Die Lorelei
The Albacore slowed to a halt as her crew found themselves engulfed by a thick haze. Her captain, Megurine Luka, drew an uneasy breath as she scanned the crew's surroundings. The captain was rewarded for her action with little else but a nondescript view of what might as well be cotton enveloping the ship a few yards away from all directions and a lung full of a stifling mixture of air and water. Luka turned back to face the rest of the crew, but the atmosphere on deck was no less suffocating than the mist itself.
"I'm sorry, but it looks like we will have to put things on hold for now," said Luka. "Should we press on like this, without our sight to guide us, shipwrecking is almost a certainty."
"Well shit, her highness the captain sure makes a habit of taking her sweet time." The blonde helmswoman quipped. "Keep on going at this pace and we might even find ourselves enjoying yet another skipper fea-"
"Enough, Neru." Yuuma, the chief mate, interjected before Neru could really start to plant grisly images into Luka's head. "There are certain things that most of us don't need to recall-or to learn, for that matter." Yuuma gave a quick glance to Luka as he stated the latter. From those stony green eyes, Luka could not help but to feel as if the second mate meant to distance rather than to shield his new captain from the crew and their secrets. Before Luka could find the right way to pry further however, Yuuma had cut her off preemptively. "Besides, with our supplies, something like that is no real concern as long as we exercise caution."
"Caution? Come on, you talk like this place is filled with islands and reefs." Neru pulled out her map and practically stabbed a hole through the parchment with her finger. "What do you see here? Water and nothing else, that's what." She huffed as she tucked the chart back into her pocket. "I can't waste my entire fucking life on the ocean when I have someb..." Before the mouthy helmswoman could finish her sentence, a loud creak coming from the cabin had drawn all the attention. "...Ugh, what do you want now, Dell?"
"Stress relief." Dell said nonchalantly as he lit his cigarette. "So, what's all the commotion about?"
"Neru was being unnecessarily confrontational." From Yuuma's exasperated tone and Dell's shrug, Luka gleaned that this was not a particularly rare happening, even before she came into the picture.
"Neru being a hormonal bitch? Nothing new there." Dell took a quick drag before he turned his gaze toward Yuuma. "So, I guess you expect me to do something about it."
"You are the one in charge of voyage plans, as second mate," said Yuuma, "and nobody else has ever managed to talk sense into Neru, you realize."
"I don't know, I thought disciplining was primarily the captain and the chief mate's duty." The second mate's thinly veiled derision did not go undetected by Luka. "But fine, I'll do it when I have time. Last thing I want is for that woman to steer us into yet another bloody wreck."
"Wow, a woman driver joke, that really stung." Neru affected a hurt tone in her voice mockingly and grinned belligerently. "So, I see the sea spray have rusted whatever wit you may've had before, huh?"
"Well, aren't I so lucky to have a caustic bitch to get rid of that rust with then." Knowing glances were exchanged as Dell sneered back at Neru, absolutely undaunted. "We'll have a good talk tonight about this." With that, the second mate tossed his half-burnt cigarette and retreated to his cabin.
The silence Dell had left behind him felt to Luka like a tangible reminder of how little say the young captain truly had over her crew. Luka eyed the chief mate and helmswoman's faces, in search for some cue, but picked up none. In spite of the thick veil obstructing any meaningful view however, her surroundings happened to be less impregnable. The dimming sunlight told her that the chief mate's duty was done for the day and the fog itself told her navigation was a fool's endeavour, as it had before. The captain cleared her throat and announced her commands tentatively.
"All things considered, it appears that continuing our duties for the day isn't possible." Luka heard little more than a yawn from Neru in response, a good sign. "Therefore, you are dismissed from your duties for the day." The helmswoman yawned and strutted off impudently, but the chief mate remained.
"As for anchor watch?" Yuuma asked.
"I will take care of that, until midnight," Luka answered hastily, "and the second mate will take up the duty from there."
"Very well, I will inform him of that." The mate walked off and relayed Luka's commands to the rest of the seamen, overseeing the anchoring process before retreating to the cabin with everybody else. It came to Luka then that she had never been accepted as the new captain, when she saw how much more readily the mate was obeyed in comparison.
It was no surprise, she supposed, for she had been a stranger to both the vessel and her crew. It certainly did not help that she had been essentially tacked onto the crew by highly strung bureaucrats with the expectation that she would be able to fill in for the deceased captain with no hassle. Reality just did not like to work like the plans did on paper.
Luka looked up to the sky, hoping to find companionship in the stars if nothing else, but even they were absent for that night, leaving Luka alone with the pitch black sky they usually occupied and the vast seas that mirrored the usually star-speckled sky. There was nary a voice to be heard aside from the whispers of the wind and the sighs of the tides and suddenly, Luka found herself longing for the bustle of the harbours that she used to detest.
Trying to reach out for the crew was out of the question. They simply did not want her in their inner circle and nothing was to change that. Luka recognized that, which was precisely why she volunteered to keep watch, so at least she would be able to make do with the sea's companionship. Maybe, she hoped halfheartedly as she gazed ahead into the boatlight's beam, one of those sea-maidens of lore would come and sing their enchanting songs, beckoning her to join them and plunge into a watery grave. She was a perfect victim anyhow, for loneliness weighed heavily in her heart, much like those lovesick sailors who fell victim to these temptresses of the deep. It was then that something had caught Luka's eyes.
Stringy black tendrils emerged from beneath the thick shroud of haze, writhing eerily underneath the water where the boatlight had penetrated. At first Luka had thought it to be a shadow casted by some sort of tentacled sea-creature, but out came a pallid neck following behind the dark mass, and then a broad, livid back attached to long, lithe limbs. There was no doubt that the apparition was humanoid, although Luka could still not ascertain its substantiality, as it moved so effortlessly and silently through the water.
