Sanada thought for a moment, glancing off to the side. His eyes darted around the room in search for anything that might help the merperson on the shore. But of course he couldn’t ask the doctor for anything physical, or else it would be clear it wasn’t a hypothetical. “No, that is all. Thank you.” He dipped his head politely.
The doctor returned the polite gesture and returned to his business; even if he could not ask for any kind of medicine it wasn't too bad, as the man had specified head traumas rarely required any medication, unless certain symptoms existed - the mermaid didn't seem to be bleeding at all nor was its breathing irregular the last time he'd checked. All was left to do was to go back to the beach and see if the creature was still there
Sanada thanked the doctor once more before turning out of the doorway and back onto the street. He walked a little quicker this time, finding that he worried about the mermaid, and even hoped nothing had happened to it while he was away. He quickened his pace into a half-jog, half-walk, until he reached the shore again and scanned the area where he remembered he had left the creature.
The fact that gulls no longer circled the area where he'd left the mermaid was already a sign things were not as he'd left them. Approaching the rocks where the creature was last seen, footsteps different than his were left in the sand, all around said rocks - the ningyo was gone as well.
So the mermaid's bright white skin had attracted attention in the end and someone had seen it, taking it away. But who was it? Who took the mermaid? The only clue that was left behind, was the trail of footsteps and a long wide trail, a sign that whoever had taken the mermaid had carried it away on the sail Sanada had placed it on. The problem was, how much had it been since the other person had passed by? If they had already made it back on the cliffs, it was very possible for the Ningyo to be in danger, if not dead already
Sanada blinked widely, and he scanned the rest of the shore just in case this wasn’t where he remembered setting down the mermaid. He ran his hand down his face, breathing a curse as he looked at the footprints trailing away. He supposed the best thing to do at this point was follow the tracks, so that’s what he did.
The tracks in fhe sand led across the beach and towards the common path to the city; for a while it was very easy to follow but as soon as it made it up the hill, the trail vanished, as there waa no more sand. The tracks in the grass gave a vague idea of where they were headed but they were not as clear.
The trail was lost in the city, due to paved roads and things of the sort, so it was impossible to find the mermaid now. Disappointment was starting to set in as the young man was forced to realize he may never find the creature and that he should probably go home. But the gods did not forsake him.
Arriving home, news came of a silvery ningyo found on the beach and its discoverer wished to gift it to the ruler. How the wheel turns
Sanada travelled home with a despondent look on his face, not entirely sure why the ningyo‘s disappearance affected him so greatly. When he returned home, however, and heard about the discovery, he blinked his eyes widely. “Is it conscious?” Upon later reflection, he would realize that it must have been quite the question to respond with, but his first thoughts were of wishing for the creature’s well-being.
The man looked slightly perplexed by the question, but replied anyway.
"Uum, no… But it's still alive, i think. The person who found it didn't want to kill it until my lord decided what to do with it."
Thank the gods for such honest people. The man who brought the news rushed off to bring Sanada's decision to the person who brought the mermaid to the city and soon enough a local fisherman walked in the yard, carrying the still unconscious creature, this time with some help from the man from earlier. They put down the ningyo and greeted Sanada.
The creature was still breathing normally only its scales were once again losing their shine due to it being out of the water.
(Kinarymo, can I join?)
(uuh, idk :0 honestly its a OxO soooo ;; srry. i rlly dunno what role i could giv u ;;)
(THE THIRD WHEEL, lmao, it's fine, )
“I see, thank you,” a smile spread across his lips at the news. “Don’t have them kill it. Have them put it in a bath of water,” Sanada decided. It was a strange request, similar to when he asked for medical advice from the doctor. But after looking after it’s wellbeing all afternoon, he found that he did care for the creature. Curiosity drove him more than anything, though. Did it speak their language? How close was it to an actual human despite its appearance?
The men exchanged some looks between them, before picking the mermaid up again and carrying it around the back of the house, where they knew there was a small pond with koi swimming in it. The creature was placed in the pond and left there to rest undisturbed.
The news spread in the town like wildfire - it wasnt every day one got to see a living mythic creature with their very own eyes - but no one was currently allowed to see the mermaid, for now at least. Not that Sanada feared someone might steal it, but having so many people in the yard staring at an unconscious mermaid meant a big crowd, that would bother both him and the creature, so better keep everyone away for now.
For the remainder of the day, the mermaid was left alone to rest in the pond, periodically checked on by the young man. The amount of time the creature remained unconscious was starting to get worrying - was it sick? was it in any danger? or was it just recovering? It was very hard to tell what was going on, thus waiting it out was the only option right now.
The fish swam around the ningyo peacefully, sometimes gently bumping into him before dashing away, some swam through its silvery white hair like through long algae, all the fish acting as if they were inspecting the newcomer.
