And then...






As her clicks echoed around her environment, Amphitrite would end up noticing an outline underwater that, while at first seeming like the top half of a Human carrying a spear, the rest was a bit uncanny. Where there were supposed to be legs, was instead a fish tail. Long hair waved about from the head of this "merman", and the top of the creature's body seemed incredibly defined in shape. Perhaps that was the shapeshifter she heard of? The figure seemed fixated on the Claimant, watching her from afar with some degree of interest. 

Loic, on the other hand, saw the woman enter, immediately noticing that she clearly was no local. Perhaps it might just be her striking blue hair, but something about it was certainly unusual, definitely not dyed like that. "Now what do we got here?" He mumbled to himself curiously, as his neck had grown gills that allowed him to breathe underwater and speak within it without an issue. Was she a claimant, perhaps? Well, if she was, he would probably see eventually. But for now, he would just observe the nice sight in front of him, since Amphi happened to be in a bikini, smirking a little. The moment she would begin to notice him, he would slowly retreat into the darkness, a depth that a regular human being could not manage to reach or see. Admitedly, the man enjoyed the small degree of fame he gathered via rumours and legends his shenanigans spread, so he always kept himself juuuuust out of sight. It's one of the few ways he can break the monotony of meandering on his own. Perhaps he might take another look at her from time to time...She seemed fun to interact with. Wherever he goes, he rarely comes across other claimants, and even then, they were often of the same house. Regardless, something about this newcomer peaked his interest...

Loic kept evading the newcomer, having been elusive to the point where he would only appear should he wish to. He rose a brow as he saw the woman dive deeper with her weapon, concluding that she indeed was a claimaint...Perhaps a water claimant? He'll certainly need to find out, but not now, no...He would rather do so on his own terms, when less people would suddenly see him.



Several hours later...

Eventually, he decided to emerge from the woods, this time having discarded most of his telltale outlandish clothing in favor of an old, dark, leathery vest, and brown pants that seemed to have been patched together quite a few times. Whenever not acting as the "shapeshifter" the local rumors spoke of, he was but an incredibly tall man that seemed to have just gotten out of the countryside. The vest left his arms exposed, revealing extremely muscular arms that had swirling, tree-like tattoos on them. His eyes were hazel, with noticeable green flecks on them, and his messy mane for hair and shaggy beard made him look like a real wild man--But also sort of like a thug, despite his calm demeanor. He usually doesn't visit cities unless there was either a good reason, or he was quite particularly bored. Eventually, the lad visited one of the nearby hotels, one he did visit when bored and conveniently near Dunbar, waving towards one of the workers there with a huge, friendly smile. "Oi there, Lottie!"

"Ah, Loic, 'sup?" The woman replied, as if meeting an old friend.

"Nothin' much, wha' about yerself?" He then asked in return.
"Och aye, I've been great, lotta new guests t'day! There was this lass yesterday tha' dropped several pounds worth fer a stay here, hair dyed blue an' all! Must be real rich t'throw all tha' off like nuthin'!"
"I think I heard o' it, aye...Scuffle with some drunkard and all--Say, know where she might be? Might be a friend o' mine, said she was gon' visit sooner or later."
"Went t' Liam's, heard her havin' a blether with Cilian."
"Aight, thanks mate! Lang may yer lum reek!"

With that, he went to the place, having gotten there in a matter of minutes, observing around curiously, before immediately noticing the woman from before. Before anything, he would fetch himself a tankard of bear from the bartender, paying with a few coins before heading towards Amphitrite, with a friendly smile on his face, and a tight grip on the mug. "Och, 'ello there! Mind if I take a seat, lass?" He would calmly ask, sitting down in a calm manner the moment she would agree and taking a small sip.

With a quick nod, Loic would calmly sit down and observe her, keeping the rather genuinely friendly smile. As he took a sip of his drink, he would notice a scent wafting off of her...It was certainly not that of a water claimant. He sniffed the admittedly pleasing scent for a moment, before commenting. "That cherry blossom on ya? Perfume or somethin'?" He then proceeded to ask, in a sense revealing that he found out what she was without it sounding bizarre to the Humans. He heard of Moon Claimants, but has actually never had the chance of meeting one before! He still smiled on, despite noticing that she wasn't exactly acting comfortable..."Somethin' up, lass? Y'seem a wee bit...Peely-wally."

