Isho- I'm like, 75% sure of where this is going. I mostly started this because I can't seem to get enough of mer sex and I didn't even know I liked it so much until I got into this fandom. I'll update tags as I go because, again, only 75% sure right now and things change.
I'm open to suggestions and critique. I would also like a beta reader, but I feel like that's just a pipe dream at this point so whateves.
The air is filled with noise, from the screech of gulls to the shouts of merchants trying to push their wares onto the people milling about. The noise is almost as overwhelming as the smell. The stench of dead fish and refuse drowns out most of the salty scent of the sea that blows in on the breeze. My face scrunches up, eyes watering as I try not to gag. Definitely not the best impression one can have on their first visit to a port town.
"Oi, quit tryn' ta puke up yer breakfast and get a move on!"
I jump at my boss's booming voice and stammer out an apology, tugging the pack horse forward again. My boss, Mr. Evans, shakes his head and goes on ahead towards the docks. Mr Evans is a very robust man who is very harsh with his help, but can really lay the praise on thick if he thinks he's got a high paying customer. Of course, as a jewelry crafter, he really only has rich customers. So he's basically just an asshole to most people. The only reason he's kept me around so long, is because he didn't have to teach me to read or write. It also helped that I was a quick study with arithmetic.
Fighting through the crowd, I try to keep an eye on where Mr Evans is going. We came into town hoping to obtain passage to Ireland. Mr. Evans is trying to find a new supplier of silver, and left his store in the care of his other apprentices. He only brought me along to help transport supplies and anything he might want to purchase along the way.
It will probably take a month tops before we get back home, the boat ride taking up the majority of our trip. I get to the wharf and look around for my boss, I lost sight of him briefly and don't know which ship he went to. Mr Evans needs to find his contact who agreed to take us along in exchange for a favour or two. After a moment of looking around, I finally spot him three docks to the left near a medium sized trade ship. There are many sailors already loading it up with supplies while Mr. Evans's friend barks orders at them. I tug on the horse's reigns and cluck to get him moving forward and weave my way through the crowd again. The air is much clearer next to the sea and I take the time to breathe deeply, clearing my lungs of the foul air.
"Enjoying the sea boy?"
Startled by the question, I stop and whip around to see a woman enshrouded in a heavy brown cloak. Her hood is pulled up over wavy ebony hair, casting a shadow over her olive skin. She stands a few centimetres higher than me, and I have to tilt my head up a bit to meet her gaze. I can't really tell how old she is. She looks young in the face, but something about her gives me a feeling that she isn't all that she appears to be. Maybe it's her eyes. I think they're grey, but they seem to shimmer like crystals and seem to peer straight into my soul. I frown slightly, her question finally registering.
"I'm 20."
Her smile widens, giving me a look that seemed to say that her opinion hadn't changed with that fact. It was only for a moment, but I swear that I could see razor sharp fangs behind her lips before disappearing again. Before I have a chance to think, the strange woman motions towards the rolling waves.
"The sea offers much more than just a sweet breeze and food for you to eat. It is a place that contains great beauty and wonders."
I perk up at this, chest buzzing with excitement. I lean a bit closer, like it will help me hear her better. I've always liked hearing about new things, and I may as well find out what I can expect on this trip.
"Really? Have you traveled out to sea often? What's it like? I've never seen it before today. I-"
I abruptly stop when she laughs. I feel my face heat with embarrassment and I stammer out an apology. She shakes her head and brings her left hand up to cup my face. She gives me a gentle look and strokes her thumb over my cheekbone, where a cluster of freckles are.
"I'm afraid mere words could never do it justice child. It is simply something you must see with your own eyes."
"I-I see."
The conversation peters out and the sounds of the wharf make themselves known again. I glance back out to the waves, and let myself imagine what she may have seen on her travels. Her hand drops from my cheek and I hear a rustling of fabric.
"Tell me boy, can you swim?"
