... moss

“What the hell were you thinking?!” The senior, Lily, paced the length of the pool in front of the gathered group, “Especially tonight!”

“It was the only night mom was out!” One of the freshmen, Mara, whined.

Lily took a deep breath, hands folded on silent prayer over her lips, “yeah? Well I'm going to have to call mom.”

“No!” A chorus rang out, everyone darting forward as the older drew her phone.

“Don't snitch! Please!” Amalie begged, jumping without success.

“You should have thought about that before throwing a party on the full moon.”

Louis fidgeted in place, watching the scramble with a grimace. He walked to the water's edge.

“Guppy, stop growling. I'm not gonna take him, just ask a few questions.” The arms circling Isaac's ribs loosened ever so slightly. “Thank you, now get over here.”

They thought about it, hesitation clear before moving closer.

“Thank you, gup,” Louis turned to Issac, “what's your name?”

Issac eyed the boy before telling him what he needed.

“Nice to meet you Issac, I'm Louis. Is the rest of your pack inside?” Issac nodded, “Who should I look for?”

“Scott,” he answered immediately, a stutter on his lips despite the lack of cold. Louis nodded glancing at the girls getting scolded before looking back.

“Um. Will your pack attack us?” The boy fidgeted in place, arms crossed defensively over his chest.

“No - Scott doesn't like killing.”

“No! You are sitting right here! I am calling mom, and Louis is going to find the rest of the pack!” The eldest shouted definitively, forcing the other girls to sit.

Louis turned to her to share the briefest of glances before bounding off to the inside. The girl turned to Issac once more.

“I'm sorry about this again. Your only chance of getting out before sunrise is our mom,” she sighed, navigating her phone with practiced ease.

“Why? My pack-”

“You've never dealt with a Mer on the full moon. We aren't like you wolves, it affects us differently. Your pack wouldn't be able to get you right now - not from a moondrunk mer.”

“And how exactly is your mom supposed to help me?”

“Mom isn't a Mer.”

“Issac!” a group barrelled past the hedges blocking the pool from view of the back sliding door. One boy stood out, chest heaving in worry and eyes shining a bright red.

“You must be the local pack,” the girl spoke formally, addressing the group as a whole. Scott straightened, addressing the scene as a whole, “I'm sorry about all this, you can call me Lily.”

Scott shook her hand, eyes quickly returning to the beta in the pool. Lily held an arm over his chest.

“I have to call mom, she's the only one who can get him out,” she explained, guilt clear in her voice.

“Why?”

