When Ellis left the man in the cave he had fully intended to come back that same day. Unfortunately, as was often the case with him, things did not go according to plan. It wasn't his fault this time, though. Not entirely, at least.
He headed for the docks, swimming as quickly as he could, the man's reaction replaying in his head. He was confused by it, to say the least. He knew humans could eat the silver fish. He'd seen fishermen catching them before, and it didn't make sense to catch something you couldn't use.
Maybe he just didn't like the taste? Ellis couldn't blame him, if that were the case; they didn't taste very good. Still, if he was hungry enough he'd eat one, regardless of whether he liked it or not. Maybe humans were different. Admittedly, he didn't know much about them other than what he'd seen at the docks, and while they were on their boats. Even then, most of them chased him off before he could see much.
There had been one man who'd let him stick around, but he hadn't been out on the water for a while now. He slowed a bit at the thought, realizing just how long it had been. He felt a bit guilty for not having realized it sooner, and hoped the man was alright. He resolved to look for him at the docks - maybe he would be able to help the man in the cave, too.
He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice when Rochelle joined him at his side. She didn't slam into him as she had yesterday, but she did reach out to pinch his cheek. He jumped when he felt her hand, jerking away hard before he realized who it was.
"Jeez, Ro! You gotta stop sneakin' up on me like that." He said with a short laugh, running a hand through his hair in an effort to calm himself.
Rochelle didn't seem to find it as funny as he did and only stared at him coldly.
"You need to pay more attention to what's going on around you. What if I had been a shark?"
"Well I don't think a shark'd pinch me, Ro. What're you even doin' out here? Shouldn't you be back home, or out huntin'?" He asked nervously.
Rochelle's eyes narrowed at his question, and she moved to block his path. Ellis paused, guilt flowing through him prematurely.
"I could ask you the same thing. Isn't this a little far off the route Leda gave you? And last I checked, the caves don't usually get patrolled either." She said, crossing her arms over her chest.
Ellis blanched, looking anywhere but her face. He struggled to come up with some excuse and drew a blank. He would have just said that he was on his way to the docks, but that wouldn't explain why he'd been at the cave. Plus, there was always a chance that she already knew about the man and was waiting to see if he would lie.
He hadn't even liked lying to her in the first place; he wasn't going to make things worse now that he'd been caught.
"I...well, y'know when there was that storm a couple days ago? Well I heard a boat, so I went to see if it was gonna sink, so we could take whatever was left, y'know? But then this human fell off and-" he shrank a bit at the look she was giving him. "I couldn't just let him die, Ro!"
She sighed and lowered her arms, expression softening. "I guess you couldn't."
She reached up to press a hand against his cheek, and he leaned into the touch. He was glad she didn't seem to be too upset about him lying. Her hand fell away from his face and reached up to toy with one of her dreads.
"I can't believe you went and got yourself mixed up with a human. I mean, I can,but...Gods, what am I going to do with you." She said, smiling in a slightly exasperated way.
He chuckled a bit at her words and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He started to apologize for worrying her when a thought occurred to him.
"Ro - I mean, don't take this the wrong way or nothin', but why were you followin' me anyway?" He asked, brows furrowing.
Her mouth twisted into a guilty frown, and her arms folded over her chest again. She opened her mouth to speak, shut it, then opened it again.
"Leda...asked me to follow you. She said you were acting strange last night, and you came home late. It just isn't like you, so she was...worried."
Ellis' face fell, one hand tracing over the markings on his arm, crestfallen. It wasn't entirely surprising that Leda had asked someone to follow him - really, he should be glad it was Rochelle and not one of the others.
He couldn't blame her for not fully trusting him. He wasn't really one of them (as many times as Rochelle had assured him otherwise). It made sense that Leda would want to keep an eye on him; she had the entire pod to think about.
It didn't mean that it hurt any less, though.
