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Neil had been swimming along the cliff for almost an entire night. He stayed close to the wall but within sight of the top ridge. His scales and skin changed color at rapid speeds to keep him camouflaged with the cliff’s side. He knew that eventually he would need to rest but he couldn’t do so until he found an adequate hiding spot. Though his father no longer chased him and there were no threats on his tail, old habits die hard. Still, he knew morning was swiftly approaching. He was swimming slower and slower. He decided to venture over the cliff to find shelter since there didn’t seem to be any caverns on the cliff’s side.
As he poked his head above the edge to peer at the sea floor up there, he let his camouflage fall away. He watched his own long claws, deeply webbed fingers, and scarred skin change before his eyes, returning to the blushing skin tone he inherited from his father. He knew that his long, smooth-scaled tail returned to a deep auburn that matched his short hair. His tail was longer than his torso but appeared even more so since his scales ventured upward, fading to skin near the dip of his waist. The wider fin at the end of his tail was mostly translucent but still held a reddish tint, like blood in the water. He’d gotten his long claws, red scales, light-sensitive blue eyes, and sharp teeth from his father and had used every bit of what was given to him during conception to rip the older merman to shreds after the death of his mother.
Neil looked around the area for movement, noticing schools of fish and large boulders. It looked like there were plenty of good hiding spots but that didn’t mean he would be the only merperson to think that. He didn’t need to worry about threats from his past, but new enemies could be made any day. If he was trespassing on someone’s territory, they might wake him with their claws already in his gut.
After scoping the area out for a while, he swam back toward the dropoff. There was a cluster of boulders with a shallow space beneath that would just barely fit him. When he slipped inside the entrance, he was shocked to find a deeper bowl underneath. He didn’t see any marks to show it was someone else’s territory so he wondered if a merperson might have created this small shelter and abandoned it later on. Inside, he was able to curl along the edge comfortably. As he tucked his arms close to his chest, he pulled his tail up to circle him slightly, half hiding him from view. He couldn’t keep up his camouflage while sleeping but perhaps the dark red color would deter others if they found him. His father’s species of mer, known for their dark red scales, were vicious predators and sometimes just the sight of his tail was enough to scare others off.
He slept soundly, comfortable in the warm water. He had always liked being close to the surface like this, where the water was sun-warmed and light. The colors were always brighter and fish more abundant. Unfortunately, he had spent most of his life avoiding areas like this one because of their proximity to reef mers and other shallow-dwelling merpeople. Not because they posed a large threat to him individually–he was much faster and stronger than them–but because shallow-dwelling mermaids had large complex pods with smaller more intimate pods within the community. They could easily team up and kill him, overwhelming him with numbers rather than sheer strength, which was a risk his mother never allowed him to take.
He was woken by quiet humming outside of his small hideout, a song he didn’t recognize. When traveling with his mother and trying to escape his blood-thirsty father, this would have been enough to send him speeding out of his sleeping spot and diving deeper into the water, far away from contact with other people. Now, though, he listened patiently and wondered if his conclusion last night that this place was abandoned had been a mistake. A singing mer swimming around outside was not likely to be looking for a fight or hunting down intruders on their territory, but Neil waited patiently to see if they would leave.
The humming continued, not moving closer or drifting further away. Neil thought they might be directly above him. It was dim inside the boulder shelter but there were small holes between the boulders where light snuck in. It didn’t give Neil much of a view on the outside world but he noticed when a figure slowly moved over the hole above him a moment later. The mer was apparently sitting on top of his shelter.
Neil was unsure if he would be met with hostility and be cornered inside the boulder sanctuary, so he moved quietly toward the exit. Unfortunately he had built up some sand last night to help hide himself from the outside world and he had to slide through it to get out. The mer above his sanctuary heard him as he did so, the humming immediately halting. It made Neil’s heart skip a beat and he pushed forward to swim quicker before going over the dropoff.
When Neil heard no sounds of pursuit, he calmed himself by counting in his mind. After a few minutes, seeing not a peak of fin or eyes over the cliff’s edge, he swam upwards slowly and camouflaged himself against the light brown ground. He didn’t hear any more humming but he did peak his head over the edge to look around.
