Arms of the Sea, continued.
Silly typos. They're like mosquitoes. Mosquitypos...
Lightning choked, lurching forward. Her throat burned.
"Easy there, Lightning." Amodar. Hands pushed her down. "Take it easy."
Her memory stirred. "The pirates?" she gasped.
"We chased'em off." A tired huff. "Barely. Odin is in a bad way, though, so we're heading straight for Nautilus for repairs and some rest. We should be there by tomorrow."
Taking a moment to collect herself, she pushed up onto her elbows and looked around, wincing a little at the sun.
Amodar was crouched next to her, a concerned but not overly worried look on his face. A few other shipmates were nearby, likely keeping a protective eye on her.
She glanced around the ship, seeing the others trotting about, making repairs and washing up blood stains. She noticed the busted railing on the other side.
"You alright there, Farron?" Amodar followed her eyes. "That was a nasty tumble you took off the side. Ribs are probably a bit bruised from it."
She recalled falling. The sting of the splinters. Trapped as she and the pirate plunged into the ocean.
"Thankfully you left that big brute down with the sea. He was giving us the most trouble. Took too many good lads and lasses with him." Amodar looked about to spit, but held back. His eyes were dark as he looked at Lightning. "Good riddance."
"How did I get back?"
Amodar raised a brow at her. "Don't remember, do you? We found you draped over some planks after the fight. Looked like you'd climbed on and passed out." Amodar clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Imagine how relieved I was, eh? Your parents, Etro rest their souls, wouldn't be too happy with me if I'd let you drown like that."
Lightning remembered, then. The dark, flowing hair. The body holding hers. The large tail fin curling up at the edge of her sight. The soft mouth covering hers…
She shook her head. No, no it wasn't a kiss. She was just trying to save her.
"S'matter there, Farron? You look a bit flushed. Maybe you should lie down for a while longer."
And who is she? What was she?
Don't tell me you think it was a…
Lightning shook her head at her own conscience. It was a silly idea. It must have been as Amodar said. She had to have pulled herself out of the water.
Who would believe her, anyway? And the last thing she wanted was for her crewmen to think she saw a mermaid and imagined herself kissing one to 'stay alive'.
It must have been a dream, anyway. It would be best to forget about it.
"I'm fine." Lightning gingerly rose to her feet, willpower keeping her mind steady against the dizziness that threatened. "What needs doing, Captain?"
…
They'd arrived at Nautilus's busy port without any further trouble. Lightning was irritated as Amodar had immediately sent her to see a doctor.
Said she kept staring off into space at times and needed to get her head checked.
The doctor was merciful and sent her off quickly enough, his advice being merely to get some food and rest.
Which was exactly what Amodar made her do.
She'd downed the bowl of stew issued her and quickly found herself incredibly bored and devoid of any work.
Banned from setting foot back on the ship for the time being, Lightning was now sitting on a log out on the beach.
Seagulls circled the clear blue sky overhead and the waves lapped lazily at the sand. It wasn't a very populated section of the beach, although there were a few other townsfolk milling about and feeding the 'gulls.
Lightning was gazing out into the ocean when a shape caught her attention. She fixed her eyes on it, but found it to be simply a rock.
Ugh, now I'm seeing things.
A splat next to her foot caused her to glare up at the seagulls. Perhaps it was time to move on…
She wandered further away from town. She wasn't familiar with the area, but something about the direction felt right. Less people. Less eyes.
Yet the entire time she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.
She came upon an old pier. She halted in her tracks and pondered it, almost confused as to how she found it and why it was all the way out here. As if abandoned. It stretched out quite far into the ocean, set only a foot or so above the water.
Splashing called her attention and her heart kicked.
Oh, just dolphins.
She huffed at herself, rolling her eyes. Of course it's just dolphins. What were you expecting?
She stood there watching for a while longer. She saw the tail fin and she was instantly striding out onto the pier. As if something was calling her. As if she needed to see…
A shape broke away from the dolphins and swam toward her. She could only see the flick of its fin, the rest of its form just barely below the water's edge.
Lightning reached the end of the pier just as the figure broke the surface, half a dozen feet away.
She was more beautiful than any vague memory she could recall. Than the dreams that filled her nights and skewed her concentration during the day.
Although it was a bit startling for Lightning to discover she wore nothing to cover her torso. She honestly hadn't considered that in any of her imaginings.
"Hi." The mermaid smiled. She smoothed her wet hair back, watching Lightning with alert and curious eyes.
