[He lets himself make another noise that's unpleasant and sharp, baring some too-sharp-to-be-human teeth at her playfully. It's always better when she's around, even when she's jabbing fingers into him and teasing his hobbies. Everything feels better when she's here.]
We're twins, goobus. You don't get to be a big sibling when you're twins.
[He pinches her back, going for her cheek.]
And you should know that the answer to that is literally every man. Not saying humans are like, always the cream of the crop, but come on. Can't I have literally any fun. Any at all. Gosh.
[Anytime that they're together the world feels so much righter.
Taako makes a move for her cheek and Lup playfully bats his hand away, her tail unfurling from around his own so that she can swim just out of reach. She twists through the water with ease, shooting a sharp, teasing grin over her bare shoulder at her twin. The woman gives an exaggerated roll of her head, but can't do a damn thing to hide her smile. She can't help it. She loves the doofus.]
Ugh, you're so boring. I mean, I admire your whole dedication and shit, but c'mon, let's go fuckin' flip some boats or drag some idiots down with us. Gotta be more to life than flippin' your hair and batting your eyes at any dude in tight pants who sails on by.
[He wants to be mad at her, give her some sort of pout or pretend his displeasure, but he can’t hide it with her. Immediately, he laughs, chasing into her personal space effortlessly as he grabs for her hand. There’s no place he’d rather be.]
Alright, alright, you fuckin’ disaster. You know where there’s a good batch of ‘em today? Beach is pretty sparse but there’s gotta be some idiots with poles out by the rocks that are gonna looooove being wet.
[Her fingers, webbed and so slick in the water, twine through his with ease, love lingering in the squeeze of her palm against his. Taako comes close and Lup's already tugging him along with her, headed to the north, further out into the sea, away from the shore. With their sleek fins, those powerful fins made for fast travel through rough ocean, the two glide with ease against the waves, long hair streaming out behind them.]
Saw a huge fuckin' boat full of nerds headed out this way. Wanna see how many we can get jumpin' in with us?
[They twist together effortlessly, moving more like a single unit than two beings, paying little attention to the surroundings as they go. Taako trusts Lup knows exactly where she’s going, and they’ve lived in these seas all their life. They can make it back home even if they end up far.
He keeps his eyes on her, and she can see the way his mouth tugs with a more wicked smile, revealing the jagged edge of his teeth.]
Oh my god, all of ‘em. What’re you thinking today, classic ass siren gambit, just lookin’ like we’re sexy as shit, hecklers? Actually, let’s find out how hot they are first, if these are shitfaced motherfuckers I don’t want them touching me.
Fuckin' fair point. Though it's funnier to watch them try to swim when they're trashed out of their minds. They either just sink right away or thrash around like idiots before going under. Either way, they put on a good show.
[It's still some distance ahead of them, but with their powerful tails, the twins catch up to the ship that Lup spotted earlier, the vessel a little too shiny and new to be strictly for fishermen's use. And sure enough, on board there are a few familiar looking fishermen, skin raw and red from hours spent out at sea, but there are one or two shorter figures aboard as well, draped in long, white coats, gesturing excitedly to one another as the ship cuts through the water towards it's destination.
Once the ship's within distance, the twins halt their movement, watching from a safe enough distance to peer up out of the water and plan.]
[He laughs as they pull up, peeking his head above the water just enough to get a look at them and the ship.]
Nice thing they’ve brought us. Real good package gift, y’know? Think we could sink it?
[You can’t put something that shiny in front of Taako, he just wants it, despite whatever use he could ever attribute to the thing. But something that big, you get it nice and flooded, well then it’s free real estate. It’s dodgy living in shipwrecks, if you think someone might come investigate, but fuck their current cave if they could get this.]
Even if we can’t, if we can get ‘em off we have all the time in the world to put a hole in it.
[Sure, messing with humans never gets old, but commandeering their ship? Now that's a much much better game.
The look Lup shoots her brother no doubt matches his own exactly, lips curled into a perfectly beautiful but wicked grin, thrill lighting up in her eyes. This is going to be so good.]
Wanna each take a side and count off how many we rack up jumping off? I'm aiming for at least ten on my side.
