Tikos belongs to @dreams-of-the-arcana
All episodes can be found here: Mermay AU Masterlist
The water spirit was trying to avoid him.
She, if he had to guess, didn’t seem scared of him so much as shy. Tikos wasn’t used to shyness when it came to the mer. Wrath. Temptation. Seduction. That he could handle! But trying to coax an elusive entity out from their own hiding place?
Tikos had no idea where to start.
The pirate used every trick in the book that he could to keep her talking so that he could find her more easily. “Your friends led me here, my darling. The dolphins and the lemur-seahorse – they are your friends, correct me if I’m mistaken?”
He heard her make an annoyed sound. “My cousins, yes. The sea-lemur is Taro. Also, I’m not your darling.”
Tikos drifted around another limestone pylon, hoping this would be the one she was hiding behind.
“Forgive me. Sometimes I get a little carried away with the pet names. What should I call you, oh serene water spirit of the Melting World?”
“Didn’t you hear the stories?” She said, dodging the question entirely. “Leave now and you might have a chance to make it off the island in one piece.”
“I would like to see you first,” Tikos said without a second thought. “Can I look upon your face just one time? Then I’ll leave, I promise.”
He heard water rustling nearby, followed by the clinking of shells and other small trinkets. Tikos turned around very slowly, his brown eye searching for the water spirit. When she appeared, his breath caught at the sight of her crown of sea crystals and pearls braided throughout her wet, springy curls. Her warm brown skin glittered faintly under a dusting of seasalt. Thanks to the sheerness of her blouse, he could see everything, including the pearlescent baubles framing her nipples.
Tikos pushed off from the pillar to meet the spirit in the center of the cavern. The closer he came, the more of her he took in. The water was clear enough for him to see that her tail was of the same shape and speckled design as the dolphins that brought him here. Her ears flared out past her curls and braids as thin, membranous fans.
Tikos brought his gaze back to her face, which held just as much suspicion and reservation as her voice had earlier. Her eyes, however, were mostly still downcast.
“Please,” Tikos said softly as he closed the gap between them. “Look at me.”