Xx-xX

Mirrored Waters

Chapter 1:

Dark Water Mer

The tide churned as the tug and pull of waves could be felt in the shallows below the surface. The water lulling in great tumbling circles along the rocky reefs, shellfish sprawled open, eager to catch their meal as it swashed by. It left a colorful array of corals and other sea life running about in the midday squall, enjoying the bounty the equator's summer sun provided.

The hustle and bustle of the reef was mostly ignored by one of its inhabitants; having grown used to the rough tides and overall oceanic noise, attempting to nap within a sand bed between the rocks. Despite the activity, it was a relatively mellow day out, the tide was high, and the seas were overall calm; perfect napping weather as far as the jet black mer was concerned. He'd only rolled over once, swatting at a few pestilent crabs before attempting to doze off again.

He was still full from raiding the nearby lobster traps. Most of his kind just stared at him awkwardly the first time he'd made off with his catch, finding the whole concept of eating the sea's equivalent of a cockroach a bit too much for their stomachs. He'd simply ignored them as a result; they seemed fine doing the same most of the time, and in some sense he was happy with it that way. That and most of them didn't go as far into the shallows as he dared to go. He'd impressed them once, when he'd dragged off an unfortunate monkey towards the mangrove swamps, something most considered suicidal.. if the tide went out, one would be stranded there. It had still been a decent meal...

Phantom found himself pulled out of his sleepy thoughts by the shift in the water. The vibrations running along the lateral line caused him to stir with great irritation. From the way the water displaced, it was a decent sized animal, Shark? No... it didn't move like one... A frown reached his lips as he picked himself up, ears laid flat against the sides of his head, luminescent orbs glowering out across the waters.

Danny wouldn't lie to himself. He was terrified about swimming above the sea's middle line. The others had warned him about how it was incredibly dangerous for a deep sea mer to swim above what was considered to be "their" territory if it wasn't during a storm. He fluttered about nervously, his pearl black tail twitching just as anxious as he was. He let out a deep breath and wished again that his vocal cords could produce some type of sound.

He continued swimming forward, occasionally having to use his arms to propel him forward. Danny was still annoyed at how he still found it a bit difficult to navigate. The races and practice he got with the others of the group was helpful but he couldn't swim as fast as them yet. Why the Sea Witch had given this task to him was beyond his comprehension.

Danny blinked his eyes a few times as the water seemed to grow brighter the farther up he went. He adjusted the satchel on his shoulder, which looked like it had been made from fishing nets, as he picked up the pace.

He gasped in disbelief as he caught sight of the brilliant coral reef that he had traveled for some time to reach. He looked down at himself and blushed in shame. He obviously didn't belong here... The waters were also much... warmer somehow, and shifting constantly. Nothing like the deep seas which there was no actual current until someone actually moved.

He shook it off. He was here for a reason. He carefully made his way to the edge of the reef and let his eyes dart side to side. He was too new of a sea creature to detect the change in tides, especially in waters as mobile as these.

Danny dug into the net and pulled out a small piece of what he was supposed to be looking for. It was a piece of coral, hardened and chipping, no doubt from the fact that it was extremely old. The boy shook his head in frustration as his earrings nearly got caught on one of the twig like branches of a nearby coral. He huffed silently at the reminder of the fact that his ears were so much larger than before.

Well, at least he didn't have a type of dorsal fin attached to his back like the others did; they looked more like wings to him but it wasn't like he could say anything... That would have been such a pain.

Hmmm... so the coral was supposed to be white... probably near transparent...

Phantom shifted silently over the rocks, form moving like a shark as he glided through the waters with trained ease. His sharp jagged edged fins resisted or gave to the current as he turned about, eyes scanning for the source of the disturbance. He let himself settle upon a darker patch of rock, fins laid back, form still as his gaze caught sight of the interloper.

Originally, upon sensing the movement of the young mer, he'd bristled for a fight, expecting one of the older males attempting to chase him off again to no avail. But upon finding a much younger male, let alone such an odd looking one, it left him stumbling over his own train of thought.

He'd never seen another mer with jet black scales, some came close, but their fins were always vibrant shades of color. The boy, not fifty feet off, was pitch black, fins and all, though his scales seemed to abruptly shift into the finer sheen of skin far quicker than his own. He looked far too vulnerable to be out among the rocky reefs, yet old enough to where he wondered what trick the stranger had to live so long unprotected. That was only some of the oddities; aside from the child's foraging amidst the plant life in search of god knows what...

