#he used to have webbed feet but those dried out along with his fins

[sphylor]

i think when fully unglamoured Dew still has patches of scales but theyre dried up and colourless and fur grows underneath them now. he thinks he looks horrific but of course literally everyone else thinks differently

[seokiloquy]

Sink - Hinata Shoyo

AU: Fantasy / Merman

Revamp

GN! Reader, hardly any plot (it’s like nothing i’m sorry)

Word Count: 2.2K+ 

Pirates can be helpful sometimes. If you do anything to tick them off though, you're thrown overboard. They were self-serving, violent to a fault, and would only help outsiders if they got something of greater value in return. Profit, they said. Most pirate ships were run by humans, taking to the sea after being forced off of land by other groups. For this reason, the whole time on that ship was spent with their scorching gazes burning into the back of your skull. Being an elf, one doing work for the queen no less didn't help your cause. If you hadn’t been seasick you would’ve seen it coming. 

Now here you were, sinking down into the depths of the ocean hardy able to see the light through the crashing waves above you. Your wool cape weighed you down, getting heavier as it soaked in the salty water. It wrapped around your body, restricting your movements and thwarting any hope of being able to swim upwards.

Your chest hurt once your knees hit the sand at the bottom. The throbbing of your heartbeat in your ears was loud but didn't stop you from hearing the swishing of movement around you. Somehow, life underwater was the loudest and most silent experience. It was deafening.

"Hey there, person!"

You squinted your eyes as you tried to see despite the stinging from all the salt. About five, maybe less, metres ahead from where you pitifully kneeled, a merman swam over to lean against an algae-covered rock as if it was a bed. You bent backwards to get away from him, but it became useless since your torso just floated back up.

"Are you stuck? Odd. What is that? A tarp?"

The merman’s orange tail flicked, propelling him forward toward you with incredible speed. His webbed hands pulled at your cape and his long pointed ear twitched through the water, listening for something. You felt as though you were being sat on by a giant, the pressure on your chest grew stronger as you struggled to help the sea creature free you.

Once untied from your dark cape you were able to swim upwards toward the surface. You felt your chest expand as you swam higher making it easier to hold your breath.

Just as you broke through the surface of the water you gasped, grateful that you could finally breathe. You heaved in as much air as possible, trying to not let the splashing water get in your mouth. As you kicked and waved your arms through the water the aquatic man floated up next to you. He poked his head out of the water before ducking back down.

"Woah! You don't have a tail! Or fins, or anything! What are you?"

Treading the water with both arms and legs you kept yourself floating high enough to speak.

"Take me to shore and I'll speak to you then. This cape is weighing me down."

Nodding his head, the merman’s orange hair shook off some of the water in it. The movement made some water fly into your mouth, which you quickly spat out, not enjoying the taste. His hands hooked under your shoulders, hoisting you up to his chest.

"Hold your breath."

"I am (Y/N) (L/N) of the Elven Domain. I am an explorer and have direct orders from the queen to track down an artifact to keep it safe. And you are?"

"You're an elf?"

You sighed, staring the merman directly in his eyes. The two of you currently sat/stood on the sand, drying off. In front of both of you was the ocean that you had just crawled out of minutes before.  The merman flicked his tail happily and looked at you with a curious smile that seemed to eat away at his cheeks.

"You don't socialize, do you?"

He shook his head as he picked at the fins on his arms. “No, not really. I’ve been the personal worker for the princess since I could remember. Only the royal family makes connections with those on land. The rest of us barely remember the word for your people. Let alone seen one. And because I’m working for the princess all the time I don’t really have any friends or explore."

As he spoke, his tail had fully dried and began to morph into a set of thin legs. The colour from his tail seemed to take shape and become a pair of trousers that ended directly below the knee with a small frill. He slowly bent them with a large smile, wiggling his toes into the sand.

"We know of our abilities, but only those who attend world meetings use them. I've never had the chance."

Grabbing your hand suddenly, he pulled himself up and onto his feet.

"Now come on! You have an adventure to be on don't you?"

Marching forward Shoyo managed to take a couple of steps before his knees buckled inwards and he fell forward. His butt stuck in the air and both his lower legs and face were covered in sand. He was quick to adjust, flopping onto his back.

"I got to get used to this," he said smiling up at you

"I'm more surprised you managed to even take one step. What’s your name?"

His mouth popped into an ‘O’ shape before giving you another sharp-toothed grin, “Shoyo Hinata.”

You sat on the edge of a rock, cape splayed out by your side. Hinata splashed around in the water, bathing in the cold liquid against his skin and tail. A laugh would nearly escape you every time his head bobbed out of the water to either shake his hair dry or send a long trail of water out of his mouth in a tall arch. He occasionally would toss water your way in an attempt to get you wet, before going back to whatever he found entertaining at the bottom of the pool.

"So you are an elf. And there are other species out there like you. How many are there?" he asked.

Hinata pushed himself up on the rock next to you and let his tail begin to dry.

"There are humans and wizards. They are from the same family, but wizards have either become interested in the magic of others or are hungry for power. There are other water dwellers I'm sure. But no one has seen them since the War of Weapons. Along with some forest creatures who have small colonies instead of creating a large Empire like the Fae or Giants."