“Well, if you haven't noticed, it's a full moon - so that's a start,” she motioned Louis forward to continue the conversation in her stead.

~~~~~~

Glasses set abandoned on side tables, the women focused intensely on their conversation. Laughter bleeds over their words, parental mirth coating their stories in fondness. A buzz cut through their pleasantries.

“Ah, sorry ‘bout that,” she chuckled, pulling her phone from her pocket. She frowned, unlocking the device to read the message in full.

“Something wrong?” Melissa joked, reaching for her glass.

“Just standard parenthood. My youngest girls apparently decided to throw a party,” she sighed in exasperation, fingers responding in a flurry.

Melissa stopped her reach, looking over her friend curiously, “I see. My son and his friends had a party of their own to go to tonight.”

“They didn't happen to tell you where, did they?” The woman did not pause in her rapid communication with her eldest.

“Just checking out the new group in town…” the women met each other's eyes.

“Melissa, do you know a thing or two about nights like this?”

She caught on near instantaneously, “Besides the fact that all the crazies come out?”

“More like it brings out the crazy in us.” Melissa snorted. The other’s phone went off again, she sighed in exasperation.

“Don't I know it.”

“Say, how do you feel about breaking up a highschool party?”

The front door closes silently behind you. Your keys placed neatly on their designated hook. Shoes are unzipped and gently placed on the rack.

You stand still, face and heart void of emotion as you breathe steadily. There is a deep ache in your chest, your lungs curling in on themselves like pretzels, your ribs turn to claws to crush your beating heart, your stomach floating away like a balloon, your-.

Warm hands land on your shoulders, snapping you out of your eternal spiral.

“(-/n)? (Y/n)? You there? You with us?” Your blank eyes drift to Stiles’ face. His brows are pinched, lips slightly parted, analytical eyes scanning your face in the way they always do.

“W… what?” Your voice cracks through the Sahara of your throat, you swallow hard, clearing away the sand, “I'm - I'm here.”

Stiles wets his lips, staring into your very soul, looking for something you do not know, “You okay?”

A resounding crack shoots up your spine. Pressure, red and hot, welds across your nose, behind your eyes. Your stomach is no longer floating, firing hard stones up your gullet. You resist the urge to choke, instead sucking a harsh breath through your nose.

“Oh..” he says, brown eyes warming. His fingers run soothing circles over your shoulders as you continue to breathe. You don't want to cry - not here, not over him.

“There you are! I was - oh. Oh sweety, what's wrong?” Lydia's sweet voice lilted as she strode from around the bend. Her strawberry blonde hair was pulled from her face in a stylish half updo. Her usual preppy attire was replaced by a simple yet elegant pink sundress.

Something inside you broke. Your legs trembled all fawn-like, Stiles shot out to catch you, using his entirety to support your full weight. You choked, the dams of your eyes crumbling instantaneously. Lydia rushed forward in her regal way, cupping your face as you clung single handedly to her dress.

“What happened?” She whispered, wiping your tears as fast as they could fall.

“Are you a Merinia, Albany?”

“No, ma’am.”

The woman approached Nia, resting her hands on her shoulders, “Unfortunately, I don't believe you.”

Nia’s rebreather was ripped from her face, eyes blown wide in panic as she was pushed over the edge. The pod acted in an instance, shouting at the woman and calling for the girl overboard.

Hands grabbed your arms yet you broke free rushing over the rail into a desperate dive. Nia was the only human of your group, she couldn't breathe on land or water here.

You broke the waves, barely letting yourself adjust to the cold shock of water before dolphin kicking your way to reach for the sinking woman. Your heart pounded as you grasped her in your arms dragging her to the surface. She coughed heavily as you breached, gasping for air in which she could breathe. Without hesitation you pulled your mask from your face and secured it to hers. Nia held the edges tightly as she activated the mask, breathing in sweet oxygen at last.

You gave a choke of your own, your relief clouding your own needs. In a flurrying of sea spray, you reached for your ankle, tugging the sea glass and moonstone strung anklet from your foot. Any air left in your lungs was knocked out as your tail fizzed into place. Your gills opened, working overtime to provide what the surface could not. You slipped under, giving a squeeze to Nia’s pleading hands.

