The sea was calm; a soft current flowed over everything. Seaweed moved in a hypnotizing dance below, a vast abyss of blue around it.

A gray glint rushed between it all, dashing across the small sun rays that pierced into the water. Any human diving would have thought that the figure had been a dolphin, for it moved fast.

On closer range, however, they would have seen the outlines of a human’s body.

The mermaid smiled, letting her long gray tail flow behind her. Her fast moves slowed slightly. She chuckled, letting her arms lay behind her head as she floated, her azure eyes filling with content when her bright skin shined with the light.

Iara rested there for some minutes, basking in the fresh currents.

Cool enough for me.

She was trying to avoid warm waters after all.

Here… Maybe it’s far enough.

She did not want to be with all the others, not now. She had no interest in their doings. All her kind was travelling to warm seas and coasts. This season was one of love for merfolk. All headed to tropical waters to find a mate, or to arrange reunions between families.

As if I would.

Iara huffed, grinning as she looked at the sun above, looming over the calm surface.

She did not want that. Not yet at least. She could stay a whole year in those shores; but with all the things she could do instead, how much she could see if she travelled…

No thanks.

Her dolphin tail finally moved again, her body leaning downwards once more, more stable. The waters caressed her short bristly gray hair as she fixed her eyes above.

A deep joyful breath escaped her when she broke the surface, her strong fins and tail pushing her upwards. She beamed, holding a hand over her eyes. She could already see the coast. There was a cay ahead: a better place to wait for the chaos of the season to pass.

She floated there, not wanting to approach the beach in plain daylight, because there was a village in the depths of the cay. There were humans.

While she pondered if she could maybe nest near some coral… something moved near her.

She was unaware of two red eyes watching her insistently in the shadows. They had spotted her in deeper waters, while she headed here. The red-eyed merman smiled. His sharp shark-like teeth showed as his fin broke the surface, circling her from behind.

Merfolk… An ancient kind of life. They had lived in the depths long before humans were even born. So many races between them all, so many bloodlines.

The shark laughed, loving the sight of a mermaid with a dolphin’s tail. Her kind was his favourite prey. After humans, of course.

He gave the animals they resembled a horrible reputation. But he could not care less. It was better to let sharks pay for his people’s doing. Humans loved to hate them anyway. There would be more flesh for them if those fish disappeared one day.

Iara frowned. She felt a sudden current, one that should have not been there. Her azure eyes widened when she saw the big shadow heading straight for her neck from below. Fast.

She gasped, moving sideways just in time to dodge the merman jumping out of water. His jaws slammed shut where her throat would have been, had she not seen.

They both sunk down deeper, her tail swaying fast to take distance. Their eyes met: his were gleeful and sickening; hers full of anger.

He was surprised to find out she was a fighter. It was clear, because her fins waved, taunting him to dare get closer, her fists up. Her figure was leaning as menacingly as his.

Some ran. Some fought. She would not flee… he could see it. And so, he would have fun.

Iara expected him to move and attack. And he did. His spiked fins twitched, his dark tail glinting in the dark, whipping sideways as a shark would, moving fast. Forward. For her neck.

His hands tried to get a hold of her arms, his nails as sharp as his teeth. But he only snarled in exasperation, because her tail moved out the way, and then slammed onto his torso.

She snorted while the shark cursed, losing his smug smile and holding his chest with a hand. Still, he was able to growl.

“Aren’t you a tough one…”

She mocked him, head leaning to taunt him again.

“Oh, don’t think you’ll be able to bite these strong fins. I’ll break yours first.”

Their races were equal in strength. But sharks were more feral. Their actions were always wild. And so, he grinned again, an idea crossing his mind.

Iara blinked when he took height over her, to then dash down. She dodged every time he lunged, both sinking deeper, nearing the ocean floor with every dash he made. He kept repeating his moves, over and over again.

She grew tired of it when she floated too close to the sand below them.

“Can’t you see it won’t work?! I even hit you twice! Drop it already, you idiot!”

She blinked when he laughed. His tail brushed the bottom…

“Very well.”

His fins pushed. Iara yelped, sand shooting up to her eyes, blinding her painfully.

They were equal in strength, but they were still different. He did not play fairly, he never did. He was a backstabbing bastard.

