Chapter Text
Waves rolled long over a white shore, littered with cracked seashells and round pebbles. The sand seemed blue under the moonlight, cooled by water, and soft under bare feet. The ocean air smelled crisp with a tinge of salt and decaying seaweed, an oddly comforting scent that Fili breathed deep as he made his way to a lonesome pier, a small sack of fishing goods slung over his broad shoulders.
A single boat rocked there, tied to a beam by an old but trusty rope, lined with frays and years of use. The boat itself was a simple rowboat, wooden and patched in several places. Well-loved and well-worked, and still held her weight effortlessly. Fili loaded the old floater with his supplies, and took his time in rowing out.
The night was remarkably clear, shining with starlight and a moon so full and luminescent it felt as if Fili could reach out and hold it in his hands.
He loved evenings like this, with the cool air and a cloudless sky, the gentle rock of the water against the wood of the small boat. Fili took his time, savoring the feeling of being completely at peace on the water, as if he had gone home from a long journey, which most days were starting to feel like working the docks.
Fili felt he could lay back in this boat a while, and let the ocean send him adrift.
But that didn't fill hungry bellies. Nor did it fill his pockets with coin. Fili frowned, knowing he had a job to do.
Sighing, he rowed as far out to the first line of anchored buoys where he had usually tied his nets. Fili reached for the rope, and found them to be heavily strained, and the buoy itself tilting as if weighted on one side. This part of the fishing season did little to catch him anything bigger than a few handfuls of small mackerel. The little silver fish didn't make much but bait, but fisherman needed something to use. If they caught anything bigger, then all the better.
Feeling elated, Fili cut the rope with a small knife, grasping the net. With a small grunt, he started to heave.
*
Under the surface, Kili hadn't seen the net before it was too late. He had been following the current, enjoying the new area he was currently living in. Then there had been a distant pull on his fin and he turned around startled, seeing his light blue colored fin being tangled with an insistent net. He curled a little, trying to pull himself free with no avail as he was tugged towards the surface.
When he broke the surface, Kili let out a low hiss out of instinct, hitting his fin against the side of the boat and trying to hit the human that was on the boat. He knew too well what happened to their kin when they were pulled up in the humans world and he was not going to go down without a fight.
Kili pushed himself up on his arms, seething at the human again as he fought to get the net away from his fin. This was not good, definitely not good, the human most likely had a knife in his hands. Then again he was currently frozen as well, so that bought him a little more time. He twisted his body, hands reaching out to the net and started to peel it away, keeping his eyes on the human all the time.
His dark hair fell before his face, hiding the emerald eyes, lips hiding the sharp teeth as he hissed again, his fin connecting with the other edge of the boat.
The initial shock of suddenly pulling up something that was both fish and human in appearance was what gave Fili pause, for lack of a better way to describe the shock. The boat held well for the thrashing as what was probably a two-hundred pound aquatic creature flailed angrily within the small hulls.
Hissing, glaring, attempting to swat at him with a net-tied tail, which Fili had to block with his forearm, flinching at the feeling of hardened bone rattling his own. It was like blocking punches.
“Wait, wait--” Fili said uselessly, but he doubted the creature understood him. The thrashing stopped for a moment, and the blond peered over his scratched arm at the creature who bore sharp teeth at him. Fangs, long, dark hair wild over eyes that glinted in the light.
Angry, yes but possibly frightened. The creature was heaving deep breaths, attempting to peel away the net that was tied and tangled around it's long blue tail.
“Hold on.” Fili said, placing his hands up, the small fishing knife held in what he hoped was a non-threatening manner. “You won't go anywhere trying to pull it...”
The blond swallowed, taking the farthest end of the net. He cut it with the knife.
“I'm going to cut it off,” Fili said slowly, showing the creature one more time. It took a bit of sawing through, but it cut through the thin ropes eventually.
“I won't...” Fili watched the creature, trying not to look at its teeth. “I'm not going to hurt you.”
Kili released another hiss, chest heaving as he stared at the human and the knife in his hands. Something in his tone was calming, caused his fin to stay completely still when the human cut through the net.
There was still wariness in his eyes, and as soon as he was able to he slid over the edge back to the water. Only there did he release a small sound, swimming in small circles, joyful to still have his life. The human had not killed him. For some reason he had not been skinned or fed from.
His head broke the surface a safe distance away from the boat and he just stared at the man.
The blond dropped the knife after a minute, pushing his now ruined net aside. The only way Fili knew what he just saw and did was reality was the sound of the creature swimming in the water, taking a few laps around his small vessel.
Fili swallowed, following the dark lines illuminated by moonlight, and the eyes that peered at him over the waves.
He was certain then, that was a siren.
For a moment Kili did nothing else but stare at the human.
Then, not wishing to risk his life further, he released a small sound that resembled a song, eerie and soft before disappearing under the surface.
A pretty note that Fili wouldn't soon forget. It wasn't like any sound he had heard before, and one that would likely haunt his dreams.
Still yet, despite it's otherworldly appearance and ethereal music, Fili felt as if that note might have been a thank you.
Anyone else would call it an omen, however. Sirens were no creatures of luck, and the elderly would be quick to say his fortunes were to turn sour.
Fili returned to the shore that evening, tying his boat back in place, with his small catch in his sack of supplies and returned to the town up the road. He deposited the fish into a nearby barrel without much thought, took bread and mead for dinner, and slept poorly.
Most fishermen would feel compelled to tell their story, but Fili said not a word. He did his duty at the docks, hauling cargo and bartering trade. He exchanged banter with the fellow hands, and shared a tankard with the salty sea dogs that visited the busiest taverns. As immersed as he usually was during the tales of adventures on open water, Fili found himself drifting in and out of the riveting story of a young man named Jim and the legendary Blackbeard.
Instead, he thought of the creature he only thought existed in myths.