Sunken Love (LiLo) (merman!Louis)

Chapter 4: No One Quite Like You

Chapter 4: No One Quite Like You

..::*Louis' POV*::..

"Fuck!" I mutter to myself once I've slipped back into the safety the ocean provides me. The warm salt water bathes over my skin and rehydrates me and I can feel my tail beginning to reform in the sea. I can't believe I just lost my prey like that!

It sounds morbid, calling humans "prey," but really, that's what they are. Like a lion needs a weak gazelle to provide him sustenance, so do mer-people need humans. Not that I'm particularly affected by how macabre my phrasing may sound anymore.

I'm a killer.

I know that; I've pretty much always known it.

When I was young, my parents depicted our feeding rituals as beautiful, nature's way of providing for all her creatures. And in some ways, I suppose it is quite breathtaking. The sight of a mermaid or merman slicing gracefully through the waves is a sight unlike any other. Perhaps the long, flowing hair and sparkling adornments are beautiful. Maybe the rippling muscles and the sun-darkened skin are beautiful. The song of the mer-people is no doubt mesmerising, but what we do afterwords is anything but.

As I've grown, the beauty of it has dwindled in my mind. There's far too much blood and gore involved for it to be considered enchanting in any form. It's murder, simple as that. Our ancestors lived--thrived-- off nothing other than the fish and squid overpopulating the fruitful sea. Somewhere in more recent history, however, one of our own decided the ocean's gifts weren't satisfying enough. Ever since, our kind has taken to feasting primarily on the sweet taste of human flesh. As much as I resent it, it's something I have to do in order to survive.

Dejectedly, I swim the few hundred metres out to sea and dive deeper and deeper until I can hardly see the bright moonlight filtering through the waves.

The stories humans tell about Atlantis, the mysterious underwater kingdom, well they're actually partially true. We're still not entirely sure how word of our not-so-humble abode reached human ears, but they're too stupid to prove that any such thing exists, to be completely honest. Most of them think it's just another myth, much like the stories of the Greek heroes.

The place I've always called home is just off the coast of Portsmouth and is known as Marabella. The location is perfect; the humans are close, but not so close that they'll be able to find the tell-tale stone ruins that characterise our kingdom. We mer-people are smart, and that's what makes us so dangerous.

*+*+*+*+*+*

Hopeful that my good night of rest will help me get my game back, I swim back to a tiny strip of shoreline hidden from wandering eyes by a sand dune. My normal landing for the 'changing' process. I emerge from the ocean and drag myself, heavy tail and all, onto the cool sand. It's early morning, so the sun's first rays haven't yet begun to heat the sand. Perfect conditions for mer-people to come out; this way our tails don't dry out too badly in the sun and changing is easier.

I watch as the scaly flesh of my tail slowly changes from an aquamarine colour to a colour that matches the skin of my human upper body. The next part of the process involves the scales separating and sinking into the skin normally hidden below the thick fish-like flesh. It sounds painful, but it actually tickles more than anything. Soon enough, my human legs appear and I'm left sitting naked on the beach, my man bits on full display. What, you thought I'd magically have clothes on?

In a flash, I've unburied the chest hiding my clothes and have myself covered. It takes a bit of rummaging around, but finally my hands fumble over the smooth, cool metal object I'm looking for. A mirror. The sun is barely peeking over the tree-dotted horizon, but my eyes are much better suited to dim lighting than humans'. After a quick tousling of my still-damp locks, I'm satisfied. I shoot myself a quick, charming smile and shove the shard of reflective sea-glass safely back amongst the clothes before shutting the chest tightly.