Rochelle seemed to notice his change in mood and leaned forward to press her cheek to his. "I'm sorry, sweetie. You know it's not that she doesn't trust you, it's just - just-"
"I know, Ro, it's okay." He said, nuzzling her back.
When they separated it was with a slightly awkward silence. Rochelle looked guilty, and Ellis wanted to reassure her that it was fine, but he knew that nothing he said would really help. After a few moments she turned and began to swim away, off in the direction of the trench. She paused when she noticed he wasn't following and turned back, confused.
"Ellis...?"
He backed away a bit, raising his hands apologetically. "Uh, I was actually headin' for the docks, to get some stuff for the...human."
Rochelle frowned and shook her head. "Ellis, sweetie, we have to go back. Leda won't be happy if you're late again - I mean, she's already not going to be happy about the human-"
"No!" He exclaimed, rushing to her side an grabbing her arm. "Ro, you can't tell her about him. She won't let me go back an' help him an' - Ro, he'll die unless I help him!"
His desperation seemed to startle her, and she placed a hand over his where it rested on her arm. The gesture did little to sooth him. An unfamiliar sort of panic had settled in his gut at the thought of not being able to see the man again - at just leaving him to die. It wasn't right, and he wouldn't let it happen.
"Okay, okay, I - I won't tell Leda. But you have to find a way to get him to the rest of the humans. Soon. I don't like the idea of lying."
Ellis wrapped her in a tight hug, his relief almost palpable. "Thank you, Ro. And I will, I promise!"
He heard her sigh quietly next to his ear, but she returned his embrace without hesitation. When she pulled away and headed for the trench, he followed.
"We have to go back, otherwise you'll get in trouble, but you can go see him tomorrow. And I'm coming with you." She said. Her tone, and the look she gave him from the corner of her eye left no room for disagreement.
He nodded amicably, not minding the idea of Rochelle going with him. She would probably be able to help him think of a way to get the man to land, too. She was much better at planning than he was.
Though, come to think of it, he wasn't sure she'd ever seen a human before. Not a living one, at least. Most of those in the pod hadn't. Despite how close they lived to coast, most everyone made sure to stay well out of the humans paths. It was probably the reason they had been able to stay in the area for as long as they had. Presenting themselves as peaceful meant that the humans had no reason to try and drive them out.
It was also the reason - one of the reasons - Leda wasn't very fond of him. Hanging around the humans as he did, occasionally borrowing from them and talking to them wasn't exactly antagonistic, but it was enough to make her, and the rest of the pod, paranoid.
He couldn't help his curiosity; something about humans had always drawn his attention. Despite their odd appearances and behaviors, he'd only even wanted to learn more about them. Granted, most of them didn't share the same sentiment, and he'd had more things thrown and swung at him than he could could count, but it had never diminished his interest. If anything, it only made his desire to befriend and understand them stronger.
He startled when he felt Rochelle brush against his side, distracting him from his train of thought. He glanced at her questioningly before realizing that they were coming upon the trench. He nodded in silent understanding, knowing without words why she'd sought his attention. He needed to be alert, act normal if - when - Leda approached them.
No one took notice of them as they descended, beyond the usual nods and waves. They reached his alcovewithout incident, and Rochelle bid him a quick and quiet farewell. She had scarcely gone ten feet before Leda appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Ellis watched as the two swam off together, neither of them sparing him a single glance.
He watched them go, unconcerned. He had full faith in Rochelle, trusted her not to break her word. As for Leda: Her suspicion of him had its basis, and he couldn't hold it against her. He waited until they disappeared from sight to enter his alcove, mind already buzzing with thoughts of the day to come.
Getting food for the man turned out to be easier said than done. Rochelle's presence only made things harder; she had never been to the docks before, and the noise and bustle of it all made her nervous. She hadn't even wanted to get close at first, arms crossed stubbornly over her chest as she eyes the bottoms of the boats floating overhead. It had taken Ellis a while to convince her that it was safe, but eventually she had acquiesced.
