"It's you, you are still alive... You look so strong now,"
"Don't, I think I have had enough of you today," Rin growled, wanting to get back on his journey.
"Rin no! Please stay, don't leave again,"
"What do you mean? I never left you, abandoned me!"
"I never abandoned you! Samael left you and I tried, I tried for so long to find you, after a month I convinced him to sail back so we could try and find you, I searched for days, nearly two weeks but I couldn't find you. You can't leave now of all times. Rin we need you, Please stay, this isn't just about me. We need your help,"
"I have somewhere to go Amaimon, I don't have time for a meetup. I am trying to live my life, I need someone to live for,"
"Are you headed to the gathering? That is where Samael is sailing! We can take you there, I can escort you!" Amaimon beamed.
"Why are you going there of all places?" Rin retorted, eyeing Amaimon in suspicion
"I need to find a mate as well Rin," Amaimon huffed. "Samael and I will be overseeing the gathering as well, so we would go regardless if we already found a mate,"
"I still don't understand why I should stay,"
"Trust me, it will be better if you talk to Samael now before you cause a scene at the gathering," Amaimon added swimming back to the ship. "Well, are you coming?"
"Fine, I supposed I can deal with you for a bit,"
"good, now can you make the jump up to the railing or will I have to pull you up?" Amaimon pondered.
"I can make the jump," RIn snarled at the insulation.
"No need to get so offended, it was a question. It may be better if I do help you seeing as your arm-,"
"No," Rin snapped, interrupting the elder siren. "I can handle it,"
Accepting the response Amaimon swam to the surface, breaking the water as he left over the rail, and landed perfectly on his feet.
Rin following suite leaped out of the water, but oddly, he didn't land on the deck, he overshot and landed in the water.
"That's not how you get on a boat," Amaimon teased happily.
"Shut up," Rin barked. "I'm not used to jumping up to the railing,"
"Well, then what are you used to?"
"Jumping into the crow's nest or the main mass,"
"What have been doing over the past ten years to jump into a crow's nest?" Amaimon growled in suspicion.
"I will tell you once I get on deck," Rin fired back, diving back down underwater. Once Rin broke the water again, instead of diving straight across, he hit the main mass and quickly wrapped himself around it, transforming his silver fin into legs.
The enter ship wobbled under Rin as it swayed from the entrance of Rin, shocking all the crew as they were thrown by the unexpected sway.
Rin happily slid down the wooden poll and fixed the overcoat he had on. Over the years he had found multitudes of different clothing, but he preferred to wear black, it didn't stain easily and it was easy to match with.
Failing to catch himself Amaimon latched onto the railing as he caught his breath as the ship settled. "Rin what was that?" Amaimon asked, stunned by the abilities of the younger being.
"Amaimon what the hell was that?" A voice snapped as the door to the captain's study flew back, nearly shattering wall the behind it. Mephisto looked, rough to say the least, messy hair, dark bags under his eyes, the toxic green irises seemed to hold a renice of pain and anger, years of sorrow....
"Guess who I found?" Amaimon sad happily, his fangs peeking out from his lips as he turned his gaze to Rin.
"No way,"
"It can't be"
"He is back!"
The murmurs of the crewmates soon filled the air with a measure of confusion and shock, gazing around Rin could recognize a few faces but most were aline to him, either forgotten or new entirely.
"So I see there have been a few changes in your crew," Rin added turning his to Amaimon to begin a conversation between the two of them, ignoring the captain entirely.
Mephisto couldn't say he wasn't upset by the reaction but it understandable. The captain in response simply leaned against the door frame, watching every movement from Rin as he spoke with Amaimon...
"A few yes, if you are wondering Rick is still around if you want to go bother him,"
"What about Jenny?"
"She went off on her own soon after you left, she found a mate and we haven't seen her since,"
"I see,"
"So are you going to tell me what you have been up to in the past few years to nearly capsize this ship?" Amaimon inquired, his harsh tone sending the message he wanted to be heard.
"Well, I didn't nearly capsize it, besides it's nothing special,"
"It takes years of practice to what you did, so tell where did you learn that?" Amaimon snapping, wishing to know what other SIrens Rin had been training ith over the years...
