THE NAIAD'S STATUE
relationship : hermes/freshwater nypmh!!reader
sum. : hermes wonders how his newly carved statue got stolen and who the culprit was. when he goes to investigate, he's surprised by what he finds but is equally endeared.
tags. : fluff ; theivery ; shapeshifting hermes ; fresh water nymph!reader ; little mermiad inspired ; reader lowkey inspired by one of my lovies (@mannythemunchkin) ; some devioius antics ; flattered hermes ; devious reader ; they're a match your honour!
length. : 2.6k
a/n : you know the drill, for me, the Hermes I envision is Zieru's gorgeous design -- i am a shameless, loyal simp for her design (。✪ω✪。) anywho~ enjoy the read~
navi.
You spend your days ordinarily, playing with the fish, taking care of the younger freshwater nymphs and dancing near the plunge pool below the magnificent waterfall in your forest. As a lover of exploration and one of the more social naiads, you often shift your tail into legs to socialise with the land nymphs that occupy your river and lake’s forest. Everyone was lovely and you adored freely playing about, often taking advantage of being seen as one of the more youthful, ‘inexperienced’ nymphs to excuse your mischievous behaviour.
“You’re really quite insufferable,” your close friend huffs, a dryad named Daphni, who was as lovely as her name, “thinking you can do whatever you wish just because you were once a recent babe. But everyone knows that was long ago.” You only respond with a giggle, tickling the vibrant flowers decorating the lush bed of grass beside her preferred hiding tree.
“You’re right~” you trill, ignoring her fond eye roll at your carefree actions, “perhaps, I’m excused because I am so lovable and sweet.”
“Lies!” Daphni launches herself at you, commencing a playful tumble about the grass, ending in a giggling heap. “Rather than lovable and sweet, you are devious and utterly. Horrid!”
“Now you are the one who lies!” Truly, the two of you could be sisters in this right, often seeking each other for company on good and bad days.
An unnatural, distant rustling breaks you apart, and the air grows still, both of you tensely awaiting further signs that might alert you to danger. Suddenly, male voices become distinguishable as the wheels of a cart rolled along to the clip-clopping of donkey hooves. Humans! Without missing a beat, Daphni pulls you to press against her oak tree as she hides inside and tries her best to subtly manipulate its branches and trunk to properly conceal you from the men slowly approaching.
“What is it that they’re wheeling up to the temple?” you ask quietly, captivated by the marble statue fastened onto the cart that four donkeys were wheeling up as two men walked alongside them. It appears as though their job was to ensure that the statue remains secure on the cart.
“Hush! And hide, you dimwit! Lest you get seen and caught by those brutes!” Ignoring Daphni’s protests, you peek past the trunk of her hiding tree to further observe the beautiful statue they were hauling. It depicted a man leaning forward as he ran with vigour on a bed of clouds, winged appendages adorn his helmet and sandals as he holds an unusual-looking staff in one hand, his muscular torso is on full display as his humble loincloth and pouch fluttered in the wind beside him, scarcely to keep up with his speed.
He’s beautiful…
“I said, hush!” Daphni hissed once again, and you realised you had spoken your thoughts out loud.
“…Daphni?~” Her breath hitches at the familiar tone of mischief she hears in your voice; it never bode well for her whenever you felt the need to play tricks. “Do me this favour and I will grant you whatever you wish!”
࿐࿔*:･ﾟ
“My statue, missing?…Stolen?” Hermes furrows his brows as a touch of amusement gleams in his eyes. A thief who stole the statue of the god of thieves; how ironic. “However did that happen?” Despite the somewhat disappointing news, he couldn’t help but chuckle as he observed the chaos of the temple below him, “At least there is some decent turmoil and disorder over its disappearance. Ahh~ my guilty pleasure~” He sighs, “But what a shame. I was so looking forward to seeing how it came out.” He laughs and does a somersault in the air, “Surely it doesn’t come close to the real thing~”
The god thought it only appropriate to investigate the scene himself, hopeful of relocating his statue somehow. Who else is more fitting to search for it than him? And who knows? Perhaps he’ll come across the masterful thief who ran off with his statue.
Disguised as a shepherd searching for his flock of sheep, Hermes slowly climbs the gradual slope of the hill leading up to the temple that was to receive his statue. He remembers that the artisan responsible for carving his visage into beautiful white marble was an elderly fellow who would happily die indulging in his craft, but not journey up a hill to get the job done on site. But how embarrassing is it for the god of luck, travel and commerce to lose his own statue en route to the temple? He didn’t want to think about it further, feeling too awkward and uncomfortable with the thought, but was also indecisively hopping between that and the admiring curiosity for the thief who pulled off such a plot.
