Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As the freshly appointed Captain of the Silvermane Guards, Gepard Landau wanted to ease his way into this new position by spending his day the way he would any other- patrolling the streets and keeping an eye out for criminals. It was a relatively quiet afternoon for the young Captain, there was no suspicious activity to watch out for, and nothing particularly concerning. That was no excuse, of course. He would never slack off or even consider it. 

Naturally, the young Captain had a trained eye, so despite getting the impression that it was going to be a quiet afternoon, he still spotted a figure in the distance. Of course, he also noticed how quickly the figure disappeared after the brief second in which their eyes met. They were just far enough where Gepard couldn’t make out any identifiable features, aside from an unmissable bright green eyes. He didn’t allow himself to get distracted, no matter how captivating a pair of eyes could be. For the first time, the young Captain took off in a dash, arms at his sides as he zipped towards his target. 

A startled “eep!” sounded out, and Gepard’s target left his view just as quickly as they’d come in. Despite impressive speed and power, his target maintained their distance in a way that was somehow graceful, leading Gepard down narrow alleyways and over hurdles like it was a regular activity. Finally, the endless twists and turns through snow covered streets came to an end. Surrounded by tall walls and the towering young Captain, Gepard’s target froze with his hands up. 

He could now identify the man as a known scammer and criminal, Sampo Koski. His activity had only recently reached the Silvermane Guards, and as the newly appointed Captain, Gepard had only recently heard a description of the man. Short, blue and grey hair. Check. Striking green eyes. Check. A smug, cat-like smirk. Check. Not included in the description was the man’s incredible dexterity and fluid movements- the first to really give Gepard a workout in a chase. Which, of course, had now come to an end, as the young Captain had blocked off the only escape with both Earthbreaker and his body itself. No one in their right mind would try and plow past him, not that they would ever be able to. 

The strange individual known as Sampo Koski considered himself untouchable. The Silvermane Guards were practically useless when it came to stopping him, whether it be a new scam he had pulled off or some illegal goods he smuggled around Jarilo IV. They were fast, but he was faster. They were smart, but he was smarter. Sampo Koski was always one step ahead, and it was more than just an unusually large ego reassuring him. Of course, to the people of Belobog, Sampo's true identity was irrelevant. It didn't matter who he was or where he came from.  That look in his eye and a promising smile were enough to keep him in business.

"Yes ma'am, that's your pal Sampo's guarantee! I only carry the best quality items that your shields can buy! And, for an extra hundred, I can offer you-" Sampo's scheming words were cut short, and he nearly dropped his merchandise on the poor woman's feet. The fresh meat Captain of the Silvermane Guards was staring a hole through him, so he flipped the corner with his back to the wall, hoping he'd gotten out of sight on time. When Sampo glanced back, the blond man was already charging directly at him like some sort of terrifying wildcat. "Sorry to cut business short. Looks like an old friend of mine wasn't a happy customer after all~!" Sampo's collection of counterfeit goods clattered to the ground as he took off running, a cartoonish "eep!" as he realized the Captain was already closing in. How was he moving so quickly, even with all that armor and that ridiculous guitar case that were surely weighing him down?! 

Ducking and dodging through the streets, Sampo had to remind himself that although he thought he knew the city well, Gepard knew it better. Unlike him, the new Captain had grown up here and trained for this. To him, Sampo was probably just another criminal. Of course, he was anything but ordinary. So, he turned a corner into what he knew would be a dead end, back to the wall as he turned to face the man and end their chase.

“Sampo Koski. You have the right to remain silent.” Gepard’s voice filled the empty air. Strong, authoritative. The true voice of a Captain. His gaze was cold well beyond his years, fixed on the man before him. It was too early to celebrate, but Gepard felt a sense of satisfaction, having made his first arrest in a new position so soon. 

“Who? Lil’ old me? Sure, I’m Sampo Koski, but officer! I couldn’t have done anything wrong, now could I?” Sampo spoke in such a manner that immediately caused Gepard to scowl. He wasn’t one to react expressively, but this man sure was something. He’d already been busted a few times for running scams both in Belobog and in the Undercity, and he was racking up charges by the day. Now, face to face with the young Captain, he would play the fool? Fool he may be, but Gepard wouldn’t fall for any tricks. 

“Captain,” Gepard first corrected, expression slipping back to his stoic frown, “and you know well what you’ve done, Koski. If you were so innocent, you wouldn’t have ran so quickly.” 

“Oh, but who wouldn’t run seeing such a large man charging straight for them? It was either that or get plowed, and we only just met! You really aught to work on your manners, Captain.” Sampo’s tone was so smug, voice dripping with something so infuriating Gepard couldn’t even put it into words.

The audacity of this man, and to imply such a thing of him?! 