You could breathe. You took solace in the water caressing your skin and scales, taking a moment to feel the water run through your gills. The man was right, the water was comparable, it was a bit more basic and a tad more salty, but your body quickly adapted to the change.

You pulled the flimsy fabric over your head, wrapping it above your dorsal fin and out of the way. You breached the surface, pulling Nia close to you to aid her shaking form. You glared up at the desk, wishing death on the idiots leaning over the rail in attempts to look at you.

“Why don't you pass the human back to our team? We can walk through your… situation afterwards.” The woman shouted down at you, her voice carrying over the roaring sea.

“To do what with?” You hissed, hugging Nia closer.

The woman leaned into the railing, gripping the bar tightly, “We won't harm her once you let go.”

The three gills along your neck flared angrily, agitation swirling deep in your chest. Whilst you could not see them, you could hear your podmates adamant pleas to not follow through with the woman's words. Something was off.

You growled, tail thrashing with far more force than necessary, “Release them first!”

You waited, staring as the woman looked behind her for a moment before looking back at you, “That is not something I can do at the moment!”

You pushed back, looking to the human in your arms. Nia's face was contorted, staring up at the deck with glass eyes, “NiNi, get on my back,” you whispered to her ear.

She looked at you, eyes wide but not protesting your request. You wordlessly helped her shuffle to your backside, guiding her hands to your shoulders and legs to lock just under your navel.

“Hold tight,” you spoke over your shoulder, “Do not let go.”

You looked back to the deck, continuing to swim backwards at a lazy pace. As faces grew clearer, your rage only grew. With a silent prayer to the stars, you started to sing. A vague melody, dancing effortlessly across the waves. It held no words, only meaning as you built your power. The water rippled outwards, sloshing against the idling ship hull. They were fools to have driven out so far from base. You would make them regret that mistake.

Slowly, you pushed intent into your song as words flew from your mouth. You were never quite conscious when using the siren song, so their presence was nothing more than accessory. You held tight to the budding glee as the men aborde scrambled around. You had to concentrate if you wanted to have an impact, and blissful joy was not something you wanted to share. So steadily, your song grew, higher in tone and darker in denotation.

You held steady as your podmates broke free from their human restraints, jumping head fast one after the other until all that remained was a hastily retreating crew. Suckers kissed your skin as Nia was removed from your back, Tala taking her with ease. Rio floated by your side, glaring hearty at the still ship.

“They can fuck right off,” she snarled as she dragged her fist through the water. The ocean blue answered her calls moving sluggishly at her command, “Close enough.”

Waves carried your voice further as Rio danced just beneath the surface, sending shockwaves of water in the direction of your offender. Your song decrescendoed out as the ship hummed with life. For a moment, you held hope that they would leave. It was quickly dashed as the ship moved steadily forward.

“Damnit,” Abe cursed under breathe, diving to grab Rio.

“We have you go,” you urged once they resurfaced.

“We won't be fast enough!”

“Are you scared mama?”

“No, baby, just nervous.”

You resisted the urge to smirk, “Why? All they have to do is pass the vibe check.”

Your mother shook her head with a chuckle, “And if they fail?”

You grinned evilly, “I wore my boots today! And these boots are made for walkin’!”

She laughed at your joke, continuing to guide you through the restaurant. You could not deny your own anxieties as you drew closer to the ones that your mother held fond affection for. Part of you hoped they were good, part of you hoped they passed the ‘vibe check’, and part of you wanted your mama to find people that would make her happy.

Part of you was selfish. You wanted her to be happy and loved like she should be, but you also didn’t want to lose her to some random man - or four or whatever. You knew she would never, but you were nothing if not a preteen with an overactive worrywart complex.

You chewed on your tongue the closer you drew, “You still not gonna tell me anything about them?”

“I don’t want to influence your impression.”

You rolled your eyes, grabbing the back of her cardigan as you both came to a stop. You could hear several people standing from their seats as you shrunk behind your mother, pressing your face into her back. As much as you liked to think of yourself as a strong independent person with a steal conviction, your anxiety ruled you with an iron fist.