"I didn't learn it from anyone, I just kinda did it one day,"
"You are capsizing merger trade shi[ps?" Amaimon growled in fury, actions like that were what made Sirens so hates in the first palace.
"NO! Just smaller hunter ships," Rin barked back. "Or trade ships that supplied weapons to hunters,"
"You are attacking hunter ships?!" Amaimon snarled.
"Why do you care? It has nothing to do with you!" Rin growled in response.
"Stupid!" Amaimon chastized, having a fit over the revelation. "I thought I had told you to stay away from hunter ships!"
"I don't care what you said! Besides I didn't start going after hunter ships until I was thirteen. I was perfectly capable of handling myself, and I still am,"
"Well, clearly you aren't" Amaimon added, "No one in their right mind sleeps during dawn in the open ocean, that's just asking for trouble.
"Well, one had bothered me until you came around, besides I fought you off didn't I?"
"I wasn't attacking you at first, I could have done a lot worse than I did,"
"Why did you bite me in the first palace?"
"Your tail caught my attention, I figured it was some sort of weapon, maybe metal the ship could use, or maybe something we could sell,"
"And you couldn't have tried to pick it up with your hands?" Rin snarled in response.
"When I got closer I noticed the edge of your scales, at that point, I was testing if it was biological material or not. I only fought back when you attacked me," Amaimon hissed.
"Well if the two of you are done debating, I would like to welcome you back to my ship Rin," Mephisto purred walking over to the sirens. "If you don't mind me asking, are you, by chance attending the gathering?"
"Indeed I am, Amaimon insisted that I go with you," Rin replied simply.
"Then you wouldn't mind if I were to talk with you, about sleeping arrangements and such," Mephisto cooed, Rin's eyes met his and a softens flowed into, he almost looked kind, and gentle.
"Of course," Rin added, keeping his tone polite as he could.
The captain soon left with Rin in toe, Mephisto lead the siren along, although Rin barely needed it, he had memorized each nook and cranny of this ship, all the perfect hiding spots. Of course, his vast knowledge of the ship had faded but still retained the placements of his most visited rooms, the captain quarters, the top deck, the kitchen, and the office.
So, Rin found his eyes wandering around the ship, inspecting the walls for an ounce of difference, nothing seemed to be different other than the size, of course, that was hard to remember correctly after all he was so small when he first arrived at the ship.
Nothing was out of the place, nothing was off, everything had seemingly stayed the same... The soft sway of Mephisto cape caught Rin's attention, had it always flowed so smoothly? Had the fabric always slid through air with such elegance?
Had the fabric always looked so weightless and yet hold such perfect structure to it?
Maybe after seeing all the flimsy capes worn by the hunter captain Rin just had forgotten the look of quality. Catching a glimpse of Rin's inflation the captain couldn't' help but smile, he still held such wonder in his eyes after all these years.
"And here we are," Mephisto sang happily as he entered the office, the captain wasted no time taking a seat at his desk as Rin simply stood by the door. "Rin you don't need to invited to take a seat you are far above that,"
At the retort, Rin took a seat across from Mephisto.
"So if I do recall you are now 20?"
"21, it's been ten years not nine," Rin correctly softly.
"Hm, I wonder are you still mad about how we last parted?" Mephisto hummed, his gaze scanning over Rin, the siren had truly grown, physically at least.
"No, I never was mad about it...," Rin muttered simply.
"Oh so enraged then? Or does infuriated work better" Mephisto scoffed, pivoting in his chair.
"I was upset by it, you and Amaimon betrayed me. The two of you were the only one I could trust, when you left me I had no one. I know I can't trust you or Amaimon again. But I am not mad, at one point I believed I was angry, but in reality, I was just scared of benign alone... So don't try and guess how I feel, you don't even know me," The response, but the tone had hits of disgrace laced into them.
"Well that's a shame, I don't suppose there would be any way to earn your favor back?"
