In.
Out.
In.
Out.
The tide pulled at my body, its influence felt in my very core. My eyes were closed to the clear starry sky. Body completely relaxed as I floated on my back, the cool water moving around me was the focus of attention. The steady sound of waves breaking on the distant shore calmed me like nothing else. Sighing contently, I let the ocean take me wherever it wanted.
In.
Out.
In.
OW!
Amethyst eyes flashed open. Okay, so maybe I was closer to shore than I had thought.
Grumbling curses under my breath, I rubbed at the new bump forming on my skull. I grabbed onto the offending flat rock that had gotten in my way and pulled myself up.
The mainland of Italy stretched before me. Miles away torch lights twinkled from the landweller homes. The dark forest surrounding the small village gave way to a sliver of white sand. Hills in the background rose from the earth like a dragon curled around its treasure. Moonlight shone off the waves.
The beauty betrayed a deadly secret, I new. Beneath the ocean were sharp rocks ready to pierce the hull of any unwary ship. That combined with the monster lusus that slithered in the depths near the shore made it a bad place to get caught.
Something moving my prefreal drew attention. I dropped into the water without a splash. Inching around the rock, I poked my head above the surface so that I could breath through my nose. It was good to give the gills a break every now and then.
It was a human boat, a little whitewashed blur on the horizon. Squinting to make up for distance, my powerful eyes dilated and focused in on the small craft.
There were 2 onboard. A boy and a girl. They seemed relaxed, mouths moving to fast for me to lip read. The girl laughed. Didn't they know the dangers that lay below the cresting waves?
Most mertrolls did not like landwellers, least of all the humans. They saw them only as food, or interesting toys to play with and drown.
But I was by far "most" mertrolls.
My clan were Chief Orphaners: we killed the any lusi that dared tread nearby waters and fed them to the Queen Lusus. The Empress held the Amporas in high esteem, granting us many privileges.
One of those was the permission to walk upon the land. Of course, Dualscar, my father, had never called in that favor. He despised the land, deeming it filthy and uncouth. Instead, he simply went to shore as a pass time, tricking those unwary enough to listen to swim with him. He would humor them for a while, playing with them and even answering some questions. But he would always kill them.
There had been some near misses. Clever humans and lowbloods would try to get classified information and run away. One had even made it as far as the tree line before Dualscar shot her head clean off.
I could never convince myself to do such ghastly deeds though. Nor could I eat their flesh, only watch with hidden disgust as my father and baby brother tore into the exotically colored meats.
The landwellers I could care less about, (so long as my father never found out about my mutant moirail. That would be horrible) but humans fascinated me. They were so innovative - centuries behind troll technology, but still - and they're imagination astonished me.
That was the one thing humans bested trolls in: imagination. Trolls were made for war and battle, not art and storytelling.
Often, I would spend my free time hidden on shore, listening to the human tales. I even went into their city to watch plays and hear the music. I was only able to do this rarely though, for it required a kiss from Meenah, the eldest daughter of the Empress, to change my looks to that of the human (she always needed a lot of convincing).
It was painful for my tail to split into legs, curved horns to shrink into my skull, my claws to dull and skin to change its color. But it was worth it. To see the humans without fear of them attacking and forcing me to hurt them was a gift.
Laughter rang over the waves, bringing me back from my thoughts. She was leaning over the side of the boat, reaching for something. (H/c) hair hid her face. I smirked to myself; it would be easy to pull her over. Even though I never actually killed any humans, I found nothing wrong with scaring them silly.
Ducking back beneath the water, I propelled myself towards them. But a flash of white scales curling behind a near spire to the right stopped me in my tracks. The monster serpent lusus.
Okay then, change of plans. No messing with that girl tonight, those humans needed to get out of here NOW.
The moonlight cast flowing patterns on my tinted grey skin as I looked upwards to search for a good place for me to scare them away without getting seen.
Aha. There, a ridge that just barely crested free of the depths. I made may way there and pulled out my wand in a flash. Sliding on the hard surface so that I could see my target, I took aim and muttered a spell.
A beam of pure white energy shot out and up from the tip. Demons illusions of cool fire danced above the ship and its now frantic occupants, sometimes swooping down in feints and making a general ruckus.
The boy - the girls brother, I figured since he was only a bit older and shared very similar features - unfurled the sails as the sister raised anchor. In no time they were racing towards the shore.
They were only 30 yards away from the white sand when the monster reared from the sea, sending spray exploding through the air in waves. I gasped in disbelief - so close! - and shot towards the one sided fight like a torpedo.
It was too late. Shards of wood smashed against the rocks, swirling in turbulent water. Some fishing supplies bobbed to the surface only to sink a few seconds later.
A white, scaly length of the serpent crested not far away. I had to find the humans and get them to safety ASAP. Franticly I scanned the wreckage, but I could see neither the young boy or girl.
Wait. Straight ahead (h/c) flashed. The girl? Yes, it was her! She was limp in my arms, apparently unconscious. She must have hit her head when the serpent snapped up the boat.
Setting her against me in a way that would keep her head above water and still give me the most use of my arms possible I continued to look for her brother.
That's when the great fanged maw nearly bit off my tail. The lusus rose from the water at least 20 feet above my head. It's crown of skin splayed wide, foot long fangs bared in a hiss. Coiled back, it was prepared to strike.
