「 ♡ 」 … *┊ JUDGING BY THE REACTIONS his friend was giving with each time again, Jaden was almost certain that nothing was just as good as Suriel pretended it to be. Which nice human would lock two people in a dark room instead of offering them having a seat in the living room? Jaden was still not knowing everything about humanity bit he was certain that something was just not right here and their only way to get out without any further damage was to escape through this door. But this was certainly where the problem started: how to get through a door which was locked? Jaden had opened a door with his water manipulation once or twice when he has forgotten his keys inside but like the name of his ability said, he needed water for this, he was unable to summon water from the nothingness.
Survival, this was probably some kind of instinct Jaden was still having even though he already lived a human life since eighty years. But back in the ocean, he was forced to look out for his own survival by each day. Hunters could wait for you everywhere and just because you are bigger than them never meant that they couldn’t kill you in no time. And not even those you think are harmless like Dolphins were just as peaceful. There were countless horrifying stories Jaden could tell about his merman life but nobody asked before so he would keep them to himself. Also: they still had other problems than telling each other stories.
Only a soft audible breath came from the merman the moment the ice bird wiggled his hand free from the grip. It wasn’t bothering Jaden at all even though he was already missing the physical contact. With his eyes opened up wide, the merman watched his friend, not saying a word, even holding his breath because he didn’t want to disturb the moment of concentration the other had. For a moment Jaden was certain that Suriel was able to get them out of here but these hopes shattered within no time when he realized that nothing happened. Suriel even panicked and asked Jaden to scare him? The merman looked troubled and helpless. “I don’t know how,” he responded quickly with a shaky voice. How should you scare someone who was asking for it? On top of that, Jaden’s fears were probably different than the ones Suriel was having. It was useless and enough for the merman not even to try anything. But this was probably not even needed.
Already seconds after he was talking, Jaden heard noises from the other side of the door. Fear was immediately taking over him and he wasn’t the only one feeling this way. A glance on the ice bird was enough for Jaden to see that he was feeling troubled as well. “Suriel…” that was all Jaden could say. The blonde merman has taken a few steps back, a wrong decision considering that the floor was soon covered with ice. Jaden lost his stability, slipped and fell on the ground with his butt first. A loud cry of pain coming from the merman echoed through the room before the doorknob moved. They were fucked and Jaden was halfway knocked out by the pain coming from his coccyx. “Freeze him! Whatever…Ouch!!”
They’re done. They are going to die there, right here right now just because Suriel made some poor decisions in the most recent past. It’s not the first time the ice bird had to face the consequences of his hasty behaviour and foolish ideas but it is probably the first time he has exposed someone else directly to the danger of losing their life.
The doorknob moved and he heard the creaking. It’s probably just his imagination, he thought, but he could swear he was hearing somebody’s heavy breathing and the chills were creeping up his spine as the ice spread over a good half of the floor. Freeze him, he heard Jaden scream and the voice seemed to be reverberating in his bones -- freeze him, burn him, kill him, save us. The heavy breathing, it came to him a moment later, was nobody else’s but his own. Suriel didn’t want to look up, didn’t want to face the newly acquired friend who proved to be a serial killer or even worse but he had to.
Suriel’s only half-present and thus what’s happening in a mere minute of real time spread over good ten minutes in his mind -- just how many thoughts could fly through your mind in such a short time? He thought of the male he’s looking at, thought how harmless he looked, even confused (though should it be a surprise, he probably didn’t understand what’s happening) and not at all dangerous. When he spoke, the ice bird heard the actual concern in his voice. ‘Are you okay?’ the male directed his words towards Jaden and though they could hardly see in the dark Suriel’s certain there’s worry painted all over the man’s face. There’s doubt in that moment and the ice bird wanted to believe it was just all one big misunderstanding. Hadn’t it been for the merman lying on the ground, all defenceless, Suriel would probably have given up into the fake sense of safety coming from the sweet, soothing tone of their oppressor’s voice. But he had a friend to protect and with a tide of courage that washed over him, he jumped at the male pushing him right towards the frozen floor where they lost their balance and Suriel fell on top of the other. He didn’t have it in him to hurt the male but he could slow him down.
“Get up” He yelled towards Jaden, “God, please, get up, we need to run!” He wanted to say more but the male grabbed him by his throat and the words stuck in his throat came out as merely a squeak of a fledgling. In panic he jerked away, feeling nails grazing against his skin -- it’s probably pretty nasty but there’s no time to stop and think about it. Once he’s up he kicked the male’s shin hard enough to have him wince in pain and then rushed to help Jaden up. “Can you walk?” It was really useless to ask -- Jaden was forced to either make his legs listen to him or stay there, hoping his death will be quick and relatively painless. Suriel grabbed onto Jaden’s wrist and pulled him towards the open door having no idea where to head next.
