Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The abyss has been your home since you could remember. It’s all you’ve ever known, and all you truthfully cared to know. The heated vents that would expel gases and occasional molten rock out would keep you perfectly warm, even though you’ve grown to love the chill of the deep. The darkness never bothered you, the jagged, crackling markings running across your black tail would shine different colors with the power of your magic. Plus, you’ve come across caverns that held crystals which would glow in tune with your tail, which was very pretty to you.

It made up for not seeing the stars. For all your strength in both physical and magical, in all your deathly glory…
There was no way in hell you’d ever go near the surface. You were doing great here in your home, and what purpose would you ever find up there? Plus, it was actually really, really difficult up there. Even just going out of the mouths of the caverns you lived in made you deeply uncomfortable.
This discomfort hasn’t been with you that long, honestly. You used to swim up and back down to the abyss all the time before it. Really, it barely bothers you! You’re just going about your usual day here in the deep, alone, no others of your kind or any other real kind to socialize with when…
When you found out you were different. Way different.

The event occurred a few cycles ago, when you’d twisted your way through the tangled up cave systems that lead from your darkened, deep home out into the pretty blue waters of the typical ocean. Not much prey had swam your way before that, so you’d gone out to hunt and then would just go back home. Nothing more! Just snatch up a couple of sharks and spend the rest of the day sleeping by the heat vents, maybe messing with the stuff you find like that broken, wooden thing the surface people use. You can almost fit your entire tail in there!

Back to the problem at hand, you had been hunting. You were mostly targeting what were called Great Whites — they made a decent mouthful of food for you, the bones crunchy and the meat itself softly shredded by your teeth, they were a luxury for you — but you had scooped up and swallowed a few other misfortunate creatures that had passed you by. You didn’t even leave the entire safety of your home, just your top half was poking out of the cave opening! The rest of your flared, long tail draped across and through the cave behind you. No point wasting energy, you just stayed still and they came to you. Long, green hair made it difficult for near sighted fish to tell the difference between you and seaweed.

It had come as a surprise when, caught halfway between watching for prey and napping, a blue blur had gone across your vision. Eyes opening, you kept perfectly still yet tense, ready to reach out and grab whatever it was.
A small fish swims by in front of you, and your blue blur snatches it up before starting to chow down. You were sure your mouth had dropped open from shock. It was another mermaid! He looked...he’s tiny! The fish you saw as small was pretty big for him, and if that wasn’t enough he looked even stranger. His upper half was clearly a skeleton, and his lower was the lightest blue you’ve ever seen, your nose picking up the scent of heavy magic across it.

It was startling, you had thought for sure any other merfolk would look like you. Granted you’ve...never seen another merfolk, but you knew they existed! You knew a lot of things, honestly...wonder who taught you that?
A breath out makes the merskeleton in front of you stop. He barely even twitches as sand drifts up and around him in a flurry, before slowly turning around and meeting your gaze. Trying to be friendly, you smile at him.

He drops the half eaten fish, the corpse slowly drifting to the floor. His hands are shaking, actually his everything is shaking. Eyelights nothing more than slivers, mouth open in abject horror. He drifts a few inches — feet for him, probably — away from you before turning tail and BOLTING away.

All you hear from him, is the distant scream of
“L E V I A T H A N!!!”

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The memory sticks out so clearly, even with it being cycles ago since you saw the little mer. It had stuck with you, though. The fear on his face, his trembling form as though he was looking at one of the squids you occasionally eat.
They fed you well, but even you got creeped out by them. You often had to rip the tentacles off before eating, since they can normally get a good grab on your hand if they have enough time. It doesn’t hurt you, but it’s annoying.

...How big were those squids, anyways? If you’re so big compared to other mers, those squids must be a good size...and you often have to eat multiple to feel full!
It was disturbing, thinking of how this entire time you had thought of yourself as just an everyday mer living her life, waiting to meet another and LIVE. You...you’re just the outlier though, aren’t you?

Which is why you are currently lying across the heat vents, enjoying the feeling of molten rock on your body and stress chewing whale bones. Was it really a good habit to have? Probably not. Was it making you feel better? Absolutely.
Your thoughts wander down different currents, twisting and changing with each new question. Just how different were you from other mers? Was it a species thing? Was it a habitat thing? You doubted that tiny blue boy would be able to last down here in the depths you resided at, but on the other fin you COULD survive in his place. You just didn’t feel like it.

You’re so deep in thought you barely notice movement wayyy up above you, not until an iron scent you are so familiar with drifts down towards you. That’s blood, that’s a decent amount of blood. Enough to attract sharks…
And sharks means food!

Dropping the rib you were gnawing on, you push up from the floor and swim to the scent. Once you’re close enough, you notice you’re heading towards a new tunnel you haven’t really explored yet. The turns and twists don’t bother you, you swim past as gracefully as always. In the back of your head, you notice that your tail IS a lot longer compared to the blue mer. Just another thing to add to the list.

Poking your head out of this cave’s mouth, you see it leads to a thick kelp forest. There’s just enough space for a small, sand patch to be in front of the cave, and the blankness reveals to you the source of the blood. Tied by his tail to a rusted anchor, is another merskeleton! He’s not like the other one, though. This one has blackened bones, and his tail was a bright yellow that turned red the closer it got to his waist. Speaking of his tail, it has a long scratch on it, which looked rather clean. Too carefully made to be a proper predator attack, it was likely another mer.

Figuring he probably shouldn’t be sleeping, you poke the little guy. He groans, but shakes his head before opening his eyes. They’re such a lovely red and yellow!

...Aaaaand he looks scared too. Great.

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Error couldn’t explain why he knew the day was going to be terrible, but he absolutely HATED that he was correct. It wasn’t the usual terrible, where most of his school avoided him thanks to the fact that he was — admittingly — an outcast to the group. He usually just moved alone, would have never bothered joining up with this school, but rumors on the current was that there had been ANOTHER cave system discovered nearby. One where all the tunnels led into the depths of the abyss, and where the truest predator of the ocean lived.

The Leviathan. Even just thinking of the name sent a shudder through his bones. They were huge, and easily could take down any sea creature that dared to challenge them. They ate whatever they could find, bones and all, but the prey they so deeply desired was that of Merfolk. Merfolk held magic, which Leviathans used to power themselves and their might. While they were such big threats, though, most Leviathans never left their homes. Staying in the same area of the abyss from their beginning until their supposed end. Some would be content that way, others would rule the territory around their caverns with iron fists and chase away anything that entered.

Error hoped he would never see the feared third kind, one that didn’t mind leaving its abyss to travel the oceans and devour all in its wake.
Which leads to his current situation. There was nothing good about it. In the most idiotic of idiotic moves, his “school” of “allies” had chosen to knock him out, cut him up, and leave him where the damn thing was supposed to live! They had considered it tribute towards the beast, and that “his sacrifice would spare them” as they traveled through the Leviathan’s supposed territory.

