A Land Of Sea

A Sunset Full of Lies

George's favorite time of day was late evening.

Firstly, because that was just about when the water grew dark, and he always wondered how it was the sun did that.

Secondly, night was the best time to go shoaling- most ships weren't out so late, and he could sneak out of the pod while most mer slept.

Third, the fish. The fish. Okay sure, he lived among them every day, but at sunset was when all the exotic ones came out. All the ones they never bothered teaching about in school, except for the rare few they had use of, and the occasional "don't mess with the ones that light up!" warning.

Anyway, those were always the coolest to mess around with. The squid that only went out in darkness, the fish that would venture out from their homes just a bit farther than they would during the day, it was simply so much more peaceful. All the usual predators were asleep, and George could sneak out of the caves wearing a skirt even mermaids would consider daring, just to meet up with a few mer from an island or two away.

Most mer his age probably thought the same, which was why coral parties and waves were held just after the sun had gone down.

Apparently Dream knew this too.

Before George even heard the uneven splashes of water and shouting of hoarse voices below the surface, he heard the Captain up above, shouting "MERFOLK!"

It was all rather a blur, because while he was focusing so hard on listening to what the crew shouted overhead, it seemed to backfire, and he wasn't able to actually retain any of that information.

The next thing he knew, a dark blue tail–not quite blue like George's, but more like Quackity's, which he suspected to be purple in fact–was being carried down to the same level as them.

He watched in horror as they set her in one of the tanks a bit away, just as he suspected they had done with him.

Only with her, she was awake the whole time. She seemed to be throwing lunges everywhere she could, clearly making things as difficult as possible for them.

George envied her expertise in the use of lungs.

Then he tuned in the listen, and was met with a barrage of curses in English.

"Get your filthy hands off me you motherfucker!" At first he was surprised by the heavy accent, origin unknown to him, laying over her speech, but then realized it quite suited her.

"You fuckin' humans, my family'll come back for me, ya' hear!?" By that point the two unknown crewmembers were already leaving, paying no heed to what she threatened.

George stared at the mermaid for a bit, both curious, glad at the prospect of a new friend, but also boiling at the realization that someone else had been taken from their home. The hatred poured out of him as he spared a glance towards the receding steps, before turning back to the newcomer.

"What's y-" She interrupted quickly, crossing her arms and leaning against one end of the tank. "Minx." George was caught off guard, knowing most mer–like him–were rather protective of who did or didn't have the privilege of knowing their name. He was excited however, and came out of the water to rest his arms on the ledge.

"I'm George." He smiled a little, hoping to spark conversation.

"Nice to meet you, George. Has this place been hospitable to you, are the tanks comfortable? If not, I might ask to be transferred to another ship, you know, these kidnappers better be up to standard. How has your stay here been?" He chuckled a little, practically watching the sarcasm drip from her words.

He took her tone as a signal to leave her be though, figuring she would want some time to think. He went back to experimenting with his newfound dry hair, seeing just how ruffled he could make it up to be.

—————

Dream sat at his desk, peering out over the wood with maps and papers and a coin here and there stacked high. He sighed, leaning back in his chair after a moment.

Things were no different than they had been a month ago. How was he supposed to keep up with their demands? Clearly they weren't making enough profit in this...business, to be cleaning any headway, so what was he supposed to do?

Suddenly a known broke his thoughts, and he quickly drew the mask down on his face to cover it fully. Clearing he throat, he then called back at the universal question for "may I come in?"

"Come in."

It was Sapnap. He muttered a half-hearted apology for interrupting before getting straight to the point.

"Still no buyer for the blue one, but.." He trailed off hesitantly, and Dream stared before pressing him on. "But what?"

"But...we have an offer for the shark breed. And it's...well, let's just say it would be a lot." Dream sat back, running a hand through his dark, dirty blonde hair. He sighed again knowingly, clearly conflicted. Not wanting to keep his friend longer, he waved a short dismissal. Instead, the other man walked over and sat on the desk in front of him.

"Look man...I don't think you should take it. This guy seemed sketchy, and I know how you feel about that."

A beat of silence passed.

"Yeah, yeah...I know. I'm not going to. We'll make it work."

With that, Sapnap left the room, and Dream let out a groan of frustration. He knew what the buyer wanted.

The mer was a rarer species, evolved from shark, rather than dolphin–it meant he was sought after more, and while it could fetch a hefty price, maybe even enough to–

Well, it meant most people would rather kill him, than keep him.

Dream wasn't frustrated with himself by the decision to keep him in the ship and find some other use or let him die,

he was frustrated with himself by the fact that he'd hesitated.

—————

Word Count: 1020
Date: 12/05/21

Gosh I love cliffhangers. Also, Minx, ay?

Guess what, I wrote this chapter at a reasonable time- 7pm, instead of 3am! Now be proud of me >:|