Work Text:
art by flamecrownedstag
~
The water that lapped at Will's feet drew his eyes from the ocean. A leak? he wondered as the sea invaded his dinghy boat. He had been out catching his evening meals since early in the day. Now the sun shone red hot above him and the water that infiltrated his boat felt like cool relief on his bare feet. He hitched his fishing rod to his boat and knelt in the salt water.
With his index finger, Will felt along the grooves of the boat, grooves he knew as well as the creases on his hands, and located the source of the leak. A small, perfectly circular hole had somehow formed on the lowest point of the boat. It looked suspiciously like it had been drilled, but he was certain it hadn't been there when he paddled out that morning.
Suddenly his boat lurched to the right. Will splashed into the steadily rising water before quickly straightening. Something tugged sharply on the line. He reached to unhook the rod from the boat, but another lurch had him flying backwards into the basin of his boat. The fish dragged the small dinghy across the water, further from shore. Never before had he hooked an animal with such power. He reached into his pocket and drew out his knife. With one steady, practiced motion, he cut the line.
The dinghy ricocheted back and forth and Will used to his weight to help restore its balance. Once it calmed, it rocked gently with the waves. The shore had vanished in the distance, but he was certain he could paddle back towards it.
First, he was going to have to prevent his boat from sinking. Just as he pulled the duct tape from his repair kit, something rammed into the side of the dinghy. Will slipped and crashed into the rough ocean, his clothes dragging him under the waves.
He could see the sun shining above the murky waves. He attempted to swim up toward the surface, but began sinking instead. Panicked, he struggled in the water. A four foot long tail, like that of a dolphin or a shark, flashed underneath him. The creature must've gotten ahold of his shirt and was pulling him down fast. The water's immense pressure built on his skull, his brain, his organs, threatening to squeeze the life out of him. He twisted, trying to free himself from his shirt when suddenly the creature released him.
Will flipped over in the cold depths, clutching his pocket knife in desperation as he tried to get a good look at the sea monster he'd attracted. Large luminescent eyes stared back at him. They were placed in the skull of a woman. Her full red lips turned upwards when she caught him staring at her, but his eyes drifted lower. Her full pale chest glowed in the depths of the ocean, but something wasn't right. He squinted at her. His lungs burned and his head felt like it was going to explode. Her blond hair swayed gently with the current like seaweed and she beckoned to him with one long, webbed finger.
It was only when he swam closer that he realized what was wrong. Her flawless skin wasn't skin at all, but scales. Her waist turned dark where her belly button should have been and, extending into the inky waters below her, was the four foot long tail Will had spied earlier. She smiled a mouth full of blades and, before Will could jerk away, clapped her jaw down on his arm.
Will screamed, all the air escaping his lungs as his blood pooled into the water around him. He smacked the merwoman's head and tried to tug his arm away, to no avail. Her hands wrapped around his arm, claws digging into his soft skin. His vision was going black as he sucked in mouthfuls of blood-soaked sea water. In one last attempt to escape, Will stabbed his knife deep into the merwoman's arm.
She screeched in pain. Her too-wide-eyes captured him with a look of profound astonishment. The fish woman released him and turned tail, disappearing into the dark waters below. The blood-soaked water tasted heavy on Will's tongue. His body was numb, paralyzed from either the pressure, the fear, or something the merwoman had done. His gaze drifted towards the light above, but he sunk lower.
Fish food.
Blackness seeped into his vision, but he saw a glint of silver. The woman? Back to finish him off? Will saw a concerned masculine face staring down at him before the ocean swallowed him whole.
~
When Will opened his eyes, he recognized the tight space of a ship cabin encasing him. He sat up and winced at the pain that shot up his left arm.
"Easy, now," a deep voice said. A man knelt beside his bed and inspected his arm. "You've had quite the encounter." The man tilted his head to the side and gazed at Will with his dark brown eyes. His sharp features were in stark contrast to that merwoman's gentle face.
"Where am I?" Will took his arm back and used the headboard to help him sit up.
"You're on a ship. My ship. Excuse me for being so rude, I didn't properly introduce myself." The brunette offered his hand. "I am Dr. Hannibal Lecter."