“DARLING, HELLO!” A loud voice boomed from somewhere to the right. You pressed harder into your mama’s back, already overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the voice alone.

She laughed, stepping forward to hug the man, your eyes catching sight of blue gloves enveloping her as you grasped at her cardigan.

“Hello, Blue!” She turned away from him to the others, “And hello to everyone else as well!”

Several voices called out in response, far too many for you to even comprehend. Holy shit how many boyfriends does Mama have??

The loud one with the blue gloves - Blue (ironic), stepped to the side, presumably to get a better look at you, not that you gave him a chance. You pressed yourself into your mama’s back once more as your mama laughed.

“This is (Y/n), she’s shy, but don’t worry, give her about 20 minutes and she should open up!”

Fat chance! There are way too many people here! Though you always ate those words.

“THAT IS OKAY! HELLO (Y/N)! IT’S VERY NICE TO FINALLY MEET YOU! WE’VE ALL HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT YOU!”

You nodded at his words, curling even further into your mama. She snorted, turning to an angle at which you could no longer use her as a shield. Traitor! You twisted inward, heart thumping loudly as you crossed your arms securely over your chest. You chanced a quick glace upward, and, wow. That's a lot of skeletons.

You never had a problem with monsters, in fact, it didn’t really surprise you that the group that your mother was dating was monsters. It made a lot of sense, cultural-wise, not that you had much cultural knowledge to begin with.

Any rationality that you had slipped from your mind as the sheer number of strangers trying to talk to you comprehended. You bit into your tongue, grabbing onto your mama’s arm as she chuckled.

“Liam!” You barked, lunging at the boy and pulling him off by his scruff. You pulled him up to eye level, holding him high above anywhere he could bite anyone else.

“ ‘m sorry daddy! I tried!” Malia sobbed, hiding behind your leg. You pet the top of her head as you scowled at your son.

“We don't bite people, pup-”

“B-But, bone!” He interrupted, shouting rather enthusiastically for someone who was curled in a ball.

You sighed, looking at the gathering group of - more skeleton monsters? You shook your head to rid yourself of your surprise.

“I’m so sorry, I would say that this has never happened before, but pups have a habit of biting anything that moves,” you sputtered reaching for wallet, “I don't carry much cash, but-”

One of the skeletons interrupted you, “That's, ah - no-”

“Cash ain't worth nothing,” one hissed, gripping his leg.

You winced, ears flattening against your mane. You handed your youngest to Leihla, who silently reached out to receive him. She gave him a scolding look, walking away with both her siblings.

“Come on, give me something to work with here. I could just say no and send you on your way if you’d prefer?” You took a sip as your guests finally started to loosen up.

“We don’t know how far along the pregnancy is.” Tall hoodie.

“This Instance Would Be The First Occurrence In History.” Leather.

“The governments are gonna be crawlin’ all over this, if it gets out.” Short hoodie.

You nodded along to the symphony of information, “Those are great, and we can get to all of those issues at some point, but I want to address the age one.” You put your drink down, turning to Caesar entirely, “I need to see it.”

Leather jumped from his seat, slamming both hands obnoxiously onto the glass of the table. Monster magic, dusty orange, wisped from the tall one’s eye. Shorty’s eye lights vanished entirely from their sockets. Caesar only looked shocked for a moment before moving to soothe his companions.

“HOW DARE YOU! THAT REQUEST IS BOTH INSENSITIVE AND OFFENSIVE!”

You rolled your eyes, standing from your chair as well, “I don’t care, I don’t have to help you. If you want to know your options, then I need to know them, and the only way to do that is to see the new soul!”

“YOU HAVE NO PROOF FOR THIS BARBARIC PRACTICE!”

“Then you can leave!” you smiled, gesturing to the door. Caesar stood abruptly, placing a hand on Leather’s chest.

“Lord, it’s fine, I’ll do it-”

“NONSENSE! THIS WITCH HAS NO RIGHT!”

“What do you mean by options?” Tall one asked.

You fixed him with a hard stare, “You have two, and it really depends on how old the new soul is. Look, I’m gonna keep this simple. I have none of the shit to help and if I have to waste my time with this than I’d rather only hunt for one option than two.”

“Thats…. reasonable. What are the options?” Shorty leaned forward, lights reigniting.

“Number one? DIY grow a womb. Real painful - gnarly stuff really - but it works, less dangerous for newer souls but more so for the carrier. Option two? A transfer-”