[Lup watches her twin twist excitedly in the water, already getting revved up for this game. For as much as she teases him, she knows how cunning Taako is. Clearly, he's already working at a plan to beat her. She'll just have to work harder.]
Alright, fair. That just means I'll whoop your ass twice over.
[And before she has a chance to call dibs on the port side, her brother calls it and zips away, already gaining the attention of the men onboard. Lup shifts her attention to other side of the boat, slipping up to the surface, to where her thick tail can be seen splashing up above the water, just a preview of what's to come.]
[Oh, he absolutely has a plan. As he surges forward, he reaches back and pulls the tie from his hair, letting it flow freely behind him as he darts forward. It catches the light as he moves, dispersing in the water to make him look bigger, like a beluga or dolphin whizzing beside the boat. Of course, he knows how to swim to the bow, wait for their eyes, and then dip backwards, letting his tail shine just above the water.
He grins, sharp and excited, when he hears them start yelling, catching wisps of what is that as he twists in the water, letting his glittering scales twist the sun back towards them, making him captivating, hypnotizing. Come get a load of this, fuckers. He sings a melodic laugh towards the ship, waiting for the first one to drop.]
[There's other yells now too, less surprised and more like authoritative commands cutting through the air, but Lup's far to focused on outdoing her brother to notice the shift in the human's attitude onboard the ship. She hears their calls and assumes Taako is trying to dazzle them with his beauty, likely shaking out his long hair and wiggling around beneath the surface at the perfect angle for the sunlight to bounce off of his glittering scales.
What a friggin' show off.
Lup's tactic is a little different, she slides right up against the side of the boat, right up beneath where one man is currently peering over, and winks up at him while he jumps at the sudden sight of her, yelling. She pushes herself off of the ship's side at that commotion, doing a backflip back beneath the surface, before she reappears just beneath another man, her grin sharp and curling while she raises a hand to beckon him in with her.
But the man she tries to capture is so much more prepared for the mermaid's presence than Lup gives any of the humans aboard credit for. Instead of leaping in after her, he throws a net.]
[He knows something's wrong when no one hits the water. Usually, they've got at least one by now, a dockhand with too few brains and too many muscles halfway over the ship just at the curve of his waist, the sharpness to his smile. But everyone seems to know what they're doing, and he stops to squint at the ship.
It's at that point he sees something coming and jerks to the side, just enough to avoid a dart whizzing by his ear, and his heart thrums.]
What the fuck--
[He dives, another one catching his hair as he propels himself under the boat as quickly as he can, over to where Lup must be. They need to leave, they need to go right now, if they just dive they can make it and get out of here. He's yelling under the water as he goes, in the hopes she'll hear him first.]
[Oh, she hears him. There's just not much that she can do about his warnings.
Before she can even wind up to shoot away from the boat, to put as much distance as possible between her and the humans aboard, Lup feels the net close in tight around her, tail twisted up tight around her body, losing the only leverage she has in freeing herself. Without the use of her powerful tail, all she can do is wiggle and squirm, flailing uselessly from side to side in the hopes of catching someone onboard off guard and getting him to drop his end of the net.
But despite her efforts, the mer can feel herself being pulled closer to the boat, inching towards the surface. So she does the only thing she can think of.]
Go! I'm right behind you, Taako, just go!
[It's a promise she intends to keep. Even if she doesn't know how, she'll get free and catch up to him in no time. As long as her brother isn't trapped, she can bust out and get back to him.]
[This is exactly the reason they're not supposed to be doing what they are. Humans are easily tricked, but persistent- stupid, but strong. And while the twins can play their advantages like no other, they both know they're useless out of the water. Lup is yelling but Taako can't turn his back, can't leave without assurance. So when he makes it under the ship and spies a look at her, his heart clenches in his throat, and he's hardly stopping before he's swimming right at her and grabbing for her hands to pull back, to get her out.]
Come on, Lup, just-- just swim with me, we'll take 'em out, come on--
[He can't let them take her he won't he won't he won't, he's never been without her and the very thought makes him want to die. If she gets caught, he's coming too. He won't leave her.]
[That's one lesson they should have actually listened to.]
No no no - Taako, go!
[His hands find Lup's, gripping her tightly and just refusing to let go, but the mer pulls back, further into the net, not wanting to risk her twin getting tangled up and dragged to shore with her. She can escape, Lup's so sure of herself, but just the thought of Taako getting caught by these humans makes her throat go tight, tail twisting in anguish from where she's bent in the net.
