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Merfolks are social creatures by nature — it’s unavoidable when they’re the only species in the ocean with the capacity to think, reason, and understand concepts. Some creatures come close like dolphins, orcas, and octopi, but one could argue that these creatures are only driven by their instincts. This is why seeing a lone mer in a secluded part of the ocean is an odd sight, even more so near the abyssal zone.
Mers take pride in their colorful scales, preferring to settle in parts of the ocean where the sunlight can still reach, but not high enough to be exposed to creatures of land and air that tend to travel the surfaces of the sea. The creatures above are far too curious, and some have tried to explore the ocean, going as deep as they can — which is why merfolks never stay long in one part of the waters, traveling in groups when the situation calls for it. Even then, they love to flaunt their shiny scales against the sunlight.
It’s something Nathan has never understood, even being a mer himself. His tail is something that can be considered average, a dull slate blue that pales in comparison to the more vibrant-tailed mers of their pod, but he’s always believed that some fishes have colors even flashier than a mer’s, but that doesn’t matter if they get eaten in the end. What is the use of having an attractive tail when it only attracts predators?
Some have told him his tail turns into an alluring celestial hue when bathed in sunlight, but blue is a way too common color in the sea, which is why it’s almost a relief to be away from company that only seeks to criticize others based on their appearances. He’s not bothered, but it’s also tiring to watch the same species boldly flashing their scales, nearly blinding everyone around — the preening and the condescending sneer, it’s all too much.
Mating seasons are the busiest and simultaneously the most tiresome time of all cycles. All the mers gather in one place to search for partners to either spend half a moon cycle or a lifetime together. During this time, Nathan tends to hide himself in places none would deign to visit. Broken vessels that sank in the ocean used by the creatures of land, for example, make a good place to hide, which is why there’s not an ounce of hesitation present in mind when a chance to leave the pod presented itself to him in the form of a good friend of his.
Here in his lonesome, he’s at peace, which is why it’s easy to detect another creature heading his way by the slightest disturbance in the waters, but Nathan doesn’t move, not at all worried without any predators around and simply stands still until his friend enthusiastically swims around him in all his golden-tailed glory.
‘Nathan! Nathan!’
Kishiar, a mer he’s known since they were only guppies, zealously clicks to call his attention, so Nathan waits until he settles down, giving a low chirp of his own in question.
His friend is an excitable one, although he acts cordial back in their pod. Without the company of others and only Nathan as a witness, he hasn’t restrained himself with his reactions, but the excited gleam in his eyes makes Nathan wonder what set him off in such a hurry to seek Nathan out. He gets his answer in the form of a proud thrill, and Nathan snaps to attention in intrigued curiosity.
Unlike Nathan, Kishiar is a mer that is quite sought after in their pod. While his tail is a simple dark yellow tone reminiscent of gold, glittering in the sun but not quite as vibrant as the emeralds in Gakane’s tail nor as graceful as Kanna’s pale coral-like scales, what sets him apart from the rest is the little white wisps decorating his fins, being thickest at his tailfins.
Not many mers exist with dual colors in their tails, and the light contrast between colors adds a more striking allure as the white accents the dull-toned tail elegantly. Mers flock around him during mating season, and when he tries to escape the attention, they all stubbornly choose to believe that the reason for his disappearance is because he’s chosen a partner for the season.
When one gets crowded by the same faces of the same pod, even someone with an endless amount of patience like Kishiar will get tired of the attention. Mating season loses its purpose when he’s seen the same mer and found none that he likes, so his solution is to leave in search of a mate elsewhere, dragging Nathan along with him on his journey.
There is no doubt in his mind that Kishiar will easily find a mate, but the problem lies with the method he chose to use in attracting one.
It’s an old practice, a courting ritual performed by their ancestors to attract mates, but a tradition lost in centuries. Nathan himself doesn’t know how it works, but Kishiar seems to know about it in detail, fascinated enough to use it for this season. As soon as they found this isolated area, his friend swam away in search of a cozy-looking cave, bubbling things about searching for a home worthy of housing his to-be life partner.
Without showing the appeal of his tail first, Nathan was skeptical and lost on how this would work to attract a mate, but the shrill sounds from Kishiar seem to say otherwise.
