A Land Of Sea

Burning Intensity as Forceful as the Sun

Dream watched as the merman slept peacefully, recalling the events from earlier today. After calming down the handful that was the scared creature in front of him, they'd even managed to get him to sleep- as to how was unbeknownst to even Dream. Perhaps he simply slept easily.

The pirate was content at the moment, knowing that he could wait before talking to the merman. Having caught him in the first place was rather a miracle, and he looked around to the other tanks nearby. Only 3 other mer were on board, one of which stared at him with a burning intensity so forceful he could have sworn it was the sun itself. The other two were fast asleep, just like the one he stood next to.

Well, apparently the newcomer wasn't as 'fast asleep' as he had originally thought, because the next thing he knew he heard a noise behind him. The telltale sign of a mer nearby: mermish. Well, incoherent mermish, the kind of screeching and whining only one of their kind could decipher. Dream winced at the sudden loud noise, turning to face the blue-tailed.

He looked frightened, but not so much to allow him to be thrown into another instinctual fit like before. Dream smiled a bit, and watched curiously as the other attempted to back away.

"I see you're finally awake." He said simply. No reply. Not that he was particularly expecting one.

"Not a talker, I see. Well, you don't have to speak now, that can wait. Until then, let me introduce myself. I'm Dream, captain of the ship you are currently aboard. Welcome to your new life."

-----

George awoke suddenly, not as startled as he had been before, but certainly surprised. He took in his surroundings quickly, before his eyes widened at the figure in front of him. Backing away, he hit the glass closing him in, and his webbed hands pressed against it as if trying to grip onto something.

The man turned, and George was frozen with shock for a moment as he took in his features- the dirty blonde hair fallen just slightly over a white mask, entirely covering his face. He wasn't quite sure what to think of that, but it passed his mind soon enough as he looked down and realized...he was standing. This man had legs! He'd never seen them before, only having heard of the strange human appearance from when he was younger.

One thing was clear: legs were weird. And to top it off, instead of normal clothing, the man had a skirt that was split in two! It went all the way to what he recalled were named 'shoes.' George wondered how in Poseidon's name such a hideous skirt could be comfortable, but it was a human thing, after all.

Suddenly the nameless person spoke, and he was snapped out of his thoughts by the uncommon yet familiar language coming from his tongue. English. George was fluent, only because he had been forced to study.

Most mer learned the basics at a young age, but many chose not to bother at all. Warriors were required to know it however, on the basis of tradition that they would be the ones most frequently conversing with the land people for trade and alliances. Of course, in the new age, only once upon a blue moon in perhaps a century could a mer gain the chance to see a human, let alone speak to one.

For once though, it payed off. He was certainly rusty, but his ears twitched as he picked apart each sentence and carefully reconstructed it in his own tongue.

He grimaced at the welcome, already fearing for his life. He sounded so cruel...who was he kidding, of course this 'Dream,' as he called himself, was cruel. George was sitting in the confines of a tank barely larger than himself, awaiting a slow and painful death. What was he expecting, tea parties and weddings galore?

The man continued, acting as if this was all completely normal.

And then he realized just where exactly he was- or rather, what else was nearby.

Who else, was nearby. His stomach dropped, zoning out the land-walker, as he took in the 3 other mer just like him, all in separate tanks, in separate cells, just as trapped as he was.

So clearly this was normal for him.

George gulped, now not only fearful for himself, but the others with him. How long had they been here? Did there used to be more? What would happen to him?

"I see you've noticed my friends." George watched the man, an innocent smile playing on the mask. He growled as Dream took a step forward, quieting slightly when he put his hands up in mock surrender.

"Perhaps you two can get acquainted." Dream added, gesturing to the tank nearest George. He looked over, eyes meeting a pair of dark brown eyes, and indigo scales to compliment. It was a fleeting moment however, as his attention was turned back to the white smiley face. "I suppose I should let you rest some more, I don't like to throw newcomers into the business side of things for a few days, you know."

His face paled, wondering what kind of things might entail from the 'business side of things.' Before he could delve into it further though, he was met with a goodbye wave in his face, which George would not return. His eyes followed the figure as he walked away and up the stairs.

After he was sure the man was gone and would not come back, for the time being, he looked back at the merman in his sight, curious. As if reading his mind, the other came up out of the water to rest his arms and head on the edge of the glass, a big smile playing on his face. Then he spoke, a thick, northern mermish accent coming out.

"Hi! I'm Quackity."

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Word Count: 997
Date: 06/05/21

EEP- someone explain to me how I've managed to get 5 chapters done in like 2 and a half days, cause I've never had this kinda motivation before- dang. I have so many things planned for this, I'm so excited >:)

Anyway, votes and comments are appreciated, and thanks so much for reading this far! :D