1 comments/ 19152 views/ 2 favorites Amour Ch. 01 By: darkdeception Tienna always watched her feet as she walked. Today she was in a particular hurry as she walked briskly, bumping into people to her left and right along the narrow sidewalk. She didn't care about them as she struggled to keep up her fast pace, her breathing began to become laboured under the effort. The air was getting colder as a stiff breeze swept across her face, cooling the sweat. The sunlight was quickly fading, the sun receding in the distance as it succumbed to the night. Relief fell upon her face as her feet touched the still warm sand. A ghost of a smile creeping across her lips as she set out with renewed vigour, setting out towards the cliffs. People were gone, the cold bite of the night forcing them to retire to their warm protected houses. Tienna looked out along the beach, it had changed a lot; her favourite place. Empty beer cans littered the sand as she trudged up the narrow path that led to the cliff, pieces of disused paper adhered onto the bushes like a fungus as she walked among them avoiding their entangling branches. Tienna sighed deeply, now feeling depressed at the loss of her own private Idaho. She made her way to the edge of the cliff, letting go of her towel as she stood at the edge. A roughly constructed wooden fence signified the end of the safety margin, a point of no return if ignored. She stood for awhile, the wind blowing through her long dark hair as the voice of the ocean swept through her, calming her. She had no idea how long she was going to stay there, some days she stayed for ten minutes as she watched the sunset retreat behind the waves before leaving to go back to the hellhole which she had dubbed her home. Today felt different though. It was as if time had no meaning, as she looked down at the waves crashing against the cliff face. The beautiful colours of the sunset blazed red, as if they were taunting her, she was captivated by its beauty yet could sense its malice. The waves continued to crash against the cliff face, a small cave on the edge of the cliff became submerged underneath the large swell. Tienna looked around the shoreline. A lone couple strode along the wet sand, their feet leaving imprints behind them before it disappeared underneath the rising tide. They looked happy as they strode confidently along, their arms around each other as they stopped to embrace. He reminded her of someone she once knew. She shook her head, clearing it of these thoughts. It seemed that everything reminded her of that same someone. Standing up and straightening her dress, Tienna smiled at the bewitchingly malevolent sun as she jumped off the cliff. The rush of the wind filled her ears as her stomach rose threateningly. She could taste the bile at the back of her throat as the ocean hit her. The sudden cold impact, causing all the air to rush out of her lungs as she rose to the surface gasping. The cold tranquil ocean flowing through her body, cleansing her soul as she made her way towards the shoreline, her sleek body cutting through the strong current with ease. The sun had set now as twilight began to creep through the sky. Enveloping it and everything with its darkness. Tienna looked around her, it was completely dark, and everything was black. She couldn't see the waves, or the shoreline for that matter. She felt something brush against her leg underneath her. Panicking, Tienna swam quickly in a random direction as her head filled with disturbing images of what may have brushed against her foot. She had seen too many Jaws movies, and although she had laughed at the cheap special effects at that time, now she could feel her heart thud inside her head as she struck out to what she hoped was the shoreline. All of a sudden she was it by a wave in front of her as its undertow dragged her under, she clawed her way to the surface, her lungs burning in agony at the lack of air as she finally broke the surface gasping, only to be hit by a second wave. She was unprepared for this wave as she swallowed the seawater, her head swimming due to the lack of oxygen as she felt herself fall down, peacefully sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Enveloped by the inky blackness around her, she felt something-large brush against her. She did not care anymore though her soul was cleansed and free from thoughts. Free from pain, free from the countless nights sobbing at what once was. Free from this world and its constant tests of pain. As she felt herself slip into the inevitable darkness of peace she heard the lyrics of 'Mad World' by Gary Jules flow through her subconscious mind. "I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad, the dreams of which I'm dieing are the best I've ever had." The sounds of the waves crashing against the cliff woke Tienna up. She looked around startled. She was in a cave of sorts, the sunlight peering