Charybdis x Scylla. First day of trials. (Patreon)

First day of trials.

It took a few hours for things to settle down after that disastrous meeting in the main hall. Mother gave her usual yearly introduction speech as Scylla joined this year's group, welcoming the new faces into the pod. Albeit temporarily for some. After all, not everyone would come out of the ritual with a match. She had heard the monologuel douzains of times before. How the ritual was a sacred practice and was needed for furthering the existence of the pod. She doubted that to be true. As if they’d need those stupid tests to find their matches. Most pre-established couples just waited for the ritual to make things official.To Scylla the whole practice seemed rather archaic, but her mother swore by it. Challenging her beliefs would do no good, but Scylla knew that if she eventually took over, this stupid custom would be the first thing to go…

The male now known as ‘Diz’ disappeared into the crowd somewhere midway mothers speech. Scylla assumed he’d retreat into whatever hidey hole the guards had assigned him to lick his wounds. She couldn’t really blame him, Scylla hadn’t exactly made his arrival easy.

It was fate that decided on her victim, and the idiot was bloody perfect. Mother hated his guts after that disaster of an entrance and wouldn’t easily forget what happened today. Him being an outsider on top of that, the male would have to perform a bloody miracle to get back in her good graces. Of course, Scylla wouldn’t let that happen. No, she would happily pile on any slight she could frame him for, just enough so that her mother would deem him an unacceptable match.

The rules of the ritual worked in her favor. Scylla could get rid of all the other viable suitors during the three trials. When Diz was the only one remaining at the end, mother would be forced to deny him, buying Scylla at least a year of respite.

And deny him she would. Oh, Scylla was certain of it. After seeing the way her mother looked at the male today? Like he had personally offended her somehow. It was rather strange that he knew her by name, Scylla had to admit. Maybe he participated in a previous year as well and Scylla just didn’t remember? She could tell he was a bit older than she was, perhaps he’d left a bad impression? That would make her job this year all the more easy.

She settled down into her nest, curling her tail back so the fin tucked in neatly underneath her arms and her head rested on top of them. Him being fair to look at was an added bonus really. It made feigning interest in the male believable to the rest of the pod, even if she had no intention of picking him as a mate.

Oh how quickly that smug look on his face would fade away. Scylla relished the thought! Tricking mother would be the hard part, but at least tomorrow would be childsplay.

-

Charybdis woke up sore and in a foul mood. His shoulder hurt and his tail itched like a nest of sand fleas had been released on top of him as he slept. That last part was a side effect of staying in this form too long. He’d need to get his hands on some extra blood to reinforce the spell soon. Changing back to his original form in the presence of these mer would be…troublesome. On top of that, he’d almost blown his cover by addressing Agathis directly. It was an honest slip of the tongue. The way she appeared next to him caught him off guard. The Matron he dealt with in the past looked much different to Agathis, apart from the freakishly large tail. The only logical explanation was that Agathis took after her sire.

Unlike Scylla… Who was the spitting image of her mother. She’d tricked him. Made him a laughing stock in front of the entire pod. That little bitch.

Charybdis stretched out his arms and rolled over in his assigned cubby. A shabby little hole somewhere in a forgotten corner of the cave. It was quite a ways away from the other prospect suitors, something he was glad about. The smell of Mer was offensive to him on any given day. The clutch of fools he was lugged together with were hormonal sess pools, which made the stink even harder to endure. Luckily his sense of smell was somewhat diminished in this form. Just enough to make staying here for a while bearable.

He should probably get up…Mers lived during the day after all. And there was a ritual to get to. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Charybdis rolled out of the cubby and made his way through the caverns, following the ever increasing parade of Mer to the main hall.

By the time he joined the gathering, this year's males and females were already mingling. Eager to find their ideal mate and show off their best qualities. They were a gang of fools.

‘Lovestruck guppies…’ Charybdis chuffed, blowing out some bubbles. His eyes wandered the crowd. Some females were appealing, sure. Once you got over that sickeningly sweet smell most of them had. And the noise they made…Gods.

