3.2

Ira yawned and blinked sleepily at the sea surrounding him. On the edge of the horizon, black clouds were rolling in.

He almost felt like laughing in victory.

It was time for The Storm.

This was the storm during which the ship sank and the Captain was saved by the mermaid princess, who dragged him off to shore on the mainland where she stayed with him until he woke up. But his memories of her would be faint as she would get back in the water once he was better. Due to this, he would confuse her with a noble's daughter and start courting that girl instead.

In complete refusal to give up the man she loved to someone of, you know, the same species, she ran away from home to a Sea Witch, where she got legs and lost the ability to make any sound at all in exchange for them.

On the ship, the crew were frantically preparing for the storm. The people were tying everything they could and what they couldn't, they nailed down. All that could be removed from the deck were. All the sails were rolled up and put away so they wouldn't blow the ship even further off course or tear.

While everybody else was panicking, Ira took the opportunity to check up on his Host.

Far below the surface of the sea, deep, deep down into the complete darkness that was the bottom of it, was the sparkling city of Atlantis. This was the pride and most well-guarded secret of the merpeople.

This was where the King and his family lived.

It was also where his Host was currently located.

Calling it a city, though, led the way to some confusion. It wasn't a city in the human manner. There were no roads, no paths, no shops and streets. No, it was spread out over many many miles in the sea, in underground caves and mountains, over corral reefs and resting grounds. The only color came from the glowing creatures that thrived down there.

His Host was currently tending to the princess, like she was supposed to . From what he had seen, that duty mostly started and ended with keeping an eye on the princess. She wasn't required to serve her every need or get her food or anything. No she was just to always be present so in the event of danger, she could be a mer-shield.

Like all mermaids, she possessed an otherworldly beauty, which was to be expected. After all, mermaids got most of their food by luring gullible humans into the waters, and the easiest way to do that was to just be pretty. Humans could never resist pretty things.

Before the worst of the storm came the rain. It was a heavy cold thing that rained down on them with no regard for their feelings on the matter.

Ira thought it was wonderful, and stayed outside on the deck for as long as he could. Well, technically, it was also his duty as the Captain had told him without hesitation. He had tied himself to one of the masts of the ship, but he didn't know how long it would hold. Not like it mattered.

He was fully prepared to move to a new body after this one died.

After the rain came the winds.

With the winds came the waves and with the waves came dangerous levels of water. Fairly soon, the ship was like a rollercoaster, swinging this way and that. It rose and fell at an alarming speed.

One of the masts broke when a wave crashed right into it.

Things just went downhill after that.

As Ira had known it would, eventually, the ship capsized and started sinking. Those who could jumped ship, but Ira was tied to it and he didn't feel like untying himself when he knew that he couldn't swing anyway. What a waste of energy. He watched as the others frantically swam for the surface, only to be downed again and again by the vicious waves.

The sensation of drowning was an odd one.

He had turned his ability to feel pain off in preparation for it, but it was still strange to feel it.His lungs filling with water, the inability to breathe.

The darkness that crept into the edges of his vision.

In the water, the unmistakable sounds of the voices of the merpeople started surrounding the people of the drowned ship. On his map, there were at least half-a-dozen merpeople coming closer, and even more approaching. And it was no wonder why. This was essentially a free buffet.

He could see, with his physical eyes, as a roaming figure, moving at speeds simply impossible for a human, approached him with an alarming velocity. So this body would be food for a mer? Well, who cared about that.

His eyes started fluttering closed as the lack of air finally set in, and it was only his curiosity of which mer would eat him that kept him from abandoning the body immediately. He would automatically exit it when it died anyway and it wasn't like he could actually fall unconscious. Once this body did, he would still be aware of the rest of the world by way of his sensors as a system.

The last thing he saw, before this body lost the ability to see anything at all, was a face that was so inhuman it was eerie, and yet it was still undoubtedly beautiful. It belonged to, if he wasn't wrong, a merman.

In his mind, Ira could see as the merman swam ever closer, until he was directly in front of him. Curious, Ira stayed put in the unconscious — well on the way to dead — body, and watched as the merman gripped Ira's temporary body. The merman twisted his face this way and that, and rested its claws over his neck pulse. Staying calm despite the apparent danger his body was in, Ira observed as the merman tore him loose from the rope and slotted its mouth over his. Suddenly, the body he was possessing breathed in a mouthful of air and Ira could feel a faint thread of consciousness return before he abruptly lost it again.

Figuring that there was nothing more he could do, he turned off his perception of the outside world and let oblivion claim him.

