Original idea for this one came from a reader by the name of Solarwingen, whom suggested a trip to the zoo. Probably not quire what they envisioned, but it gave me a great backdrop for this work.
Enjoy.
What was it with humans and lines?
It made some sense to Ryn. Being confined to walking on two legs meant humans didn't have the full degree of movement her people had in the water, and too many people trying to get into one place at once would undoubtedly be a chaotic mess.
"Humans like lines." Ryn mumbled the words without thinking.
"Nope." Maddie giggled, standing behind Ryn with her arms loosely wrapped around the mermaid's shoulders. "Nobody likes waiting in lines."
"Probably one of the few things all humans can agree on." Ben smirked, digging out something made of leather from his pocket. From within it, he retrieved several pieces of green paper. "Be glad we're finally moving."
Ryn looked to the sky. Her body was better adapted for handling the cold but she could take the heat, just not as well. This line they'd been waiting in didn't have any available shade, so she'd been forced to endure the sun's rays until they could pass through the gate ahead.
Ryn was resigned to her fate until Maddie had taken matters into her own hands. The human woman had noticed Ryn having trouble with the heat, so she'd shifted into her current position. With Maddie at her back, Ryn was shielded from the worst of the direct sunlight. They'd moved a few times since, but each time Maddie made sure she was between Ryn and the sun.
"You doing okay, babe?" Maddie tilted her head to look over Ryn's shoulder. It was the third time she'd asked since they started.
"Yes." Ryn could only see her mate from the corner of her eye. "Thank you." Unable to look at her directly, Ryn instead planted a soft kiss to Maddie's arm.
Maddie answered by hugging Ryn tighter for a moment before resuming her loose hold. It was too hot for much else, much to Ryn's displeasure.
"Finally!" Ben ecstatically handed over his green paper for three pieces of white. One of which he gave to Ryn. "Hang on to this."
Ryn tried to make some sense of the writing on the white paper. She was learning, but the human written language of 'English' was difficult to learn. She was able to make out a few letters and words, but not much.
"It's a ticket." Maddie whispered in Ryn's ear while the mermaid examined this 'ticket'. "We give it to the guy up at the gate here in a minute and just walk through. Ben's going first, so watch him if you're not sure what to do."
Ben was up first, just like Maddie said, when they reached the second gate. He handed his own ticket to a man in red who punched a hold in it with some handheld device before handing it back. Ryn didn't miss how Ben glanced back to make sure she was watching. He didn't have to, but the thought was appreciated nonetheless.
Ryn went next, handing her ticket off just like she watched Ben do. The man made the same hole in her ticket and gave it back. The whole ordeal lasting nothing more than a few seconds.
"See?" Ben's hand found Ryn's lower back once she was through. "Nothing to it."
"So…" Maddie clapped her hands and rubbed them together, a telltale sign of her own excitement. "Where to first?"
"Well, they've done some renovations since I was here last." Ben glanced around the wide-open plaza they were standing in. "Anybody see a map station anywhere?"
"Map." Ryn pointed to a nearby stand. The word 'map', one of the few Ryn could read, on a large sign over top of it. She was rather amazed Ben had missed it on first glance.
"Ah ha!" Ben trotted over and snatched up something from a tray on the stand before returning. "Okay, ladies. Let's see what's close by."
Unfolding the sheet, Ryn was rather surprised just how large it actually was. The entire park itself, if the map was a proper representation, was bigger than she expected, too. Just how many animals were housed here?
This was a concept Ryn still wasn't sure how she felt about. When Maddie had first brought up the idea of a trip to the 'zoo', as she called it, Ryn had taken Maddie's description the wrong way. Sour memories of Donna's capture and imprisonment had colored her opinions on the matter. Even after Maddie explained it better, the whole idea didn't sit right with Ryn. Yet, if Ben and Maddie said it was alright, it couldn't be too bad.
"We're not doing the butterflies first." Maddie rolled her eyes, snatching the map away from Ben.
"Why not?"
"Because they're bugs."
"Cool looking bugs."
"Still bugs."
"Okay, fine. But we're not going to the lion's first thing."
"Now hang on a minute." Maddie huffed, a scowl forming across her features. One that Ryn could tell was blatantly faked just to tease Ben. "Nobody messes with my lions."
"Then don't mess with my awesome butterflies." Ben shot back before Maddie tried to reclaim the map again. The pair degenerated into playful wrestling over the map while trying their hardest not to destroy it. Occasionally one would suggest some other animal, at least that was what it sounded like to Ryn, only to be refused by the other.
