Whispering waves

Ianthe

I jumped back and let out a barely muffled scream; I felt a sharp pain on my palms, and I realised that I had landed on my hands.
A pair of bright purple eyes was staring right at me.
I couldn't decide if I felt scared or confused; the creature in front of me was definitely not scary, but I had heard too many stories about mortals being deceived by strange creatures, gods even, to act careless about it.
I chose to be cautious: I cleared my throat, just to make sure my voice wouldn't shake. "Who are you?"
The creature, of which I could see only the upper half, was still openly staring.
They tilted their head and after a pause they said: "Ianthe". They let go of the small crab, who hurried do hide.
"A-alright. And why are you here?" I asked tentatively, trying to get a better look to understand what exactly stood in front of me. I knew it could not be human; those big purple eyes obviously belonged to a monster.
"I heard you crying." They looked like they had trouble speaking, like they weren't used to talking this much. They also had a weird intonation, which I found funny.
Now, I didn't know what to say, so I did not speak. The creature- whom I started doubting was a monster, because despite the unnatural eyes, looked quite human- spoke again. "Why were you crying?" "I..."
I was still wary, but in the end, I gave in. What if the gods had heard my prayers, after all?
"I don't want to get married. I hate my future husband, and I am fairly sure he hates me, too."
The creature- no, Ianthe, seemed to understand.
I looked at Ianthe more carefully, and saw that they had long dark hair that fell onto their back. Something that looked like small scales covered their middle, up until their collarbones. I considered asking if they were a girl or a boy, but I concluded it must have been a girl, because of her soft features.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" She asked after a few seconds of silence. "My tail is getting quite tired and the waves are strong tonight."
My brain was working slower than usual. "Your- "
Without waiting for an answer, Ianthe hoisted herself onto a rock.
I forgot how to breathe for several seconds. A shiny, scaly, fish-like tail emerged from the water, where a human's legs should have been.
Ianthe noticed my dumbfounded expression, and made what I assume was a giggle. It was a high pitched sound, but her lips were tilted upwards, and her purple eyes shined.
"Wha- what are you, exactly?" I tried not to sound rude.
"You may have heard of sirens? Mermaids?" She spoke gently.
"I... thought sirens had... well... wings and... feathers?"
She made a gesture as if to say: "Details". "Men always mistake other creatures for us. Well- it doesn't really matter, does it?"
I was silent once again. I vaguely remembered tales of mermaids luring men from their ships and then killing them. But if sailors mistook other creatures for sirens, then actual sirens might not be dangerous.
I finally gathered the courage to ask: "Why are you here? I know you heard me crying-" I added when I saw Ianthe opening her mouth. "- but why do you care?" That came out way more rude than I intended to.
Ianthe didn't seem bothered by this.
"I had never seen one of you this close before. I had seen men, but women? You're the first. You look kind of like me." She gestured to her face. "Men have hair on their face- but you don't, just like us!" she added thoughtfully.
I laughed then; Ianthe did too, and shook her head, her long hair spraying water everywhere.

[helloo, sorry for the short update, but I wanted to post this chapter as soon as possible! ^-^ Let me know what you think!
~Emma]