Stunned, he allows the other to take him someplace else, just a few distance away from the previous clearing they occupied, hidden between rocks and vegetation and into a more isolated part. There, Kishiar drags him behind a large boulder, peeking atop the bluntly spiked rocks. Curiously, Nathan raises himself to take a look.
The first thing he notices is the colorful corals decorating a sturdy-looking cave. The abundance of corals and shells littering it would no doubt make passing fishes mistake it for a giant coral, quite unsightly but Nathan will not tell Kishiar that, with the cave’s entrance strategically hidden and that’s when he notices another mer peeking from the mouth of the cave.
Seeing a glimpse of another mer startles a low shrill from Nathan, and Kishiar makes a proud noise from beside him. It’s a small little thing, quite lean from what he can see, although that may just be due to Nathan and Kishiar’s size being bigger than the average mer. He’s lying down on the sand, eyes closed and resting with his cheek smushed on his arms littered with scars. Dark hair flows gently against the ocean current, creating a beautiful contrast against alabaster skin. The creature looks too otherworldly to be inside a colorful cave like that one, carrying a mystifying gloom unbefitting of a flamboyant cave.
Dazed, Nathan doesn’t notice when his company hums and makes his way closer to the slumbering mer, only noticing his absence when the unknown visitor snaps his eyes open in alarm, revealing a pair of contracted pupils staring directly at Kishiar. He must’ve sensed the approach from the slightest disturbance in the waters, so Nathan stays still to keep his presence hidden, but the action proves to be unnecessary when the little mer stops bristling and floats up to greet Kishiar with curious croons, staying a respectable distance despite the recognition in his gaze.
The mer slowly exits the cave, and Nathan’s eyes widen in shocked awe at the slick black tail that follows his body.
It’s a deep sea mer, no doubt about it. The unnatural paleness can only mean that this creature lives in the depths of the ocean, in the abyssal zones where the sunlight can’t reach. Only a mer who lives and hunts in the dark is born with the perfect scales to camouflage their presence. Here in the borders between the deep sea, the little sunlight that shines upon him reveals an ombre hint of purple in his scales.
Nathan has never seen one in person, but he’s always thought they were no different from them until the mer lets out a low, rumbling sound, sending vibrations through the waters.
It doesn’t translate well to Nathan, who doesn’t understand what those sounds could mean, but to Kishiar’s credit, the conversation seems to flow smoothly in a canopy of mismatched sounds, composed of the low clicks from Kishiar and the low vibrations from the smaller mer, accompanied with gestures from the light-scaled mer as he tries to communicate with unfamiliar sounds. Kishiar must have already introduced himself, and no doubt wasted no time establishing a stable mode of communication despite the lack of fluency or recognition from both sides. Fortunately for the two, the dark-tailed mer seems quick to understand even as he makes fewer sounds than Kishiar. Unlike them, deep sea mers live in solitary, left to fend for themselves once their senses have sharpened enough for guaranteed survival, so their sounds are more limited in range compared to the clicks and squeaks that Kishiar and Nathan’s kind can make.
When Kishiar gestures in Nathan’s direction, he makes for an approach, cautiously making his way closer, but apart from the curious nosing from the other mer, Yuder as Kishiar tells him, the little one loses interest quickly and proceeds to purr along with Kishiar’s clicks. He still has no idea what’s being said, or if they are even speaking at all, but upon seeing that the two get along well, Nathan takes this as his cue to leave the to-be mates alone, content to let them bask in their own little world.
Despite Nathan’s initial concerns, Kishiar’s courting practices carry on without a hitch. Although the language barrier makes it hard to talk, the two have come to some sort of understanding, an impressive display of comprehension as they speak with gestures and looks alone. For the most part, Nathan keeps to himself, but as Kishiar flurries around in preparation for the next step of courting, he finds himself visiting the cave at different intervals until darkness sets in.
Yuder usually tenses, quick to notice his arrival by the small ripples in the waters, but aside from the brief wary glance he throws Nathan’s way, the mer seems content to rest inside the cave as his head pokes out in wait for Kishiar’s company.
Nathan’s not sure if the other mer even knows he’s being courted, and that he’s accepting the courting by choosing to stay in the cave that Kishiar decorated, but with how Yuder perks up upon seeing Kishiar, he decides not to question the authenticity of the process and leaves Kishiar to his own devices.
