Niche! @niche-interest - Tumblr Blog

Stay. (one shot)

Hiya :) so I am not promising anything by posting this...but I had a g/t itch I needed to scratch and just so happened to have a little time this weekend and some much needed encouragement. This is written by someone who has not done creative writing in a -v e r y- long time so I beg of you to cut me a little slack. I promise I'll work on it lol. Anyways, hope ya like it (even if just a little bit).

*Slight swearing

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Corey stared down into the dark blue water, legs swirling idly. She watched how far the ripples would travel into the large cove that stretched out before her. The creak of the aged dock groaned below her paired with the soft lapping of waves against the sandy shore behind her. The golden strip of land stretched at least a mile on either side of her, giving her all the solitude a recluse could ever want. Not that she asked for it, but with time became unintentionally accustomed.

This place had been her project for the last few months. Her little piece of paradise is unrecognizable now compared to the devastating condition she originally found it in. Litter, trash, garbage. Whatever you wanted to call it, it overran the beach like a wild weed. This cove had been disrespected time and time again by irresponsible people who didn’t consider the consequences of their black out benders. Luckily for Corey, she was already visiting home while taking a gap year from college so this seemed like a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Sign this passion project off as volunteer community service for credit and provide the cover she grew up at some very much needed TLC.

She twisted her torso to glance back behind her at her beachy campsite. A soft smile crossed her lips as all the memories that had been made here danced in her head; the first fish she caught on her own, when the last bag of trash was tied up, and the countless nights of admiring the star scattered night sky with her back against the cool sand. The smile faltered when she also recounted how soon this would all be coming to an end. Not wanting to face that truth right now, she moved to turn forward again when an abrupt violent splash made her nearly jump out of her skin. Whipping her head around, all she could see were white water bubbles and what she swore was a dark gnarled mass of seaweed being pulled fast under the water like a weight was tied to it.

“Oh what the fuuuck…”, she uttered under her breath.

Immediately yanking her legs up out of the water, she scrambled to get her feet under her. She mentally raced through the catalog of all the animals that called this cove home. And none could even get remotely that big. Corey’s eyes scanned the water, waiting for any sign of disturbance or any color shift caused by a lurking shadow below. Then, as fast as it disappeared…it returned. But whatever it was stopped short of the surface, sitting just few feet under. Maybe a gang of eels? A mutated jellyfish? Surely not.

Then what..?

Subconsciously her body leaned forward a hair, her gaze straining to see where the sunlight might pierce the water deep enough to give her any identifying clue. A flash of pale appeared seconds later tucked beneath the seaweed mass followed by…eyes? Those were human looking eyes. No, they weren't. That's impossible, try again.

Maybe they were eyespots? But what animal could possibly need eyespots like that??

Her mind was struck with the frantic need to solve this before she got too freaked out. Anything, any way to possibly explain what she was seeing before her. Then she got her answer in the worst way possible. The eyes blinked.

“WHAT THE-!”

She yelped, stumbling back from the dock’s edge. Everything happened so fast. In that split second of time she understood she was having a fight or flight moment. And the adrenaline that flooded her bloodstream within seconds told her that this was very much a flight-type situation. Turning on her heel she bolted down the dock back towards the shoreline, getting that eerie chill one gets when sprinting up a staircase after turning off the basement light. There was no boogeyman coming for you, yet the mind is strongly convinced otherwise, making you panic regardless. Except this time, the threat was impossibly real and a very valid reason to panic. And as if on cue to prove her point, it got worse. Way, way worse.

An enormous splash erupted behind her like an old navel mine just went off at the surface. She did not dare to look back. Whatever was going on back there was none of her business. Feeling the sand under her feet once more was beyond euphoric, she made it to the top of her staircase. But of course, the illusion of safety she had could only stand for so long. There was a sudden piercing, crying whine in the air that made Corey stop her in her tracks. The noise was followed by a dull, wet thud. So it was an animal! Haphazardly abandoning her previous objective of hightailing it out of there, she spun around hoping to see some kind of mutated creature or- ..

The world paused for a few seconds and Corey felt like the wind was knocked out of her.

Before her, was a gigantic being with a human-looking torso and face. Corey shook her head and blinked once. Then twice. Then watched as a massive black tail breach the water behind him, sinking back in only moments later. Her heart followed suit.

Gigantic merman.

The creature’s massive torso was bent over the dock’s edge, his chest inadvertently testing the structure’s integrity. The old wood squeaked and groaned, but it surprisingly held. Though what made this all the weirder, wasn’t even what he was, but what he was doing. His right arm was tucked under him and the other was outstretched extending nearly the full length of the dock. Clawed fingertips rested only a few feet away from where she stood in the sand. The giant hand was splayed out but relaxed, like he was reaching for something only to fall short last second. She could even spot some webbing between each digit.

