Waves of Grey - The Harem and the Guard

Chapter 17

Keith couldn't even put his hand over the pup's mouth, the sound having not come from it in the first place.

Lance and the alpha stared down at him, arms still raised mid-battle, fins flared angrily while both's attention focused singularly on the pup. He wasn't sure who Petal was chirping at, if he recognized Lance or whether the pup was just familiar with the attention of the alpha. Surely it must have been Lance?

Petal chirped again, waiting for a reply. This only snapped the two siren's out of their fixation on the infant back on each other, their battle cries echoing in the cave as they lunged for one another's throats.

Keith clutched Petal when the pup flinched back into his chest before he dragged himself along the cave walls as quickly as he could, ducking when the alpha's claws came swiping for his head, combing through his hair in a failed attempt to catch the prince before he could kick off from the rock. Keith slipped past the piles of prized scales that had been plucked from the tails from Lance's bloodline or of those whom he cared for. They were strewn about the sandy floor, kicked up with the sand that got into Keith's eyes as he struggled to find the exit, scales catching in his hair, some of which were bloody and could have belonged to Lance himself.

Petal started to chirp urgently, little hands gripping and tugging on Keith's dark strands while he tried to struggle out of his hands like a little Feddle, a creature that used to be popular- well was still popular as a pet. Furry little things with big ears and fluffy tails that could wiggle out of any grip if determined enough, but Keith prevailed. he couldn't let Petal slip away.

He could hardly tell when he got out of the cave, the sand that had been stirred up in the cave having been spreading out of the cave. It gave him cover, but it also meant that he still couldn't see. The pup thrashed in his hold before be pushed up off from the ocean floor to propel himself upwards. He was screwed if or when someone charged towards him. He could swim as well as a finless fish- well because he was a finless fish for quiznacks sake! He wasn't even a fucking fish! The moment someone caught sight of him he was dead. He was already dead. he could hear the echoing of the fighting creatures behind him, their shrieks and growls resignation loudly in the clear water. Maybe Keith would be lucky and the siren's around him would be too frightful to dare stray near or after him. Maybe they might be as timid as the one in the caves. Or maybe just too worried about the death match behind him to pay Keith any mind.

If the prince could have, he would have screamed when he was suddenly grabbed by a giant hand. He gripped onto Petal fiercely when he was suddenly dragged down. An angry screech echoed in the water before he felt a few set of claws snatch onto him. He could taste blood in the water as he was jerked in a new direction again, this time heading towards their escape. He was dragged away at a breakneck speed that forced him to close his eyes. He assumed it was Lance who was dragging him away, if not then there was going to be a fucking problem.

Petal cried out from Keith's arms, a long sad sound that was quickly responded to from the one holding Keith. He couldn't understand what it meant, but it was Lance without a doubt.

Keith gasped when they breached the surface, snapping his eyes open just in time to catch sight of home before the dove back under the water.

An angry screech resonated under the water when they returned. It was almost in dual ranges, a sound that both thrummed in Keith's chest while it screamed in his ears like someone was actually screaming.

Despite being under water, goosebumps formed on his skin when a wave of midrange fires followed the warning. And he jerked in fright when a sound like the first responded. One sound was vibrating deep from within Lance's chest, vibrating Keith's entire body while a separate scream came from the siren's mouth. It was terrifying, and Petal curled up in Keith's arms in response but opened his mouth to respond with his own soft cry much like the crowds had answered the first call.

Dread crawled out of Keith's stomach and settled in his chest as he realized what was going on. They were surely battle cries. Not ones like when Lance had been brawling, but cries of war followed by the whines of their followers.

Lance had but one siren to call his back, and it was from a mutilated pup of all things.

* * *

Keith felt terrible by the time they breached the surface, faced with the small cove that they'd started in. The little Puffy was still running around in the sand, dragging Keith's sock around with it while running away from a second bird that had appeared. Lance reached the Shan's and set Keith up farther into the shallows once they were close enough before collapsing into the sea water.

Keith stumbled up to the shore before setting Petal down far enough up on the sand that the little one shouldn't be able to drag himself back to the water. He quickly turned around, wiping the water away from his stinging eyes as he ran back out into the red stained water.

"Lance!" The siren was still in his natural form, far too large for Keith to help in any true manner. That wouldn't stop him from at least trying. Lance was covered in scratches, some of them grossly deep, others with bits of skin floating off from the bleeding wound.

Lance opened his eyes to look at Keith as the prince swam up to him. He was depleted, his power weak and body shaky. He hardly reacted when Keith collapsed in the water, crying out as he joints turned to fire and his head exploded with pain.

What was wrong with him? Were there side affects of being under Lance's magic?

He looked over when a hand grabbed him and he started getting dragged back out into the water.

Maybe Lance was going to finish him off? He didn't care honestly.

He closed his eyes and only opened then when he sensed the pressure shift around then. The siren was diving back into deeper water and taking Keith with him.