They were beneath one of the docks, Rochelle flinching at every heavy foot fall that penetrated the water. Ellis had long since grown used to the sounds, and he hardly noticed them anymore. Instead, he was focusing on how exactly he was going to get one of the human's food boxes.
They'd already tried several times, which was just making things more difficult. He knew from experience that once one human knew he was hanging around, the others would be told soon after. He'd been driven away from the docks more times than he could count after failed efforts to borrow things he found interesting.
His first attempt at box had been unsuccessful only because it hadn't had any food in it (as far as he could tell). It had only been sharp shiny bits and, in a smaller separate container, worms. Ellis wasn't sure if humans could eat them, but they hadn't looked particularly appetizing, so he'd put the box back and sought out another.
Unfortunately, the human to which the second box belonged had spotted him in the midst of taking it and, as usual, had begun yelling at him. He'd also thrown a few rocks, but Ellis had long since become a pro at dodging them, and had easily ducked out of the way and back beneath the water. Rochelle had been less than impressed at his antics.
He couldn't help but wish that the man had just eaten the fish he'd brought yesterday. Catching them had been no easy task; Ellis wasn't much of a hunter, even on his own when his talking wasn't an issue. His eyesight wasn't the best, even if his reflexes were.
He shook the thought away. There was no use dwelling on things he couldn't change. The man wouldn't eat what Ellis had brought him, so he would simply have to work around it. He looked up, between the planks of the dock, watching as another fisherman shuffled by. If he was going to get anything out of this trip, he had to act fast. The humans had a tendency to warn each other when he was near, which meant he probably only had a few more minutes before they hid their things away.
He looked around, trying to come up with a plan. When Rochelle made an impatient sound, it hit him.
"Oh, oh! I got an idea, Ro! I, uh...don't know if you're gonna like it, though."
Judging by the way her face twisted as he laid his plan out, she did not like it.
"Absolutely not. I saw them throwing rocks at you! What if they throw them at me too? Or you, again, while you're distracted! We could get hurt." She said, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.
"Aw, c'mon Ro, it ain't that dangerous. An' the rocks don't even hurt that bad - you probably won't even get hit! They throw real slow."
The look she gave him was distinctly unconvinced. He surged forward, his voice taking on a pleading note.
"Ro, please. This is the only plan I can come up with, and if I don't take him somethin' he'll die."
Rochelle gave him a long, hard look, seeming almost like she might continue the argument. After a moment, though, she sighed and uncrossed her arms.
"Fine. But if it doesn't work, we'll just have to figure something else out. No human is worth you or me getting hurt for."
Ellis grinned and pressed his forehead to hers for a brief moment. She returned the motion, he was relieved to note, without any hesitancy. He quickly summarized the plan for her once more, then watched as she cautiously made her way out from under the dock.
She stayed deep in the water, her stomach and tail practically brushing against the soft sand of the bay's floor. The sunlight playing over her scales was cut off abruptly by the shadow of a boat overhead. It rocked slightly in the gentle waves, moored tight to the dock by a long length of rope. Rochelle circled beneath it slowly, watching it with an obvious air of trepidation.
Looking up through the boards of the dock again, he watched at shape of a human passed over. Ellis followed them as they made their way down the dock, moving over to peek his head above the water and over the edge of the dock. He watched as the human carefully stepped onto the boat, flailing their arms a bit to avoid losing their balance.
Ducking underwater, he flashed Rochelle a thumbs up and what he hoped was a reassuring smile. She circled beneath the boat one final time before surging upwards, her tail swinging in large arcs to gather speed. Ellis breached just in time to see her burst from the water.
The human in the boat flinched hard and fell, landing with a loud thump. The boat rocked dangerously, and the human cried out, drawing the attention of the others. As she descended back into the water, Rochelle grasped the edge of the boat. It rocked towards her, the person within sliding forward, just barely managing to grab the edge before the tumbled over into the water.