There wasn’t much to say about his taste in females or males for that matter. He’d always considered himself to be a practical creature. Beauty sure was enjoyable, but ultimately a luxury. The times when he got certain urges, though few and far between, all ended the same anyway. With his ill-fated partner being either lunch or dinner after, no matter how pretty they were to look at. His mind briefly drifted to the little red Matron.

Hidden amongst the crowd he spotted her. The red princess. The mother was nowhere in sight. If Charybdis had any hope of salvaging his plan, today would need to go perfectly.

She was already surrounded by prospect suitors, male and female alike. All very eager to make a good first impression. He’d already botched up that part, there wasn’t anywhere to go but up from here. Going by the look on her face, she seemed a bit bored with the attention. Good. That meant none of them caught her attention so far. Charybis figured that worked in his favor as he made his way over. Time to turn on the charm.

‘Morning darling!’ He exclaimed. Her ears perked up in his direction. The mob surrounding Scylla all turned simultaneously. Charybdis could hear a faint hiss coming from one of them. Oh, shut it…

‘Glad to see you have not lost your confidence after yesterday, but that’s a bit familiar, don’t you think?’ As she turned around, her expression shifted to a forced smile.

‘Not at all. The way I see it, we need to get a lot more familiar by the time this week is over. Might as well get a running start.’

‘Hmm…, what was your name again? I can’t seem to recall.’ Soft snickering escaped one of the nearby males. A scrawny looking one with yellow fins. Charybdis made sure to remember his face.

‘You wound me, I had hoped to have made at least some kind of impression after yesterday. It’s Diz.’

‘Well, I do remember you mentioning something along the lines of “-going after that silly little Matron welp.” I suppose you are making good on that promise?’

Charybdis grunted.

‘Don’t you think I already paid enough for making that comment? I meant no harm, princess.’

Scylla lifted her gaze, drawing out the silence just long enough to be uncomfortable.

‘Just for you, ‘Diz’ I can let bygones be bygones, but you’ll need to do exceedingly well today if you want to get back in mothers good graces.I’m afraid I can’t really give you any hints though. That would be cheating.’ Charybdis swallowed. This girl…

‘I’ve no need for hints and I aim to do well regardless of your mother, princess.’ This drew a sneaky smile from Scylla’s lips that Charybdis could not quite place.

‘You’ll do well to always regard my mother. Outsider.’

The mers gathered outside of the main cavern as Agathis waited by the exit, flanked by two of her guards. The crowd fell silent as soon as she spoke.

‘It is a mate’s duty to provide, keep safe and know their other half. Like the moon knows the sea and its tides. Like a pup knows its mother. So today, we start off this years sacred ritual with a simple trial.

Prospects will set out to find their mate of choice's favorite food. You have until sundown, or as long as your potential mate is willing to wait. If they accept your gift, you are one step closer to being united in a lifelong bond. Good luck younglings. I pray you all have a successful hunt.’

And without any warning, clusters of mer set out in different directions. All but a few. The pretty ones, mostly females, stayed behind, looking starry eyed at the mer in the distance. Charybdis sighed and turned to find Scylla amongst them. Of course she wouldn’t need to get any food. She was guaranteed to get a buffet worth of gifts.

There was a slight problem. Charybis did not eat. Not in the conventional sense of the word at least. He absorbed life force. Drank the occasional gallon of blood. A thing he made a mental note of still needed to be done asap. Him actually eating food was rare. He didn’t need to hunt fish, never had to and doubted he’d be able to catch anything with this ridiculously short tail anyways. Of course there were some things he liked. Special treats he’d get himself now and again. He had a particular sweet tooth, but not exactly for fish…

He glanced back at Scylla and barely caught her looking away before meeting his gaze. What would she like? The most prestigious fish he could think of was a marlin. But does Marlin even taste good? He couldn’t imagine it would be anything else than chewy. And how would he even catch one? Okay, so no marlin. Maybe a tuna? Same problem. Still fast as heck. And a bit predictable to be honest. This trial was supposed to be easy? Charybdis floated in place for a few moments.