He'd planned on screeching and chasing the child off at first thought. But the longer he stared over at the boy, the more he felt himself confused. He acted too much like a human, but smelled like a mer. And with scales so dark, the thought of him being an outcast scavenging for an easy meal like himself at that age hung heavily in his chest. It left him curious... to where he lifted his head up off the rocks, out of his original stalking pose, to lay casually, in complete view, watching him, giving only a slap of his tail as an indication of his presence. In some sense, he looked like an older, aloof teenager giving an awkward hello.

The boy was abruptly brought out of his musing when he heard a small pang vibrate through him. His senses heightened, he immediately made to remove himself from the reef as to be able to fight in an open space if needed.

He was completely taken back by the male merman, obviously much older than he, lay seemingly relaxed on the reef he had been examining only moments earlier. The mer... didn't look anything like he imagined another would look. He had heard tales of sickening colorful tales filled with blues, reds... similar to the colors on the reefs in which some lived. But this one... was incredibly pale, and his tail was dark, not as dark as his own but it actually looked quite natural compared to the youngers own colors. He had bright green eyes similar to someone he truly didn't want to think about and white hair that was tied in the back.

The fact that he hadn't been able to tell that the other was there bothered him greatly. Had it been any other... he would imagine that he would be near death at that moment. But this didn't relax him, in fact in made him even tenser. The fins on the sides of his head expanded as they shook slightly, giving off a vibration and eyes dilating in a manner that an animal's would when feeling threatened.

How was he going to get out of this? Yes, he had been training with the others; more like them trying to make a bloody canvas out of his body; but how could play fighting compare with the actual thing? Let alone an adult who's probably hardened his skills and has an extra layer of skin for this.
He cautiously examined the other's tail, trying to wonder if he could manage to somehow outswim the elder. Probably not judging by the fact that his own tail was not only too long; it allowed to move in more fluid and flexible movements but it did nothing for speed; that and the others was obviously more mature and would be much stronger.

He'd only ever really fought with one mer and the other youth was around Danny's age... Simple to say that he was screwed.

A disgruntled response was all older mer gave towards the boy's sudden fear. His nose scrunching up for a brief moment before his ears flattened themselves and a frown creased over his own lips. In some sense he'd expected the reaction, but hoped he wouldn't see it. Younger mers ran when they saw him, whilst older ones would take the fight option over flight, though he was too keen on either at that moment.

He simply shook his head, both bemused and annoyed, then again he figured as much. He'd made a reputation along the reef as a predator, and most of the time preferred to keep it that way. However it did have its downfalls; like situations like these.

Picking himself up, fins extending, revealing the full size of his double sailed dorsal fin; he simply hopped upwards with a spring of his arms, form catching in the current and casting him a few feet up before he oriented himself. A mild flick of his tail had him almost directly in front of the young mer's face, pupils narrowed into analytical slits.

He circled the boy once, twice, before settling with patting the child's head and floating a few feet off, seeming disinterested, taking to prodding about to reef. At the very least it was apparent that this older mer didn't have any interest in fighting. Either way, Phantom was attempting to appear interested in something else, a sign that he was still watching him, but wasn't going to make any move at him unless provoked. It was at that moment he'd found what he'd been looking for, yanking a rather unhappy crab from its hiding place. Gnawing on a leg he'd pulled off with one hand, whilst offering the remaining animal. He wasn't really hungry anyways.

Danny had been incredibly surprised and nearly flipped himself over when the other mer came towards him. The size of the other terrified him. Fenton was so... small compared to the other. He forced himself to stay still when the other circled him and was completely taken aback when he was patted on the head, like a small child...

Well, he probably was to the other...

He watched the other take off, swimming around the reef, now ignoring him. It confused the darker scaled mer greatly. Why wasn't the other attacking him? As Danny examined the older mer closer he realized that the other didn't have much coloring on him. That was right... he didn't have bright colors like what he was told the upper sea mers had, not a single color at all. Perhaps he wasn't part of the upper sea shoal? But... then how had he survived so long without someone killing him? He didn't have any jewelry or gold bands to show that he was of the servant or slave shiver... He didn't even have any jewels on him!