“Interesting…” he can already sense the presence of nymphs as the surrounding forest was very abundant, saturated with colour, and flourishing with life. With his distinct hearing, he can also hear their remote murmurings and their light footfalls on the forest floor. He listens closely for a moment, closing his eyes to do so.
“So what is your wish, my dear friend? I need to repay you for helping me steal—”
“I wish for you to never rope me into such schemes again!”
What’s this?… Hermes needed to investigate further. He might have just found the culprits — but nymphs? What interest do they have in his statue? Hiding in a flocculent shrub, he transforms into a strapping, tawny brown hawk with a keen beak and sharp talons before shooting through the forest, guided by the voices he had pinpointed and considered to be the culprit of his statue’s vanishing.
“That’s not a wish, Daphni,” You huff with crossed arms before your attention is pulled away by a disturbance in the trees. When you look up, you find a handsome hawk perched on one of the high branches and immediately reach your arms up to it with a warm smile. As a nymph, you’ve always felt acutely connected to nature, which meant that you were especially fond of animals, even those that weren’t in your freshwater sphere. Rather, you were even more fascinated by those that you find on the land above your waters; birds were your favourite, for they dominated the skies so elegantly and moved with a freedom that was similar to how you swim through the rivers and lakes.
Unfortunately, you couldn’t tempt this particular hawk into your arms, but that was to be expected as a Naiad rather than a nymph of the forest. Oh well… you suppose it’s adorably tilted head of curiosity was good enough for you, it was probably its first time seeing a freshwater nymph on land.
Hermes was intrigued. Before him were two nymphs, one was of the forest while the other…not. He tilted his head, curious that he couldn’t quite decipher what nymph she was; he could only perceive that she had the beauty of a bewitching kind, the type that made him shy away from her open arms of invitation.
“It is a wish. It’s my wish, and you will respect it!”
“Alright, alright, your wish is my command~” you finally concede and hug her tightly, giggling when she eventually returns your embrace with a defeated sigh — deep down, she knows that you would, one day, pull her into another devious scheme once again for cannot say no to you for long. Rather than leave you to your own devices, Daphni would rather join as an accomplice to ensure things don’t get out of hand. It was bothersome, but… you’re worth the trouble; not a boring second passes with you around.
“…What did you do with the statue anyway?”
“I’m taking good care of it, I promise,” the bashful expression you pull has Hermes learning forward, fascinated by the new charm you display as a character he’s deemed to be quite playful and self-assured; he’s certain that your coy appearance is a rare sight that must be relished. Not only that, but the topic has something to do with his missing statue; he must listen closely. “He is my handsome love, after all. It is now my responsibility to take care of him.”
What?… Hermes is stunned into silence. He doesn’t know whether he should laugh or fall into the sweet warmth fluttering in his chest, giving his heart the same wings as the ones attached to his temporal and sandals. His racing heart and fuzzy thoughts weren’t enough to distract him from the teasing that followed, however, whereby your friend was quick to poke fun at the idea of you being capable of responsibility.
“I can be responsible!”
“Right. Once in a blue moon, perhaps.”
“Oh, stop it, Daphni!” Despite your protests, the giggle you let out was delightful and sweet, a hypnotic song that captivates him all the more.
࿐࿔*:･ﾟ
Hermes couldn’t let you go and sneakily transforms from a hawk to a common snapping turtle in order to follow you into the large lake deep within the forest. In his aquatic form, Hermes easily follows you through the waters, amazed by another beautiful image of you, this time fitted with a stunning tail that propels you effortlessly through the lake.
Following closely, he was guided to a sunny spot underwater where his missing statue proudly stands. Surrounding him is an array of vibrant flora, gracefully swaying in a serene dance as small, glittering fish weave in and out of their viridescent fronds. He looks up and sees the way you’ve arranged for the waterlilies to surround his statue, creating that sunny spotlight just for him. By the way you go about diligently arranging the surroundings, Hermes knows you’re the one responsible for carefully adoring his statue like this. It was a flattering arrangement, and he was touched by the careful thought you’ve put into things — he feels as though his statue getting stolen by you wasn’t such a bad incident after all.
You’re not like any other thief he’s ever come across before…
Once you were done with the surrounding flora, Hermes took a moment to find a good hiding place to observe you further, wondering just what else you planned to do for his statue. He comes across ample cover in the foliage you’ve set up around his statue, the same ones that draw out the perimeter of his makeshift podium.
