Private Tales Coasting Along

[Andromeda]

If Ana felt the hug she didn't react to it, she didn't move. Her magic was oozing over more and more people the more it sunk in she was never going to see her family again. It was probably a good thing she had no stronger gifts like she had heard rumoured for some of her kind like the bending of the sea. Hawk nodded to Acteon with a grim determination when he left and gently rubbed the girls back in the circles, murmuring soft nothings to her in an attempt to coax her out of it. In honesty he had thought Acteon had gone to get some alcohol for her but no. He looked up in surprise at their packed things and stood.

"What are you- hey!" He was to late to stop them as they went over the edge of the ship. Nobody saw them come back up. They knew Ana was a good swimmer but...

Ana only began to register things were happening when she heard Hawk's shout and then arms lifting her. Teary-eyed she glanced up at Acteon, thinking they were heading for the cabin again until he stepped on the side of the boat. She had time to shut her eyes before they were overboard. The excruciating pain brought her out of her grief for a moment as the change rushed through her. There was the usual moment of panic as she went from being able to breathe with her lungs to having gills. Her breeches were ripped and floated to the bottom of the seabed as her legs reformed into a beautiful coral and orange tail. For a moment she just breathed in the sea. A peace rolled through her but she was still sore, still sad. The tears were still coming but instead of staining her cheeks they drifted away on the currant.

She wanted to be alone.

For a moment she watched Acteon floating with her and then she twisted and was gone in a powerful sweep of her tail.

 

[Acteon Cass]

The instinct to instantly go up for air was overwhelming, but Acteon fought it back. Instead he just remained below the waves with her so that her secret could remain a secret. He also was not ready yet for what he knew he had to do, but it came. All he caught from her transformed shape was a blur of color and then she was gone. He did not try to stop her and just let her go.

His head came above the surface of the waves as his lungs burned and screamed for fresh air. He gulped it down like a dehydrated man did water. Eventually his chest did not feel as if it was about to die. He had to orient himself however and look for the shore. Unlike when he was on the elevated platform that was a ship Acteon was having a harder time finding what he looked for. But he spotted it soon enough and began to swim. He took it slow and was prepared for the marathon that was making it to shore. His wits were about him this time but he still dreaded the thought of having to make this kind of swim twice in such a short period of time.

=======

The Allirian was starting to feel a bit tired. He had already been swimming for about an hour or so. It would have worn anyone out even if he was pacing himself and taking his time. But the shore was looking closer and that gave him some hope to continue on....

Then he felt something grab his leg and the man was drug beneath the waves. A little disoriented Acteon tried to sort out what was going on. It was a shark a bit bigger than him. His leg was in its mouth and it had started to shake to try and snap bone and saw through flesh. He began to punch with as much force as the water would allow him to. He hit its eye once then twice then thrice before it finally let go. But the thing did not swim off. It circled around to charge at him again. The Allirian drew out his knife and when the shark tried to ram him he stabbed it repeatedly. The freshly sharpened blade sunk into flesh and the shark soon took off. Not long after it attempted to swim off it stopped and began to float to the surface.

The man resurfaced himself and took in air. His leg was in intense pain and his body ached, but he still had some energy left over from the attack. So he used it to begin swimming as quickly as he could towards the shoreline.

But it another problem arose. As he had gotten a bit of distance and the other predators went to feast on the dead shark rather than try and chase him down, the current began to go against Acteon. No matter how hard he tried he could not get enough power behind his weakened leg to push past it. All the progress he had been making was eroding away quickly before his eyes. Panic was beginning to set in but he fought against it as vainly as he did the current.

Exhausted and in pain the man could only give up on continuing. There was no making it to shore in his current state and predators would eventually come for him. He needed to do something if he did not wish to die, but what options did he even have floating alone out in the open ocean?

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Andromeda's rage and grief sent her swimming for miles before she could feel something again. She found herself curled up in a patch of coral, her fingers playing through the water as small little fish chased the bubbles and ripples they made. She had cried all the tears she had and a part of her felt oddly dehydrated, a feeling she never thought she would experience whilst in this form. Everyone she had loved was in this ocean somewhere now. In the far reaches but they were here, this was the closest she would ever get to them. Rolling on to her back she stared up at the sunlight far away and let her mind just go blank. It didn't take much effort the grief had taken most of her thoughts away.