Other humans came rushing down the dock, shouting and waving their arms, feet pounding loudly against the boards. Ellis took the opportunity to swipe another box, excitement coursing through him when he felt how heavy it was.
Before he could open the box and inspect its contents, he heard a splash at the end of the dock. He looked to see that Rochelle had backed away from the boat, apparently intimidated the amount of humans that had flocked to the other's aid. Some were helping to steady the boat and pull their fellow fisherman out, while others were wielding sticks and rocks, ready to use them against Rochelle if she came any closer.
Ellis set the box down for a moment and waved his arms, relieved when she spotted him and nodded. She disappeared beneath the waves, and he grabbed the box again, carefully holding it aloft as he backed away from the docks. In all the commotion, none of the humans seemed to notice him - or, by the time they did, he was too far away for them to do anything about it.
Unable to go fully beneath the water, for fear of ruining whatever food was (hopefully) inside the box, Ellis had to wait for Rochelle to come to him. He felt her before he saw her, her tail brushing against his as she circled him once before breaching. She looked surprisingly...exhilarated.
"That was - exciting!" She said, laughing almost hysterically. "I mean, it was dangerous, and scary, and we are never doing it again, but - Gods, it was exciting."
She laughed again, and Ellis couldn't help but join in. For a moment the two simply sat, laughing together and swaying with the ebb and flow of the sea. When the laughter died out, Rochelle was the first to set off, Ellis following as quickly as the awkward way he had to swim would allow.
Nick awoke to something cold and slimy pressing against his cheek. He batted at it sleepily, jerking back when his hand landed in a pile of – he opened his eyes – fish. The dead fish the siren had left with him, to be exact. Apparently he'd managed to roll into them last night after he'd fallen asleep. He groaned in disgust and angrily pushed them away, sending a few splashing into the water. They bobbed around in the water, staring at him with accusing dead eyes.
His stomach twisted in a mix of hunger and nausea, and he forced himself to look away. Instead, he turned his eyes to the mouth of the cave, seeing that the sun had risen and was high enough to be out of his line of sight. He wondered how long he'd been out. It had been almost completely dark when he'd passed out last night, cold and huddled against the wall of the cave. Part of him had still been paranoid that the siren was going to come back and attack him while he slept, but eventually he'd been too tired to care.
The second night hadn't been as bad as the first. He hadn't had any nightmares, at least, and his arms hadn't been tied up. It had also been slightly warmer than the first night - not much, but enough that he hadn't felt like his teeth were going to break chattering against one another.
Hauling himself onto his feet, he took a moment to stretch, noting that the pain in his shoulders had faded from a throb to a dull ache. He scowled at the slow, stiff way his shirt moved, tugging at the fabric in agitation. It didn't do much, only dragged the material along his skin in a way that made it itch. He scratched at himself and swore under his breath when the movement only made it worse. He settled for unbuttoning it and throwing it to the side.
He glared at the rigid blue pile; the shirt had been expensive (almost ridiculously so) and one of his favorites. It was probably ruined, now. Even if he survived this ordeal and washed it, it would probably reek like seawater and dead fish forever.
He couldn't help but swear again, then again, and again, kicking out at the fish still left on the ledge. They joined their siblings in the water, and Nick turned his tantrum to the wall instead. He only managed to strike twice before the pain brought him to his senses, and he cradled the now aching appendage to his chest. He slumped against the wall and slid down slowly, breathing heavily, legs splayed out before him.
Flexing his fingers, he noted with relief that nothing was broken. It hurt, yeah, but punching rock would do that.
He sighed and closed his eyes, focusing on returning his breathing back to normal. He needed to stay calm, to think of a way out of this situation. It he wasn't starving - and dying of thirst, now that he thought of it - he might have been content to sit and wait for a boat to pass by. With the way things were, though, that plan wasn't exactly viable. Nor was swimming out of here; he had no idea if he was even close to civilization, and as much as it pained him to admit it, he wasn't a very strong swimmer.
