The Arcana One Shots

♡Merperson!MC x Julian - What a Catch!♡

This is gonna be the first chapter in another series: MythicalCreature!MC, so strap in! The first two installments were requested by SammyToon and the other 4 are my ideas, inspired by the request of the first two. This chapter is also a bit different from the request because while I was writing, I got a little carried away with the story and low-key forgot what the request was supposed to be about, so it's not focused exactly on the original idea. Whoops.

~*~*~*~*~*

The sea was calm, the sky was blue and the breeze was oh so gentle. 

Alone on his ship, Julian was at peace. He had recently decided that he would like to get back on a boat, but he wasn't looking to travel anywhere. His solution? Fishing.

Not only could he enjoy being out at sea again, but he would also be able to sell or eat his catches, so it was a win-win.

On this particular day, the good doctor had cast his net off the side of the boat and he was now sat there, enjoying the breeze and good weather. Even though the ship had been accosted by pirates, Julian had still missed the feeling of being at sea.

The rocking of the ship, the fresh salty air, the feeling of adventure; he missed it all.

Normally, it would take a good few hours for Julian to catch a number of fish in his net. However, this time, it had only been an hour maybe two before the boat began to rock and the net was being tugged at.

Julian was pulled from his reminiscing to pull the net in.

Despite being rather thin, Julian was not weak. Hauling a net of fish out of the water was usually easy for him. Unlike his previous experiences, this time the net shook with such force. It tossed and wriggled and writhed as he tried to pull it out, not to mention that it weighed twice if not thrice as much as usual.

When he finally managed to yank the net over, the weight and torque of the squirming sea creatures threw off his balance and the net and its prisoner landed right on top of the doctor.

Once Julian had regained his senses, he was caught off guard for the second time. In his net was not a great many fishes, but one singular tail belonging to a merperson!

What a catch!

The merperson struggled to move off of the doctor, begin ensnared by a net and all.

Julian was quick to help the poor captive roll off of his legs and he quickly detangled the net from their body.

Once he had freed them, Julian was totally at a loss for words. Never before in his life had he seen such a beautiful creature! He thought they were only a myth anyway.

Julian was only pulled from his shock when he heard the merperson cry out in pain. He looked down at them only to see their face pulled into a grimace, their hands clasped around their tail. Their hands were bloody and it was quickly soaking into the deck of the ship.

"You're injured!" Julian exclaimed, looking at the merperson.

"No thanks to you," they retorted through gritted teeth.

Without another word, Julian fled to his bag, leaving the stranded sea creature alone.

When he returned, he carried with him a first aid kit. He dropped to his knees at the stranger's side and pulled out a long roll of bandages and a bottle of saline solution.

"I can fix this," Julian said, offering his assistance.

The merperson recoiled and frowned. "And why should I let you? It was your net that cut me up in the first place."