CWs/TWs: blood, cutting, knife, referenced transphobia

.•● 𓇼 ●•.

Scott gasped and stumbled backward a bit, immediately going into a severe state of panic. This was it. He was going to die here, this bounty hunter was going to kill him, just like all of the other sirens that dared to mingle with humans. He was so stupid for leaving home. He shouldn't have left.

Grian's serious gaze softened and turned worried. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked, stepping forward to try and help.

Scott shrieked and tripped over his feet, falling onto the floor and backing up against the railing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't kill me," he wailed. "I don't wanna be fish food!"

Grian paused. "Huh?"

Scott hiccuped, trying to relax but couldn't, as he leaned up against the railing. "Please, I don't want to die..."

"I... what?" Grian shook his head. "You don't really think I'm going to kill you..."

"Yes! You're a bounty hunter!" Scott shouted, shaking terribly. His stomach hurt from the trembling. "Bounty hunters kill things."

Grian rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yeah, for a bounty. There's no bounty on your head. Not unless you're some kind of royalty, but I doubt you are. I mean, you probably wouldn't be here if you were." He shrugged. "But as far as I know, you're a friend. And Martyn seems to like you, so I wouldn't kill you even if there was bounty on your head. I'm not going to hurt my kin for money."

Scott stared in disbelief, hiccuping and hyperventilating still but a bit calmer. Grian wasn't going to kill him? That was different. Really different. Every story Scott had heard about humans ended in the death of a siren. He supposed he was relieved, but he couldn't know for sure if Grian was telling the truth. Humans were deceitful, weren't they? "What's stopping you from killing me anyway?" he blurted, trying to back up more.

"Martyn would kill me if I did anything to you and, frankly, I don't feel like dying any time soon," Grian said bluntly. "And I'd get nothing out of it, so there'd be no point."

Scott looked Grian up and down, searching for a sign that he was untrustworthy, but he found none. Grian seemed to be completely relaxed, he wasn't fidgeting or looking around a lot, and he looked a little worried about Scott, even. "How can I trust you?"

Grian paused for a moment before pulling the knife off of his belt and putting the tip to the center of the palm of his hand. "I'll prove it." He put the smallest bit of pressure on the blade, just enough for it to break the skin, and dragged the blade down his hand to his wrist. He put the knife back in its sheath and held up his bleeding hand. "I swear on the blood drawn from my blade, I will not kill you."

"O-okay," Scott stammered, not sure what to think about what Grian had just done. Humans really were weird. "I believe you."

Grian smiled. "Great!" He glanced down at his hand and grimaced. "But this is definitely going to sting later. I'll give you some space to calm down whilst I go clean this up." He waved with his unharmed hand and walked down the stairs to the deck.

Scott took as deep of a breath as his lungs would let him, then sighed and relaxed against the railing. No matter what Grian did or swore on, it still didn't get rid of the fear of being killed by one of them. Grian may have been trustworthy, but that didn't mean the rest of them were.

.•● 𓇼 ●•.

Scott stared nervously at Grian, who was sipping his tea peacefully at supper. He didn't know if Grian already told anyone else about him being a siren, but he wanted to make sure that he definitely wouldn't now. Perhaps if he stared hard enough, Grian would get uncomfortable enough to avoid talking at all.

Grian set his ceramic cup down on the table and glanced over at Scott, freezing when they made eye contact.

Good. It's working.

The two stared at each other, Scott intent on making Grian as uncomfortable as possible whilst Grian just looked slightly nervous.

"So, G," Bdubs started, drawing Grian's attention away from Scott, "how'd you get that cut on your hand?"

Scott chewed on his lip as Grian smiled and laughed.

"Oh, y'know," he said. "Mopping."

Bdubs blinked. "You know what? I'm not going to question it." He shrugged and went back to eating his supper, and a wave of relief washed over Scott.

Thank Poseidon, he thought as Grian looked back at him and winked. He trusted now that Grian wouldn't tell anyone, and he felt a little safer knowing that.

Scott jumped a little when Martyn nudged him. "Is something going on with you and Grian?" he whispered as Joel shouted at Grian when the latter stole some of his food.

Scott shook his head. "I'll explain later."

Martyn nodded, though he was slightly hesitant, and went back to eating.

Scott yawned a bit and ran a hand through his hair, forgetting for a moment that it was a lot shorter now than it had been that morning. He smiled and silently thanked Martyn again for cutting it, then suddenly started to cry.