"So you can betray me again?" Rin scoffed. "No thanks, I would rather spend my time with those who enjoy my presence,"
"Rin, when I left you behind it wasn't because I didn't want you around, it was because you weren't meant for the ship. You were never meant to grow up at my side, you were too independent for that, and in all honestly, I kept you far longer than I should have," Mephisto sighed, trying desperately to meet Rin's line of sight. "Life here has become a bore ever since you left,"
"So why do you want my favor now? I am no longer a child, I have changed. I wouldn't be entertaining for you," Rin interrogated, all signs of vulnerability vanished as his tone went blank, not showing a trace of emotion.
A simple smirk was more than enough of a response. "Rin, there are many other ways adults can be entertaining,"
RIn froze in his seat, his heart racing as his mind flashed with the possibilities...
"You are indeed a full-grown now, so any mate of age is open to you, and you are open to any mate of age,"
"What are you suggesting?" Rin snapped.
"I would like you to considered me or Amaimon as an option before you going running off trying to find another mate just for the sake of it, you are unmarked and new to courting, many of the sirens at the gathering would be more than happy to manipulate you for the mating season,"
"Thanks but I am not interested, I want a mate for life, and at this point, I don't trust you enough to provide that for me,"
"I see, what would it take for me to be your mate?"
"You are thirsty," Rin scoffed in response.
"Answer the question,"
"I don't know, the bare minimum would be to earn my trust back, and I don't even know how you could do that,"
"Well when you get an idea, please do notify me," Mephisto huffed in response.
"So was that all you wanted to talk about?" Rin asked in response.
"Ah yes, where would you like to sleep?"
"If Amaimon is not using I could take his room, and don't worry about feeding me I can hunt for myself,"
"I could never force a guest to feed themselves,"
The two quickly indulged in conversation, as they made arrangements for the younger Siren. RIn, though rather opposed at first Rin agreed to be fed by the ship, and eat with Mephisto. Though Rin refused to sleep in the same room as Mephisto, he didn't trust the elder siren that deeply, not yet.
It would take more than a simple conversation, a few flirtatious glances, and sweet talk to rewrite the years of betrayal that lingered with him. 11 years old, five years from becoming a young adult, and he was abandoned, out in the open sea. Each time Rin met Mephisto's gaze he couldn't but see the last glance Mephisto provided him those ten years ago.
The last day on the ship, it was like any other, a normal day out on the open ocean. Just another day on a ship, another day in his heaven, only to be thrown from the safe place he grew to love.
Rin had been forced to move on, to live on, and grow all on his own, he had the family of mers but they didn't understand him. It seemed only Mephisto and Amaimon could truly understand, understand the life he had...
Then again the two elder Sirens knew so much about themselves, they knew so much about him and mating seasons... Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, maybe finding a forever mate just off the bat was rather childish. After all, Sirens were different from Mers so maybe it was better he didn't things do according to Mer tradition.
"I am willing to consider you as my mate if," Rin began softly.
"If?" Mephisto purred, raising an eyebrow.
"You have to promise to not hurt me or take advantage of me if I am to consider trusting you. I need your solum word that you will not harm me in my weakest state," Rin replied.
"Very well,"
~~
Rin exited the office, at Mephisto's side. Amaimon was the first to take the younger siren away from Mephisto, leaving the captain on the upper deck as he dragged his old student down to the kitchen.
"You are acting weird, did he hurt you?" Amaimon asked, scanning the younger being for a single bruise or cut. If his eyes caught a drop of blood on RIn, Amaimon would be sure to repay the pain tenfold.
"No, he didn't hurt me.... So could you introduce me to the new crew members?" Rin asked, with a sheepish smile.
"Rin, what did you talk about?"
"I.... He wanted to consider us being mates. For the longest time, I was thinking of saving myself for a long term mate, it's just going to take me a while to get rid of the mentality I held on to for so long,"
"I see, if it makes you any better he most often does not have short term mates, of course, has affairs occasionally, but for the mating season he almost always tries to find a long term mate, over the past few years he has been unsuccessful but maybe you will be the one to change that," Amaimon hummed looking over to the oak tables, they were one of the only things that stayed the same over past decade.... Still old, still sturdy and blocky.