Now that he’s shown that he’s capable of building a safe home, Kishiar must now prove that he can protect his mate. It’s done every night throughout the courting period, where the suitor must stand guard outside the cave and protect their mate in slumber.
Although Yuder looks happy with his company, he purrs questioningly at Kishiar when the male starts clicking for him to lay low. He had been dozing off on the ocean floor with his head resting on his arms in boredom until the other mer came along — even Nathan’s presence behind the rocks wasn’t enough to trigger him into movement, but as soon as Kishiar nears his cave, he tries to get up from his perch only for the other to stop him with frantic thrills.
If Nathan didn’t know about Kishiar’s intentions, he’d be just as confused, but luckily Yuder seems to have taken to Kishiar enough to follow his whims, slumping back into his previous resting position at Kishiar’s insistence, eventually closing his eyes to feign sleep at the encouraging squeaks, though Nathan can still see the tense lines on his back. Kishiar, who seems satisfied with the reluctant compliance, swims in front of the cave and settles into a stance. Yuder peeks an eye open, curious at the other mer’s antics, and seeing him stand guard just a few ways off the entrance, finally relaxes in place while Nathan, knowing his presence will only undermine the purpose of the act, retreats to his own shelter for the night.
The next day, Kishiar comes to him creating whirlpools in his wake.
Not quite woken up and still sleepy, Nathan slurs a grumble as Kishiar tells him about the day’s agenda, doing his best to listen to his friend’s excited chirps, but before he can even process the abundance of new information, Kishiar is already gone, so Nathan lowly stretches with an eyeroll, all too used to his friend’s antics. He decides to honor the other’s request anyway, slowly getting up to hunt for some food for himself before he goes to check on the brighter mer’s future mate.
Today’s practice includes hunting and feeding. From what Nathan is able to gather, the second day of courting is to prove that the mer can provide for their mate and future guppies. While Nathan couldn’t quite catch where Kishiar went off to, he does know that the other has plans for an extravagant meal to impress his beau, displaying the same amount of enthusiasm as he did when he decorated the cave. His only request for Nathan is to keep Yuder company while he hunts, but to his horror, he finds the deep sea mer curled in a depressing coil right outside his cave.
Concerned, Nathan swims towards the other, letting a low chirp in question, leaning down to check on his vitals. To his relief, the other seems fine aside from the shallow breaths and paler complexion. But it’s not good to see him in this state, even more so outside the protection of his cave. Slowly, Nathan tries to make rumbling noises similar to the sounds he’s heard Yuder make, coaxing him to get up. Fortunately, Yuder seems lucid enough to recognize him, growling as he floats along with Nathan’s clicking. With the bigger mer supporting him, Nathan brings him inside the cave, letting Yuder lie down on his stomach with a tired look on his face. Unsure of what to do, Nathan takes his leave when the smaller shuts his eyes, believing that a small nap may just be what the other needs.
However, when Nathan returns with a handful of fish in his grasp, he finds Yuder in the same position he’s left him, expression scrunched up in something painful as Nathan swims closer to him. His head is poking out of the cave’s entrance, seemingly unable to move but still waiting for Kishiar’s arrival. It’s almost pitiful, really, watching him try to raise his head up with difficulty whenever a fish swims by. Sometimes he’ll look Nathan’s way, but make no move to approach or try and talk to him, only staring expectantly before he goes back to his miserable perch.
Eventually, Nathan has enough and leaves a freshly killed fish by the cave’s mouth, dropping it there quietly until Yuder looks up to acknowledge his presence before swimming away to give him space. He briefly wonders if giving the other food would mean compromising Kishiar’s efforts, but he figures his friend will hate it more if he leaves his to-be mate to starve because of his carelessness.
Nathan stops by the boulder to observe, watching as Yuder raises his upper body by pushing himself up using both of his arms. He makes for a crawl, dragging himself in the sand until he reaches the fish before he drops himself there, body too heavy to move so he settles on the ground, nibbling on the fish with a dulled look on his face. It makes him worry, how listless the other mer is acting, not knowing whatever ailment is plaguing him. If not hunger, then there should be no other reason for a healthy young mer to be acting so weak right now, not unless—!