She cowered slightly while she tried to clear her now pained eyes, unable to see. Her hands brushed quickly; there was no time to spare. Meanwhile, her tail moved in fast sways, trying to sense the currents around her, because they could tell her where he was swimming.

She could not see him. And she knew he was nearing. A startled scream escaped her when she felt claws slam around her wrists.

Iara trembled when she was pushed and slammed against a rock nearby. Her azure eyes widened, her arms and torso pinned against it. His hands were strong, keeping her there even if she struggled. He leaned his head to a side, laughing mockingly.

“And humans think you are the smartest of creatures…”

She growled, seeing him take his time to mock her. He would have kept on laughing, to bite her in a minute… if not for the huge shadow that suddenly loomed over them.

Iara shivered, because the lack of light came from behind her. She could only see those red eyes widening in fear, her figure still restrained. But she felt his hands tremble, realization slowly sinking into his surprised expression. It only lasted for a second.

She gasped when a flash of black dashed at light speed. Her flinch only allowed her to catch a glimpse of a huge figure going over her and onto the bastard. A pained huff and a big flow of water were all she heard and felt.

Iara let herself regain her stability, her fins moving to help her float. Her eyes glinted with shock when she saw another merman.

Bulkier than any she had seen… He was pushing and exchanging swipes of tail with the now angry shark. His huge long tail was stronger; it was causing the other to wince with every hit, not helping any that he was sending fierce punches as well.

The shark’s clawing did not seem to bother the tall young merman much. His silver eyes were narrowed with determination.

Iara could only stare as the big killer whale grew tired of the shark’s attacks and bolted to grab him. The smaller male yelped and thrashed when his neck and lower tail were grasped strongly. After a bit of resistance, he was kept still. His arms swung and moved wildly while he was forced to float face up. The silver eyed merman glared, huffing as he kept him down in his hold.

Iara was surprised to see those red eyes cloud slowly, his wild thrashing slowed.

The killer whale sighed, keeping his hold for one more minute. Then, he slowly let go. He smiled, because the shark floated dumb faced, not moving an inch. There were only small twitches.

Paralyzed.

Iara knew that sharks could not handle being turned around, but she never guessed or thought it would affect those merfolk.

Her thoughts were cut off, because the big merman spoke up, turning to face her with a shy call.

“Are you alright?”

He began to fumble with his hands, because she was just giving him a stare. It made him nervous; everyone was always wary of him, and he did not expect hert o be any different..

Surprisingly, she seemed to push away all apprehension. It was strange to him, because his kind was feared for being a little brutal. What he just did was something real orcas did often. Sometimes they did worse stuff for fun, and not only against sharks.

He had expected her to flee. He would have not blamed her. But he was the one that cowered instead, because her tail suddenly moved. Forward, to him, closer.

Iara rose an eyebrow when he averted his gaze again, trembling while she looked him over.

She had never seen one like him, for they lived in icy waters far from others. He was as big as she was told they were, maybe even more. His tail was big and long, black. There were two white stripes on its sides.

A blush grew on his face when he noticed she was staring at his upper half.

He could look intimidating, having muscles well defined on his pale skin. Honestly, he was fierce-looking. But his face… it looked gentle, even shy; a nervous expression hid under his long black hair while he tried to avert his eyes nervously.

His silver eyes were bright. There was only care in them. For that, Iara finally smiled, warmly.

“I’m fine.” He blinked when she laughed, like if nothing had happened. “Thanks to you, that is!”

There was an awkward silence. He was slowly swaying away, obviously not used to being approached so directly.

Not that he wanted to stay away. He just had no clue what to say. She knew it seemed, because she suddenly outstretched a hand, giving him a kind smile.

“Iara.”

He had flinched at first, but now he could only stare down at her hand, perplexed.

“Huh?”

Oh gosh, he’s cute.

She rolled her eyes, chuckling.

“My name, silly! Yours?”

He looked down at her hand. His voice came out quietly after a minute.

“Alon…”

His heartbeat fastened, because her head leaned while her eyes closed with a laugh. Before he knew it, her hand had grabbed his. He could only blush more, her voice echoing through the water sweetly.

“Well, thanks Alon! I owe you one!”

He shook his head, frowning, retorting worriedly.

“No. I saw him attacking you, and I couldn’t just… swim away.”