Error’s calling bullshit but whatever.

He finally started to come around when he felt something very much alive poke him. Thankful, because it’s probably another group passing through, Error is quick to open his eyes and look towards the movement.
He nearly screams, but the words die quickly in his throat. He was being poked by a hand, attached to an arm, attached to a body. A really, really big body.

This mermaid was BIG. Even just looking behind her, he couldn’t see where her tail ended as it was twisted through the cavern like a sea serpent. Long, green hair that looked similar to the plant life around them, gray skin that could blend in anywhere, large eyes locked onto his…
And teeth. So, so, sooo many sharp teeth. Too many to truthfully count.

So this was what a Leviathan looks like.
Error was going to die.
Today REALLY is a terrible day.

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Alright, you had one mission and one mission only: Keep the Mer CALM. He was bleeding, clearly terrified — even if you were still struggling with why he was scared of you — and that was NOT a good combo. The bleeding had to be taken care of quickly as to not attract other predators. Sharks were great for you, not so much on his end. Reaching around him, you tear at the kelp forest to get a huge amount of the plants and put them down in front of him. You’d bandage him up yourself, but you weren’t exactly built to handle that kind of delicate task.

Plus the way he was looking at you really made you want to avoid touching him. Maybe his coloring too, wasn't brightly colored stuff supposed to be poisonous? Or toxic?? Shit what if this guy tried to poison you, you’ve never been poisoned before!

When he doesn’t move to the kelp, you subtly try to point it out. Maybe he can’t see as well as you can…
Or maybe it’s those chains you now see wrapped around his hands securing him to the anchor like his tail. Oops.
Slowly, you reach out to hold the chains between two fingers. The mer flinches away, and struggles to get as far as he could but you don’t let the bad reaction stop you. The chains feel thin beneath your fingertips, and they snap just as easily.

He doesn’t move away from the anchor, even after getting free. However, he does snatch up the close kelp and starts tying it up into a bandage. You keep your distance, not wanting to make things worse. Once he’s patched himself up, you try for a comforting smile.
There has to be someway to let him know you don’t want to hurt him. Some possible thing to tell when what you’re thinking...oh!

You swallow, hard, and move your jaw a bit. Hopefully this works…
“H...Hello? I...I mean...no harm…” You’re surprised it works, but it does! That’s your voice! You CAN talk, you’ve never talked before but you can! Your voice echoes around the area, and you swear it sounds like two or three people talking at once. It’s the coolest thing you’ve ever heard, why didn’t you try this before?!

The mer cowers away from you, and oh right that’s why. You’ve never HAD anyone to talk to. You keep the smile up as you desperately think about what to do next. He’s bandaged up now, but he’ll need somewhere to rest and recover, somewhere closed off and unable to be ambushed.

Somewhere like your home. It would work perfectly! No one else ever goes down there except you, so he won’t be bothered. You can hunt for the both of you, and he’ll get the time he needs to heal up. Excited at the plan, you don’t even consider the ramifications of snatching the Mer up in your hands and diving deep into the caverns.

The darkness swallows the both of you up.

Chapter Text

The main place where you spent most of your days was a comfortable cavern. You could reasonably fit the entirety of, well, yourself in the place and there’s room for even more. It has all your favorite things, some molten rocks to snooze on, whale bones you’ve collected to chew on at your leisure, stuff you’ve swiped that don’t really serve much purpose, and entrances that lead out into different areas you can explore — when you want. You don’t use those often, but occasionally you would go out to catch food and get some new things to decorate with.

It’s a good thing you go out, too, or the mer in your hands would have likely bled out. Speaking of your new buddy, he was really shaking in your hands. You can understand why, the abyss gets cold and if the way the crystals littering the caverns were starting to light up told you anything, the darkest part of a cycle was setting in. You had to figure out something quick for your friend though, he probably wasn’t as used to the cold as you are.

Thinking fast, you find a shallow indent in one of the walls that could serve as a sort of room for him. Setting him there, you dive into the molten area and collect up some hot rocks. You could use them as a makeshift heating source for him! You also grab some of those shiny things to make him feel more comfortable, and an unused whale bone. It’d be rude to give him a used one, and as a good host you would see that he is completely comfortable!

You put the stuff down near his own area. He can decorate it how he wants, and you’re pretty sure you got him what he’ll need down here. Warmth, stress bone, shelter to comfortably sleep in, and...wait wait you’re forgetting something important you know you are…
You feel a mild pain in your belly, and it hits you. Food! He’s gonna need food! But, the question is, what do upper Merfolk eat? You don’t think he can eat those squids you like, and sharks might prove difficult.

Great, you’ll have to go up and find him something good. That’s understandable, getting him something good. Going up though, that was concerning. You’d have to stick close to the caves so you could come back down when you were done, for the sea clearly had more secrets hidden from you than normal.
You can see your excitement was making the smaller mer more nervous, and without thinking you feel movement in the back of your throat. It’s making a noise, and you...you think you’re purring. It’s a soft, repeated clicking and even with you making it, it’s soothing to hear.

You only hope it’ll help soothe him.

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Error couldn’t fucking move. He didn’t dare to. The grip of the Leviathan was one of stone, and he dare not fight against it. He couldn’t afford too, a risk of angering the beast could so easily become a death wish. It wouldn’t be hard for her, a quick tense of muscles or a swift crunch of fangs…
He had to let things happen as they come, and play along.

When she finally lets him go, he can barely see a thing. The murky water down here was so thick with silt it was terrible to try and see. As his eyes adjusted though, he noticed there were two sources of light he could see from. One was a bunch of crystals spread out across the caverns, all shining different colors. It could be quite beautiful, if only the second source didn’t strike terror into one’s heart.
The second was the tail of the Leviathan herself. Error could see different streaks of colored magic lighting up across her in crackling lines. It was like the storms he’s viewed up above, the ones walkers often had to deal with while sailing. Lightning, he believes it was called. Multicolored lightning.

The shebeast dives, and he can only watch as she disappears into the smoggy water. When she doesn't resurface immediately, he swims as far from the edge as he can. This was a nightmare. There was no way he could possibly escape upward, not in the time limit he was working with, and in the hole she had put him there was nowhere to hide.
It was the perfect cage, and this has Error shaking. Why bother keeping him here? What’s the point of all this? WHAT DOES SHE WANT FROM HIM?!

A clatter from behind makes him whirl around, having been looking into the cave. It’s...it’s a rock. A really big, slightly glowing red rock. When Error moves closer to it, he can feel an easy heat coming from it, like the warmer currents in the south. Next to it, lies a bunch of shiny chains with gemstones attached to them. Walkers wear them, he’s pretty sure they called them necklaces, but he has no idea how this Leviathan managed to get these with how delicate they seem compared to her. The last gift grabs Error’s shock and DRAGS it over to become utter horror.

