So my first set of stories is almost done and I'm having trouble deciding on what to write next. I tossing around 4 ideas, so I just decided to write out the first chapter of all of the ideas. This is idea number 2.
Eren POV
"Armin, you don't actually believe in all that nonsense, do you?" Mikasa asked, peering over his shoulder at the book we were reading.
"Shut up, Mikasa! It's cool and you know it." I huffed, "Who cares if it's real or not?" I looked back to the beautiful mermaids in the book.
"I care, Eren. I don't want you down in the cove looking for imaginary mermaids. Last time you slipped on the rocks you almost drowned!" Mikasa sat down beside me, her scarf out of place on the sunny day. We were all three sitting in the grass just before the cove.
"I can handle myself, Mikasa." Ever since mom and dad disappeared, Mikasa had been acting more and more parental. Maybe it was because we were all alone in the big house just up the lawn, or maybe it was because she had to grow up so fast, but either way, I didn't like it. I was 17 for crying out loud!
"Don't go looking for mermaids in the cove, Eren. If you want to swim, do it on the main beach. The cove is dangerous, what which all those underwater caves. If you slip, there's no telling what may happen." Mikasa tucked her hair behind her ear in the breeze.
I hummed in response and turned the page of the book in Armin's lap.
"Look! There's men, too!" I said. They were beautiful, even more so than the mermaids. I stroked the drawing of a merman with a dark blue tail and eyes and black hair. He was so pretty.
"Eren," Armin laughed. I looked down and realized I had been stroking where the merman's penis should have been and I jerked my hand back. I blushed. Mikasa huffed. Armin kept laughing.
I had recently come out as gay to both of them, and to my surprise, they both had said the same thing. There we were, three homosexual best friends.
"I'm sorry, Mikasa. Would you like me to turn back to the topless mermaids? I saw you eyeing the one with the light-blue tail and perky tits." I teased her. She turned so fast on me her scarf moved from over her mouth. She punched me on the shoulder and I felt the pain jolt through my body.
"Damn!" I rubbed my shoulder. I punched her back, and then it was on. The three of us ran up and down the coast, playing and threatening to push each other into the water.
It hadn't been long before Armin's grandfather came walking down the dock to call Armin back inside. Armin lived in the house closest to us, and we were glad for it. Things were lonely when it was just me and Mikasa. Armin turned and scrambled up to his house. He called out that he would see us tomorrow. He walked up to his grandfather and the old man took off his hat to put on Armin's head. I smiled as they walked away.
"Eren." Mikasa said beside me. I hummed.
"Armin left his book down by the cove. We should be able to run it back to him if we hurry." She suggested.
"We can give it to him tomorrow. I-I'll keep the book in my room tonight." I said.
"Are you going to jack off thinking about that merman?" She asked me point blank.
I blushed. That was exactly what I was planning on doing.
"No! Jesus, Mikasa! It's for safekeeping!" I crossed my arms.
"Whatever." She said. She turn and walked up the hill to our house. I ran back down toward the cove and searched along the grass till I found the golden bound book.
Mermaids and Merman was the title. I hugged it to my chest and ran home. Mikasa was in the kitchen starting to cook when I came in.
"Dinner will be ready in a minute." She said. I grunted and walked up the stairs.
"It's fish and chips." She said. I paused. We usually don't have such nice food.
"What?" I called down the stairs.
"Dad's check was bigger this week, Eren."
"Oh. Okay." I heard her clank some pots and pans and went up to my room. I took the upstairs, she took the downstairs. I placed the book on my bed and tugged off my dirty clothes. I threw them into the hamper and headed to the shower. The whole time I showered I thought about where my dad might be. He sent in weekly checks. It was generally enough to pay the bills and buy food and clothes. I had no clue what it is that he did or why his income would be increasing now. I mean, I thought he was a doctor, but doctors didn't disappear for months and months with no word to their two children. I wished I knew more.
I skipped dinner that night, just grabbing a brownie and running back upstairs. Mikasa yelled at me the whole way up the stairs and I knew she would stuff me full at breakfast tomorrow. I was too excited about Armin's book, though. I sat on my bed, munching on my brownie and turning the pages.
Merpeople are drawn to underwater caves. Typically one merperson or a family of merperson will inhabit one cave and use it much like a human would use a house. They spend a lot of time there, keep their things there and mate there or on the shore closest to there.
Wow! I wondered what kind of things a merperson would have? I wondered if they kept forks like Ariel and thought they were combs or what? I read the whole book that night, some passages sticking out in my mind.
