"Grapes, look—"
The octopus companion resting carefully on a rock just a few inches below the surface of the water gave no indication that he was listening, simply wiggling a little bit further into the crevice of another rock resting near by. Not that Carlino was listening, mind you, his eyes far too transfixed with a look of absolute glee upon the shoreline where the tiny dots of humans bustled this way and that, armfuls of who knows what being loaded onto massive floating things bigger than the castles he knew of underwater. From home, the journey was long, a good two days as he'd predicted but as the waters got warmer and the fish surrounding all the more cautious, he watched as endless blue began to grow into outcroppings of gray and peaked rooftops in the distance.
There were stories, endless fables that floated around the underwater community of those that looked just like the mermaids and mermen that dwelled under the sea but instead of long, glimmering tails, they were replaced with strange gangly things that looked a lot like arms but longer and upside down. Those weird upside down arms let them walk on flat ground and support them as the water did and they lived similar yet so so different than Carlino's community could ever dare to-
It was curiosity, really, that'd taken him from the vast coral kingdoms and safety of his own home to the shores he'd heard of spoken so fondly a world away. Where smoke was said to rise and dissolve into a toxic world that was so much lighter than their own and they spoke strangely and moved in a jerky, clicky fashion that Carlino honestly couldn't see as graceful. He'd heard those above were violent and loud and cared not for the fish and the clean water his family swam in and killed without mercy, yet lived a joyous life filled with singing and dancing where borders could not reach them. They did not adapt, they simply built to accommodate and such wonders he'd heard of that they'd crafted—
He was practically swooning even more than he already was, hiding nervously behind an outcropping of rock a bit of a beach away from where he knew the humans were.
"Okay, okay. I'm go-gonna do it. Do you think it'd b-be bad if I said hello? Should I be more polite? Less polite? I don't know if they'd be wi-willing to come down to the water to shake my hand so maybe I should just ye-yell at them very nicely—"
Grapes gave a noncommittal bloop and sunk further behind his rock.
"This'll be perfect! They'll have to like m-me!"
And yet, as he steeled himself for the terribly awkward greeting ahead, his fingers only clinged harder to the boulder he'd wrapped himself around, scales scratching across the uneven surface.
"I just do-don't want them to get mad at me, you know..? I mean, I don't want to just invade on their li-life or something because they could just being enjoying themselves and then here I am popping in to ask th-them questions and make friends and I think th-that'd be absolutely awful, don't you?"
Once again, he received nothing.
"Fine then! I almost feel like y-you're trying to discourage me but I personally th-think its going to be fantastic."
And without waiting for another answer from his friend, he gave a wave and a flick of his disgustingly bright peridot tail and took off through the water, careful to stay shallow as the sea level sunk. He'd never seen the land so high, the tips of his transparent fins kicking up sand clouds with the slightest of movements. It was enough to make him nervous (even more than he already was) and he found goosebumps rippling across his skin the closer he got.
His first impression would be the hardest, he knew. With scales trailing up the small of his back and over his ribs in brightly coloured patches, ripping across his muscles and lean skin, plus his gills and the overall appearance a merman such as himself had been made to have—from what he heard he looked little to nothing like the humans he'd been told about. Perhaps they'd be accepting if he asked kindly enough?
He neared closer, peeking his eyes out of the water.
The dock, as he'd been told it was called, was large and wooden, with that huge floating thing attached where humans were running back and forth from the land and back- arms filled with boxes and other such things. They looked tired, some yelling at those on shore and those weird weird upside down arms were scratched or bleeding and covered in long pieces of fabric that he could only imagine itched to the high holy heavens. In his own culture, clothing wasn't made of… That. It was decorative, sometimes for battles but never ever in the middle of a warm day as it was today. He could only imagine how uncomfortable it was.
As he edged forward, arms struggling to support him with his eyes out of the water, he cautiously wrapped himself around one of the farther poles, strong grip loosening as tiny pricks jammed into his arms. He was quickly deciding that he in fact did not like wood and it felt terribly unpleasant on his exposed skin and scales—none the less, such a roadblock can't deter him! The tiny homes on the shore were oh so quaint and everyone bustled back and forth at such a speed he couldn't quite help his pleased coos at how precious they all were.
Smoothing some stray hair to the side, he swam just a bit further backwards, hovering in the water to get a better look at those running back and forth into the big floating… Something rather. These humans looked just a tiny bit less friendly but precious all the same, sweat clinging to their brows as crudely cut hair caught in their eyes. He found himself beaming. The best way to get their attention would no doubt be yelling, as he decided before but a bit of arm flailing wouldn't hurt, tail flicking out of the water to splash. There was really no proper time to just begin, and so he piped up immediately, torso wiggling nervous.
"Ahm, hello th-there! I have questions for y-"
The effect was instantaneous. And most definitely not what he was hoping for nor thinking of-
"MONSTER-!"
…
"No, not quite-"
A piece of metal whizzed through the water beside him, ever so slightly cutting his arm and a small stream of crimson bled forth from the contact.
… Oh my.
"KILL IT!"
Three more, just barely missing him and one landing solid in his tail—The pain was instantaneous and it suddenly blurred his vision—No, no, this wasn't supposed to be how they'd react! He was friendly, wasn't he? Spoke softly, far too kind a-
"OW!"
"What is it?"
"A monster!"
"Merman—"
"No, demon!"
"DEMON!"
