The Fins and the Faun (Hardenshipping)

Ch. 1: Something Fishy

It was a beautiful day.
The sun shone brightly across a brilliant cerulean Sky. Sapphire waves lapped at the wooden vessel. The surf was calm and the currents were heading where they should be. No land was in sight. A perfect, beautiful day... For all except Maxie.
"Why am I here? Why did I have to wander off? Why do I have to be over a surface such as the terrible, churning sea? Why? Why?!" The thought of it all was too much to bear. Oh how he wished to kick something, to cause a sort of riot along the deck, to jump off the edge and simply end it all... But the cold, metal cuffs that bound his hooves wouldn't allow him to move.
He sighed, allowing his head to fall back against the steel beams of his ever-so-uncomfortable cage. He was nothing more than luggage: a trophy won by the strange explorers that simply lusted for the prize of obtaining a new, rare creature to sell or mount upon their dreadful walls.
It was the ship's 22nd day out at sea since departing the land that Maxie called home. Various other creatures were caught, yet released as they weren't suitable for the sailor's high standards. "Despicable..." He muttered, before having a fist slam against his cage.
"Quiet, you! Don't think you've got any right ta speak up!" It said, ominously, causing the faun to shy away, ducking his head into the crooks of his arms, silent.

A shrill whistle blew

He didn't know if it was minutes or hours since he initially fell asleep, but upon feeling the rock of the boat and hearing the crowds of excited explorers and fishermen, he could only guess they had caught what they were searching for.
The net lowered to the middle of the Bow, allowing Maxie to see just a tidbit of the commotion. His hands grasped the bars, and he pressed a curious face against them, hungering to know what they had discovered.
Vibrant, blue scales... No. White. Navy. A flurry of beautiful color morphed into the tail seen before him. The tail halted midway, revealing smooth, olive skin, it's wetness allowing it to gleam in the sunshine. Two masculine arms protruded from the torso... Yet he could see no face, not when the savages were messing and poking around with it, trying to calculate the poor creature's worth.
A merman... An actual merman...
He had heard the legends, but never seen one. Fauns would never journey to the depths of the sea, after all... But here one was, and despite his current situation, Maxie couldn't help but be filled with wonderment.
Soon, they had a large tank fill with water, and placed the newly-captured creature inside of it. Luckily, it was right next to the faun, where he would be able to observe the creature at will.
The first fact was obvious: he was unconscious. But past that fact, it was clear on just what he looked like. His tail was half-White, while the other side was navy, streaked with broken cerulean and yellow lines. It was obvious he got into trouble often, for his dorsal and tail fins were chewed up considerably.
As for his human features, the creature was quite muscular, dark arm and chest hair growing along his torso and his head: which was almost covered in it. Despite this fact, he looked well-groomed at least. His beard was trimmed and hair wasn't too long. But what intrigued him most was that dark X on his face... That scar.... He just had to touch it...