"I should be, but...after meeting someone like you, I can't help but think about the things I've done. Can I really atone for it by just...living my life away from what caused it?"
Leon didn't want to bring the mood down, but he couldn't leave something like this alone easily, especially because he was now dating a woman who was another species.
"I'm sorry, Callisto, I should stop. I guess I should ask you the same. Did you hunt back home? How about your family?"
Leon laughed a little.
"Are they going to approve of me?"
Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2019 3:04 pm
Callisto Piscis-Piscis Adventurous Mermaid
She raised a brow at his answer, at first not sure why he was so concerned. Mention of her family gave her another shock as it was something unexpected. She'd already said that she probably wouldn't ever return home but how was she supposed to explain that to him now? She shook her head and mentally dismissed the last question. "Wait. I don't understand. You're free but you want to go back to war? The only way you could fight against them--wouldn't it be killing them? You want to kill hunters?" She was perplexed by it but more so scared of what he was saying. Because of her he wanted to atone for the non-humans he'd killed by risking his own life to protect them? She didn't want to think that was what he was saying as she obviously didn't want to part with him so soon.
Leon shook his head. He looked at her with a somewhat neutral expression.
"You misunderstand. I feel like I should do something for those families I've wronged. But killing someone is wrong, unless it's the only option left, and you're about to die yourself. I won't kill hunters. I won't be like them again."
He took the line, and after making sure he wouldn't hook Callisto, cast it out, a bit more cleanly, but not too far from the boat.
"Meeting you cemented the things I stood for, for so long. I just regret some stuff now. After seeing how kind other races can be to human kind."
Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 7:08 am
Callisto Piscis-Piscis Adventurous Mermaid
She was all the more puzzled by his answer but felt like she shouldn't ask anymore about it. She knew that people were capable of killing for any reason, even one that was far from honorable. To say that you wouldn't kill unless it was to save your own life. I really don't get it. She thought to herself, falling quiet as she tried to figure out why he felt that way. She thought he'd tried to explain it to her already so asking again would be awkward. She tried putting herself in the mindset of someone he'd tried to kill and she could only see herself killing him unapologetically. She'd already said that she wouldn't hesitate to kill a hunter for that reason and she wasn't bluffing. If I met a hunter like Leon I'd probably try to kill them too. She recalled their spar turned fight to the death the other day and remembered that she'd been serious about killing him then. She was a bit ashamed to admit it to herself but she remembered how, why and where she was aiming.
If not for his technique, things would have turned out differently. Of course she never would've tried to kill him if he didn't use it. But in considering it a bit more she realized that a hand-to-hand fight between them was already unfair. She noticed that the entire time she'd been quietly thinking to herself she'd been staring at him. So, she shifted on her seat to be turned towards the ocean instead. Figuring it would help her to look less confused, she cast her line with a wide swing. It didn't catch anything, but coupled with the little weight on the end it was sent quite a long way out. If she made it crystal clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that she would kill in defense of herself or others she cared about, she wondered if that would be a deal breaker for him. She didn't want to mention it for that reason but felt uneasy keeping it to herself. But they were stuck in a boat together. It would make this atmosphere more uncomfortable so she decided to keep it to herself until they returned to shore.
Still, the silence was unsettling. She couldn't recall just what they'd been talking about before. Worse, she couldn't think of anything to say that she believed could help him with the remorse he was experiencing. For someone like him, the only answer would be a very public execution. At least that's the sentence he'd receive if he were one of her people. She certainly couldn't say that either. That sort of response wasn't something that could comfort anyone. "Do you feel better now?" She asked, referring to how ill he was a few hours earlier. She'd hoped that by choosing a less physically draining activity he'd have a little more time to get to normal. She'd heard of the things that could happen to humans in the sea. So many stories, horrifying and awe-inspiring, told to her by the dock workers and fishermen on the island.
Knight Of The Dark Void
((Sorry for the double quote! Caught something I missed earlier. @_@; ))
Leon was pre-occupied by his thoughts, and didn't register her question at first. When the fishing line jerked a bit, Leon snapped back to attention, only to be disappointed by a bit of sea vegetation at the end when he reeled it in. He sighed, and picked the soggy not-quite-seaweed off.