Lightning's arms were locked straight at her sides, fingers loosely curled into fists. She didn't know what to say or what to do.
All she knew was that she didn't want her to go.
"Did… Are you the one that helped me? During the attack?"
The mermaid tipped her head. "Aye."
Lightning swallowed, watching her silently for a moment longer. The mermaid seemed content to simply stare back.
"Thank you."
The mermaid's smile widened, showing white teeth. She dipped under the water and swam closer. Lightning took a few steps back, offering space for the mermaid to prop her arms on the edge of the pier.
"You're… you're really a…"
The mermaid trailed a thumb patiently across her lips, eyes thoughtfully looking Lightning over. "Really a what?"
When Lightning didn't reply, the mermaid finally glanced up at her eyes. Behind her the water churned softly and a large, beautiful tail fin lifted into the air. It was blue with highlights of green reflected from the sunlight. It looked heavy, but the mermaid waved it around as if it were nothing.
And Lightning's breath left her as she realized what she was seeing. That she hadn't lost her mind.
The tail returned to the water, the mermaid seemingly uninterested in it herself. Her eyes had yet to leave Lightning. There was a short pause before she spoke again.
"You have a pretty voice," the mermaid said.
Lightning remained silent.
The mermaid hesitated then, concern dropping her features. She fell a little back from the pier, holding the edge with just her hands.
"Lightning," Lightning said quickly, finding her voice again.
The mermaid raised a brow.
Lightning swallowed, tension across her shoulders. "My name. It's Lightning."
The mermaid's smile blossomed and Lightning's heart resonated in a way that mirrored how glad she was to see.
"Fang," the mermaid responded.
Lightning mouthed the word silently.
The mermaid glanced over her shoulder. The sun was closing in on the horizon. She pushed away from the pier and dropped back into the water.
"Wait," Lightning said, urgency carrying her steps forward.
"I'll be here tomorrow." The mermaid flicked her tail up in the air, throwing water. Then she twisted fluidly and dove below the surface.
…
Lightning stood on the edge of the pier the very next day, for once glad that Amodar was granting her an extended rest.
She watched the mermaid's form rise from below, gently breaking the surface. A hand automatically swept into her hair, pushing it back.
Today her chest was covered, although there was still little left to the imagination.
Pretty shells were laced together like beads that covered most of her torso in a vest-like manner. Similar accessories rested on her wrists and around her neck.
"You came," the mermaid said.
"So did you."
The mermaids lips thinned, eyes dropping and looking a bit sad. "I can't stay long today."
"Oh." Lightning shuffled her feet. "You look… nice."
The brightness that returned Fang's eyes made Lightning forget why she'd been nervous to say it.
"I… wanted to repay you. For saving me."
The mermaid raised an inquisitive brow.
"Is there anything you want?"
The mermaid tilted her head. "I'll think of something."
…
"Can I touch it?"
"Hm?" Fang rested on her elbows on the side of the pier.
Lightning had worked part of the day. But her mind had been elsewhere and Amodar seemed to sense it because he'd sent her away again.
"Your tail. Is that okay?"
Fang raised her tail out of the water, observing as Lightning crouched at the edge of the pier and reached for it.
Lightning's hand trailed over the smooth scales, extremely careful. "It's beautiful."
Fang hummed, pushing her tail into Lightning's hand. "Now can I see?"
"What?"
Fang reached over and touched Lightning's boot with the tips of her fingers.
Lightning stood and tugged each boot off, along with the socks. She sat down on the edge of the pier and let her feet dangle into the water.
Fang dropped from the pier and floated in front of her. She gently grabbed each of Lightning's feet in both hands, looking at them with the same curiosity that Lightning had for her fin.
Fang touched each of her toes, outlined the sides of her feet all the way to the heel, and up to her ankles. Lightning's eyes drifted closed, content with how nice Fang's hands felt
"Lightning. I know what I want as a favor."
Lightning opened her eyes and noticed Fang was watching her intently.
She remained silent as Fang placed both palms on the wooden pier on either side of her hips. Water fell off her body in a rush as pushed herself halfway out of the ocean.
She leaned right across Lightning's knees and kissed her.
And she thought she tasted better than the sweetest of wines. Her clothes quickly became damp as Fang's chest pressed into hers, but she didn't mind.
Her eyes opened slightly, vaguely amused to see Fang's tail curl up as the kiss deepened.
They whiled away the rest of the day in silence or quiet conversation, with Fang resting her arms and head on Lightning's lap as she stroked a hand through her hair.