Between Scylla and Charybdis - chapter 1 (Patreon)

Between Scylla and Charybdis - Prologue (Start here)

(Let's tackle these in a somewhat chronological order from now on. I might need to make smalll adjustments to previous chapters, but will notify you guys of the changes in a masterpost once the whole thing is done.)

Leave it to Mers to make a big fuss about finding a mate. Charybdis had a hard time wrapping his head around the concept. To be with a singular partner for the rest of one's life, it seemed like way too big of a hassle to be worth it. Granted, for a mer, that life was over in the blink of an eye. Compared to him, they were as brief as bubbles floating up to the surface. Lingering in his thoughts, he soon found himself swimming lopsided and in the wrong direction.

‘For fucksake, go tear a fin on a jagged rock, stupid cuckolding stump of a tail!!!’ He hissed, turning back towards his now dolphin-esq tail and pinching the sorry excuses that were meant to be his pectoral fins. He winced, finding them to be more sensitive than expected. Being used to his own glorious tail, it was normal for him to pierce through the water like a sea serpent-shaped arrow, smoothly slithering through sand and current alike. Now he was stuck in this ridiculous bobbing motion, up down up down, hardly making any progress and utterly maddening. If only he’d changed into a mer with similarities to a shark, that at least would resemble a style of swimming he was comfortable with. But no. Flippin dolphins. Stupid Rudeus…He should’ve eaten him and saved the other one for spell components.

After listening to Rudeus explain the idea behind the upcoming mating ritual, Charybdis came up with a plan of his own. He’d infiltrate the pod under the ruse of being an outsider who came to compete for the next Matrons hand. Once inside, he’d find a way to seduce the welp and make her his puppet, he knew the spells to do it, he just needed her to open up to him alittle. Enough so the magic could take hold. Fighting the Matrons guards was still of little interest to him and it would result only in more animosity from the remaining Mers. No, he’d take over swiftly and quietly and once he was at the center of it all, he could dispose of the Matron welp at his own leisure.

That of course, meant disguising himself as a Mer, for which he needed mer blood, and a lot of it. Rudeus being the only available donor, Charybdis ended up taking on some of his traits after casting the spell that changed his appearance. He wasn’t green, thank Leviathan for that, but he had the same dolphin tail and relatively small build. Small for his own standard at least. He’d kept his own black and white colorings and his face remained the same, so there was that. Luckily he'd done this sort of thing plenty of times before, so he wasn't completely frozen with body dysmorphia, but the shift never was a pleasant experience.

After a few more grueling miles, Charybdis reached the entrance to their caverns. Clusters of outsiders gathered at the gaping mouth of the cavern, eagerly awaiting their inspection by the guards before being let in. The last time he was here, was when he’d bartered the truce with Agathis’ mother. It lay fresh in his memory, despite being almost a century ago. He never made it past the front door back then. Actually getting inside would be a whole new experience, how exciting.

While the hag drifted away on a nostalgic cloud, one of the guards swam up to him and gave him a quick prod with some sort of stick. Charybdis’ attention snapped back to the present, letting out a surprised snarl.

‘What the heck was that for?!’

‘Name?’

‘What kind of greeting is this supposed to be?’

‘You want in or not? By decree of our Matron, all outsiders have to offer their name and place of birth upon entry. So what will it be?’

Charybdis huffed.

‘Diz, of the black sea.’

The guard raised an eyebrow.

‘The black sea? You came all this way? The competition this year will be stiff, with the matron-to-be joining and all. There’s hardly enough females on a regular year. I hope you won’t be disappointed.’

‘I like my chances…’ Charybdis rolled his eyes at the talkative guard. Finding a mate was hardly of any interest to him, he only needed to get close to the welp in order to charm her. That would be a breeze if what Rudeus told him was even remotely true.

The ritual consisted of three trials. They changed them up every couple of years, but the general idea stayed the same. Those trials were meant for the prospect suitors (usually the males) to woo a potential mate. Charybdis was reluctant, but if he had to, he’d stoop down to woo-ing. If it meant getting close to his target, he could woo.

It had been a while, sure, but he’d been with the odd partner or two. The difference being that those partners came to him. They wanted favors, but in order to gain those favors, had to offer something in return. If the price was right, which it hardly ever was, he’d strike a bargain with them. Power, beauty, love, all fair rewards. Life, a soul or warmth, all fair payment. Those who failed to meet his price…? Well, let’s just say he let nothing go to waste.

Alright, so it was safe to say that he might be a little out of practice when it came to charming the fairer sex. No big deal. Charybdis was confident in his ability to read others, a young matron welp would hardly put up much of a fight. Or so he thought.

‘Where is the lovely Matron to be if I may ask?’

The guard jolted, eyes growing wide.

‘Scylla? Boy, you really do like your chances if you’ve got your eye on her. Probably hiding somewhere or with her mother. The ritual won’t start until the moon rises and everyone is getting antsy, I doubt she’d show herself beforehand. Slippery like an eel, that one.’

Scylla? Such an off putting name. What was Agathis thinking?

‘A shame.’

The guard looked like he was about to say something, but after giving Charybdis a final once over, decided against it and gestured him onwards.