He saw a mer still sitting atop the boulder cluster. The merman was built very differently from himself, Neil noticed immediately. Where Neil was slimmer and longer, this mer was stacked with muscles on his upper body and had a wider, slightly shorter tail. Neil let his eyes travel over thick muscled arms, a strong torso, and broad shoulders before moving on. The mer’s scales were thicker, similar to pieces of armor unlike Neil’s own smaller, smoother scale pattern. They were a shiny black with flecks of gold spread throughout in a seemingly random pattern. It reminded Neil of the night sky on the few occasions his mother let him breach the surface. His hair was far paler than Neil’s own, almost white with the way light shined down onto the mer from the sun far, far above the ocean’s waves. His scales ended at his hips, following the v-shape of his waist. He didn’t have the busy canvas of scars that Neil possessed, though there were a few shimmering scars spread across his pale skin. Neil noticed the mer’s claws weren’t like his either when he focused on them, shorter and darker. His fingers were decorated with shiny metal rings, the webbing between his fingers being minimal. A necklace of twine sat at the base of his throat, a heavy round stone resting on the hollow, netted by the twine. Neil’s gaze locked on the black wrappings over his forearms. He didn’t think it was covering an injury but rather for decoration like his rings and necklace, a common trend amongst reef dwellers but not something Neil had ever been allowed to indulge in. The accessories, something Neil had previously associated with happy-go-lucky mers, didn’t match stony features of his face. Finally, Neil’s eyes made contact with the stranger’s own golden pair. They were intense and consuming.
“Hello, little squid,” the merman said, voice deep and monotone. Neil didn’t have much experience with speaking to merpeople other than his deceased parents when they were alive, so he wasn’t sure if this stranger’s tone was normal or not. He didn’t think so but he knew very little of shallow-dweller’s quirks.
“I am not a squid,” Neil informed him, deciding that speaking would be safe as long as he kept some distance between them. He would likely win if they fought right now but he doubted he would swim away from the battle uninjured. Something about the stranger said that he knew how to defend himself and cause as much harm as he received. It was probably the raw strength and the few scars. Neil had no desire to test his theory either way.
“You looked like one, scuttling away like that,” the stranger said.
Neil blinked. The tone was still even and hard to read, but Neil had the feeling he was being mocked. “What’s wrong with squid?”
The stranger stared at him for a long moment. Eventually, he shrugged. “Nothing.”
He waited patiently for the stranger to speak more on the subject but they only lapsed into silence. The stranger ignored him, returning to his sunbathing without the humming. Neil didn’t know if that was because he now knew he had an audience or because of some other reason Neil was unaware of.
“You can hum more,” he decided to tell the merman.
He had closed his eyes, putting his face up toward the sun rays shining through the surface. He didn’t bother to open them or face Neil as he spoke. “I’m aware.”
Neil nodded, accepting the reply for what it was. He watched the merman as he sunbathed, curious about why. Was it a tradition for shallow-dwellers? Was sunning necessary for this merman’s species? Was it something the merman personally enjoyed? Why did he do it so far from his reef, where danger might lurk? Should Neil stay in case the merman was attacked? It wasn’t his problem but this was the first person Neil had spoken to in quite a few moon cycles and he didn’t want to see any harm come to him.
“Why are you alone?” Neil decided to ask.
“It is usually peaceful here,” the stranger replied. He opened his eyes but only looked at Neil through the corner, not bothering to turn his head. “When there are no staring little squids anyway.”
“Not a squid,” Neil replied immediately. “Do you have a pod?”
“Are you going to attempt to kill me if not?”
Neil’s brows lowered. “No. I was curious.”
The golden-eyed merman finally looked down at him. “What do I get for satisfying your curiosity?”
Neil had no possessions, a habit beaten into him by his mother. He should only hunt when necessary and never carry food. He should leave behind pretty rocks and human artifacts he finds because they will only slow him down. “I have nothing.”
