Chapter 56: Starting Back On
As the men mumbled incoherent lyrics after God knows how long they've been singing, the water began to stir lazily around the three smaller boats. One of the men, skinny with wiry hair breaks his tired gaze from the boat's creaky floor to see the glimmer of a pearly sheen. A shorter, less groomed man also spots the graceful loom of low light below the surface. As the flow of water channels slowly around the boat, they hurriedly moved to the side of the boat to see the faint shimmer just as it sinks into the dark sea below. The less-groomed man and skinny gentleman look behind them out of a casual turn, to see quite a surprise hanging onto the rim of their small boat.
A maiden from the water. Her golden hair is soaked, but shines in the yellow beam of the lighthouse shining directly above her like an angel of heaven. Her lips as red as a rose, her eyes looking upon the boat of dirty, lost men with intriguing curiosity, unafraid of any one of them. "Lord, save me..." Said the less-groomed man in complete amazement.
"Hey, look," The skinny man pats another one of the men, "Look there." The alerted men turn around to see the beautiful female looking at them. An older man with a filthy, grey, scraggly beard stood right up, and savagely drew his dagger right out of his sheath.
"Y-You scare her off!!" The less-groomed man quickly seized the older man's arm to stop him from attacking the maiden.
"Rrrgghh! And good riddance!" The old man growled. The less-groomed man pushed him down, and looked once more to the beautiful woman, who swam away a few feet from he sight of the dagger. The maiden bobs slowly in the water as she looks at the men.
"... Can you talk?" The less-groomed man asked the girl as she slowly swam back to the little boat.
"Yes..." The maiden calmly puts her arms back onto the edge of the boat, and hangs on casually as the less-groomed man came up to her.
"You're beautiful." He said with a dumb smile as he crawls to her.
"Are you the one who sings?" She asked as her brilliant, beautiful tail waves slowly under the water, stirring tiny bubbles around the frilly membranes of her fish-like lower body.
"Aye..."
"Are You My Jolly Sailor Bold?" The mermaid asks with a bemused smile.
"... Heh heh~" The less-groomed man nods with a modest expression on his face, "Aye that'll be me~" He answers bashfully.
"Scrum, compose yourself!" A couple of the other men yanked the less-groomed man away from the maiden.
"Oy!" Scrum struggled with resistance against his fellow men, "The right match has been given to me in my brief, miserable life. There's a truth in it," He explained, "But by God, I'll have it said that Scrum had himself a kiss from a PROPER mermaid!" He yanked his arms away from the others.
"~My heart is pierced by Cupid~" The mermaid began to sing, "~I disdain all glittering gold~" Scrum gradually made his way back to the beautiful siren, his lips mouthing the lyrics, as if he is being hypnotized by the maiden, "~There is nothing can console me ~But my jolly sailor bold~"
The mermaid's voice seems to echo as her melody plays upon the desires and lower the guards of the men.
"~Come all you pretty fair maids ~Whoever you may be~" Under the boat, a handful of other mermaids gracefully loomed upwards toward the surface. "~Who love a jolly sailor bold~" The men look upon the dark waters of the ocean, seeing several sea maidens ascending and slowly breaking the surface, "~That ploughs the raging sea~"
"~Myyy heart is pierced by Cupid~" The first mermaid hymned as the other mermaids slowly closed in on the boat, "~I disdain all glittering gold~" The mermaids rest their arms upon the ridge of the boat, gazing up at each man all around.
"~There is nothing can console me ~But my jolly sailor bold~" Even the old man with the rusty dagger was soon slowly unarmed by the glowing charm of the mermaids, and the singular symphony of the first singing mermaid.
"~Myyy heart is pierced by Cupid~" The mermaid continued with the same lyric as the boat is now surrounded by slow, wavering, pearly-orange fish tails that slowly wave in the sea. "~I disdain all glittering gold~"
"~There is nothing can console me~" The singing mermaid caresses Scrum as he leans in for her, his lips puckered as she slowly, and deliberately guides his face towards the water "~But my jolly sailor boooolllld~" The mermaid's eyes gazes longing into Scrums face even as her face sinks below the surface, without even breaking eye contact.
Scrum foolishly lets the mermaid pull his face into the water with her before he opens his eyes.
The mermaid's eyes lighten in color to emphasize her pupils, her skin breaks out in shimmering scales, and four sharp fangs grow from her upper and lower jaws as she hisses like a dangerous predator!
"AANNNNGGGGHHHH!" Scrum screams underwater right before the mermaid lunges at him!
~~~
"WHOA!" Merrick jumped as the old man jabs the mermaid with the boat's oar. The other mermaids flip into the water and swam in a fast, rabid raid, "Those are some fucked-up Pisciens!"
Adam laughed as he and Merrick watch Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, "Yeah, this kinda freaked me out when I first saw it too." Merrick is only wearing some snug briefs, while Adam is good on wearing some comfortable cotton boxers.
"I mean, look at them!" Merrick held his hands out as they watched, "They're blood-thirsty savages! One minute they're coherent, and the next, they turn into monsters!"
"I know, I don't really like how they portrayed them in this movie either."
"Which sucks," Merrick said, "Because they look a lot like me - their tails look exactly like mine, and the scales of their upper bodies are just like me. Appearance wise, these mermaids are pretty accurate, except for the hair, not all mermaids have long-flowing hair like that, if any at all. And from the looks of it, none of them have any webbed hands."
"And they kinda look like you too, right?"
"Yeah. Half Arctic Veil, like my Mother, and half Navyn Tail, like my Father. Though there are some species of merfolk that are just like these - One kind I know of is called Wave Streak merfolk. They're identified by their frilly bodies."
"Wow, really? So would you say these ones are just like them?"
"Close. As I said, the hair and webbed hands are a few points off. Besides that, these are supposed to be mermaids, but the way they're swarming those humans is actually a lot more related to a Siren frenzy. That's what else is kind of off about them too."
"You mean no other merfolk hunt their prey like that?"
"Nohhht like any kind of merfolk I'VE known!" Merrick scoffed, "Sirens rarely bother with weapons or tools because their two-tails provides them with overwhelming speed and agility, as opposed to us other merfolk, who prefer to use our tools, weapons, and strategy. Though there are some merfolk that are somewhat savage. Belinda's kind for one."