Having gotten no confirmation, he'd conclude that the lass really was on edge, despite him trying to make himself look as friendly as possible. He wasn't even intending to harm at all, just have a good talk! So he watched on as she performed her tricks, chuckling a little as the bartender began asking. "Must be real skilled magician t'pull that one off, eh?" He said, managing to make a somewhat believable cover for what had occured. After all, everyone knows a magician never tells their tricks! "So anywae, if I'm bein' a scunner, I can jus--"


And then she up and left without a word...Rude.



"Och fer cryin' out loud..." The claimant commented out loud. She really wasn't having any of it, was she? Well, either that, or she wanted to continue in a more private setting...Regardless, after a minute or two, Loic would finish up his tankard, leave it at the table, then promptply leave, following her on and using his ability to track her scent all to one of the beaches. He had no weapon or armor, having left those behind in a random hidden spot for this occasion. Once he would get to it, he would see the scent going into the waters...So he decided to do something rather simple. Take off his shirt and leather pants, leaving him only in a pair of old, black boxers and calmly walking into the shallow parts of it, washing the top half of his body in the water, so at to refresh himself. "I kno' yer around hereabouts, lass...Dinnae worry, jus' here fer a lil' blether. Dinnae ken if ye want me t' fock off or wha'? Jus'say it t'me face, mate!" Said the nature claimant encouragingly, proceeding to just sit in the shallows, legs crossed, and his head held by his left hand, just patiently waiting. Women like it when things can be on their own terms, his father always said.

About time she showed up...


As he looked in the distance and heard a splash, Loic managed to spot her after shifting his eyes so they would resemble an eagle, waving the Moon Claimant over eagerly, and his eyes returning to normal. "So y'wanna talk? Relax a lil'!" He said, before suddenly covering his mouth and holding a laugh as he saw that her bra definitely must have snapped, though he internally admitted that her hair did to a nice job of complimenting the view. Thankfully, she was convinced to get near him, but his smile slightly disappeared when she went on to ask why he wasn't trying to murder her.

"If I wanted ya dead, ye'd have disappeared in the water in th' mornin'." He would explain, before nodding on. "Aye, I'm aware o' tha, but lemme tell ya, y'don't look like a threat t'me, . If y' actually were, I wouldn' say even a peep to ya--Oh, y'mean these?" He would then do as he was asked, picking up the belongings before tossing them over at the fellow Claimant. "Why am I here? Well, Sela, I'm a wanderer, and th' name's Loic. I go wherever, and live off th' land. Was out havin' a swim when I came across ya. Couldn't tell th' smell yet, but th' moment I saw ya dive, I was a bit relieved. I don't find others often, y'know? Usually all by my lonesome, awae from most cities and towns. If Florita wants me, she just calls on me, or shunts me through a portal. Her realm is connected t' this one, so I can wander th' globe wherever I damn well please. And aye, I know, she's been with Novevu, so? Death ain't the opposite to Nature, it compliments it, gives it an end so that it can have another go and make new life. Think about it." He would say, still maintaining a friendly demeanor...No one would come at this time of day, anyway, and even then, they'd just seem like two people relaxing by the beach. 

"Well, I told ya why I'm here, what about you, Amphy--Mind if I call you that? Anyway, what're you doin' here, eh? I'm sure y'got yer reasons." He would then ask, waiting to see if she'd invite him into the water or eventually come out, deciding that remaining put was better until she would calm down. He would casually, made small splashes in the water as he tapped his fingers against it, sending teeny tiny ripples across it, and smiling on. He seemed honest at least, in fact, in a sense, he kind of acted more as if he were more Human than Claimant. What's up with that?

As for Loic, where Amp clicked, she would see no body, only bullets that had hit the ground, and what seemed to be a small adder, slithering across the sand. Using his form's tongue, the serpent seemed to track the Humans down to their location...Twelve of them. As the snake got closer, however...




It changed shape...


It looked like a humanoid, but with one large fin on its back, and two more on each arm, covered with hardenned, reptillian scales, and an enormous, fang-filled jaw, squatting behind them. The monstrous croc-shark-man hybrid immediately began charging, with murderous predator instinct in its eyes, at an alarming speed.