Will stared at the hand, and Hannibal lowered it. "Alright, Dr. Lecter, care to explain how I ended up on your ship?"
"One of the crew saw you floating in the ocean. It was quite fortunate for you she did. You were half-dead when they pulled you on deck."
"And you, I suppose, were the one to nurse me back to health." Sarcasm sunk into his words. Will couldn't help it. Something about the man, the situation, didn't feel right.
"Not quite to health, but I certainly did my best. You will need more rest, and I will have to tend to that arm, but you should heal nicely." Dr. Lecter gave Will a close-lipped smile.
"I want to return to shore."
"Ah," Dr. Lecter said, standing. "I'm afraid that won't be possible for at least another two days. The crew and I on a tight schedule and cannot afford to divert our course." The hairs on the back of Will's neck rose. "In the meantime you are welcome to help yourself to any of the clothes in that cabin." He gestured to a wooden armoire in the corner of the room before indicating a thermos on the nightstand. "I prepared that meal for when you woke."
Will's stomach cried at the thought of food and he nodded.
"Now, I must be going, but do not hesitate to find me if you feel your condition is worsening."
Once Dr. Lecter stepped out of the cabin, Will opened the thermos. The rice, meat, and veggies inside were still warm. He picked up the spoon from the nightstand and began scooping the food into his mouth. The flavors exploded across his tongue and he had to remember to chew. Once he had eaten every last grain of rice, he set down the thermos and inspected his arm.
Dr. Lecter had bandaged it up well, leading Will to believe his title was earned due to a medical background. He winced as he pulled off the bandages. Angry red puncture wounds littered his arm. One set must have been caused when that fish woman had tried to take a bite out of him and the other ones must have been where her nails dug into his skin. He traced them with his right hand, the pain a gentle reminder that the encounter had been real.
After rebandaging his arm, Will exited the cabin. The hall stretched out ten meters in front of him. He followed the passage until he found stairs leading up to a watertight door.
"Hey!" a woman shouted when he reached for the handle. "You shouldn't be here."
When Will turned around, he was met with a Japanese woman in her early- to mid-thirties. "Sorry, I was looking for a way to get to the deck."
"The upper deck is off limits right now due to extreme weather." She crossed her arms and eyed Will distrustfully.
"If the weather was extreme, wouldn't the sea be more rough?" Will moved down from the stairs and stepped toward the woman.
Now she smiled at him. "Why don't you join me on the lower deck?" Without giving him a chance to respond, she turned and led the way. Will looked back at the watertight door before following her.
"Dr. Lecter mentioned that the crew is on a tight schedule. What sort of ship is this?" Will asked.
"We're a privately owned research vessel."
"And your research involves?"
The woman stopped and eyed Will. "You sure are full of questions. Answer one for me. What's your name?"
"Will Graham. And yours?" he countered.
"Chiyoh." She continued walking. "Well, Mr. Graham, are you aware that Horseshoe crab blood will clot in the presence of bacteria, rendering the bacteria harmless?"
"I can't say I was."
"The ocean is vastly under-explored. Part of our research here involves finding different oceanic lifeforms and discovering whether or not they could have medicinal uses." She opened a door for him, another watertight door he noted, and led him deeper into the vessel.
"Sounds like valuable research."
"It is," she replied. "Welcome to the lower deck, Mr. Graham."
Will glanced around the spacious room. A section made of glass in the middle of the deck allowed for under-ocean viewing. A piano rested in one corner, with lounge chairs, sofas, and tables — all in gold and silver — sprawled across the lower deck. A couple people chatted at tables, while others stood watching the deep green sea water pass underneath them.
"Ah, so glad you could make it."
"Hannibal, I see you've already met Mr. Will Graham," Chiyoh said.
"Only briefly. Thank you for showing him here. I was just about to play some music." Hannibal and Chiyoh exchanged the briefest of looks, but Will caught something in it. The woman dismissed herself and joined a blond woman at a table.
