[2246]

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◁ Nikolina ║ Mac ║ Prompt 8 ║ team: squid ▷
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No-y-you want my crocs made out of pure gold?!

[FluffyBirdie]

FluffyBirdie | Team Squid | Sign up | Alania | 275 words
Prompt 8: What does your kalon trade the mermaids to get the spare parts?

Alania thought for a moment, considering what to do. She didn't have anything on her that would appeal to these beautiful mermaids, and they appear to be quite observant, so they likely wouldn't accept something she found on the floor. "I'll need time to get it," she tried, making something up as she went along. She'll need time to scavenge and search for something new and shiny, something these mermaids had never seen before. They looked at each other questioningly, and she continued, "it's quite a rare item, so it will take a few moments for me to find it. It does exist though." She added reassuringly. Receiving permission, she dashed off, and quickly went back to civilization, thinking all the while how she could get something that pleased them. What did the myths say about mermaids? They liked to sing, and look at their reflections. Could a mirror work? She remembered seeing one in a pile of broken items, dumped when the ship violently broke. She could use that...
The green kalon lightly ran to the pile of discarded items, grabbing a shard of a broken mirror before walking slowly back through the forest to return to the mermaids. She couldn't be too fast, else they would not believe that it was hard to find.
"Here!" She presented the shard, allowing them to see their reflections in the polished glass. "It's a way to look at yourself without needing a pool of water. It does need a light though." The four of them looked eagerly at it, reaching out to hold the glass, but she pulled it away, smiling. "Want to make a deal?"

[apprentice_]

rainichi / octopus / sign up / ruka
ft finn | mika | hira | reuben | atashi
prompt 08: What does your kalon trade the mermaids to get the spare parts?
__________________

the sun is setting and our ragtag gang of fools have barely reached the cove.
they wander away from each other, poke around, meet up again in a little bit.
even reuben, local grumpy man, looks entertained, and that’s how you know
you’ve found something good.

on the other hand, ruka looks unusually perplexed ( well, more so than normal ).
“so, some see rats are uh, offering us. parts? like, i don’t know, scrap metal? for
trade? told em i ain’t want it but they threatened me, and i don’t know what
those waterlogged fools could possibly do to mineself, a whole land lover, but.”

“but you’re kinda freaked out anyway? you talkin’ about mermaids? there are
actually mermaids here? man, where?” finn glances over the water, doesn’t see
anything, sighs. gathers the group into a little circle. “ain’t it like a thing not to
mess with mermaids?” he asks as if he, a cryptid loving man, wouldn’t also have
messed with them had he seen them.

“shut your heck, i see someone cute, i—”

“endanger us all?” reuben finishes their sentence.

“exactly.”

“bro.” finn slowly fortnite dances. no one questions it. “you have nothing but
the shirt on your back to offer.”

“think they’d want it?” ruka can hope. finn gives an uncertain shrug. “well,
i don’t think they’d want your thousands of dollars im sure you carry on you
either. it’d just get all soggy.”

“touche.”

reuben taps each their shoulders, and points out to sea. they collectively realize
that the fourth member of their gang, atashi, is being carried off into the water.
kidnapped. atashi makes a peace sign with their hand, and it’s the most human
emote they’d given all day, and yet in this moment, it was incredibly
underwhelming.

the parts the mermaids had offered are left on the shore.

“something shiny,” ruka whispers, and hits their fist against the palm of their
other hand. “atashi’s a robot! that makes sense!”

“not literally though, right?” reuben asks what’s apparently a stupid question.
he doesn’t get an answer.

“this is going to be hard to explain to mikaeth.”

__________________

 [ 351 ]

[sentimental]

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"Really?"

"Yup."

"This is why you called me here?"

Syrilli nodded, slightly miffed at the repeated question.

"You called me here- you used my favor to Lucien- " The person sitting in
front of him was now trembling with barely contained rage.

"You used it- TO TRY AND CHUCK ME IN A POOL OF RABID FISH?!"

"Well they're not exactly fish, 'May, They're ahh,,, like you?"

"FOR SOME SCALES???? WHAT KIND OF REWARD IS THAT, ANYWAYS?"

Mayfly was all but placated by Syrilli's feeble attempts to explain his intentions
behind calling them in. Actually- now that he thought about it, Mayfly really
did have a point.
What kind of currency was shed mer-scales? That's gotta be like toenail clippings
or sunburn peels to the mers. No wonder they were so cranky about outsiders.