Looking at the girls relaxed face, pale, I made a last second decision. The boy was on his own.
I ducked under and sped farther into the seas great cold depths.
The beast shot into the spot we were only moments before, but all its fangs tore were bubbles. The waves from the powerful intrusion propelled me faster, but the snake had already twisted for the chase. It wouldn't leave the rocks I knew, but it would take all I had to get us to free water.
A little beam of logic shot like an arrow through the chaos in my head. The human couldn't breath underwater. Stupid, stupid! It was time for another split second decision.
With a giant serpent on my tail, sharp spears of wood swirling around me, and only a few seconds to escape, I kissed a girl I'd only just met full on the lips.
Impolite, yes, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
Her (e/c) eyes snapped open as the to-be-gills began to slice into her throat.
The kiss of an Ampora had the opposite effect of that of a Pixies. Instead of turning a mertroll human, it turned a human mertroll. Or at least, gave them gills and webbed appendages.
The lusus was honing in. There was no time to wait. "Take a deep breath and kick!" Yelling above the sound, I ducked us below and swam for my life.
She didn't help at first, just clung to my arm kinda limp. But then the shock of being able to breath under water faded and she began to move her legs. Adrenaline from being chased by a monster must have sparked as well, because she was actually able to keep up with me.
When we passed the last spire, I didn't slow down. Nor did I look back to see if we were still being chased. There was no "safe" until we reached a place the monster could not reach.
I only slowed my pace when my hiding place was in sight and the tug on my hand suggested the girls energy rush was quickly draining.
Finally looking back, there wasn't a serpent in sight. The girls eyes fluttered even as her legs slowed. She was clutching her neck in pain.
I scooped her up in my arms and made the last stretch for the cave.
It would be pitch black in here to the human girl, but I could see just fine. Troll genetics were defiantly advanced.
She was pretty, beautiful even, but in that simple way that made you have to take another glance to truly appreciate it. Her skin was a smooth expanse of (s/c), broken by the red slices on either side of her neck, now lying dormant since I had put her on the underground -petal lips curled into a small, natural smile as she slept. Her damp (h/l) (h/c) locks lay in a halo around her.
My eye slid down her body as a manner of habit, taking in her clothes. The simple clean buttoned shirt over a tee and rolled pants clung to her body, and suggested she was of middle class. Not a princess, not a pauper, maybe a merchants daughter. Her feet were bare, shoes lost somewhere in the attack. Her toes were elongated from my kiss, skin stretching between each one. Either her family had a top fishing market, or boating was just a fun activity. Considering how small the boat had been, I thought, the second choice was more likely.
Another thought troubled me. What would I do with her? Her brother was more than likely digesting in the snake's stomach by now. She might have family on shore though, so I'd have to ask when she woke.
But what if she didn't? A little voice in my mind whispered. What would I do with her then? I couldn't leave her on her own out here, and unlike Meenah's, my kiss had a time limit. The gills could wear off any second now, or it could be years. That, and the fins wouldn't go well with most humans, I figured.
Welp, these questions would have to wait until she woke up. Letting myself sink back of the mini-beach, I curled around a suitable rock and let sleep take hold.
She was just waking up as I did. Outside, the sun was slightly past noon, casting dark shadows; it was easily dark enough to keep my skin from sizzling. I could see the girl clearly through the waves, but she couldn't see me at all.
The girl had just been attacked by a giant serpent, then saved and dragged across miles of ocean by a handsome seadweller. Her emptions would be completely mixed. This was too good not to watch. Or to take advantage of.
First she was groggy. She sat up slowly, rubbing the bump on her head from where the waves smacked her out cold against a rock. Her eyes were screwed shut.
But then she opened them. She didn't focus in on anything, still rubbing the tender spot. I grinned, waiting. A few seconds later, her brain snapped awake. Mouth opening like a fish, she took in the fact that she was in an under ground rock beach in the middle of the ocean. And if she hit her head hard enough, she probably thought last night was a dream. Now all that was left was panic. As I waited, I contemplated wether to scare or woo her first. Hmm ... both at the same time might work in my favor...
She didn't panic though. Not really. Instead she crawled to the shore an hugged her knees to her chest. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she stared into the water, letting the waves lick her flippers. Gingerly, she fingered one of her new gills. Shuddering from the pain it brought, she quickly disregarded that idea.
The thoughtful look returned and she turned her gaze once again to the waves.
I would sigh in disappointment but the air bubbles might betray my location. Instead I flicked my ears and let the bioluminescent pores on my skin do their thing. (E/c) eyes targeted in on the light almost instantly. But she did not back away until I was in the shallows and rising.
"Hello there." I grinned as I slithered towards the brave girl over the smooth pebbles that made up the shore. My tail made a soft swish among the clatter. Grabbing one of the larger stones like a weapon, she pressed her back to the wall. I frowned. "Come on, I savwed you. Don't be that vway."
"You're... You're a mertroll." I nodded. Her voice was hesitant and rough from disuse at first but then gained confidence and clarity as she continued. "Why would you save me? Why haven't you eaten me-" Her eyes roamed what she could see of the cave, and her expression went cold; the next question was a threatening hiss. "Where is my little brother?"
I gulped.