It’s a whale bone. A fucking whale bone, he’s pretty sure it’s a rib. Error glances down at himself then back at the bone. Yep, that’s a rib. Oh, skies above, was this a threat?! Why would he even need a whale rib, who needs a whale rib!
Error is pretty sure he’s breaking down from all this, that at some point he’s going to just snap, and even now his screaming mind has decided to supply him with a terrifying idea;

Was he meant to be the Leviathan’s pet?
She looks so excited, grinning and showing off her jagged fangs, eyes gleaming in the low lights. He’s not going to survive this. There’s no way in Hell. He’s never been a friendly mer, never been great company, doesn’t even LIKE being touched like the rest of his kin, she’s going to get upset with him, she’ll end up dissatisfied and end up killing him off and —

Clicking. Clicking echoing all around him at different tones, but all centered on the same message; calm. It sinks into him and calms his racing soul, his very mind. It’s thousands of chirps at once, like the calls of dolphins and...it’s coming from her. The Leviathan is trying to calm him down. Truth be told, with her floating there in front of him, green hair swirling around like fins and eyes watching…

Error can understand why certain pods worship these creatures.

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The small mer settles, and you stop the purring. This is good, this is good for both of you. Now he is much more relaxed, and you...you’re learning so much more about yourself. You had no idea you could even do that! It’s thrilling, to learn new things after so long.
You hope he doesn’t want to leave really soon. You...you don’t want to go back to being alone. Not after this. It’s barely been any time at all but you feel hooked, hooked to the presence of another after eons alone. You’ll have to convince him to stay.

The best way to do this is, obviously, with food. Food makes everything better. Seeing that he’ll be ok, you swim towards another cave opening and through it. This one has always opened up near all those wooden walker things, and sharks loved that area for the bountiful fish in the area, plus the shelter the wood structures provide. There’s even a coral reef nearby, a big one! You never explore it, but all the colors look so refreshing.

Once you swim into the area, though, the sharks are quick to take off. Even the hungriest predators aren’t going to risk being near you, but the smaller fish don’t realize you’re a threat yet. You don’t normally target creatures that small, but today is a very different day — and a very bad one for the local tuna. Those fish seem big, you’re pretty sure, for your friend so you focus on them.

It takes a lot of tries to get it right. Catching the fish is a decent challenge, and while you’d have to kill them before giving them to your friend — can’t have them swimming away after all — your claws were rendering the corpses to chum in the water.
Maybe with all the blood, the sharks will come back and you’ll get a snack in from this effort.
Once you have as many as you can, you disappear back into the den.

He seems very happy with what you’ve brought back, and digs into the blue tuna — that’s the name of them, you remember that — eagerly. You actually laugh at this, and enjoy the ringing of your voice in the waters. You’ve never vocalized this much, and it’s honesty really cool. Looks like it’s not the area you speak it, but your literal voice that makes it sound like different tones at once. A built in echo, actually. You find it beautiful, and choose to be proud of it.

After eating a fair share, the merskeleton slows down and finally stops. He looks up at you, and you go still. His mouth is moving. Is he...is he going to…?

“I-I’m not sure if you c-c-can understand me, but my peo-people call me Error. Do you have a na-name, Leviathan?” The mer — no, no it’s Error his name is Error he told you his NAME that’s so nice!

And now he’s expecting one from you. A name, something to call you. What do you call one who has never been called before, one who has never needed a name for there is no names here. The abyss takes all, it takes light, it takes differences, and it takes names. It takes all this a greedily hoards it, but it loves too and so you’ve never minded. Now, though, one wants something to call you and you don’t know.

Something sticks out to you, though. It rings clear in your head, and it seems right. You think you were called this before, in a time swallowed up by darkness, but now being brought back into the light. You smile, and say it aloud.

“Anantashesha.”

It is perfect.
It is you.

Chapter Text

It’s been many more cycles since Error has come to live with you. As you continued to hunt for you both, and shelter him in your home, he had taught you many things about the sea above. He taught you on how different merfolk lived in pods, even the more solitary ones often stayed with family — where was yours — and how mers come in different sizes depending on their species — what was yours, why are you so much bigger, why why why…

All that he taught only made you wonder more about yourself. The return of your name, you couldn’t get over it you had a name, only made you wonder so much more about the rest of your memories. More specifically, the lack of certain memories. You don’t remember learning to speak, how to hunt, how you were raised or if you’ve ever seen any others of your kind. Yet you know what things were and how to survive, surely you didn’t teach yourself? Error made it sound so much like you should have at least memories of your parents but...nothing.

You tried not to let it bother you though. Maybe that was just the way your mer species was, which you...still aren’t even sure on that part. Sometimes you asked Error if he recognized you, if he knew what you were. You stopped asking, though, after you saw how uncomfortable it made him.
You were starting to get worried that maybe...maybe you don’t want to know.

Other than that, though, things were great! Error has healed well, and now joins you in hunting most days. He has helped you turn your dwelling into a comfortable home, more dens carved into the walls to serve as storage spaces — you can keep track of your things now! — and he even did work you could not. Certain tunnels, you have discovered, lead to different areas of the territory. Error was kind enough to give them names, and while you were still learning some you even had a favorite.

He called it the Kelp Forest, the name carved out over the tunnel and painted with a mix of crushed seashells. It’s where you met him, and that’s why it is your favorite.
He did other things, too. He showed you how using magic on food could help it stay good for a lot longer, so you didn’t have to always go out but have supplies. He also taught you how to use your magic, since you had it but could not control it very well. Apparently, you are very good at healing magic.

He had another thing to show you today, so that was why you were currently waiting for him by the Kelp Forest tunnel. He had gone out for...something, he said it would help you, and has yet to come back. You were a little worried, but not enough to chase after him. Error is your friend now! You two have bonded well over the cycles that have passed, and...and you consider him your pod. That’s what Mers do, right? Form pods with those they are closest with?

...Did Error have a pod already? He must miss them...he’s been down here is the abyss with you for so long, surely they’re worried...you hope they’re ok with you having kept him for so long, surely they will understand you couldn’t just leave him...maybe he went to get them, and...and you can join their pod! Yeah, that’s it...you’ll have a pod!
He wouldn’t just leave you...right?

“Hey, Le-Levi! I’m back!” A flash of black and neon yellow, and you perk right back up from sagging against the wall. When had you started shrinking down to begin with?
He’s holding a couple of things, one is a thickly bound stack of papers and the other is a huge crystal. He’s struggling with the crystal, so you happily let him set it in an open palm. He holds up the stack proudly, looking like he just killed his first shark.

