A silly little folk tale, with a twist. A combination of The Magic Fish and Jūratė. To hear the song that Ivan is singing, look up 'The Volga Boatman Song by The National Tatarstan Orchestra.' on youtube specifically. It will help you to 'read' along with the song! And pft, Toris comes off so tsundere I swear, but the next chapter will explain!
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Ivan sat patiently on the old and rickety wooden dock, violet eyes on the endless horizon. How he wanted to get back onto a boat! If he could get a long-term job, he would be set! Everything would be good again, like it was supposed to be. He was strong enough, sturdy and dedicated. But he was also Russian. On these Lithuanian shores, he was quite the minority. He simply went where the work had taken him, though the untimely death of the fishing boat captain had hit his poor family quite hard. The new owner didn't like him, and rather than pick a fight Ivan had decided to leave. He'd seen what they did to sailors they didn't like. Out on the choppy seas, no one ever questioned the unfortunate drowning of another seaman.
The sun had started to go down about an hour ago, but still no fish nibbled on the small pieces of bread that he had been tossing in now and again. It was his only source of food, but he was sure it would pay off! The dock creaked with every lap of the ocean, waves slapping wetly against the rocky shore off behind him. With the light fading slowly, the sea was becoming dark. He could no longer see into the water in front of him, but he still had hope. One fish. Just one fish would give his sisters something to eat for the night! What was he going to do? They couldn't even afford to move. The last of the money had run out a week ago! Ivan had nothing but this old dock and the sturdy net which lay behind him. He'd planned on tossing it in once he saw a few fish gathering, but it seemed as if that wouldn't happen. Taking in a deep breath, he began to sing.
"Ey, ukhnem!
Ey, ukhnem!
Yeshcho razik, yeshcho da raz!" The fisherman's voice started out softly, low and smooth.
"Ey, ukhnem!
Ey, ukhnem!
Yeshcho razik, yeshcho da raz!" His voice deepened into a splendid baritone, gaining a depth of emotion from the turmoil within his chest.
"Razovyom my beryozu,
Razovyom my kudryavu!
Ai-da, da ai-da,
Ai-da, da ai-da." Something splashed in the water, stopping Ivan mid-verse. The sound had come from the water in front of him, not behind! Curiously, he tossed a few pieces of bread into the water. For a few tense moments he held his breath. To his dismay, the bread bobbed and floated uselessly, un-snatched by fish. Giving a grunt of frustration, he leaned back on his arms behind him once more.
"Razovyom my kudryavu.
My po berezhku idyom,
Pesnyu solnyshku poyom.
Ai-da, da ai-da,
Ai-da, da ai-da,
Pesnyu solnyshku poyom." Another splash, louder this time. One of the pieces of bread was snatched from the surface of the water, and he caught a glimpse of a fish just an inch below the surface as it fled. He couldn't believe it! Fish usually swam away when there was noise! Smiling, he began to sing louder.
"Ey, Ey, tyani kanat silney!
Pesnyu solnyshku poyom.
Ey, ukhnem!
Ey, ukhnem!
Yeshcho razik, yeshcho da raz!" The water stirred in a curious manner, some ten feet in front of him. More fish snapped up the pieces of bread, and his heart began to race, and he stood up slowly. As he rose he grabbed his net, making sure that it was free of knots and set to toss. Happily, he sang out again.
"Ekh, ty, Volga, mat'-reka,
Shiroka i gluboka,
Ai-da, da ai-da,
Ai-da, da ai-da,
Volga, Volga, mat'-reka!" Something stirred below the rolling waters, something big! Small fish began to leap right out of it, and the dark shadow grew closer. With a mighty toss of his net, the weighted ropes sank quickly. When he tugged it however, he was nearly pulled right off the dock! For a split second he was sure that he had snagged it on the dock its self! A quick tug from the net and the splash of a scaled tail removed that worry, and Ivan's smile nearly split his cheeks! It was huge! "Haaa!" He shouted as he jerked back on the net, planting his feet firmly on the dock as the aged wood creaked and groaned in protest. The sound that he heard next was startling, an almost inhuman screech! His fingers ached with the next powerful tug of resistance, but Ivan's brows knitted in resolve.
"Ey, ukhnem! Ey, ukhnem!" It was no longer a song, but the true meaning of those words. Heave, ho! Ivan pulled hard on the net, feeling his feet slide on the damp dock. He stepped backwards, heaving with all of his might. Finally he caught sight of that mighty tail again. It was golden! It gave him all the adrenaline that he needed. Once the entire body of the net-tangled fish had broken the surface of the water, the weight increased. A high and keening screech hit his ears like hot pokers, but he gave his own shout of pure determination, giving one final tug of the net.