"For a research vessel, you sure have a nice set up here, Dr. Lecter." Will gazed around the room. Chiyoh and the other woman were having drinks. A man sat next to them, but Will noticed he wasn't engaged in their conversation. He seemed to be looking past them, at something else. Will followed his gaze, but saw nothing.
"Wine?" Hannibal offered.
"No thank you. I'm more of a beer guy, bourbon if I have the money for it."
"You'll come to find that I appreciate a refined palate. Eating and drinking are things we do every day, but what separates us from the beasts is that we prepare our food, savor it. Some may fall to gluttony as a result. I prefer healthy indulgence." The doctor led Will to the bar and pulled out a bottle of Glenfiddich whiskey, aged twenty years. "Here, I believe this will be to your liking." He poured a small amount into the bottom of a glass.
Will went to toss the glass back, but Hannibal's hand on his arm stopped the motion. Will looked at the man, a question in his eyes.
"Glenfiddich must be savored," Hannibal replied as explanation. He poured himself a glass and tilted it back slowly, swishing the dark liquid in his mouth before swallowing. Will distracted himself from the man's unreadable eyes by watching his Adam's apple bob with the action instead.
He sipped his own whiskey and nodded in appreciation. "Not bad."
"You must excuse me for a moment. I promised Bedelia and Chiyoh a song." Hannibal slipped away and glided onto the piano bench. Will sipped his whiskey and explored the room. He was staring at the ocean beneath the glass when the first notes struck him.
The music tugged at something deep inside him. Images of the fish woman flashed through his mind, but it wasn't the same one he had seen. This one was different, more refined. He was floating weightlessly in darkness and she was beckoning him closer, a beam of light in the cold chasm. He wanted to come to her, but when he reached out, she sunk lower. No. He was moving upward and she was stationary. Her sad sea-green eyes gazed at him, her arm outstretched, but he kept moving away. Upward, far from that calm place. Panic gripped him and he screamed into the water to her. When he breathed in, the sea felt soothing on his throat, on his lungs.
"Will," the woman called to him. "William, come back to me."
But he floated upward, away until he broke through the surface and choked on the air.
Will snapped out of the vision as he inhaled deeply. He was sitting down now, in an armchair next to where he had been standing moments before. Hannibal's fingers were still dancing across the keys, his eyes were shut as he swayed with the music. Chiyoh and the other woman were kissing the man next to them and he was melting into them, soft and blubbery and red.
Why so red?
Chiyoh took one of the man's fingers into her mouth and sucked on it. When she pulled it from her mouth, the finger was gone. Blood dripped down her chin and she licked her lips in revelry. Will's heart thudded in his chest, but he couldn't move. The music pounded through him, rooting him to his chair. Chiyoh and the other woman weren't kissing the man, they were biting off pieces of him.
Will felt sick. He had to do something, but he couldn't move . Hannibal's hands dragged across the keys as the notes dragged across Will's body. He clenched his fists at his side, his wounded arm throbbing. He had to say something, had to scream. He opened his mouth and a low melody escaped his lips.
The women froze and stared at him. The blond one he recognized now, with her blood stained lips, as the merwoman. Hannibal stopped playing and stood from the piano bench. Will couldn't stop singing. He wasn't sure what he was doing, all he knew was that the maiming had to stop .
Hannibal moved towards him and Will stood as he approached, preparing himself to fight if needs be. He winced when Hannibal caught his right wrist, then froze when the doctor sealed his lips over Will's own. He could feel the ocean pouring through him, alive in every cell. He closed his eyes and gave himself over to the waves, clutching Hannibal.
An anguished scream pierced through Will and caused him to yank back, away from Hannibal. Will collapsed back into the chair and located the source of the sound. The man, bleeding profusely from his hand and from the gashes on his neck and arms, was panicking. Hannibal took a deep breath. He moved swiftly towards the yelling man and, in one smooth motion, snapped his neck.
The two women and Hannibal shared a look before three pairs of eyes locked on Will. He leapt out of the chair and moved behind it, eyes darting around the room for an exit. "You stay there," he said, his voice shaking.
"Now, now, Will, calm down." Hannibal moved slowly toward Will, as one would an injured animal.