I turn back to see her holding up a green ball, no larger than a marble, resting in the palm of her hand. I don't think it's made of glass though, it seems to be made of ground plants. A pill maybe? I look back up to her strange eyes and shake my head, murmuring out a negative. I don't know why she's asking me this, no one I know can.
"Take this pill with you boy. Keep it safe on your journey. It will help should you fall into the water."
I look back down and pluck it from her hand. I inspect it closer and give it a sniff. It smells like the ocean air, only stronger. My nose tingles from the stench of salt and herbs, and I roll it between my fingers. It doesn't stain my fingers, so maybe dried? It feels solid like stone, which is odd for a pill made from plants.
"What will it do exact-"
I look up to find myself alone amongst the crowd once more. Confused, I look around trying to spot her. It's no use though, there's too many people and she seems to have just disappeared into thin air.
"Midoriya! Get your ass over here!"
I yelp and rush over to Mr. Evans, absently slipping the pill into my breast pocket. Mr Evans is red in the face when I jog up to him, looking ready to burst a vessel. He scowls, but doesn't say anything to me. He just motions to his friend and another sailor who is standing beside him.
"This is Captain Cordon and his First Mate Shinsou."
"N-nice to meet you."
I greet both of them and they nod in return. The captain is a very tall and burly man, scars littering his weather worn skin. His hair is a sandy colour, likely bleached that way from all the sun.
"Shinsou will show you where to put your supplies and the horse. After that, he'll give you the rest of the tour."
Captains' voice is as gruff as his appearance. I look towards my boss and he just waves me off before I can say anything.
"I've still got stuff to settle here boy, now get."
I bow my head to him and jog after the man called Shinsou. He's at about half a metre taller than me and is very compact, muscle wise. His lavender hair is as wild as my own, and he looks really tired with dark bags under his eyes. From what I saw earlier, he also has a slight overbite. He turns his head to me once I catch up with him near the ramp.
"We're going below deck, that's where everything is pretty much kept. That horse skittish?"
I look between him and the animal, confused. He sighs and rubs at his temple.
"Let me rephrase, has that horse ever been on a ship before?"
"I don't think so?"
He nods and then pulls a large rag from his back pocket.
"Right, we'll have to blindfold him then."
I scrunch my eyebrows and tilt my head to the right.
"Why?"
His grey eyes flick down to meet mine.
"Livestock that aren't used to sea travel often spook when crossing the ramps to get on and off the boats. Blindfolding them makes it so they can't see the water, which is usually what scares them."
To accentuate his point, he taps the ramp with the tip of his worn black boot. I hum in understanding, and hold the horses head still while Shinsou wraps and secures the cloth around his eyes. Once done, we carefully lead him up and onto the boat with minimal fuss. Shinsou removes the cloth once on the deck, then leads us below deck through a large hatch. We both remain quiet as we go down to the bottom layer of the boat, where some sheep are being kept. There is hay spread across the floor, and a wooden trough half filled with water placed along the far wall. We both work at taking the tackle and baggage off the horse, and I go ahead and give him a treat before letting him wander around the room.
I turn back to Shinsou, who has already shouldered a few of the bags. There's another sailor, who joined us a moment ago, who helps me wrangle the rest. With all the luggage in hand, we head back out into the hallways. After I shift my load a bit, I look up at the back of Shinsou's head.
"So, um, where are we headed now?"
Shinsou glances back at me before facing forward again.
"You and your boss are sharing a cabin so there'll be plenty of room for your stuff in there. After we drop that off, I'll show you where everything else you'll need to know about is."
"Ok!"
We go up two decks and quickly unload all of the baggage near one of the cots. The unnamed sailor left soon after, likely having other things to do. Not being used to heavy labour, I have to take a moment to catch my breath and rest my screaming arms. Shinsou is nice enough to wait without comment, though he does look slightly amused. I blush a bit when I notice, and quickly straighten back up.
"Right, let's get the rest of the tour out of the way shall we?"
