The man ushered the girl forward, calling her to him without words, and she, unable to resist him, came willingly to the ocean's edge. That was the funnest way, the man thought, they trusted him, to the very last second. Right up until he tore his shark's teeth through their soft flesh. In that last second, they still thought him a perfect creature, blameless, innocent. They didn't comprehend that the beautiful creature before them was a monster luring them to their deaths.
The girl was no different. She didn't seem to find that a man that just stepped calmly from the ocean, dressed in flowing black rags, was strange. Just a man seeking company in the salty water and she was caught in his mysterious eyes the second he emerged, completely dry, except for his ankles down, which was still in the water. He was smiling invitingly, still waving her forward while waiting, in the surf, not having the energy to go to her himself.
The girl slipped out of her sandles and stepped into the waves. The water slithered around her ankles, capturing her, intending to never let her go. Once the man was satisfied the water held her in place, he grinned, showing his sharp teeth.
The girl was bewildered only a moment, then trusting again, the way he liked them. He stepped toward her and took her hands, leading her deeper into the water, whispering to the water, asking it to release her long enough to do so. The ocean obeyed, caressing his arms lovingly.
He looked into her eyes, for the last time, then froze. He didn't see adoration, but fear and confusion. Surprised, he dropped her hands, and stepped back, releasing her from her trance. He listened intently to her heart as it beat frantically. The man widened his eyes and spoke, for the first time in centuries. "Who are you?" His voice was magical, sing songy.
The girl blinked, then answered, "Laylia." perfect understanding of her fate in her eyes.
The man leaned forward and Laylia flinched, ""Why did you come to me?" he cocked his head.
"A...pull."
"To me?"
"No. The ocean."
"The ocean..." he whispered, wonderingly. They hated the ocean...
The man started backing up, whispering to the ocean again, asking the same thing, but for a different reason. Reluctantly, the water receded obeying it's son, wistfully freeing her. "I am called..." the man paused, as if trying to remember, then he continued, "I am called Nicias." and he disappeared in a swirl of sea foam.