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travelling-in-packs · 5 years

Text

Trenches.

Rinlouh opened his eyes, all three giving off a hazy glow. The darkness of his room, a cave, gave him a sense of security in the depths of the ocean. The water around him suddenly warmed, the hydrothermal vent spewing gunk and hot water from the corner of his room. Rinlouh sighed, knowing he would have to go out and either hunt or eat, his loud sisters surrounding him. His gills fluttered, and he let himself float, rolling over and swimming out of the cave entrance, into the dark coral and prismarine-lit rock extensions.

Rinlouh touched a bright prismarine stone, letting it rest on his fingers and closing his third eye, his other two adjusting. He dropped it at the call of his father, Renlough, and swam toward the sounds.

“Rinlouh, you’re up late! You’re lucky that the neighbors hunted for us today, or we’d be starving,” Lianou, his mother, flashed with her eyes. She always had that belief that Rinlouh was the best hunter in the sea. Percy opened his third eye, dimming the light to say something with the flashing, like morse, but Renlough stopped him.

“We could put a lobster in your room again. That woke you up!” Renlough’s gills fluttered as all of his eyes flashed, laughing.

Rinlouh ignored them, taking a fish from the pile and swiftly gutting it with his sharp teeth, chewing and flicking the small bones or scales out. Lianou shook her head in disgust, taking her own and gently slicing it, then eating pieces out with a sharp piece of dead coral.

“Teeth are for hunting,” Lianou angrily scolded, turning away from her ‘barbarian’ of a son.

Rinlouh laughed softly, eating the rest of the food slowly, with his own piece of coral. Of course, he could tell by the noise of water that his sisters, all three, had joined them. Reyanai, for whatever demented reason, sat next to Percy and chewed loudly, as older sisters do. He tried to nudge her away, to no avail.

“Mom! Rin touched me with his weird hands!” Reyanai flashed brightly, grabbing Rinlouh’s hand and flailing it to get Lianou’s attention. Lianou rolled her three eyes, throwing a fish at Reyanai, who caught it with her teeth.

“Reyanai, quit being rude to your little brother. He doesn’t look that different,” Lianou flashed, glaring at Reyanai.

“Hey, not my fault his dad was one of those” Reyanai flashed, before Renlough promptly covered her eyes, blocking the light and the words from escaping.

Rinlouh looked at his mother, his eyes wide, flashing dimly, “My dad was.. What?”

Lianou quickly responded, “Nothing dear, she’s just--” a pause-- “joking.”

Renlough shook his head “Lia, he’s much older, he can handle it. 68 seasons is more than old enough to know.”

Rinlouh stayed silent, and his mother gazed ahead, clearly pondering the decision at hand.

“Fine,” Lianou flashed, her eyes dim, “Come to the surface. I’ll tell you, away from your sisters.” She’d begun to swim away, and Rinlouh followed, anxious as ever. As they left, Lianou shot a look at Reyanai, giving her a mom-glare that could and would kill. As they got closer to the light, Rinlouh became more comfortable, the surface having been a safe place for him, both in the past and the present.

As they drew closer to the surface, they both closed their third eyes, the light being too much for their sensitive pupils. The sun beat onto the water, proving that the flashing wouldn’t work. They had to dig up their linguistic skills from the back of their minds, from what the landstalkers would utter.

“I know it’s a shock. But hear me out, alright?” Lianou spoke, her voice raspy from saltwater and disuse, “after your sister was born, her father left me, and I was very sad. Much like you, I came to the surface for comfort and then I saw a boat. There was only one landstalker on the boat, and he didn’t look armed. He said his name was Oscar Pendleton, and he seemed... Calm. People usually panic when they see us, but he believed I was pretty. He called me a ‘Mermaid.’”

“So... what does this have to do with me?” Rinlouh asked, getting frustrated.

Lianou looked up, at the pink and orange sky, watching the ‘sun’, as she called it, dip under the waves, “Well, I fell in love with him, and a while later, I was pregnant with you. I told Oscar, and he was proud of you; but he couldn’t stay for any longer. He said he’d been out for three ‘months’, which I assume is about a season. He had to leave but... Then I found Renlough, and he understood... He was prepared to help me take care of you.”