What if he approached this from a different angle. If the assignment was to find your chosen mate's favorite…Maybe something she never had before could work just as well. It was risky, but he lacked any better ideas.

-

The idiot floated around for what seemed like an eternity. Scylla dug her nails into her sides as she glanced over, barely avoiding eye contact with Diz, who happened to turn towards her.

Just go get me anything…, I’ll pretend to like it and this stupid test will be over… There is literally no way for you to mess this one up.

Then as if he’d heard her, Diz shot away from the cave. His tail curled in a snake-like motion before he eventually regained his sanity and started swimming like a normal person. Something was very wrong with that male. To Scylla’s amusement, her mother had also witnessed his late and quirky start. Perfect. Everything was going according to plan.

She was served several exquisite gifts throughout the day, of which she only accepted a little over half of them. She couldn’t afford to give the idiot too much competition after all, or her plan wouldn’t work. By the end of the day, she accepted a couple of fatty salmon, some tuna, multiple sets of clams and oysters and even a tentacle from a giant squid. The latter not being all that yummy, but she had to give the Mer who brought it some credit. He was a lean looking black specimen, with razor sharp fangs and nasty looking quills sticking out of his sides and back. One of her own pod. Mother looked alarmingly smug as Scylla accepted the tentacle.

The day crept by. The light of the sun slowly dimmed above the waves and the idiot was still nowhere to be seen. A grinding sense of anxiety crept up on the matron-to be. The rules stated all candidates had until sundown, or as long as she’d be willing to wait. Only Scylla doubted her mother would let her wait for any extended period of time. After all, her pile of gifts was the largest of all females. She had no reason to wait beyond the deadline. Looking around, most females were already reunited with their prospects. There was one small female left staring at the cave's entrance. Her eyes glistened with worry. Surely she didn’t look as pathetic? Did she?

Come on, you slow as fuck churl…

‘Is there a problem, daughter?’ Her mother swam up to her, bearing a warm smile.

‘No problem mother. Just enjoying the last rays of sun with a full belly.’ Scylla smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes.

Fooling her mother was always going to be the hard part and it seemed she hit her first obstacle.

‘You are not still waiting for the outsider, are you?’ Scylla’s dorsal fins tensed.

‘He doesn’t know the area, maybe he just got lost?’

Actually, that sounded plausible. Scylla bit the inside of her lip. I swear if that idiot ended up getting lost, I’ll kill him…

‘It’s time to go back inside sweetheart. Everyone has gathered…’

Whilst her mother spoke, Scylla’s heart leapt as she spotted the familiar black and white figure of Diz slowly approaching in the distance. Her mother followed her gaze and gave a sour pout, but refrained from commenting any further.

‘Come inside once you are done with him.’ she growled as she sauntered a distance back into the cave.

Scylla almost collapsed from relief. That was close, way too close. She threw a sharp glare at the male.

‘I was getting worried you weren’t gonna make it back.’ The bitterness in her voice was unmistakable.

The male waved one of his hands to dismiss her, something round and red clutched between his fingers. The nerve…. At least he made it back.

‘Yeah, well. I had a ways to go to get this. Bon appétit princess.’ The object dropped from his hand and floated right at eye height. Scylla’s scales ruffled as she stared at the strange egg-like object floating in front of her. It was smooth, round and mostly red with a hint of green to one side. A tiny stick poking out of the other side.

‘What’s this?’

‘Your new favorite.’

-

Charybdis had the biggest headache till date, and that says something when you're over 200 years old. He knew it was due to the amount of energy he wasted on shifting today. Shifting from Mer to human, back to his original self and back to Mer again… Merely thinking about it made his head spin all over again. He had only managed it after sucking some dumb male dry. The lad was probably on the same stupid scavenger hunt he was, and happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some poor creature would have to go without a mate this year. He chuckled. Charybdis tried smacking his lips to get rid of the iron taste. Luckily, even after all this, he had a treat to look forward to. After what felt like an eternity, he managed to find his prize near the coast, which still left him with the grueling track back to the caves.