“How would that even work? You can’t even do that with human babies?” Caesar interrupted, finally looking you in the eye. You shot her a flat glare.

“Well, if someone didn’t interrupt me-”

“THE MERE IDEA IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY. CLEARLY YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO PULL A VILE RUSE!”

Your face fell blank, letting silence claim the table once more, “As far as I'm aware, you came here for exactly that. Do either expect the unexpected or get the fuck out.”

“... How? How would that even work?” Caesar piped up.

Your grin fell sharp as you set your drink down. Standing, you popped the lid of your trunk. Inside sat a simple typewriter, a stack of weathered paper, a feathered writing quill, and a small ink pot that swirled gold.

“You know the rules of dealing with the fae, right?” You asked, caressing the typewriter gently before removing the paper.

“What-?”

“That doesn't really matter, you won't have to deal with that exactly, but it will be a very similar experience.” The group's small twitchy fidgets brought a bitter sense of excitement to your tongue.

“How would a transfer work?” Tall finally spoke.

“Easy! Well - for me, it involves lots of… things, let's say. But after following a very special process under very specific conditions, I would transfer the new soul to latch onto another. Preferably another parent, and someone with the actual ability to carry the little one to the rest of term.

“This would take a bit longer, as circumstances have to be right, but this would be best if the new soul is a bit more developed. The further along the little one is the less time there is to make a womb so… you get the gist.”

“THAT… HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE.”

“That you know of,” you snorted, removing the ink pot and quill as well, “anything is possible here, don't you worry your little skull~.”

“WHY YOU LITTLE-”

Caesar jumped in, laying a hand on Lord’s, “Will you help us?”

“Aw, sweetheart, don’t look so glum. In fact, out of all of us, I think ya got the best chance of getting out of this hell hole,” the siren said, swimming closer to your resting position. You shuffled into a more defensive position, not wanting to get pulled in and lose your legs - or even worse, your life. You didn’t know much about ocean biology, but you gathered that this siren was a predator type - and a decently big one at that.

“I’m sorry, you all do not deserve this,” you reverted to the more formal speech that your pa had taught you, the words coming more naturally the longer you spoke it. The siren lounged by the railing, eyeing you with more and more interest.

“Yer so kind, princess, couldn’t agree with ya more,” he quieted, eye lights locking in on the door. You reluctantly turned to face the only entrance to the room, not wanting to be caught either way. The heavy boots from before clunked behind the closed metal.

Your heart rate picked up as you instinctively leaned further from the doors and closer to the rail behind you.

Two things happened at once; The doors slammed open, a small squadron of guards armed with tranq guns entered with two people in labcoats and one siren keeper with a bucket in hand. A loud splash echoed as the siren breached the surface of his tank, wrapping stiff bones around your shoulders and yanking you backward.

You were pulled under before you could even scream, bubbles fizzed aggressively against your skin as the scratchy towel you had acquired for cover sank to the bottom of the tank.

The first thing you noticed was how comfortable this tank was in comparison to the one you had awoken in. The second thing was the strong press of bones against your spine. Your tail thrashed, coiling tightly against the shark behind you. He squeezed harder.

“Shh, shh. Stop movin’ so much!” he hissed, dragging you down into the substrate, pressing you solidly into the sand. You squirmed uncomfortably, your skin unaccustomed to the grainy surface.

You whined, growing lax as the toll of multiple transformations took hold of you. The siren chuffed, dragging you to a secluded corner of his tank.

“Why?” You muttered, coiling your tail around yourself.

The skeleton chuckled though looked away, up to the rippling surface, “What can I say? I'm selfish.”

Undertale

BDW - hard to explain...

SOTB - male reader x multi skeles, mermay fic :)

BC - mafiafell x reader

TA - readers mom is dating the skeles :)

SS - technically a vent fic? But in a funny way

KOAD - werewolf dilf reader x skeles

Teen wolf

DS - actual vent fic, reader gets comfort from Lydia and stiles after a breakup

LRO - I don't actually know which character is the reader????

Placeholder - reader is Lydia's childhood best friend

Transformers

Rewrite - I never posted this one but I am rewriting everything I have (5+ chapters lmao)

Avatar

MIR - mermaid reader on Pandora, what will they do