Chapter Text
Living in the mermaid colonies wasn't bad, per se. Sieun just didn't see a point in being there. His parents, very proud members of their respective positions of power in the mermaid colony, were separated but still bonded to keep up appearances and such. Which meant that they were barely home in order to avoid being in the same space together for longer than a couple minutes. But it didn't matter because they loved their son who was so very smart and had so much potential and he was so good (they turned a blind eye to the fact that he wasn't very social but that's also because he wasn't very liked with his dark big eyes and tail that shimmered like an oil spill).
So.
He did his due diligence and learned what he was supposed to in order to get an important job in the colony one day. But for now, still on the cusp of being an adult, he'll hunt for food with the rest of his class.
Sieun's webbed fingers collected another clam as he combed them through the seaweed. His ears twitched as he heard giggling nearby. He glanced over to see the two heads of girls peering over a nearby rock, hair billowing gently in the waves, as they looked into the seaweed below. Sieun curiously maneuvered closer to see what they were looking at. As he got closer, he began to see something shimmer like red jewels. The girls noticed Sieun's approach and flashed their teeth before they disappeared with a flick of their tails. Sieun ignored them and swam a bit upwards to get a better view. Then he saw him--another mermaid sleeping without a care in the world in the flora. He was broader than most mermaids and his vibrant fiery tail was thick and strong. He was most likely a powerful swimmer. His face was sharp and hair dark. Handsome, he supposed. He hasn't noticed the other mer before.
How lazy, he thought, eyes drifting back to the vibrant tail, shifting a bit closer to get a better look. The red and orange scales had a hint of iridescent blue if it caught the light right.
"Yah," a voice rasped. "Who are you?"
Sieun startled, instinctively baring his teeth and backing away as he met the lazy brown eyes of the mysterious mermaid. Sieun's dark eyes narrowed as the mermaid yawned and lazily rolled onto his belly, tail fanning idly. "Well?"
"Sieun." Came the blunt answer.
"I'm Suho." The mermaid--Suho--squinted around. "Is class over yet?"
"No." Sieun swam back to his basket of clams, intending to go back to his business.
Suho groaned in the seaweed, stretching before rolling over again. "Damn."
Quiet fell again as Sieun continued to fill up his basket. Just as he placed the last clam on top, a horn blew in the distance. Sieun gathered his basket and looked over to where Suho still hadn't moved before deciding it was none of his business. He swam back to the common grounds, an wide open area of sea flora and coral, and approached his teacher, setting the basket down.
The teacher smiled, nodding in approval. "Prompt as always."
Sieun swam a bit away and settled down, watching as his classmates slowly returned. One particular rowdy group of boys spotted Sieun there already and sneered, talking amongst themselves. They looked at him and he stared at them until they looked away.
The rest of the class came and the teacher sighed after looking around. "Has anyone seen Suho? That troublesome boy..."
After a beat of silence, Sieun raised his hand. "He was sleeping in the seaweed."
The teacher let out a sigh. "Whatever. I'll deal with him later." They hummed in approval at the amount of food gathered. "Congratulations to Sieun and Young-bin for having the most bountiful harvest."
The class clapped politely and Sieun ignored Young-bin's eyes boring into the side of his head.
As soon as the teacher dismissed them, Sieun swam away, dipping through craggy rocks and scaring a school of fish. He felt the water move oddly against his tail and before he could fully tense, he was tackled into the sediment, sending up a cloud of dust in the flurry.
There was a cacophony of hissing as Sieun lashed out at the attacker, managing to sink his teeth into their flesh. An arm, maybe. There was a curse. "You fucker!"
Webbed fingers clawed at his jaw, trying to get him to loosen his grip. The dust settled and Young-bin's snarling face appeared above him. "You think you're better than me?" Young-bin finally wedged his jaw open, claws digging into his cheeks. Sieun hissed out in pain, bucking beneath him and trying to get loose. "Stay out of my way and know your place, you disgusting--"
"Hey, what's going on here?!" An older mermaid yelled from a distance away.