Blinking, Nathan loudly thrills in realization, causing Yuder to flinch in surprise, although he quickly untenses upon recognizing the sound as Nathan’s, not even bothering to check it himself as he eats without energy, but Nathan is already whirling around in panic, inwardly cursing Kishiar in his mind.
‘Stupid, stupid Kishiar!’
For all his research about this unconventional way of courting, it seems his friend doesn’t know enough about deep sea mers to start courting one.
Deep sea mers live in the depths of the ocean, spending more time in the dark compared to surface water mers. They are solitary creatures because they are hunters by nature. Traveling in groups will make it hard to discern movements from companions and targets, and for areas shrouded in darkness, it’s necessary to be able to detect movements from both predators and preys alike. And for this exact reason, deep sea mers tend to live by their instincts.
With this in mind, Nathan suppresses the urge to throttle Kishiar when he sees him. Yuder really has no idea he’s being courted. He probably just found pleasant company and unknowingly entertained Kishiar’s advances. Actually, even deciding to stay in that atrocious cave is an accident. Since deep sea mers are color blind, a trait they’re born with so they can navigate easily in the dark without the distraction of colors, the mer probably saw a spiky cave and thought it looked threatening enough to keep predators away, making it a passable shelter for the small mer, not because of the colorful decorations that Kishiar put up for wooing.
And right now, it’s not that Yuder is waiting for Kishiar to complete this day’s task of courting, but his instincts have already recognized the other as his mate so his body has started preparing itself to complete that bond. Although he doesn’t understand Kishiar’s courting practices, he’s able to answer nature’s call for mating with his body. And Kishiar, the idiot, did not think to consider his mate-to-be’s kind before he went and followed only what he knew. Seriously, what an idiot!
With a low grunt, Nathan propels himself forward in search of his missing friend, knowing the urgency of the situation. An unfulfilled mating call will result in hibernation, the body’s way of letting the mer pass their heat safely without a mate to satisfy their needs, albeit a painful one as the body suppresses the self-induced estrus period throughout the season. If Kishiar doesn’t meet Yuder’s needs, Nathan will make sure he stays mateless forever.
A frantic noise snaps Nathan’s attention forward, catching a glimpse of Kishiar hurriedly swimming in his direction, however, before he can so much as slap his head in admonishment, the mer swims past him leaving a flurry of bubbles in Nathan’s face. If the situation wasn’t so urgent, Nathan would’ve followed after to have his say, but seeing him swim towards the direction of Yuder’s cave, he bubbles out a curse before swimming somewhere else to busy himself as the two settle their own matters to themselves.
At this moment, Nathan decides he wants absolutely nothing to do with mating seasons from this point on.
Days later, he meets a rare large white male cecelia lurking near the area.
He introduces himself as Enon, and he doesn’t look like he wants to be there at all, but he met Kishiar days ago asking for a tentacle to feed his mate. Octopi also reside on ocean floors, and they’re even harder to find because of their ability to hide themselves in small corners of the sea alongside their natural-born camouflaging abilities. Truthfully, it’s almost embarrassing to know that Kishiar chose a sentient creature to request a portion of their limbs, and Nathan feels like a parent whose child is caught misbehaving.
When he goes to apologize on Kishiar’s behalf, Enon leisurely waves him off.
“It’s fine — they grow back anyhow.”
Although mortifying, it’s actually fortunate that Kishiar encountered Enon during his search for food. Apparently, the now-seven-limbed-cecelia had met Yuder when he was a guppy, left alone too early when his parents met their unfortunate demise. Enon had woken up to see the little mer attempting to devour one of his tentacles, so he cut off half of his limbs to feed the hungry little creature and left to watch over him from afar. Once he’s grown enough to hunt for himself, the two parted ways leaving fate to decide their next encounter.
It’s also because of Enon that Kishiar quickly realized his blunder, having accidentally mentioned that he was courting a deep sea mer and during their negotiation, Enon quickly corrected his misconception and sent him back to fulfill his mate’s needs. The cecelia merely chose to follow after because it’s unusual to find deep sea mers even near areas that are lightened by the sun, so Enon surmised that maybe it had been the same little guppy he’d met who probably still doesn’t know better without an adult around to correct him.
Seeing Nathan’s sullen look, Enon tries to comfort him casually.
“Your friend’s got a good head in him, though misinformed.”
Nathan rumbles a promise to do better for them both.