Danny's tail flicked nervously as he looked around. He should just get what he came for and leave. Yes, that was what he should do. As he made a move closer to another colony of corals he saw something being offered his way. It was a crab, still moving, barely, with one of its legs torn off. The younger tilted his head in a boyish manner as he took the crab carefully, mindful of his long nails. He did not want to make an enemy out of anyone, especially over something as stupid as scratching the other.

The blue eyed boy looked down in distaste. Ever since he had become like this he had refrained from eating anything other than seaweed, and even that was starting to make him sick; he was getting skinny... The others were constantly complaining about how he was being stubborn. His kind was meant for digging claws into much more vicious prey too...

Danny glanced at the other, his tail flickering a bit, light shining on the obsidian black tail contrasting with the gold bands jingling at the narrow part of his tail. He glanced back at the crab before twisting its leg off and sticking the end in his mouth, sucking on it a bit. His eyes bugged a bit as his lip trembled. Before he could stop himself had swallowed the leg whole and was starting on the rest of the crab. He was just so hungry...

When he was knocked out of the eating frenzy he looked down at the remaining shell in his hand. He hadn't realized that his hunger had gotten this bad... If he kept up like this... he might be gnawing on human flesh next time... Suddenly feeling a bit disgusted he let go of the remains of the crab before looking back to the reef. He needed to get back to the shiver soon or... he didn't want to think what might happen if his "master" thought he was trying to run away.

He quickly started back on his search, nimbly swimming over a colony of bright corals, some of them transparent, which he picked up and examined carefully before putting down. Was the witch sure that the colony of the specific coral still existed here?

Phantom simply quirked a brow at the boys sudden feeding frenzy. Though in some sense he'd almost expected it, having figured the boy was similar to himself, outcast and hungry; and judging from the young mer's build, he wasn't built for speed, nimble on gentle currents maybe, but a rough day on the tide would have him spinning with such small fins.

He simply shook his head, slightly amused before turning and floating along the reef. True, the child had seemed a bit reluctant to take his offering, but the fact that he did meant he wasn't here to challenge him for his turf, or that he was going to flee in panic of his presence. And considering the child reminded him so much of himself at that age, albeit more skittish, was probably one of the reasons he held such a soft spot for the young mer.

Another strong flick of his tail had him diving into the deeper edge of the reef, scanning along the bottom until he'd found what he was looking for. Picking up the old lobster trap, still successful with its angry quarry inside, he carried it back up towards the reefs surface, only to find the boy foraging again. He tilted his head to one side, seeming relatively confused at the action, wondering if the young male had similar eating habits to his mate. Though having seen the child's hunger first hand, he doubted the boy wasn't still hungry; mer's could eat almost half their weight if they truly wanted to, and a crab the size he'd given was merely a snack.

Bringing himself over, he came to hover a few feet off, hands still clinging to the trap as he watched the boy scrounging about, searching the coral with a look of disappointment and anxiety, as if searching for something lost. He merely frowned at this before closing the distance and offering the trap over to him, the two lobsters within giving a cranky snap of their claws at being jostled about. A raised brow his question on whether or not the boy was going to take it from him or not. Deciding on setting it down in front of him, he then turned, and swam off a few paces. However, he'd made no motion to leave, giving a surprisingly human gesture with his arms, signaling follow me, before diving over a bed of coral and further into the reef.

Danny had been starting to panic after a while of searching. It wasn't here. It wasn't here. It wasn't here! The witch would have his head if he came back empty handed. She would also have his head if he didn't come back at all.

Due to his slight panic he didn't notice the lobsters until one snapped at the edge of his tail. The boy opened his mouth in a silent shout of surprise as his expression grew irritated and with a quick flick of his tail he had slammed the set against a nearby coral.

He looked down to see his tail relatively unharmed and he glared at the offending lobsters. He then noticed that they were in one of those traps that he remembered seeing his parents carry around with them whenever they went off to sea. …Was the trap human made?... He looked confused for a second before he turned around to see the previously ignored mer beckoning to him, motioning for the other to follow him.

Danny blinked. The black haired boy had established that the other did not want to hurt him, if the elder did, he would have done it by now. And then there was the fact that he offered the younger food.

But was it safe to follow him? … What if it was a trap?

However the others face revealed no malicious intent and it made him wonder if the other wanted to play. He looked back to the reef he was looking at and then back to the pale skinned male. Danny sighed silently. It wasn't like his life could get any worse. Besides, maybe he could find the coral he was looking for if he followed the other.

