The Voice I Was Given.

A New Family

        River swam to the bottom of the bay, hissing in pain from the bullet wound. He didn't know what kind of bullet it was, but it had made a huge exit hole on the other side of his tail. Honestly, River hadn't expected Grace to shoot him, but he guessed that it was well-deserved. Of course, River was happy to see Hypatia, but he needed to forget that part of him, and he had nearly succeeded. Until she showed up out of the blue. But what else was he supposed to do when he saw that other siren about to eat her? Just stand by? His conscious wouldn't have been able to leave him alone.

At least he knew that he didn't have a bullet inside of him. But the pain was still nearly unbearable all the same. He had nearly passed out when he had been shot. It had hurt so bad, and he had dove into the water in order to not show just how much it had hurt. River looked around him and saw the seaweed around him. He grabbed a few strands and wrapped them around his tail, trying to stop the bleeding. It worked, at least for now. When River turned around, he saw the little pod of sirens behind him. Of course, he didn't put the two and two together that if he attacked the alpha, then he would then become the new alpha. River actually didn't know why this pod had an alpha, especially an adult male. Sirens were usually too competitive to have a solid leadership. Once he took a closer look, River understood.

A majority of this pod were children sirens. Not a majority of juveniles, like how a pod should be built. They needed an adult to keep them safe and to provide food for them. This pod was still keeping their distance from him, as if they were deciding if he was there to fight them too or to help them. The first thing that River knew was that he had to get them away from the coast. Humans were too unpredictable, and would probably end up killing them.

He made some chirping sounds to tell them that he was not going to hurt them and began to swim away. Hesitantly, one by one, the tiny pod followed behind him. He was trying to find them a better place to stay with more food than just scraps thrown into the water. Little did River know that the BBC boat was following behind them, though at a distance.

After River had left Florida, he had come up here to New York. It wasn't a decision; he let the current carry him there. Once he got there, he actually liked it better than Florida. It was colder, yes, but it was a better environment for him. It was safer, and it had plenty of prey there. After leaving Hypatia, River had gotten choosier on what or who he ate, which would've been a problem in Florida. There was also plenty of rocky shores for him to hide in, and, now, the pod that he had accidentally adopted.

He climbed onto the rocks, and the pod followed him. After River got them all hidden, River signaled for them to stay there and went back into the water. Swimming around for a bit, he found what he was looking for: abandoned fishing net. He grabbed it and started on his hunt. It didn't take too long. In a few minutes, he found a school of silvery fish. He knew for a fact these were the best fish to eat, even though they were smaller. The pod seemed surprised when he threw a bag full of flopping fish up at them, but relieved at the same time that they had something to eat. In the rocks, they were also protected from the full blunt of the storm. As they all ate, River kept on looking around and listening. He was suddenly much more alert, much more protective, much more on edge than he had been before. The sirens in that pod were so young...He felt the need to protect them so strongly.

After he was sure that all of them had gotten enough to eat, River led his pod to a hole that he had found in the rocks. It was almost completely hidden from the outside and kept most of the rain out. He curled up in his usual far corner, closing his eyes. After that, he felt assured that they were safe, and so it was easy for him to fall asleep. River suddenly bolted awake to find himself in a pile of young sirens. They had all gravitated over to him, but River didn't mind. He had missed feeling the closeness of another for the long months. Already, he was seeing a difference between this pod now and with their old leader. He had been watching them from a distance for some time, and they had seemed terrified of him. And, with him, they had already felt safe enough with him to gather around him.

Maybe having humanity is a good thing, ​​​​​​​he thought before dozing off again.