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@thetempest-kai
sometimes when i miss writing mermaids, i come visit kai. i don’t think i’ll ever forget about her tbh.
in any case, i hope anyone reading this is having a great new year! <3
also, i’m open to reconnect if you like! you can find me here @fleckedwithstardust can’t believe it’s been almost 7 years lol
Ivan Bunin, tr. by Richard Hare, from Dark Avenues & Other Stories; “Musa,”
Rose Leslie Filmography - The Last Witch Hunter (2015) as Chloe
female awesome meme: 4/5 warrior characters ♦ ygritte. “Don’t ever betray me. Because I’ll cut your pretty cock right off, and wear it around my neck.”
She reminded me of the sea; the way she came dancing towards you, wild and beautiful, and just when she was almost close enough to touch she’d rush away again.
Millard, Glenda. A Small Free Kiss in the Dark (via wordsnquotes)
Levana looked down at her own flower crown, the flowers crinkled beneath her fingertips. “Yes, but–” But what? Levana asked herself, an idea that she had dismissed as fiction, as ignorance, dancing dangerously close to the front of her thoughts. “Werewolves were slaughtering mermaids, there were people who wanted something done about it.” Levana took a deep breath. “I’m right about protecting the Nysan werewolves. I know I am but… I am no leader. I don’t think I will be able to change so many people’s minds.”
“An now foreign werewolves are destroying our own,” her eyes gleamed like knives in the sun, sharp and cold. “Everyone wants something done, believe me. Those who don’t - those who are ready to let hostile men take over have sealed their own fates. Even Lord Swann wants something to be done. But like all the council say...we need to wait.” She let out a frustrated breath. The more they waited, the more the Fangs could gain over them. “Do you want to be a leader? You could.” Kai considered the young girl. She had her brother’s spirit. The mermaid could imagine her being more than just a lady’s maid but a leader... Only Levana could make that happen. “No one is taught to lead over night but to lead you’d first need to learn how to follow.” The nodded at the girl intently before she stood up.“And you’ve been a good follower.”
ɴᴀᴍe: kailani anahita ᴀʟɪᴀs ( ɴɪᴄᴋɴᴀᴍᴇs ): green eyed monster (?), freckles, kai. ɢᴇɴᴅᴇʀ: bi female. ᴀɢᴇ: 28. ᴅᴀᴛᴇ ᴏғ ʙɪʀᴛʜ: after the spring equinox. sᴘᴏᴋᴇɴ ʟᴀɴɢᴜᴀɢᴇs: common tongue, mermish (?). ᴏᴄᴄᴜᴘᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: assistant governess of rannoch island, werewolf hunter, ex-colony chieftainess. ᴄʀɪᴍɪɴᴀʟ ʀᴇᴄᴏʀᴅ: a decade’s worth. ᴅɪsᴏʀᴅᴇʀs: none. ᴇʏᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀ: green flecked with gold. ʜᴀɪʀ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀ: rusty red. ʜᴇɪɢʜᴛ: 5′6 as a human, 6′8-6′9 as a mermaid. sᴄᴀʀs: i actually can’t remember any at the moment for some reason. jagged lines from a shark bite on her torso, burn scars on her palms, not sure what else. ʙᴜʀɴs: palms, when the order attacked at the festival of flames. ᴏᴠᴇʀᴡᴇɪɢʜᴛ: not at all. ᴜɴᴅᴇʀᴡᴇɪɢʜᴛ: not recently. ʜᴀᴅ sᴇx: yes. ʜᴀᴅ sᴇx ɪɴ ᴘᴜʙʟɪᴄ: oh...i’d like to think not but knowing kai it might have happened a few times. lol ɢᴏᴛᴛᴇɴ ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ: no. ᴋɪssᴇᴅ ᴀ ʙᴏʏ: yes. ᴋɪssᴇᴅ ᴀ ɢɪʀʟ: yaassss. ɢᴏᴛᴛᴇɴ ᴛᴀᴛᴛᴏᴏs: well, supposedly she has one but who has the time to keep up. ɢᴏᴛᴛᴇɴ ᴘɪᴇʀᴄɪɴɢs: no. sᴍᴏᴋᴇᴅ/ᴅʀᴀɴᴋ/ᴅᴏɴᴇ ᴅʀᴜɢs: smoked and drank, yes. i think she might have done drugs at some point but i’m gonna have to say no. ʜᴀᴅ ᴀ ʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ: her life is a broken heart. she just can’t catch a break. ʙᴇᴇɴ ɪɴ ʟᴏᴠᴇ: yaassss. almost (?) ɴᴇᴇᴅᴇᴅ sᴜʀɢᴇʀʏ: yes, when she was shot by an arrow and victor saved her. btw, it’s another scar to add to the list. sᴛᴀʏᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ ғᴏʀ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴ 24 ʜᴏᴜʀs: i’d bet. ᴀ ᴠɪʀɢɪɴ: no. ᴀ ᴄᴜᴅᴅʟᴇʀ: occasionally. ᴀ ᴋɪssᴇʀ: yea, sort of. more like a stares-at-you-intently-until-you-kiss-me kind of kisser. sᴄᴀʀᴇᴅ ᴇᴀsɪʟʏ: i’d rather not challenge her ability to do stupid things when she’s supposed to be ‘scared’. but no, not scared easily. ᴊᴇᴀʟᴏᴜs ᴇᴀsɪʟʏ: if she has a reason to be (?) ᴛʀᴜsᴛᴡᴏʀᴛʜʏ: she might not be the best secret keeper. ᴄᴏɴsɪᴅᴇʀᴇᴅ ᴍᴇᴀɴ: excuse me while i laugh for a million years. ʜᴀʀᴍᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇᴍsᴇʟᴠᴇs: maybe. ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ᴏғ sᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴇ: yes. ᴀᴛᴛᴇᴍᴘᴛᴇᴅ sᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴇ: not yet. no ғᴇᴀʀs: losing her family (she lost them), being a disappointment, being irredeemable, loosing her voice (after than one time she became mute because of that spell) ᴘᴀʀᴇɴᴛs: deceased. they would have been a working class family. ᴄʜɪʟᴅʀᴇɴ: none at the moment. ᴘᴇᴛ(s): used to have a seahorse (?)
I've searched for pieces of myself, counting the endless nights all the while. These feelings are becoming so certain I almost lose myself.
Alone
And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone.
Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles
“I used to think like that- optimistic. It seems that being an optimist is just asking for heartache now.” Levana’s eyes darted between the mermaid and the crushed pile of flowers at her feet. Memories of Col, all the secrets he’d kept from her, came to her mind; evidence of the truth Kailani spoke. “There’s not a lot to imagine. Who would listen to the thoughts of a Lady In Waiting? A werewolf Lady no less.”
The mermaid could not help but laugh at the young woman’s bitterness. It was only weeks before that the lady had defended werewolves. “I could ask you the same question. Who would listen to a timid 16 year old mermaid who was angry because her sister died? People die everyday.” Kai looked at Levana, her eyes saying what she did not speak. I was that mermaid. “Mermaid didn’t attack werewolves. But now they do. Ways of life don’t change for no reason. They change because people want them to—because they need them to.”
Kai called one of the nearby children to her. She placed a wreath atop a bed of flowing yellow curls. She told the child “Even with a flower crown show them you have fire in your eyes, not tears.”
“Fear and admiration. Elric does not need to be known as the King that would disregard innocent lives, children among them, to deal a blow in battle when other options are available. We need to be ruthless, yes. But also smart.” Rob placed a hand on her shoulder, holding onto her firmly. “You know what it’s like to be a leader, Kai: the people who follow you expect you to always capable of making important decisions instantly, with no regard to your emotional well-being. Look at all Elric has been through. I’m surprised he’s made it so far without having a mental breakdown. He’s doing good for his age and lack of experience.”
Robert cared deeply for the King and considered him a friend. It was certainly a seemingly impossible situation that they were caught in and Robert spent nights thinkng of ways to make it better.