The creature assaulted the hunters, diving its killer jaws into the first hunter's neck, while the other proceeded to have one of his arms grabbed and yanked at with full force, enough to dismember it in an instant and make him unable to use his gun. Once the first one was finished, the monster used the corpse to toss it at the other, especially if they started running. After that brief skirmish, what Amp could easily guess was Loic would sniff the air in search for any other hunters that did not decide to run from this horrifying sight. In fact, he would prefer if they ran for their lives instead.

After the fight was done, Loic would calmly lick the blood off his mouth, before shifting back into his true self. After a while, Amphitrite would hear his voice in the distance. "Roight here, lass! Fockin' glaikits, all of'em...The fock was tha' about? Sorry if y'were worried, I kno' it's black as the Earl o' Hell's waistcoat 'round here." Loic then came to view, slightly covered in blood, but otherwise unharmed. He then rose a brow as Amp hissed from touching the bullets...No normal bullet can harm a claimant, which means something's up. He would quickly run up grabbing whatever appendage the welts were on to examine them. "Yer right about tha' one, somethin's up."

After examining them for a moment, the nature claimant would squat down, using his currently cat-like eyes to see in the darkness better and see what it was about these bullets that would allow them to affect someone like himself and Amphitrite like that. This wasn't normal. Far from normal. "Wait a damn minute. They got Ancient alphabet on'em. Wonder what that means..." He would then calmly examine it, lowering himself on all fours, saying them out loud.


"P...R...S..."


Suddenly, Loic would have a shocked look on his face, as if a memory had suddenly woken up within him, he would get up, now looking like pure, undiluted hatred began building within him. "I dunnae like th' sound o' that...Naw, past lives dunnae like it." And then a series of foggy memories would begin flooding in, like a daydream that felt too real to just be a dream. Loic began muttering what the acronym meant, with audible poison in his voice, which then changed to almost sounding like the growls of a dog, eager to tear apart whoever was challenging its territory. "Program...Racial...Security. Those eejits were tryin' ta snag us! If they wanted us dead, we'd be already." With that said, looking as if he was about to have his mouth froth in rage, Loic would immediately go and grab the Moon Claimant by the arm, firmly. "We gotta bolt. Now." He said, in a demanding tone, before immediately heading in the direction of the water, letting her go after a second or two. When he touched the water Loic seemed to start growing gills and his hands slowly shifted, growing fin-like extensions out of them. He then turned over his shoulder, looking at  Amp. He was expecting her to come along with him, willingly.

"I'll explain once we're in safe--" And then, he heard a splash, which caused him to immediately torpedo himself through the water to pick the fellow Claimant up and lay her on the ground to check for what happened to her. Was she just stressed out? "Amph? Y'there, lass? OI! Och ye poor thing..."

However, he would be proven to be incorrect, as he touched Amphitrite's forehead and felt the fever that had taken over her body. "Sons of bitches got'er..." He grumbled, and just as he was going to pick her up so he could heal her in safety, he was surprised when he heard the voice of the girl's ancient...Lunia.

He would immediately gesture to himself as he spoke, not protesting when the Ancient approached to check on Amph. "I'm Loic, house Fovey, son of Irvine. We were attacked by some hunters, bullets must've poisoned her." He explained, before then gesturing to the bullets to the side, and then using one of his handy bags to pick one of them up to serve as evidence. "First we need'er healed up, aye."

With that, they would travel to Florita's domain, where he saw the conversation unfold. He seemed to have a worried look upon his face, fixated on the feverish Moon Claimant. "Been doin' all fine and was havin' a decent chat with the lass'ere before some bastards with rifles decided to ambush us. Dinnae ken what th' fock was with'em, but I drove'em off, and in this bag'ere, we got one o' their bullets. Says P.R.S on it, and me past lives dun' like the sound o'that." The shapeshifter said, his face now contorted into a hateful scowl as he stared at the bullet. "Program racial security...Sound anythin' familiar to ya?

As he asked, he would pull the bag off his waist and stretch it out for the Ancient to take and examine...She could see one of Loic's hands was only mildly irritated, like a bee stung it, all red and slightly swollen. Yet, the sting did not affect his strength nor his grip, for he held onto it as if nothing happened at all.

The tale of Loic and Amphitrite can be found here!

Windswept Heart

I always answer
Without hesitation
To adventure’s calls
Through waves that toss
Winds that batter
I survive squalls


On a sea of emotion
Alone I swirl
Feeling blue
My rowboat has two oars
Two benches
Shouldn’t it carry two?