Rinlouh panicked, his gills flaring slightly, “What? You mean- what? Does that mean I’m not allowed back home? I’m not ready! Mom..” He stared at his mom, and she shook her head in response.

“Of course you’re allowed home, honey! It just means that you’re different. Oscar would have loved you if he could. He wanted to name you ‘Percy,’ because in their mythology, ‘Perseus’ was a strong landstalker. I think,” she chuckled weakly, trying to add humor to their situation.

It worked, because Percy smiled very slightly, then asked, “Can I go see him?”

Lianou paused, then nodded, “‘Florida’ is where he said he lived. But please, don’t be rash. It’s hot on land. And very dry. You’ll need to be careful about people, too. They don’t know what you are. It’s dangerous, my little guppy… You’re not even fully grown.”

“I don’t have to wait until I’m full grown, right? Besides, it’s my right to know him,” Rinlouh glared against the fading sunlight.

Lianou shook her head, trying to make her tone as calming as she can, “No. I want you to wait. I don’t want you going to the surface based on a rash decision.”

Rinlouh made a sound similar to a growl, like the creaking sounds dolphins make.

“Do not give me that tone, Rinlouh. You should think about this. Who knows what they could do to you up there! Few of our kind have gone, and only one has returned. You know what happened to him,” Lianou stated, trying to seem strong, even if her voice was wavering and she showed signs of nervousness for her only son.

“He went blind, yeah. Nobody understood his crazy ramblings. He suffocated on water. He was-- older, mom… It wasn’t caused by what happened on land, he probably just stared at the light,” Rinlouh hissed, clearly hiding his shock with anger.

Lianou sighed, shaking her head, “I know I can’t stop you. But, please, take some time and calm down; alright?”

Rinlouh’s only answer was to turn and swim into a current, then float through the water. Lianou stared for only a moment, but ultimately chose to go back, and wait for her son to come to his senses.

Once Rinlouh did come back, he was calm. He’d spent his time in a cave, and his skin was rehydrating from being above water for so long. The glow in his eyes was dull, but he’d forgiven his mother, and chose to wait and decide when he was ready. Even if it took many seasons.

Rinlouh awoke with a start, the dark of his cave contrasted against a bright red lobster, its claw clamped down on his calf. He screeched at it and, by instinct, shot down to bite it. He kicked away its limp body and floated to a small cave opening, burying the dead lobster down into the sand, along with 6 of its brethren, also deceased. They were effective alarm clocks.

Reyanai swam in and crossed her arms, “You killed another one? They’re gonna go extinct, Perc!”

Rinlouh shook his head, “No, they aren’t. And for the last time, don’t call me that!”

“You let mom call you Perc!”

“Percy! And that’s because she’s mom, not Rey.”

“Whatever. Dad wanted you,” Reyanai flashed brightly, then swam away, taking the turn to the main area of their underwater city.

Rinlouh took his time getting to Renlough, still tired and dazed from Rey’s vicious way of flashing.

“Percy,” Lianou waved to him, catching his attention before continuing, “Come quickly! Renlough found something!”

Percy swam to her, then let her pull him into a current, and they got pushed along through the water. Lianou held him close, excitement bubbling off of her. When they got to a dense kelp forest, they pushed away from the current and swam to a small clearing.

Lianou led him silently to where Renlough, his “father” sat, studying a weight from a net a few tuni away. Rinlouh didn’t understand, since they tended to avoid all nets, in or out of use. Renlough looked at him and gave him a smile, soft and understanding.

His mother tapped him on the shoulder, then flashed, “Percy, it’s one of Oscar’s nets, from his boat. It wasn’t here yesterday, it’s new. Your father is back.”

Oscar Pendleton watched the waves, slapping against his ship’s hull, quiet music playing from somewhere in the cabin. The net he’d dropped had been cut, and sank impossibly deep into the midnight blue of the sea. The moon reflected off the water, and Leo glared at him from the night sky. He didn’t care for sleeping, not this far out to sea, and not at this time of year. It was much too dangerous for a sailor to not have a watchful eye.

The occasional sea life swam around him, avoiding his boat. Superstition had built up in his name. Dolphins were the only ones who knew why they were avoiding the Huntress. The curious ones would make sounds at him, but be ushered away quickly. Sharks would get close enough to bump the boat, but swim away quickly, in fear of the tales.