“Taking the battle to Calydon would be reckless. There are innocent children there who’ve done nothing to deserve this war…” He paused and began to stroke his chin thoughtfully. “What if we could lure the battlefield to the shores…? Those who don’t die in the forest would drown…” Robert had always been curious about how the famous Siren Song of the mermaids work and once asked Adella to use it on him so that he could feel the effects. He had been left stunned, putty in her hands – Though, she quickly ended her spell.
There were others who’ve went through more hell who were younger even than the sovereign. Damn his emotional well-being. If the king couldn’t reign in his feelings, then he should let others make the decisions for him. But Kai held her tongue. There was no use in pointing it out. Not to Robert, a Lord, whom she knew was close to the king.
The mermaid shook her head in dismay. “That strategy would work for a smaller pack, not for one so large as this. Mermaids can only fully control a being if they were close enough to touch them. If just one werewolf snaps out of the hypnosis in a pack this large, it would be a chain reaction. By the next minute, they would all realise what had happened. It would be a slaughter. I will not risk my people’s safety like that, even in the water. Not unless you can give me a reason why it would be worth the risk.”
She didn’t even know if the merfolk would agree to it. Some like to keep to the seas, to their own, so much so that they believed what went on on land were not their concern. “What about the others? The vampires, faeries and humans? We are a thousand against one against the Fangs. There must be some strength in our numbers.”
Azula contemplated on whether or not she’d step down from her perch and give Kai a hug. Part of her really wanted to just stay on the ledge. But Kai was her friend and she hadn’t spoken to her in far too long. “Haven’t been there in a while.” It was a short response. She barely managed to lift her right wing, displaying the damage done.
The mermaid gasped at the broken appendage. “Azula...” she managed to breathe out. But her features morphed from one of shock to rage. The last time Kai had seen the young fae was when she caught a glimpse of her at the temple during the Coronation ceremony. “This happened because of the Fangs, didn’t it?” With her jaw jutting out, Kai could not help the tears threatening to spill. She was sorry she wasn’t able to protect Azula—she couldn’t protect anyone.
“I am a man with good intentions who has found himself captain of s pirate ship. I am no saint but I keep a tight ship and Robin Hood attitude.” She pressed the subject further about his mother. Roderik could feel the guilt filling his chest. “ my mother died giving birth to me. My father was devastated. He never outright blamed me but he didn’t have to. He said enough with his suffocating parenting and his stern rules. I was determined to leave as soon as I could but my plans of being a doctor did not work out. I found myself blood whoring my way into piracy. Turns out I make a better pirate than a doctor.”
Roderik backed her to sit down on the bed before he moved to light another candle. “ instincts should never be ignored. Do you like being on a ship? It’s far too late to be out and about so you may sleep here. Don’t worry, I’ll sleep on the floor.” He smiled mostly to relieve the salted wound from his past. He removed another necklace from about his neck and opened the locket. It held a portrait of his mother. She was s beautiful fae with long flowing black hair and a smile that radiated warmth and kindness. “ my fathers heart grew cold with hers. That’s what many of those who knew them before I came alone said.”
The mermaid sat, the bed still cool against her bare legs. In her fingers was the locket Roderik had opened for her perusal. And as stunning at the man before her, in it was a woman; his mother. “She’s beautiful,” Kai couldn’t help but say. “Some ties are worth cutting. But your own blood..” she sighed. She would trade anything for Anahita. She would brave the despairing fires of the underworld for her sister. “When you lose everything, family will be all you have left in this world. And if you don’t have that then..” She could feel a bitterness at the back of her throat but swallowed it. “Then you become like me—a shell of a person with nothing but pain and resentment. Perhaps that is what happened to your father.” Slowly, the redhead closed the locket and extended it to the pirate. The locket gleamed in the candlelight, making Kai wish she had a portrait of Ana.