He looked back to the lobsters and carefully picked them up, whacking them as payback for nearly clipping his tail. He went over to the other, his tail making a strange loop as he did so before holding out the lobsters in a gesture that said 'I believe that you dropped something'

Phantom paused, letting his tail stir the sand, waiting a brief moment to determine whether or not the other was following him. He'd heard the clatter of the trap being smacked, wondering if he'd gone too far with the action, but upon seeing the younger mer swimming up to him, trap in hand, he couldn't help but be amused.
When he offered the trap to him, he simply grinned and brought his hand up to tap his lips with his fingertips. The gesture was very clear, and extremely human. …The older mer knew sign language…. Though how he'd learned it wasn't clear, it was becoming more and more understood that this stranger had some sort of affiliation with humans. Either way, it simply meant that he'd given the boy a free lunch.

Phantom just shook his head at the youth's expression. In some sense this youngster seemed far too inexperienced for his age and he was beginning to wonder how he'd lived this long. His mind wandered over the possibility of his affiliation with the dark water mers, whom were said to be clad in jewels much like he was. But letting the thought mull over, he swam down along the reef and into what seemed almost like a deep water lagoon.

The tide had stilled a bit letting the warmth of the sun truly shine through into the crystal clear waters. The added warmth having cause the patches of reef to spring into even brighter larger stretches of color, intermixed with sea grass, leading down to a bowl like sand and weed bottom, almost like an underwater meadow in the midst of the rocks and coral.

Along the edge of the reef leading into the 'bowl' he'd paused, his ears shifting slightly as if looking for something. Once they fixed on a particular direction, he faced it, and let out a long guttural cry. The sound vibrating the water in a manner similar to that of a whale, but obviously from a smaller creature, there was no doubt that the sound carried for miles.

But it wasn't as if he was up to anything. The sound was simply his way of calling home, as after a moment's pause, a single call was returned from somewhere out in the meadow, shorter, and higher pitched sound. In some sense the returning call didn't sound quite right, but the older mer didn't look in the least bit perturbed, as if the strangled noise was a normal thing. If anything, phantom looked more amused and trying not to laugh at the sound that had reached his ears, his mate was still figuring everything out, he knew, and she wasn't quite to the point of mimicking the sounds of the warm water mers. All that really mattered was that the sound returned was a sign she knew he was there, and that she was safe.

He gave a curt nod to the youth before entering into the gentle confines of the sea grass. The rough motions of his tail having shifted into a calmer wave as the current here had stilled into a gentle breeze. His ears pricked as he listened for the familial sound of quipped squeaks, a grin growing ever present on his face.
Turning the corner of the rock face, they came into view of a small cave with a large sandy pavilion in the front. A female lay stretched out, basking on the sand, deep purple scales traced along her form, complimenting lavender fins and violet eyes. She seemed unwilling to get up from the comfort of her resting place, but her eyes held enough of a greeting in them. However, upon seeing the youth behind him, her eyes narrowed, head raised as she looked up at them, scrutinizing the newcomer for any sign of threat.

"Who's he?" The words passed over her lips with a silken, but wavering threat.

"..pup." The older mer simply shrugged. Even the single word by itself showed evidence of how little he spoke as it rasped and twisted on itself. Yet it was still barely audible English.

She seemed to visibly relax at the nonchalant behavior of her mate, as it was clear he'd not found the boy a threat out on the reef, it held safe to believe she could respect that. Deciding to get up and greet their guest, she stretched out in a catlike manner, dorsal fin spreading for a brief moment before picking herself up and dusting off bits of sand.

"Seems he's taken a liking to you. So with that thought, can I get you anything to eat? I think I still have some tree fruit left over from yesterday." She smiled, ignoring the obvious face made by her partner.

Danny was a bit surprised at the obviously human gesture. It made him wonder if the other had any contact with humans or if he was just mimicking something he had seen.

He raised a careful eye brow before realizing that the other was offering him the lobsters as a free meal. He put a hand to his stomach and found that he couldn't bring himself to eat anymore. His stomach was too unused to food other than seaweed. He was lucky that he was able to hold the crab down. The boy held the trap awkwardly in his hand before he heard the other let out that deafening sound.

