forum RIPTIDE// OxO // [closed]

Started January 02, 2020 by @Kinarymo

tune

“I see, thank you,” a smile spread across his lips at the news. “Don’t have them kill it. Have them put it in a bath of water,” Sanada decided. It was a strange request, similar to when he asked for medical advice from the doctor. But after looking after it’s wellbeing all afternoon, he found that he did care for the creature. Curiosity drove him more than anything, though. Did it speak their language? How close was it to an actual human despite its appearance?

The men exchanged some looks between them, before picking the mermaid up again and carrying it around the back of the house, where they knew there was a small pond with koi swimming in it. The creature was placed in the pond and left there to rest undisturbed.

The news spread in the town like wildfire - it wasnt every day one got to see a living mythic creature with their very own eyes - but no one was currently allowed to see the mermaid, for now at least. Not that Sanada feared someone might steal it, but having so many people in the yard staring at an unconscious mermaid meant a big crowd, that would bother both him and the creature, so better keep everyone away for now.
For the remainder of the day, the mermaid was left alone to rest in the pond, periodically checked on by the young man. The amount of time the creature remained unconscious was starting to get worrying - was it sick? was it in any danger? or was it just recovering? It was very hard to tell what was going on, thus waiting it out was the only option right now.

The fish swam around the ningyo peacefully, sometimes gently bumping into him before dashing away, some swam through its silvery white hair like through long algae, all the fish acting as if they were inspecting the newcomer.

Eventually, the last time Sanada went to check on the mermaid, when he had nothing else to do for the day he sat down beside the pond to watch the fish dart about the pond. Even when the ningyo was unconsious, in this pond he looked so peaceful. He sat cross-legged, and his shoulders hunched forward. He would wait for as long as it took for this creature to either wake up, or pass away peacefully. He much preferred the former,because he wouldn't know what to do if it was the latter.

The creature lay still on its side, the white wavy hair gracefully floated around its head like a veil. Under the water's clear surface the scales on the tail had regained their pearly shine, shimmering gently underneath the liquid surface.
It would really be a shame if it passed away without ever waking up, its origin a total secret. Night time rolled around as Sanada waited, to no avail - in the end he'd have to go inside to sleep, leaving the mermaid alone with the fish in the pond. Tomorrow would bring the answer to the problem of the creature, whether it survived or not.

The song of the roosters nearby accompanied the arrival of the next day's dawn, as the sun slowly rose from the sea towards the sky. The birds were back to their usual loud chatter, with the sound of the sea in the background.
For Sanada it meant the start of a new day, and also the resolution to the mermaid problem. After a decent breakfast it was time to check up on the creature and see what had come of it.

Walking into the yard, the first thing that one could notice was a head covered in silvery white hair poking out of the water, looking around curiously but also shyly

Sanada stood in the doorway, eyebrows raised with interest when he saw the creature’s head poked out of the water. A smile spread across his face, finding himself happy that the ningyo seemed at least a little bit okay. He walked up the the edge of the pond, gingerly kneeling, “Hello.” He wasn’t sure what language—if any—he would speak.

The mermaid didn't seem to hear him when he walked closer, therefore it jerked when it heard the man's voice; its first instinct was to dive down but as the pond was too shallow, it just ended up splashing as it made its way to the opposite side. Though its heart could not be heard, it was probably beating faster than a bird trapped in a cage, as seafoam green eyes studied the young man that had made his appearance so suddenly behind the creature. Now that it was awake, it looked even more human, with weariness and fright etched into its features.

For several minutes, the ningyo remained stuck to the wall opposite to Sanada, not taking his eyes off him as if he expected to see what he would do next, seemingly fearful.

_(bump)

Sanada stayed crouched at the side of the pond. Judging by the creature’s lack of an answer, he determined that he either most likely didn’t speak their language, or didn’t speak at all. He stayed put, and as still as he could in an effort to appear as no threat Hong as possible. As his legs grew tired, he leaned back to sit normally. He may have to stay here for a long while to earn a little bit of trust. He needed trust to talk to, and learn about their species.

It took a little bit for the initial shock to wear off and the mermaid slowly found the courage to move away from the edge he'd glued himself to, making his way slowly towards Sanada. Perhaps the use of kind words helped remove the creature's fear - who could blame him, really? He was considered a rather tasty catch, after all.

Slowly but surely, he made his way to the side the young man was on, eventually being able to lean on the edge. He still held himself pretty low in the water, not daring to come out entirely. After a really long pause, his voice was finally heard as he nodded affirmatively to a question.

Sanada smiled as the mermaid crept closer. “Yeah? It seemed like you took an awful spill in the storm the other day.” He grinned, daring to extend his hand gently to the creature. Encouraged that the ningyo understood his question, he decided to ask another one. He wasn’t sure what to call him, so he ought to find out. “Do you have a name?”

The mermaid shot a long glace at the hand that had been extended towards him, unsure of how to respond to the gesture. Slowly, he extended his own hand and gently touched the other's fingers. Surprisingly, his hands were not webbed as one might expect, instead his fingers were slim and smooth, with a small red gradient at the tip of the fingers, with slightly sharp claws, or nails, whatever they were called.

"It's Akanashi." he spoke, shyly. "My name is Akanashi"

His voice was young, soft and pleasant to the ears, something that some would call a "precious person's voice", it was just that pleasant; it also sounded like he was a very shy person.

