Author's Note: This is based off my utter fascination and fetish of merfolk, yes indeed. Also, it's a much better version of the epic poem, The Odyssey in my opinion.
20 years had passed, and Thor was finally returning home. After years and years of war, starvation, loss, after years of nothing but horror, the demi-god had finally gotten what he'd started the journey for: redemption. And now, with a pure heart and a passion to live what was left of his life, the commander of thunder was sailing his ship home. His mind was clouded with pleasant thoughts, despite the reality of the situation.
It had been 20 years, not a mere few weeks! When he'd left Asgard, he'd left behind his beautiful wife, Sif, and his unborn son. By now, his son would be a grown man, a man without any knowledge of his father, and Sif probably displayed herself as a free maiden and sought after other suitors. Alas, Thor didn't let such grim possibilities churn around in his mind for too long, letting his determination and elation, and memories of the life he had left behind be his light instead. Even if his life would never be the same, one thing was for sure, he was returning to where he belonged, and somehow he'd make his world right again.
Mind already back in Asgard, Thor didn't take notice in the sudden changes around him. The clouding sky casting the world in murky shadows, the chill in the air, how the sea water suddenly chopped and lapped at Sleipnir erratically, none of it registered passed the man's jubilations. Ergo, had the captain (and crew) paid attention, the god would've surely turned his boat around in complete fear.
Even as the sea began to tremble, air dry with electricity, tell-tale signs of an incoming storm, Thor just couldn't bring his head from up in the clouds. And so he sailed on, completely oblivious to the world around him, until one piercing note cut through his senses.
And by then, it was too late. Too late, Thor had realized where he was, where he was heading. Too late, the god heard the heavenly cry of a creature far from mortal. Too late, he realized, he was too late. The demi-god had sailed his ship right into the coast of Yodenheim, home of the Frost Giants and other monsters that filled children's heads with nightmares. That was if you managed to dock your ship, though. The shore of Yodenheim was just as threatening, rumored to be swimming with Sirens, ones the like Hel wouldn't even keep in her realm. And, seeing that traveler had come to terms with this all too late, there was no time to steer his ship in the opposite direction. Sleipnir was heading straight for the jagged rocks of the shore.
Before Thor could send himself into a panic, his senses slowly became dulled, as if the world was fogging over, and the happiness from moments before came back in a rush. He found himself smiling, any peril he was in quickly forgotten, aside from a fairly distant cry of some creature's bliss. He was going home! He remembered, home to his perfect life again, and he'd never have to see the Bifrost's waters ever again.
Home…
"Welcome home." And, suddenly, the thought of home vanished from his mind, hazy eyes taking in a form of what appeared to be a woman, leaning over and onto his boat. A very beautiful maiden, even to his numb mind. But, Thor's world quickly faded to black after the encounter, remembering nothing but the glowing, piercing color of blue, and a sound akin to the Ragnarock blasting in his ears.
—
Thor groaned, the world around him coming too quickly for his sensitive senses. There was a terrible pounding in his head, his eyes stung enough to bring on tears, and his mouth felt dry and salty. It took him a while, to say the least, before he could actually study where he was, and try to remember how he'd gotten there.
"There" happened to be a cave, or a trove of sorts. It was dimly illuminated by the entrance of the small space, gray sky shining in, which meant he was elevated. Just how high, he was unsure, but the idea made his stomach turn into knots. The cave was obviously made from sea-stone, the jagged rocks digging uncomfortably deep into his skin, and the permanent layer of minerals drying out his pores. Thor had really hoped he'd seen the last of his challenges, but it seemed he was cursed to never return to Asgard at this rate.
With a sigh, the demi-god rubbed his face and tried to pull himself up, only to grunt in agony and flop back onto the ground as if he were a fish out of water. The exertion had been more than his mortal body could handle, and the traveler quickly sunk back down into a world of silence and burning blue.
—
The next time Thor found himself waking up within the cave, it was blacker than night, for the stars were blocked out by thick fog, and the light of the moon was too weak to penetrate the innards of the trove. He was still alone, and his body ached, but over all his senses were coming back a lot better, giving himself a little more detail about where he was, for he still couldn't remember how exactly he'd gotten into such a predicament.
The sound of crashing, distant waves reached his ears, confirming that he was rather high in the sky, and passed the strong scent of salt, the demi-god could smell foliage, sand, the smell of land. So, he wasn't too far from the island, though he was kept quite a distance above it.
After mentally taking down these notes, the sailor found himself unable to do much else, and eventually thought himself into sleep, and slept his way into dreams a lot better than his reality at the moment.
—
Thor was naked the next time he woke up, but such a detail bothered him little. Someone had left him a meal including coconut milk, some fruits, and fish. To a man who hadn't eaten in what felt like days (and probably was), the food tasted like it was personally delivered from Valhalla. Unable to care about manners in his own company, the commander of thunder devoured the morsels, his body almost instantly relaxing as the substance settled in his stomach. The food also helped sustain his energy, for he didn't feel the need to sleep any longer.
What he did feel the need to do was escape, and get home.
Gathering himself, Thor ignored the pain of the rough floor digging into his palms and legs as he crawled to the cave's entrance, slowly, hesitantly peering outside into the muted world. Oh, yes, he was very high up, and the way down looked anything but easy, sharp cliffs and rocks jutting out randomly all the way down to the ocean's surface. A feeling of utter dread began to rattle his form, for he noticed the remains of a sunken ship not too far off. The remains of his ship, Sleipnir.
"Well, this is…unpleasant." The demi-god sighed, shaking his head in disdain as he sunk back into the cave, truly at a loss when it came to how he'd ever return to Asgard now. "Mayhaps my captor will reveal themselves eventually, if they have gone through the effort to keep me alive." Thor reasoned with himself, for it did make sense. Why keep something alive if it served no purpose? With that in mind, he opted to wait out his seclusion, and try to catch any glimpse of another life form he could.
—
As it turned out, his captor was determined to remain unidentified and illusive to Thor. It had been at least a week by the traveler's calculations, and in that week, he'd been bathed, fed, and given a few interesting gifts from the island, but hardly caught more than a glimpse of whomever it was doing this. And, even those glimpses were vague, for all he could remember was blue, a bold hue of blue which stood out shockingly in this dull plane.
Eventually, Thor figured, they'd have to slip, indeed did they slip.
One night, the demi-god had fought hard against sleep and against his aching body, for his curiosity was much, much greater than any need for good health at the moment. Though it was so dark that the man couldn't see his hand in front of his face, he hoped he'd at least hear something from the person imprisoning him, maybe even get a touch or two. Sitting up, eyes locked to the slightly lighter entrance, the traveler waited.
And what he got was far from what he'd expected.
Without a sound, a form had somehow managed to appear at the entrance of the cave, silhouette barely visible, that was, until Thor found himself gazing right into the vivid blue which had been plaguing his mind this whole time. Two large, glossy eyes stared right back at him, pupils dilated and irises pulsing with an iridescent light, giving off just enough to see a thin, pale face, high cheekbones, eyebrows black as the space around them-
And then darkness. Just as silently as they had appeared, they vanished, leaving the man once again in solitude, mind reeling at what he'd just seen. Sleep wasn't even possible now, words sung by a crystal voice now echoing in his head, or maybe even echoing off the sharp, damp walls surrounding him.
"Welcome home.."
—
Thor hardly slept after the encounter, which also meant he hardly ate, because the food stopped being left for him. The traveler sat as close to the caves entrance as he could, eyes constantly scanning the mysterious phantoms below, the island, anywhere he could see. But, everyday, not even a shimmer of blue was seen, or signs of other life aside from a couple foul and fish. But, food be damned, and sleep be damned, he wanted blue! To touch the blue, hold the shade and taste its coolness, to just see the tint again, the very color tormenting his being every night.
Asgard had been forgotten, Lady Sif and his probable son, even Sleipnir no longer seemed like his ship. Nothing else mattered but his blue.
Yes, his blue.
And it finally seemed like his efforts, his silent pleas, were paying off. Something down below was stirring, causing ripples and waves where the water was usually rather calm, and it didn't go unnoticed by Thor, who was watching, transfixed, with large brown eyes. It could've been a fish, and that's most likely what it was-but then the form broke the surface, and the demi-god nearly fell out of the cave as he leaned down to get a closer look.
It most certainly wasn't a fish, and when electric-blue glanced up and locked gazes with him, despite the distance, the commander of thunder nearly jumped out of the cave on purpose. But, such a measure wasn't needed, because a moment later, his captor was swimming towards the jagged rocks in a way that would put the most graceful eel to shame, blurred colors of green, silver, and gold reflecting the dim sunlight beneath the water, and it suddenly clicked in Thor's mind. Yodenheim, his wrecked ship, such a beautiful voice, beautiful features, welcome home…
Thor had been seduced by a Siren, the very Siren now climbing up the steep sharp walls leading to the cave with relative ease, long, scaled tail dangling below the creature instead of legs. But, had he really been seduced? He could remember the faint tune, the beautiful cry of the immortal, but he'd only heard it once. Only seen the creature once, or twice now, and he'd been fed, bathed, watched over, nothing like the stories he was told as a child. Siren's were blood-thirsty rapists, or so everyone was told. They seduced sailors with their song, would lure them in, have their filthy little ways with the dazed men, then devour them. Yet, here he was, healthy and alive.
