Enchanted

Mersong

A young elf peered over a large rock, looking over the water towards a skerry just off the shore. Every night he heard someone singing from the area, and it was always the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. The singing seemed to have an effect on his garden too, as his plants appeared to enjoy the sound. It made sense to the elf, after all, plants grew very well with music. The elf wanted to know who or what was singing every night. Perhaps he could bring the singer to his home so that he could hear them more often.

As the young elf peered over the rock, he saw a sight that made his heart flutter. There, sitting on the skerry, was a beautiful merfolk. The merfolk had red and green hair like a tomato, and soft pale skin. His tail was a shimmering red one with scales that sparkled like rubies, and five emerald fins, two pelvic, two dorsal, and one caudal. He was wearing nothing but a necklace around his neck.

The merfolk's beauty took the elf's breath away. He had never actually seen a merfolk before, having lived in the deep forest until his recent banishment. But he had heard stories about the various merfolk. Sirens were dangerous, luring land dwellers into the sea to eat them. Lorelai were their freshwater counterparts, though they looked human save for patches of flesh-colored scales scattered across their bodies. Sea nymphs looked completely human out of the water, but looked like humanoid water currents in the sea. Kelpies were shapeshifters, taking the form of horses on land and having the head and torso of a human with the front half of a horse and the back half of a crocodile in the water. Selkies were also shapeshifters, humans on land and seals in the water. Merrows looked entirely human, only identifiable as merfolk when they had their red hats on in the water.

There were many different kinds of merfolk, but they all had a couple things in common. They were all immortal, and they all had the most beautiful voices in all the known worlds. The young elf felt a bit silly for not realizing before that the lovely singing he'd been hearing every night was from a merfolk. Now, he needed to figure out exactly what kind of merfolk this pretty little singer was. He might be a siren, which would mean the elf would need to exercise caution in order to avoid getting eaten. Or he could be a different kind of merfolk entirely.

The elf slowly began making his way toward the beautiful merfolk, creeping silently as only an elf could. The waves crashing on the shore masked what little sound he made as he climbed onto the rock behind the merfolk, edging ever closer. After several minutes of studying the merfolk and planning his next move, the elf sprang into action. He wrapped an arm around the merfolk, pinning his arms to his sides, and grabbed the merfolk's throat with his free hand.

The merfolk's singing broke off into a yelp of terror, and he froze, holding perfectly still apart from his sudden trembling. The elf chuckled. "Well, well, well, what have we here? A pretty merfolk! But what kind of merfolk, hm?"

The merfolk whimpered in terror. "P-please! L-let me go!" The elf raised an eyebrow. "And risk losing such a pretty singer? Not a chance!"

The merfolk's trembling intensified. "W-we don't taste very good! So if you're planning on eating me—"

"Eating you?" the elf was shocked by the very idea. "Why would I eat you?"

"That's why you humans are always trying to catch us, right?!" the merfolk started crying. The elf blinked, then smirked. "I'm an elf, not a human. Silly little mer! I'm not going to eat you, I promise! I just want to keep you! Your singing helps my garden thrive!"

The merfolk sniffled, trying to calm down. "Y-you promise?" he asked, still trembling. The elf smiled, "I promise. Now, what kind of merfolk are you? I know you're definitely not some of the subraces I know about. But which subrace are you?"

"I-I'm a ningyo," the merfolk said quietly. The elf blinked, recalling the stories he'd heard about ningyo. They were a rare and elusive merfolk who were associated with good luck, and legend had it that eating their scales or flesh would grant humans immortality. The appearance of a ningyo could be an omen of good fortune... or impending disaster. They lived in the depths of the ocean, often near rocky coastlines or underwater caves. Their mersong was hauntingly beautiful, captivating and mesmerizing any human who heard it. It could bring good luck, calm storms, or even heal the sick and injured. It could also draw sailors to them, causing the mortals to shipwreck or drown. But unlike sirens, ningyo didn't use their singing to hunt humans, but to communicate with them.

The elf beamed with pride at having been able to encounter a ningyo. They were amongst the rarest of all merfolk, having been hunted to near extinction by mortals for their scales and flesh. Most land dwellers would never get the opportunity to meet one, not even the immortal land dwellers. Oh, the rest of the elves would be so jealous of him if they ever found out!

"I'm Yuri," the elf said, stroking the ningyo's side. "What's your name, pretty ningyo?"

The ningyo's cheeks flushed. "Y-Yuya..." he mumbled, squirming a little at the light ticklish sensations he was experiencing from the stroking. Yuri seemed to notice, and began deliberately tickling his side. "Well, Yuya, why don't you come home with me? My precious garden would benefit greatly from a closer proximity to your singing, and I would love to hear more!"

"EEK!" Yuya giggled at the tickling, squirming frantically. His pelvic and caudal fins flicked, and he tried to move his arm to shield the spot that Yuri was tickling. "Hey, nohoho ticklihihihing! Heeheeheeheehee! Stohohohop!"

"Aw, is the pretty ningyo ticklish?~" Yuri cooed. "That's cute!~"

Yuya squealed, wiggling like a fish on a hook. "Stohohohop! Pleaheaheahease! I'll gohohohoho with youhouhouhouhou! Just stohohohohop! Hahahahaha!"

"Oh, are you suuuuure?~" Yuri teased. "I could tickle you all night if you're not sure! I don't mind at all!~"

"Yehehehehes! I'm suhuhuhuhuhure! Yuhuhuhurihihihi, pleaheaheaheahease!" Yuya pleaded, tears of laughter streaming down his face. Yuri chuckled and tickled him a little more before stopping. "Well, in that case, let's go home!"