_{(if u want a sample of the voice im talking about, look up Postman from identity v - hes a total baby)}

reads previous posts
HMMMMM……. Lonely wraith man wants to know if you have another spot or not.

_{(if u want a sample of the voice im talking about, look up Postman from identity v - hes a total baby)}

_awww

Sanada found himself brimming with joy at the touch of the ningyo’s hand. Did this mean he trusted him? He assumed yes, to some degree, or else he wouldn’t have even gotten close, right? “Akanashi,” he echoed. “I’m not going to hurt you,” or let anyone else hurt you, he added silently.

The mermaid's eyes seemed to light up at his words as he looked down once more.

"Hah, really? That's good to know" he murmured, brushing away some of the hair from his face. From the overall look, some of the bruises from the other day had begun to fade, slowly whilst others were still there, seeming a little uglier than they were yesterday, especially the one on his back. Quite a fragile little fishy, so it seemed.

Half submerged in the pond, the scales on his tail shimmered gently underneath the liquid surface, as his fins moved slowly, keeping him afloat.

"Where… Where am i?" he asked after a long period of silence as he looked around

(psst, here is da fishu)

(Awwww adorable! I love him <3)

Sanada found himself in awe of the creature—his tail, his voice, his hair and simple grace. How could anyone wish to harm him or any other of his kind. After the brief pause, and the question was asked, Sanada was pulled out from his thoughts. “Ah, put simply you're at the palace. Specifically in the garden pond.”

"Palace?" Akanashi looked around, his eyes filled with curiosity. "I've never seen a palace before. How did i get here?"

He was now holding on to the edge of the pond, right next to Sanada, most traces of shyness having faded away. Based on that, it seemed like he was the type that was quick to befriend someone once he was sure he was safe.

“I found you washed up in the beach. It looked like you were injured so I brought you here.” Of course it was much more complicated than that, but he decided it was unnecessary adding all of the details. Like the middle man who had actually brought him to the palace. Sanada would have brought him here anyway if the other person wouldn’t have.

"Washed up on the beach?" he murmured, moving his gaze downwards and a faint crease appearing between his white eyebrows. He squinted a but, as if trying to recall the events of the previous day, slowly moving his eyes.

"Ah, i think i remember something, i must've been too close to the shore when i got picked up by a wave. I think i hit my head when i fell" the boy recalled, raising a hand to pat the back of his head, only to flinch at the contact with a small gasp. "Hah, i really did hit my head, it wasn't just my imagination. Ouch…"

Judging from his reaction, the bump was probably big. Not wanting to further aggravate the already small headache he was experiencing, Akanashi let the bump alone and redirected his focus back to Sanada. He looked at his face again with his clear eyes, trying to pick his words.

"Um, you would not happen to have any food, would you? I'm kinda hungry and i dont want to eat any of the pretty fish here" he spoke shyly, gesturing to the colorful decorative koi populating the pond.

Sanada listened and nodded along. Everything he said made sense—the injury, the time for recovery, and the story all lined up satisfactorily. He was all in all glad that this ningyo was safe, and found by something with good integrity.

He looked off to the side to think. Maybe he could get some fish from the cooks in the palace. “Yes, I’ll see what I can do. The chances are that I’ll be able to find you some, so I’ll be right back.” He pushed himself off the ground to stand.

Seeing him get ready to leave, the boy smiled and nodded.

"Ah, thank you!" he chirped.

Now the thing was, is a ningyo's diet comprised strictly of fish? Most likely, since they lived in the depths of the ocean, but could he stomach something other than that, like vegetables for example.

Akanashi waited patiently in the pond for the man to return, playing with one of the grass blades sprouting from the ground. He moved his tail in a slow, lazy pace to keep himself afloat, as he let out a big yawn

“You’re welcome,” Sanada smiled lightly, “I’ll be right back, then.” He turned on his heel in the grass to head back into the palace. He’d go to the chef first, of course, because what better place was there to find food so close? He approached the kitchen, pushing open the door and peering inside.

In the kitchen, the chef and another servant were busy tidying up things, while the servant did the dishes.

When they heard the door, the chef lifted his head and gave a polite smile and a bow when she recognized Sanada, with the servant behind her doing the same.

"Young Master, how may this humble one be of assistance?"

Now, question was what could he tell them to give him? He hadn't asked Akanashi what would he like to eat, so the decisiom was left to Sanada. Raw fish seemed like the best option, after all thats what he most likely fed on in the depths of the water, no? But at the same time he looked almost totally human and he was also in the young man's care, so wouldn't it be more appropriate to give him something better?

Sanada cleared his throat, "Ah, yes, do you happen to have any fish cooked already?" Raw fish seemed like a good opetion, especially if Akanashi already mentioned the unfavorable possibility of eating the koi fish in the pond. But he was a guest, and if cooked fish was available, maybe it would be more palatable than raw fish. He would bring both cooked an raw, just in case.

The chef and the servant exchanged looks, before the latter was sent to check. Fortunately, some fish had been fried several minutes ago for the young lord's meal, alongside some other sea foods and, most prized of all, unagi.

At Sanada's request they quickly prepared a tray with everything necessary and gave him a polite bow as he turned around to leave.

Akanashi was waiting in the pond, with his head rested on his arms, contemplating the grass near him in silence. Bored as he was, he was opening and closing his dorsal fin, his stomach nearly pressed against the stone wall of the pond