"Yeah, I'm feeling fine. Honestly, its never taken a serious amount of time for me to get better after an extended training session in that form."
Leon cast his line back out, finally getting good distance on it. He sat for a minute, with his thoughts again, but he spoke up after about a minute.
"Callisto, if you could wish for any one thing, what would it be?"
Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 10:03 am
Callisto Piscis-Piscis Adventurous Mermaid
She found herself doubting his answer, since he'd said he was fine the entire time he was ill. She could only trust that this time he meant it and hope that next time she'd be able to help him. Callisto sat upright and fixated on his line as soon as he started acting like he'd caught something. She was being secretly and needlessly competitive. With her pride as a hunter she'd quietly been aiming to catch more than him. When it surfaced, she immediately laughed and then abruptly shut up. She knit her lips together and turned her head away, shoulders shaking as she was silently laughing at his catch. By the time he'd asked she'd for the most part quelled her desire to laugh. "W-well--as far as wishes go, I haven't thought much about it. I wanted freedom and adventure for the longest time and now I'm living both. What about you?" She glanced over at him, suspecting that he had something else on his mind.
"I guess, more time. Just in general. More time in the day, more time in life, more time to do stuff like this."
Leon remained somewhat quiet for the next bit of time, even catching a small fish, but not large enough to be even closely considered edible. It was obvious Callisto had the upper hand at that point, and Leon had for the most part given up.
"Man, I suck at this! How do you do it? I must've cast a hundred times by now with nothing! Does it just run in the family?"
Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2019 7:15 am
Callisto Piscis-Piscis Adventurous Mermaid
Over time Callisto had managed to snag four decently sized fish. It didn't take long for her to go from overly confident to feeling guilty about wanting to defeat him. She didn't think he'd be quite bad at fishing. She grinned at his compliment, overall pleased with her small victory. "Yep! Y'know, fishing is something I'm really good at. I could teach you a thing or two next time as thanks for you teaching me your martial arts." She offered with the same gleeful expression and genuinely meant it. She paused, considering something, then nodded to herself. "Next time let's use a bigger boat. I'd like to sit next to you--it would be easier to show you how to use a rod that way too." She meant what she said, leaving out that next time she wanted to be close enough to hug or touch him. They had all they needed so there wasn't much point to staying out on the water. She looked towards the shore, looking for a good place for a fire. They'd drifted out kind of far from the rental place where she knew it'd be safe to bring the boat in. "Say, Leon... do you know how to make a fire? Do you want to cook the fish that way?"
Leon thought for a minute, before seeing the clouds overhead. They weren't really stormy...yet. It was obvious that a storm was approaching fast, indicated by the front moving in toward the coast. "Well, based on the weather, we might want to save them. Doesn't look like Mother Nature is too happy that we're out here. We should start heading back, and hopefully, we can get there in time to prep a fish or two."
The once calm water was beginning to act up, and waves were forming underneath the boat. It made Leon a bit nervous to watch.
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2019 12:09 am
Callisto Piscis-Piscis Adventurous Mermaid
She followed Leon's line of vision to the sky, her sunglasses obscuring the slight difference in darkness. Seeing the storm clouds coming towards them in the distance reminded her of the harrowing tales of the dockworkers. She almost wanted to stay and experience a storm above the water, since she'd not been through one since coming to the surface. She knew better than to tempt fate. Regretfully, she reached for the oars and started rowing them back towards the shoreline. The water had become choppy, and it was interesting to experience it all. The motion of the water beneath them, the sounds of waves meeting the wooden bottom of their boat. Even the air smelled different, heavy with water by comparison.
"Sailing's pretty fun. We should do this again sometime." She said, fairly unconcerned with the change in weather until she heard a loud rumble of thunder. "What was that?!" Though she was diligently trying to row them back towards shore the water seemed to be fighting that energy by bobbing them back and forth with waves. It hadn't been so rough just a few minutes ago, but the waves seemed to only be growing. She couldn't quite tell through the dark lenses of her sunglasses but the air around them had become misty and was steadily making it difficult to see clearly. More than frightened she was intrigued but something else caught her eye.