It took everything in Danny not to just bolt right then and there. It took him a few seconds to realize that it was a... oh. The other had a 'mate'? Danny blinked a few times in realization. Well, he shouldn't be so surprised but... the older mer gave off a more of a 'loner' vibe rather than someone who would be willing to settle down with another.

It was few moments later that he heard a response and cringed. The responding screech was clumsy and it spoke of unpracticed vocals; but who was he to say anything, he didn't even have his vocals anymore…. The older mer seemed to calm after hearing the reply and then proceeded to disappear into the long strands of grass. Danny quickly followed, dropping the trap in the process, not keen on being left alone.

He found that his movements were much easier to control in the calm current rather than higher above. He would have giggled had he been able to as he swerved through the grass in a serpent like motion. He turned the corner a bit too fast and had to swerve a bit in order not to injure himself.

He was caught off guard, however, when he heard a noise that sounded like a gurgled growl and slurred words. He lifted his head in slight confusion as to who could have created that sound. His eyes widened as he took in the sight of a beautiful mer woman who was lying stretched out along the sandy surface. She was giving him the wary eye whilst he seemed to bristle at the sight of a new mer. She looked something like how he expected the upper sea folk to look, but she was pretty, with a purple and black color scheme. There was something... more natural to her than the male he had just met. But... he couldn't really tell what made him think that way...

He heard the older male say something in return and Danny's face scrunched up in confusion. He couldn't understand them. How was that? Was it because... His eyes widened in realization. They knew how to speak English, a human language. Almost immediately, his ear fins sagged a bit when he realized, again, that he could no longer understand the language.

He looked up again to see the female pick herself up and smile at him. She seemed less wary of him not and opened her mouth, a set of growls and scrambled vowels that he couldn't even begin to remember how to pronounce. He blinked a few times after the other had finished before shaking his head very hesitantly, unsure as to what he was responding to. He then instead elongated his throat a bit and put his hand to where his adams apple would become more prominent as he grew older. He opened his mouth and shook his head, trying to get across that he couldn't talk, nor could he understand what they were saying.

Sam seemed to sigh at the response, from the looks of things he didn't understand a word she had said, and didn't know how to communicate it, or simply couldn't communicate back to her. Her expression hung with an air of frustration and disappointment, before shaking her head deciding on trying another method.

In the long months she'd spent growing used to the underwater world, she'd found that one of the more difficult things to learn was their language, both mind and body, and found herself staying with the default when she wasn't around them. Her mate had held a sense of understanding over the whole thing, as the time he'd spent in her world had forced him to comprehend things he otherwise shouldn't know, including human speech, albeit his attempts at it were meager. He'd become accustomed to forming signs faster than he had words, and she'd found ways of expressing herself in a similar manner to deal with her mate's handicap.

Turning back towards the cave, she shuffled about before finding what she was looking for. Setting a few of the fruits down upon the sand, she made a gesture with her hands to offer them the boy, giving a smile of reassurance, despite the look of concentration on her face. The apparent look made sense upon the next words she spoke, though they rang far clearer than what she'd been saying earlier, "Want one?"

Apparently speaking any underwater language was foreign to her, and she was still trying to grasp the concept of the whole thing. But for her age, at least 22, she should've known the language with practiced ease; it made as much sense as her mate using sign language, or the fact that either of them knew English.
She was broken from her social attempts by the face her mate was making at the fruit. As much as he cared for her, and went out of his way to get such things for her, he had absolutely no taste in them, considering he was a full-fledged predator, like most mers. Sam simply frowned at him, giving a narrow eyed look that quickly resulted in the male looking far more skittish than thought possible before she sighed and gave up on scolding him over the matter.

A disgruntled sound caused both mers to turn, distracting them from the almost quarrel. The little squeak, almost more of a whimper called out as something moved in the dim. Phantom shifted slightly letting his form rest upon the sand in front of the cave, chin on his hands, giving a similar, though obviously more mature sound. His tail fin swayed slightly in a manner that reminded Sam of a dog. It was funny seeing how such a fierce and territorial male could suddenly act like a guppy.

Crawling up over the lip of the cave, poked a small black head of hair and lavender fins decorating vibrant blue scales. An infant mer, giving the constant cry, eyes barely willing to open yet. Phantom cooed again, eyes beaming with the sort of pride seen in a young father. The child in question, cooed back, scooting itself over towards the sound and feeling of warmth before it was snuggled right up into the father's face; the mother looking on with a smile, though oddly a sad one.