Crude, snide, overconfident, cocky, bastard-! 

Gepard’s chest rose and fell at a quickened pace, but he kept his temper in check. This man was taunting him, and he wouldn’t allow him to win! He was the Captain of the Silvermane Guards now, he wouldn’t fall for schoolyard taunts. 

“Weell, this has been fun and all, but Sampo’s got places to be. I'll be lucky if I didn't lose a sale, no thanks to you I'm sure... Same time, next week?” With drawn out words and a wink, Sampo leapt towards the wall and bounded out of reach just as quickly as Gepard could lunge at him. When he looked up, the man was perched several feet in the air, green eyes piercing Gepard's soul so deeply it made his stomach drop.

A flirtatious wink, a wave and a kiss blown to the blond. By the time he regained his composure, the young Captain’s target had vanished from sight. It wasn’t a moment later that the rest of his team came down the alleyway, unable to keep up with Gepard and trailing behind. 

“Fan out. He couldn’t have gone far. If you find him, don’t let him get away. I’ll be the one to make the arrest.” Gepard ordered. 

They never did catch Sampo, though. Not that time, or the next. An endless game of chase between the Captain and the scammer. 

Chapter Text

Salty blue waves lapped dully at the sides of the ship, sending her up and down across the sea. To some, it was a calm and lulling motion to drift off to, Mother Nature’s lullaby keeping them safe in her arms. To others, though, it was a watery hell. 

A young knight from Belobog, Gepard Landau, had joined the sailors under orders from his father. Horseback being his usual method of travel, Gepard was severely out of his element, even when the ship remained anchored and the crew planned their heading. The blond man stood with one arm supporting his head, the other gripping the ship’s railing for dear life. He had yet to adapt to the rough nature of the sea, and it was only the image of his sisters taunting him that were keeping him on his feet. Gepard’s scarred knuckles were white from his grip, so pale in the face he was going green. Thankfully, his duties wouldn’t begin until the ship docked- he wasn’t needed for their meetings. And thank the gods for that, Gepard was positive he would be stuck in this spot until they reached land. 

The destination, a foreign city newly added to the trading charter, promising valuable resources in exchange for the manpower they lacked. Gepard, of course, lead the team of manpower. Himself and a handful of the strongest knights had boarded the ship, some for the first time. Coming from nobility, Gepard had been out to sea before, but it had never been kind to him. He preferred rocky terrains, mountains covered in ice, the wilderness and nature that surrounded Belobog. Not the big, open sea, with only the occasional dolphin or whale to remind him they weren’t alone out here. 

A glimmer below him caught Gepard’s eye, and he adjusted himself to follow it. His eyes widened. A splash, and a tail vanished below the waves. Unlike the animals he’d seen before, the tail he’d just spotted was beautiful. Not that the animals weren’t beautiful in their own way, but this was truly eye catching. Purple and blue, scales sparkling in the sun, fins with a pearlescent shine. Gepard shot upright. His eyes had to be deceiving him, right? He rubbed his eyes, slapped his face a few times to try and compose himself. He had to have imagined that, right? Whatever it was, surely, it couldn’t be… Mermaids were just children’s stories. 

A second splash. This time, a head of blue hair emerged from the sea, and then the brightest green eyes Gepard had ever seen. A man smiled up at him, silent yet somehow drawing him forward. Gepard leaned further over the railing, staring down at the stranger below him. Not only were his eyes bright, they were captivating. Hypnotizing, even. He was never the type to stare at anyone, but Gepard just couldn’t avert his gaze, not even for a moment. The further he leaned, the quicker he was able to realize the man was singing. A sound so beautiful and pure, it brought tears to the knight’s eyes. His sister was a musician, someone Gepard had always admired and found to be talented, but this was different. The melody touched his soul, reached into the deepest parts of his being, pulled him over the ledge-

“Gepard!” The man found himself being flung backwards, a strong hand grasping him by the collar and pulling him away from the rail. “I know you’re still gettin’ your sea legs, but I would’ve thought you’d know better than to stare at a siren!” A sailor scolded Gepard, standing in front of him to block his view of the sea. “Man, you sure are lucky someone was there to grab you. If you went over, you’d be dead in an instant.” A siren, huh? Gepard felt his face flush with embarrassment. The sailor was right, that was far too close. He needed to keep a better eye on his surroundings, even if he wasn’t yet on duty. 

“Of course, yes, Sir!” 