Ryn would have chimed in with her own suggestions, but she knew almost none of the animals they were talking about. Although, she did watch their battle for the map with no small amount of amusement.
"Ha!" Ben managed to pry the map from Maddie's fingers. At some point during the struggle, it had somehow gotten folded partially back up.
Ben held it up over his head in an attempt to keep it out of Maddie's reach. The move may have worked on the shorter Ryn, but Maddie simply jumped up and yanked it right back.
"Ha!" Maddie echoed, waving her spoils in Ben's face. When Ben tried to retake it, Maddie jumped back, holding the paper behind her back.
Maddie was so distracted by her perceived victory, she didn't notice Ryn's presence until the mermaid had grabbed the map from her mate's hand with zero effort.
"Arguing go nowhere." Ryn lightly swatted Ben and Maddie both on the arm with the folded map, a move she'd seen on the television a week before. It worked for catching the attentions of humans there, and it seem to do the same here. "We decide."
"We could try the aquarium?" Ben was first to speak. "All kinds of fish and sea creatures. We might even find something you'll have seen before, Ryn."
"No, later, maybe." Ryn wasn't all that interested in something she already knew. She would rather see things completely new she'd never before experienced.
"Penguins?" Maddie added next. "It's indoors, cool, and…"
"Everybody loves the penguins." Ben nodded. "Good idea. What do you think, Ryn?"
"Yes." The word penguin was one Ryn had heard before, but she only had a rough idea what the things were. It was a good place to start.
The inside of the penguin lair was inside, not only away from the burning sun, but blissfully cold compared to the rest of the park.
Ben had been right about everyone liking the penguins. The trio had to make their way through a small crowd just to get inside, and more to actually approach the animals themselves.
The penguins themselves looked… strange. If they were indeed birds, they were nothing like the birds Ryn had seen previously in Bristol Cove. Those arms of theirs were supposed to be their wings, it was no wonder they were flightless. Watching one dive from a large chunk of ice and into the water, Ryn discovered that their wings couldn't fly, but did allow them to swim surprisingly well. Much like her fins when she was in the ocean.
A number of the small creatures were swimming in the water close to where many humans were standing, their hands reaching into the tank to touch them.
"Want to pet one, Ryn?" Maddie was stroking a penguin's back when she stepped aside so Ryn could approach. The moment she did, a number of the penguins squawked and swam away from the mermaid as fast as their flippers could take them.
Ryn wasn't surprised when it happened. Many creatures of the sea reacted negatively to her presence, likely sensing the predator that lurked beneath her humanlike features. Still, it was more than a little disheartening. The sea lions at the rescue center in Bristol Cove had learned she meant to harm, but Ryn had been around them more often.
"Sorry, Ryn." Ben moved an arm around Ryn's waist to give her a small hug, his own face twisted into a frown that matched hers.
Ryn was ready to give up and move to the next attraction when another squawk caught her attention. Turning back to the tank, Ryn watched a lone penguin swim right up to her. It gazed up at the mermaid curiously, another sound passing from it's beak.
Slowly, afraid she might spook the creature, Ryn reached in to touch it.
Ryn would have, had Ben not stopped her by seizing hold of her wrist. Before she could ask what was wrong, he was holding up a finger, indicating for her to wait.
Ben dipped his own hand into the water of the penguin tank and looked around to make sure no one was watching. When he was satisfied they weren't, he held his hand over Ryn's bare arm, allowing a single drop of the water to touch her skin.
It wasn't until she felt the cool water make contact with her flesh, and seeing nothing happen, did Ryn understand why Ben was so concerned. Neither her, nor Ben until now, had even thought that the penguin tank could be filled with salt water.
Maddie's eyes went wide in alarm. This was something she hadn't considered either.
Ryn was delighted to see the commotion between the mermaid and her mates hadn't scared the penguin off. The small creature remained in place, waiting for the people before it to decide what they were doing.
Reaching into the tank, Ryn's fingertips found the penguin's body. At first, she'd thought the black of its skin were tiny scales like hers, but they weren't. Like sky birds, they did have feathers, but they were sleek, soft and smooth. Did sky birds feel like this, too?
It squawked happily as the mermaid petted the creature. To Ryn's astonishment, the call brought several more of the penguins over, each vying for the mermaid's attention. As much as Ryn wanted to, she was hard pressed to touch them all.