“Took me a whi-while to find this. It will he-help me explain you, to you.” You smile at this, a bit apprehensive of this topic but glad he finally decided to tell you. You also note, with light smug satisfaction, that he isn’t stuttering much with you anymore. He does that when nervous around new people, so it was something to be deeply proud of.

When he knows you’re paying attention, Error smiles at you and begins to read from the book. His voice is steady, steadier than you’ve ever heard it.
You’re halfway through when you start to frown. By the end, he’s frowning too.

“When the species of Mer was created, two kinds were formed. The regular Merfolk of the upper oceans, who would be created of all sorts of sea creatures. Their upper halves would be made of magic, and their bottom would look to be like that of a fish, an octopus, a shark, or of serpentine nature. They would be many in population, and freely live in pods of their leaders choosing. Magic is theirs to wield, and lives in their SOUL. They could attack each other or live in harmony, but above all must fear the sea’s greatest predator. The second species of Mer, the Leviathans.
The Leviathan’s will tower over all, and be born of darkness and magic itself. Their upper halves will look similar to those who walk upon land, but the lower half be of multiple sea species. Magic runs in their very veins, so strongly it is a part of their true selves. They will thrive in the shadows of the abyss, and reign over their chosen territories as though the leader of a pod. Powerful as they are, they are few in number. They feed on all, but have the same SOUL as any Mer.”

Error stops after this, but rather than swim away or-or attack, he smiles up at your shaking form. You can’t stop shaking. That smile is so clearly forced, you think it might hurt him to do it.
“You see Levi? We are diff-different, but it’s ok. You are a Levi—“

You sob. You can’t help it. You don’t want to hear it, not after that. No wonder, no wonder he didn’t want to talk about what you are. You...you sounded horrible! Born of darkness? Feed on all?! You slept on hot rocks and loved to watch crystals glow! This made you sound like...like…
Like a monster. A beast of destruction. No wonder Error didn’t trust you...no wonder he told you this. He wanted you to understand why he couldn’t — shouldn’t stay with you. Why he had to go home. You’re dangerous to him…

You’re dangerous to your only friend.

You feel a yank on your hair, and it hardly hurts but it makes you look. Even underwater, you see inky tears drip away from your eyes. Error has a hold on some green strands, and he doesn’t look like he’s letting go.

“Let me finish.” He starts, and you quiet down to listen, “You are a Levi-Leviathan, as a species. I am a Merfolk, as a species. I should love socializing, I don’t. I should enjoy talking, I don’t. I should have a pod...I don’t. Except for you, Anantashesha. You’re my pod now. So stop crying, because we’re gonna call this book trash. Obviously whoever wrote it never met you, because they’re wrong.”

Sniffling, you rub at your eyes with your free hand. You try and give a nice smile, especially since it’s clear Error isn’t backing down until he knows you’ve accepted this. It is nice, though, to hear he considers you his pod. Once you’re smiling, he’s smiling too.

“There we go, there’s tha-that smile. Now, let’s work with that crystal…”

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Turns out the crystal was used by most Merfolk to learn how to control their magic. It’s a naturally occurring thing around the area, but you both find this out when — while trying to get the one in your hand to light up by focusing your magic — every other crystal in the cavern lights up too. It’s a lovely sight, and for once the entire area isn’t in complete darkness. It’s multicolored, and so shiny you light your tail up in response.

It doesn’t stay that way forever, as the lights would slowly fade over the course of the day. It was an interesting use of magic, and you would occasionally feed more into that connection to keep the crystals up when you had the energy to spare. It definitely helped Error more than you, though. You had grown up with no real lights, but he was so used to the upper waters it was still a bit of a struggle.

He stuck close to you because of that, even when you wanted to insist he stay in the den he’s chosen as his only. Your size difference had shown you just how dangerous it could be for him with what you normally ate.
In better news, though, it turns out those big squids you liked are MASSIVE to Error! You started to store the tentacles now for him. You also really hoped that first scream he made when you caught one was a good scream.

Speaking of food...you had just gotten back with some more tuna and a hammerhead for you, when you noticed something amiss in the food storage. Sure, it was still plenty packed and honestly you should probably relax on hunting for a bit, but there was currently a steady stream of red floating out. Checking through the fish, you see one has a huge bite taken out of it. Fresh, too, couldn’t have been more than an hour ago.

This was confusing, if Error was hungry he would have just taken the fish and left you the bones — apparently he doesn’t eat those, so he’s a good friend and lets you have them — but he wouldn’t have just taken a bite and swam away. It couldn’t have been an animal, most predatory creatures won’t go near your domain.

“Error?” You call out, and see movement over by where he’s working. You didn’t need to shout to be heard, and it was becoming common for you two to talk even while working apart thanks to your great hearing and powerful voice, “Did you forget anything...you remembered to eat?” Your friend did not always stop, not when he was consumed by a project.

“N-Nah. Made sure to eat before I started. Why?” You can see him look in your direction, a hand wrapped around the ropes that has become his main weapon. Where you had many natural features that you can use to defend yourself, he only had magic and teeth, which weren’t all that sharp to begin with. While on an outing, you both had found a massive net clinging to a...a ship, is the word for it. Error had loved the design of it, so you had untangled it just for him and helped him craft it into a weapon. Now, with a bunch of objects pointing out of it like sharpened ribs, rocks, and pointed hooks, it would serve to be dangerous.

“...No reason…” You don’t want to worry him, but this was a mystery that would require time. Time to unravel and focus on, and while Error has the patience for it he tended to worry about things. You understood why, worry helps one survive in the upper waters, but with you here to help you didn’t want him to worry much. You could look out for him, you’re his pod after all — and that still makes you smile so.

You stare at the bitten fish for a while longer, thinking. Someone was desperate enough to enter your territory, your home, just for something to eat...even when likely knowing what you are and the dangers of the abyss, a constant threat to someone smaller than you. You can’t help but hope you catch them soon, only for their own sake. They must be in so much danger…

Stars, they must have been starving.

Chapter Text

For weeks now you’ve been watching. Watching over the food stock, and lying in wait for your hidden guest. It had happened again, multiple times, where food either had massive bites taken out of it or went missing entirely when both you and Error knew it hadn't been one of you.
Even some of the prey you ate has been vanishing, the bodies of sharks and scrapes of squid too much for Error but clearly whomever was doing this was not picky in what they got. Even bones had been stolen, and it was starting to frustrate you.

While you understood where this hiding Mer — because it had to be a mer, nothing else could be this crafty in swiping — was coming from, it was also quite bothersome and unnecessary! If they wanted food, then they only needed to ask. You’d be quite happy to hunt for more, and it’s hardly any strain on you to help another. Maybe they were sick? You knew the cold can hurt smaller mers, as how tightly Error held his own hot rock as he slept or curled up close to you. Apparently you are quite warm, but being too cold can make Merfolk sick. You think so, at least. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you knew of things — colds, fevers, illness and diseases. How to mend a broken body back into its truest form.