All conversations stopped as soon as he sobbed the first time, everybody freezing to look over at the crying boy.

"Are you okay?" Jimmy was the first to ask.

Scott nodded, then shook his head, then shrugged. "I just..." He sniffled and hiccuped, rubbing his nose. "You guys are so nice to me, I- I don't ever want to go back home..." Which is entirely true because I would be likely thrown in prison for my actions.

"Well," Cleo started, sighing, "you do have to go back at some point."

Martyn frowned. "Cleo-"

"We don't have enough food," Cleo said sternly. "We barely have enough for the seven of us, we can't afford another mouth to feed indefinitely. And I am not putting us on rations."

Scott stared down at his food. He had nowhere left to go.

"He can have mine," Grian said finally. "I'll fish for my own food. I, uh..." He swallowed thickly. "I love fish." He gave an awkward smile, though everybody could see right through it. Grian hated fish.

"You don't need to do that," Scott said.

"No, I do." Grian donned such a serious expression, he almost looked angry. Though it was hard to really tell what emotion he was actually feeling, as per usual.

Scott shut his mouth and nodded. He knew better than to argue with a bounty hunter, whether he swore on his own blood or not. He knew better than to argue with anyone. "Okay."

Cleo looked unsure as she glanced between Grian and Scott. She sighed and threw her hands up. "If that's what you want to do," she surrendered. "But Scott has to go home at some point. I don't want his parents finding out that he's been with us and think we kidnapped him."

Scott scoffed. "That'd be a relief," he murmured, not realising he was speaking out loud. "Ah- Er- Um- I meant- That'd be a real... eef!" He laughed nervously. "It's, uh, um, like slang for, um... for crime?"

Martyn snickered and nearly spit out his tea laughing. "Eef?"

Scott's face turned bright red and he huffed. "Shut up." He sighed as Martyn continued to laugh, then looked up at Grian, who looked slightly worried. Scott quickly looked away to avoid making eye contact. He had a sneaking suspicion that Grian might've known more than he was telling.

.•● 𓇼 ●•.

"Do I really have to go back home?" Scott asked quietly as Martyn made him a makeshift bed to sleep on for the night.

Martyn sighed as he patted the blankets, then stood up and yawned. "I think if Cleo knew about your situation, then-" He froze when he turned toward Scott, then smiled nervously. "Hey, Grian..."

Grian yawned as he walked into the room toward a hammock. "I already know everything," he said, waving a hand. "I overheard your conversation about how Scott can't go home and he's a siren and all of that. Martyn has a point, Scott. Surprisingly."

"Hey!"

"If Aunt Cleo knows about your situation, she'll surely let you stay as long as you need," Grian continued. "If you can't go back home just for cutting your hair, I don't have a single doubt that she'll let you stay here. We'll have to dock more often than just the seven of us, but at least you'll be safe. We all like you."

Scott smiled. "Thank you," he said softly. "I just worry about the others. They won't... try to kill me, will they?"

Martyn sighed. "Scott, we've been over this-"

"I can't help it!" Scott whined. "You don't know the stories the elders tell about humans. They say humans are emotionless monsters that kill everything they can. Even each other!"

Grian and Martyn looked at each other.

"Well, they're not entirely wrong," Grian said.

"Grian!" Martyn scolded, tossing a pillow at him.

"What? Some people do kill things for fun," Grian said honestly. That certainly doesn't help. "We kill things for money, but very rarely do we find pleasure in doing so. Joel and Bdubs? Most definitely they do. Me? Not at all. I just do it so the family doesn't suffer."

Scott pursed his lips. Semi-comforting, semi-frightening. "At least you won't kill me," he said, smiling awkwardly.

"Like I said earlier; no bounty, you're not royalty. There's no gain for me killing you."

Martyn stared blankly at Grian, then turned to Scott.

"Don't. You. Dare," Scott bit out, leaving Grian confused.

"What are you not telling me?"

Scott laughed nervously. "Oh, nothing, nothing," he said. "Just forget about this, okay? I'm tired, let's go to bed." He started for the bed Martyn made him, then stopped when Martyn held up his hand in front of him. "Ma-"

"You should probably tell him," Martyn said gently. "He already knows you're a siren, and he won't kill you. He'd have to go through me first."

Scott looked over at Grian and sighed. "Fine... I am royalty."

Grian's eyes widened.

"I'm the 'princess' of the Coral Isles."