Part of her debated ending it now. Her eyes closed and another tear leaked from her eyes. Though she would be the first she would say to anyone who asked they were not close, it had been a lie. It was simply safer to pretend they were not so she wasn't used against them, or them against her. Perhaps they had not all been the kindest at first either but she had won their respect and their love they had given freely.

She didn't know how long she lay there when the smell of blood reached her on the waves. Slowly she sat up. Curious, it smelt like a shark. They were not often felled. She pushed off from the rocks and followed the smell until she came upon the creature. There were already some larger beasts tearing chunks out of it and she silently sailed past. They didn't bother her and she didn't bother them. But there was a fainter, second scent of blood so she followed that instead.

Was that...?

Ana swam closer and then popped her head above the water. On the surface the sea was choppy and it pushed them together. She raised an eyebrow.

"The shore is in the opposite direction you know."

 

[Acteon Cass]

The man just floated on the waves. His body was done and it was took everything he had right now left in him to keep on floating. The weight of their things grew as it wished to find rest on the ocean floor. But he needed the items and so would Ana later.... If there was even a later to be had.

How much blood had drifted off into the ocean was a mystery to Acteon. His senses here were about as good as a fish's on the land. He could not even pull his leg up or shift his eyes down to see how bad it was without potentially drowning. His head needed to keep bobbing up on the surface of the waves if he wished to live. And it meant he could not even rest either to recover his strength. What he would give right now to be able to breath in the water.

Something bumped into Acteon as his ears began to ring softly and his eyes get a little hazy. His thoughts were a jumbled mess as well. He figured he was dead now though and had run into another shark when a familiar voice spoke to him. It was Ana. No it was just his mind playing tricks. What little clarity he had left in his mind told him he had lost too much blood and now he would begin to see and hear things that were not there. She was free now after all and had no reason to come to him.

Deciding to at least enjoy his delusion Acteon responded back in a exhausted and fading voice, "Yes but I played a little too rough with a shark you see and needed to make sure it was okay."

Acteon closed his eyes out of being tired but began to sink a bit and so flailed to regain his buoyancy. His eyes slowly came back open and he added in a more tired and faded voice, "Also seems the sea took a liking to me and wants me inside of her. Very persistent and will not take no for an answer."

The man was pale by this point from the blood lose. His clear fatigue was also making the effects of it worse. It was obvious to someone born to the sea and sails that he was in a bad place right now.

"Ana, you should be mourning right now. Hard to lose your loved ones and you want to be alone to grieve right?" Acteon added on before weak chuckle escaped him. "Why am I talking like you are here? Of course you are not here. You are free of me now and can be happy. Not like before.... Sorry Ana for everything.... Wish I could have told you that before."

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Ana rolled her eyes at his babbling and swam to where his leg was to have a look. Considering it was a shark that had done it it wasn't too bad. The smell of blood was making her uncomfortable and she lazily swam back up to his torso and the bags. Carefully she rummaged inside and took out the dress she had stuffed in there then proceeded to rip it up. Once she had the strips she moved back to his leg and bound it. It was like working on autopilot. She didn't have the energy to play this game between them or discuss feelings. At this moment of time there was no room in her heart for anything other than the feeling of loss and sadness.

Content he wouldn't bleed out on the trip she swam back to his shoulders and began to push him back towards the shore. With the power of her form behind them the trip didn't take long at all. Another grimace as her forms shifted and she dragged him up the beach. Why was she constantly saving this man? She dropped him rather unceremoniously then turned back to the sea and was gone again.

At least someone was likely to stumble on him on the beach or he could go and get his own help. He was right. She needed time to grieve and she couldn't do that here.

 

[Acteon Cass]

Acteon did not know when but he had past out. When he came to he did not know where he was at. Everything was a blur and a haze. His ears rang and he could not focus enough on anything to see it clearly right now. His headached and his body felt cold. But it all meant he was alive.

Thirst was the biggest enemy for Acteon right now. The blood lose and the swimming both had combined to leave him in dire need of moisture. He looked around as best he could but the blurriness made that difficult. All he was seeing was green blobs....

Acteon shakily reached out to one of the blobs and got his hand on it. A coconut. He pulled it back to him. Something about this fact was on the edge of his memory. He had heard from a sailor in the past about these things, but could not recall what it was. They were common food around the Cortosi Coast and down into Aina O Ka La, especially Aina O Ka La. But what was the detail he was having trouble recalling about them?