"We have had quite the change in cast, most of them are boring and you wouldn't find them entertaining... but there are a few you may find interest in," Amaimon hummed, grabbing Rin's hand. "I will take you to them,"
Rin was quick to keep up, oddly enough he did not mind the small embrace. Hand holding was so trivial to him, being led like a child would normally upset him, but this was different. It was a good difference, something Rin had been lacking and he did not despise the small act of affection.
Soon, Rin was pulled into another room, this one he did not recognize, the walls were bright shiny pink, almost glittering in the orange light put off by the light fixture in the middle of the cabin. It was simple, lacking any complicated furniture but the floor had a few small simply made wooden toys scattered across the floor. Part of the wooden floor was covered by a small pink rug, only seeming to difference the room further from the rest of the ship.
"What is this place?" Rin cooed in courtesy, gazing around the room in horror. He knew Mephisto was bad at interior decorating but this much pink was horrendous.
"The nursery, we keep finding more and more pups on the hunter ships, it's good for us to know it's getting harder for them to subdue adults but the children are often left traumatized," Amaimon replied, his lip curved up as he pushed down a snarl.
"No, they aren't getting weaker, just a month or so ago I attacked a collector ship, they seemed to have an upgraded weapons source, they are targeting pups... They are more than capable than attacking adults," Rin argued, recalling his dreadful run-in with the fresh metallic weapons.
"I would have agreed with you if I hadn't read their logs. On their casual ships, they have downgraded a significant amount of their weapons. It got too expensive to carry on so they will attack nests and catch the pups because they are unable to stop the parents. I think I have seen an increased number of wreckages about the ocean. The nests are fighting back, with deadly forces at that," Amaimon added looking around the room, trying to find what Rin found so blasphemous about the design.
"So they must have made a bad economic decision and they are reaping the consequences," Rin chirped in response.
"That could be the case, but it seems that they are trying to get rid of their smaller ships... They may be planning to overtake Mephisto's and Lucifer's fleets. It's a stupid idea but the hunters have never been smart with their decisions," Amaimon scoffed, he couldn't even benign to count the number of hunter lives he took over their stupidity.
"Or maybe not, it doesn't make sense why they would upgrade some ships and not others, after all, more bullets can always beat one bullet, so why would they put all the eggs in one basket? It is very unlike them... However collecting pups to recruit to their cause on the other hand," Rin pondered.
"What are you suggesting?" Amaimon purred, buying into the twisted possibility Rin was idealizing.
"When they first caught me they talked about saving me for their leader. It could be just because I was pretty so they thought I would sell well, but what if they were giving the stronger pups to their leader, just so he could brainwash and groom them to follow after him?" That day was already fuzzy but it was always small details he always remembered.
The face of the captain, the taste of blood in his mouth, the carved double A on the holsters on each of the swords holsters, were just a few of the things that could never seem to leave.
"That could be a possibility, but we can't go off a theory. We would need sounder proof, besides I doubt that would matter, all we need to do is save the pups. It is up to Lucifer and Samael how they take down the hunter union," Amaimon huffed, ending the conversation quickly.
"I guess so," Rin muttered looking down at the carpeted floor... the info he had must have been more valuable at an earlier time...
"Amaimon what are you doing down here?" A girl asked, walking out from a door hidden within the pink walls. She was rather short, and not overly pretty though there were some attractive features to her. Rin first noticed her green eyes, bright and wide they held joy and a steady calmness within them. Next was the hair, the girl had short blonde hair that was about an inch from her shoulders, even though it was cut unevenly it still looked good. "Have you come to help with the pups?"
"No, I have come to introduce you to Rin, he was the Siren who was rescued as a pup. The one I was telling you about when you started at the nursery,"
"No way!" The girl gasped in exasperation, her green eyes swayed over Rin as she looked him up and down. "I thought you said he wasn't going to come back?"
"I didn't think I was going to be back either, but I am going to be staying around for a while. I have hitched a ride with you to the gathering," Rin replied, his nervous smile quivered as he tried to say things to say next, he was helpless when it came to starting up a conversation with those out of water.
"Are you going to be staying after that? If you are, could you consider helping with the pups?"