Sky and sea
Speak of eternity
But they have each other
I would give all
Just to know love
And sail with another

-Carolyn Devonshire- 




She dug her toes into the sand, as though trying to anchor herself as she watched the vessel, that she had called home for nearly entire life, fade into the distance, course, no human would see this ship anchor nor depart for it was too late in the night for anyone, especially a human to be by the sea. Once she was sure the boat and it's occupants were gone from sight entirely, she picked up her small sack, the rope she had used to craft it was rough on her fingers, and it smelt like her mother. She took a deep breath and turned, the only problem with having lived on one boat, one's entire life is that you forget the need for shoes. As she walked on the sand, she did her best not to look back at the ocean, it called to her begging for her to return; the water inside her cried just as loud as she climbed the steps and towards what appeared to be a tap.

"How strange, to think people wash their feet of sand."

She continued on her way. Everything will be ok. I just know it. I just have to figure out my next steps. She had been told by her parents that the best place to start on her journey was to locate the nearest moon claimants, or at least a claimant from either of her parents houses. She wasn't too sure she wanted to immediately be back in and amongst the claimant community however. 

"Hey!"

She turned her head, a man holding a brown paper bag, who swaggered to and fro approached her, she gripped her sack tighter and hoped she wouldn't have to pull her trident out, as the man got closer she cringed... he smelt like alcohol.

"Hey girly." she bit her lip, she could scream for help but she wanted to see what he wanted first, when she made no inclination to respond the man tried again

"Hey girly."

What does this man want? He doesn't smell like any of the scents mum and dad warned me of, he has to be human...

"Are you deaf girl?" 

She looked behind the man, to see where on Lunia's Earth he had come from, a bar it seemed... the neon sign was barely legible but it looked like it was called Sailor something, she then returned her attention to the man and opened her mouth to speak. 

"Where are we?" 

"What kind of question is that?" He slurred 

"I'm lost, I might have gotten off at the wrong stop." 

"This place is." The man paused before resuming "This place is Dunbar. We're in Scotland Lass." 

"Thank you." 

So her parents had dropped her off where she had asked to be left, giving the man a smile she turned and continued to walk, clicking her tongue gently she listened out for any telltale signs of activity, the less than human activity was what she was trying to listen out for. She barely made it six steps before the man from before caught up to her and grasped her by the shoulder, she scowled and without so much caring for the consequences turned and head butted the man hard. He made a sound of distress as he staggered back, the sound of a bottle shattering told her that he had fallen on his ass and the bottle he had been holding was now shattered to bits. Moving her sack to her other hand, she hurried her steps and started running as the man shouted for her to come back... I have to find someplace safe to stay, maybe my parents were right when they told me to find our people... but isn't Scotland meant to be the land of the Light Claimants... they're friends right, natural allies right? God I wish I had paid more attention to mum's lessons. 

At last she found a hotel with clear signs of being vacant, as she approached the front, she really wished she owned a pair of shoes. The man at the desk looked at her in astonishment and then at the time, she gave him an awkward smile and placed several hundred dollar bills on the counter. He gave her a key without question and told her the amount she had given her would mean she'd be able to stay for at least two weeks... two weeks to get her shit sorted out? Perfect. The room she had been given was probably the hotel's version of a pent room... it was more of a small motel, when she thought about it but grateful to have a place to stay, a warm bed and a shower. Amphitrite rinsed her feet off and fell onto her bed. Passing out. 


The next morning, with the clothes she did bring with her, she changed and tied her hair up. Using a seashell as a clip she winked herself in the mirror and stepped out of her hotel room and towards the place's kitchen. There she was served a hot meal, she had never had this 'sausage' before and her stomach felt near to bursting by the time she convinced the old lady at the stove that she had eaten enough. Now she would have left to explore if not for what the woman had to say to her fellow co-worker. A shapeshifter? A claimant? It has to be... but why would a claimant be so showy about their abilities?

"Miss." 

"Yes dear?" 

"Could you tell me more about the shapeshifter?" 

"Just a local legend dear, nothing you ought to worry about. But apparently was sighted last night. Near the water. You remember to come home early, you cannot trust some of the people here." 

She thanked the woman for her advice, for the meal and then rushed back to her room, as she did she looked out the window, the sun wasn't out per se but it was bright enough that spending time at the beach and soaking in some sun couldn't hurt. So, she changed again, this time into a bikini — much to the shock of the locals she passed by on the Main Street, she assumed it was because they weren't used to the sight of a tourist willy-nilly walking around in a bikini and towards the beach, a very empty beach. Unrolling her towel and lying down on the sand she stretched and stared at the ocean. Once more it called to her, to return.