Merpeople's mating cycles are triggered by the full moon. The full moon causes the merpeople to change temporarily into a human form, during which they mate as humans do. The time this change lasts varies based on the type of merperson and the season. Merpeople made for colder waters stay in human form for a shorter period of time than do the warm water merpeople. This corresponds to the change with the seasons. Merpeople last longer in human form during the warm months than the cold ones. This is because being on land while it is cold is very hard on the merperson. A mermaid also tends to stay in human form longer than a merman, which is to give the mermaid as long as possible to mate before she can no longer do so. So a cold water merman during the winter may only be able to mate for one day, while a warm water mermaid during the summer may be able to mate for up to five or six days.
…
A merperson's cave is very important to them, and they will be very territorial over it. This is especially true of a single merman. He may even become aggressive toward humans who frequently visit the cave. On the other hand, elder merpeople tend to be the most welcoming to humans. This is most likely because they have had more experience dealing with humans. Also, cold water mermen, who have the hardest time mating, tend to be the most aggressive. That aggression increases the closer to a full moon it gets. Mermen have been known to run off any merman that comes close to their cave in the hours before a full moon transformation very violently.
…
Human and merpeople interaction is shrouded in mystery. Some people claim to have befriended merpeople and some even claim to have mated with them. We have yet to see anything other than antecedent based proof of this.
…
Becoming a merperson is a very tricky thing. The only known way to start the transformation is to place a single scale from a merperson's tail under the tongue during the full moon beginning of the mating cycle. The human will go into mating with the merpeople, then, as they come out of it and their tails form back, the human will form a tail and join the merpeople. The best way to do this is to mate with a merperson and use their scale for the change. By forming an intimate bond with the merperson, it helps to guarantee that the new merperson will have a caretaker while they adjust to their new life.
Wow! I finished the whole book in one night. I started reading at around 7 pm and had read straight through to – I glanced at the clock – midnight! I felt so pumped up! I wanted to meet a merperson more than anything! I slipped on my shoes and swimsuit and cracked open my door. I listened for movement downstairs. Nothing. Mikasa must be asleep downstairs. This was my chance!
My heart was pounding out of my chest and I winced with every creak of the stairs. Damn these old wooden steps. I slipped out of the front door. The warm wind beat against my face and I heard the sea crashing in the distance. I wondered if the mermaids here would be considered cold or warm water dwellers. I thought they would be warm, since it was pretty warm here all the time. I skipped down the path to the shed. I had walked this path many times before, so I could navigate it in the dark easily. I stopped at the shed and pulled out a flashlight.
I didn't light the flashlight until I was officially at the cove. Mikasa had caught me sneaking out one too many times because I had lit up my flashlight before I was out of sight. I knew better now. I felt the slick rocks of the cove and lit my flashlight. I didn't think I would find anything, but if I did, it would be worth it.
Right now, it wasn't a full moon, so I wasn't expected mermaids to be on the bank of the cove, of course. I would have to check in the caves to see if I could find anything. I check the caves on the land first. There were some caves connected to the land that had water in them, but I didn't find anything in there. I would have to search in the actual underwater caves, then. I stripped my shirt and shoes off, keeping on my swimming trunks, and found the place where I entered the underwater caves.
The water was warm right now, and very dark. I flicked on my flashlight and swam towards the first cave. I had been born and raised here in this cove. I knew my way around the caves, no matter what Mikasa said. I didn't visit the caves often, because neither Mikasa nor Armin would visit the caves with me and I disliked swimming alone. I hopefully wouldn't be swimming alone tonight, though.
I searched the first three caves with no luck. I then headed to the biggest cave. This one was my favorite. It was a cave that was only partly underwater. I was coming in the underwater way. Once in, you could climb up a bank directly to the beach of the other side of the cove. The rocks were jagged, so we never played over there. I popped up in there now. I pulled myself up on the cave bank, laying down on the sand and panting. I could hold my breath from cave to cave, but I was exhausted from all the exercise now. I didn't think I was ever going to find a mermaid.
I was so tired. I threw my arm over my face and felt the salty water dripping down into my mouth. I ignored it. So very tired. I relaxed against the bank, the sand feeling so good. I drifted to sleep in the warm, thick air.
Splash!
Splash!
"Mikasa! Shut up!" I rolled over, breathing in something sharp and hard. I shot awake, couching the mouthful of sand from my lungs. I had rolled over right into it.
I tried to wipe it off my tongue with my hands only to find more sand on my hands. I cried out in frustration, scrambling down to the water. I lowered my head down and slurped up some salt water. I swished it in my mouth before spitting it back out.
My mouth was salty now, but at least it wasn't sandy anymore.
"Oi, brat. Don't spit in my water." I heard a voice warn. I screamed looking up to the beach from the cave. His voice bounced off the cave walls.