Between Scylla and Charybdis

Chapter 3. 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 monologue 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 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 her, 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. The fact that he was 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 while 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 had 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.