Danny's head tilted slightly when he saw the fruit and nearly jumped out of his skin when he realized that the other actually spoke to him. So she could speak mer, perhaps not as fluently as she should have, but it seemed to calm him down a bit knowing the fact that he could somewhat communicate with her.
He looked down at the fruit and picked one up trying to debate on whether his stomach would allow it to stay down. He... didn't want to take the risk but to turn down such generosity would have been rude of him.

He carefully bit down on the fruit, mindful of his short fangs; he was still wondering how in the world he was supposed to eat once they grew longer, the shiver had yet to explain to him how that was supposed to work... He looked to her and smiled, hoping to express his gratitude only to find her glaring at the other mer. He nearly broke out into a coughing fit from the attempted laugh.

It was obvious who was in control of the relationship.

It was then that he heard a small cry coming from the cave. Danny looked over curiously and was surprised when a guppy….baby, he was a baby…. Young, and still hesitantly opening his eyes to the surroundings around him, crawled out of the cave and immediately started heading towards his father once he heard the other beckoning for the child with his calming voice.

Danny's heart melted almost instantly, a small smile forming on his face as he saw the father interact with the child. He had seen it many times before but it never ceased to amaze him how a child and a parent's devotion could reach so far and show so much. It really was the most precious bond anyone could ever have and hope for. The mers of the deep sea might be killers... but they loved their own very deeply. It was something, in a way, that was able to make Danny see past the blood that streaked the waters during a storm.

He looked over to the mother and, seeing her expression, frowned slightly at the sadness he found in her eyes. Was something wrong? He carefully swam over to her and put a hand over her shoulder and looked at her with a questioning gaze.

Sam sighed softly, her gaze remaining on her mate and baby. Said baby was currently gripping his father's face; father snuffing at the infant playfully. Her expression remained somber as she watched them, " I just wonder if I made the right decision in coming here... in doing all of this..."

She then shook her head, attempting to erase her doubts about herself. She then turned to look over at the younger mer knowing that she should be at least hospitable.

" So what brings you here? I've never seen you around here before " It was true that she was new to the ocean world, but he was the first mer she'd seen wearing jewelry. From the local reef mers, it was apparent that they didn't know of or simply had no use for such things, and yet this boy was covered in it. True she had earrings, but it was a remnant of her past, and wasn't as easily noticed.

She gave a side glance over to her mate once more, still fussing over the baby. He spent so much of his time off prowling the reef and keeping their home safe that it was a rare treat to have him spending time with their child. It was almost the opposite of how he was when she'd first met him, though it was likely due to his captivity and lack of exposure.

" It's rare to see him accept others. Though it's nice to see he's finally made a friend "

Danny looked at the other curiously, wondering what she meant by that. Was she regretting choosing the other as her mate or…

He was looking at the pair of father and child when the woman commented on the fact that he was new here... He paled a bit, slightly ashamed when he saw that he had let himself relax too much. He pulled his hand from the mers shoulder, suddenly conscious of the pitch black nails attached to his fingers.

He couldn't tell if the other noticed because she was back to looking at her mate and gup-child. Danny raised an eyebrow, however, when the other mentioned that her mate had taken a liking to him. His eyebrows furrowed as he mouthed to himself, the human word 'what'. He may not be able to speak or understand the language anymore with his ears, but Danny could still physically perform the motions. You couldn't wipe away 15 years in less than a year.

But the fact that the older mer actually liked him rather than pitied him; he probably had looked pitiful now that he thought about it. He... had a slight fear of the upper sea mers, so it was strange to hear this kind of thing coming from one. The black haired mer was surprised that he hadn't bolted yet. And as in relation to her previous question, he looked around for a while before pointing over to the direction he had originally come from. Then down. He felt like he could have left the last part out.

Sam blinked, as he pointed off into the distance, her gaze following his finger into the beyond, "Down there."

The flicker in her eyes held a lingering curiosity, as the biologist in her had never vanished. The amount of life the oceans sustained, and the sheer variety of them held a great fascination, and the growing understanding that he was another species of mer, and that they could survive in so many places held her interest greatly. It was those kind of thoughts that brought a smile back to her face, almost like a breath of fresh air to the heavy heart she sometimes felt.

" It's amazing how diverse this world is." She chuckled softly, content with the situation. It seemed there was more to learn every day, and to meet locals that weren't going to start a fight was also a nice change, " You must've travelled far. What brings you so far from home? Bad food?"

