Chapter Text
The sun was setting over the horizon, an orange haze engulfing the blue sky above. Mobius was currently heading back from a small fishing trip, his fishing pole sticking off the back of his jetski, and a small crate containing a single fish strapped to the back. He hadn’t had much luck, and was getting pretty exhausted. Never too exhausted for jetskiing, of course. It was his favourite hobby, often finding peace while out on the water. ‘A perfect combination of form and function’ he called it, and nothing could change his mind.
As he approached the shore, he noticed an odd shadow in the water nearby, then something popped up to the surface. He had to make a sharp turn to avoid hitting the thing, and almost fell off. He groaned and slowed down, making a circle back to try and spot the elusive creature in the water. It had seemed almost human shaped, but there hadn’t been anyone at this beach in months, other than Mobius and the occasional boater.
As he neared the spot he’d seen the creature, he noticed his jetski shaking, and a tearing sound. He quickly turned to face the back, and saw a scaly, webbed hand grabbing at his fish crate. He yelled at it to stop, and it disappeared under the water, having let go of the crate. Mobius didn’t waste any time getting out of there, hurrying to get his jetski on a trailer, and out of the water. He then turned back to the shore, and took a deep breath as he stepped into the cool water.
“What was that thing?” He mumbled, but the now-dark sky made it difficult to make out any shadows. He decided to change his plans for the next day, and instead come back to the beach, so hopefully find whatever he’d seen. He turned and returned to his car, then headed home. It wasn’t until he was home he noticed the fish crate was… empty. He had forgotten to check it when he’d zoomed away, and groaned. “Well, there goes dinner. Guess a sandwich will tide me over.” He sighed, making a sandwich, eating it, then heading off to the bathroom.
He showered to get the salty residue off, then went to bed, getting comfy under the soft covers.
‘Tomorrow’, he thought.
‘Tomorrow I’ll find you, fish-stealer.’
-------
It wasn’t long until Mobius was out on the water again, in the light of day this time. He didn’t bring any of his fishing equipment, just a small knife, as a last resort.. which he hopefully did not need to do.
He went slow over the waves, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary, but there was nothing. He grumbled as he continued the search, though he was growing doubtful. That was, at least,until a splash caught his attention. He turned to his right, and saw a face peering up at him, an all-teeth smile plastered on his face.
“Looking for me, my darling?” It asked, trying to be polite, but Mobius was startled, and promptly fell off the jetski. The lanyard around his wrist tugged off the safety switch, the engine stopping. At this moment, Mobius was very glad for that feature… and the jetski that was acting as a wall between him and the scaly creature.
That didn’t last long though, the creature wasting no time in swimming under the ski towards him. “That’s no way to treat a new friend, dear.” It hummed, swimming in a small circle around Mobius.
“What are you, what do you want with me?” Mobius asked, trying to keep some distance between him and the creature.
“I wondered if you had more delicious snacks aboard that water-machine, that last fish was awfully tasty.” It explained, eyeing him. “Why do you look like that? You’re in the water… but you aren’t like me.” The creature tilted it’s head, curious.
“Listen, I would rather not talk about what I look like right now, because you’re really freaking me out.” Mobius grumbled, and finally hauled himself up out of the water, onto the jetski once again. It gave him a false sense of comfort.
“For one, that is very rude. And two.. You’re the one who almost hit me with your blasted water-machine.” It grumbled, making eye contact.
“It’s called a jet ski, pal. And you can’t blame me, you came out of nowhere! You should watch where you’re swimming!” Mobius huffed, the creature shrugged.
“Right. Well, how about we start again, shall we? This is getting ridiculous.” The creature sighed, then reached out a hand. “My name is Loki, and yours is?”
“...Mobius.” Mobius answered, grabbing Loki’s hand and hesitantly shaking it.
“Mobius… Interesting name.” Loki said, then, to Mobius’s dismay, he hauled himself onto the jetski as well, shaking off the water. What happened next was.. Definitely something Mobius had never seen before, or even heard of.
Loki’s appearance was suddenly changing, deep teal scales retreating into soft human skin, and the blue scales atop his head becoming long, black curls. His bottom half remained the same, however, still dangling in the water.
“How did… How did you do that?” Mobius asked, in awe. Loki let out a soft chuckle.
“I don’t know, really. Just happens. If I dry off, I look like you land-walkers.” Loki smiled, Mobius hated what that smile did to him, glancing away.
“We’re called humans.” Mobius said, and Loki nodded, taking in the new information.
“Do all humans have jetskis? I don’t believe I’ve seen one like this before. They’re usually.. Bigger. And with more humans standing on them.”
“I think you mean a boat. Yeah, they can be pretty big. Noisy things, too.” Mobius complained, “Jetskis are way better than boats, better looking, and much more fun.” he said, but then laughed, “sorry, I just.. I just think jetskis are pretty neat, is all.”
“I can see that.” Loki hummed, watching Mobius closely. Mobius still didn’t like the way Loki was eyeing him, but at least now he looked like a person, rather than a scaly menace. “How does it work? It stopped when you fell off.”
“Oh, well you see, there’s this little thing that goes around your wrist, it’s called a lanyard! It clicks in here-” Mobius showed him, plugging it in, then grinning. “Now it will go! It doesn’t go without that plugged in, so that it won’t speed off without you, if you fall off.”
Loki was very confused by everything Mobius was saying, but happily nodded anyway, enjoying listening to the man gush about his jetski. “Can you… take me for a ride on it?” Loki asked, and for a moment he swore he saw stars in the man’s eyes.
“Of course! Here, come sit behind me.” Mobius grinned, patting the seat behind him. Loki dragged himself the rest of the way out of the water, and his tail disappeared, his legs losing their scales. It was a relief for both of them that his dark grey shorts remained, or else things could’ve gotten awkward. Loki sat behind the man, hearing the engine starting up beneath him.
“Hold on!” Mobius said, Loki was confused at what that meant, but the second the jetski started roaring forward, his arms were tight around Mobius’s torso, like he was holding on for dear life.
Loki was terrified at first, but pretty quickly calmed down, enjoying the fun little joyride. Mobius seemed to be enjoying it as well, all the nervous tension inside him dissolved. “Fun, right? I told you jetskis are awesome!” Mobius yelled, and Loki couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yeah, it is pretty fun!” Loki called back, his anxious grip loosening. He just smiled at the surroundings. It was nothing new, he’d swum around this place countless times before, but this felt.. Different. Good different.
‘Maybe this human wasn’t so bad’, Loki thought.
‘I think I judged this fish-guy too harshly, he’s pretty neat!’ Mobius thought.
And maybe, the two of them would grow to become friends.