Oh right. Coconuts, especially young ones, had water inside of them. Acteon pulled his knife out and began to do his best to get some holes into the thing. It was taking a lot of effort with the condition his body and head were in. But he got there. With the holes in it he got himself sat up and began to slowly drink the contents of the coconut.

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Ana wasn't sure how long she slept on the seabed but she still felt numb when she woke up. It was hard to tell anything this deep beneath the waves, it was the same kind of light most of the time unless you were lucky to find a spotlight of sun. As she stirred the fish which had taken shelter against her body swirled into action and swam in a flurry around her. She stretched, yawned and rubbed at the ache in her heart with the heel of her palm as if it were a real bruise. Idly she took in the destruction of debris around her. So she had taken her rage and anguish out on somebody. In honesty it was a blur after ensuring Acteon had managed to get to the shore again.

Her mind dwelt on him for a moment as she bent her tail and brought her arms around it, hugging it to her chest like a person might knees. Everything was a mess. Her eyes closed and she thought she might cry but she was empty. Spent.

Another few hours seemed to pass as she sat like that and watched the sea go about its life. It had no cares for what happened elsewhere. It was a simple life really. But she was not fully of this world and her mind began to dwell on that which waited for her above the sea. Heartache yes but also a career she had worked hard for and something... something perhaps worth pursuing.

With a deep sigh she pushed herself off the bed and swam back to the shores she had left Acteon on. He was asleep when she breached the surface and she did not want to change back yet so she lifted herself onto a rock a little way out of the shallows, her fins lazily twisting below the water as she watched the sunrise.

 

[Acteon Cass]

The coconut water was doing its job. In very short stages Acteon began to find some relief from his problems. Not all of them but enough of them that his mind began to get back to a working place. He knew he was going to need more of these coconuts if he wanted to survive and recover. Likely the only reason he was still alive was due to whoever had bandaged up his leg and drug him onto the beach. It also had a much smaller part to due with his curse boosting his natural regeneration.

A couple more coconuts were drank and Acteon was feeling alive again. The thirst was gone and he took care of his hunger by eating the white flesh that was left inside of the coconuts. It was not much of a meal but he was in no position to complain. Instead he tried to work out what had gotten him to this point. He remembered swimming and the shark attack. He remembered trying to swim to shore but the current stopping him. Then things got a little fuzzy. He sort of remembered bumping into something and then hearing Ana's voice. Then there was a conversation he had and apologized to her....

Acteon shook his head. He had been out of it. Likely he somehow ended up washing on the beach, perhaps by the current shifting out of nowhere, and got himself bandaged up using something. It did not make much sense but at least it was plausible. Kind of. He did not like how weak the explanation was, but he had nothing better. The one thing he did know was Ana had no reason to save him and likely would have been better off eating him. Then she would be truly free of him and it might have helped with some of her grief. There would also be one less werewolf out in the world if she had as well....

=======

Acteon woke up. He had fallen asleep. He remembered the sun was low when he had but now it was rising. How long had he been out for exactly? How badly had he needed sleep? Many questions that would have no answers. He was alive and recovering and that was all that mattered right now. So the man looked around to get a feeling for his surroundings.

His eyes froze when he saw someone on a rock out in the shallows. Their body was made up of beautiful shades of color and they had a beautiful tail. It was Ana. It was Ana in her siren form. He had not had a chance to see her like that yet and it got him to stare. It made sense to him now why sailors could become so enamored by them even before they sang their enchanting song.

Acteon called out in voice meant to sound casual but just came out as tired still and honest, "Greetings Beautiful. How are you feeling?"

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Ana was lost in her thoughts. Going through the list of men and women who had gone down with her ship. She wondered if they had all died in the blaze - Cecilia would have gone down with the ship for sure. The older pirates probably would have stubbornly stayed too. But it had been a horrible war from the sounds of it; perhaps some of them had died before that. She tried not to imagine Roger with his throat slit ear to ear or of Moscov with his insides falling out of a deep wound. It was ridiculous to blame herself but she did anyway. When she heard a voice she stirred a little. She had been leaning her elbows on her knees with her head resting on her hands but she turned at the waist now to cast him a glance over her shoulder before returning her attention to the sunrise.

It was quite clear from the moment or two he would have seen her face she wasn't doing well.

 

[Acteon Cass]

There was nothing but silence between Acteon and Ana. Eventually she gave him a look and he got his answer on how she was feeling. It was not the answer he was hoping for but not exactly the one he was not expecting. She was in a bad spot and so he was going to do what he could for her.

