⸢ beached , ⸥
@hooktw , tell me about the dream where we pull the bodies from the lake
the ripples in the water tell him almost everything.
he can always tell when peter’s come because there’s the constant, excitable splashing of his sisters pushing each other and vying for the boy’s attention. those are the days that he, too, hangs far in the back with his tail curled up on a rock to watch from a distance, because there’s no point competing with something that he doesn’t have. on other days, there’s the telltale signs when a body enters the lagoon, likely the prey of one of his sisters that he always tends to ignore.
then there are the larger waves that speak in the language of captain hook’s ship.
and he is the only one who pays attention to it; the waves touch his body and the mermaid is smitten - tell hook that, and he’d deny it. curiosity is what pulls him to the surface of the lagoon, his eyes peering out from over the depths to stare at the hull in the not -so -far distance. though peter has preached the evils of captain hook as if he lives in fire and brimstone, he can’t stifle the way he’s drawn to the ship. as if pulled by the gravity of a planet to become its moon, he steers himself stealthily in the water to touch the precious wood against his palm in an almost reverent way, staring up at the deck with a strangely blank expression.
he knows well what hook will say to what comes next - but he finds that he doesn’t care as he begins his climb up the side, digging hands into footholds and pulling himself with strength he didn’t realize he had. with his body dripping water, he glances over the sides of the deck and pointedly ignores the wide eyes of the crew who happen to catch sight of him. instead, he finds himself looking for hook because the game won’t be as fun if he’s pushed off the side this early. he doesn’t see him, and it lifts his lips in a smile. it’ll be fun to toy with hook, is the only thought in his mind as he pulls himself up and finally, over to lounge upon the deck in the sun.
the way the crew still look at him with their mouths open in shock makes him smile coyly, tail swaying with the rock of the ship. “ where’s hook?”
even without the question, he knows that the captain will find him there in no time.