Between Scylla and Charybdis

Chapter 14.

'I'm going...' Charybdis jerked away from the little pest previously known as Gaia. Alas, she was quick, way more agile than him, and thus had no trouble whatsoever keeping up with his cripled pace.

'You are in no condition to attend!' Her screeching didn't really impact him though. 'At least promise me you'll take it easy!'

She flipped over his head to block his path, the fierceness of a healer protecting her patient sparked in her eye. 'The Moonsorla isn't exactly known to be a peaceful event. Those wounds could still open back up.'

Charybdis shook his head. Pushing his body like this was risky, but something worth investigating caught his attention.

Another one of those loud thrums, a sound unlike Charibdis ever heard before, shook the cavern. It sent a shiver down his tail and for a second, the hag swore he could feel the tremors even across the length of his original form. The sound grew louder as he swam down the main thouroway, he was definitely going in the right direction...

'What's making that sound?' Charybdis tensed his shoulders as a hint of dread snuck to the forefront of his mind.

'You mean the drums? That's just some old ritual junk they pull out every year.' Gaia spun in the direction of the sound, giving Charybdis an opportunity to squeeze past her.

'Hey!-Just wait a minute!'

It was hard to explain, but something about those drums put Charybdis on edge. It was like his body, no,- his very being responded to the sound. Like he was being pulled in by the tremors they sent through the water, forced into following their sirensong. The essence of his power responded to the rhythm as if it was a separate heartbeat, not quite unlike his own, but external and beating out of rhythm .

He wanted to see them. Needed to verify his fears.

Gaia caught back up to him. 'Are you okay? Your face is as white as sand.'

'It's nothing.' He lied, trying desperately to mask his worries. 'This is a yearly thing, you say?'

The female nodded.

'And nothing ever happened?' Charybdis hissed, as a sharp sting shot through his back. He overestimated the range of his movement.

'Other than it making a huge racket? Of course not.' Another thrum echoed along the cavern walls, this time, Charybdis felt the pulse all across his body. What little magic he had left after maintaining his form for this long, clawed at him from the inside to find a way out. It felt both painful and euphoric.

The discomfort on his face must've shown, cause Gaia pulled him around so he'd face her.

'See! I told you to stay put. You're supposed to be recovering.'

'Laying still isn't going to help me, mermaid.' Why was this female insistent on shadowing his every move? Surely she had better ways to occupy herself?

'Don't you have someone other than me to fuss over?' He briefly snuck a peek at Gaia's markings. Three-marked, the same age as Scylla. 'A mate perhaps?'

That got her to shut up. For a second at least.

'N-no. I'm not-, I don't...' the little healer fumbled, her eyes widened.

'Hmmm? Look at you, stumbling over your words. What? Nobody caught your eye yet?' Charybdis chuckled. He wasn't really interested, the question served only to distract Gaia while he made his way to those damning drums, but her response was still mildly amusing. What really drew him in, was the awkward silence after.

Flicking his ears back and forth, Charybdis glanced over his shoulder towards the female. She had her face downcast, and her arms pressed tightly against her chest in a defensive stance.

'Or perhaps you're more interested in living vicariously through Scylla?'

That got her to move, his implication not lost on someone as clever as Gaia.

'You fucking wish!' She barked. 'How can a male possibly be this cocky and insecure at the same time!?'

Charybdis halted. Did he hear that right?

'Insecure? How do you reckon that?'

'Oh please, you're worried that Scylla will pick another male over you if you don't attend the Moonsorla. You've been grumpy ever since I suggested it.' A wave of her hand underlined the statement.

'Hmmpf, I think you misunderstood.'

'Sure I did. So we're just rushing towards the feast because you feel like mingling?'

Perhaps he could let Gaia have her assumptions. A measure of insecurity gave weight to the affections he was meant to harbor for Scylla. In any case, it was more believable than admitting to the eerie feelings those drums were causing him.

-

They needed a cull. There were simply too many damned Mer in one place and it was starting to make Charybdis uncomfortable. He pressed himself against a wall, as a sea of wriggling bodies moved about the cave. Fastened at the ceiling of a giant circular room, hung a series of huge ornate drums. A group of males was taking turns banging the instruments with their tails, while several females cut in, singing long, strung out hypnotic verses.

The whole room was abuzz with laughter, yet something smelled off. A large portion of the mer present were moving erratically, swaying and humming along with the verses of the songs, while looking... intoxicated? Charybdis did a double take of the crowd. Some of them were clearly drunk. But how the fuck was that possible? To his knowledge, only humans knew how to make alcohol. It was one of their few redeeming qualities and one of the few reasons Charybdis frequented the surface. How did these idiots manage it?!

Well, that was a mystery for a later time. There were more important matters at hand. He had to get close to those...

Another tail hit the drum, sending a new wave of discomfort Charybdis' way. This one, louder and more intense than the ones before. The shock sent him quivering backwards to the floor, grasping the side of his head as pain flooded his mind.

'Shit, don't make me drag you all the way back home.' Gaia huffed. The sound of her voice somewhat breaking through the pain. His vision but a blurry mass of colors and shapes.

'Trust me. If I ever need your help, I'll let you know beforehand.' He groaned in turn while crawling up. Blinking again, not Gaia, but a pale looking gray male came into focus.

'Try facing away from the drums as much as possible. Especially when they strike them. It helps with the pain.' The male muttered softly.

A cold hand pressed against the side of Charybdis' face. 'I've never heard them sound out quite as loud as tonight-.' Milky unseeing white eyes stared down at Charybdis, down from his face, following the rest of his body to his tail and lingering at the empty water just behind his shoulder. 'Almost as if they're trying to warn us of something.

They were made to subdue evil spirits, you know.'

'Diz? Come on, talk to me.' Gaia squeezed herself in his field of view, only halting once she noticed the pale male herself.

'Euryale? What on earth are you doing here?'