It's maaagic . . .

...xXx...

The two alphas swiftly lead the pod of merfolk out over the drop-off into deeper, darker waters. Despite it being about midday, the ocean beneath them faded into a darker grey until it hit the seafloor quite a ways below. The area was a huge dip in the landscape, and in the distance large aphotic shapes could be seen appearing out of the dusky shadows the closer they got. Fallen fortresses from the past, humans having left the metal carcasses to rot beneath the waves.

The grandiose golden merman, Alexius, took point in the front of the group, leading them confidently through the unknown territory. Diedrich brought up the rear, dutifully making sure no one was left behind, again. The pod kept close to each other, murmuring anxiously about their unfamiliar surroundings.

Vash kept his distance from them, safety in numbers be damned.

He absolutely did not want to be clustered in the center of a pod that were obvious about their animosity towards him and his sister. Well, truthfully most seemed outright apathetic towards his presence, but a few of the other males kept giving him sidelong glances—looking at him like he was fish food.

So the green spotted male kept his distance, swimming just behind and under Diedrich. He figured it was safest keeping the black-tailed alpha between him and his rowdy family. His injury still burned across his hip, but thankfully it no longer bled and so he swam on. His sister swam steadily under his belly, only holding onto his hand and sometimes floating up to help push him horizontal again when his tail started to dip. Vash was grateful for her help, even if he felt a tad ashamed having to be looked after by the youngling.

Emerald eyes glanced around the black tail in front of him, spying the flickering of all the colorful tails ahead. A particularly luminescent tail caught his gaze for the hundredth time since they'd started swimming together, flashing violet and silver in the rays of sunlight dappling from above.

Right. Roderich.

The eel-tailed male hadn't been too pleased when Vash insisted swimming by himself, but the blonde wouldn't hear any of it. Instead, he just grabbed Lilli and propelled himself away from the other merman as fast as possible, no matter if it hurt his wound. The other probably would have swam beside him anyway, despite his desperate need to separate them, but the pod soon snagged Roderich and kept him away themselves.

Vash shook his head, blinking away some of the fuzziness around his vision. He made sure to stay far enough away throughout their trip—anything to distract his heart from the ache that had settled there.

He was angry at himself, angry for allowing himself to feel . . . anything towards the other merman. The iridescent male was now back with his family, back with his mate and child, and out of harms way. He let his gaze flick over to the radiant fuchsia-colored mermaid beside the mauve male, her aqua scale patches glinting off the sunlight and simple coral hairpiece shining amongst her brunette locks. The mermaid swam next to the other, fussing over him and bumping against him, giving his scales reassuring pats as they talked quietly with one another. Occasionally, a small white head would pop up between them, light periwinkle-colored hands waving about until either adult noticed him. Then one of them would take the small merboy in their arms and coo and coddle him until he settled down.

Vash wanted to smack himself for falling for the other's kind looks, the touches, and that—that blasted singing. He'd started to think . . .

No. The universe wasn't that kind to him. Roderich was just a stranger, and this whole thing was just a completely strange circumstance. They'd all arrive at the Great Alcazar, find out what was so damned important, and then he would return home and never, ever leave again.

The leopard-tailed male shook his head again, desperately fighting off the throbbing in his torso. He choked back a hiss of pain as he readjusted the sash around his waist, not wanting to startle his sister beneath him. Honestly. He'd had worse injuries. It certainly didn't help that his heart, though, for whatever reason, was pounding like it had had a large bite taken out of it.

He couldn't help it as his gaze flicked over to the violet male once again. What in all the seas and sky had that merman done to him? Was that song he sang some kind of spell? A spell that made him feel this way? Another pang shot through his heart and he grit his teeth, inwardly scolding himself. And just how does he make me feel, huh? A quiet growl rumbled in his throat and he narrowed his eyes, blinking quickly as his heartbeat sped up.

The verdant merman ignored his heavy breathing and the permanent shocks racking through him every time he swayed his tail back and forth, not noticing that he was falling behind the pod quite significantly. His peripheral vision seemed to darken until all he could see was a flashy, thin purple tail waving in front of him. Like a blinding pinpoint of light and color, and those amethyst eyes were staring at him as if they were glowing and—what?

Why was . . . His head spun and he closed his eyes.

...xXx...

The body pressed against him was warm and gentle, strong arms wrapped around him holding him tight. Vash didn't open his eyes, but instead snuggled into the chest he was holding onto. He knew these arms, and welcomed their familiar comfort. He didn't want to fall back asleep, wanting to stay awake with the other a bit longer, but he was so comfortable and safe he couldn't help the way he started to doze. Light, soft humming soothed him and his fuzzy mind struggled to stay awake any longer. Then a hushed, peaceful voice lulled him back into the darkness.

