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- 01/08/2025
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Suspicious Seaweed - 1. Peter’s Dance
Beneath the dark waters of the Sein channel, my heart raced in my chest, a symphony of fear reverberating in my webbed ears as I forced myself through the thick reeds. I plunged downwards, my hands trembling as I frantically dug my tail into the sand. As the mounds of sand rose, forming protective walls on either side of my rainbow-hued scales, I hunched over them, shielding my bright colors as best as I could. I cursed inwardly, the vibrant hues that made me stand out, a beacon in the darkness, now a liability in my desperate flight. My fear was palpable, a living thing that clung to me like the reeds I was hiding in, making me feel exposed and vulnerable.
"Peter!" came the growl of my most prominent persecutor. "Come out and fight me!"
Maren, have mercy. The moon had already risen, and they still pursued me.
Balar, the dominant betta, had singled me out from the moment Aunt Hali, my only family and mentor, decided to settle down into the betta community. Aunt Hali and I had been on the move for so long that we had almost forgotten the constant state of belligerent brawling that was the norm for bettas under the age of fifty. Balar, a blue-finned betta, was the epitome of aggression. Blues felt challenged whenever another blue rival invaded their waters. My pale blue skin was just enough of the hue to trigger Balar's aggression from the moment we first met.
"You can't hide in the reeds forever!"
I was tempted to glance in his general direction, but I knew any sudden movement would ruin what little camouflage my colors provided. I tried to slow down my breathing, but my inhalations were unstable, and it took all of my concentration not to exhale too quickly through my nose and reveal my location. Unlike the fish around us, merkind didn't have gills. I swallowed hard, willing myself to keep still despite my entire body quivering. I remained in the uncomfortable position long after Balar's voice grew distant.
When the sound of Balar's voice faded, I let out a breath I didn't even realize I'd been holding, bubbles escaping around my head. I had been fortunate so far, managing to keep my distance from Balar and avoiding a confrontation. While I had trained to survive the perils of traveling between regions, combat was a different matter. I was unprepared, and the thought weighed heavily on me.
"Why can't he just leave me alone?" I whispered to myself as I bent my tail high enough to wrap my arms around it. I rested my chin on top of the bend and let out a long breath.
"...found himself a friend."
I lifted my head as the song drew my attention. The voice was unfamiliar to me, a riddle in the night. Balar couldn't so much as hold a tune. My green eyes darted from left to right as my webbed ears tried to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. The mystery was like a puzzle, drawing me in.
"A tawdry filefish, he had found himself a friend."
I swam towards the sound, both relieved and wary that the direction of the voice was the opposite of where Balar had gone. Curiosity bubbled up inside me, and I found myself unable to resist the pull of the mysterious voice. My eagerness to discover the source of the song drove me forward, much like the sirens of the past had entranced others.
"They met at the shore's end, more time they couldn't spend…"
But the deep, low voice caused a shiver to roll down my spine. I bit my lower lip, thinking it over. Did I really want to see who was singing that badly? Still, my body began swimming further towards the sound before I'd fully decided. The tempo rose and fell. As I came closer, I started to sway in response.
"They met at the shore's end…"
The owner of the voice trailed off when I was in range. I slowed down until I was a few feet away from the lavender merman. Red ludwigia lined the freshwater side of the brackish barrier between us, while vibrant red coral lined the saltwater side. My heart stopped at the smile and wave the royal gramma basslet sent me. The selenite orb held in his hand cast a soft, white glow around him and his environment, adding to his captivating presence.
Bold and dynamic is what I thought of that tail. I was fascinated by the bright yellow hue, which blended into an equally bright purple near the hips. Above the scales, the torso was a soft lavender hue. The merman's orange eyes reminded me of a colorful nudibranch, and his smile was as warm as the ocean currents. His violet hair swept upward in short spikes. This short hairstyle should have seemed ridiculous to me, so against my community's longer styles. But on the merman's sharply defined face, I had to admit it really suited him, as did that smile. The wounds the average betta displayed on their tails were the opposite case for basslets, above instead of below. The edges of the scars curling around his broad, muscular chest merely added to his appeal.
Wait, appeal? What in the surly shrimp was I even thinking about a stranger? Yet, my green eyes continued to stare.
I didn't know what the basslet observed from his side of the barrier. I must not have been viewed as a threat because the orange-eyed stranger started singing again at a lower volume, as if meant for my ears. Though there was no way it could be true, the thought still gave me a rush of guilty pleasure.
"A blessing they had asked and, by the kindness of Maren, they found the path which led them to the safest of havens. A blessing they had asked, and by the kindness of Maren—"
Our underwater world was usually a canvas of vibrant colors, but those colors were muted at night. My elegant spin added a touch of grace to the darkness. My tail shimmered in the orb's light, a mesmerizing display of aqua, indigo, violet, red, yellow, green, and orange. The beauty of the scene was not lost on the stranger, who paused in his singing to take it all in.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the basslet apologized, amusement in his voice. "Your beauty distracted me." He then sang the song again from the beginning. "A tawdry filefish, he had found himself a friend…"
Thrilled, I continued dancing, allowing the song to flow through me. I swam in curves and loops, my arms and tail creating soft lines, nothing like the tense and sharp angles of battle. I felt lighter and more playful than I had in months. The violet-haired merman embellished the song in response. If his added riffs and runs were an attempt to get me to dance more, it worked. When the song was over, he swam as close to the barrier as possible.
"I'm Griffin," he greeted, motioning to himself.
Despite our different dialects and accents, I was able to understand his song.
"Peter," I responded. Then, in a bold move, I shoved both my hands within the brackish water layer, separating us by half a meter.
Griffin tentatively reached out, mirroring my actions. Our hands met, my pale blue hands just a bit smaller than his lavender ones. The gentle touch sent a thrill down my spine, a tangible sign of our growing connection.
"It's nice to meet you, Peter," Griffin replied with another smile, making my core flutter.
"Thank you for the song—" My words of gratitude cut short when another voice called out from the distance.
"Peter!"
Balar.
I tensed and looked around frantically. I saw no sign of the blue betta, but I'd heard Balar's voice clearly. If he truly was near, I wanted to draw him away from my new acquaintance.
"I have to go," I said, my voice betraying the urgency of the situation, as I impulsively threaded my fingers with Griffin's in a gentle farewell squeeze. "Meet me here tomorrow morning!" I suggested before scampering off deeper into Sein, the freshwater region I called home, anxious to keep a reasonable distance ahead of Balar.
A/N: I had been procrastinating on running a final edit on this story. But I had to occupy myself while waiting on news about the health of my grandmother, and I ended up finishing the final edits sooner than I expected to.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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