Hinata swung his tail trying to get off the last of the water so his legs would appear. As he did, drips flung your way, making you much wetter than any of his targeted splashes did. You scoffed, wiping your hands over your hefty clothing. Once dry, a silk-like material took the place of scales and legs, replacing the tail with pillowy clothing. You stared at them for a moment.

“Are those pants attached to your body or…” 

As you spoke Hinata's ears twitched as he heard every word along with any noise that came from the woods behind you. He ignored your comment, far more interested in the previous conversation. "Creatures like what?" he asked.

You looked to the woods thinking of the people and animals you have and will encounter on your travels. "There are centaurs, gods, dragons, nymphs and dwarves. Some that don't have specific names but recognizable features. Most of them fled to the woods after the war. The gods, well, there are no gods here. Not anymore, not really."

Hinata nodded and played with the large gem that was attached to your cape. His head tilted, "War of Weapons? What happened there?"

"I can't remember the exact details of course. It was almost three hundred years ago after all. And if you haven't connected with other races you were definitely born after."

Hinata nodded "I'm only a teen. So it makes sense that I wouldn't know. As I said, I’ve spent my whole life with the princess."

Sighing, you felt the sudden urge to throw yourself into the water. You cringed in disgust and looked into the deep ocean. The dark blue seemed much more welcoming now than it did when you had been thrown in. Maybe if you wished for it the dormant god would welcome you with open arms. 

"You're so young," you commented.

"And you're not?" Hinata tilted his head and looked toward you. He set down your cape.

"In age of body, I am. But of mind and experience, I have aged 400 years."

"400!" Hinata jumped back at the confession, hands holding tightly onto your gemstone. "But how? You look 14!" 

"People of Elven descent age much slower than the rest of the world. It's a gift and a curse. My own siblings are reaching their 900th years."

Hinata sat closer and rested his chin on your shoulder, pouting. You smiled and turned your head slightly toward him, getting a glimpse of the youthful expression that pulled at his lips.

"But the war. What happened?"

You looked to the horizon where you couldn't see the landmark or city.

"Humans, finding the magic of others made them power-hungry. They began to build troops in hopes of defeating other kingdoms and gain control of the world. Wizards, witches and the occasional warlock or enchantress began to appear. They had to go through deadly rituals to gain their power. And when they found out there was more to take, there was no stopping them. It was a war of not only hardware but of magical prowess."

Hinata rested his weight against your body as he listened to you tell the story of an old war.

"Elven, Mer, Demon, Wood, and God banded together to stop them. Each of them protecting the gems they had in their care."

Hinata stared at your side profile, his eyes reflected the light from the setting sun and portrayed admiration as he listened. The eyes of the mer glowed a brilliant gold colour with hazel accents and brown lining.

"Gems? Like the stones?"

You nodded.

"Some, although rare, have magic stored in them. There are three held by the gods, with them from birth to rebirth. Others are forged over hundreds of years on sacred ground. Often places are abandoned before a single gem is produced."

Hinata's orange hair tickled your neck, his webbed hand rested palm up on your knee. You took his hand and gently pressed your thumb into the center of it.

"(Y/N), what did you do in the war?"

Your eyes dropped into the water before you. Another urge, stronger than the last, wanted to pull you into the bottomless pit of water. It felt like you were about to choke.

"I watched friends and family live and die at the hands of the people we all treated so well. I can only wonder if they took our kindness as pity."

Hinata squeezed your hand with a slimy but gentle touch and dug his head deeper into your shoulder. He whined pitifully.

"I am an adventurer. So that's what I did. I went searching for clues, hideouts, anything I could find on the other side of the war. Along the way, I made a friend. His wings were a beige colour, very light. But his overall aura was much darker. His wings gave him little to no help because if he flew too high up, he would fall out of fear of being shot down."

You turned your head to the merman, shifting slightly to fully face him and avoid catching his pointed ears with your own. You raised your free hand up toward the darkened sky, pointing to the bright light from the moons above the two of you.

"His name, Kageyama Tobio. God of the moon."

Hinata sat, eyes larger than before as he looked up to the two shining dots of light in the sky. The moons, which he had never gotten the chance to see until now, danced slowly around each other as they spun around the world. He admired the still image of the two unequally sized moons.

"Where is he now?"

"Home, I assume. But his sister is young and missing. So there is no doubt in my mind that he is still searching."

The sun had fully set by now, letting the moons cover the forest in cool light and dark shadows. You lowered your hand to Hinata's shoulder and added some pressure to your fingertips.

"Rest for tonight. You've drained your energy enough for today." You smiled and pushed him down on the flat rock where your cape was, acting like a makeshift bed.

"And what of you? Are you not going to rest?" He asked, holding your hand as it dropped the edges of your cape over his shoulders.

"My mind is now plagued with thoughts. If I rest now I cannot guarantee you'll see me at dawn."

Hinata's brow furrowed as he questioned you. "Why would that be?"

You sighed and brushed his hair with your free hand. "My turning would toss me into deep water." You smiled slightly as Hinata's expression turned sour. "Now sleep. I’ll see you in the morning."

I honestly love this one cause the world is one I’ve had in my head for years... but have yet to actually do anything with... - Bacon

Posted: 03/08/2020