Mid afternoon...Ryan was down near the bay of his Oceanside house
Today he thought would be a good day for some fishing and his favorite spot was on a small ledge that dipped into the sea and he always took up residence on the tip of the craggy edge. Usually fishing has always been tranquil for him and a great way to clear his head, but today, he was in for a big surprise...
"Well let's see if I'm successful today!" He says to himself optimistically and casts his lure into the surf and calmly waits
Ryan had been alone for almost 3 years now, both of his parents had been killed in a massive storm when he was 15 so was put infoster care until he was old enough to go to college, now that he's 18 and classified as an adult, he felt it appropriate to move away from the city to somewhere he felt more at home; the ocean, and so through some tough decisions he managed to relocate to this remote yet beautiful beach house near the edge of the shallows, however when a bad storm rolls in he always makes it an appointment to move to a safer location near the city to avoid getting swept away by massive waves. Though the majority of the time his thoughts dwelled on school and his deceased parents, he often found himself looking down into the waves as the foamy white crests crashed against the shore and rocky ledges, saw massive waves swelling from the bay and disappearing like the back of a massive sea creature breaking the surface then submerging immediately. He wondered what life was like under the surface, what it would be like to swim alongside the massive sea monsters he had heard so much about by sailors and read about in books and ancient text, and see the beauty and bustling activity of a coral reef...even what mermaids really looked like...he had only heard tales and read book about the beautiful amphibious sea maidens, but never saw one first hand breach elegantly out of the water like a dolphin, or swim as gracefully as a whale...
An hour passed...and still nothing
Ryan had been patient to an extent, but this was wearing on his nerves
"I guess I spoke too soon..(sigh)...maybe I should-" he's stopped immediately by a frightened scream from nearby at the base of the small cliff on the shore, Ryan headed to the tip of the cliff overlooking the sandbar and peered over to find that the scream belonged to an injured girl curled up on the beach, and not just any girl..it was a mermaid! He had only heard the stories about them and a few minutes ago wasn't even sure if they existed and now there she was!
He rushed down to the beach toward the injured mermaid, when he finally made his way down, seeing her up close was even more spectacular! She was even more beautiful! Than he thought possibly, her hair was a vibrant blue and long and ended at the mid section of her back with turquoise tips with two long bangs adorning her face parted to where her long fin-like ears could protrude from her head, her eyes were an equally vibrant jade color that shone in the sunlight in a way that made them look like they were glowing like jewels but was superseded by the redness and the tears brimming in the corners of her eyes, possibly from the pain she must be in, her face was framed narrowly yet cute delicate feminine features remained dominant, like a cute button nose, small blush, long eyelashes and pouty, full ,shiny lips, her skin was creamy and retained a beautiful glossy sheen, possibly because of the layer of mucus fish and mermaids alike's bodies were coated in to help them swim better, and her body was rather well endowed with more than modest assets and a pearl like jewel imbedded between her quite large breasts which were contained by a small fish scale like bra ready to burst for a magical creature mainly built for fast swimming.
And last but not least her iridescent violet colored fish tail which was shaped perfectly for fast swimming, agility and maneuverability, plus she also had two "legs" that were fashioned in a such a way that it would help prop her up on land, also her fluke had four golden rings around it and the fin tip was barely parted, meaning(in the books Ryan read in the library) she has not fully matured and marked her adolescence and inability to perform magic as of said given time.
Currently she was curled up and peering at him with fear in her eyes, her tail had two large bleeding gashes raked through it and pooling blood dribbling down onto the light brown sand.
"A-are you ok?" Ryan asks the girl who gasps audibly and curls up further
"Its ok I'm not going to hurt you" he says softly and looks down toward her tail "hmm...these look pretty bad, wait here" he then rushes to his house to find a first aid kit. Ryan rushed back and pulls out some hydrogen peroxide and a cotton ball and prepared to dab her tail, but she pulls away
"It's alright, I'm just trying to clean you're wound so it doesn't get infected, relax, it may sting a little, but you'll be fine soon" she looks at him skeptically and holds her tail to her stomach, but cringes from the searing pain of her wound " please, let me help you, I know you have to be in a lot of pain and I don't want to see you die of infection, you're too beautiful of a creature to die like this" she blushes momentarily and looks down to contemplate her options, reluctantly, she relinquishes her tail to the boy waiting to get to work.