No matter what, she can't let that happen. She just can't.]
It's this - this fucking net! [No matter what tooth or claw attempts to rip through it, the net's thick loops seem too strong for her, reinforced exactly for this kind of difficult catch, against the kind of creature that most definitely doesn't want to be caught. Lup flails, her body in constant motion there beneath the waves, fighting as hard as she can against this, but just as she's reaching to chomp down on the net, the whole thing lurches upwards through the water towards the surface.]
[The net moves and he feels his heart go with it, like it's being pulled from his ribcage. Their hands are torn apart with the jolt and Lup pulling back and he almost goes forward again. He won't leave her here. He fucking won't. If they can't break the net he'll-- he'll figure something out, he--
Panicked, he surveys the boat quickly, and looks back up to her, trying to ignore the horrifying thought that this may be the last time he ever sees her again.]
Don't let 'em knock you out, I'm gonna take out the ship! Hang on!
[And he darts down, underneath and out of gaze of the deck, heading for the rudder. He's going to break it, jam the engines full of seaweed and rocks and make sure they can't fucking go anywhere. Even if she's trapped, they can't leave, and it only takes a few holes to sink the whole thing.
They'll die for this. For even daring to try and separate them. He'll kill them all.
He swims low, underneath the bottom, trying to find his way in to shatter this thing and stop their escape.]
[For as long as mermaids live, it shouldn't be too surprising that there are a few details of her life that Lup doesn't remember.
She doesn't remember the faces or the names of her parents, the mers who left their twin children behind long before ever forming any real bond with them. She doesn't fully remember those early years of just the two of them on their own, out alone in the ocean together, just learning to survive. She doesn't remember her first words or her first fish or even what her own birthday is.
But Lup remembers Taako, remembers every moment the two have spent together, how every single second of her life has ticked by while he's been right there at her side.
Until now. Until now when she sees her twin slip away just out of sight beneath the boat, his long, bright fin twisting once, then twice before disappearing completely. Something unfamiliar weighs down heavily within her belly at the sight, something sharp that twists until she feels like she's going to be sick.
Is this last moment they'll have spent together? Will the last words she ever hear her brother speak be drowned out in sheer panic, his hurt forever echoing in her mind?
Taako disappears and Lup fights, she doesn't give in, she can't when he's relying on her, but the men aboard the vessel heft her net straight out of the water with ease. Out of water, tangled up in a net with her tail pinned painfully to her chest, there's just nothing left for the mer to do but shriek at the men, hissing and wriggling, never giving them a second of relief.]
[As far as he's concerned, a lot of their past doesn't matter. He doesn't need parents, or firsts, or pieces of an identity that others need to have him. He has her. Taako cares that Lup is with him and very little else, which is what makes this so fucking hard. He forces himself not to look back to her or linger any longer, because he's got a window of opportunity he has to take. He won't fucking let them get away. He won't.
Taako makes it around the bottom, calling on any magic he can summon to slam into the side of the bottom of the vessel, aiming to hit a hole anywhere he can. It's strong, but he has to be stronger. He strikes across the hull, swimming around quickly and trying to find a rudder, a motor, something he can do to stop them from fucking moving.
One thing's for sure, for the people on that boat- they're not going anywhere until they deal with him. Somehow.]
[Taako slips away, darting through the water with a speed that comes from a lifetime spent chasing one another through these waves, while Lup flops aboard the ship, shrieking between every gasping breath, flailing against the net that binds her. But with each struggle, she just gets more and more tangled, movement restricted more with every twist of her lanky frame.
While Lup distracts the men onboard, Taako has the time to stage an attack beneath the ship. But the vessel they are on is so much stronger than the ones the twins are used to messing with. Most of them are made of cheap aluminum, easily punctured and wrecked. But this one is an expensive research ship, the kind that's had thousands dumped into it to make sure that it doesn't sink under any circumstances. The hull is all steel, heavy and seemingly untouched beneath the mer's attacks.
And then there's shouts above the water, men readying up to sail back to shore, throwing out commands to take off.]
