Splatter

7. The Siren 3284

"Some champion I turned out to be," Dean said, peeling out of his sparkly green swimsuit.

"It doesn't matter Dean, I know you tried," Sam's voice was gentle as he handed Dean a towel. "You're always a winner in my eyes."

"Loser," Dean said affectionately.

Sam grinned and spent a couple of minutes ruffling through Dean's gym bag to find a pair of clean socks. The change room was deserted after the race, the winners had been corralled into media interviews. A flatscreen in the corner of the dressing section showed Charlie's excited face as she spoke about her passion for Mer culture and her excitement at being one of the chosen ten. It was surprising to hear that both Charlie and Kevin had been shortlisted for the survival round, even though it had been Mer, and whatever the hell Crowley was, who had swum the fastest times.

"Apparently it wasn't just a race based on speed. Something to do with swimming style and body symmetry," Sam said ruefully as he passed Dean a second hand towel to dry his hair. "They were scoping out the physical build of the contenders. The decisions don't make much sense to us but I suppose it's their princess."

Dean didn't reply to Sam's commentary, he was too busy staring at the screen. Novak was standing in the sun, his hair plastered down the side of his face, his skin golden and shimmering with water droplets. His cheeks were rosier than when Dean saw him briefly after the race, though his eyes were still weary. Novak's substantial brows and his chiselled profile were somewhat eclipsed by the light, making for a mesmerising focal point that Dean could not take his eyes off of. Dean almost wished to be standing there next to Novak as he was being interviewed, basking in the light with him.

"He placed fucking first?" Dean was incredulous when he saw the words flash at the bottom of the screen.

Sam shrugged. "Yeah, crowd favourite too. Out of the Mer we know from the Embassy, Novak came first and Gadreel second. Crowley was third."

Dean shook his head fiercely. "He didn't get disqualified but I did? How's that fucking fair?"

"Charlie said she's not surprised," Sam whispered, looking over his shoulder to check that no one else was in the change rooms. "Have you heard of Castiel?"

"Cas who?"

"Castiel is a rebel Mer, aristocratic by descent, raised by the outcast Queen of the Sirens or something like that. He, or she, is a big deal for the Mer, popular, beloved even, but a complete renegade. An integrationist, believes that Mer and humans should live together on land or in the sea. Word is Crowley and Castiel have a secret alliance. Crowley's not high on their social hierarchy, a marriage to the crown heir would change that. Charlie thinks the royal who is behind this whole thing is Castiel. That's why humans are invited to compete too, that's why this contest isn't happening in some far off coral cove that no humans can get to."

"I heard that name mentioned by Crowley and Gadreel. Crowley said he wanted to be Castiel's consort and Gadreel said they were fighting for Castiel," Dean paused for a second. "Do you think this Castiel is hot?"

Sam blinked, taken aback. "Uh, no one knows what they look like and no, it's not exactly in the literature whether Castiel is hot."

"I bet he, or she, is real smoking hot," Dean said, biting down on his bottom lip. "You saw how desperate Novak was to win. He's probably besotted with Castiel, wants to froth all over their fish eggs or something."

Sam made a squirming face. "That's not how Mer breeding works Dean. At all."

"He's probably like gagging to tie tails with Castiel," Dean muttered darkly, stepping out of his swimsuit. Sam averted his eyes and passed Dean a pair of briefs. "Bet Castiel's a dude and built like a brick shit house with a whale sized ..."