What Lay Beneath Billowing Waters

Chapter One: Concerning Merfolk

Key:
Y/n: your name
Italics: thoughts
___: pov change

Warnings: depictions of anxiety and fear

I stared into the starry night sky, the small and gentle waves rocking my body back and forth. My arms were sprawled across the water my tail twitched occasionally to keep my body upright. I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes, enjoying the smell of salt in my nose. I let all the air out of my body. With a small splash, I pushed myself back underneath the waves. Taking a deep inhale, I felt the gills on either side of my neck open as I swam down. The seaweed brushed against my tail as I entered the cave. It was filled with random knick-knacks that I found. Things dropped by passing fishermen. I keep only stuff that looked to be falling by accident. If it's interesting enough, if it was dropped on purpose, however, Id throws it back at them.
   
THUD.

I jumped at the sound of something hitting the nearby sand.

   What was that? I placed my webbed hand on the side of the makeshift doorway to the cave and poked my head out.

There, only a few feet away, was an anchor. And where there's an anchor- there's a boat. I felt dread creep up my spine as I trailed my eyes up the chain and to the distorted image of a ship.

   That's not a fisherman's ship. My eyes widened. There's no way that's a fishermen's ship! The vessel was much bigger than any other I've seen.

It had dark-stained wood, large masts, and massive blue sails.
Suddenly my fear dissolved and was replaced by something much worse.

Curiosity.

Within seconds I made my way over and began trailing my fingers across the rough wood, swimming underneath and around it, looking at every detail. The sound of muffled talking came from overhead. I swam up hesitantly.

   I've listened to the sailors sing before. This is no different. I reassured myself. I felt the water leave my body through my gills. I breached the surface. Breathing the salty air into my lungs, I pushed away the strand hairs sticking to my face. The voices cleared.

   "We stop here for the night. Oin, Gloin, gather wood from the island for repairs. Bofur, Bombur, fish what you can. Dwalin, Nori, come with me to check the perimeter." A rough voice spoke, and everyone started to move. Heavy footsteps echoed across the water.
    "Uncle!" A pair of voices cried out.
   " What about us?"
   "Yeah, what do you want us to do?" The voices asked.
   " I want you two to rest," The rough voice spoke.
   "But-" The voice stopped before letting out a deep sigh. " Yes, uncle."

A pair of footsteps retreated, and the two voices approached the edge. A young boy with long dark hair had appeared and leaned his back against the railing with his arms folded.

   "Why don't we ever get to do things," he muttered angrily. A long golden-haired boy moved over to his side. He whispered something I couldn't hear. Suddenly, the dark-haired boy whips around and dramatically throws his arms over the railing.

Startled- I quicking ducked my head back under the water, cringing as I heard the splash it made. I twisted my tail upward and tucked my body under the boat, keeping only my eyes out from underneath it.

I watched the distorted figure gain the attention of the boy next to him and point to where I previously was. I hid my head under the boat, the scales on my back beginning to itch with anxiety.

He saw me.

Fear rippled through my body as I dove down through the water. I pressed my back into the cave wall and shrunk into myself.

Oh no. No, no, no, no, no! I gritted my sharp teeth. What do I do? I looked up at the cave ceiling with blurry eyes. Maybe he didn't see me. Maybe, he just saw the splash- or heard it! I tried to reassure myself, but anxiety still rolled around in my gut. I let my head fall in defeat.
Oh, gods. What have I done?

I let myself wallow in pity for a moment, feeling the weight of the water press firmly against my body. Letting out an inaudible groan, I rubbed my hands across my face. I needed to leave. If the boy truly did see... this was not a safe place. I'm far too close to their ship.
The voice said that they'd stay there for the night. Surely that means they plan to leave once daylight arrives? I need somewhere else to stay. Until then, there's a cave halfway to the other side of the island. I can stay there.
   
With a plan in mind, I gathered my courage and left the cave.

_________________________________

    "Because we're younger than they are, Kee," Fili whispered to his brother. Kili groaned and spun around, placing his arm dramatically over the boat's railing. He opened his mouth to speak before he saw a small splash and a shimmer to his right. A large tail disappeared under the ship just as quickly as it had appeared. Kili scrunched his nose in confusion, touching his brother's shoulder.
  
"Did you see that?" He asked, pointing to the water.
   "See what?" Fili asked, looking over.
   "The giant tail!" kili exclaimed quietly
   "Tail?" Fili repeated. "Might be a fish?" he suggested tilting his head.
   "Never seen a fish that size," Kili retorted.
The brother's eyes gleamed with a dangerous curiosity.
   " You know Uncle never said when we had to rest," Kili said. A mischievous grin grew on his face.
   " Right, you are, brother. It's not too late into the night after all, " Fili said with a matching one.

The brothers quickly and quietly snuck off the ship, stepping onto the sandy beach.
    "Now, where exactly did this tail go?"

Bilbo watched, a look of annoyance gracing his face as the Fili and Kili snuck off deeper into the island. He debated going and telling Balin of the boy's mischief. In the end, his care for the boys won. He knew how much trouble they'd be in if Throin found out. Bilbo grumbled in annoyance as his bare feet hit the now-cold sand. Bilbo stumbling angrily after them as he attempted to trudge through it.

Authors note:
Hope you enjoyed the first chapter!