She quirked a brow at him, in some sense she knew she had to keep things simple less it became too difficult for him to explain to her. Though there was also the question on whether or not she could figure out the proper syllables to make up the words she needed. In some sense she wondered if he could possibly write; despite not being able to speak, she'd noticed the motion of the soundless word. yet his skittishness warned her not to press things to far, this was a child long from home, another species that was wary of being so far up from his native habitat, she wondered how her mate had even managed to approach the kid at all.

Phantom had let out a squeak, which drew her attention only briefly. The child still clung to his face had found a means of plucking off one of its father's cheek scales. She could only shake her head before ushering him to put the child to bed before he grew irritated. It wasn't uncommon from what she'd learned, of males to grow irritable of their children, protectors they'd remain, but rarely social, so the fact that Phantom remained so content around children was honestly bewildering, unless it had to do with his own childish tendencies, having lost his own chance at truly being one.

He nodded, slightly uplifted by the fact that there was no disgust in her eyes, rather wonder. It reminded him of his own parents and their 'passion', somehow. He smiled at her response but still found it confusing the way she talked. The woman was probably born in these waters yet she seemed like she had only been here for about as long as he had. Or perhaps she was like one of those 'moderners' in the mer world who wanted nothing more than to study and record their history...
Danny shook his head and shrugged at the question before he reached into the fishing net satchel to pull out the piece of coral that he had been assigned to find. He gave her a look that he hoped would help get across that he needed more of the coral. He hated the fact that he could barely communicate with others around him. It was one of the reasons he had a very hard time resisting being dragged everywhere.

It had taken no less than a few days for him to get to where he had been found by the other merman. It would have taken less had he been more experienced with swimming long distance… or swimming in general.

Upon noticing the older male's squawk he couldn't help but wince in empathy. He felt slightly ashamed that he had been ignoring the male in favor of 'talking' with the others mate, whilst he was being tormented by the child. By god, he really did hate when they started to grab at whatever they could. In his case, they were usually his earrings and/or his hair. But judging by the fact that the father was very minimally effected by it, it didn't look like the child would have to hide to avoid the others wrath.

Upon catching sight of the coral, her eyes seemed to spark with an utmost fascination. Taking it carefully in her hands she turned it over and over, examining it with a scientific eye, "This is..." From there she had rambled off into English again, mentioning a few scientific names that were of relevance, but not understood by either of the males present.

She smiled openly before handing it back, attempting to contain her inner botanist as well, "That's very rare. Supposedly they glow in the night. I've never actually seen it in person though."

She was tapping her fingers against her lip in thought, trying to think of any place she knew of in the vicinity that would host the unusual coral. She obviously knew what it was, albeit she knew the human name for it; and where it was supposed to grow, but hadn't seen it. Perhaps she'd been told such things? Yet she seemed to know too much for such a minor looking plant….

"Danny, do you know anywhere around here where this plant grows?" When she'd turned to her mate as he'd exited the cave. However he gave a reaction even she hadn't participated.

Phantom's form bristled at the sight of the small piece of translucent coral that his mate had gestured to. His fins flaring slightly and his eyes narrowed with a dangerous look in his eyes. He'd only side glanced toward his mate, when she'd repeated the question again in English. This only caused him to calm slightly, though his ears remained back. He looked most disturbed, though the look wasn't directed towards the boy in the least, but at the plant itself.

Sam was tempted to repeat the question again. He tended to move on instinct when agitated, and she wasn't quite sure what it was about it that bothered him so much. Perhaps it had to do with the location in which he'd found it?

The older male, remained where he was, still agitated, but calm enough to glance at her, then over at the boy. A serious look glinted in his emerald eyes, making them glow with an unnatural light,"..Yes..."

It was enough to get her to smile once more, content that he wasn't about to have a freak out over the matter. True it was unnerving how unnerved he was over such a simple, yet rare piece of fauna, but he wasn't about to start anything.

"Think we can help him find it? He's come a long way for such a thing." She floated over, attempting to console him a bit. But upon attempting to rest a hand on his shoulder, he'd glared up at her, causing her to flinch.

"...No...," he'd bared his fangs in response, before catching himself, forcing himself to calm. He took a moments breath before turning his gaze over towards the younger mer with a look of absolute seriousness, "It's... a suicide... mission..."