“Hello, stranger…” He hears the evident fondness in your call, sweetly addressing his statue, swimming up to his marble figure, and tenderly caressing his face. You proceed to introduce yourself before asking for his name, only to be met with silence. Not allowing his statue’s lack of response to deter you, you engage with him as if he had answered, smiling and giggling freely as if acting out a romantic meeting — it’s very endearing to watch. To think that a devious thief like you could have a cute and charming side.
“What a fitting name for one so handsome.” Your hands come up to cover your lips as you giggle once more before you dare to swim down and up to slide into the space between his arm and chest, cuddling into him. Even in his cold-blooded, turtle form, Hermes feels a flush rise to his cheeks as a blazing fire ignites in his veins, infecting every inch of his being like the fever many weak mortals experience.
“Oh my~ you want to know me better? I will gladly tell you everything there is to know about me, kind sir.” When you nestle against his chest and sit on his statue’s raised thigh, you then take a long moment to admire his carved features up close, tracing your soft fingers over the bridge of his nose, the edge of his jaw, the shape of his eyes and the bow of his lips. At the affectionate sight, Hermes feels his heart jump to his throat, blocking his airway and sending his mind racing. He can’t think straight right now; you’re too endearing and sweet — Gods! What he would give to be his own statue in that moment!
“How right it feels to be in your arms, my~ is this what they call destiny?” You trace a loopy pattern on his marble chest, “How romantic~…Have the fates destined us to meet like this?”
You don’t get to continue your performance as two strong arms suddenly pull you out of your lover statue’s embrace, shooting up where you go beyond breaking the water’s surface. A scream falls from your lips as the stranger holds you close to his chest, his arms holding you up under your knees and along your back. Involuntarily, your arms quickly circle his shoulders as his tickling laugh fills the air. You dare to look down and you find yourself suspended in the air, your tail having impulsively turned into a pair of legs as soon as you broke through the water.
You can’t believe it—you’re flying!
“Yes, I suppose the fates have destined us to meet like this, my sweet~” You turn to the voice and gasp. With the little strength you find, you bring a hand to the handsome stranger’s cheek and lovingly thumb over his cheekbone, your eyes carefully tracing his features as your fingers follow closely behind. His looks seem familiar to you, except for his eyes, they’re much more expressive than his…statue…
Hermes’ eyes smile wider when you gasp, and he sees realisation flood your gaze. He’s much more handsome than his statue!
“I am the messenger god, Hermes, and I am here to procure compensation for my stolen statue.” He leans forward, close enough to touch noses with you as his gleaming eyes stare deeply into your own. “What say you, thief?” In your periphery, the small wings attached to his temple flutter adorably, and you couldn’t help but get distracted by them, pulling your touch away from his face to gently caress the soft feathers of his temporal appendages.
Thankfully, he doesn’t press you for an answer, rather, he enjoys seeing the hypnotised state you fall into when admiring him. He will gladly allow you the pleasure of treating him like the statue he had been envious of a moment ago. The time you spent silently infatuated with his head wings, who stirred bashfully in response to your sweet touch, however, was far too short, and you were soon retracting your touch with a gasp.
“I-I have nothing to offer as c-compensation. I’m sorry.” You stutter timidly, embarrassed by your easily diverted attention, wholly captivated by him. Not only were you caught in the act, but you had shamelessly admired his features with your eyes and touch whilst so close that you felt his breath on your cheek. Daphni was right, you knew no shame!
“You have your sweet lips, do you not?” His eyes familiarly catch the light, familiar in that you’ve seen the same look in your mischievous self; however, this time, you’re the recipient and he the instigator. “You have your soft touch,” he brings your hand back to his cheek, where he leans into your palm and turns his face to press a kiss into your thenar eminence. “You have your dulcet voice.” He leans his head down to nuzzle the column of your neck, his nose tracing your skin as he breathes you in. “You have your sweet skin.” He kisses your neck and smirks against your sensitive dermis at the faint gasp you release. Surely, you understand what the rest of his list will state. “Shall I continue, my adorable thieving nymph?”
navi.
a/n : this was quickly written when i was inspired to write a hermes x reader fic so i don't know if i'm going to leave it as is or if i'm going to add onto it later on. nevertheless, i hope you darlings enjoyed the read! -- also, don't tell me you won't play pretend and flirt with a handsome statue when no one's looking ( ｰ̀εｰ́ )
And for those curious, this is the hermes statue I'm referring to in the fic; just imagine that it's white marble and life sized, maybe larger than that haha
