he learned how to swim.