"Thank you, now hold still this is gonna sting"
He then proceeded to dab her wound, she shrieked in pain and gritted her teeth at the unbearable pain, small tears streaming down her tightly clenched eyelids.
The wound sizzled with the alcohol based solution clearing up any bacteria infesting it, then Ryan promptly tied some gauze over the first wound to stop some of the bleeding.
"Ok that's the first one, just stay with me a little longer, time to get to the second" the mermaid nodded hastily as if to say' get it over with!'
Ryan then dabbed the second getting another pained grunt from her then quickly wraps some more gauze around it and smiles down proudly at his work
"Whoo done, how does it feel?" He inquires, the mermaid lifts her tail cautiously then flaps it up and down to confirm if it is functioning properly
"T-thank you" a soft whisper eeps from the frightened maiden
"Y-you can talk?" Ryan asks astounded, the girl simply nods her head
"Incredible, oh where are my manners my name is Ryan, what's yours?"
It took her a minute but she hesitantly responded" m-marial"
"Marial huh, quite a pretty name"
"Why did you save me?" she asked almost immediately asks
"Wow...direct aren't we? Like I said before, it's quite a pleasure and experience to see a legend become reality"
"I don't believe you. All of you humans have some kind of ulterior motive for saving a mythical creature, what is it? are you after my blood?, my scales? or my hair?"
"Why would I want any of those things?"
"Because mermaid commodities are extremely valuable, and mermaid blood is said to have incredible regenerate abilities and extends the lifespan, hence, they hunt us."
"Well I'm not interested in that stuff, I'm just happy to see one living and breathing" Ryan states plainly, marial just looks on confused
"You're weird, you know that right?"
"Yeah I like being weird" he proclaims, she giggles lightly for a second then looks up at him again
"U-um so w-would you like to come in?" Ryan offers
She peers to his cabin for a second then looks back to him " well aren't you a gentleman, I'd love to, but um..could I ask a favor of you?"
"Of course, what is it?" He inquires, she then turns away and blushes
"C-could you carry me? I can't exactly walk yet"
"O-oh sure" Ryan then tentatively picked her up by her back than the midsection of her fish tail and lifts her up slowly making her squeak with surprise at his strength and ease at picking her up
"Ok, you ready to get moving?" he asks the mermaid
"Yes" she responds
"Ok then let-whooaaa!" He then looses his grip on her as her back slides out of his hand, he quickly tries to regain his grip but instead of grabbing her shoulder, he mistakenly grabs one of her breasts
"Haah!" She briefly squeals out
"Oh my god I am so sorry I didn't mean it I just lost my grip!" He responds absolutely flustered waiting for her to slap him, but it never comes
"I-it's ok, my body is covered in a thick layer of mucus to aid in swimming, I understand you lost your grip, it's not you're fault" she reassures him
"O-ok, I'm really sorry though"
"It's ok, but c-could you let go now?" She asks blushing, then Ryan realizes he still has a firm grip on her breast and immediately retracts and slips it under her back, and chuckles nervously while blushing. Marial giggles lightly again and just shakes her head at the flustered boy
"Well off we go then!" Ryan proclaims
As soon as they got inside Ryan cabin, he slowly and delicately set her down on his sofa, trying his best not to graze her still fresh wounds.
"Kay so, should you like anything to drink?"
"Water would be fine"
Ryan went into the kitchen and grabbed two glass cups and filled them with tap water and ice, he then returned to the mermaid waiting patiently on the couch looking around at his cabin, he then handed her the mug to which she responded with a pleasant 'thank you' and he took a seat as well
"These little dwellings you humans live in are so cute" Marial chirps
"Yeah prime real estate at its finest" the two shares a brief chuckle then sit in silence for a bit, Ryan looks back at Marial who is casually sipping at the mug and notices something he didn't before, she had two small segmented horns sticking through her hair, Marial must have sensed him looking because she shot her gaze back at him which caused him to look away embarrassed, Marial just giggled and continued to drink. Ryan then broke the silence by saying
"Marial, can I ask you a few questions?"