The merman stared at him for a heartbeat. “How about a secret?”
Neil thought about that. He had no reason to keep secrets or hide now that his father and mother were gone. Nobody was chasing him and nobody was forcing him to keep swimming. He could give this merman as many secrets as he wished and if he didn’t like it, he could leave. Eventually, he nodded.
“I will answer your questions if you answer mine then. We must tell the truth and we can’t take a turn without answering the other person.”
That seemed fair to Neil. “Who goes first?”
“I do,” he said. “Why are you here?”
Neil shrugged. “I have nowhere else. I am…” He thought of a good way to explain but there was no way to say it without sounding pathetic. “I don’t have a pod. I’m on my own.”
He nodded, accepting Neil’s answer.
“Where’s your pod?” Neil asked him.
“They’re in the reef,” he answered easily. “What’s your name?”
Neil first thought about the name his father had given him, then about the one his mother called him, but he had known for a long time who he wished to be. “Neil.” He waited only a moment before asking his question. “And your name?”
“Andrew.”
Neil smiled before thinking about it. He watched Andrew’s eyes dip down, likely noticing the row of sharp teeth. Andrew’s species, as Neil had noticed while they spoke, had sharp double incisors in his top row but mostly blunt teeth. Neil’s teeth were the kind that shredded flesh or pulled it from the bone. Neil had done it months ago during the fight with his father and done it a thousand other times while hunting for food. He was probably a terrible sight.
He covered his mouth with a hand but realized his long claws were unlikely to be a better sight. He forced himself to sink further behind the cliff’s edge. He was about to swim away completely, to get far away from Andrew, but the black-tailed man spoke before he could.
“Show me.”
Neil froze, unsure if he should follow what was clearly a command. He hesitantly looked at Andrew, seeing that the other merman had moved. He was no longer sitting atop the boulders but instead hovering beside them, prepared to swim closer to Neil. Neil could outrun him, sure, but he didn’t really want to. The idea of another person knowing him was too tempting.
Slowly, Neil rose from behind the cliff’s edge and dropped his camouflage entirely. If Andrew wanted to see what he looked like, there was no point in hiding the color of his scales either. He waited for the fear or for the merman to brace himself for attack, but his golden gaze only widened slightly with surprise before returning to normal. Neil swam slowly toward Andrew, then sped past him to claim a seat atop the boulders.
There was more than enough room for Andrew to sit near him on the warm rocks. Andrew didn’t hesitate to do so. Once they were both settled, the differences before them looked stark.
Neil noticed his tail fin fell almost an arm’s length past Andrew’s, though they were the same height sitting beside one another. Even with that, though, he felt smaller than Andrew. The reef merman was so but broader than him, swollen with strength unlike the lean muscles Neil had.
“I’ve never seen a mer like you,” Andrew stated, a fact with no opinion lingering on it.
Neil nodded. He understood the question even if it wasn’t truly asked. “My mother and father were different species of mer. My father was a deep-dweller, an abyssi . My mother was a fugus , a nomadic shallow dweller. I’m a mix of both so I look odd.”
Odd was probably a light term in Neil’s opinion. His father had lamented plenty that he was an abomination, the merman’s greatest disappointment and his only mistake. His mother had not been so blatantly cruel, but he saw how she feared him and refused to look at him when he wasn’t camouflaged.
“You’re not how I imagined a scopula to be like,” Neil said, mirroring Andrew’s statement and not letting his opinion shine through. He wasn’t disappointed by Andrew not fitting his expectations–quite the opposite–but didn’t want their exchange to feel uneven.
“Not all reefers are the same,” Andrew stated, which didn’t tell Neil if the merman was unique amongst his kind or not. Usually, he would have been frustrated by the vagueness of the answer but this felt almost like playing a game. He just needed to ask the right questions.
“How long do you plan to stay?” Andrew asked, looking up toward the waves as if Neil wasn’t a threat to him at all. It wasn’t bravado or unqualified confidence. He’d assessed Neil and made up some opinion on him.