"Rest, my dear, and be stronger for it."

...xXx...

Don't go . . .

Vash awoke lying in the sand, his body aching, but the pain of his wound had thankfully subsided to a dull throb. He tried to assess his surroundings without opening his eyes. The dip in the ground was comfortable enough, and he was lying on his good side, so that helped his soreness. Everything was calm around him, the water, the noise, nothing standing out to him too much. Green eyes finally peeked open and he glanced around.

The water was dim around him, and the first thing that was obvious was that he was surrounded by metal. He was lying in a room of a ship, half sunken into the sand. He could reach up to touch the ceiling of the room if he wanted, only then he realized that there was an opening above, a few meters away. He also quickly realized that he was completely alone.

Vash sat up quickly, hair whipping in front of his eyes as he looked around in a panic. Somewhere in the back of his mind registered that his side didn't hurt when he sat up, but he hardly noticed that above his heart racing. Emerald eyes darted around the darkened room, his thoughts preoccupied with finding his sister. He reached out with his senses to feel along their close connection, and the wave of relief at feeling that she was close by—and safe—made him fall back into the sand.

He covered his eyes with his arm for a moment as he calmed his rapid heartbeat, his mind running over the thick strand of their bond to soothe himself. She was okay, she was nearby—she even seemed excited?

Suddenly, something in the back of his mind, something other than his sister, tugged and his whole being burned with energy.

"You're awake!"

Vash nearly jolted upright again at the jovial voice that assaulted him. He moved his arm and peeked out to see a certain purple merman poking his head through the opening in the ceiling, amethyst eyes vividly bright in the dusk water. Seeing the other simultaneously made his body go rigid and put his heart at ease even more.

Roderich ducked in through the hole in the roof and swam over to him, tail waving in excitement. He stopped, looking like he was holding himself back from rushing him. The male's words were warm and breathless as he floated beside him just an arm length away. "Thank the stars! I thought we were going to lose you there for awhile."

Vash cleared his throat, unable to help the little flip his heart did as the other merman's relief washed over him in thick waves. "What happened?"

"You fell unconscious," Roderich said, settling onto his elbows in the sand a bit closer to him. "Nearly sank to the bottom of the ocean before Lilli and I caught you."

"Lilli? Is she alright?" He tried to keep the flutter of panic out of his tone, hoping the other wouldn't notice. The green merman felt over their bond again, just to make sure for himself that the youngling was, indeed safe.

Roderich nodded at him, throat rumbling softly. "She's fine, Vash. We're in one of the shipwrecks now, the others went on ahead to let us rest."

The spotted merman's brows furrowed, confused that the pod would willingly leave Roderich behind this time. "They just went on ahead?"

"I think they were starting to get a little annoyed," Roderich muttered. Then he quickly gestured at Vash, his words hurried. "Not at you, by the way, they completely understood about your injury. Emma actually helped me heal you a bit more."

Which one was Emma? Was that the pink one?

Vash grimaced at himself, trying to focus on the conversation and not the snag in his mind. "Why would they be annoyed?"

The purple male shrugged, giving him a lopsided smile. "Ah, who knows."

"Roderich?" His frown deepened. He didn't want to cause a rift in the pod, for whatever reason. The merman should have just left him alone and went on with the others instead, and—

Oh, his heart just hurt at that thought. Why?

"Don't worry yourself over it," Roderich went on, waving at him again. "I'm glad to see you're awake."

"What time is it?" Vash groaned, going to sit up again but quickly deciding against it in favor of his wound. The layers of cloth were still tied tightly around his waist, and he ran his fingers over the knot at the side. He debated whether or not to take off the material so he could have a good look at the injury; it was probably a good idea for him, anyway. He needed to know just how deep the shark had bit.

"The sun has started to set. We should probably just stay here for the night."

Vash snapped his head up. "Won't the others be expecting us?"

Roderich just calmly leaned forward, reaching out to help untie the knot around his waist. "My father said that if we weren't there around midday tomorrow that he'd come back to get us."

While the green merman wasn't exactly pleased with the idea of having to spend the night in a decaying shipyard with the other male, he didn't object. His muscles were still sore from his earlier exertion, trying to swim when he knew he really shouldn't have. He should have just swallowed his pride and let the others carry him from the start, but he couldn't. He didn't want to rely on others, but in doing so had only made it worse for them all in the long run.