When you focus on these thoughts, your magic becomes a bright green. So vivid and bright, you can only compare it to the brightness of above. Despite never having gone above the upper waters...you are starting to want to see more than this darkness.
Another time, though. For now, you had something fun and new to play with.

That’s how Error finds you, a huge Leviathan pressed down into blackened sand and hiding like a little child in the shadows, bright eyes watching a left out Great White corpse so fresh it’s still bleeding. You hear him chuckle in your ear, and flick them back to playfully smack him — lightly, of course.

“Think you’ll see ou-our ghost today?” He asks, and it’s a careful whisper as he settles in next to you. You had finally told him the truth after a while, and he actually thought it had been funny — the idea of someone sneaking into a Leviathan den was, honestly, a huge joke to him. He had laughed and laughed while you watched in confusion. Wasn’t he worried about the potentially in trouble mer? What if they really needed food? What if they can’t hunt?? WHAT IF ITS A KID?!

He’d finally told you it’s funny because the idea of a mer sneaking into a leviathan’s den to steal food was the most suicidal thing he’s ever heard. Apparently, unless someone is in your pod, most mer don’t share food with others. Even some pods competed with their own members over food, survival of the fittest and all that. Error stopped laughing when he saw the horror on your face at that, and proceeded to join you in watching for your guest.

You still can’t understand the upper waters. You don’t think you ever will.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s late into the darkest hours when you finally see movement. Error was dozing off, tangled into some strands of your hair and you’re pretty sure he’s snoring. You haven’t moved all day, after the first few hours of waiting you felt your body...shut off. It was the best way to describe it, as everything went still and barely twitched. Even the fins on your tail hadn't moved, and nothing was lighting up. You’re certain that it would take being right next to you, for someone to realize you weren’t part of the rock.

Your eyes follow a slim figure slide through the waters and over towards the food. The Great White wasn’t bleeding anymore, but it was still whole. Still fresh enough for one who couldn’t afford to be picky about what they ate. You almost whine, you suppose if someone ever got this desperate they wouldn’t give a damn how fresh their food is. How horrible.

The mer looks around, and you’re surprised to see they are a skeleton mer just like Error. Except...you think he has a different bottom half. It’s long, like yours, and ends in a scratched up fin. They’re...they are way too thin. Even as long as they are, and being a skeleton, they have clearly been scavenging for a long while. You take a good look at the face and…oh.

Fangs. So many fangs. His jaws must hurt so much. You wonder if yours looks like that, but the mer’s teeth really shouldn’t look like that. Your fangs were even and neat, sliding into place perfectly. His...his looked wrong. You wonder if he was in a fight. Maybe that’s why he’s so scratched up, so clearly hurting...so hungry.
He’s moving to take the shark, and you know this is your chance. If you don’t strike now, you might not see him for a while. The shark is good food, and if rationed can last long.

You spring out, throwing both hands out and cupping around the startled mer. Sand goes flying from your quick movements, and Error shakes himself awake once it occurs to him that he just missed something.

“Did you do it? Did you ca-catch our ghost?” Error asks, swimming over towards your hands. You thrill, trying to give confirmation before its cut off by a wince.
Did...Did the mer just bite you? Holy shit he did! You can feel him try again and again, but refuse to move your hands. If he’s agitated, he might go after Error. You can take it. You’re sure he’s just scared. It’ll be ok.

You wait a good few minutes before you feel the biting stop, and then you hear it. Crying. Oh, oh no. No no no you hadn’t meant to make him cry! Honest! You go for that chirping purr that worked with Error and shit he’s crying harder now. You whine at Error.

“Alright, al-alright you softie. I’ll calm the mer who, might I re-remind you, has stolen our food, down.” Error is chuckling as he says this, then swims over towards your cupped hands and knocks on them. You shift a finger so he can look inside.
“Hello? Look, you calm down eno-enough and she’ll let you ou-out ok?”
It’s quiet for a moment, then Error nods at you. Slowly, you take your hands away.

The mer is hugging the shark close, but he’s shaking hard. You see tinted orange lines on his face, and yeah he was definitely crying. He still is, just quietly. He won’t look you in the eyes, but the moment Error gets close enough he starts talking.

“Please, please I didn’t want to cause any trouble. You-you have to believe me, I never meant any harm. You’ll never see me again, I just needed to get some food from somewhere, I thought this place was abandoned I didn’t realize…!” The mer is gasping, unable to properly take in a full breath and you are starting to panic too. You can feel your lights come back on, and you had a good guess they’re colored green.

“Hey, Hey breathe alright? We’re not go-going to hurt you. Her especially. We just want to know WHY.” Error is trying his best to calm the stranger down, lingering a few feet away from the panic stricken Merfolk, but the minute he mentions her — or, well, you — the stranger freezes and looks over. It’s like he just realized you are there...and it’s a fresh wave of sobbing hitting him.

“PLEASE! Please I SWEAR we won’t trouble you again! We just needed the food please he’s hurt I need to take this back to them please I’m begging you I have to go back…!” Oh you think your heart is physically hurting, and you reach out slowly. He flinches away from you, but pauses again when you push the shark closer to him. He sniffs, hard, and you think he smiles a bit — it’s watery but you’ll take it.

“I-I can keep this…? Really?” You nod, and you don’t think you’ve ever seen anyone so excited. Over a shark corpse of all things. Who hurt this precious skeleton?!
“Oh! Oh thank you! Thank you so much!” He’s darting this way and that, swimming all over like it was the only way to express how happy he was. It’s at this that you realize your truest mistake.

You should have never left the exit open.

Having a good grip on the shark — and to be fair, you DID just give it to him — the strange mer bolts off into the shadows. Neither you nor Error know exactly how to react to this, and it is silent for a few minutes. When it finally clicks that yes, that really just happened, Error’s magic actually manifests and makes a sparking noise.

“We didn’t even get his na-name! Come on, Levi, let’s fol-follow him!” And like that, now Error was trailing after the vanishing stranger. It would have to be now or never, as the trail would be fresh and you still had the scent of shark blood to follow. Shrugging, you follow your tiny friend’s lead and you both trail after your runaway.

You can’t help but wonder, who was he so determined to get back to?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s so much more murkier, here in these depths. Even compared to your own home, this place seemed so dreary you found yourself on edge. You kept watch, every inch of you tense as you cut through the water, following the scent of blood. Error was sticking close too, which you were thankful for as you were worried. You knew he could handle himself on his explorations in the upper waters, but down here you were stronger out of the two of you. Nothing came close when you showed up.

The trail stops outside a crack in the wall, just big enough for a mer of Error’s — or your other friend, whose name you STILL needed — height. The adventure ends here, for you. Error looks around before looking up to you.

