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It was hard, but they knew it was time to leave their home. The humans were too close for comfort these days and they had grown bolder and bolder, starting to steal guppies right from their homes. Rumor had it they were taking all the mers they could get their hands on, though no one was sure if it was for eating or studying.
Neither Keith nor Lance was willing to take the risk, even though it meant leaving everything behind: leaving their first home together, leaving all the friends they had made, leaving Lance’s bubble farm. They would have to go pretty far and it wouldn’t be an easy or a safe journey.
They prepared as best they could and they had a general idea of where they were going—it was about a week’s journey away and in a much deeper part of the ocean. They were concerned what this might mean for Orion, who was still getting the hang of swimming, but from all the talk they had heard this was one of the safest areas of the sea because humans were afraid there might be sea dragons in the area.
(Of course, every mer knew that sea dragons did not exist, they were just a ploy used by the sea dwellers to keep humans away from their territory.)
During the day the family swam as far as they could, resting frequently when they could and carrying the guppies when they couldn’t. On the second day, having only traversed not even a day’s journey away, Keith and Lance realized just how long it might really be before they found a new cave and settled down.
At night they all cuddled together, as Lance and Keith had once done when they’d made their first journey towards a new home.
Lance curled his tail around Keith’s, holding on tightly. Keith kept his arms around Lance. But they couldn’t rest chest to chest, for they wanted to keep the guppies there, safe. They were much more likely to accidentally drift off with the tide.
Orion curled his tail around Lance’s forearm while Kass did the same with Keith. If they were to get separated each adult would have a guppy with them so as to take care of them.
It was a warm little bundle of love each evening, with all four nuzzling into each other. Keith would tell fairy tales to help the guppies drift off into the night, and when they were both out, Lance and him would talk about all the hopes they had for their new cave and their new neighborhood.
<Perhaps a closer patch of sand for my farm> Lance said.
<A wider variety of fish> Keith said.
It was the fifth night when everything changed.
The family was curled into each other, holding on tightly even in their sleep, when something slammed into them, breaking them apart. They all woke, none of them badly hurt, but everyone dizzy. In the confusion Orion had hooked onto Keith and Kass had come loose only to be grabbed up by Lance.
Holding Orion close to his chest Keith swam towards his mate and daughter, Orion whining in fear. Only for a net to plunge into the sea and grab the two of them, dragging them back away from Lance and Kass.
But this time Keith was being pulled away from his mate too quickly, even as Lance sped forward he couldn’t catch them. The last thing Keith saw of his mate was Lance, one arm wrapped around Kass, the other reached out as if to grab the other half of his family.
And then Keith and Orion were above the water and being hauled onto the human’s boat.
To be continued…