the storm has passed! we still have power! our only wounds are from our cat being upset about being in her carrier in case we needed to move them quickly aoeijfaow we got a fuck ton of rain but not tooooo much wind thankfully
i hope this luck carries over to tomorrow's storm too 🤞🤞 also that everyone else is doing okay - the storms in new york today were bruuutal, there's over 100k people without power oijeofaiw
Summary: On a beach distant from human towns if you find yourself knocked overboard from your ship in a storm, then washed ashore you might find yourself with a tail come morning. It happened to Virgil many years ago, and now there’s another storm come.
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Lightning had been freedom for Virgil for decades. They weren't sure how long they would live in this form, or really anything about what they were beyond those half overheard fairytales from their childhood as a human.
Still they wouldn't refuse the call of lightning striking the surface and raced up towards it. They had been lounging on the ocean floor, trying to remain out of sight from a passing ship, but now they didn't mind, certain now the storm would hide their presence or have anyone on board in their cabins. Celebrating the storm that gave them freedom to live away from their controllers was more important to Virgil.
They weren't expecting to see someone get flung off the ship into the water by one of the sail ropes getting caught by the wind. It was clear that anybody still aboard hadn't realised they'd fallen, or were too busy trying to keep everyone else safe and on board to even attempt to rescue the person. All Virgil had been able to make out through the rain was a flash of red.
At least the waves would, just as they had with them, get the person to safety on the sand. After that Virgil would have to watch how whomever that figure was returned to the water, since land would be inhospitable after tonight. Perhaps they would find it as much of a release as Virgil had.
They'd stayed fairly far away from the shore the next morning, snickering as the person in red attempted to stand only to immediately fall. Honestly their wasn't much they could even do to help, and wasn't it sort of natures trial for this new person to reach the water on their own.
The sun had passed its highest point by the time the new mer was able to swim over to them. “Well you got in the water finally. Guess I'm the welcome party to your new life.”
“You couldn't have helped?” The person exclaimed and Virgil could finally recognise that their tail was as red as the jacket now clinging to their shoulders, soaked.
“Do you think I can just magically get legs occasionally since I've had a tail for longer than the night? Besides, you're a stranger, how can I trust you?” Virgil sniped back, sculling further away from shore and smirking when they were followed.
They scoffed, “The same could be said from me to you. In fact given you seem to have been aware of what happened, perhaps I shouldn't trust you at all. An honourable person would alert the local towns of the dangers that come during storms.”
“If you can find an honourable person that wouldn't as soon capture and experiment on us as recognise we have tails in any local towns or villages, then feel free to warn them. I don't believe you'll have much luck though.” Virgil rolled their eyes, diving under the waves. They'd learnt long ago that they could still talk under water, although given until now they had been alone they hadn't had much cause to speak in general before now.
Red-tail of course followed them. “So is this irreversible? And what is your name anyway, Electric eel?”
“Virgil, they/them pronouns and why would I want to know that? This is the best thing that's happened to me, especially since I've never had to worry about socialising before now.” Virgil introduced, scrunching his face in confusion over why such a question would be asked.
“Roman, he/him and I have family to return to, my brother, my lands to run.” Roman nodded, but now turned to the surface again, Virgil only just hearing his parting words, “But if it must be my solo quest then so shall it be. I'll visit you soon, I'm sure, Virgil.”
Indeed over the next year Roman did come to talk to Virgil regularly, and have them appear to drag him under the water when straying too close to passing ships in the area. They got along fairly well together, although Virgil often wondered if that was simply due to not having anyone else to talk with.
One ship had crossed over the area on a monthly basis, as if searching for someone. Roman had claimed it was his families ship and constantly tried to reach it, but Virgil's fears of either getting experimented on and longer time in the water kept them hidden. Only once did Roman get close enough to recognise anyone and he'd said it was his brother, Remus, leading the crew, although no more of his family was there.
Roman had given up trying to be seen after Virgil pointed out the hired crew were likely to capture him for experimentation as much as he might trust his brother. Fighting on land or aboard a ship when unable to stand would leave him at a severe disadvantage.
Neither mer were expecting Remus to come into the area when the winds had been growing for a week and a storm was basically a certainty to occur. There he was though, stood at the helm of the ship, yelling into the winds that a storm could steal his brother from him but he would steal him back. Roman hadn't been near the surface when Remus's yelling began, but Virgil had heard it, as ever waiting for the thrill of freedom that came for them during storms.
“Red-tail! Your brother seems to want to fight the weather!” They dived just low enough to call out before surfacing, watching the clouds growing darker.
“What?” Roman soon popped up next to them, looking towards the ship and moving with the waves easily.