"No! Stay back!" Will exclaimed, scaling the bar and using it as a barrier between himself and the others. "I won't let you eat me."
"I won't let anyone eat you either, Will. You're quite special, it's why you're still alive, why I saved you." Hannibal held up his hands to show he meant no harm, but the man's dead body on cushion beside the two women told Will otherwise.
"Someone tell me what's happening here. She," Will said, pointing to the blond woman, "was a fish person. She tried to eat me." When Hannibal took another step towards him, Will grabbed a bottle of wine and held it up as a weapon. "Not another step! Tell me what's going on here. What are you really doing on this ship?"
Hannibal stopped moving and sighed. "Bedelia, Chiyoh and I are undine, or merfolk as you would say in English."
"Undine?"
"It's Lithuanian. Lithuania is our place of origin," Hannibal responded.
"And so you, what? Capture fishermen, bring them on your ship and eat them?"
"Typically." Hannibal nodded and Will felt terror flash through him at the open confession. "That's what Bedelia had planned to do with you, but that was before she realized that you are special."
"Meat to be savored?" Will scoffed, remembering Hannibal's earlier words.
"No, Will." Hannibal shook his head. "You are of Jurate, the Mother. Her blood flows through your veins. I could smell it after Bedelia bit you. That's why you were able to break free from my song, why you were able to summon your own song."
"I'm not one of you," Will argued, his body shaking.
"No, you're not," Hannibal agreed. "You're so much more."
Will threw the bottle when Hannibal moved toward him and ran. He didn't look back when he heard the glass shatter. He pushed his way through the watertight door and ran across the mid-deck, back to the stairwell that led up. Will turned the dogging assist to release the door, his breath coming out fast and ragged. His left hand throbbed in pain, slowing his progress. He had absolutely no warning when a needle stabbed into his neck and cool liquid burned into his veins.
"Whaa," his limbs gave out on him and he felt steady arms wrap around him. It's the same face, he realized, before he sunk into unconsciousness.
~
When Will woke up, he was strapped down to the bed he had initially woken up on. His stomach flip-flopped after he yanked and kicked and the restraints on his wrists and ankles gave no slack. "Let me go!" he screamed. "You sick fucker!" He screamed and struggled until his voice was hoarse and his left arm was bleeding again. He panted, his sweat pooling around him as if the ocean was leaking out of him, plotting to drown him.
The door creaked open and Hannibal entered the room, a platter of food in his hand. "Tsk, tsk." He set the platter down on the nightstand and turned his attention to Will's bleeding arm. Will flinched away, but the restraints kept him in place. "You need to be more careful."
"Why? You're just going to eat me anyway."
Hannibal undid the bandages to inspect the damage. "I have told you that neither I nor my companions will be eating you."
"Then why must you insist on keeping me here? Even if I told anyone about what I saw here, no one would believe me Just let me go ."
"I'm afraid I cannot do that, Will." Hannibal finished rebandaging Will's arm and sat on the edge of the bed. "You have lived a life on land, but the Ocean calls to you."
"The ocean calls to all fishermen," Will countered.
"The Sea lives in your blood, She's part of you. More so than She is a part of Bedelia or Chiyoh. Quite possibly more so than She is part of me. Let me help you reconnect with Her, Will. Let me set you free. I promise you, you will be happier if you do."
"Even if I were part merfolk, which I'm not saying I am, what good would it do you to help me 'connect with the ocean'?"
"There are very few of us remaining. The Mother had a handful of children, and your blood sings of her. I believe you are her direct descendent." Hannibal brushed a lock of Will's unruly brown hair from his eyes. "Imagine what we could accomplish together."
Will glared up at the doctor. "I will not help you kill people."
At that, Hannibal smirked. "We shall see."
Hannibal spoon fed Will his dinner and Will didn't even want to think about the meat in it. Hannibal left the room and it felt like the walls were closing in on Will.
He had to get off this ship.
~
Over the course of what Will could only guess was a week, he managed to gain some freedom by playing along with Hannibal. While he frequently felt the undines' watching eyes following him wherever he went, he found short reprieves of solitude. In those moments, he discovered that Chiyoh, Bedelia, and Hannibal were coming and going as they pleased using a chamber on the lower deck that opens right into the ocean. He also discovered that escaping would be harder than previously imagined, as the navigation computers showed them underwater, making their way towards the coast of Denmark and Norway.