through the small entrance of the cave, lighting up the meagre space of the cave. She heard a large splash to the right of the entrance. Looking up she saw through the dim light the outline of a woman. But what an exquisite sight she was Tienna thought to herself as this woman approached her slowly and warily, only to stop a mere 5ft away. Tienna studied the woman with interest. The stranger had red flowing hair, dark in colour that curled in large circlets as it splayed across her chest. The hair was decorated with an assortment of tiny sea shells that shined in the pale light of the cave. The stranger's untamed green eye's stared at Tienna with caution. Brilliantly vivid in comparison to her milky pale skin, which strangely reminded Tienna of full cream milk. The strange woman standing before Tienna was also topless as her small pink nipples stood erect in the cold unforgiving water of the ocean. Below that was the water, which hid any other nakedness, which this woman may have been hiding from Tienna. Tienna was the first to talk. "Did you save me?" The woman listened carefully then nodded, grinning. Her pearly white teeth shining brilliantly in the pale light of the cave. "Why?" The woman cocked her head to the side, looking at Tienna curiously. Her green eye's staring at Tienna deplorably. Tienna smiled. "What is your name? My name is Tienna." The woman looked at Tienna and smiled knowingly as if already knowing that that was her name. "...My name is Aria." Aria's voice with heavy with an accent that Tienna had not heard of before, as her tongue rolled around her vowels tentatively. Her voice was light and slightly musical, one might even go so far as to describe it bubbly. "Thankyou... Aria." Aria smiled cheekily and nodded. Waving briefly she dived back underneath the surface, her silver tail flicking briefly in the light before disappearing underneath the ocean without so much as a ripple. Tienna stood for some time, looking at the lapping water at her feet. Had she really seen what to her looked like a fish tail? This was crazy she berated herself. Mermaids aren't real. They are fairy tales told to children to put them to bed. But despite her arguments Tienna still had that flicker of doubt playing at the back of her head as she swam out to shore and drove home. Were mermaids really a myth? Were they all as beautiful as Aria? Am I hallucinating after drinking all that seawater? Is this all a strange twisted dream? Tienna pinched herself hard, causing her to yelp in pain as her car swerved, almost hitting an oncoming car as it blared its horn angrily at her. At least she knew that it wasn't a dream Tienna thought to herself as she rubbed her sore arm... Amour Ch. 02 Tienna arrived home to her lonely bare apartment; she had arrived to work late after her little accident the other night, apologising profusely to her boss as she rushed around for the rest of the working day. Her mind dizzy with an array of scheduled meetings and errands. But as she sat there in the apartment alone, her mind began to wonder, slipping back into old familiar haunts. Resurfacing old wounds to scratch at, over and over until it became raw with emotional afflictions. His face appeared in her head, laughing and talking yet with no words coming out of his mouth. She tried to close her eyes to free her mind of these images but was only greeted with his jeering smile, haunting her endlessly. In a vain attempt to free her minds she thought back to the night before. Was she really dreaming that she had seen a silver tail at the end of Aria's body? It could have simply been a trick of the light, refracting off the surface of the water, temporarily blinding her. Or she could have simply hallucinated, an after effect of drinking all that salt water and the near death experience. Tienna sighed deeply, rubbing the temple of her head with her forefingers. If her mind wasn't on thoughts of him, then it was on thoughts of a possible lapse in her sane being. She decided to clear her mind by taking a drive, down to her favourite place; the beach. It was still mid afternoon as she meandered her way down the path, the beach had a few couples enjoying the last of the sun's rays as they lay upon the warm white sand, working on their tan. Tienna decided to take a stroll along the beach to get away from the couples. Their infatuations with each other were causing her to relive some unfortunate past relationship flashbacks. Tienna casually walked along the beach, past the cliff face that she was upon the night before as she enjoyed the feeling of soft sand underneath her toes. The waves lapped in the back ground in a never-ending rhythm of nature. The sand underneath her feet turned coarse as she made her way along the beach, heavily littered with shells. The sun was still high in the sky; it's heat causing the sweat to bead as it dripped from her forehead. Her clothes began to stick