Silver Fork

500 feet under |Mer!Philippe

Credits:
https://twitter.com/NoLife_hh/status/1746332851807879475?t=lYfmZ6BrkRovZkZPdHMiCg&s=19

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You'd known about the pod of merfolk that lived out by the reef for years now. The vibrant red scales of the mother you'd named Mary and her cool blue tailed mate Jospeh. You'd often sail over to say hello to them when the weather was nice enough.

Your house boat floated easily over the clear, emerald water. It was so clear you could straight down to the bottom! Beautiful and deadly as ever.

Putting on your wet suit and anchoring your house boat a little ways away from the reef, you grabbed your trash bag and cane along with a smaller kayak to sit on and paddled out to the reef.

The sky was a bit cloudy this after noon, which meant you didn't have to bring a hat this time. Parking your kayak on a flat rock, you dropped into the water. Collecting trash logged in corners of rocks and coral. One person couldn't clean up the entire ocean, but at least you could and keep it clean by coming out here and cleaning it up.

That's when you felt something brush up against you. Looking around confused, you tried not to laugh as the red scaled female You'd named Mary swam around in circles to greet you.

Almost out of air, you swam up with a bag full of trash and hoisted yourself up onto the large, flat rock.

She followed you and rested under the shade of the little pop-Up tent you had to keep the sun off your back.

"Hello Mary, how have you been?"

She responded with clicks and hisses. Taking your hand and pointing down into the water.

After a good year of coming out here, the two of you had learned some basic signs and hand movements. A point downwards of the thumb, a hand on the chest, and tuning on both ends to tighten a nonexistent cord. Meant that someone or something was stuck underwater.

"Someone got stuck?" You looked over at the tank You'd brought and quickly started putting it on. Grabbing a flashlight and knife along with checking your watch. You made sure you had everything ready to go and followed Mary back into the reef.

Slowly following her among the twisted coral. Her mate swam up from below the reef and clicked at her. The two clicked and made sounds at the back of their throats before he looked over at you. Offering you a webbed hand, you took it as Mary took your left.

You'd underestimated how fast sea creatures could swim. They took you a couple hundred feet away from your boat to an area that was filled with trash.

'That can't be safe'

They tugged you along the other side of a rock, and there you saw a small female with lavender scales swim anxiously back and forth. Pinned to the underside of a rock was another lavender scaled mer. This one was male as he seemed a lot skinner and weaker than the other three. The stress from being pinned and lack of food made him look more or less like a failed mermaid costume.

The female turned to the two and pointed at the pinned one. Clicking frantically before realizing you were there and immediately let out a bubbled hiss. Fins pushed back, and claws raised.

Mary hisses louder as you pulled out your knife. With Mary keeping the female back, Joseph quickly guided you to the underside of the rock. He kept the males face and clawed hands pinned as you worked on cutting through the unusually thick rope.

'This isn't the usual fishing net. This is way too thick.' Not to mention how it was barbed, like it was meant to catch tuna or something. But even then, it was strange.