Phones

"What the hell is this?"

A question that occurs quite often for the snake like creature. His name was Janus, but most called him deceit due to his impressive skill in lying and being able to tell if someone is lying. He is what humans called a mermaid. A more accurate comparison would be a water snake. He had gills, webbed-fingers, and a tail instead of legs, but he had no fin on the end. Janus often found objects left behind by humans on the beach. He always asked the same question before picking it up and hiding it in a small cove he found one day. He normally would've found a place underwater, but after one mistake, he learned not everything was waterproof.

Back to the situation at hand. Janus stared at a reflective rectangular object that fit almost perfectly in his hands. He noticed some parts protruded from the object slightly. He stared at them curiously, fiddling with each and pressing them. Suddenly, the rectangle lit up and flashed him. He dropped the object with a startled his and ducked into the water while staring slightly frightfully at the object. When nothing happened after a minute or so, he cautiously slithered onto the sand and picked up the rectangle again. He pressed the protruding piece again and was flashed once more. Now that he didn't run away, he saw it was a picture of a human.

He had soft brown hair, and brown eyes that sparkled with an emotion Janus couldn't identify. He wore a mostly black floral shirt and some black ripped jeans. He was holding two of his fingers up in a peace sign with one of his eyes closed. His tongue was sticking out slightly and he could see the outline of someone who was cropped out of the photo. Above the human was some weird symbols. He tried to remember what the words meant. Janus was pretty fluent in speaking it, but not reading or writing it.

"Swing for unlock? That doesn't sound right... Oh, that's an 'e.'" He re-read the text two more times before ending on, "swipe to unlock." He followed the directions and the projection changed to a different picture of the man. This time, he was holding a weird brick with an image on it saying "Harry Potter." That totally didn't take Janus a full minute to figure out. The human wore some sort of black robe with a yellow lining on the underside. He also had something circular sitting on his face in front of his eyes. Janus recalled the word being "Glasses," from when a fisherman dropped them off his boat. The half snake admired the humans features for a moment before being startled by the item shaking. He shook his initial fear off and looked back at the screen.

There was a box that popped up briefly, it said "Battery life low." He was getting better at reading but couldn't remember what a battery was. All he knows is this object is going to die, and he wouldn't be able to look at the human anymore. Janus sighed sadly and retreated to the water. He made sure to swim in a way that kept the rectangle out of the water in fear of ruining it. When he arrived at the cove he scanned the area for a good spot before gently setting it down and looking at the picture again. Janus tore his gaze away reluctantly and ducked into the water. He gazed sadly upwards and watched the ripple of the waves. When he noticed the direction of some were different, he set off towards it.
He thought back to the human in the weird box he found earlier. The water above his head darkened as a shadow was casted upon it. He paused in his swimming and looked up at the object. It was a fairly large boat. It held several humans, 5 if he counted right. He curiously inspected the craft, being careful to stay hidden. Janus nudged the boat a little to see how the humans in it would react.

"W-What was that?!" One of the humans squeaked out. He wore a hoodie with purple patches and his hair was dyed purple. "Calm down, Panic! at the Everywhere. I'm sure it's nothing." One dressed in a weird outfit accented with gold and a red sash reassured? He wasn't quite sure how to comfort someone, but that definitely wasn't it. "Roman, be nice to Virgil!" Another human called out to the one with a red sash. He had a blue shirt on with another shirt wrapped around his shoulders. Why? Is it an extra? He really didn't understand humans. The person now identified as "Roman" gasped in mock offense and pointed at "Virgil."

"W-what- b-but I- He started it!" He landed on and huffed angrily. "Actually, Virgil was voicing his concerns about what may put Thomas into a bad situation. He was doing his job, ensuring that Thomas was aware of anything that may cause him physical harm." another human cut in. "Oh shut up calculator watch!" Calculator watch? What does that even mean? Is that this one's name? Calculator watch and Roman started bickering before someone he couldn't see tried to break them up. It was obviously a futile attempt seeing as no one listened. "Guys, we still need to find my phone-" one he couldn't see said. However his words were drowned out by everyone else's.

Janus was getting tired of hearing everyone bickering and decided to help. He hit the boat with his tail. He smirked with content, they'd surely shut up now. Hearing the screams elicited from the humans concerned him. Did he hit it too hard? His fears were answered by the sounds of splashing water and frantic screaming. Splashing water was normal, but this didn't sound the same. Even if it could be written off, that doesn't excuse the screaming and pleads for help. Each plea was interrupted by the sound of gurgling water. He quickly hid himself in the water but looked around for what he assumed was a human stuck in the water. From what he gathered, humans were terrible swimmers. He saw a human flailing in the water.

Should he save him? Obviously he wants to, but he'll be seen! Is it that bad though? Either way, he had to figure it out quickly. The human started sinking, he rushed over and pulled him out of the water. Janus gasped as he looked at the human's face. It was the same one from the weird box. The human stared at him curiously yet fearfully. It doesn't surprise him honestly. It's not everyday a human sees a half sea snake. Janus swam back to the boat, still carrying the human, and dropped him off there. He ducked into the water and was about to swim away. "Wait!" The unnamed human cried out before he left. Janus looked at him fearfully. "I- uhm. Have you seen my phone?" Phone.... Maybe it's the box. "The box?" He asked hesitantly after realising he wouldn't be hurt. The human nodded hopefully. "Hold on." Janus told him. He swam quickly back to his makeshift treasury and brought the human the box back. "Thank you!" The human said cheerfully, clutching the phone to his chest. He leaned down and kissed Janus' cheek. "I'm Thomas by the way!" He said before the boat started up and drifted away. Janus stared blankly and held his cheek. "My name is Janus..." he whispered softly.

I hope you enjoyed! Прощай!