"I think they like you." Ben spoke from Ryn's side, watching the penguin horde greet the mermaid.
"They have good taste." Maddie grinned from Ryn's opposite.
It would have been easy to spend hours admiring the penguins in their home, but the three of them had many more places to explore.
"Bye bye, penguins." Ryn sadly wished the penguins goodbye. As much as she liked them, there were many more places and other animals to meet. Besides, she could always come back later in the day to see her new friends again.
"Where to now?" Once they were back in the light of day, Ben unfolded the map from his pocket.
"Well, I guess we can go to…" Maddie was beside Ben looking at the map when she glanced off in the distance. Whatever she saw there stopped the woman cold.
"Maddie?" Ben waved a hand in front of Maddie's face. "You okay?"
"They have funnel cakes." Maddie's voice was barely a whisper, her eyes still locked at what appeared to be another stand, much like the one they took their map from. This one was built different and larger, a sign above spelled out two words. Ryn couldn't read them but wondered if they said 'funnel cakes'. In front of the stand was yet another line of humans.
"Huh? They do?" Ben followed his girlfriend's gaze. "Wow, that's… hey!"
"Get me a funnel cake and we can do the butterflies next." Maddie demanded, all but shoving Ben toward the new stand. Cake was something Ryn knew of, but it was the first time she'd heard the other word used with it.
"Your wish is my command, ma'am." Ben put his fingers to his temple in a strange gesture Ryn didn't recognize before walking away at a brisk pace.
"What are… funnel cakes?" Ryn questioned once Ben was gone.
"Oh, it's… it's…. umm…" Maddie pursed her lips, struggling to find an answer. "You know, I'm not sure how to describe it. It's a treat you sometimes find at places like this. I haven't had once since I was a little girl."
"I see when Ben come back." Ryn was curious, but if Maddie thought they were good, she'd have to try some of it.
"Here." Maddie took Ryn by the hand and pulled her over to a conveniently shade covered bench. "Ben might be a bit, so no point in standing around in the sunshine."
Once seated, the two women didn't talk. Not because they had nothing to discuss, but because they didn't need to. Ryn was more than comfortable enough with her mate sitting at her side, the feeling of Maddie's thumb tracing her knuckles quite enjoyable.
"People staring." Ryn noticed shortly after they sat down. This wasn't just simple watching either, more than a few sported looks of disgust or disapproval. This spot was vacant save the bench and the two women, so there was nothing for people to be looking at save the two of them.
"I noticed." When Maddie scowled this time, there was nothing playful or faked about it.
"Why?" Ryn's first thought was her own clothing. "Is shirt on back to front again?"
"No." Maddie broke out into muffled laughter at that. Making Maddie laugh hadn't been Ryn's goal, she was fully serious about if she was wearing her clothes wrong, but if it brought a little cheer to the now agitated Maddie, Ryn was happy. "They're looking at us."
"Why? Ryn was confused. If people knew what she was, it would make sense for them to be looking, but it was impossible for anyone to know that.
Had they still been near Bristol Cove, Ryn sitting intimately close to Maddie would have attracted a lot of attention. While in public, the three were forced to restrain their displays of affection to the mermaid. Until they could figure out a way to tell everyone, they had to hide, something Ben and Maddie both hated.
This zoo, however, was several town's away from Bristol Cove. Everyone knew everyone in Bristol Cove, and the Ben might be a known figure there, but here in this human town, Ben, Maddie, and Ryn were strangers to everyone else.
"Because of this." Maddie held up their entwined hands. At the baffled look on Ryn's face, Maddie explained further. "Some humans don't like same sex relationships, there's all kinds of reasons why, but some people just don't like seeing them. They think they're wrong."
"Maddie and Ryn not wrong." Ryn was quick to defend herself and Maddie, but she didn't have to. The act was more reflex than anything else.
"Of course not." Maddie gave the mermaid a fond smile that warmed Ryn for reasons different than the summer heat. Maddie's other hand came up to caress Ryn's cheek. Ryn immediately leaned into her hand, savoring the feel of her mate's touch.
Ryn wasn't surprised when Maddie leaned in close to give Ryn a quick peck on the lips. Maddie didn't say the words, but Ryn could envision it was her way of saying 'let them look, you're mine'.
Ryn was going to say more, but something from the funnel cake stand caught Ryn's eye. Ben was almost to the front, but that wasn't what Ryn was looking at.
There was another human female talking to Ben.
Ryn knew her mate was attractive by human standards, a sentiment Maddie was in agreement with. For this exact reason, Ryn had forced herself to become accustomed to human women watching her mate from a distance. She was fine with that, so long as it remained at just that, distance.
This female was much bolder. Standing right beside Ben and talking to him. The details of this conversation were impossible for Ryn to hear, even with mermaid hearing. While Ryn couldn't hear, she could see, and what she saw was the female wearing a smile that humans would call flirty.
As her rage boiled, Ryn had to remind herself that human females couldn't smell the scent of another female like mermaids could. Humans used visual cues to determine a mate's eligibility, such as rings among other things.
Between trying to be understanding, and the fact that Ryn noticed Ben was barely paying any attention to the female, the mermaid restrained herself. As much as Ryn wanted to attack the female, she knew the human world didn't work that way.
It didn't make Ryn want to maul her any less.
Ben at last finished retrieving the funnel cake, the item in question on a plate in his hand, but the female had yet to leave. Much to Ryn's annoyance, she was following.
Ryn held herself in check until the female touched Ben's arm. To a human it was nothing, a mere brush of two shoulders, but to a mermaid? The act was far, far worse.
How dare this female touch her mate!
Ryn didn't care about the stranger's ignorance. Touching the mate of another without consent was grounds for violent retaliation. It was time for this female to be reminded of her place.
"Ryn?" Maddie watched as Ryn jumped to her feet and stalked off toward Ben. "Where you going?"
The other humans visiting the zoo were lucky not to be in Ryn's path. She likely would have shoved them out of the way in her haste and fury.
"Hey, Ryn." Ben brightened up when he saw Ryn approaching.
When Ryn first stood up, she had every intention of giving the female a savage beating. The mermaid would spare her life, but her body was going to be physically broken by the time she was done.
In the steps between the bench and Ben, the rational part of Ryn's mind had regained control from the instinctual part. She forced herself to remember this wasn't the water, she couldn't just attack a human. Especially when it was such a trivial thing from a human's perspective.
Ben must have seen the hostility in Ryn's body language. His expression instantly became one of concern. "Is everything o…"
Whatever Ben was going to ask was cut short when Ryn seized him by both cheeks and jerked him down to her level for a searing kiss. Ben, as he often did, submitted to Ryn without struggle, becoming lost in the feel of her lips.
When Ryn was forced to part from Ben for breath, more for Ben than herself, she leveled a deadly glare at the female, whom was watching the entire exchange with a look of total shock.
Ryn hissed dangerously at the female, the sound scaring her into backing away.
"Mine." Ryn possessively linked her arm with Ben's and pulled him with her back toward where Maddie was now standing and watching. The female was smart enough not to pursue this time.
"Uh… here." Ben was still trying to figure out just what happened, but he'd managed not to drop Maddie's funnel cake during. An impressive feat.
The trio moved on to other animals across the park, but neither Ben nor Maddie questioned Ryn about her behavior toward the strange female. Perhaps they understood her reasoning, or just didn't care. Either way, they were free to return to enjoying their stay.
Ryn tried to, at least. There were many fascinating new types of animals she'd never even imagined could exist. When they visited the aquarium portion of the zoo, there were indeed a number she could recall from her time in the water. More than a few of the fish within were among those she'd eaten in the past.
Try as hard as she did to forget that incident with the female, Ryn couldn't banish it from her mind. It was like all the females she saw now were watching her mate. In Bristol Cove, they avoided Ben because all knew he was with Maddie. Here, his new anonymity couldn't keep them at bay.
Just how much of the female's attentions was Ryn's imagination and how much were real was unknown to the mermaid. Regardless, it was becoming unbearable.
Ryn at last could take it no more and decided to do something about it.
Their next stop had been the butterfly house. After being kissed by Ryn some time ago, Ben had forgotten he ever wanted to see the place. Maddie, in a devious move, had pretended to forget about it. Though Ryn knew Maddie wouldn't allow them to leave without at least seeing the place, even if it meant doing it last.
The enclosure itself was shaped like an enormous bird cage, much like one Ryn had seen in Helen's shop. Plants were scattered about with a stone path making its way between all of them. On a number of the plants themselves sat the butterflies, some flying about.
Ryn could see why Ben like the place so much. The insects, though small and unimposing, were beautiful, their frail wings covered in an array of patterns and colors Ryn had no names for.
"Pretty." Ryn leaned in close to one sitting on a rock, her head tilted to get a better view.