Fish were easy to hunt, food was not scarce. If this shark was hunting her, it was for sport.

While he scowled in nervous thought, Iara just nodded, giving him a thankful look.

Alon relaxed slightly, both deeming each other trustworthy. He listened while she asked calmly, her voice full of curiosity.

“Though I wonder…” He met her eyes, both contemplating. “What are you doing here? These waters are cool, but warm in comparison to the ones you are said to roam.”

She began to swim around him playfully, and a small smile finally grew on his lips. Her playful nature showed once more, and he could not help but feel serenity near it. A sigh escaped him as he admitted.

“Well… In the first place, I could say I don’t live where I should.”

She raised an eyebrow, halting behind him with a sway of fins. Confusion was clear in her eyes.

“Should? Hey, I’m not judging if you prefer warmer seas.”

“No. I mean-” He shrugged timidly. “I live with some of your people. N-not my own kind.”

She blinked, slowly understanding what he meant. He remembered very little of his young days. But he knew he got lost. And then… some other merfolk found him after he roamed. Rather far, hungry and clueless.

Alon rubbed his arm, laughing slightly as he tried to find words.

“Right now, I’m wandering. They are going to warmer seas, even warmer than these. You know, it’s the season. And I… well, they are the only ones to near me, and I did not want to scare anyone there, so I just… came here to stay for a while? I told them it would be too warm for me there.”

He would see them soon enough. They could use some time together in those waters without him, seeing friends and distant relatives. They of course tried to convince him to go with them. But he preferred not to this time, because other years had been unpleasant. Other merfolk scorned him.

Iara was the one to blush this time, for Alon was wondering something as well.

“Why are you here, Iara? Not that I… mind. It’s just that I would expect you all to head there, you know?”

She laughed nervously, waving a hand up and down to dismiss it.

“Ahhh, just thought that all that is not made for me. Crowded beaches, nosy people all around, noise! All the same all the time. Too boring for me.” Alon was puzzled by her demeanour; her tail was waving jokingly, and her laugh echoed loud. “I’m taking a different kind of vacation!”

Her tentative chuckle ended, leaving them to float silently, neither knowing what to say. So he spoke up first, thinking he should just take his leave. That bastard had drifted away while they spoke, now out of sight. And he was sure he would not dare anything again. Not in a while at least; it would take him a long time to wake.

Iara’s smile dropped slightly when he sighed, his voice dragging.

“I’m glad you are ok, Iara. I… hope you have fun. I won’t steal more of your time.”

His tail moved to allow him to take speed and leave, even if he loved the sight of her playful azure eyes. He blinked and halted after he turned away, feeling fingers brush his arm.

He slowly turned around again, his eyes meeting hers. She was right there, holding him with a firm expression. Her voice echoed again, daring.

“You are not stealing my time.” Iara knew that Alon did not mind her presence, but he dreaded his own around hers. He seemed to doubt while she voiced what he felt deep inside. “Maybe… we could hang out?”

She motioned around the clear beautiful waters, the coast a good place to swim in.

“This place is pretty. There is a lot of fish. And I think it would be more fun to have someone to talk to! After all, we both are looking for a place to stay in for a while, don’t we?”

“I-”

“What do you say, Al?”

He was glad the water hid the red on his face. She had given him a nickname.

She feared he would swim away, too shy to answer. So she just hoped internally, without pressuring him.

Say yes. Don’t say no.

Little did they know that both were saying the same words mentally.

Alon met her eyes once more. And he could only see care; there was true trust, no judgment.

I maybe…

She beamed when he revealed a little shy smile and nodded, chuckling.

“I’m sure it will be fun.”

“Yes!” He yelped when she pulled suddenly, forcing him to swim forward as she did. Her voice echoed loud, her tail moving fast. “Come on! We must find the best place to make our nests! And then find where the tastiest fish hide! And then, grab some coral and shells and make some necklaces! Maybe some earrings! What do you think, Alon?!”

He was sure that this would be exhausting for him. He could barely keep on with her pace and speed of thought.

She continued to drag him along. Her smile only grew, seeing him nod back with one as well. Both headed towards the coast, floating near the seaweed and colourful rocks.

He could only wonder. Maybe he felt nervous. But… he wouldn’t complain.