Month of Water Whump: Day 1 - Anchor
‘Tis May everyone! And I’m way excited for these challenges because I can flesh out one of my mermaid characters... She’s my favorite. xD Thanks to @amonthofwhump for the prompt list and the set-up of the challenge!
So this one is actually a flashback... Apparently my anti-social mermaid doesn’t deal with anchors very much. *shrug emoji*
TW: Blunt force trauma, broken bones, verbal abuse.
A young Caelaupa swam through the streets of Arcraede, gentle tendrils bumping against her tail. She was headed out, out to the open water where there weren’t other mer’s to giggle at the way she looked.
She swam out, casually avoiding the small watchtower and started swimming along the sand. There wasn’t much out here, except Arcraede. Home and school of the sirens, whenever a new arrival was created, they were sent to Arcaede to learn to control and utilize their Lilt. A siren who didn’t know how to control the bloodlust was a siren that could doom their race.
Small thoughts made her way through her mind as she swam until she reached her little cave, out of sight and out of mind from the others. Caelaupa picked up a tiny shell knife, then turned and went out again into the open water to hunt for shells.
All was going well, until she found... something. It definitely wasn’t a shell, it was about twice as big as her. She swam around it, tilting her head. It was hard, like rock, but colder. There was also a rope, going up to the surface. She couldn’t see quite that far, so she settled for examining it, poking it, and trying to figure out what it was.
“Well if it isn’t little Caeloopy. Are you completely gone, or do you just like breaking rules?”
Caela turned around quickly, pupils turning into slits and ear fins flaring in surprise. About 10 feet away, Seleina and her friends were swimming. Why they were out here, she didn’t know, but she’d tried to get away from them.
She wasn’t really sure what to say. What rule had she broken? “H-hi Seleina.”
Seleina swam up, circling the anchor and peering down at Caela. “It’s an awful shame really, you shouldn’t be playing around human stuff. You know the rules.”
Caela jumped. “I-it’s human?” Her fins pressed against her head slightly, and her eyes were worried.
Seleina laughed, “Of course it is. You don’t think a mer would do something like this? Kinda sad you got pinned underneath.”
Her brow furrowed and she backed away from the anchor slightly. “But I... I didn’t... I’m just fine.”
The two friends that had stayed back suddenly swam forward, pushing Caela towards the anchor as Seleina pushed the anchor towards Caela.
The two met in the middle, and the heavy anchor came down, smashing into Caela’s tail and pushing it down into the seabed. There was a small snap, and Caela cried out.
Seleina laughed, then cut the rope connecting it to whatever was above with Caela’s small knife. “It’s too bad. No one’s going to be looking for you until dinnertime. What is that, one, two days?” She laughed, then flicked her tail, starting to swim away.
Caela tried to push herself up, looking towards them frantically. “No- no please- please don’t- don’t leave me- please don’t leave m-me like- don’t leave me like this!” There were predators around here. Tiger sharks frequented the area, and if she was pinned like this, she was a sitting meal.
The only response was a rude gesture, and then the trio disappeared from sight. Caela turned, trying frantically to ease any of the weight, pushing against the heavy metal. She could feel her bones, the ones that had broke, inside, pushing into things they weren’t supposed to be touching. Weren’t supposed to be hurting.
She pushed for about an hour, then collapsed down, panting and going limp, exhausted. The anchor was solidly on her tail, and she couldn’t get it to budge. She could feel each heartbeat, throbbing through her tail and towards the tip, which was starting to go numb. She wouldn’t be able to swim for days, and she’d get punished for sneaking out.
If they even found her.