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( perched up on a rock with her long eel tail curled around it for stability, reira began her usual morning routine. she lifted her hands through the wavy strands of her hair and looked out towards the sky as the sun began to rise. it was no secret she was an attractive creature, with a mixture of soft blue and pink scales on her tail that radiated in the sunlight, but the one thing she kept a secret was her talents. out of sheer desire to preserve that gift for herself, but also out of sadness over her own love life. the man she had been in love with for so long viewed her voice as a safe haven, something to comfort him during difficult times but it wasn't enough to make him hers. it was a sadness she carried with her for so long that she swore she wouldn't sing for anyone but herself again— and it was only in a place like this, on an abandoned island with nothing but the sea creatures looming around and the occasional wild animal that she could do just that. it had become a habit and a way to escape the presence of others and wallow in the sadness that came with such a useless talent at least in her eyes.

as she began to sing, she started off by whistling a bit at first, before she began to say the first few lines of her song. although there was sadness in her heart, her song was actually a joyous love song, each phrase promising endless devotion and adoration for the other person in her little story. each word was spoken eloquently, flowing as if there were actual instruments playing alongside her singing.

while humans weren't something she saw very often, she knew enough of them given the other merfolk would occasionally either be caught by them or willingly had children with them when they came to the ripe age where their legs grew in. what she hadn't been expecting was an actual audience to watch her sing, and while it took her some time to notice and make the connection [broken ship parts floating to shore after a storm probably meant someone got washed up as well], when she finally noticed a set of fierce eyes on her, she turned to face the direction it came from.

at first the figure in the distance looked like a black blur, seeming to wave and jump around, but as it began to come closer and her own sight stabilized, she could see it was a human running towards her, that was until he fell. )

Hey—

( she managed to say, and as he fell down from the unstable terrain of the sand, she immediately jumped off from the rock and into the water before her, diving down as low as possible to swim underneath and come up by a tide pool he happened to land near.

when she finally came up from the water, she pulled herself up and out of it, coming onto the land by dragging her body towards sanji. )

Hey wake up—

( it was through sheer luck that he happened to stumble near the tide pool, allowing reira to swim underneath the rock barriers surrounding it and pull sanji's unconscious body closer to her. she lifted his head up partially, allowing it to rest against her arm as she looked down at him with a concerned, yet curious expression. as the wetness from her body began to drip down against him and he slowly began to come to, she remained holding him close. perhaps a bit too closely. )

Are you alright? That looked like quite the fall, so I hope you didn't get hurt since I don't really have anything with me to help you.

( her voice was soft, nearly purring as her lips pouted and her brows furrowed in worry. whatever she could do to help him she would, but even as she remained at his side, she couldn't help but worry he might have ulterior motives in mind, not realizing he had been swept in from the storm the day before. )

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( with the sun now risen above them and the warmth of the rays enveloping them both, she remained silent for a brief moment as she heard him speak. she held him close, the cold water still dripping down the sides of her arms but soon her left hand gently rose up from under him and swept away a few locks of his hair to check on his head. while she hadn't seen just how hard that fall was, she figured it must have been at the very least painful enough to leave him out of it for this long. a concerned expression still remained on her face but slowly it softened up when she failed to see anything beyond what looked like mild scuffs against his skin.

when it finally hit her what he had said, reira couldn't help but let out a soft sound of amusement at his words. it had been a long time since she interacted with a man, let alone a human, and while she had been wary that he came along these parts for something nefarious—

clearly he was harmless. in fact he was a bit more handsome than she would have liked to admit. so for now she remained holding him given she couldn't do much else on land. )

I appreciate the kind words, but are you sure you're alright? That looked like a pretty bad fall...

Why were you running anyways? You nearly scared me into thinking you were hunting me down.

( he probably wasn't able to see at this angle her tail, but given her state of dress [a simple flowery bikini top and pearls dangling from her neck], surely he new by now she was a merfolk. if not, he was in for a surprise. )

[ really, how could he want to even move from this spot now that he was in it, feeling the gentle cradling of his head by her soft hand. he could very well still be dreaming, lost in unconsciousness by dreaming up the most beautiful face he could possibly be so lucky to imagine and being soothe by her sweet voice.

it's such a desirable state of being that he can't even feel the need to rise up from her, still enchanted to simply keep gazing up at her. especially when she's dressed as she is in that bikini top, clearly another detail dreamt up by his imagination of a perfect woman. ]

Oh, my lady, I'm just fine, I — [ fall? oh, that's right. he blinks up at her, recalling those moments before he'd been knocked out. ] I ... heard a voice. The most enchanting voice singing such a beautiful song of love. I had to follow it. It was — [ he blinks up at her, his fingers finding the strength to wrap lightly around her wrist as his eyes widen slightly. ] Wait, was that your song?