With a small shake of her head, she said “The captain should not sleep on the floor of his own ship.” The bed was big enough for the both of them. Additionally, she wasn’t planning to stay until sunrise—she would be gone before he woke. She didn’t need him blocking the entrance in his slumber. There was yet a few more hours to humour the pirate, so she patted the bed and invited him to join her. “Wouldn’t you like to boast to your crew that you slept with a mermaid?” The laugh lines in her face creased amusement. “Albeit just next to one.”
Robert gave a deep sigh, rough and cut fingers rubbing against his eyes. He was tired, mentally and emotionally drained over all that had come to pass. The man didn’t know Caspian personally – actually, he didn’t know Caspian at all – and it was probably quite rude to show up to a complete stranger’s funeral, but he needed to keep an eye on the fiery mermaid. Knowing how she was, he felt that she might need a shoulder to cry on and someone to talk her down from doing something incredibly stupid. It seemed that he would take on that role.
“I do not place blame on the King, nor should you. He was young and unprepared to take the throne following his father’s death in the midst of war and a couple of years is hardly enough time to acclimate to leading an entire kingdom that is oft divided by tensions between species. Yes, it is sorely hurting his people but it’s not his fault. He’s not a General, Kai. And it’s not like he has many good advisors.” Rob couldn’t count how many times he’d heard the suggestion to treat Wolves as Vampires were after the rebellion, placing tight curfews on them, cities placing restrictions on which can enter and which cannot based on personal discretion. Many dreadful notions with the intent on making the four legged shifters outcasts.
But he knew that she was right in part. They couldn’t just keep taking the defense. The Fangs would keep walking all over Nysa and its inhabitants if they saw that the only retaliation was doubled guards on the roads and in the cities. They needed something more than just hunting parties of angry people. Robert wasn’t a General either but if there was one thing he knew as an Alpha it was Pack culture and warfare. “You are right though,” he finally admitted out loud. “Any move we make must be executed with perfection. This war will not be won in a single day or a single battle. And it is imperative that you keep in mind that many citizens of Calydon didn’t make it out alive and are hostage in their own home…”
She did not want to speak over Caspian body anymore. So, reluctantly, painfully, she let him go. Let him turn to foam, to join Ana, to— She let a shaky breath out. She did not know where they went or what happens after the sea-foam but that they turn to spirits, as claimed by the merfolk elders. Kai let the last stream of tears roll down before swiping at her freckled cheeks.
“King Elric’s inexperience is known to the Fangs. That is why they strike. That is why other powers want our kingdom.” She was bitter. The whole kingdom is but she did not care about them. She was more alone now than she had ever been. “He does not have to be a general to lead us. He needs to be a ruler. His name needs to strike fear. This thing, with the Fangs, it will escalate into a war. It is already a war at our doorstep. It—” she cut herself off. Her temper was rising, not at Robert but at the hopelessness she felt coating her marrow. It was bile that rose in her as she spoke in a controlled voice. “Tell me you have a plan to win back Calydon. Tell me and I will do all that I can to help.”
The moon was high and the people of Abdera were all rushing to their homes now, careful to meet the curfew. Azula stood atop the eastern battlements, staring out at the sea. The wind was salty, warm as it whipped her dark hair around. Her remaining wing, her right one, twitched just a bit at the tease of the breeze. It was quiet and she enjoyed the view of the moonlight reflecting off of the ocean as water lapped at the sandy shores of Nysa. It was almost blissful. Almost.
Her eyes slowly opened as the sound of footsteps approached. They lacked the familiar clink of guards’ armor so she knew that she wasn’t in trouble. Or at least she hoped she wasn’t. Azula did turn to face her visitor, instead choosing to remain at her post upon the stone. “Seeking me out in particular…?”
“I’d heard you were out here,” the mermaid said almost lazily. She hadn’t seen her friend since the coronation. It was chaos and blood the time after that; funerals and injuries...it was something she didn’t want to think about. Not now.
Kailani walked up to Azula perched on a stonewall. “How goes the pit fighting?” she asked, trying to lighten the mood. If she knew anything, she knew that if Azula decided to sulk, she’d do so with feeling. The mermaid could not tell if something distracted or bothered the young faerie.