He sighed inwardly and lifted himself up a bit so Roderich could unwrap the cloth from him. Once he was free and settled back down in the sand on his side, he looked down for the first time to assess the damage. Vash gasped.

The bite wound covered the whole left side of his hip; from the middle of his back to just around his hip bone. The pink, ripped half circle on his underbelly looked way worse than the dotted one on top, but . . .

"Wow," he breathed, reaching out to tentatively to trace the laceration. It couldn't have been this shallow or—or healed this much already. There was just no way. It looked as if a week or so had already gone by; the muscle was all stitched back together, but still open enough to remind him that he'd even gotten hurt. Vash glanced up at his companion, eyes searching his face for answers, mouth agape as he tried to form the right words. "How did you—?"

Roderich hummed and glanced at his injury. He carefully reached up a webbed hand as he inspected the cut, the palm hovering close to the torn skin and scales. All of a sudden a bright, golden light glowed under his fingers as he traced the gauge on the underside of his belly. The light was hot, and yet not uncomfortable as his palm passed over his skin, leaving a cooling, balmy sensation as it went. Vash watched, speechless as he witnessed the muscle and skin draw closer as he finished the underside and began working along his back, some of the smaller cuts even closing all the way and just leaving behind tiny pink marks.

The glow faded once he'd made a pass over the whole length of the injury, and Roderich sank back onto his elbows beside him. He slumped into the seafloor, curling the hand he'd used into a fist. "I don't have any of the ingredients I usually use," the male murmured, breaking the heavy silence with a sniff, "but Emma helped me. I apologize that I couldn't do more, I'm a little drained after earlier."

Vash snapped his mouth shut, shaking himself out of his awe. "I-It's fine," he babbled. "I just . . . Wow." He glanced down at his hip again, running a finger over the tender skin and reveling that there were no immediate shocks of pain. "It's all closed up."

"Thank the stars," Roderich uttered again, flexing his fingers as he stared worriedly at the wound. He jumped slightly when Vash reached out to grab his hand, the one he'd used to heal him, and inspect it as if it were a crab shell to be cracked open.

The skin on his palm and fingers were pitch black, as if charred by lightning.

"I haven't seen magic in—" The green merman cut himself off, willing his thoughts away. He released the other from his hold, trying not to notice when Roderich kept his hand out a moment longer, in case he wished to keep holding it. Vash just pulled away and leaned back into his makeshift sandy nest, his eyes drifting over to his hip again, still a bit disbelieving. "I don't have any, myself, and I don't know if Lilli does yet."

"You don't have magic?" Roderich chirped in shock. "I thought all our kind could do some magic, at least."

"None that I know of. I used to try to shrink boats all the time, believe me." Vash recalled his younger self swimming beneath small fishing boats and waving his arms emphatically, willing the fisherman and their ships to the size of plankton. He almost smiled at the memory.

The other male's throat rumbled with soft laughter, his burnt hand moving to try and hide his smile from him. "Oh, dear. I admit, that would have been a sight to see," he cooed. Then violet eyes lit up even more in the encroaching darkness. "Perhaps I could try to teach you a few healing spells? It's not really my specialty, and I usually need components, but they can still help."

That would be handy, his thoughts supplied him before he could stop them. His injury no longer ached, just his sore tail muscles, and a gentle, pleasing thrum of energy was circulating around inside of him. It would definitely be good for looking after his sister and her occasional mysterious cuts she got out of nowhere, and for hiding the bruises and bites he'd sometimes get while patrolling.

But that would mean spending more time with him, his mind quickly whiplashed, and his heart stuttered at the thought.

He couldn't just do that. Roderich was part of a pod, a different and much larger one at that, and it was supposed to be just Vash and Lilli. They all still didn't know why they were heading to the Great Alcazar, and he highly doubted they'd see each other much after they'd all returned to their separate territories. He couldn't just swim over and see the other whenever he wanted, just to learn some magic he'd probably be unable to wield anyway.

He just couldn't.

"No," Vash voiced quietly, eyes flicking apprehensively over the other to judge his reaction. "No, sorry. I just don't think it will workout."

"Oh." He noticed the way Roderich's face fell just a small bit, and he felt his own do the same. "Maybe I could show Lilli, then you could see whether or not she can use magic?"

"She's still too young. I don't want to get her hopes up if she can't."

"Alright." The purple male was silent a few heartbeats, hands fiddling with the waist cloth. Then he perked back up, quickly urging Vash to lift up once more so he could wrap it around his injury nice and snug. "Are you hungry? Emma went out hunting awhile ago so I could grab you something."