( given the injury he sustained recently, reira is in no hurry to move him or be responsible for any further damages. while she wasn't expecting him to outright find comfort in her lap — the fact that he hadn't noticed she was a mermaid or wasn't commenting on it made her feel more at ease in this position.

as the sun began to dry the droplets of water on her skin, she continued looking at him with much concern. it wasn't until he began to speak and gripped her wrist that her eyes widened and she sighed softly. it seemed even when she outright sought solitude for once, company came calling —

or in this case, running blindly. )

Yes.

( she said softly and with a sigh she leaned her head towards her shoulder, eyes gazing away from his for now. despite her powerful cantor from before, she seemed a bit perturbed by the question and while she wasn't eager to explain why she didn't want to sing for an audience anymore, she did continue on speaking. )

But I don't see why you had to come running because of a song, you could have really hurt yourself badly. I'd feel so guilty if something terrible happened to you....

[ the widening of sanji's eyes has him all the more attentive now in his waking state, specifically aimed at her now that he can identify her as the lovely presence that distance away, drawing him in with her song like a siren of the sea.

but he can just as much see a sadness in her as she turns away from him, his own delight diminishing into shared sorrow at seeing the way his recalled story seems to have almost disappointed her.

when she expresses concern, he can feel his own heart awaken, fast beating in his chest with endearment. ]

Terrible? Oh, no, that's impossible. A song like that would only have the power to save me. [ he gives a slight tilt of his eyes, trying to catch her eyes again. ] I fell from my ship and I — well, I landed. I thought I was hopeless and lost and alone, but your song reached me. It put life into me and gave me strength. I need to thank you.

( as much as she disliked having something painful as being praised to remind her of her worries from the past, it was nearly impossible to avoid his gaze. there was something almost magnetizing about the way he looked at her and how he rested in her arms. it was impossible to pinpoint what exactly it was—

but there was some comfort in holding him like this. still she was very concerned for him so she began to move just a bit, still acutely aware of his grip on her wrist. )

Your ship? Oh no, people must be worried about you. Should I go out and swim? Maybe I can find the ship and other people…

( but before she could snake her way out from him, she paused briefly at his last comment. a faint blush filled her face up, eyes wide at such a bold statement.

not once had anyone ever spoken to her like this and she wasn’t quite sure how to handle such praise. )

You don’t need to thank me, maybe you should wait and see if I can actually help you before you do.

[ gradually, he finds the strength returning to him in small doses, the blazing sun overhead doing nothing to defer him, even as he needs to squint against its light to try to focus better on the features of her face, how the soft appearance of her cheeks seem to complement that pinker tone that spreads across them. ]

Oh, please, madam— [ with her suggestion, he begins to try to hurry himself towards sitting up. ] You shouldn't go out to swim at a time like this. I mean, there was that storm earlier that crash landed me here. It's pretty dangerous out—

[ holding out his arm to gesture out to the ocean, his eyes finally stray from her face for that split second to cross over the rest of her body, to the length of her tail and continuing on to the stretch of the sea before—

wait. wait, wait.

his eyes draw back, trailing back his gaze until he lands back at her tail, eyes widening with a gaping of his mouth. ]

You're ... you're ...

[ he turns to her, shock across the whole of his face, his eyes suddenly brightening. ]

It can't be, you're ... [ he reaches for one of her hands, holding it within both of his own. ] You're my dream come true. My All Blue.

( although she should be moving back, giving him the space he needs to sit up and pull away from her, there's something about him that made her want to linger in his embrace and remain close to him. be it a combination of still worrying about him or being mildly flattered from his kind words, the answer was unclear to reira. the only thing she knew was she lingered far too long before pulling from him. as he turned to gesture to the sea, she flipped the end of her tail up to coat herself with a bit of water, an effort to cool her skin from the hot glare of the rising sun.

it wasn't until he turned around and reached for her hand that she paused briefly. there was a stunned look to her face, almost immediately replaced by an embarrassed blush—

yet there she remained, allowing him to hold her hand so tenderly and with his eyes full of brightness. if she hadn't been the one to come to his aid after falling, she wouldn't be sure if he had been hurt at all or not given how much energy and enthusiasm seemed to be radiating from him. )

Your dream come true? All blue? I don't understand, I haven't even helped you yet.

( naturally she had no idea he was stunned by her appearance. instead she began to move back a bit, using her other hand to place it above his own, guiding him a bit. )

Listen, let me go back into the water and see if I can find anything to give you. You must be starving or at the very least thirsty for fresh water?

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i swear he'll notice the mermaid tail soon

when it whips him by accident

slides back in late

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