#(siren!Ikkaku deserves to hang out with her own kind)

[ikkaku-of-heart]

@king-and-his-consorts asked: (Merfolk verses, because I'm a sucker) Sanji held his face in his hands as his elbows rested on the edge of the massive manmade pond in the middle of the coastal town. Blushing hard, the naiad gave a dreamy sigh as he watched the curly-haired woman mingling with the humans at the night-time party. He knew she was not what she appeared. It was inherent to naiads to be able to sense other aquatic creatures. The scent of the sea and a tinge of blood danced in the air around the woman. If he had to guess by the melodic nature of her voice, he would say a siren. Being a freshwater merfolk, he had never met a siren. But the legends had been true, a siren's beauty far outweighed that of other species!

Ikkaku had been enjoying herself at the human party. She'd danced with men and women who had gathered, dined on various meats and seafood, and drank deeply from cups of spiced mead. She'd even felt bold enough to do a little singing, knowing her voice far outclassed the others, but at least resisted the urge to use her power to hypnotize them all and turn them into her slaves.

No, that had been her ultimate goal in the last kingdom. Too many coastal kingdoms gained their wealth from hunting her kind. Slaughtering merfolk of all species, torturing them for their valuable tears or selling their scales as potion ingredients or decorations. It infuriated her, even if she'd rarely felt at home among her own kind. She could understand, to a point, the fear humans felt towards her own kind, but the more gentle water creatures didn't deserve such mistreatment.

Ikkaku was far from a noble siren but she wanted to make the most of her time on land. Sending a few mermaid-hunting kingdoms into chaos was certainly worth it. If the lich she was indebted to also happened to gain a feast of souls from its citizens as she devoured a prince's besotted heart, all the better.

Deciding to take a respite from the party, Ikkaku walked to the far end of the darkened lake, away from the humans. Taking off her shoes, she dipped her feet in the cool waters. Perhaps later she'd sneak away and have a swim. She just needed to make sure there were no witnesses when she reverted to her true form.

Speaking of witnesses...now that she had contact with the water, she could sense something in the lake. Peering around suspiciously, she at last noticed the naiad staring at her.

"See something you like?" she purred, fluttering her eyelashes and smirking. It was rare that she got to interact with her freshwater cousins. Yet another perk of her deal, she supposed. Most saltwater merfolk only got to interact with those whose rivers met the ocean. "Sorry you haven't caught me at my best. If the humans weren't around, I'd let you see me in all my glory."

#king-and-his-consorts #Into the Deep (Mermaid AU) #Princely Chef (Sanji) #Straw-Heart Alliance #(FYI I love doing fantasy and monster stuff year-round so don't feel that this thread is done on November 1) #(siren!Ikkaku deserves to hang out with her own kind)