#c:Kai;;

[mothernatureknows]

It's a cold, cruel world up there.

Kai thinks as he smooths his hand over an old scar, running along the right side of his tail. It occasionally throbs to remind him of the incident, dragging his head out of the clouds and back into the ocean.

Humans were at fault.

And they should not be reasoned with.

But, of course, not all of his kind knew and believed this truth, and he's rapidly chasing after one, his dark tail slicing through the water.

"Minjae, please! You cannot be serious about seeing her!"

As much as he's tried to convince his mer friend, Minjae was too curious for his own good. Even with Kai's explanation and the savagery of the human world, it didn't deter him. Quite frankly, it seemed like he was more convinced of the world above and wanted to explore it all the more.

Kai honestly feels at fault. He had the methods to help Minjae grow legs and walk on land, he had the knowledge to navigate the human world. By the grace of Poseidon, Kai had lived as a human for some time. Being Minjae's friend, Kai would have been the perfect candidate to assist the merman to the surface.

But Kai had said no.

No amount of pleading or placating would've convinced the siren otherwise. He was absolutely DONE with the human world, and he couldn't be swayed on his own opinion. He would've, more than likely, told the rest of the siren and mer community to discourage Minjae in every possible way.

But, seeing where Minjae was headed, and who was beyond this side of the reef, he couldn't just float there and do nothing. He had to act.

Thus, this almost fruitless chase as he entered the deep sea, using his enhanced night vision to locate the mer's glimmering tail as it disappeared behind a....behind a...

"What is that?"

Looming 20 times as big as he, a decayed, shark-like skeleton with teeth like towers, lay in the rubble of shipwrecks, the spine easily wrapping twice around its own body. Kai audibly gulped at the sight, thankful that creatures like that didn't exist in his lifetime. Sure, there were large ones in the deeper parts of the sea, but nothing like this.

Straying for a second, Kai recomposes himself enough to follow after Minjae, careful to avoid bumping into any of the teeth. As soon as he entered the cavernous space, a rancid stench reaches his nose, almost forcing a gag from his lips. Upon inspection, Kai sees the half-decomposed bodies of merpeople and sirens alike, their remains coating the rubbled floor. Dark eyes widen in horror and recognition, realizing the amount of victims that have tried their fate with the sea witch.

And Minjae was already making plans with her.

Kai manages to duck into a corner, out of the eyes of the witch, to view the negotiation. He's semi-reluctant to go out there, unknowing of the witch's powers. Kai knows that she is powerful, based on the evidence at her entrance, and he'd rather not take his chances.

Besides, he knows Minjae isn't that imbecilic. Minjae was an intelligent merman, conscious of his actions and wise...sometimes. A few times, Kai found himself receiving counsel from the merman himself. Surely Min wouldn't fall for the trap that this witch would set up for him.

Kai reassures himself with these thoughts, shoulders relaxing as he continues to watch.

"Have we got a deal?"

Kai blinks.

WHAT??

"Minjae, stop!"

Two sets of eyes set upon the siren as he descends on the scene, swooping in to block his friend from doing more damage.

"You cannot make him do this!"

"Oh, siren boy, interested now are you? Well, it's a little too late for that," the sea witch chuckles, presenting a faded parchment to Kai. He eyes it warily, determined features dropping as he reads the terms...and the telltale signature of his friend at the bottom. Apparently, as the siren was commending his merfriend on his intelligence and becoming lost in his own thoughts, the mer in question had signed away his life to the sea witch herself.

"You...you signed it?" Kai turns to Minjae in disbelief. "Minjae, I know you are better than this. Why would you betray us this way?"

"Shut your pasty mouth, siren boy. You know why Minjae signed it," the sea witch says, enchanting her pearl ball. Kai watches as the scene of him rejecting Minjae comes on, his own words bouncing back at him:

"This is not you, Minjae. I will not teach you their ways. You are being just as pathetic as they are, learn from all the times they hunted and slayed us. Are you that dull and besotted that you cannot see what is before your eyes?"

Kai cringes as the memory fades away, gaze turning downward.

"Struck a nerve, huh? Well, what's done is done. You can say goodbye to your mer friend, you will never see him ag—"

"Wait!" Kai shouts, a determined crease in his brows. "I'll sign it in his stead."

The sea witch glares at him before her brows shoot upwards, an idea seeming to have formed in her head.

"You sign instead of him? How interesting," she curls up next to the siren, her tentacles coming up to run across his shoulders. "See, had you come before him, I would've given you the opportunity but he's got you beat."

"Then let me sign with him."

"Sign with him? Hmm, let's see then," a tentacle shoots up with the contract, a new signature line coming up besides Minjae's. "We can make this easier, yes? How about, rather than Minjae giving up his voice, we make it yours? It wouldn't be too much trouble. Voices are so trifling and insignificant, the real magic is with actions and body language."