While Syrilli was in the midst of his revelation, the amber-colored merfolk
in front of him had yet to stop frothing at the mouth- leave it to Lucien to insult
their people in such a way as to give away his one favor to this young brat.

He wanted to throw them into a pit full of fettered merfolk?? Not even a lake-
a pond ! A pit ! To gather what- some dead scales?? From other mers???

During their entire long life, May had never been more affronted.

[220 words]

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sign - up || team octopodes ♡ || Mayfly

[lovestruck]

Aderyn sighed. Why was everyone on this island so difficult? Everything was a challenge. She had to dive to get parts, and now this? The mermaid she’d met earlier had seemed nice enough- perhaps noble, if they had met under better circumstances. These ones, however, seemed to match the myths.. they were cruel and greedy it seemed.
Shark had told her that they liked shiny things, but she didn’t exactly have much to offer. All she knew, however, was that she needed to get off this island, before her family found her. She hadn’t been there too long- but surely the news had picked up on the crashed cruise ship, and she couldn’t take any risks. She’d managed to avoid them and her kingdom for five years, and wasn’t about to go back now.
She rummaged in her bag for a moment, before giving up and pouring the contents out. Her journal, Oliver Twist- she’s read it a thousand times, and a few coins. Coins? Maybe they’d work, although they weren’t worth much. Aderyn went over to the water, and shook them, making that familiar clinking metal sound. The mermaids peered at her gift for a moment, before glaring and turning away.
With a groan, Aderyn fingered at her necklace, her last remnant of home- a golden bird emblem. With a miserable frown, she dangled it in front of them. “Finally, something of value,” one of them hissed, snatching it from her grasp and tossing the parts out onto the shore.

[magpie!]

username: magpie!
prompt: What does your kalon trade the mermaids to get the spare parts?
sign up: here
team: squid


"I wonder what they'd think about a mirror?"

[Ethulai]

Prompt # 8 Mᴀʏʙᴇ ᴛʜᴇʏ'ʟʟ ᴛʀᴀᴅᴇ ꜰᴏʀ sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ sʜɪɴʏ?
What does your kalon trade the mermaids to get the spare parts?

He was tired, he was hungry, he was thirsty and he was annoyed. Radford wondered why he had ever expressed any fascination with Carter's map piece and the fabled Mermaid Cove. After hours of trekking through the jungle in sweltering heat, trying to avoid the blue-footed boobies and their unhealthy and unwanted attention, he had finally arrived. Blind to the beauty of the lagoon, the only object that had caught his eye was a bottle bobbing on the surface. Hoping desperately that it had contained clean water he had lunged for the glass only to be rebuffed by Shark's aforementioned "fish sticks" with fangs. Now he sat in the shadow of a palm tree, well away from the water's edge, and he'd be damned before he attempted any further interaction.

Radford hissed to himself, coming to the realisation that one of the unfriendly merkals could be the 'Torii' that Shark had mentioned. He didn't want to deal with this problem, so he went for a walk north of where he had encountered them and jumped into the water. The cool liquid was an instant relief to his sore muscles and overheated body. He swam around lazily for a while before floating on his back and sighing. A head popped up next to him and he yelled and splashed around in a panic.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you," said the head that Radford could now see was connected to a long sinewy body.
"Dude, I ain't scared I'm just spooked!" he spluttered.
The merkal giggled prettily and swam a circle around him.
"What are you doing here? Are you one of Shark's friends?" she asked.
"More like an errand boy," he groused. "Are you Torii?"
"Oh no!" she said, "I'm Ellys. Torii is golden!"

He groaned loudly, dunked his head under the water and yelled in exasperation.
"Are you alright?" Ellys asked, sounding concerned.
"Sorry bro. I was on a cruise, it broke down, Shark said that maybe Torii would know about some spare parts but if he's a golden merkal I've already met him and I didn't make a good first impression."
Ellys laughed delightedly. "No one makes a good first impression on Torii and Ares. That's just they way they are."
"That doesn't help me," he said drily.
"No I suppose not."
"You got any ideas?"
"Well they do like to collect things, they like shinies."
Radford blinked. Of course. Of course the two feral sharkals loved shiny things of which he had exactly none.