An inexplicable urge compelled Luka to follow the figure as it drifted out of the boatlight's range, threatening to go out of her sight. She shuffled down toward the opposite end of the boat softly and scarcely breathing, harbouring that faintest bit of fear that any excessive noise might drive the phantasm away somehow. Beneath where Luka now stood was, as far as her eyes could discern, a shapely woman hanging by the anchor chain.
Luka found her eyes drawn toward where the woman's face would be, but those dark, damp locks draping down said face had all but obscured whatever features that might have been lying behind. What view Luka did get evoked more of a drowned maiden than a seductive siren and suddenly nauseating and sinister possibilities ran through Luka's mind as to why the body had been unclothed.
What Luka had done next she could not be sure of, but the figure had reared her head up and brushed the hair away from her face, finally made aware of the pink haired woman's presence. The captain's eyes darted for the stranger's face again and met a striking pair of mismatched eyes. Curious, Luka thought as she found herself searching for words to break through a nearly palpable silence once again. Before she could find the words she wanted, the siren had started to sing.
"Nobody else around, eh?" Out came a clear, self-possessed voice and Luka immediately found herself taking a liking to it. What an odd way to open up a conversation though, she mused.
"What makes you think that's the case?" Luka bit her lip; that came out sounding far more defensively than she would have liked.
"I don't think you would've noticed me if you weren't alone, am I correct?" Luka had to admit to herself that she could not say otherwise. She nodded, more for the sake of appeasing the stranger quickly rather than a real admission to the claim. It was irrational, but there was a distinct fear in Luka that, if she were to say or imply the wrong thing, she would be left alone again.
"Say," Luka quipped, eager to change the topic to something less uncomfortable. "It's rather daring of you to go swimming in such conditions, when you're pretty much as good as blind."
"Well, I would have waited in any other situation." The woman beneath clutched on tighter to the chain as she spoke. "But I couldn't afford to waste any time."
"What could be so fleeting that you would risk exhausting yourself and potentially sinking in middle of nowhere just to pursue it?"
"Liberty." Luka cocked an eyebrow at the statement. The newcomer seemed rather grounded for such abstractions. Whatever she might have meant, it certainly had piqued Luka's curiosity.
"Sounds like a long story." Luka scanned hastily behind herself, checking for signs of any crew member being present on deck, before turning her attention back to the woman hanging by the anchor. "Perhaps we can talk more indoors?"
"It'll be a pleasure, ah..." It had occurred embarrassingly late to Luka that she still had not introduced herself properly yet.
"Luka...Captain Megurine Luka." She added without thinking. Luka looked down nervously, searching for any signs of distaste over her pompous display and sighed with relief when all she got was a knowing grin.
"Pleasure to meet you, cap'n." The woman beamed and began climbing her way up the chain deftly. "Yokune Ruko here."
"Ah..." Luka began but something had caught her eyes. Something between Ruko's thighs to be exact. She quickly averted her eyes and coughed into her arm to cover up her surprise. It was not her business to pry about such things, especially not when the person in question was somebody she had barely met. "Luka will suffice, Ruko."
"Will do, Luka," said Ruko as she pulled herself over onto the deck and stood with little fuss, revealing the true extent of her towering figure. Ruko's enormous stature coupled with her candid presentation had made it all but impossible for Luka to find an unoffensive place to cast her gaze. Deciding quickly that the face would be the least unbecoming place to stare into, Luka swung her head up to meet the other woman's eyes. The taller woman's eyes widened briefly, clearly taken aback somehow, before brushing her surprise off with a lilting chuckle.
"Pray tell, what amuses you so, Ruko?" Luka spat and crossed her arms sternly. She had already got more than her fair share of disregard from the crew and frankly, she had no obligation to take it from some vagrant.
"Oh nothing much, just didn't expect you to be so forward." Ruko smiled down at Luka as she spoke. "Thought I nailed you down as one of those shy filles, that was all."
"Well, you would be hard-pressed to find a shrinking violet commanding anything, much less an entire ship." The irony of her statement did not elude Luka, but the last thing she wanted Ruko to think was that she had her read thoroughly by mere intuition.
"Mm, right." Ruko nodded, although Luka could not tell if Ruko had bought the statement at face value or not thanks to that amiable yet neutral tone in her voice. Perplexed, it seemed wiser for Luka to avoid jumping to conclusions, but she could not find other words to speak. Although Luka was not absolutely certain, Ruko might have noticed the sudden silence as well, for the taller woman was scanning her surroundings absently as if the words had been hidden behind the shroud she emerged from. Finally, something came to Ruko. "Hm, if I recalled correctly, you wanted to continue inside?"
"Ah!" Luka gasped, stunned that she had forgotten her own offer from before. "Correct, just follow my lead." She turned around and walked toward her own cabin door with the expectation that the other woman would follow, but the conspicuous lack of footsteps other than her own had drawn her attention. "Is there a problem?"
"Well, how should I put it," mused Ruko as her carefree grin visibly darkened. "There are certain things you should know, about people I mean, before you bring them in."
"And just what part of a civil and agreeable individual such as yourself should I be so concerned with?"
"The part that killed a man with their bare hands."
Author's Note: So here ends the start of my first serial. For those following my other fics, sorry about throwing them in the backburner like this. It's just that after I finally found an idea I can write something substantial with, I want to see a complete story realized. Hope you guys will understand and maybe enjoy what's to come of this ride~.