“I don’t know,” Neil answered, the honesty burning his throat. It wasn’t a hard answer, but he found that he didn’t like the taste of it regardless. He’d known Andrew for all of two minutes but he felt better sitting with a virtual stranger on an abandoned boulder shelter than he had in all his years of life. He looked up toward the waves like Andrew did but found it hurt his eyes too much. He looked at Andrew instead.
“Is this your territory?” Neil asked. He didn’t believe Andrew lived here but he might have claimed this area as his own.
“No. Reefers don’t claim ground outside of their home. We’re not so greedy.”
Neil thought it might be a dig at deep-dwellers, but Neil couldn’t be offended. He knew better than most how true it was. The deep dwellers he had interacted with–his father Nathan, Lola, Romero–were notorious for claiming large portions of sea for themselves and killing any mer that dared trespass into their territory. Nathan used to send him over to Lola’s territory to hunt as a child, telling him to learn quickly how to hunt and avoid the mermaid or be shredded. His father claimed those trips were “lessons” to teach him strength. There were clawmark scars up and down his arms and on his right cheek from her punishments. The only reason she hadn’t killed him was because of her fear of Nathan’s retribution.
Though he understood that “reefers”, as Andrew kept calling his people, weren’t as violently territorial, he still wanted to know if this area was claimed at all. He hadn’t seen evidence of any residents but he couldn’t be sure. There was also the worry that Andrew’s pod might come hunting for him once they realized an abyssi-fugus hybrid was camped near their reef.
“Will your people take issue if I stay here?”
“It’s my turn,” Andrew replied.
Neil slumped slightly, impatient for more answers, but he wanted to hear Andrew’s questions as well. It was an odd feeling, wanting to be known so much. He should probably think more before baring himself to a merman he had just met but Andrew was such an interesting creature that Neil never wanted their conversation to end.
“Do you want to stay here?”
He barely stopped himself from smiling again. He pressed his lips tightly together, the corners curling up slightly. “I like the warm water and the company.”
Andrew’s brows lowered slightly as he looked at Neil before smoothing his features into boredom again. “You do not know me, squid.”
Neil let his lips curl more, careful not to open his mouth and expose a sharp row of teeth. “I will if you allow me to.” He didn’t think he imagined the flicker of something in Andrew’s eyes. “My turn: why did you come out here?”
“To be alone.” Andrew shot him a glare. “I don’t sing in others’ company.”
Neil felt an unfamiliar pang of guilt in his gut. His smile faded as he thought that perhaps Andrew would not return to this area if Neil stayed.
“Will you cause harm to the reef or my pod?”
If Andrew had asked if harm was intended, Neil would be able to answer easily. His wording felt deliberate, though. After a moment, he said, “Not unless I’m attacked.”
Andrew nodded, seemingly satisfied.
“You wouldn’t be alone here if I stayed. Are you going to come back here if I do?”
Gold eyes analyzed him silently for a moment. “I’m not scared of scuttling squid. This is a good sunbathing spot.”
It was a yes without having to be spoken so explicitly but Neil heard it all the same. He didn’t think about whether his teeth were exposed as he spoke. “Good.”
Andrew watched him for a long moment, eyes trailing lazily across Neil’s face–his eyes, his cheeks, his mouth. Neil didn’t know what he was thinking but there wasn’t even a fleck of fear to be found in his expression. Neil had never been so grateful.
Andrew pushed off the boulder structure, drifting up and over Neil easily and casting him in shadow. He looked down at Neil with a blank expression and intense eyes. He brought two fingers to his temple and flicked them away, a gesture Neil didn’t recognize. As Andrew began swimming away, Neil thought it might have been a farewell.
“I’ll see you again if you don’t scuttle away,” Andrew said before turning away completely and swimming with more purpose to the East. Neil watched him go and only realized he was still smiling, teeth exposed, when Andrew was out of his sight.
Neil felt warm from more than just the sunlight and shallow water. It was like a light in his chest. Something like hope. For the future. For a place to call his own. For a friend that accepted him so easily. He was going to hold onto that feeling for as long as he could. He didn’t want to ever let it go.