Aeolia watched the net drift above the seafloor from her hideaway in a razor sharp reef, contemplating her choices as she watched it slide over the reef and above her, tearing multiple few holes into it as it did.
On one hand, she could stay where she was. The net would be easily shredded to pieces before it could finish crossing the reef. It wasn't built for a creature of her size; It would likely be cramped and uncomfortable inside it. Hell, if she really felt like it, she could swim to the surface in twice the time it would take to be dragged out.
On the other hand, the net had been tossed over her hideaway for a reason, and she'd hate to be rude. Plus, she might get a snack of the particularly stupid fish who hadn't escaped through the massive holes.
Yeah, those sounded like the only reasons she'd get caught. Couldn't think of any ulterior motives.
She pulled her tail back and slammed it into the sand, springing up just before the net passed over her. As soon as the fishers on the other hand noticed the new weight, the other end came up, and she tucked herself in, waiting through the ride patiently.
"I swear, if you make the 'quite a catch' joke again, I will actually eat you alive."
Wave bit back his lip and his words as Aeolia stuck her tail out through one of the torn holes, letting it dangle and drip-dry into the ocean.
"I think you need to understand that this isn't a power play, hun. You use the shittiest nets I've seen in my life. You aren't the valiant fisher who battles back the wind and sea to vanquish the alluring siren, you're the fisher who drove his boat into Cthulhu's head while panicking and trying to get away and just so happened to stun him for long enough to escape and die in your sleep a few days later."
"And yet, I still caught said siren" Wave popped back into his gusto like a selkie falling into their skin, grinning like a CalArts character and waggling his eyebrows in a manner akin to what most people assume to be his namesake.
(He had told Aeolia before that his name was short for 'Lots Of Wavy Hair Like Liberace', and she would've called bullshit if she wasn't well aware of how asinine pony names were.)
"Every tourist pronounces one foreign word right. How many schools of bass did you flirt with before you ended up catching me?" Aeolia questioned, opening her jaw to show off the last remaining bass she had managed to crunch down on.
"That matters not! What matters is that, irregardless of methods, the fisher has caught the alluring siren!"
She looked down at herself. She had put on weight, as was incredibly obvious. She considered retorting snappily, but even she had an ounce of gratitude occasionally.
It was kind of cute.
"Well, 'alluring siren', is better than 'foul beast', I suppose. And infinitely more so than 'my lady', which I am eternally grateful to you for leaving in the past." She commented, swallowing down her measly snack.
"Well then, maybe you can repay my generosity." He said, not saying (:,' out loud but still implying it with the power of his tone.
She raised an eyebrow. "You can't expect a very impressive kiss from a creature that eats fish her entire life. You didn't forget that, right? That you're infatuated by a siren twice your size?"
"I was thinking more of a number."
"I think I ate one of those once."
"For a phone."
"You're right, let me dive back under and grab my shellphone that fries every fish in a two league radius every time I turn it on."
Wave blinked in genuine surprise, rubbing the back of his head.
"Ooh, right, didn't think of that. Well, there's a ferry passing through here to get to Manehattan in a day. Can I at least grab dinner with you?"
"I prefer to pick food off the beach during their nightly strolls. Too many witnesses on a boat."
Wave never lost his swagger as they went on, shooting back and forth in the same manner for what felt like hours. He must've pronounced several full sentences correctly through the infinite monkey method alone, for by the time the sun started to lower he had gained a few genuine snorts and stifled laughs from her.
Eventually, Aeolia rolled her eyebrows, wondering idly how much longer she could keep talking before the net snapped around her and dropped her into the sea.
"Alright, I'm curious, and can never turn down free food. Can't promise the other ferry-goers will react very well to a giant siren launching herself out of the water to have dinner, though."
"I suppose we'll just have to anemosea."
She choked on a previous meal, coughing a few fish into the empty bins lining the ship's rails before continuing.
"Celestia, clearly I suppose I won't need to worry. Nobody else would get on a ship with you, Feferi."
"If I have you, that's all I'll care about."
She bit her lip, throwing her head back in a groan to mask it.
"Easy on the schmutz. Clearly I don't know what I've gotten myself into. I'll see you tomorrow, then."
To save face one last time, she dramatically cast her tail in a circle below her, slicing apart the net and falling back into the waves. It took no effort at all.
But she did feel a little bad.
Just before she dived back under, she called out a note from the blue to make sure his spirits didn't fall.
Wouldn't want him getting discouraged.