‘I was getting worried you weren’t gonna make it back.’ She didn’t sound worried at all. She sounded pissed. Stuck up pup…

‘Yeah, well. I had a ways to go to get this. Bon appétit princess.’

Charybdis dropped an apple in front of the she-mer, too tired to look back and check whether she actually accepted the fruit. He nestled up to the side of the cave and twirled the apple he had secured for himself between his claws. That would get rid of the iron aftertaste for sure.

‘What’s this?’

He furrowed his brow. Couldn’t she even give him a minute to catch his breath?

‘Your new favorite.’

Scylla fell quiet for a second.

‘Is it an egg?’

‘No, it’s fruit.’ She turned towards him and gave him a confused look.

‘Where did you get this “fruit”.’

‘Ah, I am nothing without my secrets, darling.’ He purred. That didn't seem to satisfy her curiosity, as her face soured. Charybdis took his own apple into his right hand and started massaging his forehead with the other.

‘Pick me and I'll show you some day. Look, if you don’t trust me-.’ He bit a large chomp out of his own apple and started chewing loudly.

‘See? Perfectly safe.’

Tentatively, Scylla took a sniff of the apple and carefully bit into it. Charybdis kept a close eye on her reaction. As tired as he was, he had not forgotten what was at stake here. Scylla recoiled slightly when the sourness of the apple hit her tongue, but as she started chewing her face naturally brightened. The sweetness was doing its job he gathered.

‘Told ya it’s good.’ The hag grinned triumphantly as he watched her take a second, larger bite.

‘Just don’t eat the stick, it’s-,’

‘Sweetheart? Are you coming? Everyone is waiting.’ A shiver ran up Charybdis’ back as the Matron approached. She gave him a loathsome look before turning towards her daughter.

‘What have you got there?’

Scylla frantically swallowed and gave her mother the widest and brightest smile. It was in stark contrast to the foul mood she was in before… The sudden change in her attitude did not go unnoticed. What was she playing at?

‘My last gift.’ she sputtered.

The older female circled her daughter, eyeing the apple with no small amount of suspicion.

‘And you tried this, “Gift”? Scylla’s jaw jerked shut.

‘Uhm yes. It’s okay…’

Just okay? The hag turned towards the she-mer. I had to fucking crawl out of the ocean for that, you ungratefull….

Charybdis lost his train of thought when looking at the mini-matron. She somehow looked a bit conflicted and a lot more tense now that her mother was around.

The mother grimaced and lifted up her chin.

‘Best not take any chances. These outsiders with their weird eating habits. You wouldn’t want to get sick.’ She plucked the apple from between her daughters fingers and threw Charybid a damning glare. The had did his best to smile innocently,  as he watched the confiscated gift get tossed out over the edge of the cavern. So the mother was a  bitch too…

No matter. His goal was achieved in the end. Scylla accepted the apple. That was all that really mattered.

Scylla sighed and made leave to follow her mother. Before heading inside, she stopped by his side and nodded.

‘Thank you for the gift. I’ve never had anything quite like it before.’ She smiled calmly, but her ears drooped to the side of her head, looking positively forlorn. As she turned to leave, the hag felt a nauseating twist in his stomach.

‘Wait…’ He sighed exasperated. Without getting up, he took hold of Scylla’s hand. She was only a split second away from causing a fuss, when he stuffed the apple he had previously taken a bite out of in her palm.

The girl froze.

‘I can always get more. Don’t let your mother see. I fear she doesn’t like me.’

Scylla looked like she was about to protest, her mouth turning into a thin line. At the last second she changed her mind, hid the fruit behind her pectoral fin and gave him a quick nod.

‘Good luck tomorrow. You’ll need it.’

‘Charming as always, darling…’

And with that, she disappeared into the darkness of the cave.

Next : Luck of the draw