Yuri is a natare. A mermaid. He knows how to follow the rules that keep his kind safe. So why does a human dancer named Victor makes him feel like breaking all of them?
There was a medium sized cave not too far from the arch. It opened to the ocean so Yuri was able to swim inside with ease while Victor hopped on the rocks and started walking on a ledge towards the back. The falling sun flooded the cave with light, Yuri estimated the space was about four and a half fins deep.
The water of the cave lacked the life of the open sea, but at least it wasn't impure water. Yuri swam carefully in the small space. This type of caves varied from fairly open to extremely constricted. This one appeared to be a bit of an in between. It was big enough for him to swim with ease, but tight enough that his body could easily touch the edges if he wasn't careful.
Victor rushed to the back after hopping over some rocks, then crouched on the cave floor and started rummaging for something. Yuri tried to see what he was doing but it was too far away and he had reached a barricade. Halfway in, there was a small rock barrier that blocked his path. The barrier had small gaps that allowed water to pass to the other side of the cave, but they were too small for the natare to fit. If he wanted to reach Victor he'd have to jump over.
No problem. Yuri was about to push himself out when Victor's feet caught his line of sight and before he knew it the human had grabbed him and pulled him out of the water in one swift motion.
"Victor!" Yuri's surprise was evident, not only by Victor being able to hoist him up, but by suddenly being pulled completely from the water. Victor's arms went around his back and fin, holding him high up. Yuri wrapped his arms around Victor's neck in case the human dropped him.
For a second, neither moved, as if trying to find a balance. Yuri's heart fluttered with a tinge of fear. He'd never been held out of the water. To be completely at the mercy of another creature. In the ocean he was the predator. He didn't fear others, the others feared him. Even the big ones that could easily swallow him whole kept their distance. Yet in the human's arms, he couldn't help but think of the fishes he hunted and held lifelessly on his palm with ease.
Yuri thought to struggle, to be dropped back in the water even if he would fall on the hard rocks and it was going to hurt like hell. He needed to go back in the water. He needed to be safe.
Victor took a soft breath and the dark thoughts inside the natare's head fluttered away. They were quickly replaced by the reassuring warmth of Victor's fingers against his back and fin. With the memory of their kisses just before. Yuri leaned closer to nuzzle against the crook of Victor's neck, allowing the warmth to spread. This was his human after all. How silly he'd been to think his human would hurt him.
Victor stood frozen. He was looking at Yuri, yet his eyes were unfocused. He was staring at the natare's fin like it wasn't real. Even as his fingers touched it.
"Victor?" Yuri asked cautiously.
The human shook his head and gave Yuri a rueful smile, then stepped forward carefully. It was only a three step walk, but it felt endless as Yuri feared Victor would run out of strength. The human stopped by the other ledge of the barrier, unsure what to do. "How deep is the water on this side?" Yuri asked. The filtering light wasn't enough to tell. "You can't just drop me."
Victor bit his lip. "I clearly didn't think this through."
Yuri sighed, but secretly smiled. "Put me down slowly." Victor nodded and carefully lowered the natare until Yuri's fin hit the water and he was able to sit down on the ledge. Yuri hopped into the makeshift cave pool, it was deep enough for him to swim, but still made him feel slightly claustrophobic. Victor walked around with Yuri following until they reached the back of the cave. There wasn't much space back here, perhaps a fin or less. Yuri spotted a handful of leaves on the floor and a pile of burned twigs.
"Are you sleeping here?" The natare asked as he leaned half his body on the ledge.
Victor was putting the twigs together in a pile. "I'm going to need more..." he mumbled to himself.
"You're going to make more fire?" Yuri asked.
Victor glanced at him briefly. "Yes. It gets cold here at night."
Yuri tilted his head, his fin making small sloshing noises in the water. He wanted to reach out to Victor, touch him again, but the human was...
"Is this what you were going to show me?"
Victor knelt by the twigs. Stared at them hard, like he was trying to figure out how he could make the fire again. His eyes glanced at the natare briefly before returning to the little pieces of wood. "Yes. I'm spending the night here. It's better than in the open."
Yuri pushed himself out of the water with ease and sat on the ledge. Victor was a little over an arm's length away, but he felt further away, distant.
Victor is acting strange, Yuri thought. Things were nice when we were kissing... Ah! He's acting strange because we're no longer kissing!
Yuri crawled across the small space between them. Victor didn't even notice until Yuri touched his arm and pressed his lips against the human's cheek.
Victor jumped back. Hard hand on the natare's shoulder and shoved him with enough force that Yuri fell back in the water.
There was a loud splash and the crunch of twigs.
Yuri's fin hit the bottom of the pool, it scrape along the rough rocks.
At first Yuri wasn't sure what to think. Then the sinking feeling crept up his entire body like the human poison that afflicted his nest.
How many times had he been pushed aside like he wasn't worth anything? How many times his fingerling class went off without him and claimed they didn't notice him? How many times he heard the words "I forgot" when he asked for something he wanted? Even his family had left him behind. He hadn't even been worth enough to stay alive for.
The natare was all too familiar with the ache of rejection.
Yet somehow this hurt worse.
The pool suddenly felt like ice and Yuri swam up until his mouth was barely out of the water. He didn't look at Victor. "I'm going to get some fish," his voice was barely a whisper as he turned around and easily hopped the barrier. He was almost outside in the open ocean when he heard his name.
"Yuri wait! Wait!"
Yuri hesitated for only a moment, before going under and swimming away as fast as he could.
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