The Allirian forced himself up onto his feet and began to limp down the beach towards her. Her being here meant he had not been hearing things before when he was drifting out in the ocean. She had been the one to bandage his leg and got him to the shore. He owed his life to her and she was in a bad place right now. Normally this sort of duty would be foreign to him and the furthest thing from his mind, but she had already proven several times over that she was the exception to all of his little rules and behaviors.

Going out into the water, Acteon found swimming to be easier on him than walking. The pressure that once hurt was now gone and while he could not kick very well he could still take things slowly. So he swam out to her rock and hauled himself up on it next to her. The fact she was even here meant she was done being completely alone but was not ready to leave the ocean yet. He could swim so he could give her what she needed.

The man just sat next to the siren in silence as they watched the sunrise together. He even kept his hands to himself for once.

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Ana watched him with her golden eyes built to see through the murky depths of the ocean but said nothing. It wasn't until the sun had properly rise than she stirred at all and it was only to cast her eyes down and watch the way the water moved around her as she swirled her fins back and forth. She didn't know what to say or how to say it. Didn't know how to tell him how she felt hollow and empty inside. Did she even need to? Perhaps he already knew how she had felt - he had lost his mother after all.

"I don't know what to do from here," the siren said quietly after a while and wrapped her arms around herself. She hadn't been lying when she had said her voice was even more lovely when in this form. It was like a song even when she spoke. A sad, sad song given her current mood but hauntingly beautiful nonetheless.

 

[Acteon Cass]

Acteon just sat next to Ana without doing a thing other than watch the sunrise with her. Eventually she looked down to the water. He did the same. The water here was so clear, unlike back in the Allirian
Strait. The waters there were darker from all the rich rivers flowing into it, especially the Sayve. Life flourished in both waters but in different ways. Here there was all kinds of colors as the coral grew and the fish tried to match and stand out against it. Watching all of the life moving about while thinking of everything was what he had settled into doing.

Then her words came out in a musical melody without her even trying to sing them. There was several elven languages that liked to boast being based on music and poetry, but Ana's natural voice truly was both. And it was easy to read her emotional state from it. He looked over at her and held his eyes on her in a bit of a blank look for a few silent moments.

"Well you need to apologize for missing your job. We need to get on the road as well to get my inheritance. You have all those other jobs around the coast scheduled. After that is Alliria and you staying with me there while getting yourself all the work in town you can handle." Acteon said when he finally spoke. It was the literal answer and so was not answering her question. It was more of a way to get her mind more on him than her sorrows for a moment.

"As for what you do from here, you move forward. As painful as it is you are still alive. It is painful because you are alive. But the pain is not a bad thing. It means you can heal still." Acteon said to her following it up after a bit of a pause. "When you stop feeling Ana you become apathetic and when you are apathetic you become like me. You stop seeing others as anything more than tools or obstacles in your way. You will not connect with others and have to be this fake person. Eventually you will stop being able to connect with who you are. Then you stop being alive or human or anything. You become nothing. And you, Ana, are not nothing. Grieve. Let the pain remind you that you are alive and connect with new people because that is what it means to be alive."

Acteon held out his arms for Ana if she wanted a hug.

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

His words made sense but they fell on a dead heart. He was giving her a list of things she needed to do but that she had no passion for anymore. The idea of joining him to see family and singing for them, then going and travelling around to continue doing that just felt meaningless. It didn't sound so bad the life he described about not feeling things or caring for others, it sounded like it was a good way not to feel like this again.

Very slowly she shuffled herself along the rock to his side, the muscle of her tail pressing against his leg before she leaned her head on his shoulder and shut her eyes. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. It was mildly surprising, she thought she had cried herself dry.

"I don't think I can sing," she admitted quietly. Singing was something she did when she was happy or angry. But sad? She hiccuped as her breath caught on the tears in her throat.

 

[Acteon Cass]

When the siren moved over and pressed herself into him the Allirian wrapped his arms around her and embraced her. He rubbed her back gently as he let her cry into his shoulder. The pain was still fresh and very much real for her. It made him feel a bit of pain and brought back memories of his mother's death. Something about it had changed Acteon and his father Hector had changed as well. More time focusing on work and educating his son had consumed the man. He had exiled his own son from their house in an attempt to teach Acteon a lesson he knew he could not and then years later found everything taken from him by jealous and prideful councilors.

