The Tide Has Pulled me Deep
Eventhough it's no longer MerMay, @caphollander is still getting a Merman!Ilya AU Starter
ㅤㅤㅤThe waters at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, a mingling of Lake Saint Pierre and the saltwater bay, are frigid and fresh in ways nothing like the coastal seawaters of Ilya's home between Чешская губа and Мурманск. The merman doesn't mind the peculiar currents or their foreign sea-song, the way it presses on his scales with a novel kind of weight. The estuary's differences come as a relief, an escape from both the memories of home and his father's grip.
ㅤㅤㅤAt this time of year, the water's surface becomes more frozen the further into the river's mouth Ilya swims. The ice serves as a natural camouflage to his presence, allowing him to twist and glide through the shallows at his leisure, undetected. The merman's long, serpentine tail flexes with the pump of his fins, casting weakly reflected bronze and turquoise light back up at the underside of the frozen surface. Turned on his back, Ilya watches the world above as if through a frosted pane, observing shadows of land animals… even people… moving across the ice.
ㅤㅤㅤSome shapes move more swiftly than others. One in particular, striking out further from the shoreline like a bird in flight. Curious, Ilya follows the movement of the… yes, it's a landbound human!… with his eyes. They're not stopping, not even once past the area that the merman knows the ice is thinning. Is that the creature's intention? To breach the gap between sky and water?
ㅤㅤㅤBefore he can wonder further, Ilya hears the tell-tale cracking of ice over his head. He watches, fascinated, as the hardened surface fractures into a thousand slivers, some sinking into the water as they come apart. And then the figure gliding above is suddenly crashing down into the water as well, larger than the merman expected. He should be afraid, Ilya knows this, but all he feels is an overwhelming curiosity. The Merman darts forward, shoving blonde curls to float away from his face and he circles the sinking figure of the person (a man!) to get a better look.
ㅤㅤㅤOh. Oh. That's right… land-dwelling creatures aren't meant for waters like this, with strong currents and a frigid bite. Ilya peers at the strange blades in place of the man's lower fins, the merman's eyes slowly trailing up over bulky-looking layers and uncoordinated arms to…
ㅤㅤㅤFreckles, Ilya thinks, blinking in surprise. …And beautiful brown eyes.
ㅤㅤㅤEyes that are full of panic, he realizes. Because of course, humans do not breath below the water, don't have gills. Inexplicably (and at odds with everything the merman has ever been taught), Ilya reaches out. He touches the man's cheek first, startled by a rush of bubbles erupting from his mouth, then grips onto his shoulder and angles them both back towards the surface.
ㅤㅤㅤ“Come.” Ilya says, perfectly clear despite being underwater, “You don't know? This place is not for you.”