Will couldn't deny how much he enjoyed the moments when Hannibal drew him into his arms and whispered tales of the undines into his ears. He spoke of the salty water of his native Baltic sea, and how Jurate, the mother, lived in a castle of amber off the coast of Lithuania, under the sea. She was charged with protecting the sea and its inhabitants, but one day a fisherman named Kastytis came and disturbed the peace by taking too many fish. Jurate brought Kastytis down into her castle as punishment, but then she fell in love with him. When the thunder god, Perkunas, discovered that Jurate was with a mortal, he struck her castle with lightning and destroyed it. Jurate managed to get Kastytis to shore, along with some of their children, but then she disappeared. It is said that some of her children live on shore, while others spend their lives at sea, yet neither of them belong entirely to the sea or the land, being made of Jurate and Kastytis.
Something about the story stuck with Will as he lay awake at night, the sea's gentle rocking unable to calm his mind. Perhaps it was the glint of sadness in Hannibal's eyes as he relayed the tale, the quiver in his voice. Or maybe it was the image of Jurate he saw in his mind's eye, beckoning him to sea.
He stood and stretched before quietly padding out of his room. Will followed the paths that he had grown to memorize down into the heart of the ship until he reached the navigation room. He sang softly and the man in front of the screen slouched and then began snoring. Will crept inside and peered over the man's shoulder.
Land. He could see land just east of them. He crept out of the navigation room and returned to bed, his mind now alight with a plan.
~
Will was sitting in one of the lounge chairs while Bedelia played on the piano. Hannibal was feeding him cuts of what Will was pretending to be steak. He had learned refusal was not an option. Each dish, he had noticed, was handcrafted by Hannibal himself and was not shared with the two women. Bedelia's playing didn't have as profound of an effect on Will as Hannibal's had, but he did find that it numbed his mind. He knew he should feel sickened, that he should be freaking out, but instead he leaned into Hannibal. The man smiled down at him and ran a hand through his hair.
"You are something else, Will."
"So you've said," Will mumbled. He felt so tired with the notes pressing gently into him.
"Let's have a look at your wound, shall we?" The question was purely a formality as Hannibal already had Will's arm in his hand and was undoing the bandage. Whatever he saw in the scabbed markings pleased him. He lifted Will's arm under his nose, sniffed, and smiled. "Yes, I do believe it's time."
"Time?" Will straightened. "Time for what?"
Hannibal kissed the wound in response, causing heat to boil in Will's gut. Then pain shattered through his arm. Hannibal's teeth had elongated into finely tipped needles. Needles that were currently embedded into Will's arm, right over the previous bite mark. Will's blood went cold in shock. Hannibal withdrew his teeth from Will's flesh and licked the blood off his teeth. "You are divine, so pure."
"Y-You told me you wouldn't eat me." It was the first thing to come to mind. "You lied."
Hannibal cocked his head to the side, but before he had a chance to respond, Will shoved him backwards. This was his shot. Before Bedelia had even skipped a note, he pried the door to the underwater chamber open and slip inside. He had practiced this in his mind since realizing he was trapped on this ship. The doors snapped shut. Hannibal stared at him disapprovingly through the glass. Will took a deep breath, then hit "Open."
Water rushed into the chamber and sucked him out into the open ocean. His bleeding wrist stung and he prayed his blood wouldn't attract any sharks, but he also knew that sharks were the least of his concern. Hannibal was sure to be coming after him any second now. He pulled his clothes off, knowing they'd just weigh him down. He swam freely up, away from the ship and towards the surface.
As he breached, he took a deep breath of crisp ocean air before diving back under. Adrenaline pumped through him and he swam fast and hard toward the direction of shore. He moved swifter through the current than he ever had, needing to surface for air much less frequently than he had in the past. The shore was close now, he could feel it. But something pulsed in the water, something pleasant. It called to him.
