You didn't have to turn around to know that Aegir was looming right behind you, his shadow a telltale sign, darkness enveloping you like a blanket and sheltering you from the sweltering heat that prickled your back.

You’re hard at work, using washed up wooden planks and layering them onto one another to create what seems to be a makeshift platform. It’s been a few months since you’ve been on this island paradise, a few months since the boat you were on crashed to what people would’ve chalked up as a mysterious circumstance.

It was the work of a siren, really, who’d ended up hypnotizing everyone to their deaths; captain included. It all happened when night came, thick clouds forming over the heads of the unsuspecting passengers, fog curling through the cracks of metal and wood. You recall the faint call of a melody that attempted to pull you in, whispers of your descent to the cold, plunging waters of the deep and into the arms of a predator.

Now, you’re stranded, with the very killer of the crew and travelers keeping a vigilant watch over you. You’re not quite sure why Aegir hasn’t ended you yet. You’re pretty sure he doesn’t know himself either. Perhaps there was something about you that made him hesitate. That, or he was prolonging your inevitable fate.

“Whatever it is you’re doing, stop it.” Aegir frowns. He places a large palm on your shoulder, tugging you onto your bum and effectively steering your attention towards him. All attempts at leaving the cove are for naught. Swimming wasn’t an option, obviously, not when he was bred for water. So you had to make do with whatever materials you had lingering around the beaches. The siren had made it clear that you weren’t going to leave the cove.

But it never hurt to try.