as well from her perspiration. She looked around her, the beach was desolate, this was no surprise to Tienna as the surf was a lot rougher on this side of the cliff face and numerous rocks reared their blackened heads as waves crashed over them. Tienna stripped off her clothing and dived underneath an oncoming wave. The coolness of the water cleansed her sweat drenched body as she swam out towards a submerged rock 50m away. As she dived underneath a wave, she heard a voice faintly humming. Surfacing she looked around in an attempt to ascertain whereabouts the source of this voice was, only to be greeted by the sounds of the waves crashing against the beach and the endless ocean stretching out before her. An oncoming wave approached her as she dived underneath it deeply. There, there it was again she thought to herself as she heard the voice as distinctive as a whales call. The song eerily enchanting as the note grew louder, Tienna made her way towards it. Her lungs were bursting from the lack of air, as the voice continued to haunt her. She surfaced panting heavily as she looked about her. There was a small cave in front of her. She looked around her; she was in front of the cliff face that she had climbed that night before. Time seemed to freeze at that point in time; it was strange looking at that black cave, like déjà vu as a mixture of emotions ranging from fear to curiosity and eventually to cynicism swept through her body. She should turn around and leave at that moment. Turn and don't think about any of this madness ever again. Unfortunately common sense didn't seem to fit into this equation. Steadying her breathing, she took a deep breath and submerged once again. The voice was distinctive as she swam her way towards the cave entrance, her eye's peering through the dim light. It's melody rose and fell, like the tides of the ocean as she was hopelessly drawn towards the ethereal voice. She entered the small cave entrance and surfaced silently, so as not to scare away whatever the source of the voice happened to be. Her eye's widened in shock. There sitting on an outstretched rock was Aria, she was exactly as Tienna had remembered her the night before. Her long red hair splayed across her chest, adorned with hundreds of tiny sea-shells that glittered in the cave's eerie light. Her eyes were closed in rapture as her mouth parted, her exquisite voice resounding off the cave walls, only to compete with the incoming waves that constantly swept through the cave entrance. Her breast's hung free and unadorned; her small pink nipples erect in the dank atmosphere of the cave. Tienna's gaze continued to travel down Aria's body as she continued to sing. Her body was slender, but where her legs were meant to be, a giant fish tail was instead. Tienna looked in amazement as she studied the mermaid before, her milky white skin seemed to blend into a tail with ease. It looked so natural and real. The silver tail shimmering against the water's reflection. Tienna waited before Aria finished singing before saying something. "...Aria?" The mermaid whirled around, a look of fear on her face when she heard Tienna's voice. Her face softened when she saw Tienna. "...Hello Tienna." -"I'm sorry to startle you, I just heard your singing... it was incredible... I was drawn to it... I couldn't help it." "That's ok... Tienna. I don't usually perform to audiences though... so you can imagine my surprise when I got caught out." -"But your voice is so beautiful, you shouldn't be ashamed of it." "Of course it is beautiful... We mermaids were once known as the sirens of the sea many years ago... back then we had a bad reputation as a few rebellious mermaids used their voices to draw sailors to submerged rocks... It almost led to the discovery of us by humans..." -"..So you don't like humans?" "Well no, we generally don't associate ourselves with them, troublesome creatures they are, we leave them to destroy themselves..." -"Oh... So... why did you save me?" "...I...don't know.... I was drawn to you for a strange reason..." -"That I was drowning?" "... ha ha. No I have been watching you for a long period of time, I can pick up on things. I could feel your pain as you frequented those long walks along the beach only to stare out at the ocean. A reprieve from your pain?" Tienna had swam along until her feet was able to touch the ground, she got out of the water and sat upon the wet sand, facing Aria. She couldn't help but notice Aria's eyes flicker across her naked body as she faced her. -"Yes... but that is something that I would prefer not to talk about." Aria's eyes softened as she looked at Tienna empathically. "... I understand... forgive me for intruding into such private matters..." -"Ha ha ha... don't apologise, it is just a touchy subject that I feel that I need to solve for myself first before being able to move on... So is it really true that you are s mermaid? Wow. Are there others like you?" Aria smiled. "Ha ha, yes but we are dwindling as a species. I have only met 2 in the past hundred years..." 