The waves farther away closer to Leon's end of the small wooden boat were becoming larger. She glanced at the shore and it was like they were barely moving. Would they be caught in the storm? She thought it would be fun but her smile quickly diminished as she realized the danger it presented to her human boyfriend. The stories of the fishermen and boat workers came to mind. So many of them claimed to have nearly died in storms. She didn't understand why but they would all warn her not to go into bad weather while at sea. They'd repeat advice, so she was familiar with what to do if they became caught in the bad weather. They didn't have any life vests or floatation whatsits so they could only hold onto the boat. She opened her mouth to share this information with Leon when the waves behind him caught her attention.
The ones she could see had grown by comparison, to startling heights. A small wave that looked to be maybe four feet above the waterline was rolling towards their boat and a second wave, almost twice the size, was behind it. The two combined which formed a larger, more powerful wall of water. "Get low and hold onto the boat!" She shouted, excited but apprehensive about their ever-worsening surroundings. How tall would the waves become? What would it be like to try managing them? How long would they have to endure such unpredictable waters and how soon would such tall waves reach their puny vessel?
Leon wanted to look back at the waves, but he knew better. Quickly following Callisto's orders, he threw himself underneath the boat's bench section, and held onto the bench for dear life.
The waves finally hit the small boat, engulfing it, and flipping it over. As if the situation wasn't enough of a problem, as the second, larger wave hit, it tore the bench Leon was holding clean off. Leon struggled to grab hold of any other support, but ultimately, it was pointless. He watched as the boat drifted from view, trying desperately to swim to the surface, only to be dragged down by the undertow. Eventually, his air began to stale, and he let himself fall deeper into the blue abyss, regretting that he had put Callisto through so much in so short a time.
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2019 2:34 am
Callisto Piscis-Piscis Adventurous Mermaid
The force of the wave was jarring. Callisto who was holding onto the oars was caught by the force and dragged with it until the wave flattened into the surface of the water. She was submerged, but had no trouble resurfacing. She swam over to their overturned boat, thinking that Leon was still with it. After lifting it, she noticed how damaged it was. More importantly, Leon was nowhere to be seen. Her excited was snuffed out immediately and she quickly turned around in the water. Her dark purple eyes scanned the choppy waters for any sign of him. "Leon..?" She spoke quietly as after a few seconds of looking she couldn't see him anywhere. Another wave was rolling towards her but she stayed above water in order to call out for him. "Leon!" She managed to call his name before being brought under by the wave.
Her transformation was trigged due to the time she'd already been submerged underwater. Scales were forming over her skin and her form was elongating. Her cloth boots were being strained and tearing as her legs were shifting into the form of her tail and its tendrils. She opened her eyes under water and saw no sign of him anywhere near the surface. Her fear grew and the voices of the dock workers and fishermen retelling the at sea deaths of their shipmates and loved ones were going through her head. She dove, searching desperately even as she transformed. Being a powerful swimmer, the violence of the sea and strength of the undertow weren't a problem for her. As she caught sight of his sinking body her heart sank into her stomach. She didn't hesitate before swimming down as quickly as her still-transforming body could take her.
She grabbed hold of one of his arms and pulled him towards her. He looked like he wasn't breathing. She wrapped one arm around him and brought her mouth to his. She breathed into his mouth, hoping that by giving him at least a little air he would survive. Then pressed against his chest one-handedly; like the dock workers had taught her to. A few tries and the water in her mouth told her it was working. But she knew that he needed to get to the surface. She swam up, taking moments to give him oxygen, and soon broke the surface. She was feeling light headed from the effort but adrenaline helped to keep her focused. By the time they'd breached the surface her body had finished transforming. Her boots had been ripped off, the same as the dress she'd been wearing. She didn't notice the marks they'd left on her skin. The world was a rainy haze. She couldn't see the island anywhere but they had to be close. She put her mouth to his and held him tightly as another wave crashed over them.
The force had sent them towards something. As she opened her eyes she could see a rock formation under the water. She brought them to the surface and saw that it was an island. It didn't look like the same one but knew that the weather could be the reason she didn't recognize it. She swam towards it. Even if other people were there, they had no other choice. She had to get him out of the storm. By this point Leon had become far more important to her than the laws of her people. Once she reached the beach Callisto held onto Leon with one arm and pulled forward with the other. She dragged them both over the sand and stopped once they were out of the water.