“Alright, I’m going in and then I’ll come right back. I pro-promise to stay safe. I won’t stir shit up, so don’t panic.” Error says, and even answers before you ask your question for him to stay safe. There’s no telling who or what is waiting in there. Once he swims into the crack, you stay watching.

It...it takes a while. Longer than you would like, but you can understand why. The stranger mentioned needing to get back to others, and it sounded like someone was hurt. It would make sense why they took so much food then, why take such a big risk stealing from a predator. You only hoped it wasn’t too late…

Error swims out so fast he smacks you with his tail, he’s panicked. You could see his magic flashing out like little bolts of energy, how hard he was breathing. You feel a snarl forming on your lips, this wasn’t good.

“Th-They’re trapped! The fucking...the rocks came down too fast, one of them is pinned. Three in all with our gho-ghost. I know where the other entr-entrance is, c’mon!” Yeah, that’s a valid reason to panic. The snarl is gone and you’re following him to the downed area.
It’s quick to find them, and you’ve never been so grateful for your strength until now. You don’t bother looking at the two swarming mers, immediately wrapping hands around the offending rock and lifting up. It’s a bit of a strain, but you see black swim past and can hear Error shouting for whoever got stuck to swim out.

Once it’s clear, you drop the rock. It settles back into the new place with an echoing thud, and you glance over at the three — so many new people! Bad beginnings but you’re so happy to say hello! — mers. You recognize the one who grabbed the shark from you earlier, he’s currently fussing over the one that got trapped. Trapped mer had a similar tail to his, not as long but clearly powerful, and bright red eyelights. He...also has a hole in his skull. A big one.

The final mer is certainly a strange sight down here. He’s completely white! Even his eyelights are a misty white color, and you spare a moment to wonder how well he could possibly see down here like that. The only color you see is across his chest and tail. Two huge, rough scars bright red even after being healed for who knows how long. They must hurt.
Those three are shooting you nervous looks — as well as they can, since red eyes still looks pretty confused on what’s happening.

Error doesn’t give them a chance to try anything.
“ALRIGHT! Every-Everybody here, we’re moving out! Follow me, and don’t try shit — she won-won’t let you.” Error shoots you a look, and you do your best to look tough. He needed you to play a part, of what though you weren’t entirely certain.

It’s a silent swim home, Error in front and you in the back, both surrounding the newcomers. It’s a nice silence...for you, anyways.
You hope you can help these new mers. They looked like they needed it.

Chapter Text

“Look, look, I KN-KNOW these types of Mer...this isn’t an unusual situation.” Error had repeated for what felt like the fifth time in the span of time it took to get things set up. He kept looking over towards your new guests, wary as ever even though so far none had tried to attack.
It had been a long swim home, the strong Mer with the head wound having needed to pause multiple times. The accident must have seriously weakened him, and you currently couldn’t put together how long he had been trapped for either. Each time, the taller Mer had pleaded to not be left behind with his brother — for you to wait for them to recover, they’ll be ready in a moment please don’t leave them —

You did not understand what this...urge you were feeling was, an urge to hold them close and bear fangs at the world, to find whatever made them feel like this and roar...you weren’t sure you liked this. You needed time to figure it out.

“Shark mers that are de-deemed weak by their pods are often left behi-behind. Sometimes chased off or even cann-cannibalized by the stronger members. Don’t worry though, we-we can protect them.” Error has also been reassuring you, too, for what felt like the fifth time. It takes a minute for you to notice why — you’ve been clutching another whale rib so tightly, it has begun to crack under the pressure you were putting on it.

After arriving home, Error had shown the new ones where they can rest, and you had set to work gathering more heated rocks along with some nice gifts. Stress bones, crystals, the works. You wanted them to feel comfortable here, especially now that it looks as though they truly needed a home.
Plus the third had been far too quiet for you to feel at ease. Error had been quiet those first days, too, but now you knew that was not a good thing. Not a good thing at all.

The den was set up, and Error was quick to rush them inside. Seeing as getting into the den would be a problem for you, you patiently waited outside. It’s a few minutes before Error swims out, and up to whisper into your ear.

“Alright, I think we’re in the cle-clear. The shark brothers — name’s are Sugar and Blood — are banged up bad, mix of hun-hunting wounds and marks from fights...Levi, you su-sure they should stay here?” You tilt your head at the question, confused. Hadn’t Error kept saying you two could protect them?

Error lets out a long sigh, before continuing, “Hate to say it, but you’re a sof-softy. You’ll trust anyone, and I can’t be cert-certain about these two...we need to stay safe, even if we look like ass-assholes.”

Ah. Error was worried about the threat of having them here. Granted, they stole your food, and have been here for a while not saying anything or coming out of hiding, and could get really aggressive with Error…
You remember how hard Sugar, who you had to assume was the longer brother, had been crying when caught. The desperation in his voice, all over getting his brother something to eat…

“Let them stay? Can watch over them. Help them heal! Friends!” You chirp and thrill, excited. This gets another sigh from Error, but he’s smiling and nods.

“Alright, they cause tro-trouble with you though and I’m showing them the current. The other mer...pretty near-near sighted. Not sure how he lasted down here, he’s no shark. Won’t tell his name either.” Well that certainly was a puzzle. You were pretty sure small fish mer didn’t come down into the abyss everyday, seeing as you never run into them and the predators that could hurt them are a lot down here.

You see movement, and when you look down you see Sugar has poked his head out of the den. Smiling, you wave at him.
He ducks back into the den, and you wince.

Oof. This...might be harder than you thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It has almost been a week and you are close to breaking. Not out of anger, which turns out THAT was the emotion you felt before Error had helped you learn that one, but out of worry. Sugar was the only one leaving the den, and it was only ever to get a few supplies -- kelp, food, and other items you aren’t sure why he would need but provided anyways -- and you were starting to think there might be a problem.

He was always so...respectful? Which sure, you supposed that could be a good thing, but it wasn’t at all what you were wanting! You had hoped for them to relax, to find a place to heal here in the dark, but...you think you might be causing more stress than ease. The respect he showed was not from anything but fear, and you really didn’t like it.

It...made sense though. Painful as it was to admit it, maybe they didn’t feel safe with you around. How could you help with that, though? Leave for a time and let them be? Help them find somewhere else to stay?
You wish they would just tell you. Talking is so much easier with more than one person.

“N-N-Nope! Fuck that face, I hate it when you’re sa-sad. What’re you upset about?” Error is quick to swim over, and you stop whatever face he’s talking about -- was it that obvious to him? -- and smile. He shouldn’t have to worry about you, you can handle yourself just fine.
Maybe thinking about this while hunting, though, was a bit of a bad idea.

“Don-Don’t you hide from me, young lady! Tell me what’s wrong.” He swims directly into your cheek, and pushes at it which makes you laugh at his actions. Only for you would he pretend to be this dramatic, you swear.

