PLOTTED STARTER for : @bnchee
───IT WAS LIKE BEING IN A DREAM… All of Soren’s life, he’d heard tales of merpeople and faefolk, but never, not even in the wildest stretches of his imagination, did he ever believe that he would encounter such creatures in his lifetime… and a SIREN, of all things! There were few men that could say that they’d ever laid eyes upon one, even from a distance, and even fewer and farther between were those lucky enough to live to tell the tale if they did. In that regard, Soren wasn’t sure where he placed with his unique situation, but the percentile had to be a fraction of a fraction, he thought.
Some might have called him a fool for taking the risk that he did in keeping the siren around, and others might have thought him crazy or deluded, or even assumed that she had him wrapped up in the persuasion of a spell. Many times, he’d even weighed the possibility himself, although he’d dropped the notion almost altogether when it had suddenly dawned on him that he just didn’t care. If it was a dream, then he didn’t want to wake, and should he be stepping off a precipice with naught but the tides of insanity to break his fall below, then he would happily take the plunge.
They had just come back from the marketplace; Sawyer’s first real outing since Soren had found her washed up on the shoreline outside of his lighthouse. As much as he’d enjoyed seeing her skip around his place in nothing but his oversized shirts, he’d come to realize that it wasn’t practical, especially now that he’d unintentionally attached himself to the sentiment of having her stay awhile. He’d loaned her one of his mother’s old dresses for the sake of blending in on their trip into town, but even that garment, as small as it was, billowed off of her small frame and swallowed her whole. He’d even made a joke about being afraid that he’d lose her in it.
To Soren’s surprise, he’d enjoyed the trip even more than he’d expected to, and for reasons he couldn’t have predicted. Watching the way that Sawyer interacted with the foreign world was as hilarious as it was adorable, and on more than one occasion he’d caught himself smiling completely uninhibitedly as he focused on her. There was something about the way curiosity and fascination painted her delicate features that made his heart swell and burst in his chest. Her doll-like eyes seemed to sparkle with what he could only have described as enchantment as they’d strolled together through the quiet coastal town, every bland commodity sparking intrigue as though it might have been made of magic. The car-ride had been especially memorable.
Without knowing what sort of preference the siren had, Soren had wandered with her until something caught her eye. The method had eventually led the pair into a quaint boutique that was filled with hand-made garments, the apparel crafted in a variety of silks, laces, knitted wools and breezy cottons that were well-suited for the fickle moods of the coastal climate. He’d quickly come to realize that Sawyer had an affinity for the color black, and he couldn’t deny that the shade suited her well, especially considering the inky pigment of her scales. That hadn’t stopped him from sneaking a floral-patterned dress in his favorite shade of seafoam green into the bag.
Just as the sailor had been all day, he was all but helpless to stave off the growing affection and adoration that he had for the beautiful siren, his doting gaze transfixed on her every time she’d step out of the changing room in something new. Her first appearance, which had her dawning a black sundress that sat snug against her dainty physique, had caused the faintest tinge of a blush to color his cheeks and a goofy grin to tilt his lips. He’d almost forgotten how small she was, as he’d grown accustomed to an overabundance of fabric concealing the curves of her body. After a while, he was sure that she’d stopped believing him when he told her that he liked the way the clothing looked on her, but it couldn’t have been any closer to the truth. He couldn’t help that everything looked good on her…
Once the shopping list had been completed and Soren had paid for everything, he took her home. The sky outside was beginning to dim by the time that they’d arrived, the bright blue fading into a vibrant palette of purples, pinks and oranges that streaked the horizon like paint on a canvas. The sailor filled his hands with the assortment of shopping bags and toted them up the winding staircase of the lighthouse, keeping Sawyer in tow. After he’d set them down, he took a moment to admire the view from the window before he’d turned back to look at her, noticing now that she seemed preoccupied with a train of thought.
Soren began to smile, offering the slight tilt of his head. ❝ You okay? ❞ He asked, earning a glance from her. ❝ What are you… thinking about? ❞ His grin widened and his eyebrows knitted together with a faint hint of curiosity as he watched the way that she was touching her delicate fingers to her lips, as though she was using the gesture in-place of finding words. The language barrier that hindered their ability to communicate was frustrating at times, but more often than not, he’d found that it had given him amusement.