Really, the only feasible option available to him was...the siren. Who had run - or swam - off yesterday and hadn't come back. While he was awake, at least. It could have come while he was sleeping, he supposed, but somehow he felt like it would have left some kind of sign.
As he went over his options (option, really) a splash sounded from the cave's opening. His eyes flew open and immediately spotted the siren - it was hard to miss, really, given the awkward way it was swimming, with its arms high above its head. It was holding some kind of box and, apparently, trying to keep it from getting wet. So caught up in watching the awkward display, Nick didn't notice the slightly smaller shape that swam in behind the siren.
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." He mumbled, straightening up and pulling his legs closer to his body.
The box - a tackle box, by the looks of it - clattered against the stone. The siren dipped underwater for a moment before popping back up, grinning enthusiastically. It paused for a moment, eyes focused on his chest as its head tilted slightly to the side. It hummed shortly, as if coming to a sudden realization, and Nick crossed his arms over his bare chest, slightly uncomfortable with the attention it was paying him.
At his movement the siren seemed to remember what it had been doing and suddenly shoved the box towards Nick, smacking his (its. It was an it, he reminded himself) hand against the rock. The sound echoed off the walls of the cave, and Nick scowled, half tempted to reach out and grab its wrist to make it stop.
The image of it dragging him into the water and drowning him made him stop. Instead, he shuffled slowly to the tackle box. The siren stopped its tapping when it saw him coming.
"Yours." It said, its voice more confident than it had been yesterday.
He rolled his eyes, letting out a half sarcastic thanks as he reached for the box. Surprisingly, the siren seemed to understand, returning to tapping its hand against the stone. It seemed like it was struggling, its face screwed up with concentration.
Nick paused what he was doing, torn between annoyance at the noise and - just a little bit - of amusement. Finally, it found whatever it had been looking for and, excited, its tail rose from the water and came down hard, sending a spray of water through the air.
"Welcome!" It exclaimed loudly. "You're welcome!"
Nick hummed, mildly impressed at its English - it didn't seem to know much, but definitely more than he would have expected.
"Don't strain yourself there, ace." He said.
This the siren didn't understand, although it didn't seem like it put a damper on its enthusiasm. It ducked beneath the water and Nick turned his attention back to the tackle box, fairly confident now that it wasn't going to attack him.
It was rusty and dented, and the handle appeared to have been torn off long ago. There was a small lock laid into the front, and a quick tug at the lid revealed that it was locked. Nick pinched the bridge of his nose. Chucking the box back into the water was sounding extremely appealing, but if the siren had brought it to him then there had to be something useful inside.
Probably. The thing seemed kind of...air-headed, to put it nicely. He glanced up at it and frowned when he saw it poking at the dead fish floating at the surface of the water. It noticed him watching it and smiled, returning to the edge of the platform and pointing at the tackle box.
"It's locked." He deadpanned.
The siren gave him a blank look and he sighed. He turned the box until the lock was visible to it, then tugged at the lid. The siren's mouth opened into a small "oh" shape and it nodded. It held up finger briefly before ducking beneath the water.
Nick watched as it sank further into the darkness, only able to keep track of it when its skin began to let off its eerie glow. He thought he saw something darting around the edges of the light, but dismissed it. It was probably a fish, or seaweed, or something. Or maybe he was having hunger-induced hallucinations. The thought made him pause; maybe none of this was real. Maybe he was still tied up in the brig, waiting to be-
The siren broke the surface of the water with a small splash. Nick flinched back from the shower of freezing water that hit him, scowling. If he was imagining all of this, it was very realistic.
The scrape of metal on stone pulled his attention from his thoughts, and he looked down to see that the siren had taken the tackle box from him. Before he could try to take it back, the thing raised its free hand into the air and brought it down hard. Nick jumped at the sound it made, the harsh clanging echoing through the cave as the siren broke the lock open.