“Just...worried.” You finally admit, and with a raised brow he motions for you to keep going, “Maybe new friends problem is not healing...maybe it is me?” The words somehow taste sour on your tongue, and you scowl.

“Nah. Not possible. Can’t be you. No way in the depths of Hell. You ha-have done everything to help them, given them space, and provided ever-everything they could want. I don’t make the rules, Levi, it can’t be you.” Error’s words did help a bit, but you still couldn’t shake the bad feeling now settling into your chest. That, too, must show considering the look on Error’s face.

“Listen. I”ll talk with them when we get back. See what-what is going on. Will that make you feel better?” The fact that he was willing to do this, especially when he knew you couldn’t, made your whole body feel warm. Thrilling, you scoop Error up and hold him close, letting flicking purrs echo all around you. That, and his own halting laughter.

“Ey ey car-careful! You’ll scare the fish away!!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After carting back two huge catches for you, mixed up fish chunks left over from swatted bodies for the others, and a strangled warning that perhaps it would be better for Error to be the one hunting fish from now on, you had gone back to decorating your own den while he split to go talk to the others.

Early on it had been decided for you to have your own, erm, little den the same as Error’s. Now the main part of your home just served as that, a main part where one can travel through the tunnels and back.
You quite liked your own space. It felt cozy, and you got to relax knowing you had friends close by. What’s not to like?

You even hung up some glowing rocks and chains, lighting the whole area up in pretty colors! You’re proud of this idea, even if you’re not sure what to call it.
Movement from the opening draws your attention away from them, and you stay still as whoever was hovering outside swims in. It’s Error, who you expected, and...it’s Sugar! He’s here too! You smile wide, but quickly stop after seeing him flinch away from it.

“Alright, Levi. I have some que-questions for you.” Error starts out even before they’ve both gotten close to you, and you focus on him. This felt...important.
“Levi, have you ever seen a mer-Merfolk before? Before me?”

...What? That’s something he wanted to know? ...Ok, then. That’s easy.

“No.” It’s a quick answer, but you felt the need to keep going, “You are first Mer I have seen. Thought...thought I was alone. For long...long time.” You aren’t sure how, but you swear you hear your own voice break in the last phrase.
Your eyes feel funny.

“Thank you. Now, what hap-happened when we first met?” Error continues, but you see a sharpness in his eyes that wasn’t there before. He almost seems to be...glaring at Sugar. Why?? This is so confusing!

“You were hurt. Brought you here to heal. Safe in here. Abyss is...quiet. No visitors. No disturbances.” You answer again, but you still try to figure out where this was going. What’s the point?

“...Thanks, sweet. Now, finally, when you saw me, did you feel any-any urges?” ...Urges? What? What’s that word again…

“Clarify…?” You knew you sounded hesitant, but honestly you just...don’t know what the hell is happening here. Or why Sugar looks so shocked. Or why Error looks smug. What…?

“Did you want to eat me? Did the smel-smell of blood make you hungry…?”

...You’re gonna be sick. There’s. No. They didn’t think. Sugar didn’t. Error couldn’t.
You gag. Violently. Thankfully nothing comes up and Error, just in case, pulled Sugar away, cackling.

“That should ans-answer any issues! She’s damn near harmless for us! Other Leviathans, may-maybe. But Levi…? Never.” Error is still cackling, but you can’t bring yourself to laugh along. This was...deeply disturbing information for you.

Sure, logically, you could understand the argument. Predator eats prey. Big eats little. Shark eats fish, bigger shark eats shark. Error’s told you about Mer who do the same to other Mer, survival of the fittest. Kill or be killed...but the idea of you doing it just...ugh!
Still, there had to be a point in asking all of this. Surely, surely there’s a great point involved right?

“There are...reasons for these questions?” You prod verbally, and after calming down Error nods. Finally, Sugar is the one to speak up — and to answer your own question.

“My brother...he’s very hurt. I-I wasn’t entirely certain if the would would...agitate you. We are thankful you saved us, all three of us, but with his own head wound and our friend’s scars we...we thought it would be better to be safe than to risk…” Sugar trails off, wincing a bit under the glare Error was giving him.

“But she isn’t li-like that so no point in pani-panicking.” Quick to your defense, your friend. You weren’t focusing on that anymore, though. No, no for bigger concerns have trapped your mind.
You lean forward a bit closer to Sugar, and while he doesn’t flinch away he’s not hiding any emotions at this. You try to be as serious as you can. This was a question you needed answered for the sake of your peace. To soothe the soul.

“Can I help your brother?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sugar had gone inside to bring out Blood, Error hovering by the entrance and you floating a distance away. No point in crowding the poor guy, but you weren’t going to push him to swim any further than he needed. Silence reigns over you all, but you pick up quiet whispers before they fall silent...and out swim the brothers, hand in hand.
Sugar is openly encouraging Blood to get closer to you, but they still stop a fair distance away. You can reach them, though, so you aren’t going to complain.

“It’s...it’s ok brother...she wants to help...breathe with me...we’re going to be fine…” Sugar is whispering over and over again, it’s near a scream considering the silence before. You...try not to notice that Blood is fighting him a bit.
He won’t stop shooting terrified looks towards you, one bright red eyelight lit up like a bonfire — oh that’s a new word, when did you learn that one again? Was it important? — but all you give in return is a hopefully, desperately hopefully, comforting smile.

“This is a bad idea we gotta go bro this — this ain’t gonna end well!” He’s trying to cover the hole in his skull up, tugging on it repeatedly. A breath in tells you why.
You can smell his blood. A scent not quite iron, but almost there. Like a element was missing, a iron scent but to the left in a way that made your scales prickle. You feel...cold. A deep cold you can’t chase away. Then, you glow.

Raising your hands to cup underneath them, moving slow as to not startle anyone, you watch as that green glow comes alive under your skin. It goes out from your chest, curling and twisting along your arms and then focuses in your palms. Like a slow rising stream, it floats out of your skin and begins to wrap around the brothers. It isn’t a physical thing, you see Sugar’s hand pass through it, but you can very much see it.

At some point, it stops. The glowing goes back to your palms, and follows its path back into you. Neither brother moves, both looking the other over. It takes a minute, but then you see why.
The cracks are gone. Scars, battle wounds, anything that would cause pain has vanished with the green mist. Sugar’s teeth seems better, if still numerous. Blood’s strange eye is still strange, but the hole seems...far better than before.

You used magic! You used proper magic! How wonderful, you got heal your friends.
Maybe...maybe they’ll trust you now.

Chapter Text

You don’t dream. It’s something you’ve recently learned about after hearing the others talk about sleeping - which you know you do that - but they mentioned seeing things as they slept. Strange visions, or memories from days gone by.