Will diverted his course and followed the thrumming to its source. At first, he thought it was a seal, but as he drew closer he recognized the small fishing boat. He surfaced for air and watched the man sitting in the boat. He was the cause of the pulsing. Will called to him. The man turned toward him and leaned over the side of the boat to get a good look at him. The pulsing was so strong, beating like Will's own heart. Will called again and the man teetered on the edge of the boat. He reached a hand out towards Will and Will mimicked the gesture, uttering gentle encouragement. He needed to capture that pulsation in his waters, needed to feel it, to taste it.
With one more word of encouragement, the man toppled off his boat and into the water. Will swam under to help him. He wrapped his arms around him and pressed his ear against the man's chest.
There it was. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. So strong, so steady.
The man's eyes were wide and Will whispered softly to him through the waves, calming the thrum within him. "I'm here to help you ," he whispered. "Let me help you."
The man, helpless, gave in.
Will swayed with him in the waves, dragging him down, down, down. The thrumming slowed the deeper they went until he could barely hear it. Will sealed his lips over the man's, dragging the air from his lungs.
Then the thrumming stopped.
Will felt Hannibal's presence before he turned and saw him. The doctor's dark hair flowed in the water. He was clothless and instead of his pant-clad legs, a six foot long tail extended from his torso. Silver highlighted his first and second dorsal fins and streaked his caudal fin. He was stunning.
Will grabbed the man he had helped and brought him to Hannibal. "I stopped his thrumming."
"You did so well, just as I knew you would." Hannibal rubbed his cheek against Will's. "Let's share him."
Together, they dug into the man's flesh with tooth and claw. Hannibal offered Will the tender cheek meat. Will cleaved pieces of flesh off with his claws and offered them to Hannibal. Once they had eaten their fill, they basked in the red of their design. Hannibal took Will into his arms and Will nuzzled at his neck. In response, Hannibal turned his head, granting the man access. Will ran his tongue across the scale-covered flesh before biting down. Hannibal's blood sang to him and Will's answered.
The pair locked lips and Will wrapped his legs around the undine. A slick member prodded at Will's entrance before pushing past the ring of muscles. They moved together in the dark murky waters, breathing in blood and water and sea foam. Hannibal clutched at Will, his eyes unguarded for the first time. In their depth, Will saw pure unadulterated devotion. He kissed Hannibal, taking his tongue into his mouth and sucking. Then he clamped down and saw white. His release mingled with the blood. Hannibal quickly followed, warming Will's insides.
Once they pulled apart, Hannibal took Will in his strong arms and swam him towards the surface. Will's whole body was tingling. His wrist burned and his teeth hurt. He cried out and Hannibal looked down worriedly at him. His powerful tail brought them rapidly to the surface. They rose above the waves and Will gagged.
"Keep it in, can you do that for me?" Hannibal asked, still holding him.
"I-I feel like I'm going to be sick." Will's stomach felt like it was in knots. He gagged again. The seawater and blood and flesh churned unhappily together.
"You can do it. Just hold on a little bit longer, my dear Will." Hannibal rested his chin on Will's head. "Let my strength be your strength. My song be your song." The sun was setting towards the West. Hannibal began to hum softly, deep in his throat. The vibrations calmed Will's shaky body. Will raised his voice to a song and joined Hannibal's. His body grew numb as he gave himself to the song.
In the song, he and Hannibal were floating on the waves. The salty water tasted fresh on his lips. They were swimming together. Hannibal smiled at him, adoration in his eyes. Between them, a beautiful young brunette undine swam. She had Hannibal's deep brown eyes. She smiled up at her fathers and together, they sang.
When Will opened his eyes, his legs were gone. In their place was a long white tail with one rusty red streak right down the middle. "Did you see her?" he asked Hannibal.
"Yes." Hannibal placed a hand on Will's stomach. "You are more splendid than I could have imagined. What will she be called?"
Will listened to the sound of the waves for a response before replying, "She'll be called Abigail."
"A beautiful name for a beautiful child. She will be even more powerful than either of her parents. Together, we will sink oceans of men."
Will took Hannibal's hand in his own webbed one. "Let's go home."