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Li Yu was about four the first time it happened. He had been traveling with his parents when he'd gotten distracted by a school of fish and wandered away from his mother's side. Following the pretty colors of the fish led him further into open water than a mer of his age would ever be allowed. Then the fish vanished, that was when he realized he was all alone and completely lost. Just as Li Yu started to panic, something brushed against his side.
With a gasp, Li Yu's eyes popped open and he was greeted to the sight of a shark slowly swimming next to him. The shark nudged him slightly in one direction, and something in Li Yu's young mind said it was okay to follow. So with a few faltering starts, Li Yu followed. Before long they came across his very distressed parents who had been searching for him.
Once Li Yu was reunited with his parents, the shark swam away, seemingly uncaring of what had just transpired. Li Yu laughed and waved goodbye, shouting, "Thank you Ms. Shark! I'll never forget you!"
The next time it happened Li Yu was twelve, and had all but forgotten his first encounter. He and a few friends had been hanging out and swimming through the reefs when someone suggested swimming into open water.
Theoretically, they were all old enough to handle short trips into open water alone, or longer trips, for traveling, with their parents. But it was still different to suggest it without anyone watching over them.
Eventually, the group came around to the idea and they all left the safety of the reefs. Li Yu couldn't help but glance up at the surface of the water and hope that no humans decided to go fishing.
They were having fun, enjoying the taboo of being so far out, that none of them noticed when exactly they stopped being able to see the edge of the reef. Then one of the other boys noticed and started panicking. Then everyone else started panicking.
Just as Li Yu could feel himself falling into panic as well, he noticed something was brushing against his side, and everyone else had gone completely silent. Taking a deep breath, and praying that he wasn't about to become some kind of fucked up prize for a human, Li Yu looked over.
It was a shark, once again gently nudging him along, as if he were a particularly stubborn pup.
Although he didn't remember the exact details of his first encounter, there was still something in him that pushed him to trust this shark. He turned towards his friends and said, "I think she wants us to follow her."
He didn't wait for them to answer, instead choosing to follow. Thankfully, the other boys wanted a direction to follow, even if it seemed completely insane.
Before long the boys reached the reef edge and the shark turned and left them, once again seemingly uncaring of what had just occurred.
This time Li Yu wasn't alone in waving the shark goodbye.
Six years later, when Li Yu was eightteen, he had his third shark encounter. Only this one wasn't as peaceful.
A group of larger mer had surrounded Li Yu and backed him agianst a large rock.
"Doesn't a pretty little mer like you know you can't just pass through someone else's turf without paying the fee?" The leader of the group sneered.
Li Yu trembled, "I-I've passed through this reef hundreds of times! There's never been a fee before!"
One of the others flashed a piece of serated bone and said, "You could say it's under new management."
"I don't even have anything to pay a fee with!" Li Yu tried to reason.
The group laughed like he'd just told a joke, and the leader sneered, "Don't worry, we've got a few ideas on how you can pay."
Li Yu felt a shiver of fear run up his spine, he didn't know what they wanted, but he was definitely sure he didn't want to give it. The leader reached for him and Li Yu flinched away, closing his eyes in the process. The hand never reached him.
The next thing Li Yu knew was the sound of terrified screams and the distinct coppery scent of blood clouding the water. It was over far too quickly. When he finally managed to open his eyes, the first thing he saw was a chunk of flesh floating by and he couldn't help but gag a little. Tearing his eyes away from the remains, Li Yu came face to snout with a shark.
He was close enough to still see the pieces of meat stuck in the shark's teeth. Li Yu took an unsteady breath and said, "Thank you. For saving me." He felt a rush of water, as if the shark was scenting him, and had a flash of fear that he'd be next on the menue, but all the shark did was turn and leave.
Somehow Li Yu made it home. Once inside his little cave, he sunk to the ground and trembled all night.
A few years passed and Li Yu would occasionally have another encounter with an oddly friendly shark. It wasn't always because he'd gotten lost in open water, sometimes he was just exploring a new area and would get a new friend for a few hours.
Then he met his husband.
Mu Tianchi was hands down one of largest mers that Li Yu had ever met, and certainly the most intimidating at first glance. Being half shark tended to do that. But it turned out that Mu Tianchi was actually a huge softie. He was always floating just above Li Yu, like he was afraid a human net would haul the smaller mer away at any second. Li Yu thought it was sweet.
Eventually they had children of their own, four the first time and then a few years later a fifth little one.
It happened while they out and about one day. Li Yu looked down and there were no little hands holding onto his tail.
Clutching his youngest to his chest, Li Yu and Mu Tianchi looked everywhere. But their little baos were nowhere to be seen. Just as he was starting to lose himself to the panic he heard the faintest sound of what could have been crying.
Turning towards it, Li Yu swam as fast as he could, Mu Tianchi not far behind. There, just beyond the reef were the baos, clutching each other and crying as a large shark circled slowly around them. Despite the terrifying scene, Li Yu couldn't help but feel relief flood his system.
Carefully, he passed their daughter to Mu Tianchi and slowly made his way out. The baos were too scared to move, and it was only once Li Yu had actually entered the space that they moved and clung to him. Li Yu smiled and gently placed his hand on the shark's back, "Thank you." He turned to his sons, "It's okay. She won't hurt you. Look."
One by one, Dabao, Erbao, Sanbao, and Sibao all opened their eyes and saw him gently petting the shark. Sibao was the first to reach out, his tiny hand sitting next to Li Yu's. Sibao beamed. As if waiting for their cue, the other three repeated their youngest brother's actions.
Before long the shark swam away and Li Yu reunited his sons with their other father. Mu Tianchi, who had been watching the entire display, quirked an eyebrow at him. Li Yu shrugged, "Sharks have always been nice to me."