The sea was restless again. With dark clouds and wild waves she raged and raged, overpowering everything that dared stand in her way. She was a magnificent queen, goddess to all life. Alfred loved days like these. Days when he and his family could truly be in their element. For a siren, the sea was the most important deity. It was what brought them everything they needed to survive. Carrying tales and whispers on the wind, and more often than not, food.
There, at the horizon. A ship, men and women struggling to keep dry. They had gotten too close to shore. Too perfect the opportunity to let slip. His family had gathered behind him, hungrily eyeing soft plush flesh hidden by tacky clothes. They wouldn't need those anymore after the sirens were done with them.
Gently smiling, the blue-eyed teen sat down on a rock. The wind tousled his hair, water licking at his scaled feet. He looked straight at the ship, and began humming an all too familiar tune. His brothers and sisters were soon to follow, coming to stand beside and behind him, all eyes on the prize. It took quite a lot to feed their entire family.
The song instantly began working. Of course it did. No human, man or woman or everything besides that, was able to resist the song of the siren. Alfred's smile grew as heads turned towards them, excited muttering indicating they were changing their course. All attempts at leading the ship away from shore were abandoned in favour of listening to the song, finding the source of it, and finally steering directly towards it. Meanwhile, they didn't notice the waves increasing in intensity all about them.
Alfred let the scent of salt and slight arousal fill his very being, pupils growing as their trance settled heavily on their next meal. Hook, line, sinker. Now all they had to do was come as close as possible, be trapped by the violence of Mother Sea, and then Alfred and his family could dive in and collect the remains.
That is when he saw him.
Amidst the dazed gazes and glazed eyes, Alfred's blues locked with an all but inhuman hue of light purple. The man was very tall, perhaps the tallest of all the crewmembers present on deck. His ashen locks shone silver against the grey pallet of the sky, and his pale skin was almost luminescent. But it was the eyes that disturbed Alfred's concentration, lulled him away from his elaborate hunting plan. This human… He was something else.
One of his brother's sent him a pointed look when his song faltered. There were enough of them to finish the job without Alfred's help, but that didn't mean his lack of enthusiasm was bound to go unnoticed. Alfred shook his head, scraped his throat… And felt the vibrations halt at the very back of his mouth. The strange man had come forward, ridding himself from the staring crowds. Climbing into the ropes, he kept constant eye contact with the teenage creature. As if he knew, he knew what was about to happen… And he was trying to negotiate with Alfred. Or perhaps it was all just in the blond's mind- their victims weren't able to break free from the trance once captured by their song's spell. That is simply not how it worked.
Lips parted, moved. The man was shouting something at him, but he couldn't hear it over the ferocious howling of their queen…
Turned out it didn't matter. Nor Alfred's lack of interest in having a full stomach, nor the other's attempt to not make that reality happen. It didn't matter at all, because the sea had other plans for them.
Alfred's mouth fell open in mute terror when he caught sight of the wave. The humans were too late to see it, still desperately listening to their song. The screams only began when it was already far too late. Alfred could only watch how it washed over them, tipped their ship without a single effort. Just like that, they were gone.
His family shouted and cheered in approval, sending their prayers of gratitude down to the dark depths of their queen. Then they dove in, knowing she would guide them instead of force them to share the human's fate. Someone nudged Alfred, urging him on to dive in as well before all the good stuff was taken.
He was frozen for what felt like hours, weeks, years, an eternity of lifetimes. His heart beat anxiously in his chest, steady drum unable to comfort him. Why was this human so different from the others? Why did Alfred… care?
Once the first shock was over, he dove in. The others were already ahead, but he knew he was one of their fastest swimmers. Using the fins between his toes and fingers and and the strong muscles of his streamlined body, he effortlessly shot through the deep blue. Eyes scanning the area, shooting over faces of distress and others of content joy… Until finally, he found him. The man must have hit his head or something of the likes, since he appeared to be unconscious. He wouldn't survive out here, not with the storm being far from over. Not with this weather, the cold forming an almost touchable barrier around Alfred's scaly body.
Someone else was already making their way to him. Alfred's eyes shot back and forth between them and the human man, mind working overtime. But in all honesty, he'd already made his choice the moment he let himself get distracted.
Alfred ploughed through the water, eyebrows drawing together in a determined frown when he saw a claw wrap itself around the man's neck… With a growl he pushed himself over the edge, until he was close enough to give the other siren a firm scratch. They yelped indignantly, murky green eyes snapping to him in fury.
"He's mine," Alfred hissed, slipping one arm under the ashen blond's lower back and holding the other out in front of him, ready to establish dominance. His strong legs easily held him up, but he knew he had to get back fast if he wanted the human to survive.
"I saw him first, get your own!" his fellow creature grumbled, but Alfred let out a sharp growl and lashed out again. The other moved back, huffing and clearly sulking. "Fine, take him, but don't think I'm letting you off easy! I should watch my back if I were you!"
Alfred couldn't care less. As soon as they had voiced their consent, he'd already started moving his extra load around, turning the tip of a rather adorably oversized nose towards the coastline. He couldn't go straight for their nest, not only because the others would kill the man on sight if they found out he was still alive, but because their nest was only accessible through climbing sharp rocks and steep cliffs. Nothing you could do while dragging around that much dead weight.
He still had no idea why he was doing it as he made his way back to the island. There was absolutely nothing to gain from keeping the human alive. What was he planning to do with him anyway? Keep him as a pet and learn him tricks? Apologize for sinking his ship and then drop him back in the ocean? What were his motives?
Alfred groaned. Even when being one of the strongest among his brethren, his legs were soon getting tired. He couldn't have chosen a lighter pet, could he? No. He had to go for the tallest, heaviest guy on the entire ship, all because he thought this specimen had pretty eyes or… something.
Once at the beach, Alfred moaned and huffed with effort while hoisting his victim onto the sand. The human's pale skin had gone icy cold, but his heart was still aflutter inside its bony cage. Alfred had successfully rescued him. ...Or had he?
He carefully put his ear to that broad chest. There was a heartbeat, that much was sure… But weren't humans also supposed to breathe? Chewing his lip, he stalked back and forth a few times, looking down at veined eyelids that hid his new favourite colour. How to go about this…
He stopped pacing, a wave of panic washing over him. The absence of his family finally allowed the full weight of his newly obtained responsibility to settle. It was a huge boulder resting on his shoulders, and he was already straining his body to keep it up.
He had rescued this human. It was now his responsibility to keep him alive. Until… until what? Until new humans came to rescue him? Alfred gritted his teeth angrily at the thought. He had just found his pet, and already they were going to take him away? No! He didn't want that!
Looking down again, the lack of movement was really starting to concern him. Kneeling beside the man, he hesitantly reached out… Trembling long-nailed fingers went to touch a cheek, slid down easily to the exposed neck. There were scars there, as if he had been stung by jellyfish or had been in an awful fight. There was still no movement.
Driven by an unknown instinct, Alfred bent down. No movement meant no air. No air meant no breathing. No breathing meant death. Alfred didn't want the other to die, not so soon after finding him. He could've eaten him instead.
But now, all he did was cover that unmoving mouth with his own and exhale, hoping with all his might that he could somehow bring the mysterious man back to life.