[uηsρεcifiεd ¢ryҏtiɗ]

Prompt #7

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

Username- Drasheep | Kalon- Uktena |Team- Octopi | Sign-Up

"Well, I've got this old comb-thing from when I was a kid, you're totally welcome to it!"

[Chickpea]

An old key!

[annie15970]

Annie15970/ Squid / Sign-up

It took a while to find all the things that really fit the shiny quality he was going for. The mermaids seemed to be quite picky and they'd probably know what was nice. He went around the island, buying what he caught his eye and collecting some pretty shells from the shore. There was a nice surprise when he'd found some sea glass in a small alcove. He added it to the little pouch with all the other things he'd gathered.

Sitting down and setting the things he'd gathered onto a blanket , he looked over array of items. There were shells of different luster and color. What he'd bought from the shops were some rust resistant mild steel boxes. They were functional and aesthetically pleasing in a minimalistic way. And of course, last but certainly not least, bracelets. He'd debated between rings and necklaces for awhile but. Well it'd probably get in the way so he'd decided to grab those instead. They were dipped in acrylic so they were decently water proof and they shined brightly.

Yes, this would do nicely. Well, he certainly hoped so. They really needed that piece for the ship. Putting the items back into the pouch, he headed off to the mermaid's cove.

[persimmon]

Sequoia has some necklaces and a wristwatch to offer.

[Cheeb]

Prompt Eight
Helena - Team Squid - 408 words

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


xxxxxHelena was so enraptured with the beauty of the mermaids that she barely heard their demand for 'something shiny' in exchange for the part she needed to bring to Shark. While each Kalon possessed a long tail, their scales glimmering underneath the summer sun, they were all distinctly different in color and style. Each one was uniquely enchanting, and begged to be caught on camera. Lena only snapped back into it when she noticed all of the mermaids staring at her as if she was some kind of fool.
xxxxx"Oh, um, I'm sorry! I just got so distracted... what were you saying?"
xxxxxThey shot each other amused glances. Ares, the purple-and-blue one, spoke. "We'll give you the parts that we have... as long as you can give us something shiny in return."
xxxxxThe panic set in very, very slowly. "How about a few coins?"
xxxxx"We've got enough Kalons trying to give us those. They're pretty boring."
xxxxx"Ah, um, could you give me a moment?"
xxxxxWhile her camera hanging around her neck was shiny, she refused to give up her precious baby. Instead, Lena shuffled through the contents of her backpack. Her assorted granola bars, while yummy, probably wouldn't be of much use to the mermaids, nor would the Uno cards, band-aids, or sunscreen. The poncho she'd shoved in there would also be laughable; the mermaids' whole deal was water. However, underneath the rubbery plastic, Lena felt something hard and vaguely square-shaped. She hadn't remembered packing it, and she didn't see a reason why she would have, especially with her nice camera, but... could it be?
xxxxxIt was She sighed a great sigh of relief.
xxxxxGetting the mermaids' attention, Lena held up the Polaroid for them to see. "I can't think of anything more shiny and beautiful than you yourselves. Your gorgeous fins and flowing hair... you're too pretty for words! So, I would like to offer you something that I think you may enjoy, hopefully as much as I do. I just need you all to do one little thing for me."
xxxxx"What?"
xxxxx"Look right at this box and smile! Three, two, one!"
xxxxxTen minutes later, walking away from Mermaid Cove with the spare parts shoved into her backpack, Helena felt at ease. The Polaroid was tucked safely back into the bottom of the bag, and the mermaids were fairly pleased with the pictures of themselves. After all, nothing could be as glamorous or sparkly as they were.

[tigressa]

Prompt 8
tigressa // aden // squid
“Heard you like coconuts... could you do a favor for me, dear?”

[hiraeth + hound]

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

Despite the horrid journey to get to mermaid cove, seeing the mermaids in person was admittedly a very surprising reward. There were four of them, and someone that happened to be there had to attempt to translate their messages between each other, since he learned quickly the mermaids spoke only in shrills, clicks, hums, and whistles. For two of them, Ares and Torii, it seemed like they only spoke in bared teeth and hisses of warning. Roe bared his teeth back at the two, and he saw the water ripple behind them. Another must be lurking deeper in the water, and Roe grimaced. These creatures were obviously more dangerous than others seemed to be talking about them and treating them.

