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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, Peter's heart raced in his chest, a symphony of fear reverberating in his webbed ears as he forced himself through the thick reeds. He plunged downwards, his hands trembling as he frantically dug his tail into the sand. As the mounds of sand rose, forming protective walls on either side of his rainbow-hued scales, Peter hunched over them, shielding his bright colors as best as he could. He cursed inwardly, the vibrant hues that made him stand out, a beacon in the darkness, now a liability in his desperate flight. His fear was palpable, a living thing that clung to him like the reeds he was hiding in, making him feel exposed and vulnerable.
"Peter!" Came the growl of his most prominent persecutor. "Come out and fight me!"
Maren, have mercy. The moon had already risen, and the blond was still pursued.
The dominant betta had singled him out from the moment his Aunt Hali, his only family and mentor, decided to settle down into the betta community. Peter and his aunt had been on the move for so long that they 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. Peter’s pale blue skin was just enough of the hue to trigger Balar's aggression from the moment they first met.
"You can't hide in the reeds forever!"
Peter was tempted to glance in his general direction, and he knew any sudden movement would ruin what little camouflage his colors provided. He tried to slow down his breathing, but the inhalations were unstable, and it took all of his concentration not to breathe out through his nose fast enough to reveal his location. Unlike the fish around them, merkind didn’t have gills. He swallowed hard, willing himself to keep still despite his entire body quivering. Peter remained in the uncomfortable position long after the voice grew distant.
When the sound of Balar’s voice faded, Peter let out a breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding, bubbles escaping around his head. He had been fortunate so far, managing to keep his distance from Balar and avoiding a direct confrontation. While he had been trained to survive the perils of traveling between regions, combat was a different matter. He was unprepared, and the thought weighed heavily on him.
"Why can't he just leave me alone?" Peter whispered to himself as he bent his tail high enough to wrap his arms around it. He rested his chin on top of the bend and let out a long breath.
"...found himself a friend."
Peter lifted his head as the song drew his attention. The voice was unfamiliar to him, a riddle in the night. Balar couldn’t so much as hold a tune. Green eyes darted from left to right as Peter's webbed ears tried to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. The mystery was like a puzzle, drawing him in.
"A tawdry filefish, he had found himself a friend."
The blond swam towards the sound. He was both relieved and wary that the direction of the voice was the opposite of where Balar had gone. Curiosity bubbled up inside him, and Peter found himself unable to resist the pull of the mysterious voice. His eagerness to discover the source of the song drove him forward despite the potential danger, much like the sirens of the past 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 his spine. Peter bit his lower lip, thinking it over. Did he really want to see who was singing that badly? Still, his body began swimming further towards the sound before he'd fully decided. The tempo rose and fell. As Peter came closer, he started to sway in response.
"They met at the shore's end…"
The owner of the voice trailed off when Peter was in range. The blond slowed down until he was a few feet away from the lavender merman. Red ludwigia lined the freshwater side of the brackish barrier between them, while vibrant red coral lined the saltwater side. Peter felt his heart stop at the smile and wave the royal gramma basslet sent him. The selenite orb held in the male's hand cast a soft white edge onto him and his environment, adding to his captivating presence.
Bold and dynamic is what the blond thought of that tail. Peter 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 him 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 been ridiculous in the eyes of the betta, so against their community's longer styles. But on the merman's sharply defined face, Peter admitted 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. In Peter's opinion, the edges of the scars curling around the broad, muscular chest merely added to the appeal.
Wait, appeal? What in the surly shrimp was Peter even thinking of a stranger? Yet, his green eyes continued to stare.
He didn't know what the basslet observed from his side of the barrier. Peter must not have been viewed as a threat because the orange-eyed stranger started singing again at a lower volume as if it was only meant for the betta's ears. Though there was no way it could be true, the thought still gave the blond 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-"
Their underwater world was usually a canvas of vibrant colors, but those colors were muted at night. The betta's elegant spin added a touch of grace to the darkness. Peter's 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…"
A thrilled Peter continued dancing, allowing the song to flow through him. He swam in curves and loops, his arms and tail creating soft lines, nothing like the tense and sharp angles of battle. He felt lighter and more playful than he had in months. The violet-haired merman embellished the song in response. If the added riffs and runs were an attempt to get Peter to dance more, it worked. When the song was over, the basslet swam as close to the barrier as possible.
"I'm Griffin," he greeted as he motioned to himself.
Despite their different dialects and accents, Peter was able to understand the basslet's song.
"Peter," he responded. Then, in a bold move, he shoved both his hands within the brackish water layer, separating the mermen by half a meter.
Griffin tentatively reached out, mirroring Peter's actions. Their hands met, the betta's pale blue hands just a bit smaller than Griffin's lavender ones. The gentle touch sent a thrill down Peter's spine, a tangible sign of their growing connection.
"It's nice to meet you, Peter," Griffin replied with another smile, making Peter's core flutter.
"Thank you for the song-" Peter's words of gratitude were cut short when another voice called out from the distance.
"Peter!"
Balar.
The betta tensed and looked around frantically. He saw no sign of the blue betta, but he’d heard his voice clearly. If Balar was near, Peter wanted to draw him away from his new acquaintance.
"I have to go," Peter said, his voice betraying the urgency of the situation, as he impulsively threaded his fingers with Griffin's in a gentle farewell squeeze. "Meet me here tomorrow morning!" He suggested before scampering off deeper into Sein, the freshwater region he 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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