"Do you enchant people every time you sing?" Wesley asked as he and the pirate walked along the beach.
"No," Valentine replied, kicking a piece of driftwood out of his way. "It's more to do with the song itself and my intentions while singing it."
"So you couldn't just do it with any song?"
"I probably could if I tried hard enough, but the ancient language of my people makes for far more potent lyrics."
"Does it have the same effect on everybody who hears it?" Wesley prodded curiously, submersing his bare feet in the shifting tides as he walked.
"Not necessarily. It always stirs a powerful obsession in the listener for the singer, but the type of obsession varies with each person. For instance, if I were to sing for a sibling, they would be convinced that I was the best brother in the world and do everything they could to earn my favor. If I sang for someone who wholeheartedly loved another, they would form a platonic obsession, perhaps one where I am a friend or an idol. Unwed or unhappily married people have a tendency to form a romantic or lustful obsession upon hearing the song."
"So it works on other sirens too?"
"Most sirens spend many years learning how to fortify their minds and resist the siren song. This helps in scenarios where one must sing when other sirens are present. For instance, there are several factions who still hunt and eat humans. To do this in groups, they must be resistant to each other's voices. Human minds are largely untrained and extremely susceptible to such influences, so they are easy targets for those hunting expeditions."
Wesley pondered that for a moment before speaking again.
"You never answered my question from the other day. Have you ever eaten people?"
Valentine sighed and squinted at the distant horizon.
"Once," he said.
Wesley's eyes widened and Valentine smirked, amused.
"It was just a taste, and I threw up immediately afterward," he said. "I prefer meals that I don't share a language with."
"That's good, I guess," Wesley replied with a nervous edge.
Valentine noticed the sudden uneasiness from the merchant and slyly tried to lighten the mood.
"Unless of course you'd like me to-"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Cross," Wesley glared at him, kicking a bit of water in his direction.
Valentine laughed heartily at the merchant's reaction. His face was priceless, and Valentine wished he could have a portrait immortalizing the heavy set of the man's eyebrows and the crease in between them.
"Do you control when you change forms?" Wesley continued his curiosity sating session.
"Yes, but not all sirens can. It's a tradition in my mother's family to bestow gifts upon their children. She gave me a few of them through her blood, but others, such as my ability to choose between legs and a tail, come from simple spells she put on me when I was born."
"I thought-" Wesley's brows furrowed. "I thought she left you."
"She would send me messages through the servants when I was little, and once I was old enough to venture outside of the palace on my own, she would drift in and out of my life periodically. She was never in a position to take me with her, but she still checked on me when she could."
Wesley hummed as the information soaked in. He could relate to it to some extent. His family had not been well off, so he knew the burden. Flashes of his childhood painted over the landscape, but eventually, his mind drifted back to Valentine.
"What does it look like?" Wesley asked. "Your tail, I mean."
"Would you like to see it?" Valentine responded, raising a brow in question.
Wesley was startled by the question, but found himself nodding.
The pirate's eyes scanned the beach before them before heading towards an area shaded by a cluster of palm trees. Wesley followed him, his eyes widening again as Valentine started to remove his clothing.
"W-what are you doing?" Wesley stuttered as Valentine removed his shirt and moved to do the same to his breeches.
"I have to take them off if I don't want to damage them," he explained. "I'd leave them on for your comfort, but I doubt you'd be too happy if I was walking around naked for my remaining time on this island because I ripped apart my only pair of trousers."
Wesley grumbled before looking away and muttering, "Proceed."
Valentine slipped off the remainder of his garments before sitting down in the shade and closing his eyes. The transformation only took moments. It was again, only a partial shift, since he elected to keep his lungs instead of gills for the purposes of the situation. Regardless, the sight of his tail had the desired effect on the merchant.
Wesley stood frozen in awe as he absorbed the image in front of him. Valentine's legs had disappeared, and in their place was a tail that was as black as the night sky. As he took a hesitant step closer, he noticed a purple reflective glint from the scales as they moved in the light.
"You're definitely a siren," Wesley breathed.
Valentine smiled at his awestruck mate before gesturing for him to come closer.
Wesley knelt in the sand beside Valentine's tail and blatantly swept his gaze over every scale and fin. The pirate wanted to laugh at the merchant's obvious ignorance of what siren culture considered polite, but decided he didn't actually care. Wesley was his mate, and if he wanted to stare, Valentine wouldn't complain.
"You can touch it, if you want," Valentine offered.
Wesley reached out to do so, but hesitated, looking back up into lavender eyes. "Is that a normal thing to do in your society?"
Valentine was impressed that he asked, so he replied honestly. "It is a somewhat intimate act that is usually done between mates, but it doesn't have to be if you don't want it to be. It's nothing sexual. I'd say it's typically more along the lines of a hug or kiss in the way that it can show affection but is also reserved for people you trust."
"You trust me?" Wesley raised a brow.
"Despite my better judgement," Valentine smirked playfully.
Wesley licked his lips nervously before turning his gaze back to the ebony tail. He waited a moment, as if debating it, before hesitantly reaching out and placing his palm roughly over the area where the pirate's knee would've been.
He was surprised by how smooth and soft the scales were. As he gently ran his hand downward, he was almost reminded of leather.
Valentine watched him curiously, more and more relaxed by the man's touch by the moment.
"It's not as fish-like as I imagined," Wesley muttered, mostly referring to the texture of the scales.
Valentine smiled lazily. "That would be because I'm not a fish."
Wesley moved down to the fin that had replaced Valentine's feet. He didn't have to be told to be careful because he could tell that the thinner membrane was more delicate than the scales. As he ran his fingers over the area, Valentine's tail jerked, causing Wesley to flinch.
"Sorry," Valentine chuckled, "That tickled a little."
"You're ticklish?" Wesley's curiosity rose alongside his eyebrows.
"It is not in my best interests to divulge such information." The pirate replied with a subtle defensiveness to his posture.
The ghost of a smile spread across Wesley's lips as he looked away.
"I've seen enough," he said, grabbing the pirate's breeches and tossing them toward the man's face. "Get dressed."
Valentine did just that, though once his breeches were on, he elected to toss his shirt over his shoulder rather than donning it because he liked the way Wesley's gaze seemed to be drawn to him when he thought he wasn't looking.
The pair trekked further down the beach, and it wasn't until the sun was at its highest point that they discovered what they were looking for.
"It looks like our friend has been staying here," Valentine stated as they walked up on a small campsite. There was a fire pit with dying embers half way between the sea and the tree line as well as a poorly crafted attempt at a shelter. Decomposing coconut husks and empty sea creature shells were scattered about the area.
"He must've been here for at least a few months," Wesley observed. "Coconuts aren't in season right now so those must've been eaten a while ago. It looks like he's been surviving on what he could find in the tide pools and maybe some things deeper inland."
"Whatever it was, he was barely surviving on it if his ribs were any indication," Valentine said.
"Yeah," Wesley agreed, his eyes wandering over the campsite. "We should search the area. There's probably a fresh water source nearby if he survived this long."
The pirate nodded. "All right, but we're sticking together."
----+------+----
A/N
What's up my dudes?
I just wanted to take a moment to remind you that you are a beautiful, awesome, and beloved individual. I hope you have the best day! <3
Also, if you were a mermaid, what would your tail look like?
See you Saturday,
-Mora Montgomery