But most unexpectedly of all, was the crumbling expression the creature wore. He looked devastated. Brows pinched and mouth pulled taut into a slight frown, he stared right at her with these pleading puppy dog eyes. And when that long wail of a whine sounded off again, she concluded it was clearly coming from this being. It was an overwhelming sight to behold.

At first glance, one could point this to be a sulking predator who’d lost his chance to catch a bite sized snack. However, the longer she watched him, the harder it was to convince herself that was the case. Past his boulder sized shoulders, she could spot his tailfin sweeping up and down slowly in the water. A casual movement for him yet so daunting to someone barely 1/8th his size.

A higher pitched, defeated whine snapped her back to reality. It was only then she noticed he had slid back into the water marginally, actively putting a little more space between them. It felt oddly like a yielding gesture. I knew my curiosity would get me killed someday, just didn’t think it’d be today..

“What…what are you? Can you understand me?”

He perked up at the sound of her timid voice, giving her a few quick enthusiastic nods. Now it was her turn to be shocked. “Holy crap, really? You actually understand me?? Wait hold on, can you speak at all?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but she was on a roll, her questions rapid firing one after another.

“Do you live here? Alone? For how long? Were you born a merman, or cursed somehow? Why did you-”

A loud slap of his tail on the water silenced her on the spot. Her cheeks burned slightly when she realized her error. “Oh shoot- sorry, my bad. Ok.. let’s start with...what are you?”He paused, thinking of how to respond. After a moment he lifted a hand to gesture to his full body with a proud smile before settling back down in the water. She waited for more but that was it. Figures.

“Uh...maybe you could show me your tail?” His brow creased while he processed the simple request, cautiously flexing his lower half up out of the water only moments later. He was unexpectedly compliant, but she wasn't complaining in the slightest about it. Corey stared in awe at the titanic black and white whale tail stretching high above the surface, her eyes never breaking contact with it until it fully sank back into the deep water below. With how far out the tail was paired with the size of his torso she could see above water, she estimated he was likely just shy of 40 feet in length. “An orca merman.” The words came out in a whisper of pure disbelief.

Now taking her first step back onto the dock, it wasn’t lost on her that if he wanted to, he could grab her with ease now. Corey shuddered at the thought and refused to entertain it any further.

Maybe it’d be easier for him to only answer yes or no questions?

“I think moving forward, yes or no questions are going to be our best bet for communicating. But you gotta be honest otherwise what's the point. Are you up for that, uh, big guy?”

The impromptu nickname wasn't the most unique, but he didn't appear to mind it. He nodded enthusiastically again, this time adding a chirpy trill. He adjusted into a more comfortable position, crossing his colossal arms over one another on top of the dock. All while never taking his eyes off of her.

“Were you watching me earlier, when I was sitting on the dock?”

His expression quickly turned sheepish but kept to the agreement of being honest. His head bobbed a yes, making her throat go dry. Better clear this up now.

“Were-..are you going to try and eat me?”

Immediately she was met with a furious shake of his head, the dark stringy mop of hair atop his massive head flinging water all over her. He was frowning again, giving her a softer whine this time.

“Easy, easy!” She squealed in surprise. “I hear you- well no, I don’t. But I get the point, a hard no. Good! So, next question then. Were you intentionally grabbing at me when I ran away?”

He shrunk into himself while giving her a reluctant nod; he didn't like being honest when he knew it would likely upset her. He didn't want to risk her jumping to conclusions, so before she could retort he lifted a hand from the dock. It took everything in Corey to not flinch. The hand swept above her as it pointed towards the beach, gesturing to the whole strip. That only earned him a confused look from her and he grumbled in frustration. With no warning, he fully receded into the water and disappeared fully in seconds.

“H-Hey! Wait!”

She called out as she jogged down the dock. The overall sense of danger had dulled greatly since she first saw him and that gave her more clarity to think with. Oddly enough, the clearer her thoughts the more reckless she became. This time was no different. She didn’t want to risk losing this bizarre opportunity to make first contact if he truly wasn’t a threat to her. This discovery would make for a killer master’s thesis.

Reaching the end she peered into the disturbed water, looking for any sign of him. She marveled and feared how someone so big could just seemingly vanish that fast. He resurfaced after a minute, not realizing she got closer resulting in them being face to face. They both froze, unsure if they should even breathe. He moved first, keeping his movements as slow and controlled as to not spook her any further. Lifting his now balled fist from the water, he unraveled his fingers slightly as he held it up to her. With a puzzled wary look, she examined what he was holding. “I see.. an old tire, some plastic bottles, and netting? Why are you showing me this stuff?”