Acteon had grown apathetic and withdrew into himself. His mother was the one who had shown him how to have these social masks on, as it was the only way for a minor house to survive in Vel Anir. He took to it and it became how he dealt with everyone after her death. The disconnect of it also became a part of him as time past. And now he found himself having to support his father that he once hated and trying to reclaim his family's legacy.

But that was his problems and he had come to accept them now. Ana had very little time to process and was struggling still. She could still come out of this better than he had come out of his lose. He was determined to help her come out of it better than him.

A kiss to her head then Acteon spoke, "You do not have to sing. No one should expect you to right now. Just remember you are not alone Ana. I am here with you and will stay as long as you need me to."

The man just kept on doing his best to provide Ana with as much comfort as he could. Part of which was him remaining silent. She surely had enough of listening to him by now and the sound of the waves was more relaxing and calming than his words could ever be.

After a bit he got a better look at Ana in her siren form up close. He did not know what he expected but he had not thought she would be this colorful. Perhaps it was because he was use to fish being more grays, whites, blacks, and blues with some faint reds and oranges mixed in from time to time. The vibrant colors of her body stood in sharp contrast to her mood.

An idle thought came to Acteon's mind as he was looking at her tail, which was against his leg. A bit of a smirk crossed his face and he said, "You know Ana you have a thick tail. It is almost as thick as your human ass."

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

It was comforting having someone there. As much as she had needed time initially to grieve on her own and to rage against the world, now she needed touch more than ever to heal her soul. In a world where she had thought she would have no-one it seemed she did still at least have one person. Even if he came with complicated feelings that she wasn't sure how to deal with currently. Slowly the tears stopped and she just rested against him, the sun against her mix of skin and scales turned them even more vibrant. Gently she swirled the fins under their feet and watched the way the light caught the ripples she created. There was peace.

His comment ruined that. Though, not necessarily in a bad way. It shocked a choked up laugh from her tear filled throat and she leaned off him to rub at her streaky cheeks. It hadn't occurred to her until then that he had not seen her in her siren form before now. It just felt like she had known him for so long that he should have, but it had only been a matter of days, nearing a week even now.

"Well it needs to be how else would I swim?" she tilted her head and looked at him as if he were an idiot, though a smile played about her lips. "My da' used to say I looked like a goldfish," she pulled the fins from the water and then smashed them back down causing a good amount of spray to hit them both.

 

[Acteon Cass]

The Allirian was really enjoying himself as he seemed to be memorizing every detail about her siren form in. All of the pretty colors made his comments about her being is beautiful princess more accurate than they already were. Perhaps he should start calling her the Coral Queen? It would definitely get a reaction out of her. And Acteon did enjoy teasing her very much.

The man was thinking of responding to her comment about the goldfish when he suddenly got water splashed into his face. The fact his eyes were so focused on her tail meant he had taken it full on as well. He looked up at the woman who had done its face and feigned an angry look. "Goldfish is not correct. More like a flounder the way you splish splash about."

He removed one hand from around her and wiped the water off of his face. When he was done he looked into Ana's eyes. Acteon did not know what he was looking for just that there was something he needed to find. A spark of joy had returned and it spurred him on as he realized it. With a smile the man slide his hand down her back to the base of her tail. His now free hand moved to her cheek and gently rubbed.

In a calm and somewhat hushed voice Acteon said to Ana as he stared into her eyes, "Remember that this is what you get for so ruthlessly assaulting me Beautiful."

Without warning as soon as his words were spoken Acteon moved. He got himself on top of Ana as he also flipped her over onto her back. One hand was still on her side and one on her cheek as he leaned down and gave her a kiss.

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Ana's laughter continued when she saw she had caught him full on in the face with the powerful thwack of her tail against the waves. She hadn't meant to get him wet again in truth it was more a nervous habit to move her tail like one might twitch a leg. The nickname he gave her earned him a sour face and she went as if to splash him again but the intensity with which he looked at her caught her off guard. She stared back calmly. And it was calmly, truly. She felt at peace in that moment. The sorrow was still there in her bruised heart but this moment helped her realise what Acteon had meant by trying to live and move on. It would take time but perhaps she could get there with time. Her lips half lifted up at the corner and she offered him a half shrug as if to say she weren't sure what he was searching for.