100 100 years? How old are you?" "Mermaids and other mythical sea creatures or 'merous' have a very long lifespan, easily over 1000 years. I am still young, I am only 150 years old." -"What!?! 150 years old? How long have you people been on earth for?" Aria smiled cheekily. "We have been on earth long before humans laid foot on this planet. Back then there were only angel's in the sky and mermaids in the sea. During one day a year the mermaids and various other mythical sea creatures were given a chance to walk upon the lands for 24 hours. If we liked the land then we were able to stay there to live within society. But at the end of the 24 hours, if we did not return to the ocean then we would never be able to again become merous. Which is the collective term for the various fabled sea creatures." -"Wow. So much for evolution and the monkeys. So that fish tail is real?" "Yes, as real as I am." -"...Can I.. touch it?" Aria looked at Tienna quizzically. "Sure, as long as I can touch your tail." Tienna looked at Aria confused, but when she saw her gaze travel down her legs, she smiled. "We call these 'tails' legs. Of course you can touch it." Aria smiled and watched with curiosity as Tienna walked and climbed upon the rock that Aria was upon, stretching out her legs. Tienna stared at Aria's tail with great interest, the silver scales of her tail shone out like a thousand pearls. She looked up at Aria who nodded at her. Tienna lightly ran her hand along the tail of Aria. It was cold, yet smooth like polished marble as her hand travelled down her to her tail. Aria flinched slightly as Tienna's long nails trailed across her scaled skTienTienna stopped immediately what she was doing, apologising profusely. Aria smiled, her mouth parting slightly as a light laugh escaped her mouth. "I'm sorry, it was just that it tickles when your nails trailed across my skin. It's very sensitive my tail..." Aria said, flexing her tail up and down. Tienna smiled. "May I...?" Aria questioned, looking at Tienna's long legs stretched out besides her. Tienna grinned, nodding her head. Aria looked down amazed at Tienna's legs as her hand ran across her smooth soft skin. "It's so smooth, and warm." She said as her hand softly explored her legs. Tienna smiled, repressing a giggle as Aria's hand softly stroked the underside of her foot. Studying each aspect of her leg wiloselose scrutiny. "I have always wondered what it would be like..." Aria murmured as she studied her knee with curiosity, her hand exploring the underside of her thigh. "It feels so warm.." Aria said as her hand neared Tienna's bush. Tienna took a sharp intake of breath as A's h's hand lightly brushed across her bush. Aria looked up alarmed. "I'm so sorry, did I hurt you? Are you ok?" -"No... I-it's ok. That is just my reproductive organs." Aria blushed deeply, withdrawing her hands from Tienna. "I-I'm so sorry... I-I didn't know." -"That's ok... really... Uhmm out of curiosity... how do you guys have uhmmm..." Aria looked at her confused. -"Reproduce?" Aria smiled. "I myself have never reproduced. merous creatures essentially stay with each other their whole life. They are only betrothed to one person. When they want to reproduce, they go onshore for that one night a year where they can walk the earth. In this form they can then copulate, before returning to sea. Where the mother can then look after the baby through a pouch that develops. This is what I have been told when I was a child. I myself have not yet met my betrothed. But as I have said earlier, merous creatures live up to 1000 years and sometimes beyond, so reproduction doesn't necessarily become an issue until we reach our 400th year." Tienna nodded in awe. Aria glanced outside the cave entrance to the now black sky of the night. A full moon shone, casting out it's silver light to the waves below. Aria looked up at Tienna. "I had best be going. I haven't had any dinner as of yet, so I had best start hunting. Full moons are often best for food gathering in any case." Tienna looked out at the dark sky. She had not realised how much time had passed. Aria saw the look of worry on her face. "Don't worry, I will guide you back. Follow me." She said, disappearing in the water to resurface 5m away. Tienna followed her, diving deeply she followed Aria's silver tail, which glistened in the night, the scales shimmering against the silver light of the moon. The water was warm as it enveloped her cold body, warming her like a liquid blanket. They both surfaced some time later, Tienna could clearly see her clothes strewn on the beach where she had carelessly discarded it earlier that afternoon. She turned around to thank Aria but had found that she had already disappeared. Once again she drove home wet and confused.