He walks towards the doorway, ruffling my hair as he passes by. My face gets even hotter from embarrassment.
It's a week into our trip that a storm hits. When you're in the middle of the ocean, with seemingly endless amounts of water all around you, you're able to see the storms coming just from looking at the horizon. The downside is, you really can't do much except brace yourself for it. Within an hour of spotting the dark, angry clouds, the heavens unleashed their fury upon us. Mr. Evans was safe below deck while the wind and rain pounded down, but I was above deck trying to help keep things secure.
For the past week, I've been conscripted to help the crew as part of my boss's favour to the Captain. This meant that I was given menial chores like scrubbing the deck or helping the cook prepare our meals, which wasn't so bad. I got to know Shinsou a bit more and he's a nice guy, if a bit aloof most of the time. It was during one of our chats that the alarm went out, and we all started scrambling to get things put away and tied down. We hadn't managed to get everything secured once the squall hit. I had to fight against not just the wind, but the rocking of the boat too.
Once the last rope was finally tied down, I felt someone tug on my arm. Squinting through the rain, I see Shinsou, who is now dragging me towards the hatch that lead below deck. The boat leans heavily with another wave and we stumble, almost losing our footing. Once the ship evens out again, Shinsou shoves me forward. I look back at him and he yells over the wind.
"Go! You're done up here!"
"But-"
There's a flash and then a deafening crack of thunder, drowning out the protest I wanted to make. Shinsou just shakes his head and jabs his finger at the hatch.
"You can't help now, you're not strong or experienced enough. Now go!"
I grimace, but obey anyway. As much as I dislike it, he has a point. I'm not a sailor, and I'll just get in the way right now. I jog over to the heavy wooden door and get my hand around the slippery iron ring, when I hear another shout. It was obscured by the raging wind, so I paused to look up for a moment. I only had enough time to register a rope whipping towards me probably having snapped or come undone from something. The next thing I know, the air is thrust out of me as a crushing force knocks me back into the side rail. I cough and choke, desperately trying to get air back into my lungs.
Just as I finally manage to get a lungful of air, the ship heaves again and I feel myself tipping over the edge. I feel weightless, and for a moment time seems to slow down. I look over my shoulder to see the roiling waves below, and all I can feel is a dreadful certainty. I've gone overboard, and I can't swim.
I'm going to die.
Time speeds up again as I crash into the black, icy water. I desperately hold onto what little air I have, and claw my way towards the surface. I manage to breach once, gasping in fresh air before sinking under again. Shit. Shit! I don't want to die! Not yet! Please God, help me!
I clamp my hands around my mouth and nose, fighting back the burn of my straining lungs. My eyes are open, exposed to the stinging water, and desperately looking around for something. Anything to help me live just a bit longer. That's when I notice a blurry shape slip out of my breast pocket and float in front of me.
What's that?
It looks like a sphere-oh! The pill! I had it in my pocket? I quickly grab for it and bring it to my mouth. That woman said it would help be breathe right? I just have to swallow it. Wait, can I swallow something while holding my breath?
I shake my head and quickly open my mouth, a bubble of air slipping out only to be replaced with brine. There's no time to think anymore, and I slip the object between my teeth. Clicking my jaw shut and swallowing, water and all. That seems to be the limit of my endurance though, and my lungs give out. I cough out all my precious air and reflexively breathe in again, taking in all the salty water my lungs can hold.
My lungs and throat burn even more and I keep trying to get to the surface again, to no avail. The flailing of my arms starts slowing as a pressure starts invading my skull. What little sight I have starts to dot away, and I suddenly feel both warm and cold at the same time. I blink once, then twice as my body stills and I finally fade away.
i don't keep an update schedule, i update when i feel like it and when work allows. i also have depression and ADD issues so motivation is a high end escort to me most of the time, sometimes i just can't pay her so i have to be satisfied with looking instead of getting the good stuff.
don't ever touch the cheap ho's though, it's never worth it