"One day. Maybe tomorrow." 

That statement failed to last, she was in the water in less than an hour. Making sure to hide her belongings just in case someone felt the need to be a bloody thief under some seaweed, though her job would be noticed by any well meaning claimant, to the humans her belongings were completely invisible. As she submerged herself further in the deep waters of Dunbar, she sent out a few clicks, and waited to see if anyone, or if anything would respond. She wasn't hoping for much...

Rarely she made comments on water quality, but something about Dunbar's ocean water quality, caused her some level of discomfort, she decided, that maybe he wasn't here after all and kept swimming deeper, she supposed she'd go hunting now. Turning back in the direction of the shore, she made grand strokes and soon found herself back on shore and reaching for her belongings, no one had taken her belongings; thank Lunia. Well, I suppose I could make some money off hunting fish. Or maybe I'll bring some back for the hotel staff... that lady really did stuff me full to brim with food I won't need to eat Lunch... Retrieving her triton, she rearranged the kelp once more, again it looked like a perfect job to the humans, but a terrible one to fellow claimants.

Diving back in, triton at the ready she returned to her previous depths. As she clicked her tongue and waited for anyone — anything to respond, one of her clicks bounced off something large, something... that wasn't a fish, not a whale and certainly not a human. That has to be the local legend. She gripped her triton tighter and dove deeper, that was the thing about being a moon claimant, like water claimants, she could swim to depths that would have killed anyone else otherwise. Her eyes adjusted to the dark depths of the water, ignoring prey items who at the sight of her, swam away. 


She must have been gone for longer than she knew because by the time she surfaced, having given up on the shapeshifter, because when she emerged from the water, there was a police vehicle and two different officers waiting for her. She grabbed her towel and hid her triton amongst her belongings, waving them over. As she dried off and placed the fish that she did manage to kill with the rest of her belongings. 


"Miss... uhh." 


"Sela." 


"There were reports that you had gone... missing?" 


"I've been swimming this entire time. Can I help?" 


"We're just glad to know you're alright. One of our locals..." 


She looked past them and saw the man from last night, significantly sobered up and sporting a bandage on his nose... so she had broken his nose. She sighed, the officers opened their mouths to speak but when they realised that all this was causing was: a waste of time, and also the fact that she was not a local — meaning paperwork. They dropped it and let Amphitrite go, making sure she had all of her belongings she thanked them silently before walking the opposite way of the man — she didn't need to hear his excuses and walked straight back to her hotel. 


Once there, she dropped her catch off at the kitchen — the woman was different from this morning but still nonetheless surprised at the amount of fish she brought in. She then made her way back to her room and showered, long and hard under scolding hot water... she kept going until the water ran cold. Stepping out and wrapping a towel around herself and her hair, she looked around for a hair dryer. Once acquired she made herself presentable before leaving her room, triton tucked in a scabbard against her upper thigh — well hidden by her long flowing skirt. 


"Going out again?" 


"Thought I'd see the sights, and might go get a drink. Know anywhere?" 


"My brother owns the place to the right of Main Street, you can't miss it. Nothing like that tacky neon sign establishment. Send him my regards." 


Amphitrite had always been guilty of thinking that Scottish people were entirely impossible to understand, but she hadn't met any difficulties yet. Thanking the manager — she realised his name was.... Cillian? How was one meant to pronounce that? She made her way towards the noted out establishment and slipped inside without argument from the darkness claimant who acted as a bouncer. The establishment itself was small, quiet and homey. There were few patrons but those who were there, were merrily drinking themselves into a grave. She approached the counter. 


"I'm from the uhhh motel? Hotel? Down the street... your brother sent me here." 


"Ah! Welcome lass." 


"I'll just get a um.  Daiquiri." 


As she waited for her drink, the door swung open and someone stepped in. She sniffed the air, trying not to act too much like a claimant and more like a human. She had to pretend to cough when she realised the smell. What house had males who smelt like... Oregano? Thanking the man, who she didn't catch the name of again — Lunia bless the humans for not noticing that she never cared to learn their names.  Took a sip and tried to remain composed, maybe just maybe this nature claimant wouldn't notice her and she could walk out of this evening without having to fight.