The Treasure of the Sea

17

Daryl was swimming around practicing for his master once more, the men were watching him from the shore line. Negan smirked watching his little siren swimming, "I want to try something." Negan decided. "Dwight, are you willing to help me?"

"What is it that you'd like sir?" Dwight asked nervously, if his captain was asking him to do something he would do it. At least most of the time. He still had some sense of self preservation thank you very much.

"Well, you know how he reacted to the fish in the water?"

"I am not cutting my hand and going in that water with him and let him hunt me."

Daryl looked up at the mention of hunting Dwight. "I wo-won't." He stuttered. "Pro..prom-promise."

"See he says he wont hunt you."

"says is the key word here, sir. He says he won't but how do you know?" He turned to look at Daryl floating in the water just a few feet from them."What if you go all crazy and get hungry?"

Daryl blinked at him with large hurt eyes. He dove under the water without a word.

Negan growled at Dwight smacking him upside the head for upsetting his guppy, only stopping when Daryl returned to the surface once more with a small group of fish in his hands. He looked Dwight right in the eye and bit the heads off three of them. As he finished his mouthful he smiled, his bloody fangs dripped. "Not hungry." He promised as he set two down for later and finished one. "See." Negan laughed out loud while Dwight looked visibly mortified. The idea of his head being bitten off like a fish was not sitting well with him. "What...What's so fun-funny?"

"Guppy, you mean well but you just scared him more than you meant too."

"I scared h-him?" Daryl asked nervously, glancing towards the sailor. "Sorry..." He apologized softly, holding out the rest of his catch as a further apology.

Negan looked to Dwight expectantly, the pirate gulped and nodded to Daryl bending down to accept his apology. "Just do what I asked alright." Negan ordered Dwight.

"Why won't you do it?" Dwight asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We know he likes me, you are in between love and hate. Just kind of there so just do it. See what happens. Go swim to the rock over in the middle and cut your hand then jump in okay?"

"You promise you won't eat me, Daryl?"

"Sure." Daryl smiled, his sharp teeth shining in the light coming through. Dwight grimaced not at all comforted by Daryl's response but still hesitantly swam out to the large rock in the center of the cove. Taking a deep breath, he allowed his hand to be cut on the jagged barnacles and then plunged it into the water with a hiss. Daryl watched him carefully from the shore his gills flaring at the scent of blood in the water. Looking to his master he asked: "What do I do?"

"Swim," Negan prompted, nudging him further into the sea "Don't eat him. Try to ignore the blood." .

Daryl nodded hesitantly, sinking under the waves and starting a slow swim around the cove doing as he was told. Watching the blood waft up into the water from the corner of his eye, Daryl continued to swim around and around as Dwight nervously hovered in the water close to the rock. Feeling the urge to get closer, the young siren could tell that something inside him was pulling him towards the wound on the sailor. Negan didn't want him too though.He wanted him to fight any urges he had to go near Dwight.

Lost in his thoughts, Daryl found himself swimming closer and closer to Dwight with each lap around the cove. Finally giving into his own instincts the mer swam directly at the sailor treading water in the center of the cove.

Panicking at the rapid approach of the siren, Dwight scrambled backwards making for the rocky shore line. "Stop." Daryl snapped without even thinking, grabbing the wounded arm with clawed fingers. Dwight yelped trying to pry off the siren who didn't so much as budge. . Negan watched apprehensively unsure if he should stop him or not. Negan's crew were wide eyed, calling for their leader to stop this before their first mate was killed.

"Stop moving." Daryl hissed, making Dwight go limp. Satisfied that he was no longer struggling Daryl grabbed Dwight's hand and pulled it up towards him. Careful not to sink his sharp teeth into Dwight's vulnerable skin he latched onto the bloody wound with his lips creating a seal before his tongue came out to lick over the wound. It took only a minute before Daryl detached and smiled and showed Dwight his hand. "Fixed."

Dwight blinked, pulling out of his daze to look down at his palm.

"What the actual fuck." Dwight whispered in both horror and awe as he looked his hand up and down. It was gone. The slit. The blood. Hell there wasn't even a scar! "How did you do that?" He asked in awe, turning his hand over and over again as if the wound would reappear at any moment.

Daryl shrugged but smiled looking proud of himself. The entire crew was completely stunned, even Negan. A few of them had seen Daryl fix the wound he had created on Shane, but to those lucky few who had seen the healing process assumed it was because the wound he fixed had been caused by Daryl's own toxins. However it seemed Daryl could heal wounds he hadn't been the cause of.

Dwight looked over his hand, he bit his lip completely unsure of how to react. Daryl hadn't hurt him, he sure as hell didn't enjoy that Daryl had used his so-called siren-speak on him. He had gone completely limp in the water. If Daryl hadn't held him up he would have drowned. The pain of his wound was completely gone, there was no evidence he had ever cut his hand.

Daryl looked at Negan for approval. "What was that?" Negan asked.

"I fixed him.." Daryl whined. "Bet-better."

"I'm not upset with you treasure, I'm just curious about what you did."

"Fixed him." Daryl repeated, he was more confused about why that simple phrase wasn't the tell all of what he did.

"Alright yes guppy, but how?"

Daryl smirked. "Licked it."

Negan smirked trying not to laugh out loud. "Alright so you licked it, does your saliva have healing abilities?"

Daryl shrugged once more, he knew that he had the ability to hurt someone with his bite and whatever came with it, but he didn't know what he was. So he hardly knew about what he could otherwise. Negan smiled softly. "Alright then, see boys. Daryl is safe to swim with."

"Safe." Daryl smiled happily. The others gave him a curious look but Dwight was still alive, so that was a good sign for them.

They just hoped Daryl continued to be safe to swim with, and continued to be safe to be around. They were still nervous around him, but the more they watched him the less scared they were of him. He was sweet, and instead of taking on the darker parts of his siren ancestry he was more like a mermaid with siren attributes.