Eventually, the last time Sanada went to check on the mermaid, when he had nothing else to do for the day he sat down beside the pond to watch the fish dart about the pond. Even when the ningyo was unconsious, in this pond he looked so peaceful. He sat cross-legged, and his shoulders hunched forward. He would wait for as long as it took for this creature to either wake up, or pass away peacefully. He much preferred the former,because he wouldn't know what to do if it was the latter.
The creature lay still on its side, the white wavy hair gracefully floated around its head like a veil. Under the water's clear surface the scales on the tail had regained their pearly shine, shimmering gently underneath the liquid surface.
It would really be a shame if it passed away without ever waking up, its origin a total secret. Night time rolled around as Sanada waited, to no avail - in the end he'd have to go inside to sleep, leaving the mermaid alone with the fish in the pond. Tomorrow would bring the answer to the problem of the creature, whether it survived or not.
The song of the roosters nearby accompanied the arrival of the next day's dawn, as the sun slowly rose from the sea towards the sky. The birds were back to their usual loud chatter, with the sound of the sea in the background.
For Sanada it meant the start of a new day, and also the resolution to the mermaid problem. After a decent breakfast it was time to check up on the creature and see what had come of it.
Walking into the yard, the first thing that one could notice was a head covered in silvery white hair poking out of the water, looking around curiously but also shyly
Sanada stood in the doorway, eyebrows raised with interest when he saw the creature’s head poked out of the water. A smile spread across his face, finding himself happy that the ningyo seemed at least a little bit okay. He walked up the the edge of the pond, gingerly kneeling, “Hello.” He wasn’t sure what language—if any—he would speak.
The mermaid didn't seem to hear him when he walked closer, therefore it jerked when it heard the man's voice; its first instinct was to dive down but as the pond was too shallow, it just ended up splashing as it made its way to the opposite side. Though its heart could not be heard, it was probably beating faster than a bird trapped in a cage, as seafoam green eyes studied the young man that had made his appearance so suddenly behind the creature. Now that it was awake, it looked even more human, with weariness and fright etched into its features.
For several minutes, the ningyo remained stuck to the wall opposite to Sanada, not taking his eyes off him as if he expected to see what he would do next, seemingly fearful.
(bump)
Sanada stayed crouched at the side of the pond. Judging by the creature’s lack of an answer, he determined that he either most likely didn’t speak their language, or didn’t speak at all. He stayed put, and as still as he could in an effort to appear as no threat Hong as possible. As his legs grew tired, he leaned back to sit normally. He may have to stay here for a long while to earn a little bit of trust. He needed trust to talk to, and learn about their species.
It took a little bit for the initial shock to wear off and the mermaid slowly found the courage to move away from the edge he'd glued himself to, making his way slowly towards Sanada. Perhaps the use of kind words helped remove the creature's fear - who could blame him, really? He was considered a rather tasty catch, after all.
Slowly but surely, he made his way to the side the young man was on, eventually being able to lean on the edge. He still held himself pretty low in the water, not daring to come out entirely. After a really long pause, his voice was finally heard as he nodded affirmatively to a question.
Sanada smiled as the mermaid crept closer. “Yeah? It seemed like you took an awful spill in the storm the other day.” He grinned, daring to extend his hand gently to the creature. Encouraged that the ningyo understood his question, he decided to ask another one. He wasn’t sure what to call him, so he ought to find out. “Do you have a name?”
The mermaid shot a long glace at the hand that had been extended towards him, unsure of how to respond to the gesture. Slowly, he extended his own hand and gently touched the other's fingers. Surprisingly, his hands were not webbed as one might expect, instead his fingers were slim and smooth, with a small red gradient at the tip of the fingers, with slightly sharp claws, or nails, whatever they were called.
"It's Akanashi." he spoke, shyly. "My name is Akanashi"
His voice was young, soft and pleasant to the ears, something that some would call a "precious person's voice", it was just that pleasant; it also sounded like he was a very shy person.
(if u want a sample of the voice im talking about, look up Postman from identity v - hes a total baby)
reads previous posts
HMMMMM……. Lonely wraith man wants to know if you have another spot or not.
(hmm, trashy friend isnt sure, must ask the other person. Theres always room in the DMs tho, if this isnt available u3u)
(if u want a sample of the voice im talking about, look up Postman from identity v - hes a total baby)
awww
Sanada found himself brimming with joy at the touch of the ningyo’s hand. Did this mean he trusted him? He assumed yes, to some degree, or else he wouldn’t have even gotten close, right? “Akanashi,” he echoed. “I’m not going to hurt you,” or let anyone else hurt you, he added silently.