Nevertheless, he did need to get those spare parts back. He tried offering them useless things like shiny shells or tokens from the gift shop, but they only turned their noses up at them. A softly glowing mermaid, Ellie, he was called, seemed vaguely interested in a pearl bracelet he had offered from the gift shop, but had quickly thrown it back with a disapproving scowl when he figured out the pearls weren't real. Okay, so the mermaids weren't dumb… Damn. He would have to appeal to them in another way..

So he offered his services.

A couple hours later, someone had come to check up on him. Roe hadnt been back to the ship in a while now, and Aden was starting to think the angry mermaids had probably drug him under the water to make him into a snack. But instead, there he was, sitting criss cross in the shallow coast of the cove, painting the mermaids nails. He had already done Ellys's, and she looked particularly fond of them. The other two, Torii and Ares, were harder to convince. He was still trying. Ellie, however, looked excited as Roe painted a glossy coat over his long nails, making them sparkle in the light. He had chosen a sparkly champagne for Ellie, a polish from Roes own personal collection, one of his favorites. He was glad even a mermaid had good taste.

Later in the evening, Roe placed the spare parts in Caros hands.
"Oh, thanks.. Are your nails painted?" Caro cocked his head to the side, questioning Roe.

"Dont worry about it."

[stan.]

Glitter, though it got everywhere.

[CSMintCat]

What does your kalon trade the mermaids to get the spare parts?
Sign-up.


A shiny star sticker; the kids who visit the forest love getting them, so why not give it a shot!

[✦ nemuri]

he really didn't have a way out of this situation, but at this point, nikolai wasn't even surprised anymore. he had just about expected that he would be coerced into doing something with the mermaids, which brings us to his current situation.

why and how had the mermaids gotten their hands on the spare parts? it was just another one of life's big mysteries, and nikolai didn't feel bored enough to want to find out. his job was to get those spare parts back, and judging by the looks of things, it might ... honestly be easier said than done.

"just trade them something! anything of value!" one of the ghosts whispered into his ear, and nikolai felt his eye twitch, and the urge to leave the ghosts with the mermaids seemed more and more tantalizing by the second. like, yeah, captain obvious, i would've done that already if i had something of value! which i don't, in case you haven't realized! thanks for being no help whatsoever!

the "banter" with the ghosts continued for quite some time, and in some time, the mermaids had surfaced from the pools of water below to see just what the hell was going on from the shore. nikolai obviously hadn't taken care to keep his "banter" quiet, and from the view of outsiders, it seemed like he was arguing with...? thin air? himself? if nikolai hadn't known better, he would've considered himself a nutcase already.

however, the mermaids were already here, and nikolai couldn't keep pretending that they didn't exist. shooting a glare at the ghosts he knew the mermaids couldn't see and smiling awkwardly back at the fish tailed kalons, he shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "i heard you had some spare parts for the cruise that, ah, managed to break down?"

one of them nodded. so they weren't the talkative bunch, gotcha.

what a tough audience.

nikolai floundered around for a bit as he pulled out talismans from his pockets. the ghosts around him flinched and dispersed somewhat, and he held them up for the mermaids. there were the regular paper talismans (which he was sure that the mermaids wouldn't be interested in, since, well, paper gets wet in water), but there were also smaller trinkets that did their job just as well as the paper talismans. which wasn't that well, if he had to be honest, but they were still functional, in any case.

nikolai was, however, confident that the mermaids didn't have anything like the items he was holding up. this was proven to be true, as the mermaids huddled to whisper amongst in each in hushed tones. after a few prolonged moments, one of them looked up and stared at the ghost hunter straight in the eye. "what are those? they are pretty and appear to be quite intriguing."

the ghost hunter explained the purpose of the talismans, and although one of the mermaids didn't seem interested in the items at all, the other three seemed more or less sold at his explanation. just like that, a trade was completed, and the mermaids left, (mostly) pleased with the new items they had acquired.

nikolai was pretty happy, too. don't get him wrong, getting those items was a win all on its own, but he had to sacrifice his precious talismans ... now the ghosts were going to be even more unbearable. oh, the joy.


( 563 words )