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When he was a child he was told he’d be small for his type of mer. He would have been fine, his magic would make up for it. He transitioned and everything was different. He was expected to be much much bigger and his magic was a risk. No one wanted to teach him, no one except Pelago.
He met her after she’d been attacked by some other mers. She smiled at him and asked if he was lost. In that moment he never wanted to let that smile leave her face. He had been looking for her. He figured an Oceanid would be most likely to break the rules for him. He almost forgot his goal once he saw her face.
“Is there something wrong?” she asked. She leaned closer and he blushed. He hadn’t hit his next growth spurt yet. He was a bit shorter than her. He didn’t mind it though.
“No, I’m here to learn magic. The others won’t teach me… I was hoping you would,” he explained. He watched those white eyes widen. He had assumed too much about her. She wasn’t going to break the rules just because she’s an Oceanid. He almost wanted a no.
“If you’re ok with someone like me I’d love to!”
Her smile felt like it would destroy his heart. He nodded, giving a short thank you. Her laugh made his cheeks burn. She didn’t notice, or acted like she didn’t. He was just happy to stay with her. She didn’t wait to start teaching him. Offering little lessons while she took care of her injuries. He would stop those from happening someday.
She was an amazing teacher. She didn’t even mind when he doubled in size. She just laughed and continued with lessons for the day. She was amazing. After he grew he noticed little things. Times that she was forced to follow his movements despite what she was doing. There were times a spell seemed bigger than it should be and she looked concerned. Even times he noticed fading bruises after he’d pulled her along somewhere to practice. She laughed it all off each time.
He was getting worried as his last growth spurt was looming over him. He knew it would be a lot, everyone told him that it would be. He sat up one night just watching her sleep. He couldn’t risk hurting her more. He slipped out of the home the two had been sharing. He didn’t have any specific place in mind, but his scales and hair meant he’d be safest in the deeper waters. He should never have sought out a mer that lived in such shallow waters to teach him.
He started to feel sluggish and sick. He hadn’t been this deep too often, that had to be the cause. He found the closest bed of sea vines and buried himself within them. He’d sleep off the sick feeling and get swimming again the next day. He buried himself in the sand. His hair and scales were still too light to blend in without the added cover. They should darken the next time he grew. It was getting harder to keep his eyes open. He gave into the feeling and allowed sleep to claim him.
“Byssal! Are you out here? Byss!” Pelago’s shouts jolted him awake.
He felt off as he pushed himself off the ground. The pillowed up sand had dispersed during his rest. He reached up to rub his eyes, but froze. His claws were longer now. A darker green that would be much harder for a human to notice above the water. He shook his head a bit and his hair started to float in his face. It was as dark as kelp now.
He pushed himself up and out of the sea vines. He’d only kept his head hidden within it at that point. He stared down at the area that he’d fit into with more than enough space before. He’d grown again. He started searching for Pelago. She was here and he had to leave. He’d grown so much more than he expected. He didn’t want to see her. When he locked onto her bright scales she’d already started to swim towards him
“Byss there you are. I was worried when I woke up and you were gone. Although I guess we may need a bigger cave now anyway,” she laughed. He backed away as she approached trying to ignore the look of hurt on her face.
“I left on purpose. I won’t be coming back,” he said. His voice sounded different. It should, he’d gotten larger than either had estimated. She’d said he’d probably double his size again, he’d hoped for only another tail length. He was big enough to grab her with one hand.
“Byss, what do you mean? There’s so much more I have to teach you still. Besides… I thought we were happy together…” She came closer but he swam back. His movement pushed the water around him and forced her away too. She looked up at him with so much fear. “Byssal…”
“Just go home.” It would be easier like this. He knew it would be. She started to cry and he wanted to reach out to comfort her. She was so much more than a teacher to him already. She just smiled up at him through the tears.
“Byssal… Couldn’t you at least talk to me? I mean I know moving would be a bit rough, but it’s not going to be a problem. We did it last time too.”
“Just go away! ” She kept getting closer. He was terrified to even touch her… or to let her touch him. “ I’m too big. I might hurt you. ”
He swam back a bit farther from her. He didn’t want to be near her. He just needed her to leave. He could find a home on his own, where he couldn’t hurt her. He shut his eyes. He didn’t want to see her leave and he could see so much more now. He’d reached his full size and now he was someone completely new. He gasped when her hands touched his face.
“Byssal, open your eyes,” she commanded.
He didn’t want to listen, but she wouldn’t take that. She swam right up to his eyes and started to force them open. He reached up and pulled her back before relenting and opening his eyes. She was looking at him warmly. She looked so small and fragile in his hold. She’d pointed out younger humans to him, she looked like the toys they carried. He didn’t like it.
“Pelago, just go home. I don’t want to hurt you anymore,” he whispered. She squirmed in his hold and it tickled. He smiled a bit as he let her go. The terror of his claws near her took away the small bit of happiness he’d gained.
“Byssal, you’re not going to hurt me. Even if you do, I'll recover. I knew you were adjusting and you’ll adjust this time too. I trust you Byss.”
She swam close again and hugged his face. It was such a strange feeling to have her pressing against his face. He brought his hands up and slowly gripped her. He pulled her back and laughed a little as she pouted. He moved her to his chest and hugged her close. Feeling her small, slender arms against his chest was nice. He might like this size, he could keep her safer now.
“Promise to tell me if I hurt you.” She nodded into his chest.
“You’re such a softy Byss. I’ll let you know, if I don’t I’ll bump a shark on the nose!” He held her a bit tighter.
“Maybe this isn’t so bad. Now I can stop you from doing dangerous stuff like that.”
“We’ll see, you know I’m more slippery than an eel.”