Young-bin released him and smiled thinly at the interruption while Sieun caught his breath. "Just playing."
The older mermaid's eyes narrowed at the scene before jutting their chin. "...go home, you two."
Sieun wiped his face, distancing himself despite burning with rage. Young-bin's tail glinted emerald green as he laughed. "We're going!" He turned his disgusting gaze to Sieun. "I'll see you tomorrow, won't I?"
"I'm warning you. Leave me alone." Sieun could still taste Young-bin's blood on his tongue. He wished he took a piece of him between his teeth as a souvenir.
Young-bin bared his teeth meanly. "Later."
He'll take his throat next time.
"What is this?" Sieun pulled his face out of his father's hold as he examined him. His father frowned at the wounds on his cheeks and neck. "You aren't getting into trouble again, are you?"
"No, it's nothing."
Sieun's father wasn't an imposing man. His face was tired but kind. His tail was soothing blue-the color of shallow water near the shore. People trusted him and through that, they gave him respect. But, to Sieun, he was a father that forgot how to connect to his son through anything but success. He never groomed or nested with him anymore, just checking in periodically to make sure he was well. And his mother, well...he doesn't like talking about his mother.
"You've got scratches on your face and blood in your gums. Swimming around like some wild thing. What will people think?" His father scolded.
The rage from earlier nearly bubbled up Sieun's throat and he barely swallowed it back down in time. It was bitter. "Sorry."
His father sighed, tail twitching uncertainly. "It's alright. I was just heading out. I'll be staying in a nearby colony to deal with diplomatic--"
"Okay." Sieun said shortly.
The den grew quiet and his father swallowed, gesturing to Sieun's face. "Take care of that, yeah? Don't want it to scar. I'll see you soon."
Sieun nodded, swimming further down in the den and settling down into the nest, waiting for his father to leave. It didn't take long before the water in the den went still other than the natural rhythmic motions. He mindlessly shifted the sediment and seagrass in the nest, refreshing it from the stale scents long abandoned. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep. There was a whale call in the distance--long and whiny, lonely and yearning. Shortly after it ended, another answered.
His eyes opened slowly, resigned. Maybe he would go for a swim.
Sieun slowly swam out of his den and headed for the outskirts of the colony. Bioluminescent coral illuminated the way and he saw a crab skitter across the sea floor. On the edge of the colony, there was a gorge that spanned for as long as the eyes could see and was as wide as one of those sunken wooden ships that they found one time. Nobody knew how deep it went. It was too dark. On the other side of the gorge was another colony. Despite how close the two colonies were, they rarely saw much of each other unless it was for a special occasion. One day he was supposed to stand before all of the colonies and sit on a council, having them trust that he had their best interests at heart. How could he when they didn't know him?
"What are you doing out here?"
Sieun startled a bit, turning around and saw Suho approaching him curiously from the dark water behind him, barely seeing the glint of his tail. He had on the signature Boundary Patrol neck piece for juniors--woven sea grass covered the entirety of his neck and from it hung coral and bone. Sieun's ears twitched oddly. "Couldn't sleep."
"You should be careful this close to the gorge." Suho hummed, eyes trailing down to Sieun's black tail.
Sieun tensed a bit. "What?"
Suho's eyes met his, tutting at him. "You should take better care of your tail. Why are you neglecting something so pretty?" He came closer, intruding Sieun's space and making his tail flinch. Suho reached out for it and Sieun panicked. "I mean, look at this--" Sieun smacked him with his fin.
"Ow!" Suho said more out of shock than hurt and they both froze, staring at each other.
Sieun's face started to burn. "Don't...just touch the tail of mers you don't know."
"Ah..." Suho let out a dumb laugh. "Sorry, sorry. I got ahead of myself. Let me make it up to you. Want to see something cool? Follow me!" Sieun blinked, bewildered as Suho took off like a rocket towards the surface before doubling back and urging him again. "Come on!"