You...you don’t have this. Never haunted by a nightmare or found joy in a dream, and realistically this doesn’t bother you. You find enough happiness in the world with your friends, why waste time in thought?

Except, except this has to be a dream. You don’t remember ever being in this place. This cold, cold place. There’s gritty stuff under you, and you feel so small. You look up and instead of currents and light, see darkness with speckles of little, light dots.

Breathing feels weird, too. Not as heavy, as deep as normal. You can’t even feel the water...but you see it. It’s right in front of you! You need to go back to it, back to the way things are supposed to be. Back to Error, to Sugar and Blood, to the silent one still in his cave.

You take a step forward. Step. No. Wrong. No no. That’s not supposed to be. These aren’t yours. They aren’t your fins. What are you. Where are you. Where is this. What is this.

W h a t i s h a p p e n i n g . . .

You jolt awake, head smacking into a rock. You can hear it crack, but ignore any pain. Checking over yourself, you’re pleased to see everything is back to how it’s supposed to be. Ahh, beautiful tail and scales!

Swimming out into the new day, you smile seeing the others...and try to forget your new thoughts.

Dreams are silly, anyways. They don’t mean anything.

***

Sugar and Blood keep their distance, but are friendly enough. You weren’t being good company anyways. Silent and waiting rather than loud and energetic. Letting out nervous little clicks, teeth tapping together.

This behavior continues for a small while, before Error seems to have enough. He’s swimming over to where you’ve been twisting and turning in your coils and just...floats onto your tail. Sits right down and crosses his arms.

“Alright, Levi. What-What’s got you all dizzy?” His question helps distract you from actually getting dizzy, but…

“I’m...not sure.” It’s the honest truth, and to stress it you gesture around you. “Things feel...off. Wrong. Feels like scales on end.”

You’ve gotten better at talking, having not done that for...um...you weren’t entirely sure, so going with forever seems safe. That doesn’t matter, though, because you’re learning and learning fast.

But you couldn’t explain this. Explain the sense of wrongness that’s worked its way into your skin, your veins. That was making you listen to even the tiniest of sounds, that makes you feel like there’s something you can’t see staring you in the eyes and you can’t place it but you know it’s there. You know it’s watching, and you don’t want it to be watching. You don’t WANT this feeling.

You feel your tail glowing, heat melting downwards and spines pointing up. You...you don’t know this color, on it. Wait! Wait you do know it, it’s —

“Red…?” The whisper catches your attention, and you turn to look at Blood, who is watching all this go down from a distance away. Sugar is floating behind him, and is radiating nerves.

You can relate.

“Huh. Don’t th-think we’ve seen this color yet…” Error reaches down, brushing lightly at a glowing line.

“FUCK!” He swims away fast, and you see it. Burns. Bright burns against his bones on his hand, and you feel cold again. Cold in your chest, cold in your stomach.

Cold, cold, cold on your face. He’s holding his hand close, poking at it and hissing each time as Sugar swims over to check on him, and Blood isn’t far behind but his eyes never leave you.

Never leaves your red, red, red markings meant to be green.

The cold on your cheeks hurts, and you think you're about to be sick but you can’t look away. You shouldn’t. You did this. You.

You swim away, heading down into the tunnels. Heading away from your...pod...friends…Error yells after you, but you don’t hear him. Not really.

You swim away from the skeletons, and hide away in the dark.

It’s what you know. It’s not unknown.

***

You’ve found somewhere quiet. Somewhere deep and dark, the low lighting makes your markings stand out so much more.
They’re green again. It doesn’t heal you, though. Doesn’t make the sick feeling go away. That twisting agony deep in your belly, curling against your skin and tightening around your lungs.

You keep seeing Error swim away. Swim away from what hurt him, a normal reaction to pain.
Keep swimming away from you. Not normal. You didn’t mean to hurt him, you aren’t even sure how you did it! You’ve never done that before!

There’s a lot of things you’ve never done before, you’re beginning to realize.
You’ve never talked before - but you had to have, otherwise you wouldn’t pick up on it so fast.
You’ve never had a friend before - but it feels familiar, and so so right.
You’ve never had weird, glowing markings before - not ones that used power before, ones that could hurt or heal.

Everything felt WRONG, and it was starting to hurt. Starting to be way too much, and you weren’t even sure on the words to use. You can’t figure out where to start, or how to start.

So you stay in the dark, and let the small currents push and pull water around you. This felt normal at least. You let your eyes slide shut, but you don’t dare to fall asleep.

Something taps your nose. Grumbling, you open your eyes back up. It’s the strange Mer, the only one who’s name you never got. He’s staring at you, and you stare back.

“...you ok?”

“...”

“...that's ok. I saw what happened. You didn’t mean it.”

“...”

“...I’m gonna sit right here. When you’re ready, we can go back together.”

“...My name is Anantashesha.”

“...Mouthful. I’m gonna call you Anna. I’m Geno.”

The silence isn’t bad. It’s good. You’re good, too.
You don’t think you like red anymore, though. Just because.

***

The way back up is easy to find, even though you’d been panicking on the way down. You smell dead sharks, and you’re pretty sure you can smell your friends' worries. You’d apologize once you get the chance. Geno is somewhere in your hair, having chosen to hide there on the way.

Something about not liking attention. You get that, Error seems that way too.

You poke your head out of the tunnel, and are instantly greeted with a...frantic Sugar? Seems he never left the entrance when you went down.

“There you are! Young lady you had us all worried!” His hands are on his hips, and he’s frowning at you, but you think his eyes look wetter than they should be.

“M’ sorry…” You end up whining it out, but he seems to accept your apology and pats your nose.

“It’s alright, we just want to make sure you’re ok. Now, come on, there is a very frantic Error looking for you. Blood is worried too, he’s just…not the best at showing it.”

The three of you swim back, where your pod turns to five. And Sugar is right, everyone had been worried about you. Error didn’t even bother hearing you apologize, just jumped straight into sticking next to you and promising he knew you didn’t mean to hurt him.

…It’s strange, the entire time no one really says anything to Geno.

***

You ask him about that, later, and he actually laughs.

“”It’s what my former pod was good at. Why my eyes are so shitty. We can basically make ourselves invisible, but at the cost of being so shortsighted.” He waves a hand out to you, and you coo over how cool it looks when it vanishes before your eyes, “I overused my magic running from the ones hunting us, so now I’m a bit stuck like this.”

Hmm, that sounded…concerning. “Hunting?”

“Yeah, hunting. Some group of Mers decided we were on their turf and went after us. I’m sure we won’t have to worry about them, though. Doubt anyone would go into your territory and try to start shit…”

It was odd, but you…thought you knew who he was talking about. Just for a bit, though. Might be something to consider later on.

For now, though, you’d enjoy talking with your new friend.

For now, everything was ok again.