"Has Lilli eaten?"

"Yes, yes, she ate her fill. There's surprisingly a lot of fish around here. So . . ?" Vash nodded. "Just a moment."

Roderich sprang up from the sand and swiftly disappeared out the opening in the roof. He wasn't gone but a few seconds before trailing back into the room with an armful of fish.

Vash eyed the food, gratefully picking up a plump looking grouper and taking a bite. "Where's Lilli now?" he asked around his mouthful.

Roderich smirked at him and picked up a fish of his own. "Her and Killian are playing just outside."

"Killian?"

"My little brother, the littlest. He's even younger than Lilli." The violet merman hanged his head for a moment as he chewed, shoulders sagging as he muttered, "Bless her, she's keeping him away from me for the moment."

Vash would have laughed at the other's worn out look, but he found his mind screeching to a halt. Brother? He pictured the small youngling, with his eel-like tail that matched no one else's but Roderich in both shape and color. None of the others in Diedrich's pod looked like them, he'd noticed, and this Killian had seemed way younger than even the other younglings. And he was certainly much younger than Roderich, and Roderich was certainly old enough to have his own pups by now. Not to mention the way that he and that pink female handled the small merboy, as if he was their own.

There's no way! He shook his head, eyes narrowing over the fish in his hands. He has to be lying. He didn't know why he would, but he had to be, right? What could the other possibly gain by doing so?

Roderich seemed to catch on to his suspicious gaze, head tilting to the side as he raised a thin eyebrow at him. "What is it?"

"He's your brother?" Vash asked slowly, pointing a bone at him. "He's not yours and your mate's?"

"Mate?" Amethyst eyes flashed in the dim lighting, glowing and wide in surprise. Then something else flickered across those bright irises, heavy and mysterious, before his eyes crinkled in amusement. The merman leaned forward into his palm as he set his meal down for the moment, voice curling into a silky purr. "Darling, I don't have a mate."

"B-But the pink mermaid, the one with the long hair . . ." Vash was fumbling over his words, feeling pinned to the seafloor by the male's intense stare. His whole being pulsed with that energy from before when Roderich had appeared, and he felt that tugging again behind his thoughts.

"Oh?" The lasciviousness of the other's voice hadn't let up, though those violet eyes did free him from their hold long enough to roll in exaggeration. "That's Elizabeta. She's with my brother Gilbert—though how she can stand that grinning fool is beyond me."

He should just keep quiet now, a weak thought screamed at him, before he dug his grave any further. But it seemed his more confounding/distressing side of himself wouldn't shut up. "But how do you not have a mate? You're in such a large pod!"

Roderich pushed off his arms and spun in a lazy circle, reaching out to brush the rusted metal ceiling with a silver hand. "We're all family, now at least. My father brought in Emma, Abel, and Klaus when we were all still young. Klaus could barely open his eyes back then. And then he found the twins abandoned a few cycles after that, having just been born and left under a dock." His tone was soft as he twirled upright, long tail curling around the end of Vash's own as he settled back into the sand. The heat had disappeared from his gaze as he stared at Vash once more, murmuring, "Father returned from an outing a few cycles ago with an injured Elizabeta on his back and a newborn Killian in his arms."

Vash took a slow bite of the grouper, chewing thoughtfully as he absorbed the information. With Roderich being a couple cycles older than him, that means he must have spent most of his life around the others, obviously raised as siblings and not as possible pairs. And who knew, the others could have been from some of Diedrich's flings or something.

He glanced over into gleaming, violaceous eyes. "So . . . you're definitely a bachelor then?"

"So are you." Roderich pointed out, winking and gesturing at him. "Unless you've got a secret maiden hidden away, I'd say you look pretty available."

Vash nearly choked, feeling his cheeks heat up. "Yeah, well, don't get any ideas," he grumbled, rolling onto his belly to slyly hide it, and turning away to face the wall as he nibbled on his meal. "I'm not interested."

"Who ever said I was interested in you?"

"Oh?" Vash couldn't help his lip twitch.

"I mean," that sultry voice egged on, "why would I go for you, when your sister is far cuter?"

His head whipped around so fast it took another heartbeat for his hair to uncover his glare. "Why you—!" Whatever insult he had planned died on his tongue at the sight of the other's mischievous grin. His blush was spreading into his ears now, he knew it. How dare he! Vash huffed and tried to hide his blush behind the half-eaten grouper, frustrated that the other nearly had him limp like the dead fish.

Oh, he'd definitely casted a spell on him.

...xXx...

Hoo boi Vash get it together your crush is showing.