The siren leaned into his hand when he cupped her cheek, her silken hair spilling through his fingers. The half smile grew at his threat and then she was on her back against the rocks. It didn't bother her in the slightest, her scales were tough things but she was momentarily concerned for him who had no such protection. The kiss cast all concerns aside as his lips met hers and she sighed softly against him, her own hands coming up to tangle in his hair and pull him closer. Her tail still touched the waters as they embraced, drifting to and fro in a movement of happy contentment.

 

[Acteon Cass]

The rock was thankfully more polished by the waves than it was riddled with pores. It made things more comfortable for the both of them although likely more so for him than her. Acteon felt his passion grow stronger as Ana responded by not pushing him away but drawing him in closer. The kiss on his end would indicate this to her. But it was not simply full of carnal lust as she might be use to but was equally as loving as it was lustful.

The hand on her cheek slide to the back of her head and then down her neck. It found itself on her shoulder and he began to squeeze and massage. The hand on her side stayed where it was and just was run up and down her smooth skin and scales slowly. His eyes were closed and the man just melted away into the sensations of her siren form.

This woman had a way of making Acteon feel things he had never before and experience sides of life he did not realize were possible. It was more than just how he found himself in such a passionate embrace with a siren on a rock in the ocean. It was the passion itself that was so new. Before he had only ever known feelings of lust towards women. A need, a desire, for release. It was about sating an urge than any form of satisfying an emotional need. But with Ana it was different. Yes that hunger to devour her whole was there but it was hardly important. He wanted to just be there with her. He wanted to connect with her in any way possible. It did not matter to him if she looked like a human or a siren. All that mattered was that she was Ana.

So Acteon did not think. The man just gave into his feelings and desires as he enjoyed whatever this moment with this difficult, stubborn, beautiful siren may bring the both of them.

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Despite his roving hands Ana for once didn't feel the need to push this any further like she would have done before, especially in her Siren form. No. For once... for once she was enjoying the simplicity of kissing a man she didn't understand her feelings for with the skin beating down on them as it rose and the sounds of the carefree waves lashing against the rock. As much as she despised this part of her in that moment she had actually never felt more content in this skin. It was a marrying of who she was, her two halves reconciled with Acteon being there to bridge the gap.

After a while she drew back a little for air. Ana twirled a lock of his hair around her finger and then gently tucked it behind his ear and planted a softer, gentler, kiss against his lips.

"Thank you, for getting me off the ship. I think I would have ended up killing them had we stayed," for once such a notion troubled her which was clear from her expression. "We should probably be heading to your family, they must think you are dead by now," her fingers trailed from where she had tucked his hair behind his ear to his shoulders and down the arms that ran either side of them.

"You know... we probably look like one of those pictures out of a children's book right now of a sailor falling in love with a siren."

 

[Acteon Cass]

The need for air was both a pleasant and loathed break. The two had been lip locked for some time. It was as if they were attempting to see how long both of their lungs could last before death forced them to breath. But it was followed up by a softer, gentler kiss so the man did not mind.

An affectionate smile came across Acteon as Ana thanked him. "I thought as much might happen. Thank you for bringing me to shore after the shark attacked." He looked at her lips for a moment hungry for another kiss. But he managed to hold himself back. "Not my family though Ana. They are my relatives. For me it is an important distinction. You are far closer to me and my heart than any of them could ever hope to be."

Acteon chuckled when Ana first made her mention of the children's book about a sailor falling for a siren. It was not that far off. The pair had this rather fantastical connect blossom between then in the time span such a story might take place in. It was strange, new, and wonderful all at once. Things had happened and Acteon had learned things about himself that he never would have had the two not met that day so long ago yet so recently.

Then a thought came to Acteon's mind. He was not ready to leave this moment and her little comment about the book demanded an answer. With that smirk she would be all too familiar with by now when the mood struck Acteon he said, "Why do we not just turn this children's book into the adults only kind housewives, soldiers, and sailors hide away beneath their pillows?"

Then Acteon leaned in to start kissing Ana once more as he gave her body a squeeze with each of his hands.

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

"Well I could smell you for miles, I thought it were best to put all of us out of our misery by getting rid of such a wet dog smell," Ana teased at his comment about the shark. His comment on relatives earned him a small frown; it didn't really make a difference to her and she struggled to see the difference to him though he had explained it. Blood was still blood. Family still family. She thought of the faceless woman who had given birth to her. Even though she knew nothing about her she still considered her.... family. Perhaps it was a stupid notion. Either way she made a note to try and at least make the distinction around him.