Late in the evening, as the sun set, Gepard made himself comfortable in his cabin. Although he had no preferences, thanks to his status- and a bout of seasickness- Gepard had a private cabin. It wasn’t very big, of course, but it beat sleeping in bunks with the rest of the knights. He had a small porthole window, the faintest rays of light illuminating the crystal sea. Fish swam by, seemingly oblivious to his stares. He folded a blanket over his arm, when a familiar flash of scales caught his eye. Gepard moved closer to the window, despite what his instincts told him. There, that same face as before, grinned and waved at him, blowing bubbles through fanged teeth. As the light continued to fade with the setting sun, Gepard could see the faint glow the siren’s green eyes gave off, once again captivating him. When the siren pointed up, Gepard immediately understood to meet him on the deck. 

Sneaking around had never been Gepard’s strong suit, but the willpower bestowed on him by the siren had him effortlessly creeping around and back up onto the deck, climbing over the deck and diving into the sea without a second thought. The plunge was cold, sending a shock through Gepard’s body that caused him to flail before resurfacing. He gasped for air and looked around. The man was nowhere to be seen, though it was hard to see anything in the darkness. The moon only gave off so much light this far out at sea, and the ship only had a few torches still lit. He shivered. His clothed were already weighing him down, and the water chilled him. His teeth clattered but he fought against the waves to stay afloat, focused on keeping his head above the water.

Something tugged on Gepard’s foot. He gasped as he went under and took in a mouthful of salty water, choking as his body sank into the sea. He couldn’t see much as he stared below himself in a panicked state, but figures swam around him faster than he could count. At least two, right? Maybe more, they were so fast. Something clawed at his leg and pulled him further, but water filled his lungs so rapidly as he tried to cough below the waves.

The last thing he saw was a flash of purple and blue. 

When Gepard finally woke up, he was in an unfamiliar cave. A light tide washed in against the stones. He stared at the rocky ceiling as he regained consciousness, then sat up with a start as he coughed up the salty water that had tried to kill him. He sat up, realizing he was covered by some cloth rather than still in his clothes. He frowned and flushed with embarrassment, wrapping the cloth around his waist as he moved to his feet. Movement in the corner caught his eye. Gepard whipped around, arms up in a defensive position. “Who’s there?”

Blue hair and green eyes met Gepard’s gaze, and he finally came face to face with his siren. “Friends call me Sampo. Sorry we had to meet like this, the others got a little too feisty. Sorry about that, you’re a real tasty catch. Those sirens just want to sink their teeth into every man they meet.” The scales Gepard had seen before were gone. Now, a man stood in front of him. Only slightly shorter than him, but with a less muscular build. Wide shoulders, indicative of his strength. The most curious feature, though, was the man’s legs. Where Gepard would have expected skin and body hair, iridescent scales covered the man’s limbs. They stopped somewhere past his knees, but Sampo wore shorts. Aside from the scales, sharp teeth and pointed ears, Gepard would never have thought there was anything off about him- until their eyes met once more. 

While he stood his ground now, that green gaze was still so powerful. Gepard lowered his fists. “You had me come out to sea, though. You’re still responsible. If I had died, my blood would be on your hands.” There was a slight rasp to the knight’s voice, hoarse from the salty sea he’d inhaled. Although he no longer took a defensive stance, he was still on guard, trying to avoid looking directly at Sampo. Even so, he was tempted. 

“Oh, you poor fool. Sure, we might’ve had a little fun on the deck earlier, even while you were soiling the sea… That wasn’t me last night.” Although Sampo seemed to be teasing him, there was a seriousness he couldn’t ignore. Was he in danger? Were the others in danger? “You, my dear knight, were almost fish food. You’re so incredibly lucky that I was there to save you.” As Sampo continued, Gepard couldn’t ignore the taunt and wrinkled his brow, but still made no move. Not because of any outside force, though. But because he had a feeling Sampo was telling the truth, and he wouldn’t find out more if he attacked.

When Sampo moved closer, and Gepard was once again drawn into those gorgeous green eyes, the blond didn’t even stumble. Their faces were a mere inch apart, so close Gepard could smell a faint cologne coming from the other man. It was odd. He would have expected a man who was half fish to smell like, well… fish. Gepard’s face must have given that away, because Sampo laughed. “Hey, even a merman like me can indulge. Just because I spend so much time in the ocean, doesn’t mean I want to smell like it.” He winked and flashed Gepard a smile. 

“Enough about me, though, old pal. The real reason you’re here, you and all those other hunks of meat on that ship, is because of the sirens. They just get so tired of fish, and regular sailors just won’t do. So, they corned me, forced me to forge that letter! Can you believe it?” His theatrics were so obvious Gepard’s eyes rolled themselves. “Lucky for you, I happen to like blonds. So, when I saw them picking out their target… Well, I just had to intervene. And boy am I glad I did!” Sampo cupped Gepard’s face and fussed with his hair, stiff from the saltwater. The blond scoffed, but put up no resistance.

”If that’s all settled, then, do you plan on taking me back to my ship?”

”Ah, about that~”