The Mermaid And His Love

Part One: An Unfortunate Meeting

Author's Note: There is a lot of talk of drowning, so be advised if you're sensitive to that. And as said in the summary, Ivan does hunt humans. A dead body will briefly make an appearance, but it's not focused on in too much detail. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

The draw of the ocean had always pulled at Alfred's heart.

When he was little, it had been because he had stood there, waiting for Arthur to return.

As he grew older, it was to pretend he was harvesting the abundance of fish, as Arthur had once done.

Now, he supposed it was nostalgia that made him want to take a swim.

It was the middle of fall. The waters were warm, and the currents weren't that strong. What did he have to fear?

He swam back and forth between the shore and a few outlying rocks for a few hours, until he was exhausted.

He left for his hotel room, dry and warm.

He'd be back again tomorrow.

* * *

Ivan watched his sisters swim, and from the flicks of their tails, he could tell they were worried.

They were a small group. Normally their kind would travel in large pods. Better success hunting then, for many things.

Finally they heard a familiar call cutting through the water.

Toris' hands held a decent sized fish. He approached Ivan, and the two exchanged a nod.

He divided it into three. Sofia and Natalia were each given a piece. Ivan and Toris split the remaining one.

Natalia frowned at the sight of the two splitting the small piece. She tried to make Toris eat some of hers, but he shook his head, refusing.

Ivan scouted the area. Earlier a human had been swimming about, making hunting difficult.

Finally, he decided it was clear. The four settled down. Toris held Natalia in his arms, and Sofia was near to them, sleeping calmly.

Ivan swam to the surface. They had experienced a hard year, and had had to return to the tropical waters early. Now, winter was about to roll in, and their reserves were nearly gone.

Usually the pods were matriarchal, but Ivan was the leader of this pod. He had kept his sisters alive. When Toris had tried to join, Ivan had been the one to test him, and he had passed.

Ivan looked up at the moon, feeling the air on his face. His gills, still submerged, continued to extract oxygen from the water.

Finally, he pulled himself onto the rocks, and felt them seal. His lungs, which he had not used in a while, opened, allowing him to breath the way the humans did.

He re-familiarized himself with the smells of the air world, for they would be important tomorrow.

His pod was desperate to survive.

Tomorrow, as the strongest, he needed to hunt the most dangerous prey.

Humans.

* * *

Alfred had borrowed his brother's kayak, and enjoyed the feeling of the paddle cutting through the water.

In this kayak, he could go out further than he could while swimming, and experience more of the wonders of the ocean.

Finally, he turned and realized that he couldn't see the shore. He shrugged, continuing on his way. He'd turn around in another half hour or so.

He was thinking about stopping at his favorite restaurant for some fish and chips when he got back when suddenly the kayak stopped.