The signature smirk signalled he was done dwelling on the matter though and she raised a brow at his seeming disregard to go and collect his inheritance in a timely manner. His words caused the other brow to join its twin in a raised position at such a bold statement. Ana didn't stop him when he kissed her again though.

At least, not straight away.

Only when she felt him relax did she move. People often forgot just how powerful a siren's tail was but it could crack a rib with ease on a man. She brought her hands up against his chest and then in once movement twisted her hips and pushed with her chest sending him sailing into the sea before she began to laugh from her position on the rock.

 

[Acteon Cass]

The Allirian was enjoying the moment. It was rare for him to just indulge his desires like this, especially outside of the full moon. But he was on top of a beautiful siren and feeling her body in how it differed from her human form. He was content for the first time without a need for him to have a long term goal be realized exactly how he wanted it. It was a truly perfect moment for him right now.

Then Acteon suddenly found himself being launched off of Ana and into the ocean. He come down to form a large splash that would surely send little waves up onto her. The action had caught him completely off guard and he just floated there for a moment, but recovered soon enough.

A sigh turned into a smirk before he said, "If you wanted me to breed you in the ocean Beautiful all you had to do was ask."

The man swam back up to the rock but did not get up onto the rock. Instead he started to rub her tail with his hands. As he did he said, "You have such a lovely tail Ana. Human or siren you are a curvy beauty."

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Ana was still laughing as she rolled over onto her side to watch him swim back towards the rock she was laid out across. She laid her cheek against her arm and trailed her other fingers through the waves of the sea. It was nice having someone not worried by this form for once.

"Must you keep saying breed like you want a litter of puppies?" the siren quirked a brow at him as she rubbed a bit of hair out of his face. She couldn't help the smile however when he complimented her tail and after a moments hesitation Ana sat up and then pushed herself off the rock to dive into the sea beside him. The water was clear enough to see her form as she swam along the bottom of the seabed and then bobbed up a few meters away.

"Now I had to rip my dress up to bandage your leg so you're going to have to go and buy me something if you want me to come see your relatives. I'm not sure they would appreciate me walking in naked."

 

[Acteon Cass]

The ocean waters here were warm and clear. Coral reefs below could be seen even though they were deep below. All kinds of colors popped out because of the clarity these seas provided. And the colors that had Acteon's attention the most still were those of Ana's scales.

The words that the siren spoke to the man got that smirk of his to come back. Her hand messed with his hair as his hands still rubbed her tail. "If not a litter then how about a school?"

Acteon's joy was cut short not long after his comment however when Ana suddenly decided to slip back into the ocean as well. No more thick tail to rub and feel. Instead she just swam around under and about him showing off her colors in motion. It was no wonder sailors told tales of the beauty of sirens. She was certainly beautiful no matter which form she chose.

Eventually Ana resurfaced and told Acteon he owed her new clothes. The Allirian just laughed as he swam out towards her. "Perhaps they would not appreciate the sight but I certainly would enjoy it. As for clothes I was already going to be buying you new ones as it was. Are you demanding even more clothing than before now? I did not know you were such a luxury loving woman Ana. It makes my heart beat for you even more."

As Acteon hopefully made it to her, although there was a good chance she just ran him around in circles, he would add, "You know if I am to buy you clothes then I will need to know your measurements Ana. Perhaps we should head to shore so I can get a feel for your thighs and hips." That predatory look and smirk was on his face. It was clear what he actually meant.

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

"I'm saying," Ana lazily swam circles around him as she spoke. "You need to go and pick something and bring it back here. I'm not leaving the waves until I have something to change into," she brought her hands behind her head and her fins cut through the water like a hot knife through butter. It looked effortless but the muscles in her tail betrayed how much strength was truly in every little action she made within the waves. His barely hidden remark had her snorting and she disappeared back beneath the waves as he attempted to swim towards her, leaving him with nothing but ripples to show she had once been there. She popped up a few meters away again and wagged her finger.

"Oh no, you set the boundaries on the ship. You want me to respect myself more? Then I'm not putting out any time soon," her lips curled into a crooked grin. She knew she had him there. It had been what he had asked for after all. It was either accept the wait now or he was going to have to go back on the heated words they had shared in the cabin when their tempers had flared. "My measurements are 37, 23, 27. I'll need an outfit for travelling in, an outfit for performing in, and things for as long as you plan on us staying with them. I have to say I'm curious to see how good you are at picking out clothes."