“I KNOW SOMETHING OF ROMAN HAS TO BE AROUND HERE AND NO STORM CAN KEEP US APART INDEFINITELY! I WILL HAVE MY TWIN BACK!” Remus was screaming into the clouds.
Virgil watched as the sailors with Remus got ropes tightened and immediately took shelter below deck but the man remained trying to steer, to adjust sails to better positions as the wind shifted, to secure the ship in place. “He's either going to get thrown overboard by one of these waves or get knocked out by the rigging. What's happened in your family to make him do this in search of you?” They asked, but barely loud enough to be heard over the weather.
Roman wasn't listening, swimming over. “Remus! STOP! Go below deck! Just get yourself SAFE THROUGH THIS STORM!” He yelled, flipping out of the water to catch Remus's sight once he brother started looking around for the source of his voice. His tail stood out in any light.
“The STORM STOLE YOU! I've BEEN SearcHING ALL YEAR!” Remus scrambled to the side of the ship, leaning as far over it as he could to see Roman.
“I know. We can't trust the sailors not to experiment on me but I've been watching, trying to figure out how to show I'm here. I can't figure out how to be human again.” Roman swam closer, calling as clearly as he could.
From further away Virgil could see what the brothers had forgotten. The ship was still being shaken about by the storm and Remus had just been tightening a rope securing one of the booms. He'd left it loose when Roman first called and now the boom was swinging around. “REMUS DUCK!” Virgil screamed, diving through the waves towards the pair, but too late as the boom sent Remus soaring into the water.
“Come on! If we want to be sure your brother gets out of this alive, we'll have to hope whatever magic turned us into mer will turn him too.” Virgil cried out, already swimming after the man in a way they hadn't for Roman. Sometime in hearing Roman's stories of his old life Virgil found himself caring somewhat what happened to Remus.
With Roman's help, they got Remus onto the shore close to where they had first woken up with a tail. “I'm going back into the waves. I'll watch the lightning. If you want to stay here maybe you can help each other back into the water tomorrow.”
Roman didn't reply, rolling Remus onto his back and watching his chest rise and fall with each breath. The blow from the boom must have knocked him unconscious.
With the sun rising Roman realised he'd drifted into sleep watching over Remus and that his brother was now trying to sit up, shaking him awake. “You still rise with the dawn, seriously?”
“Not much choice when we're literally outside on a beach with nothing to shade us.” Remus countered, waving up. “Loving the tail, Fishface.”
Roman snorted, poking the green scales twisted around his own. “Mine or yours, Sharkbreath?”
“You clinging because you missed me as much as I missed you?” Remus tried stretching, getting his tail to go unnaturally straight for a second before it curved once he relaxed.
“It's a mer thing. Midnight Storm and I have been trying to figure out more about being a mer since I got turned. They're probably just past where the shallows end.” Roman shrugged. He'd often woken up after drifting off with Virgil to find their tails wrapped around each other and always felt better rested with that anchoring feeling. If he ever discovered a society of mer Roman expected to learn it was a familial gesture to keep groups together through the currents of the water while resting. “Come on.”
Now Remus was moving around more, Roman rolled over onto his stomach to start shuffling towards the water. His brother copied the move but attempted to bounce himself over the sand, just getting it to splatter both of them. “Why? I wanna make a sandstorm.”
“How many times has the court scientist killed some new creature to dissect it before ever thinking to find it in the wild?” Roman asked, looking away to avoid getting sand in his eyes until he felt the grains stop hitting his skin.
“47. Do you think she'd do that to us?” Remus promptly replied. He'd always been interested to learn new things and often went to watch the dissections himself.
Roman sped up his movements to the ocean, “She would mumble about it sometimes when you got into mischief but pointing out you were the Lord's son would shut her up. I don't think that'll work now we're both mer and don't want to find out.”
“Damn, guess the parentals will actually have to follow through on their threats then. Both sons disappeared, presumed drowned at sea; now they'll have to have another kid.” Remus slapped the sand but sped his movements up too.
Virgil was with them as soon as the water was deep enough to swim in. “The sailors have woken up. We need to get out of sight. Come on!” They grabbed one arm of each brother, tugging them deeper into the water and down.
“I'm Remus, are you the guy who screamed at me to duck last night?”
“Yes, Virgil, they/them and I've heard plenty of stories about you. Come on. I hope you're ready to hunt without weapons cause Roman still hasn't managed to make any that survive one strike.” Virgil nodded, heading towards a cave they'd been using as a base with Roman more often recently.
At this Remus tugged himself free, shooting forwards through the water. “That sounds like the most fun thing ever! Can we go straight away?”
Virgil snickered as Roman groaned. The first time they'd tried getting Roman to hunt for food he'd argued for hours about not being hungry before giving in. “If you want to.”