Sieun reluctantly followed, although much slower, not used to swimming as fast as Suho. Suho swam excitedly in circles around Sieun until they broke the surface. It was dark above the water except for the stars and moon in the sky above and for ship lights in the distance. "Look over there."
Sieun looked to where Suho was pointing with his webbed fingers and spotted large rectangular boxes bobbing in the water not far from them. "The humans dropped these boxes off of the ship. I bet it's filled with human food."
Sieun gave him an unimpressed look. "That's what you're excited about?"
"You're not interested?" Suho shot back with a grin.
Sieun didn't give him an answer but followed him over to the wooden crates anyway. Once they reached it, Suho felt along the crate, looking for a seam before digging his fingers into it and wrenching it open. They both peered into the crate to see what was hidden inside. "Oh, it's just--"
"Rocks." Suho said in dismay.
"Jewelry." Sieun corrected.
Suho clicked his tongue and shifted through the clearly priceless jewels and heirlooms that the humans deserted. He picked up a green jewel, testing it between his teeth before quickly spitting it out. He huffed before moving to the next crate.
"You can't be that hungry..." Sieun commented absentmindedly as he looked through the jewels himself. He found a glass with a silhouetted shape that shifted sand from one side to the other. "Pretty..."
"I'm a big boy, obviously. And that means..." Suho grunted as he cracked open another crate. "I have a big appetite."
"Obviously." Sieun commented lightly as he turned to see Suho's back flex underneath bone fragments and coral.
"Ah-ha!" Suho cheered and Sieun swam over to see him pluck out an orange fruit, peeling it with his claws. "These are good." He peeled a slice and held it close to Sieun's mouth. "Open." Sieun resisted for a moment and Suho's lips pouted a bit. "Just try it."
Sieun slowly parted his lips and Suho placed the fruit on his tongue. Sieun bit down on it and the juicy flavor exploded in his mouth. Suho ate some himself, smiling as Sieun swallowed. "Good, right?"
"What is that?" Sieun asked as readily opened his mouth for more as Suho offered again.
"I dunno." Suho shrugged and Sieun wrinkled his nose. "It's good, though."
Suho found some dried meats and tore him some pieces. They stayed up there for awhile and Sieun grew full and lazy before Suho became even close to being it. Sieun's eyes were half lidded as he leaned against the floating crate and played with the glass filled with sand, watching Suho nearly finish off the crate by himself.
When Suho finished, he groaned and patted his belly. "That was good." He looked over to Sieun and chuckled, swimming closer and poking him in his forehead. "I should get you home, huh?"
Sieun groggily lifted his head and Suho's brows furrowed, hand hovering before his face. "Hey...you didn't have those during class, did you? Did you get hurt...?"
Confusion settled briefly in Sieun's mind before he frowned slightly, remembering the injuries Young-bin gave him. "It's nothing."
Suho stared for a moment before letting out a little breath out of his nose. "C'mon, you're tired."
They dipped back underneath the water as Suho escorted Sieun home. Sieun blinked slowly as they got closer to his family's den. "Suho...you're in the patrol, right? You won't get in trouble for abandoning your job?"
Suho shrugged, playfully bumping him with his tail. "They won't notice a thing and I won't tell if you don't."
Sieun nodded, a little relieved. Home was in sight and they both slowed to a stop, looking to each other. Suho bashfully scratched the back of his neck. "Thanks for hanging out with me. I enjoyed it a lot."
Sieun felt warm and tingly. "...me too."
"Ah..." Suho's eyes dropped to his jaw again briefly before nodding, eyes rising to his eyes. "Good night, Sieun."
"Night." Sieun returned softly, swimming into his den with his new tricket.
He slept deeply and soundly for the first time in a long time and when he woke up in the morning to leave for class, he spotted two clamshells full of ointment. He cracked them open to find that one was for healing wounds and the other was for tail care. If Sieun's ears fluttered slightly in pleasant surprise, no one was there to see.