Give up his voice?

Kai, once again, hesitates.

Voices were everything to sirens and mers. It was a form of entertainment, communication, power. They were what drove his people and mers to remain stable and not extinct. Voices weren't too important in the human world, from what he noticed. Maybe then, just maybe, he could make the sacrifice.

He owed that to Minjae.

"Deal." With a flick of his wrist, Kai signs the document and watches as Minjae is whirled into a sea bubble, a flash of purple and gold consuming his mertail. He is ensnared in his own bubble, but of red and gold, thick tendrils coming for his throat.

"Sing, Kai, sing!"

In a matter of seconds, Kai's voice, often described as enticing and haunting, is ripped right out of his throat, flashed to the witch's conch necklace. He's grasping at his throat as he notices Minjae doing the same.

But Minjae is drowning. The once-mer's tail is replaced by a pair of pale legs, slowly trying to kick to the surface. Without a second thought, Kai rushes to his side and swims upward, beating his tail as fast as possible to get to the surface.

In that time, however, Kai feels his own body feeling strange, only to look down and see his own tail was...

Legs???

***

"Wait, wait, wait. Ok, so let me see if I understand. Kai didn't want to teach you to be human, so you went to the sea witch to strike a deal with her. Said deal was become a human but fall in love within a week to stay human, and give up your voice. Kai instead gave his own voice, without reading the rest of the deal, and now he also has to fall in love within a week to stay human. If either of you screw up, you both belong to the sea witch. Is that right?"

The two, fresh humans nod, Kai hugging his knees to his chest as he throws a simmering glare at Minjae.

Eli lets out a sigh, leaning heavily on his rock. "You two really sunk yourselves real deep, huh?"

[silcszcbini]

"Sounds like you've been going through some changes recently and that a congratulations is in order." Silas commented as he stood at the doorway of the others office.

@kaiarquette

[ofwishfulthinking]

who: @dadiism, kai where: their home

The last few weeks had been a dream. Diego had shifted his work schedule so that he could come home earlier each evening, and he'd been taking a longer lunch once each week so that he could spend time with his husband. The changes, small as they might have been, had left him feeling like he'd felt when he was in his twenties, head over heels in love with Kai. Over the years, the love hadn't faded, it had simply taken a backseat to everything else in their lives -- their children, their careers, their own worries. But as good as the last few weeks had been, Diego knew that it couldn't last. Not if he didn't come clean with Kai first. So that's what he planned to do. "Hey," Diego greeted, brushing a kiss against his husband's jaw. "Want to join me for lunch today? There's some things I wanted to talk to you about."

[submissivejberry]

@subkaikelly​ (continues from here:)

I’m sure that definitely had something to do with it. I always run around all the place during the first week of classes, to make sure I got everything settled and and all that, but I’m good now, so introductions are a good thing to have. Late welcome here, Kai! How was your first week? Are you all settled by now?

[spxxkygays]

@bloodwiine

Julian ft. Kai

"Hey kiddo, how are you? I know you've been sparring with that short one...Crusty? Anyway, I was wondering if you'd take a few of the younglins around here and sort of teach them self defense?"

[claraarquette]

💃 - our muses share a new year’s dance

“So what you’re proposing...” Clara began as they swayed on the dancefloor, her arms wrapped around Kai’s neck. “Is that you get to tell someone and I get to tell someone too.” She mused, knowing that they were very early on so Clara wasn’t too enthused about letting the news get out just yet. She wanted for the pregnancy to be safer first, still, she understood why Kai wanted to tell the person they did.

@kaiarquette​

[touchofsomething]

Closed Starter // Benjamin and Kai

Benjamin was usually kept under a pretty strict thumb. It came with the territory of having military parents. Asking them to attend the frat's homecoming at his college had been a long shot. It wouldn't be the first time they told him that a party filled with stupid drunk children was a bad idea.

Fully expecting to hear no he couldn't hide his surprise when they agreed he could go. Under two conditions.

No drinking

No leaving with anyone he didn't know and trust.

Perfectly reasonable requests and now Benjamin was walking into the party with a nervous excitement. The music was loud and as he made his way over to the ice bucket of beer he grabbed one and cracked it open before drinking.

@darkheartsxmuses

[tobicsxcvierctwell]

“I don’t see you around these parts so often, so tell me what I have done to earn your presence here?” Tobias questioned from where he was sat at his desk in the Auror department. “Or have you just missed my face that much?”

@kaiarquette​

[jaiyashdcwan]

“You know what I realised today... is that you always come to see me in my job but I never come to see you in yours, so here I am. Tada!” Jaiyash announced with a playful flourish of his arms. “Let’s just pretend that the reason you come to see me isn’t just to buy things though. Makes it seem more personal and intimate that way.” He added with a wink.