“I’m sorry, I know how hard that is.”Roderick Frowned at the mermaid. “I don’t know, I haven’t found anyone who is interested in a guy like me. I want a strong girl who accepts me for what I am and understands me, someone who I love and who loves me just as much.” When the conversation turned to his mother his eyes averted toward the window. He did not like speaking of her. “It was just me and my father. I do not remember her and my father hated speaking about her..”
Roderik gulped and shook his head. “ Father loved her but that wasn’t enough. I think it made him bitter and stern when she died. He saw me in her and wanted to keep me caged. I see why she left us, gave up. I wish I would have gotten to know her. He suffocated me because of it. I was a constant reminder of what he lost, I am the reason she died.He never outright blamed me but I always felt responsible and I could see the hurt in his eyes when he told me how much I look like her.”
“I am not trying to keep you trapped. You are not pathetic either. You are strong and your gifts are to be a part of the ocean not on top of it. Perhaps you can have the best of both worlds. You certainly are welcome here anytime but if you wish to ride the storm out in the ocean you can.”
“And what kind of man are you, Darkfyre?” As she held on to him, she could see the light glittering off his wings in the darkness. The mermaid thought it was a pretty sight and decided to catch the light with soft taps on his wing, a contented breath slipped past her lips as she did. The rumbles of thunder outside the ship began ebbing to a soft groan but the heavy beats of rainfall still echoed even in the cabin.
Her brows creased as Roderik spoke of being the cause of his mother’s death. How could a child be the reason his mother is dead? Kai pulled away from him, careful to avoid his injured arm. “How-” she hesitated asking, “how did she die?” The redhead thought to tell him about her own lack of parents but felt that he needed to finish his story first. She understood that talking about one’s hurts could be a cathartic experience, even with a stranger. Especially with a stranger.
She touched his face and tried to imagine a woman with fine features—black tresses, dark eyes, high cheekbones and an elfin grin. It was easy to imagine a woman like that. “You’re not keeping me trapped,” she breathed out. “I’m at odds with my instincts. It’s just a strange sensation.” It was like being trapped in a fish bowl and then thrown into the sea. She shook her head and let her hand fall away from his stubble jaw. “Thank you for your hospitality, captain. The storm will end soon.” Then she said in a lilting tone, “I didn’t know pirates could be so...accommodating.”
Much as talk of open battle made her feel uneasy, Arabella was quiet throughout Kailani’s little speech. The mermaid’s squared jaw and curled lip made her thoughts very clear, but the elf made no comment on that. Whether or not the redhead hated her when she left, that was none of Arabella’s concern. Mending the hole that the Fangs had torn in the kingdom, that was what she was worried about. And there wasn’t time to mince words or worry with kindness, because every moment wasted was another moment that the Fangs were somewhere, plotting and murdering. Another moment that she could have spent focusing on her daughter, instead of war.
“Thank you for your suggestion,” was all that she said, afterward. A feasible plan for battle was better than nothing at all. As she turned to go, however, she thought to add, “It might be wise not to let a vampire hear you saying that. Lynette Sourdeval is older than even me, and mayhaps wiser. But far less kind, certainly, and I doubt she cares very much what happens to us. So long as she has her teeth, she’s as dangerous to the Fangs as they are to her. She doesn’t seem to mind letting us die, but I doubt she’d appreciate anyone insinuating she could lose her kingdom. I’d wish mercy on anyone that tried taking it.” The blonde gave a small dip of her head, stepping away. “If that’s all…”
Since the Fangs invaded, Pandosia has been opened to all vampires of Nysa if only to provide those that did not wish to fight a safe haven. Lynette Sourdeval cared only for her kind and Kailani could not fault her for it. She would have done the same for her merfolk. Rallying the vampires could be the key since, as Arabella said, the Queen of Pandosia was as dangerous to the Fangs as they were to her. “I meant no slight. If what you say is true then a Queen of her stature should merely laugh at my notions. Good day, Lady Arabella.” The mermaid bowed quietly as the once slain she-elf left, the room now plunged into a pregnant silence. The redhead sat at a table and calmly began writing a letter...