"See, Mads?" Ben smirked at Maddie. "Somebody gets it."
"They're still bugs." Maddie waved away a butterfly that flew too close to her face, but she did so gently as to not cause harm to the tiny insect. "Maybe you should have been an entomologist since you like them so much."
"Nah." Ben waved a dismissive hand toward Maddie. "Sea life is so much better. More beautiful, too."
Ryn was looking at a different type of butterfly, but she knew Ben was looking at her when he said that.
"That's like the corniest thing ever to come out of your mouth, Ben." Maddie responded before Ryn could. The words may be scolding, but the affection in her tone was anything but.
"Ryn?" Ben put a hand on Ryn's shoulder. He must have seen the mermaid searching around. There was only one way in or out of the butterfly house, and no places for people to hide. Ryn, Ben, and Maddie were completely alone. "You okay?'
Perfect.
Ryn straightened up, stepping right in front of Ben. Anyone who knew what Ryn was would have instantly retreated, but Ryn's mates were made of sterner stuff.
"You trust Ryn, yes?" Ryn asked, hand moving up behind Ben's head to tangle in his hair.
"I do." Ben's reply was instant, bereft of doubt.
Ryn pulled and Ben followed, leaning down more onto Ryn's level. The mermaid brushed her cheek along the stubble of his jaw before planting a gentle kiss to Ben's neck.
Ryn bit down with her blunt teeth, something she would have been too scared to do with her natural fangs. Ryn released her bite when she felt Ben tense up, but she meant that one just to show him what she intended. Ben didn't resist, his hands coming up to rest on Ryn's shoulders, but he made no attempt to push her away.
When Ryn bit again, she held on. Ben went stiff, hands gripping Ryn tightly, but he still allowed her to continue. Knowing full well how powerful her jaws could be, Ryn was cautious not to bite so hard she broke skin. Causing harm was an unfortunate side effect, not the intent.
After some time, Ryn released Ben's neck, leaving behind a deep purple bruise in the shape of her teeth. Now, all the females would know Ben was marked as hers. The thought brought a sense of satisfaction to the mermaid. Let all those females look now.
"Mine." Ryn kissed the mark.
Ryn pulled away only for Maddie to stop her with a hand on Ryn's hip. "Do me?"
When Maddie tilted her head to the side, revealing the expanse of her neck in the process, Ryn understood her mate's request. Ryn hadn't noticed anyone watching Maddie, but that didn't mean they were not there.
Shifting away from Ben, Ryn put her hand behind Maddie's head, exactly like she'd done for Ben. When Ryn's teeth sank into her flesh, Maddie wrapped her arms around Ryn to pull her close.
With Maddie's darker skin, the mark Ryn left behind was slightly different, but still visible to any who might be looking. The end result was the same, Maddie marked as hers.
As Ryn watched her mates tentatively touch their respective bite marks, she found they were not quite finished yet. Ben and Maddie were marked, but they were only two parts of the whole. The final third was missing.
"Ben is Ryn's." Reaching out to cup both Ben and Maddie's cheeks, Ryn pulled the humans to face her. "Maddie is Ryn's." Ryn tilted her own head back, fully exposing her own vulnerable throat. "Ryn is Ben and Maddie's."
"You sure about this, Ryn?" Ben voiced his apprehension, but he leaned in anyway.
"Is sure, yes." Ryn closed her eyes and waited.
She didn't have to wait long.
Ryn wondered if she'd feel Ben first, or Maddie. As it turned out, it was neither one nor the other first, but both at once. They began the same way Ryn had, with a kiss to her skin before biting softly for a brief moment and letting go. As if giving her another chance to stop them if she so wished, returning the favor she'd paid them. In answer to their hesitation, Ryn reached behind both and gripped their shirts to draw them closer.
Then the second bite came.
Ryn felt the pain of her mate's teeth biting into her most vulnerable area, but the sensation didn't leave the mermaid scared, worried, or anything of the sort. Rather, it brought a sense of elation and happiness.
When Ben and Maddie let go, Ryn was sucking in heavy breaths. She couldn't see the marks, but she could feel them. Signs drawn in her flesh to all the world, letting everyone know she belonged to Ben and Maddie.
Ben and Maddie were Ryn's and Ryn was Ben and Maddie's.
Wow, this one really got away from me. It wound up being a lot longer than I was expecting. Oh well, hopefully that means it makes for a better read for all of you. Let me know what you all think.
Hopefully, see you all next week.