It tossed something - a rock, he guessed - over its shoulder before pushing the box back to him. It disappeared beneath the water without waiting for his thanks (not that he would have given them). He took the box begrudgingly and examined the fresh dents and scrapes that covered its front. The lock was barely discernible, just a small, twisted hunk of metal.
He wasn't sure it was even going to open, with the damage that had been done to it, but after a few moments of fiddling he managed to pry the lid upwards. When he spotted the food inside, his relief was almost too strong to process. It was rather short-lived, however, as the siren resurfaced - along with a second, slightly smaller one at its side. He flinched back hard, just barely holding back a yelp. His foot struck the tackle box as he shuffled backwards, sending it clattering towards the edge of the platform.
Nick didn't have time to even think about mourning the loss of his food before the siren was shifting, catching it just as it started to fall over the edge. If his heart hadn't already been hammering, the speed with which the siren moved would have started it.
With the tackle box saved, the siren turned to its - what? Friend? Accomplice? He wasn't sure what to call it, but he sure as shit wasn't going anywhere near the water while they were waiting for him.
And to think the thing had fooled him into believing it wasn't trying to kill him. He cursed himself for trusting it - for wanting to trust it - even a little bit. Of course it wasn't trying to help him. When had anything on this God-forsaken earth genuinely tried to help him?
The thing pushed the tackle box towards him, emitting a high-pitched whine as it glanced between him and the other siren in the water. Nick could just barely see it darting back and forth, a blurry mix of red and brown. The other one sank down to join it, and Nick watched as its frantic pacing slowed until the two sat, stationary beneath the gentle waves.
Nick glared at both of them, trying to cover his fear with anger. He didn't think it would make much of a difference to them, but-
But he did have something that would. He leaned forward, patting at his pockets until he found it; the knife the siren had given him yesterday. He'd almost forgotten about it, given that he hadn't had any use for it. He pulled it out, turning it over in his hands a few times to get a feel for it. It wasn't very large or fancy, just a gut knife that some poor fisherman had dropped overboard one morning. Still, in the right hands - in his hands, it would do some damage. Maybe not enough, but it would at least ensure he wouldn't go down without one hell of a fight.
When the siren came back up, accomplice in tow, Nick's grip on the knife tightened. The new one kept its distance from the ledge, eyeing him warily. With it above the water, he realized that it wasn't a siren, but a mermaid. The knowledge did little to ease his worries. The only major differences between the two were their looks, and that mermaids were more likely to run away than attack you.
He wasn't sure what it meant that the two of them had decided to team up, which only served to make him even more uneasy.
The siren was going back and forth between the ledge and its friend, making its odd little clicks and whistles. It gestured towards him occasionally, and every time it did the mermaid fixed him with a steely glare. He glared back, fighting a childish urge to stick his tongue out at it.
Eventually the siren stopped at the edge of the platform, giving him a look not unlike that of a kicked puppy. It pushed the box even closer to him, stretching as far as it could without coming out of the water. It came to a rest near his feet.
The petulant, angry part of him wanted to kick it away again - the part of him that was starving, though, pulled it closer. He opened it, stomach rumbling at the sight of the food within. It wasn't much, an apple, a hunk of bread, and a glass bottle he assumed - hoped - was full of milk. There were also hooks and fishing lures and an assortment of other fishing supplies off to the side, but he dismissed them as useless for now.
He wanted to eat, but - he glared over at the siren and mermaid. They were both watching him, one looking hopeful, the other angry and mistrusting. Nick stared both of them down, taking some small gratification in the fact that they looked away first.
The mermaid drew closer to the siren, leaning in to whisper to it. Nick scoffed; they could be screaming at each other and he still wouldn't be able to understand a word of it. He watched as they whispered back and forth, slightly annoyed by the secrecy.
After a few moments of back and forth between the two, the siren shot him a dejected look. The mermaid swam backwards, towards the entrance, tugging at the siren's arm. It followed after, albeit slowly, eyes locked with Nick's far longer than was comfortable.
He told himself that the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach was definitely not guilt.