[This is not happening, this can't be fucking happening. He bangs his fists ineffectually into the metal plating, scraping sharp nails across the surface. This isn't a small wooden boat where he can latch his hands onto boards, rip open ill-fitting plating, use the power in his tail to sweep a current and slam a boat into a reef. This has motors, and single panels expertly welded to give no moment of relief. There isn't even a porthole he can put his fist through or shatter with his voice. It's like they knew.
The horror grips him then in his chest. They had made themselves too obvious. This isn't fishermen, these aren't observers, these are hunters. And they were there for them.
He's got too much adrenaline running through him to stop, but he can't fucking run away from this no matter what Lup told him to do. So he races off to the side, brings his head above water, and screams as loud as he can.
They won't take her alone. If they go, they go together.]
[They've spent a lifetime together getting out of danger, of slipping away just in the nick of time from human sight, of outwitting sharks and fishing vessels and sea monsters with a laugh while they flip away through the water. And after decades of always getting away, it just makes sense that one of these times they'd have to finally lose.
No one's that lucky.
The last thing that Lup hears before passing out is her brother shrieking after her, his shrill voice echoing in her ears as she finally flops limply down against the deck of the boat, vision blurring before she's just gone.
As for Taako? It would be impossible for the men aboard to not hear his screaming, to not see that the mer they've caught is passed out lifelessly on the deck and yet there's still another's shrill voice ringing through the air right beside them. But the ship's turning fast, the waves around them rougher than before, and it's right at the peak of his scream that the hull of the ship smashes hard into the mer's head, cutting him off.]
[It was their only option, to be frank- it was obvious they got the more docile of the two, if it could be called that. When they make it to port the researchers will marvel at the claw marks raked through steel in imprints, the way glass is shattered in patterns of a soundwave. But they can't take him. Too risky. Too dangerous.
Taako's too busy trying to get something to break he can't move fast enough as the current catches him in it's tide and he meets the boat hull. In an instant, the collision slams him hard, and he sinks unconscious under the waves, under the boat, a bit of blood trickling out of a new sideways cut against his head from the impact.
He won't wake again until hours later, until they're long enough gone that he can't even follow the current to carry him. And he'll curl up then, in the reef where they used to play, and mourn the loss of his heart.]
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no subject
We're twins, goobus. You don't get to be a big sibling when you're twins.
[He pinches her back, going for her cheek.]
And you should know that the answer to that is literally every man. Not saying humans are like, always the cream of the crop, but come on. Can't I have literally any fun. Any at all. Gosh.
no subject
Taako makes a move for her cheek and Lup playfully bats his hand away, her tail unfurling from around his own so that she can swim just out of reach. She twists through the water with ease, shooting a sharp, teasing grin over her bare shoulder at her twin. The woman gives an exaggerated roll of her head, but can't do a damn thing to hide her smile. She can't help it. She loves the doofus.]
Ugh, you're so boring. I mean, I admire your whole dedication and shit, but c'mon, let's go fuckin' flip some boats or drag some idiots down with us. Gotta be more to life than flippin' your hair and batting your eyes at any dude in tight pants who sails on by.
Let's wreck shit!
no subject
Alright, alright, you fuckin’ disaster. You know where there’s a good batch of ‘em today? Beach is pretty sparse but there’s gotta be some idiots with poles out by the rocks that are gonna looooove being wet.
no subject
Saw a huge fuckin' boat full of nerds headed out this way. Wanna see how many we can get jumpin' in with us?
no subject
He keeps his eyes on her, and she can see the way his mouth tugs with a more wicked smile, revealing the jagged edge of his teeth.]
Oh my god, all of ‘em. What’re you thinking today, classic ass siren gambit, just lookin’ like we’re sexy as shit, hecklers? Actually, let’s find out how hot they are first, if these are shitfaced motherfuckers I don’t want them touching me.
no subject
[It's still some distance ahead of them, but with their powerful tails, the twins catch up to the ship that Lup spotted earlier, the vessel a little too shiny and new to be strictly for fishermen's use. And sure enough, on board there are a few familiar looking fishermen, skin raw and red from hours spent out at sea, but there are one or two shorter figures aboard as well, draped in long, white coats, gesturing excitedly to one another as the ship cuts through the water towards it's destination.
Once the ship's within distance, the twins halt their movement, watching from a safe enough distance to peer up out of the water and plan.]
