Lost City, Lost Kingdom, Lost Soul - Orm (Aquaman)

V. Strange Encounters

The fact that he was limping made Orm want to yell in rage. He was convinced that the surface dwellers had done nothing but make his state worse in their medical facility. At least he felt strong enough to walk now and move a little, so had wasted no time in leaving that horrid place.

His wet-suit was a bit torn, but he wasn't about to leave it there. And it was all he had to wear.

Usually, he was rather fond of attention, and might even consider himself to be attention-seeking at times. But not right now, not while in his embarrassing state, and certainly not from the surface dwellers. However, he knew better than to wander around in just his wet-suit, for he knew he would definitely draw unwanted attention, hence snatching one of the doctor's white coats on his way out.

His limp was not the only reason why he wanted to yell. In fact, he had many reasons why. The main one being just how much of a complete and utter failure his escape had turned out to be, and was now a complete and utter waste of time. All he had succeeded in doing was slow himself down, set himself back, especially in his new injured state.

Biting back a groan, he had to stop for a moment and lean against the side of the docks to catch his breath. It was only setback after setback.

Speaking of setbacks... That was when he saw it, the unmistakable glint of sunlight off his trident. He hadn't used his own weapon in years, having been using his father's as king, but Arthur had destroyed that one, so he had to go back to his own. It felt a little unbalanced now, but Orm concluded that this was because he had not used it in a while and it just felt unfamiliar.

He had lost it during his failed escape, and while he felt defenseless without the familiar and comforting weight of his weapon in his hand, he took pride in knowing that his abilities were more than that of these mere humans.

But how had surface-dwellers gotten a hold of his trident? A man and a woman had gotten out of a surface equivalent of a ship and had retrieved his trident from the back. The thought sent more rage boiling through him. Such a prized weapon and symbol of power should not be in such ill-fitted hands.

The two were talking and laughing, he couldn't hear what about but could tell, and it didn't look like they were being careful with his trident. The man passed it to the woman, still laughing, and she then headed towards the house they had arrived at, waving at him. He waved back and then got into the ship and drove away.

As soon as he was gone and before the woman could disappear into the house, Orm seized his chance. "Thief," he spat.

He watched as she froze, before slowly spinning around to face him, gripping the trident tightly. Good, he had frightened her. He hated the way his voice sounded so hoarse.

She was small in size, and his trident stood just taller than her, so it looked funny held in her hands. If he wasn't in so much pain, he may have smiled in amusement, even chuckled a little.

"You," she said in a heavy accent he wasn't familiar with, her wide, afraid eyes flashing with recognition, the initial fear he had caused her falling away some. "You're the man-"

"You stole from me, that's mine-" He took a shaky step forward, wishing he could just stride up to her and snatch the trident from her hands. His head spun. "Such a prized weapon should not be in the hands of a-"

But he didn't finish. Mid-sentence, he fell forward and collapsed right in the middle of her driveway.

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Tatiana let out a yelp, practically diving into her house and shutting and locking the door behind her. What had just happened was a blur, and was so strange she needed a moment to take in that it had really happened.

Setting the trident carefully on her desk amongst other Atlantean research materials - she had almost forgotten she was holding it, almost - she went and peered through the window. The man was still lying face-first on the ground. That was definitely the same man she had found and helped before, and he was now in a very similar state to how she had first found him.

Maybe he had hit his head, wasn't thinking straight, for what he had been saying, more slurring, made no sense. Still, he had come off as angry and threatening, startling her to say the least.

Had he recognized her as she had recognized him? But he had been unconscious when they had found him before, so probably not. He had attempted to scare her it seemed, and it had worked, but she could also tell that he was struggling. Before collapsing, his voice sounded strained, and he appeared to be limping and in pain.

Keeping her eyes on the man through the window, she called the hospital, explaining the situation. By the sounds of it, he had somehow found his way out, slipping out from beneath the noses of the staff.

An ambulance arrived in quick time and took the man back to the hospital. Tatiana once again asked to be informed if he was alright.

It was so startling and so strange of an experience that she almost forgot the exciting find of the trident.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tatiana was not expecting many visitors, so when there came a knock at the door the next day, she was surprised.

Upon answering the knock she found a tall man with tan skin and long, dark hair and a beard, and a curious-looking woman with the most intense red hair she had ever seen. Both were casually dressed.

"Morning, sorry to bother you," the man said, flashing her a friendly smile. "But we've been asking around town: we're looking for someone and wonder if you may have seen or heard anything?"

Tatiana regarded her guests. "Are you police?"

"Yes, yes we are."

"Are you undercover?"

"Sorta, yeah. Just casual, it's the weekend." The man flashed her another smile, this time a toothy grin.

"Alright, well, I'm new here so I may not be too helpful."

"Anything you can tell us. And your accent, is it Greek?"

"Yes, yes it is." Now she was smiling too. "Glad you recognized it."

"Cool."

"Who is it you're looking for?"

"A young man, his family's searching for him, he's gone missing. Early thirties, about this tall, bright blue eyes, and very light blonde hair. He was last seen, uh-"

"On the beach, by the water," the woman stepped in. "This was a few days ago."

"Yes, I know exactly who you're talking about!" I saw him just recently, in fact... "Oh thank goodness, I was worried about him! He washed up while I was working with a salvaging company - he actually got trapped in the net. We took him to the hospital right away, only he must have escaped for he was out last night, yelling at me, before he collapsed and I called another ambulance. He didn't appear to be in very good condition, but he should still be at the hospital."

The two companions exchanged a glance, instantly looking relieved. "Thank you very much, you have been very helpful," the man said.

"Glad I could help. Would you like me to come with you?"

"No, thank you, you have done all you can do."

"We appreciate your help," the woman said.

"Thanks again!" called the man, and with that, they were gone.

She watched them go. Hmm, strange. At least the washed-up man was in good hands now. At least so it seemed.

Tatiana was quickly arriving to the conclusion that Amnesty Bay, Maine was a place of many strange happenings.

(Yay, Ana and Orm have met - sort of! ;) I'm so excited for this pairing!

Back to Atlantis in the next chapter - see you then!

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :))