Under the Sea ⇔ Cashton ✓

Am I Out Of My Place?

A/N jawline

Calum isn't quite sure what to say. He's staring awkwardly at the woman who just claimed to be his mother, which makes absolutely no sense to Calum because she has a tail, and clearly has never been on land before. Which leads to a long series of questions that Calum really isn't in the mood to ask at the moment.

The other mermaids and mermen in the clan have stopped doing whatever people with tails do, and they are now watching silently, wide and curious eyes all trained straight on Calum. Calum flushes from all the eyes, and he tries to look anywhere but at the woman in front of him, and at all the bystanders nearby. Which incidentally brings him to catch eye contact with the one boy who brought him into this mess in the first place.

"Calum is your son?" Luke asks, his voice sounding shocked. "The one you said you lost in the storm?"

The woman nods fondly. "That's the one." Then she tilts her head, musing for moment. "Calum," she says, trying the name out on her tongue. "A beautiful name. It fits well."

Calum's head starts to spin, and he reaches out to the nearest object that currently is not spinning, which unfortunately happens to be Luke. The blonde allows himself to be clung onto by Calum, who, at this point, is having trouble remembering whether or not this entire ordeal is a dream conjured by his brain.

Nobody speaks for a long time, but Calum can feel the awestruck tension in the air. He can hear the whispers passing around the crowd, whispers of, "That's him!" and "How did he survive?", and Calum isn't quite sure what he survived to bring about all this amazement.

The woman inches closer to him, putting enough distance between them so that Calum won't swim off, but close enough so that Calum can see the resemblance of their features. "My name is Joy," she says. "I know you must be confused."

"You're not my mum," Calum says, and Joy smiles weakly. "You have a tail."

"So do you," Luke notably points out.

"Okay yeah, I know, but I also have legs up on land," Calum says, growing annoyed. Joy swims a bit closer, just a bit. Her face is gentle, laugh lines crinkling at the corners of her eyes. Her smile doesn't fade, regardless of what he said. She just continues to stare at her son with her warm brown eyes that look an awful lot like his, and she reaches out to touch his arm.

Her touch sends a spark through Calum's arm, and he loses his breath for a moment. The more he looks at her, the more he can see the resemblance, the more he can almost feel the loss touch of her hand in his. Calum tries to catch his breath, his head spinning like a whirlpool, sucking anything and everything into a spiraling mess. He can't seem to make sense of anything in his mind.

Joy hesitantly swims a little closer. "I know you must be so confused, with many questions," she says gently. Calum stares helplessly at her as she gives him a small smile. "I'm so sorry that I let you out of my sight many years ago."

Nobody speaks, the entire clan dead silent. They watch with wide eyes, their tails moving back and forth soundlessly as they listen carefully. Many of them stare at Calum with wonder and amazement, and it makes him want to crawl away in one of the caves and hide from sight.

Before he can say anything, a figure moves out from behind a cluster of seaweed, joining the scene. Calum turns to look and his blood turns cold when he sees a broad shouldered boy with sun-tanned skin, wavy brown hair that falls in thick curls below his ears, and a pair of piercing hazel eyes that look about as cold as they could be.

The other mermaids shift a little, moving around and going about their business once he comes into view. His eyes are narrowed, eyebrows furrowed. His lips are set in a line, and he gives Calum a look that clearly translates to something of distaste.