"Leon--Wake up! Open your eyes!" She pat the side of his face, accidentally scratching him a bit with her clawed fingertips. It was raining and another boom of thunder sounded from the sky. The wind was blowing wildly and with quite a bit of force. She struggled to keep from slapping him with her full strength but her entire body was shaking. For the second time that day she was afraid he might never open his eyes again and she couldn't handle the thought of losing him so soon. "Please! Don't die!" Her senses were in overdrive and though her instinct was to act instead of emote on the inside she was going crazy. If he'd been awake the entire time she wouldn't have noticed, due to how alarmed she felt.
Leon's mind was barely active, getting only occasional sensations of receiving air from somewhere, and being put on the shores of the beach. He heard someone's voice, and said voice's owner trying to wake him up. Eventually, Leon's body began cooperating, waking him up while coughing. He took several deep breaths before registering what had happened...and who he was with.
The creature before him was one he had never seen before. An elegant tail replaced where legs would be, and scales covered it's body. Upon looking at it's face, he realized who it was that he was with.
"C-Callisto...? What...what's going on? Are you...a mermaid...?"
Leon finally understood. All the odd questions, sleeping in the bathroom, strange mannerisms, they all clicked. For once, Leon was in the same situation as her normally. There were so many questions he had. All he could think to do was reach out and hold her hand.
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2019 10:31 am
Callisto Piscis-Piscis Adventurous Mermaid
The elation she felt at seeing him wake up was soon replaced by shock. Her hand flexed, clawed fingers spread ready to rip at his throat. It'd been told to her so many times that she needed to keep her identity a secret. It was a law that she needed to kill for, or at least that was what she had been told. She had no way of knowing that she'd been lied to back then due to her easily trusting nature. But she stopped herself from attacking. "I-I can't!" The choice was easy to make. Leon was a good man and she trusted him. Her expression tensed as she held back tears. However complex her emotions were right now she just wanted to focus on the both of them surviving the storm. "We--Shelter!" She shouted, grasping his hand briefly before taking another look around.
There were holes in the rock and some caves. The beach wasn't large and this area was mostly barren except for whatever washed ashore. It was darker than before. Was it already nighttime or was the storm the reason for how dark it was now? The subtle patterns on her skin were giving off a dull. The darker, the brighter. Looking at Leon she didn't think that he could walk just yet. "Sorry! Hold on to me." Callisto shifted, easily moving his weight so that he was at least halfway over her back. She was bearing his weight, anyway. She pulled them up onto the rocks and away from the water's edge.
Then, climbed up a little further to one of the caves. She stopped once they were inside in order to check on him again. "Leon, are you okay?!" She was worried about any new symptoms he'd have. There wasn't much she could do about it. They didn't even have dry wood for a fire, not that she knew how to make one. Looking at him, it was all she could do to keep herself from wrapping her arms around him.
Leon was taken aback at the events that had come to pass within the last hour. As the two of them lay in the cavern, he coughed a little, but could feel it was more the cold that was the problem. If he stayed that way, he would get sick. He would think it was the same case for Callisto, but obviously, not anymore. Leon nodded in response to her question.
Without thinking, Leon quietly got up, and left the cavern, leaving his jacket to dry a bit. In about 10 minutes, he returned to the cave, with rocks, and a ball of leaves, twigs and what looked like sap, accompanied by some larger branches. He stayed quiet, placing the rocks in a large circle, placing the ball in the center, and layering the twigs on top like a cone. After it was done, he unsheathed his knife, and started scraping it against a rock toward the fire. It took quite a while, but with some luck, the sticks he had found we're dry enough to catch, and start the fire. As the fire grew, igniting the fire starter ball in the center, Leon walked to the side Callisto sat at, placing his jacket on her shoulders. It was a little soggy, but the fire would fix that. He sat beside her, still pretty quiet.
"I guess...we both have lives we don't want to share...?"
Leon recalled her reaction to recognizing her as a mermaid, and looked at the fire. "You...You were supposed to kill me, right? I was never supposed to find out. Why didn't you...?"
He looked at Callisto again, but with a look of sympathy, and curiosity.