See? They've got nerds. I told you.
no subject
Nice thing they’ve brought us. Real good package gift, y’know? Think we could sink it?
[You can’t put something that shiny in front of Taako, he just wants it, despite whatever use he could ever attribute to the thing. But something that big, you get it nice and flooded, well then it’s free real estate. It’s dodgy living in shipwrecks, if you think someone might come investigate, but fuck their current cave if they could get this.]
Even if we can’t, if we can get ‘em off we have all the time in the world to put a hole in it.
no subject
[Sure, messing with humans never gets old, but commandeering their ship? Now that's a much much better game.
The look Lup shoots her brother no doubt matches his own exactly, lips curled into a perfectly beautiful but wicked grin, thrill lighting up in her eyes. This is going to be so good.]
Wanna each take a side and count off how many we rack up jumping off? I'm aiming for at least ten on my side.
no subject
[He's already twisting in the water, maybe too excited for this game.]
I'm gonna take port okay readysetgo!
[And he speeds off towards the front of the ship, catching a few surprised gasps from the humans on board as he jets through the water.]
no subject
Alright, fair. That just means I'll whoop your ass twice over.
[And before she has a chance to call dibs on the port side, her brother calls it and zips away, already gaining the attention of the men onboard. Lup shifts her attention to other side of the boat, slipping up to the surface, to where her thick tail can be seen splashing up above the water, just a preview of what's to come.]
no subject
He grins, sharp and excited, when he hears them start yelling, catching wisps of what is that as he twists in the water, letting his glittering scales twist the sun back towards them, making him captivating, hypnotizing. Come get a load of this, fuckers. He sings a melodic laugh towards the ship, waiting for the first one to drop.]
no subject
What a friggin' show off.
Lup's tactic is a little different, she slides right up against the side of the boat, right up beneath where one man is currently peering over, and winks up at him while he jumps at the sudden sight of her, yelling. She pushes herself off of the ship's side at that commotion, doing a backflip back beneath the surface, before she reappears just beneath another man, her grin sharp and curling while she raises a hand to beckon him in with her.
But the man she tries to capture is so much more prepared for the mermaid's presence than Lup gives any of the humans aboard credit for. Instead of leaping in after her, he throws a net.]
no subject
It's at that point he sees something coming and jerks to the side, just enough to avoid a dart whizzing by his ear, and his heart thrums.]
What the fuck--
[He dives, another one catching his hair as he propels himself under the boat as quickly as he can, over to where Lup must be. They need to leave, they need to go right now, if they just dive they can make it and get out of here. He's yelling under the water as he goes, in the hopes she'll hear him first.]
Lup, they're attacking! Lup! We have to go!
no subject
Before she can even wind up to shoot away from the boat, to put as much distance as possible between her and the humans aboard, Lup feels the net close in tight around her, tail twisted up tight around her body, losing the only leverage she has in freeing herself. Without the use of her powerful tail, all she can do is wiggle and squirm, flailing uselessly from side to side in the hopes of catching someone onboard off guard and getting him to drop his end of the net.
But despite her efforts, the mer can feel herself being pulled closer to the boat, inching towards the surface. So she does the only thing she can think of.]
Go! I'm right behind you, Taako, just go!
[It's a promise she intends to keep. Even if she doesn't know how, she'll get free and catch up to him in no time. As long as her brother isn't trapped, she can bust out and get back to him.]
no subject
Come on, Lup, just-- just swim with me, we'll take 'em out, come on--
[He can't let them take her he won't he won't he won't, he's never been without her and the very thought makes him want to die. If she gets caught, he's coming too. He won't leave her.]
We're getting out, okay, we're getting out, please, fight, keep fucking fighting!
no subject
No no no - Taako, go!
[His hands find Lup's, gripping her tightly and just refusing to let go, but the mer pulls back, further into the net, not wanting to risk her twin getting tangled up and dragged to shore with her. She can escape, Lup's so sure of herself, but just the thought of Taako getting caught by these humans makes her throat go tight, tail twisting in anguish from where she's bent in the net.
No matter what, she can't let that happen. She just can't.]
