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Chapter Two: Rescue

Second chapter of my gift for @prince-rowan-of-the-forest written for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange! Enjoy!

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Summary: Virgil’s father has always had his problems with him, he was just too compassionate for a pirate. So, to toughen him up, his father decides to leave him on a deserted island and check if he’s still alive in a few months. Unbeknownst to him, however, there is a curious merman watching and a sea god below the waves that might just change Virgil’s life…

Content Warnings: Fainting, Injury, Divine Blessings, Snake Mention

~~*~~

Roman would never disobey Janus. His God. His partner.

And technically he didn't?

He had been careful every time he returned to the surface, kept his distance and hid himself between the rocks jutting out of the water that surrounded most of the island.

He just… hadn't actually decreased his visits to the surface as he had first planned. In fact, he'd been going more.

Now, he had waited several cycles before going back! He had been patient, kept Janus company and did his duties as his acolyte, it was just… the temple got overwhelming at times. Janus had a lot of devotees scattered across the oceans who traveled to his temple to worship him and leave offerings. And that meant a lot of unfamiliar people coming and going at any point of a cycle, which was often exhausting to Roman.

Going to the surface to clear his head had been his escape ever since he joined the order under Janus and since the God had taken a special interest in him, he had felt even safer doing so.

It wasn't like Janus was watching him constantly, he simply kept a kind of tether on him and his surroundings just to be sure he wasn't in danger.

So, he had been cautious not to get too close. But the first time he saw the human again? Something happened.

Maybe it was the closer proximity (he was still far away, but last time he had been even more cautious because of the ship) or maybe it was because the human looked more put together, unbound and cleaner than before, but something about his appearance struck a chord in Roman that he couldn't quite explain.

It must've been some sort of attraction but it was different from how he felt about Janus. Of course, that was hardly a fair comparison to begin with - a God and a human were not on the same level. The first time he had seen Janus, he had been enchanted by the divine glow around him, he instantly wanted to touch his golden scales, comb his flowing hair and worship him forever. He would never do any of that except for the worship without the Gods permission, of course, but it was suddenly a need on the same level as he needed to eat and breathe.

With the human, though? He could feel his heart starting to beat faster as he watched him run his fingers through his dark hair. The human had also lost the clothing covering his chest at some point and while he was skinnier than Roman, he seemed to have more muscles than him ⸺ Roman was an acolyte, not a guard, so he didn't need to work out his body that much, as long as he could swim fast, he was fine.

The human's appearance had flustered him. And he couldn't explain why.

So, truly, he was only going to the surface to figure out this mystery! Once he did that, there was no reason to return until the human left for good!

Nodding to himself, Roman broke through the surface of the water once again, hidden, of course, by some rocks. He waited for a few moments to make sure the splashing of his appearance didn't draw attention and gets him caught, before peeking around the edge.

He froze.

The human was right there, on the beach. He stood there, staring at his arm with an expression Roman couldn't quite make out enough to read from this distance but looked different from how he'd seen the human so far, except for… except for when he had first arrived on the island.

There was something unsettling about it.

Then the human started swaying before falling over. It was not the fast way Roman had seen humans fall over before when the had been hit with the noisy weapons Janus had told him to be especially wary of since they could hit you quickly from a large distance away, he just tumbled over, landing on his side. He didn't move for a moment before pushing himself onto his back, lifting his arm one more time before letting it fall back into the sand.

He didn't move again.

Roman waited with baited breath, but nothing happened.

Did he fall asleep? But it was the middle of the light cycle! The sun was shining strongly from the sky, he couldn't fall asleep like that! Even as a creature of the water, Roman knew that staying in the sun too long could have very bad effects!

Roman waited even longer but he couldn't shake the feeling of worry in his chest.

He decided to get closer. It was risky but he couldn't stand doing nothing anymore!

Slowly, he moved from rock to rock, swimming as quietly as he could and keeping an eye on the human all the way.

Still, no movement.

Roman stopped when he saw that the human's chest was still rising and falling, but not steadily and only very shallowly. Something was definitely wrong.

He needed to make a decision now: protect himself like Janus would want him to and swim away, or get to the human and check on him directly like his heart wanted him to do so desperately.

His heart won out.

Still keeping a distance, Roman approached the shore. The human didn't so much as twitch. Once he reached the shallows, Roman activated a blessing he had only used once or twice before, purely out of curiosity and only by himself.

He made his tail transform into human legs.

Immediately, he felt Janus' attention shift to him more intensely. He didn't stop Roman, but his worry about why he would do this was palpable. Roman couldn't really communicate back, so he just had to trust that his partner would trust him in turn.

Controlling appendages that he wasn't used to wasn't easy, but Roman clumsily made his way over to the human, who still hadn't moved more than the few, unsteady breaths he was taking.

Roman sat down next to him, unsure of what to do. Carefully, he touched the human's shoulder with a finger, pulling his hand back immediately after. No change. A more firm touch. Still nothing. Roman grew bolder and shook him a bit. A weak groan but nothing else. His eyes were closed, his mouth open a bit, raspy breaths escaping his lips.

"Hey, can you hear me?" Roman asked as a last resort, another of his blessings would translate it into whatever language the human knew, but no reaction again.

Maybe Roman didn't know much about humans, but he knew this one was in a bad condition right now.

Then he remembered the way he'd been clutching his arm before falling over. Roman would need to lean over him to take a closer look but by now he was pretty sure the human was in no condition to do anything to him anyway.

Carefully, Roman leaned over his torso, grabbing the human's arm and inspecting it.

It didn't take him long to find out the issue.

Two deep marks were standing out on the human's skin, the surrounding flesh having turned an ugly purple.

It seemed venom from fish and whatever creature carried it on this island wasn't too dissimilar.

The human was on the edge of death.

Roman panicked.

As an acolyte of a God, he had some semblance of healing powers, but not so much to fight this level of venom nor did he know if it would even work on land!

Still he gave it a shot and got a bit of power to accumulate on his fingertips but it fizzled out quickly.

There was nothing Roman could do.

…Except call on his God.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and prayed.

Janus, please hear me! The human is wounded and will die. Is there anything I can do to help him?

It took but a moment for his partner's voice to echo in his head.

My love, why would you interfere with him in the first place? If his time has come then so be it.

I… I don't quite know. I just don't want to watch him die, I suppose.

Dear loving, caring Roman. You know I adore your empathy for others but he is not one of our kind. You don't know what will happen if he awakens and finds you there with him.

I won't stay, let me help him and I will return to you immediately.

But why should I help him if he only poses trouble for my people? You and everyone else devoted to me are my priority over some human, love.

I know and I don't have a good reason, I just don't want him to die, Jan. Please?

There was a moment of pause in which Roman waited with baited breath on Janus' response.

…It will not be without cost, Roman.

For me, him or you?

Him. He is human. I am not meant to touch him.

Will it change him?

…Not quite. And I suppose it will be temporary. Still, he might not take it well.

Can't you just tell me?

I could, but I won't. You are making a decision here, Roman. You will need to carry the weight one way or another. If you want me to meddle with a human, I need you to be sure, no matter the consequences.

Roman could feel himself trembling. Janus was right. This was his call to make.

He looked at the human's face again and made his decision.

Please, help him. I'll bear whatever follows.

Very well. Place your hands on his chest and close your eyes.

Roman did as instructed. Soon, he felt a warm energy gather in his chest and then rush out through his arms, straight into the human.

And behind his closed eyes, he could see a flash of light.

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