The ocean is full of mysterious creatures and things. Mermaids and mermen are among these wonders, but they are nothing but myths, or so one would think. The world is certainly full of wonderful surprises. One fateful day, Y/N's father finds himself...
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The days hardly got any easier for Neil as they passed from week to week until eventually a month of living freely in the ocean had passed. He ventured from his new nest in the deep caverns occasionally for food or to find Y/N a new gift to display at her home, but never wandered too far in fear of missing her for even a moment. The skies had, thankfully, blessed him with favorable weather for her to meet with him every day, as promised, whether it was for a little while or longer, and that did ease his heart somewhat. All his worries and woes were easily forgotten, however, whenever her boat neared, creating those loud ripples in the ocean for him to hear, and when she'd leave, he'd think about their time together for the remainder of the night to keep himself sane from sorrow. She would return again the next day with certainty as she always did, as she swore to him.
That was the case until one day in the start of the second month, Y/N went about her morning in a funk, her head aching as though it had been cracked open with a mallet, and no amount of pressure placed on it made her feel any better. Sitting and resting seemed to be the only thing to subdue the wicked migraine that filled her with fits of groans and misery. More stress was added at the thought of showing up to Neil like this and thinking of how he might feel if she couldn't show up. She cursed the clear sunny skies, for if it were raining, he might be more understanding. Sighing, the woman rubbed her temples and bent over her knees as she thought her options over.
"It can't be helped," she sighed, knowing she couldn't possibly handle the brightness and heat of the sun on top of driving the boat all that way in this condition. In the hopes that she might feel better later, she laid her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. Neil waited, growing more anxious by the second, sometimes swimming to the surface to peek at the position of the sun if the coast was clear only to whimper and sink back down into his dark cave to bury himself in the sand as a mode of comfort. There, he would wait again, losing himself to longing.
He wished to be back at the old nest, where it was guaranteed she'd visit eventually, but wanting to be optimistic, he tried to keep in mind the good things about living back in the ocean. He didn't have to wait to be fed, the cave was fairly safe and very beautiful in his eyes, and he had infinite more room to swim and play... However, without a playmate, all that space feels wasted, cold and empty, quiet. Too quiet. In his spare time, to keep busy, he had decorated the place a bit, a few shells here, some fish bones and collected scales there. Even some pretty rocks were placed around. Y/N told him all about saving up for scuba classes, but that it also might take some time before she's ready to visit him in his new home.
Well, it would be ready for her when it came time for her to see it. He couldn't wait. The thought of her eyes lighting up and a smile growing across her face brought a tiny grin to his own. The creature sighed wistfully from his gills when his head shot up from the familiar rumble of a boat. She came! A little late, but she hadn't forgotten him! He couldn't leave the cave fast enough, and once he saw the shadow of the vessel matched his love's, he raced towards the surface with such speed, he created a loud splash to announce his arrival, giving his loudest chirp and biggest grin as he clung to the side of the boat.
Feet stumbled across the floor as a frightened shout filled the air, a sound much deeper than he was used to. Neil froze, staring into a set of dark brown eyes filled with shock. He didn't understand it. This was her boat. He swore it was her boat. Letting go, he circled it anxiously. It looked the same, even was the same size, so why was she not in it? Deciding to confront the older male in the vessel, he chirped with a frustrated expression. Y/N warned him to avoid other boats, but this was so clearly hers; at least, he thought so. He knew nothing of the concept that more than one model of the boat could exist.
"My god," whispered the man before suddenly smiling and laughing joyously, causing Neil's head to tilt. He was on-guard as the figure got up and moved a little closer with caution to admire the merman's unusual features. "I can't believe it. You really are real." Huffing, Neil plunged back into the water, finding no interest in the man. He might've if he wasn't so focus on Y/N. He was naturally curious about things, humans especially, but the man was none of his concern unless he had Y/N with him. He moved slowly on his descent, feeling heavy with disappointment and numb to the world around him.
Where is she? Why didn't she come? The weather is fine, the waves are calm. There was no reason for her to be late unless... Oh, no! Had something happened? Was she sick? Was she hurt? He felt choked up at the thought and felt even more panicked than before. He had no means to reach her. What if she was suffering alone somewhere? He tried to keep his calm, knowing she had looked after herself all this time. He knew she had to be capable of handling things, which helped him relax. If she could not get to him today for whatever reason, he had to believe that she would come tomorrow. She did say there might be times she can't come. Though he hated it, there was nothing he could do but return to his cave, defeated and alone.
It's what he would've done had he noticed the descending shadow falling upon him. It wasn't until his body was snared by the net that his body squirmed and twisted. His teeth bit down and pulled on the binds as his body felt more constricted. With a clear struggle, he was yanked up as another boat entered the scene. Soon, the net was carried up to the surface more easily, leaving him vulnerable to the group of men crowding him. He continued to fight tirelessly, making loud, frightening noises.
"Easy now, we're not here to hurt you," spoke the same giddy voice he had heard before, causing Neil to turn his head with bared teeth. In his moment of distraction, something was prodded into his skin, causing him to thrash harder as he was pulled into the man's boat. Weakened, he could only whimper as the sun beat down on him, blurring and splitting his vision to double.
"Wa... ter," he hissed, flicking his tail with what little energy he had left towards the sea, nearly draping it over the edge, but missing just short of it as he lost consciousness. Surprised by the words the creature had spoken, the fisherman placed his hands on the beast's tail and dipped a portion of it into the water, believing it to be the creature's intent.
"Is it really a merman?" Spoke the younger man who had helped sedate the creature. "So the old stories are true! This is incredible, Makani! You're a genius for searching out here! And to think, I thought you were crazy, raving about these things." The man laughed heartily as Makani joined him.
"So did I! This is perfect! Quickly, we must get going. He's a feisty one. Might try to take my hand off if he wakes up too early." Laughing, he steered the boat towards shore, his friend tailing behind to assist him once they reach it. On their journey, Makani smiled fondly while looking down at the sleeping creature.