The hag grinned wide as he swam into the cave system, enjoying the view at a leisurely pace. Crystals lit a grand main hall, brightly colored corals covering the walls and floors at every turn. From the main hall branched several smaller tunnels, that in turn led to separate smaller spaces meant for daily life and gatherings. Guards were posted at most corners and blocked the entrances that were off limits to outsiders like himself. For now, he’d need to be on his best behavior.

He smiled. Step one, get inside. Check.

Step two, observe the target. He let his gaze wander, counting the Mer like sheep as he took note of the amount of guards and other potential threats. The chatterbox outside wasn't lying. There were way too many Mer in the caves, not just due to the ritual, but in general. Those whose scents lingered in the area were uncountable. This is what you get when mer breed without a natural predator around. Perhaps he’d be doing them a favor by breaking the treaty. The chattering of excited Mer quickly became overwhelming. For someone who’d lived like a recluse for most of his life, these kinds of crowds made his head hurt. There were too many stimuli. Sounds, smells, movement. Seaking seclusion, he backed up towards a nearby crevice and settled into it, arms crossed supporting his head as he watched the rabble, carefree and unbeknownst to the creature they’d just ushered into their midst.

Something triggered his instincts, a soft caress of energy floating towards the tip of his ears and traveling down his spine. Magic? Here? His gaze focussed and settled upon a flash of red darting just underneath his own hiding spot, vanishing inside a narrow tunnel. How curious. Charybdis lazily slid out of the crevice and sank down, curling upside down to peer into the tunnel below. He could barely make out the tip of a tail shooting around a bend.

Maneuvering himself through the narrow passage, it took him considerably longer to get through. With a final squeeze he managed, popping out at the other side. For the first time since departure, he was glad to be in this smaller form. His tongue darted out, tasting the water around. Definitely magic. Another hag? Could they sense him as well?

‘Who's there?’ he calmly said. ‘Come on out. I know you're in here.’

‘Go away.’ A soft female voice echoed. ‘This is my spot.’

Charybdis narrowed in on the voice’s location, noticing a pair of fiery orange eyes glaring at him from a dark corner.

‘And what a lovely spot it is.’ He glanced around the cave, noticing a pile of gunk in one corner, a messy bed of moss in the other and a precariously stacked pile of human knickknacks next to it.

‘You’ve ruined it now…, how did you even see me? Nobody ever sees me.’

‘I have a good eye.’ Charybdis approached the cubby as its occupant let out a sharp hiss.

‘That’s close enough…, Are you here for the ritual?’

‘Right now I’m trying to figure out who is skulking about. The ritual is outside if I remember correctly. I imagine it would get awfully crowded if they all tried to squeeze in here.’

A pair of dainty hands reached out of the cubby and pushed the rest of the mysterious female into view. A Mer red as blood with dark stripes and an ebony tail. Perfectly pointed fins, draping behind a frail looking neck, shining scales glistening down her arms with perfectly curved claws at the end of each hand. Charybdis found himself stumped at the sight of her. Not a hag then. Definitely not a hag.

‘I suppose you're here for a mate as well? Like all the other outsiders?’ Charybdis jolted, forcing clarity back into his mind. Mate, outsiders. Yes. That was him. He probably should be getting back to that.

Whatever trace of magic had lured him to follow the female, it was gone now. All that was left was this petite figure, who was still giving him the sideways stink eye. Annoyed by his silence, the Mer continued.

‘Get going before I call the guards on you.’

‘Wouldn’t that expose your hidy-hole to even more people?’ The female narrowed her eyes and let out another frustrated hiss as she pushed toward her pile of knicknacks, pretending they needed to be sorted right this instant.

‘Well, you won’t find a mate if you stay here.’ She snarled. ‘The participants are outside.’ Was she saying that she wouldn’t partake? A brief ripple of disappointment shot through the hag. One he quickly stomped out of existence, after all, he was on a mission. Still…

‘You’re here. Statistically It’s possible.’ He retorded, unsure where his sudden playfulness was coming from.The female looked like she’d be fun to toy with and as far as Mers were considered, this one was quite attractive.

She whirled around, almost knocking over her pile, wide eyed and tight jawed. A slight blush rising to her cheeks.

And it would seem he was right. How adorable.

The little mer before him gave such lovely responses he simply couldn’t resist teasing a little. He had time to get back on his game before the ritual started. No harm, no foul.

‘What’s your name, Darling?’

The she-mer blinked, cocking her head to one side, but now observing him with a newfound interest.

‘Darling? Confident aren’t we? I take it you’re not interested in the soon-to-be Matron then?’

‘Hmm, I had every intention of going after the Matron welp, but I highly doubt she’d be as lovely as you.’

‘Such flattery…, save some for the trials, stranger.’ The female looked him up and down, sizing him up with her gaze. With the smallest of movements, she pushed away from the opposite wall and drifted towards him. Something about the way she approached unsettled the hag. He was rather accomplished at stalking prey, but right now, he felt like the one being stalked.

‘ So you will take part in the ritual then?’

‘That is non-negotiable I am afraid.’ she drifted past him as his eyes trailed her closely, locked on to the striped pattern running down her back and onto the nape of her neck. ‘It appears quite a few Merfolk will be disappointed if I don’t.’