He gave a low rumble, something akin to a deep purr. He made sure she was watching before nodding to the fistful of trash, then to the beach, then back down at her. His watchful eye never wavered, waiting patiently for her to piece his puzzle together. “Trash, beach, me…oh wait! Is this about me cleaning up the beach?” His smile grew as he nodded quickly, small droplets of water showering all over the dock. “Yes, ok! Um, were you grabbing me because I cleaned up the beach? Did you not.. want me to do that?”

That didn’t seem right, but then again she didn’t know how giant orca mermen think. His head shook and moved again. Now he pointed to me, then at the foliage past the beach, and lastly on the trash. All paired with a worried look from him.

Suddenly it all clicked.

“You were just trying to get me to stay, weren’t you?” Her stomach twisted as she worked out the realization. “You're afraid the trash will come back in my absence."

She received a slow nod as his shoulders relaxing a little, seemingly relieved that his intentions were now clear. Even though this made things incredibly complicated for her. All the wind in her sails died, leaving her deflated. She couldn't look him in the eye, now needing to study the small strip of wet seaweed plastered to her ankle.

How the hell am I going to tell him this...

“You know.. I never got your name.”

Divert. Stall. Anything so I can come up with a better way to tell this poor soul his biggest fear is on the horizon.

A closed smile drew up his lips and he took immense caution to lower himself until he was eye level with her. The water noisily sloshed around the pillars of the dock whenever he shifted. A mix of rumbles and chirps sing from his throat for about 3 seconds then stop short. He gave her an expectant look and only then she it hit her that those noises were in fact his name. Right, ok.

“That’s a lovely name, truly but um… Well you know, now I’m thinking maybe a nickname would suit you.” She paused, thinking of names that sounded close to the noise he made.

“Mmm, what about Owen? Sounds close enough, yea?"

She watches with baited breath as his mouth moves like he was chewing his words, then opens his mouth.

“O-Ow..weennn…Owen?” His voice was much deeper when he actually spoke versus when he made his animalistic noises. His toothy smiles widens at his success, his razor sharp teeth on full display. It takes everything in her to not stare in equal parts awe and horror. “Y-yea! You pick up quick Owen.” She then pointed to herself.

”My name is Cordelia. But everyone just calls me Corey. That includes you."

His brow furrows with focus, “Corrr..rddellleeeyyyaa. Coorr-reeyy.” The words rolled from him like a gentle thunder, she couldn't help smiling on his behalf. “Couldn’t have said it better myself, big guy.”

Owen lets out a giddy trill of excitement. Unexpectedly his arms rose out of the water quicker than Corey cared for, only to rest on the dock behind her..effectively blocking her in. Suddenly she felt very exposed despite him caging her in. “Owen hey, w-what are you doing?” She blurted out, glancing back at the clawed webbed hands walled up behind her. Her tension didn’t go unnoticed by him. He released a low soothing hum for her, the water itself rippling from the intensity. His head lowered at a snail’s pace until his chin came to rest on the dock.

“Coreee-reyyy...staayehh. Ssttaeey.”

Please don’t do this..

“No, Owen, please.. I can’t. Corey can’t stay.” The guilt churned in her gut like a storm. “I-I’m sorry.” There was no use in kidding herself. Even after all of her hard work to restore and upkeep this place, the cove would likely fall back into ruin within a few weeks.

What is the point if I can't even make my impact stick?

Her sense of helplessness in this scenario consumed her, she felt she needed to make this right somehow. Provide a comfort in some way. Her hand raised from her side, stretching toward the giant’s face until it rested against the tip of his nose. His skin was surprisingly warm, freakishly smooth, almost like rubber. They unanimously kept still during the quiet moment, studying the odd creature before them. Being this close, she found she could pick out a flurry of silver flecks scattered in his cobalt colored eyes. Utterly captivating. And pleading.

Owen didn’t want to keep her against her will but he had no choice but to be as insistent as possible without scaring her off for good. A strong slow exhales breezes past her legs, bringing her focus away from his eyes.

“Look Owen, I’ll try ok? I can’t promise you anything, but I can postpone leaving for a little while, alright? I’ll stay.”

He seemed satisfied with that answer, closing his eyes as he nuzzled into her touch a little more. That same deep comforting purr from before rumbled in his throat, giving her a strange buzzy feeling in her fingertips.

“Corey stays.”