A Whole Bunch of Loki's

The Siren's Call - MerLoki - Part Four

I found myself harshly sputtering awake.

My throat sore and tickling at the back, my eyes stinging from the sea water I'd sunk into and my body shivering from the cold as the air mixed harshly with the liquid that coated my body and over the time I'd spent uncovered out of the sea, my temperature had dropped drastically.

Not that I knew how long I had been out for, nor where I was.

Looking around in a panic whilst trying to get my breathing to even out, my eyes, as aching as they were, were darting about and taking in my surroundings.

I'd managed to get into a cave of sorts, the jagged rocks above my head looked weak and ready to crumble away and impale me at any moment.

The surface I was led on was uncomfortable and had many bumps and edges to it that poked and prodded, but I couldn't move until my lungs settled into a more comfortable rhythm.

The area was surprisingly large with only one section of the wall broken away to allow access to the sea, which was coming through and lapping at the rocks below me, making them dangerously slick.

I somehow found a way to stand up without slipping on the rocks, stumbling back helped to gain my footing and stabilized me enough to turn on the spot to take in the size of the cove.

It wasn't huge, but the walls went pretty far back and there was a significant amount space for someone to hide comfortably behind some of the larger rocks if they wanted to risk shredding my knees to get there.

I turned in a slow circle to try and see if there was any way out that didn't involve jumping into the pool of water and swimming into the deepest depths once again, even though it didn't look far to the shore from where I stood, the thought of risking being lured into near death once again wasn't appealing.

"What the hell?" I muttered, my throat still feeling scratchy and my voice coming out in a rasp.

From the corner of my eye I spotted something near the entrance of the cave, tucked away between a rock and the wall.

As I moved closer, I could see a man led on the rocks with his head rested atop crossed arms and his eyes closed, more than likely sleeping.

My eyes trailed over the half his face that I could see, his features were sharp and angular but still very handsome and softened by his relaxed state, then his hair, the wet black strands were stuck to his face and tangled from the sea water, finally my gaze slowly moved down his body, taking in his muscular back until pale skin met with a long tail that trailed into the water he was led beside.

From where I was stood I couldn't tell the colour of his scaled tail, in one moment it was black and then he'd move it and the change of light made them turn a strange green that also seemed to emit the faintest bit of gold.

"How peculiar," I frowned, clearing my throat a little in hopes of shifting some of the tickle that still remained.

"What is?"

My eyes flitted back to him in time to see him lift his head, his eyes blinking tiredly before he pushed himself onto his elbows and rubbed them with webbed hands.

"Seeing a supposedly mythical being," I replied warily, not wanting to step into offensive territory.

"Is that really all that strange?"

"A little, yes."

I watched as he manoeuvred himself with surprising grace so that he was sat down at the edge of the rock, his long tail dipping further into the water and seeming to go so deep in that my eyes couldn't quite tell where it ended.

"But you knew I was real."

"How?"

"You heard the call, didn't you?" He smirked, his eyes roaming over me.

"I heard something."

"That something was me."

"Well, that's great," I nodded, "but can you maybe not do it again and leave me the hell alone?"

"Unless you have meat and alcohol on you, then I doubt you'll have much to offer me in exchange for such a favour," he chuckled before grinning to show his sharp teeth.

"So you're the classic type of mermaid then."

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Do I look like a mer'maid' right now."

I stared at him then pursed my lips and nodded a little in admittance.

"My mistake," I sighed, glancing around before looking back at him, "wait, right now?"

"Yes," he smirked, leaning back on his webbed hands, "you could say I'm a kind of sorcerer, shapeshifting is one of my many fortes."

"Okay, calm down there, Ursula."

"It's Loki."

"Alright then, Loki," I huffed, putting my hands on my hips, "I need to have a discussion with you."

The look in his eyes gave away that he knew exactly what I was talking about, a cocky chuckle rumbled from his chest as his dark eyes roved over me.

"Whatever about?"

"You know full well what about, stay out of my damn dreams."

"Oh, you didn't like it?"

"Did I like being molested by a random sea man after losing my legs? No!"

I wanted to smack the smug look off of his face, the one of pure bliss and elation at me getting riled up.

"Too bad, I had fun and my fun is my main concern."

"I should have seen that coming," I sighed, "can I at least ask that you don't drag me into water again? I have an aversion to getting water in my eyes."

"I'll think about it."

I rolled my eyes and moved around the rocks to the other side, peering out of the cave entrance to try and decipher just how far away I was from the shore.

It wasn't hard to figure out that it was too far, I wasn't a bad swimmer but I also wasn't a strong one and the distance was too great.

My loud groan echoed around the space and I had to refrain from simply dropping to the floor in exasperation.

Had no one noticed that someone had simply disappeared into the sea?

Probably not, most people are focused more on themselves than those around them, though I suspected that someone probably already took a liking to my unattended things.

"That was a bit dramatic," Loki stated as he swam across the small expanse of water between us, having slipped back in without my noticing.

"Of course, how am I meant to get back?"

He smirked and rested his arms against the surface, his chin resting on top of them as he stared up at me.

"Well, I could help with that."

I looked at him with a look of disbelief before laughing.

"Not being funny, but I don't feel comfortable with you swimming me all the way back there without attempting to drown me."

"I never said that I would swim you back myself."

"Then what did you mean?"

He let out a low chuckle and pulled himself up further on the surface.

"Let me show you."

Loki reached up and hooked his fingers around my wrists, with one tug of his alarmingly strong arm I toppled and was promptly thrown into the cold water.