And terribly seduced, but not by any song.
Pushing himself back up into the cave, the traveler made room for the new occupant, whom eased himself in with graceful movements, tail curled and dangling outside the mouth of the trove still. And Thor finally took it all in, from choppy black hair to shimmering tail, long fingernails and lean muscle. The creature, or man, before him was nothing less than stunning, and he had to suppress a sick chuckle at the thought that, back in Asgard, Lady Sif had been considered the most beautiful creature in the world. She was bland compared to the Siren.
And, as piercing blue gave him a once over, those eyes brimming with so many things the demi-god didn't understand, he nearly fainted when soft lips moved, forming words that sang like bubbling sea-foam. "Hello, sailor."
And the air became dry. Dry and still and it almost burned, as if one movement would send a snap of lightning crashing through the small cave. The moment was intense, both seeming to struggle with their own thoughts.
Home be damned, this was now his home, and having convinced himself of that, Thor slowly, but surely reached out to the creature before him, gliding callused fingers along a damn, soft neck, jaw, cheek, and then he was cupping the Siren's face, taking in every detail as vivid blue fluttered in bliss, leaning into the touch with a sigh. It was electric and taboo and beautiful, and as the commander of thunder leaned closer to the immortal, he hoped it as just the beginning, too.
"My name is Thor." He murmured, face now just a few inches from, what he realized was soft blue, not icy at all. His blue. And, the returned information was just a whisper, as if drops falling onto the land, "Loki." And they were kissing. It burned with a need and passion that had the world trembling, the weather outside starting to crackle and rumble with an oncoming storm, just like when the two had first met. And, as tongues lapped and swirled around one another, hot breathe lingering deep in their throats and against their faces, the world outside turned relatively nastier, the sky and ocean starting to reach for each other in deadly passion. Hands explored and memorized each muscle, each scar, every spot that would tremble and elicit soft sounds of pleasure and bliss from the other. It was unstable, passion verging on the line of aggression, and Thor wanted nothing more than to continue, claim his blue in the most intimate of ways, but as his thumb grazed against a slick, cold scale, he found himself almost shying away from such an idea. But, it seemed Loki had it covered, trying to explain through the steam gathering between them.
"D-Do not fret, it is possible. But, there are a few..things I must tell you before I can allow this to continue.." Thor's lips mouthing over his neck made it a tad difficult for the Siren to talk, lifting hands to gently shove at the demi-god, only to sigh when his own hands betrayed him and pulled the very man pleasuring him even closer.
The traveler eased up, however, sensing the importance behind the voice that was quickly erasing his past, and re-writing his future. "I have seduced you, Thor. I sang to you when I first saw your ship heading for my shore, and I caused your ship to wreck. When I saw you, though, I couldn't bring myself to do the one thing I have been dreaming of my whole life. You see, I am not yet immortal. Though not human, I can die very easily, just like you. In order to gain immortality, I must have the love of a human. You are the first I have successfully managed to draw to this island, and I find myself regretting my decision more and more as time wears on. I never expected to have such feelings over a man I was just going to use for my own gain, and now immortality is the last thing I want. I want you, Thor, but it is a double-edged sword, our love. If you love me, I will become immortal, and I will stay as I am now, forever, just as my siblings do, and you will one day die. But, if I let you go, I shall surely die of a broken heart.." Within his monologue, the creature had slightly pulled away from the other, eyes held low upon his hands when he wasn't looking at Thor with deeply troubled, deeply lustful blue eyes.
The commander of thunder felt his heart ache with a need to reach out to the Siren, and this time, he didn't hesitate to do just that. Gently grasping Loki's arms, Thor pulled him against himself, scales and all, nuzzling his nose into damp, salty hair with an agonized groan of pleasure. He was, after all, giving up his life for this one moment. But, he didn't want life, what he wanted was his blue, his Siren, from now until he died, even if it meant leaving said creature behind.
"Why fight immortality, Loki? You already have it. I gave my love to you the moment I met you, seduction or not. So sing." Thor was grinning against dark locks, for no matter how grave the situation actually was, there was something euphoric about love, about being home. And, as the storm raged into a hurricane outside, sky and sea mixed in a deadly dance, and Thor finally claimed his blue to the sound of cries that could make Valhalla weep.