It's this - this fucking net! [No matter what tooth or claw attempts to rip through it, the net's thick loops seem too strong for her, reinforced exactly for this kind of difficult catch, against the kind of creature that most definitely doesn't want to be caught. Lup flails, her body in constant motion there beneath the waves, fighting as hard as she can against this, but just as she's reaching to chomp down on the net, the whole thing lurches upwards through the water towards the surface.]
no subject
Panicked, he surveys the boat quickly, and looks back up to her, trying to ignore the horrifying thought that this may be the last time he ever sees her again.]
Don't let 'em knock you out, I'm gonna take out the ship! Hang on!
[And he darts down, underneath and out of gaze of the deck, heading for the rudder. He's going to break it, jam the engines full of seaweed and rocks and make sure they can't fucking go anywhere. Even if she's trapped, they can't leave, and it only takes a few holes to sink the whole thing.
They'll die for this. For even daring to try and separate them. He'll kill them all.
He swims low, underneath the bottom, trying to find his way in to shatter this thing and stop their escape.]
no subject
She doesn't remember the faces or the names of her parents, the mers who left their twin children behind long before ever forming any real bond with them. She doesn't fully remember those early years of just the two of them on their own, out alone in the ocean together, just learning to survive. She doesn't remember her first words or her first fish or even what her own birthday is.
But Lup remembers Taako, remembers every moment the two have spent together, how every single second of her life has ticked by while he's been right there at her side.
Until now. Until now when she sees her twin slip away just out of sight beneath the boat, his long, bright fin twisting once, then twice before disappearing completely. Something unfamiliar weighs down heavily within her belly at the sight, something sharp that twists until she feels like she's going to be sick.
Is this last moment they'll have spent together? Will the last words she ever hear her brother speak be drowned out in sheer panic, his hurt forever echoing in her mind?
Taako disappears and Lup fights, she doesn't give in, she can't when he's relying on her, but the men aboard the vessel heft her net straight out of the water with ease. Out of water, tangled up in a net with her tail pinned painfully to her chest, there's just nothing left for the mer to do but shriek at the men, hissing and wriggling, never giving them a second of relief.]
no subject
Taako makes it around the bottom, calling on any magic he can summon to slam into the side of the bottom of the vessel, aiming to hit a hole anywhere he can. It's strong, but he has to be stronger. He strikes across the hull, swimming around quickly and trying to find a rudder, a motor, something he can do to stop them from fucking moving.
One thing's for sure, for the people on that boat- they're not going anywhere until they deal with him. Somehow.]
no subject
While Lup distracts the men onboard, Taako has the time to stage an attack beneath the ship. But the vessel they are on is so much stronger than the ones the twins are used to messing with. Most of them are made of cheap aluminum, easily punctured and wrecked. But this one is an expensive research ship, the kind that's had thousands dumped into it to make sure that it doesn't sink under any circumstances. The hull is all steel, heavy and seemingly untouched beneath the mer's attacks.
And then there's shouts above the water, men readying up to sail back to shore, throwing out commands to take off.]
no subject
The horror grips him then in his chest. They had made themselves too obvious. This isn't fishermen, these aren't observers, these are hunters. And they were there for them.
He's got too much adrenaline running through him to stop, but he can't fucking run away from this no matter what Lup told him to do. So he races off to the side, brings his head above water, and screams as loud as he can.
They won't take her alone. If they go, they go together.]
no subject
No one's that lucky.
The last thing that Lup hears before passing out is her brother shrieking after her, his shrill voice echoing in her ears as she finally flops limply down against the deck of the boat, vision blurring before she's just gone.
As for Taako? It would be impossible for the men aboard to not hear his screaming, to not see that the mer they've caught is passed out lifelessly on the deck and yet there's still another's shrill voice ringing through the air right beside them. But the ship's turning fast, the waves around them rougher than before, and it's right at the peak of his scream that the hull of the ship smashes hard into the mer's head, cutting him off.]
no subject
Taako's too busy trying to get something to break he can't move fast enough as the current catches him in it's tide and he meets the boat hull. In an instant, the collision slams him hard, and he sinks unconscious under the waves, under the boat, a bit of blood trickling out of a new sideways cut against his head from the impact.
He won't wake again until hours later, until they're long enough gone that he can't even follow the current to carry him. And he'll curl up then, in the reef where they used to play, and mourn the loss of his heart.]
no subject