Notes: Hello, there! I hope you enjoy this short story! I know I loved writing it! This is also up on Ao3 and on my ! Have a wonderful day, darlings!
He was going to die—A horrible, painful death.
Suffocation: The process of dying by not being able to breathe.
Fish breathe differently from humans, but they can both suffocate in one way or another. A human takes in air through their nose or mouth and that air is transferred into their lungs. The capillaries in the lungs swap out the old carbon dioxide in favor of the new-found oxygen. The blood is then pumped throughout the body and delivers the oxygen to the other cells that need it.
What happens if you dunk a human's head into the water and hold it there? Suffocation. Or, in this case, drowning. What about if you put a fish into water? Well, of course, they swim around as happily as can be—They may be shaken slightly by the handling, but other than that, they're fine.
What happens if you leave a human on land? Just look around you. There's the answer.
And if you leave a fish on land? Oh, boy—Unlike a human, a fish breathes by using their gills. They do not have lungs like us. They suck in water through their mouth and expel the water past their gills. The dissolved oxygen is then absorbed by the many, many, many blood vessels in the gills of the fish. The water also acts like a hydration system for the gills. So, when out of the water, the air is essentially drying the gills out, thereby, suffocating the fish.
And that is exactly what was happening to Kipper.
Whilst swimming through the ocean, a net had tangled itself in his arms and tail, binding him together. The more he struggled, the tighter the bind became. During high tide, the waves washed him ashore. But now, since the tide was lowering, he had become stranded on the beach.
Now he was without water. If it hadn't been for the waves, he would have been dead hours ago. Stars began to blot his vision as he ran out of oxygen, gills clamping shut to try and preserve themselves. There was no way he'd be able to survive much longer, however. His method of sucking in water was becoming less and less effective as the tide started retreating to the ocean. He could already feel himself slipping away as his struggling became weaker.
A man, about nineteen, came strolling around the bend, staring off into the distance. A storm that was about to hit the coast had suddenly veered away, heading back out to sea. The officials in his castle had never seen something like that happen before and were completely puzzled by it. He told them that he would go and see if the tide was returning back to normal since the storm was leaving. Honestly, it was just an excuse to go to the beach by himself.
Seeing something out of the corner of his eye, he turned to spot an object struggling in a coarse-looking net. The lattice-shaped object looked like a bundled mass to any passerby that didn't take the time to look closely enough, but the man's curiosity got the best of him. He jogged over and tilted his head to one side, staring down at the wriggling mass. "Well, I'll be. That must be a big fish!" Bending down, he started ferociously cutting at the net with a knife he had whipped from his pocket. He never left the castle without it.
When he was done, the man jumped back, shouting aloud as a large fin slapped water into his face. Sputtering, he closed his eyes and rubbed away the salty water from them before opening them back up. What he saw was…An empty net? Furrowing his brows, he cussed aloud, forgetting his royal etiquette for just one second. A whistle caught his attention, however, and he glanced up to see…Someone waving at him? The shy person floated a few feet away from the beach, only half of their head visible. "He-hey! Get back on shore—The storm out there could come back, you know!" And, in an instant, a wild wind whipped through the beach, kicking up sand and sea spray. A few pieces of the sand got into the man's eyes and he had to, once again, rub his optics free of the intruding objects.
When he opened his eyes again, the person was—Right in front of his feet!
Jumping backwards, the man clutched his chest, exclaiming loudly. "Whoah! Hey, you can't just go sneaking up on…People…Like that…?" A giant, flopping fin was sticking out of the water just a foot away from where the person's lower half was submerged. "Uhm…Sir, you…?" And, when he looked at that glistening face, cheeks swollen, he cocked one brow. "What's in your mouth?" As if to answer, Kipper pursed his lips and playfully squirted a little water towards the man's face. After a few seconds, the merman gulped down some of the water and it came trickling from the sides of his neck.
Kipper's pale body looked emaciated—Ribs poked out and his skin was pulled taut over his bones, but he seemed quite healthy. A wonderful glow radiated from his body. Towards his torso, his hips were curved and splotches of scales were mixed in with the wet skin. In the light, they would shine a turquoise color, but as the storm grew nearer, it blocked out the sun, so, instead, they were navy blue. One or two scales dotted his face, but other than that, it was smooth. He had sharp little ears and a mop of wet hair that was pushed back, exposing his normal sized forehead. His hair was a dark, dark blue, almost black in the disappearing sun.
"Well—Were you…In the net?" The boy never cared for English all that much, but he did understand what the man was trying to convey. His curious expression and even more curious gesturing towards the net was all very telling. So, in reply, the merman nodded his head, bulbous cheeks sloshing slightly. "Huh…And are you…A merman, then?" Another nod. "Gotcha…Well, uhm…Hello?" The man waved, kind of awkwardly and, in response, Kipper tilted his head to one side, waving right back, but slower and more inquisitively. Another gulp and some more water came running through his neck.
"I've never seen a merman before," Kipper said nothing, nor did he respond physically. "I don't think anyone's seen one before." Silence, again. "…Well, uhm…Nice to meet you. I'm Prince Cairon." The man extended his hand and Kipper just blinked at it before looking back to him. A gulp and some water.
Things grew awfully quiet as both of Cairon's hands dipped into his pockets. It stayed that way until the wind came back around, kicking up more sand and foam. There was a shout high up on the hill. "Sir! The storm veered once more! It's best that you get inside the castle immediately!" The two beings said nothing, their eyes locked on to one another.
Rain started to fall softly. A gulp and all the water was gone. However, the rain would keep Kipper's gills wet for now. He could hold his breath for just thirty seconds outside of the water. But when it was raining, he could hold it for minutes at a time. "Well…It was nice to meet you. I hope to see you again sometime." Cairon smiled at the other and, in return, he received a twitchy grin. Those sharp teeth of Kipper's were no joke. The prince chuckled softly and looked down at the merman.
Turning away, Cairon headed back to the castle, glancing backwards often to see if the merman was still there—And he was. Kipper waited until the prince finally left and the rain started to turn into a down pour. Waving slowly, the merman turned back around himself and, grabbing onto the rocks, he slid back into the water, disappearing under the waves.
He was quite…Cute…