SOMETHING FLUTTERS (r)

[NERINE BELLAMY]

She had missed the salty tang of the sea. The way the water felt against her skin. Wide, aquamarine eyes stared ahead at the far expanse of blue in front of her. The waves rolling closer and closer, shallow in nature. She had missed it more than she could ever imagine. More than she could ever explain. The ocean had its way of calling her back. Whether it was because her body literally needed to return or if it was because her heart itself answered the sea's siren song, she was unsure. All she knew was that she needed this. And it wasn't as though she had anywhere to go anyways. She had the day off and had spent the better half of it asleep. And what better way to wake up then with a nice, refreshing swim? Right? No? Well, whatever. She was going to do it anyways. A hand lifted to cover her mouth slightly and shoulders shaking with soft giggles. Ooh, she was just so excited! She let her arms drop back down to her sides, the girl wiggling her toes slightly before curling them against the edge of the wooden dock. "Don't worry. I'll come back for you ten later!" With that said, she took a few steps back before running off the edge and flinging herself into the ocean's cool embrace. Her legs gradually changed, azure scales being etched out on her pale legs and fins emerging. She looked down at her loose dress, the girl's hands pulling at the edge of it slightly. She didn't really want to keep it on because it restricted her movement a little bit more. But she supposed that if she didn't, she would have had quite a bit of explaining to do if anyone saw her leave the water. Nerine twisted her body so that she was on her stomach, using her tail to propel herself forward into the water. Oh, this was absolutely wonderful. As in W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L. She had missed this so much. She spun, her arms sweeping out as she lifted herself up towards the light above. She gasped when she broke the surface of the water, looking back and forth at the pretty blue. Oh, how she had missed this beautiful and wonderful place! She wondered if there was a chance she'd be able to meet people out here. Maybe there would be others of her own kind out here? They had to go back to the water too, didn't they? Definitely. And if not, then surely there were ships. There were sailors. There had to be someone out there! There just had to be! She continued swimming, her arms crossed beneath her head. It was just right today, she thought. The water wasn't too cold and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Perfect. Her eyes slipped shut, a soft yawn escaping her lips. She'd just rest for a little while. Her sides were starting to hurt but maybe that was because she hadn't gone this far out in so long. She had to be careful not to end up drifting off too far that she wouldn't be able to know where the town was. Just a quick little nap. She wouldn't go very far. But the minute she had relaxed, she felt something rough touch her skin. Her lips parted to apologize before she realized that she was no longer moving. Her eyes snapped up, looking back and forth at the ropes that surrounded her. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. Had she gotten stuck in a fishing net? Oh gosh. What if it was mermaid hunters? What if they were trying to hunt her down and eat her flesh to be immortal? That was just a myth! It wasn't real! She didn't turn to sea foam later on, she could assure them of that! Oh no. She was going to die. She was going to get eaten. Mermaid fishsticks. Yep, that was how she was going to go out. And then what happened if they thought she was good? Then they'd end up capturing more and more of her kind and before you knew it the fish would overpopulate the earth and it was all over for everyone!

LAIKA OF GS!

[ELLIOT KRAUSS]

It was just that time of year where fishing was very important; for trades to other villages, and various other reasons. Of course, there were sailors and other fishers that work specifically to catch fish, however Elliot likes to be the one five hundred steps ahead of everyone and collect fish on his own for money. It gave him a sense of pride, something that makes him feel that's he's actually useful for something. Unlike other pirates that he's met during his travels, he's not extremely greedy with any money he finds or collects. However, opportunities given to him that has a chance of doubling what he owns already, he'll take it. Unfortunately, he gets a little too full of himself sometimes; currently, he has to restock his loot after a major dent in it during a game of gambling with other pirates he has met overseas. Truth be told, he's not exactly an expert when it came to gambling, so he decided that it was probably best he didn't give in to anyone provoking him into doing so. As he loaded the net into the sea, the wind began to pick up speed as he decked his boat forward and more roughly so that he could catch as much fish as he could before they swam away, at a greater speed. Even though he wasn't very great with handling his money, he was exceptionally smart when it came to fishing. He knew just where to go, and exactly what time of the day he needed to be at, in order to gather up a decent amount of fish that he could fit within the net he has. Elliot slowly pivoted his head towards the open area of water around him. Letting the wind take his boat wherever, as well as thrash his rubicund hair around his face, he decided to uplift the net as he didn't want to flood his boat with more fish than he could carry, as he already has two nets worth of fish as it is. Proving to be the last one for the day, Elliot hauled the net from the metal handle, rolling it until he was able to grab the net by the bundle above and lift it to make sure that the net didn't tangle as the automatic pull moved it over towards the deck. The first thing that he saw, however, was a giant tail of some sorts, that was slowly transitioning into something else. A shark? He let the net stay put over the deck for a moment as he walked up closer towards it. No, it was definitely not a shark. It was a mermaid. A mermaid. What a pretty mermaid. His eyes were lit up, curious as to how he even caught a mermaid in the first place. Surely they were smart to know when someone was around with a net, right? He stood there for a moment, now rounding about so he could get a good look at her face, which was pressed up against the net at this point. "Oh wow. You are a pretty catch, Ms. Mermaid." he mused proudly. "How'd you manage to get yourself caught in his net?" He reached for the top of the net and slowly brought it down as best as he could so that the fish wouldn't sprout about. He already knew that she was part of the Merfolk race, as he's met quite a lot of them while he was out at sea. It wasn't very often that he was given the chance to see a mermaid; up close, anyhow. But, when he thought of mermaid, much like ones that he's seen from a distance, he thought.. bare. If anyone were to delve into the darkest parts of his mind, they'd be astonished by the amount of thoughts that he has of mermaids. They are, after all, something he was very fond of. Letting the net down a bit, but not quite all the way as to let the mermaid struggle free, he was greeted by the mermaid (whether in human form or not). She was.. so cute. And tiny, of all things. He didn't really expect mermaids to look like this one, but he already felt his fascination surfacing. "It's official. Since I caught you, you belong to me. Ms. Mermaid." Grinning widely, he let the net dangle as he awaited for her response and what she's going to do.

made by KEI