When he awoke, it was to complete darkness.

Ira squinted around himself, but he couldn't see a thing. With a hiss of frustration he improved his vision until he could begin to make out his surroundings. He appeared to be in a cave of some sort.

As he glanced around himself to take it all in, he spared some attention to check up on his Host, who was swimming in the water surrounding the land where the Captain had been deposited.

His Host looked utterly miserable.

His stomach made an odd growling noise just as he was about to check up on the Captain and he abandoned the thought in favor of wondering if the cave held any food, or if he would now starve in it. In that case, it would be better to abandon this body now as he couldn't swim out of the cave, couldn't fish and was completely ignorant on the art of making fire. Obviously he had some studying to do when the mission was over.

Well, he supposed to first thing he should do what see if he could find a way out. He turned on his map and spread his attention to it. There wasn't a single dot near him that signified sentient lifeforms. Nor could he spot a way out of the cave that didn't involve him drowning.

He sighed and cursed his bad luck for getting swept away to an underground cave below the ocean.

Ira laid back on the harsh ground of the cave and closed his eyes. The sound of the water from where it entered the cave filled his head and he relaxed to it easily. He started humming under his breath, for lack of anything better to do.

A loud splash rudely interrupted him.

The map showed a dot, signifying a merman close by. Ira cracked open an eye and stared out into the cave in curiosity. A large fish laid dead on the ground near the edge of the water. Another splash and one more wish flew through the air to land next to the last one. Ira sat up and couldn't quite manage to keep the amusement out of his voice when he said,

"That's all well and good, but I have no idea how to cook that. And I can't eat it without fire anyway."

Seaweed were thrown out of the waters to land next to the fish. Ira rose an eyebrow. "I still can't cook."

A frustrated hiss sounded from under the water, causing bubbles to appear on the dark surface.

If Ira wasn't wrong, that was the same merman that had taken him from the sinking ship. Did he intend to keep Ira as a pet? Was he storing him to eat later for emergency rations? The possibilities were endless.

Regardless, Ira would still starve.

Next, clams were thrown out of the water. Out of curiosity, Ira opened one and found a lovely pearl sitting inside. He really couldn't stop himself from smiling now. "That's sweet of you, but I don't like clams. The pearl is pretty though."

The next clam hit his head. Ira laughed before he could stop himself. Trying to keep his giggles under control, he squinted into the waters and found nothing.

"I should just ditch this body."

The next thing to emerge from the ocean was the upper body of the merman as he burst out of the water, clearly aiming for him. Ira jumped back, startled, and watched as the merman landed on the ground and hissed at him furiously.

The scales that were scattered over the pale body were dark green in color, and he couldn't help but notice the wicked looking claws that tipped off the fingers. Gills were on the side of the neck, and the eyes were reptilian looking, with slitted pupils. When he hissed, he revealed pointy teeth that looked as if they could easily rip out Ira's throat. The long black hair extended all the way down to past his waist, clumping together now that it was out of the water and tied back from his face with something green. Seaweed? Sea grass? Something like that.

He was absolutely breathtaking.

A clawed hand grabbed a hold of one of Ira's feet and with an amazing show of strength, the merman threw him into the cold and dark water. Ira flailed through the air before he hit the water, at which point he rapidly began sinking.

Clawing through it, he felt himself losing air. Before he could begin the process of switching bodies, he was pulled back out of the water by the merman.

Deposited back on the ground of the cave, Ira sputtered as he spit out the water he had accidentally swallowed. He was absolutely drenched and started freezing almost immediately. Irritated, he switched off the ability to feel temperatures and growled at the merman that was staring at him with a pair of pale golden eyes. He looked way too satisfied.

"Don't do that. I can't swim, you idiot." Ira snapped at him.

The merman radiated smugness as he clawed his way closer and pulled himself further out of the water. As it was closer, Ira could see that his eyebrows were made of many small scales.

Ira narrowed his eyes at him. "Don't you dare come any closer."

The merman grinned at him with a mouth full of deadly fangs and continued crawling forwards. Ira stepped back watched as the tail, the same dark green as the scales, were revealed. It was a big, heavy looking thing that dripped water. Ira glared at the merman and spit out,

"So? Am I food? A prisoner? What?"

The merman didn't look at him as he held out his hand and flames erupted from it. Ira's eyes widened in surprise and he stepped closer before he realized it. Before he could step back again, the merman dragged him down to the floor of the cave and pressed his mouth to Ira's. This time, it wasn't to give him air.

Come to think of it, this soul... it was familiar. Where had he met it before?