"Shiemi, I didn't bring him so you could recruit him, he is simply here to meet you and answer a few questions. Both the captain and I have plans with him," Amaimon growled redirected the conversation.
"Fine," Shiemi sighed, looking almost depressed as she looked back up to Rin, though her cheery expression appeared once more. "So Rin how have you been,"
"That's a rather complex question to answer," Rin laughed nervously as he thought of the words to explain all the hardships he had endured living without the guidance of another siren. "It' s been weird,"
"Have you found a mate?"
"And I think that enough questions," Amaimon growled, keeping the questions to progress passed Rin's comfort zone.
"Shiemi, who are you talking to we have a job to do!" Another girl snapped appearing from the same door Sheimi had entered.
"This Rin he came back to the ship!"
"The siren pup they rescued a decade ago?"
"Yeah, he is back!"
"Hi," Rin said nervously adding into the conversation.
"Hello, my name is Izumo," The girl said bowing her head softly, the purple lengths of hair she had tried up in ponytails fell as she paid her respects. "If it's alright with you, could I ask you a few questions about how you got over it all? My sister and I were captured from our mother five years ago and my sister has had a hard time dealing with the memory of it all. I don't know how to help her with it,"
"Of course, could you show me to her?"
"Yes right this way," Izumo said, leading the Siren through the vibrant door.
"So he seems rather nice," Shiemi giggled, her fangs peeking out from her lips.
"Just because you are from Mer royalty does not mean you get to have Rin," Amaimon growled, baring his fangs as a warning to the Mer.
"I'm not saying for me, it is rather odd that we just so happened to run into him so close to the gathering. It could just be a coincidence. The universe works in a funny way," Shiemi sighed. "Have you found a mate yet?"
"We haven't even gotten to the gathering yet, but don't worry if I can't find anyone I will take you as my mate," Amaimon replied looking away from the Mer.
"Seriously even after all I have done to get Izumo to like you!" Shiemi snapped at the Siren.
"I don't want her, she is too," Amaimon began only to recoil his words.
"Too what?" Shiemi asked. "What is wrong with her?"
"She is too worried about her sister and on top of that she isn't my type," Amaimon snarled, leaning against the wall.
"So you have a type now?"
"Not really, but I know she isn't my type,"
~~
"Tsukumo, this is Rin he has come to talk with you,"
"Why?" Tsukumo whimpered, her back pushing against the wall. She seemed so small, easily breakable like a thin sheet of glass just hanging over a building, so many things have gone wrong to get in this situation but it would only take one more thing.
One more hurtful word.
One more aggressive action.
And she would shatter.
"Your sister told me you're not having nice dreams, or sleeping well. You can't feel safe even on this ship correct?" Rin said, kneeling to meet the girls' eyes level.
Tsukumo nodded softly in response. "I keep seeing them, they won't go away not even in my dreams,"
"I see, what if I made you a protection charm?"
"What's that?"
"It's a charm from the sea, it will provide protection to those who need it the most, would you like one?"
"Yes,"
Rin smiled at the reaction and stood, only then did he get a chance to look around the room. Five cradles and three beds were scattered across the floor, the room itself was a very dull and soft pink giving the entire room a sober tone, but at least it was relaxing.
Rin was first to leave the room, and Izumo swiftly followed after him.
"I don't mean to be rude but how is a charm going to help her?" Izumo asked, once out of earshot of the girl.
"The abuse on the ships are mainly physical. She is afraid of being hurt again because she doesn't have a physical thing to protect herself with. When I first got rescued I slept in the same room as the captain, if I woke up from a nightmare I could just look up and see the captain. He was a safety net for me, I felt that as long as he was there with me nothing bad could happen to me. So a safety charm for her would be an element of protection she could cling to," Rin replied looking to Izumo.
"I guess I see your reasoning," Izumo muttered softly. "So what are you going to give her?"
"Oh just whatever I can find, I am thinking of finding a piece of dead coral," Rin began. "Speaking of which, how are you feeling? I have a feeling things weren't nice for you on the hunter ship either,"
"It was a challenge but I have moved on. Life is full of challenges and that was just one of mine"