"By all means, ask away" she responds
"What's with those horns on you're head?"
"Oh hehe! I thought you would ask about them, you may not know this but there are so many other types of mermaids than the ones you've read about in books and heard about in legends which do them absolutely no justice. I'm a neriss, a mystical type mermaid, my kind are known for being skilled magic wielders and for keeping balance under the sea." She states
"Wow...so how did you end up on the shore?" Ryan inquiries
Marial sighs heavily and grips her cup a bit tighter" I was out today just observing a herd of manatee grazing along the shallows, until a nasty sahuagin tried to kill one of them, I knew I couldn't allow that happen so I fight her back. But my brave act ended with her jabbing me with her spear two times on my tail, I managed to defeat her but not before the carnage drew in sharks, I swam away as fast as my injured tail would allow me. I managed to get away but my injury and the shock of the ordeal overtook me and I passed out then and there, the next time I woke I was being hurled toward that beach so I screamed before I hit the sand hard opening my already large wound, and that's when I met you"
"Sounds like you've been through quite a lot in just one day, I'm really sorry you got hurt like that though"
"It's ok Ryan, it's just nature, it's never really nice to creatures like me or you, it just makes you stronger"
"You got a point there"
"Now I have a question for you"
"'Kay"
"What's a human like you doing out here living on the beach?, and why alone? Where's you're family?"
Ryan began telling his own tragic tale and informed the mermaid of his family's unfortunate passing and his movement to the beach as a way of reliving his childhood..
"Oh my, you've had it so rough haven't you?" Marial asks somberly
"You could say that, though I've never been one to complain" Ryan admits
"No! I won't stand for that!" Marial exclaims before launching herself onto the boy and trapping him in a tight embrace, Ryan trying desperately not to pay attention to the massive mounds compressed against his chest
"You've had such a hard life and no one has even cared to give you a hug or some reassurance! You're kind are so unforgiving and selfish not even caring to give even their regards to you! Or to look after one who is in desperate need of companionship "She proclaims grimly, Ryan just returned her hug with one of his own
"Marial, I appreciate you caring about me, but you really don't have to concern yourself with my wellbeing"
"Bullsquid! You saved me! And a nerris always repays her debt! So I have an idea!" She pipes up
"Really?"
"Yup! You say you have no one to look to up here and your all alone on this beach right?"
"Yes"
"W-well, how about you come live in the ocean with me? You'll never be lonely again I can make sure of that, and life under the waves is breathtaking to say the least and you've got nothing to lose" Marial says in an urging coaxial manner, taking his hands in her soft moist webbed ones
It's like Ryan's prayers had been answered, not long ago he had wished to experience what is was like to live beneath the surface , and now he was given the opportunity of a lifetime by a being only thought to be myth, and now way in hell was he passing it up
"You can do that for me?!"
"Of course I can, nerris' always regard their saviors appropriately, and the greatest gift we can offer is a change of a life" she was taken off guard when the boy wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tight
"Oh thank you! thank you! You have no idea how I've longed for an opportunity like this!" Unaware of his own actions Ryan kissed the girl's cheek as a sign of gratitude, which made her gasp and blush deep red
"I-I'm sorry I was just so excited I didn't mean to-"she shushed him with a finger and smiled
"Rather direct aren't you? If only you'd asked me beforehand" she leans in and plants a kiss on his lips, surprising the boy
"I like you too, but I believe it's a little too early for kisses, ~let's wait a little longer~"
"Uhh..ehhheh" He incoherently responds
"Well would you like to go now?"
"W-Would I?!"
"I assume that's a yes?"
Ryan sweeps her off her tail which makes her squeak with surprise.
"Let's go!"