@kaiarquette​

[dom-bastiansmythe]

@kaihummeltat​ liked your picture:

Hummel. How’s the task going for you so far?

[switchhummel]

@kaihummeltat​ liked your post:

Thank you, Kai! 

[mothernatureknows]

The bumbling ball that was Ms. En’nala Una arrives with a gift! “Hi!” she signs along with her words before handing Kai a wrapped package. “I’m learning to crochet and I made this for you! It’s starting to get cold so I hope it helps to keep you warm!” Inside is a long (perhaps a little too long), dark blue scarf. “I heard you like whales too, so I put a whale! See?” She points to a vague whale shape stitched into the end.

"Hello!" he signs back, pleasantly surprised. Normally, he’s not approached quite fervently by mildly-recognizable individuals, let alone someone who can sign back to him. The siren’s brows furrow curiously as he’s handed the package, delicate fingers skimming across the wrapping. 

Syrup brown eyes widen at the explanation, darting back and forth between her and the package. “Made this for me?” he signs in disbelief, hurriedly tearing the gift open (though not too quickly, lest it damage the gift, of course). Sure enough, he’s greeted by a long, dark blue scarf, very soft to the touch and seemingly long enough to wrap around his neck several times. He’s particularly touched by the detail at the end, running warm fingers across the fabric. 

Sirens typically don’t have use for items like these. Water had warm and cold spots, whenever one spot was too much, he would just move to another. He never needed to wear a heavy coat, ear muffs, or scarves. Not like his squad members. 

And yet, the simple gesture brings a tender feeling to his heart, a smile curling on his lips. “I do like whales, they provide unbeknownst comfort,” he explains. “I really appreciate this gift and do thank you for the sentiment. Ah, is there some way I may repay you for your kindness?”

[silcszcbini]

"Look, I really should have been gone hours ago so unless you have something important to add, I'm going to call it a night." Silas stated with a sigh, checking the clock once more that was in the office. How he'd managed to get to this time without realising was a feat in itself.

@kaiarquette

[ofwishfulthinking]

who: kai @dadiism when: saturday evening, date night.

The week had come and gone with such speed that Diego had barely kept track. If he'd hadn't been intentional about Saturday's date night, he would've surely missed it. He was almost sure that that would've been the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. The camel in this case being his marriage. Diego was determined not to let that happen.

"Sweetheart," Diego called, as he entered the house. He clutched the bouquet of flowers he'd chosen tightly in one fist. Kai was usually the one who bought just because bouquets, but Diego had figured that it would be a nice touch. Heaven knew he needed as many points as he could get. He handed them over when Kai entered, smiling brightly in his husband's direction even as he felt the butterflies in his stomach take flight. "Reservation's in an hour. So, if you're ready, we should probably head out."

[dayanitas]

Closed starter for @inventorlee​ Location: Dayanita’s home  Timestamp: The week after the seance

If Daya had known how much marriage would suck the life out of her, she never would have done it. The two bright spots were Pearl and Feriha, dearer to her than anybody else in her life, but there was no denying that she and her husband made each other miserable, and her advice to any young, unmarried person was not to do it. 

Kai was one of those people. They moved in similar worlds, and it seemed that he was the current prize to be won for all the eligible women looking to snag a husband. She had been in that position once, with suitors jostling for her attention, and had chosen wrong. She wouldn’t see the same happen to him, and so she had taken him under her wing. Lord knows, he needed it, given all that had happened to him recently. 

“You wouldn’t believe the weekend I had,” Dayanita sighed, placing the tray of honey cakes and tea on her dining room table in front of him. She had made them herself the previous night to try and calm her nerves. Sleep had been difficult to come by. “First, I was stuck in Whitechapel. Then, I had the most unusual experience with a medium, a candle, and a pub landlord, and then all these letters on top of that?” She shook her head, clearly more irritated than afraid. 

“I certainly hope your week has been better than mine.”

[pollysheedy]

Closed Starter for @inventorlee​ Timestamp : March, 1888 (flashback thread)  Location : Polly’s room, Cora’s place

He was nervous. 

It was radiating off of him in waves. Polly could sense it, and so could his friends,by the amount of teasing they had been doing. He had been shoved, rather unceremoniously, into their room, and now they were sitting in almost silence. 

It was almost painfully awkward, and while they were content to sit in silence, if that’s what he wished, they felt compelled to put him at ease, however they could. 

“Your button is hanging off,” they pointed out, leaning forward to flick the offending article gentle. “If you take your jacket off, I can fix it for you.” they reached into the drawer in the side of the bed, retrieving a needle and thread. “It won’t take long. I promise.”