Radford swam to the edge of the lagoon and sat on the sand, legs dangling in the water. Ellys swam up and splayed her body in the shallows next to him, tail swishing lazily in the breeze. They sat in a comfortable silence until they heard a polite clicking. He looked down and noticed one of the many small crabs he had encountered on the other side of the island. The crab clicked again.
"He says he and his friends can find you some shinies, as a favour because you helped them out," Ellys told him.
She clicked her tongue at the crab who clicked his claws in return. He scuttled off.
"I told him they were partial to glass bottles," she said. Radford chuckled. "Now we just have to wait! If you like, I'll go and make the trade?" Ellys offered.
"That would be so rad, thank you!" he said and smiled tentatively. They spent the next few hours exchanging stories.

Radford waved cheerfully to Ellys and pulled the straps of the heavy backpack tighter so it would sit more comfortably on his back. The crabs had successfully brought a hoard of bottles, abalone shells, pearls and even a few gemstones back from their scavenge and Torii and Ares had given Ellys various ship parts in return. Operation Shinies had been a great success. Now, the only thing left to figure out was how to sneak past the enamoured boobies in the jungle so he could get back to Shark.

[671 words]

[ThatPinkThing]

What does your kalon trade the mermaids to get the spare parts? | ThatPinkThing | sign up post

385 words

Eleanor gazed blankly at the mermaids for a few moments, startled by their hostility. Eventually, she regained her composure and drew back a little to give them the space they demanded. She eyed the contents of the pool, identifying a few good parts. Then, she shrugged her bag off her shoulders and opened it, dumping the contents on the ground to sort through what she may have to trade.

A few precious items she snatched up before the mermaids could see or request them. They held more sentimental value than monetary. Her grandfather’s compass and father’s binoculars. She tucked them gently back in among her sweatshirt and water bottle before spreading out her remaining items.

A charming shell necklace, a few shards of sea glass, a couple keychains that sported imitation gem creations, and a nice pile of polished white rocks were the highlights of Eleanor’s offerings. She looked at the mermaids and gestured into the water. “Fancy a trade? I can leave you alone faster if I bring some of these parts back to town. Especially that one-“ she pointed to one part, and then a second, “-or that one.” She sat cross legged in the fine sand and leaned back. “It’s up to you though. I’m happy to keep hiking up here to admire the cove every day while we wait.” She grinned a little deviously. The mermaids hadn’t played nice so far, so she figured she could be a little cheeky in return.

The mermaids peered curiously at the selection, chattering quietly to themselves. Finally, Ellys came forward, pointing to the crystal keychains. One was shaped like a heart, the other a complex squid. Eleanor raised an eyebrow and scooted forward. “Them? Good choice. They dazzle in direct light.” She put away her other items and picked up the keychains. She scooted as far forward as she thought the mermaids would be comfortable with and held out her empty hand. “Thanks for trading,” she reminded them of their end of the deal casually, accepting the parts they pushed to her. “Enjoy ‘em.” She grinned as she tossed the keychains to the mermaids. Ellys caught the heart and held it around to reflect light while Aries and Torii bickered over the squid. Eleanor smiled and left quietly. She hoped to see them again.

[waffle02]

username: waffle02
Link to Sign up: X
Team: Octopi

What does your kalon trade the mermaids to get the spare parts?


"How about this shiny pocket watch, its really fun to watch swing back and forth..."

[SaltyBirb]

SaltyBirb | Octopi | sign up

Mᴀʏʙᴇ ᴛʜᴇʏ'ʟʟ ᴛʀᴀᴅᴇ ꜰᴏʀ sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ sʜɪɴʏ?
What does your kalon trade the mermaids to get the spare parts?

Juno was fascinated by these mythical creatures, they have the things he needed but how will he get them? A trade is a more probable way of obtaining them so he started to think of things to give them. He was sure that they already had tons of shiny items and treasures with them so he thought of other things to offer. He told them to wait for a moment and went for the bushes near the beaches, he took some leaves and tropical flowers and hurriedly ran towards the enchanting mermaids. He showed them what he got, they weren't interested by it but Juno began putting them together in a shape of a crown. He learned this from one of his closest friends from his kingdom. Juno gave one of the the flower crown and they loved it! the other three were very interested by it so he made more for them. They played at it for a long time and one of them finally looked at Juno and dived back to the ocean, After a few minutes, the mermaid came back holding the spare parts and offered it to Juno. He was surprised and happy at the same time, the trade worked!! He gave them his thanks and took the spare parts.