Thrashing and hissing, the fish was on the dock. Ivan turned his back, dragging it as quickly as it could. It had to be over a hundred pounds! What was a fish like that doing this close to shore? Only once he had reached the rocky, sandy shore did he let go of the net, panting raggedly. He'd begun to sweat, and he reached up to wipe the back of his wrist across his brow. He froze solid at the sound of a human shout, turning wide eyes back towards the net. Amongst that tangle of rope he caught a glimpse of pale flesh, and his heart leapt into his throat. "Bozhe moy…" He breathed.
Kneeling down, he grabbed a hold of the net's end. Working quickly, he began to open it and untangle that writhing creature. "Stay still!" He snapped in exasperation. To his never ending shock, it did! After a few more moments, the creature was half free. At least the top, human half was free, but its tail was still tangled. And what a tail! Ivan's gaze was captured by it for a moment. He could see now that it wasn't golden as he had first thought, but an orange and brown shine, yellow-gold where the light hit it. "Magic fish…" He muttered to himself.
"What did you call me?" An angry, male voice growled. That was when he remembered to look at the other half. Its smooth, though scratched up skin was lightly tanned. A line of scales trailed up along its back, and what seemed to be the lowered row of a spiny fin. There was a bit of what looked like rope around its waist, decorated with shells and shiny orange rocks. The fingers of its hands were webbed, spread wide and grasping at the sandy rocks, nails long and quite dangerous looking. Its chest was flat, just slightly masculine, like that of a young man. A necklace similar to what it wore on its waist rest around its neck. A mess of brown hair framed a face of flawless beauty that took his breath away. Dark green eyes glared at the fisherman, pupils slit like that of a cat's. Ivan swallowed hard, his hands trembling.
"M… Magic fish!" The fisherman repeated, but the fish-man only glared harder.
"I am not a fish!"
"S-sorry, I… I only meant…" Ivan was smiling again, his breath short in his excitement. "I needed you! That is, I prayed and hoped that I would catch something. What I got was you! You'll help me, right?"
"You've got to be kidding!" The creature's lip curled, showing pearly white teeth. "I only came because I heard a pleasant voice. I tried to get closer, but then this accursed net trapped me! Why did you do that? Let me go!"
"No!" Ivan said angrily. "Not until you give me what I want." The creature gave a hiss of breath, though it answered with an irritated voice.
"What do you want?" It asked. Ivan paused then, realizing that he had no idea what he should ask for. Fish? Maybe wealth? Oh! Ivan tapped his fish to the palm of his hand.
"Ikra!" He said happily. Fish eggs! "Yours must be huge! And they're plentiful, da? Enough to feed my family very well!" However the creature wasn't as pleased as he was. In fact he looked quite horrified. Suddenly that body came alive, the fin on its back raising up to reveal webbed and very dangerous looking spines. They continued along the back of his tail, and that was when he also noticed the creature's ears. They had a webbed ridge, which showed the same spines as his back. That mouth opened, revealing sharp and almost shark-like teeth as he released a mighty hiss.
"I'll devour you!" It screeched. Ivan thought quickly, kneeling to grab the net again. He threw it over the creature's head, wrapping it and holding his hands away from those claws as he was swiped at. It released another screech, but Ivan scolded loudly.
"Quiet! Bad mermaid… man… fish-creature!" That is what they were called, right? Mermaids… er, men? "Do you want everyone to come running?" Only at that did the creature stop again, though he was panting heavily.
"You want to eat my young!"
"N-no, I don't! I thought… Well, that it would be like fish…"
"I'm not a—!"
"Yes yes, I know that now. If you promise not to try and… eat me, I'll take off the net." After a few more heavy breaths, the creature, the merman nodded once. Slowly the spines on its back lowered, and it seemed those sharp teeth went away—to where Ivan had no idea. Ivan knelt down, pulling a hooked knife from his belt. "Ah-ah, I won't hurt you." The fisherman's voice was much softer now, using the same tone one might employ to calm a frightened animal. Though the merman remained tense, he didn't resist when the knife came close. Ivan hated to ruin his only net, but he had no choice. There would be no untangling it from that face. "You really are nothing like the magical fish…" Ivan lamented as he cut away the net. Once the merman was free, he bent his tail so that he could sit up, leaning back on one arm and resting the other on his hip, just above a short fin there. The scales there were low on his abdomen, through the color of them seemed to fade into his human-like skin.
"Tell me what you want that I can give you. I'll do it if you promise to let me go." He muttered.
"What's your name?" Ivan asked. The merman frowned, hesitating. Finally, he sighed.
"Torisjūratėlaurinaitis." Ivan seemed a little dismayed at all the syllables. He hadn't even caught them all!
"T…Toris…"
"That will do." The merman, now known as Toris, nodded. Ivan smiled.
"I'm Ivan. Ivan Braginsky." He offered. Toris only frowned.
"I didn't ask. Now, about this… 'wish.'" Ivan was a little disheartened at being brushed off, but he tried to remind himself that it didn't matter.
"I need food. I have to feed my sisters. I lost my job on the docks because I am a Russian, and we've run out of money. I was here to catch fish; that was all! I started to sing because I was sad." Ivan sat back on the rocks, calloused fingers playing with his knife. Only then did the merman's expression seem to soften. "I need fish." Ivan mumbled, and Toris sighed.
"There's no way I can catch enough fish to feed your family. Even if I could, it would only last a night." At this Ivan looked crushed, gripping the handle of his knife. Defeated, he looked down.
"I see." He said softly. A silence fell between them, and only the sound of the slapping waves could be heard. Ivan cleared his throat after a moment, lifted his head to smile. His eyes were red and wet, yet his voice was light. "I'm sorry for catching you. I hope I didn't hurt you."
"I'll survive." Toris said with a bit of a frown.
"Good! Let me just get the last of the net." Ivan got up on his knees, reaching for Toris' tail.
"No, be careful!" Toris warned. But Ivan's hand brushed a spine near the base of the tail, and the thin sheath of skin covering the end of it pushed back to reveal the hardened spike. The knife dropped as an excruciating pain spread out from that small prick, and he clasped his wrist with a small shout. "You stupid human!" The merman muttered, reaching out to grab Ivan's wrist. He pulled it up to his mouth, not letting go when Ivan tried to tug back. "Calm! I'm not going to hurt you." He assured the fisherman. Instead those lips parted to reveal that his teeth were once again 'human', pink slender tongue slipping out from between them to lap at the wound.
Ivan's face flushed with heat, and he could only resist the urge to squirm as the merman began to lick and suck at the entry wound of the spine. Though Toris' skin felt cold, and a little clammy, his tongue was hot and wet. The burn and sting began to fade, becoming no more than a dull throb only moments later. When the fisherman gave a sigh of relief, Toris released his wrist. Picking up the knife for himself, the merman cut the net still tangled around the base of his tail, freeing his fin. Handing the knife back to Ivan, the merman's hands rose to his own neck. Reaching behind it, he untied his necklace. He held it out towards the Russian, who stared at it for a few moments. Only now did he realize that those polished rocks were in fact amber, and that there were pearls woven in there as well!
"This should tide you over for a while. I'm sure you can buy a lot of fish with it, right? It took me months to gather the things to make this, I'll have you know." Toris stated. Ivan reached out slowly, allowing the necklace to be placed into his hand.
"S… spaciba."
"It's nothing. A payment for your song from earlier. Aside from catching me, I quite enjoyed it." Ivan's eyes returned to the merman's face to see that there was a bit of color on Toris' cheeks.
"Can I see you again? I'll sing as much as you like!" Ivan offered, much to Toris' surprise. The merman smiled slightly, those cat-like eyes almost playful.
"I doubt it. But perhaps if you sing loudly enough, I'll hear you." He turned over onto his belly, lifting himself to drag towards the water. Ivan stood up.
"Oh, let me help you!" He stilled as Toris looked back and up at him, raising one eyebrow.
"Do you really want to sting yourself again?" He asked. Ivan gave an embarrassed laugh.
"I suppose not." The fisherman said a bit shyly. He picked up the net, moving around to the front of the merman. "Grab it." He offered. Toris took a hold of the net and Ivan pulled, dragging the lithe creature over to the water. Toris smiled, giving one last roll to reach the water. Glancing back to Ivan, he tilted his head slightly.
"Goodbye, Ivan."
"Not goodbye! Goodnight." Ivan 'corrected', and Toris laughed. As soon as he reached the point that his lower half was completely underwater, he vanished under the dark sea with a flick of that brilliant tail. Ivan held the necklace to his chest, just over his racing heart.