Oscar didn’t mind the creatures, they weren’t what he was there for. He was here for the mermaids, as he called them. They were curious creatures, and the stigma around the Huntress hadn’t yet reached the trench. As Oscar waited, eyes scanning the soft blue waves, he pondered giving up. It wouldn’t have been the first failed trip, nor would it be the last.

The only way he knew the mermaids had come was the disgruntled splashing coming from his starboard side. He walked over and helped her up, giving his best sailor smile. Her eyes flashed, a strange language of morse code the mermaids have. When he shook his head, she started speaking, her throat moving strangely and her voice scratchy.

“Oscar, it’s mou, Lianou! Ma olen namereno toi! I’m so elited!” She grinned, sharp teeth glistening, her blue skin shining in the moonlight.

“Of course I know it’s you, Lianou. Do you remember the hand speech I taught you? I can only slightly understand you,” he explained, to which she looked at her webbed hands and nodded. Sign language was the one way he could communicate with the mermaids, their mixed dialect and horrible pronunciation making speech impossible.

“You! I am so happy you here,” she signed, her grammar was off but he couldn’t blame her. Sixteen years was a long time, but with how well she was still doing, Oscar was sure she practiced.

“I’m glad to see you too, Lia. How have you been?” Oscar signed back, tilting his head for emphasis.

“Well! And your son is alive! I brought him,” Lianou signed quickly, grinning. Oscar stared at her in disbelief, but he didn’t distrust her. He knew that she wouldn’t lie about anything, and he vaguely remembered her talking of a baby the last time they’d met. He was just shocked that it survived.

“Please, let me meet him, Lia,” he signed in response, his eyes searching the water for the other mer-creature. Lianou turned and dove into the water, and appeared again around ten minutes later, with what he presumed was his hybrid child.

The hybrid looked shy, his third eye closed despite the humidity, and his gaze averted. He was taller, and much paler than the rest of his species, and his eyes were smaller. His hands had much less webbing, along with his feet, and the webbing on his sides was completely missing. His long hair was in streaks of light and midnight blue, with some dusty orange hairs highlighting. Many of his features showed Oscar to be the father, such as his nose and body shape. Most of his features, however, were a strange mix of human and huperus.

“This is Percy! He looks so much like you! I named him after your funny stories,” she signed, holding the hybrid, “Percy” in place. Percy appeared uncomfortable, but Oscar knew he was also nervous, and curious. The mer-creatures always gave away their emotions very easily.

Percy opened his third eye and tried flashing at Oscar, to which he raised an eyebrow. Lianou turned to him and flashed her eyes at him, explaining that she would translate his words for him. He flashed his sequence again, and Lianou nodded.

“Him says hello! And that he has waited a long time to see you,” Lianou signed, clearly very excited.

“Well, I say hello back. I’m glad to finally see my beautiful son,” Oscar signed back, to which Lianou gurgled and flashed his words to Percy. The hybrid seemed to blush, his bluish skin gaining a slight purple tint at the cheeks and ears, and what appeared to be random freckles glowing. Oscar smiled at him, and he bashfully smiled back. Percy flashed again at Lianou, and she translated once more.

“Oscar, Percy wants to spend time with you. He wants to go home with you in the Togethered States. He will be good. He has wanted this for many seasons,” she blinked her eyes, as if trying to sweeten the deal, and convince Oscar. Of course, Oscar Pendleton was a kind man to her. So he quickly nodded, smiling. Lianou squealed, and by observing her reaction, the hybrid became excited as well. Percy sprung up and wrapped Oscar in a hug.

Oscar hugged back and lightly patted Percy on the back. When they pulled apart, Percy stepped back and hugged his mother.

“I will return him at the next summer solstice, if I don’t get caught up in work. Then, we will decide if he stays with me or returns to the sea. Alright?” Oscar asked Lianou. The sky began to streak with a deep purple, telling that dawn was upon them.

“Yes. We will be back soon. Percy must goodbye everyone,” Lia smiled one last time before turning and diving in the sea. Percy gave one last hug to Oscar, two of his eyes wet with tears. His son dove into the ocean after Lianou, and they both disappeared as the scarlet and crimson colors of the sun tainted the skies.

#a wip of percys backstory

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