Another sharp metal dagger, digging into his tail and causing a weak shriek of pain to burst forth. He hated blood, always had and it turned the water the same colour as his hair. Without a moment to bother pulling the knife out, he took off once more, a trail of diluted blood in his wake and ohGodohGodohGod he can't swim like this—He didn't realize he was even going the wrong way until a few seconds later and it was far too late to back out now, plunging as low as he could manage and simply just swimming. It felt tingly and strange- a gross indication that the knife had sunk in deep and his strangled cries grew into yelps, crashing along the shores rocks in his haste.
He could turn around if he really had to and veer home but there was no way he'd make it- he'd bleed out by the time he was halfway there. Humans were vile, vile creatures, he decided and with a weak keen, he crawled his way into a small sand bar.
Relatively hidden by rocks and curved into a small circle, he curled up against the farthest most wall to catch his breath, peeking his head out of the water and letting out an exasperated sigh.
"That was stupid."
And his tail hurt very very much. Once his breath had been caught and he'd adjusted himself in the shallow water so he had something to lean his back against, Carlino looked around, teeth grit. It should have been lovely as the area around here always was but there was a sheen over his eyes caused by disappointment and a weak throbbing pain. The ocean was a deep blue that went on for miles, the rocks surrounding him in a protective embrace towering high and the colour of washed out sand. The only thing that wrecked all of this was the constant leaking of blood coming out from the sharp dagger in the side of his tail, trickling into the cracks of bright bright peridot that never should have been polluted like this.
He whined, shoving his fist between his teeth to stifle any other cries.
Well what was he to do now? What of Grapes? Home was a world away and he knew well enough that if he was to pull the dagger out himself, the bleeding would just increase and he wouldn't last the night. He wouldn't dare ask a human for help- they'd just make his injuries worse. He could maybe swim back with the knife still in place but when he shifted, the stabbing pain shot like lightening up his spine.
… Yeah, this was really stupid.
"So are you gonna be okay and stuff."
"nO-"
The speed in which he propelled himself off the rock was quite alarming, diving out far and smashing his face into the shallow sand. Nope, nope, none of this—With quite a bit of writhing and frantic shoving, he forced himself up again, skittering back with weak yelps bursting out in his wake. He couldn't get jabbed again- he'd for sure never make it home that way and the mouthful of sand was really quite discouraging. As the water around him grew from a crystal clear to a muddy red, he paused his splashing to inhale deeply, eyes wide.
"Hey, hey, calm down. You're going to actually drown that way and a dead you would be seriously gross."
There was nothing flying at him yet and Carlino paused his movements, hands braced in front as his heart flew through his ears.
Still nothing.
… He slowly turned his head up to the voice, scanning the rocks for the source of it. The eyes that he met were the last thing Carlino expected to see after his rather frightening encounter, physically pausing before flopping back down rather ungracefully. The boy- or rather, man, looked around his age with dark eyes and dark hair cut sharply to frame his face, features gentle and smooth as his arm swung lazily over the rock he was laying on far above. He couldn't quite see the rest of him, just his head and the arm it was laying on, cheek pressed against the cold and uneven stone. That itchy fabric was rolled just above his elbow, rope bracelets knotted this way and that to hang casually off his thin wrists. His expression was slightly tense, but only slightly, watching with a muted curiosity to Carlino wasn't quite sure how to respond.
He huffed, though, lip jutting out into a slight pout as he craned his neck for a better view. The height proved a formidable challenge but he tried his best, making sure that his bottom half stayed unmoving.
"I won't drown. I don't ev-even think that's possible—I have gills an-and stuff and its not like I'm gonna pass out—"
There was a loud snicker from above.
"Yeah, well. Still. Not taking chances. Not gonna like, drag your body out or something."
"Wasn't going to make you… Wh-why are you being so nice to me?"
A noncommittal shrug was given, the stranger rolling onto his back.
"I dunno. Don't really have a reason not to be."
"… Fair enough."
There was a pause between the two of them, Carlino looking up with bright wide eyes and the other watching him with the slightest peeks of curiosity, not yet making a move to leave nor come down from his perch. It should have been awkward, silent as it was and yet, his eye contact remained consistent, the stranger being the first to look down.
"Co-could you help me at all..?" He finally mumbled out, the pain in his tail once more being brought front and center.
The stranger seemed to ponder that for a second before shifting uncomfortably, re adjusting himself so he was laying in folded arms as opposed to on top of one. A few breaths were taken, a bit more awkward shuffling before he gave a light dip of his head, dark hair just catching the salty breeze before falling again.
"With your tail, right."
Carlino nodded, gently poking at the dagger before flinching away.
"Th-that'd be preferable—It kind of got st-stuck in and I don't wa-wanna pull it out unless I have something to clean it up… Just something to co-cover it up with so the bleeding will stop."
There was a moment of silence that passed before the stranger gave a light nod, shoving himself up and standing so Carlino could only see the top bits of his hair.
"'Kay. I'll go get some cloth. Will that work?"
"That'd be perfect, pl-please—You'll… Y-you'll come back, right? You aren't just running away?"
It was a rather childish fear but he'd rather take help from a human than bleed out in the middle of a cove off many a mile away from home. He wouldn't be surprised if the stranger took the opportunity to flee but there was a very very small part of him that still clung to the hope that maybe he'd be alright—
"Yeah, I'll be back. Just don't die while I'm out."
"Thank you… Ah, what sh-should I call you?"
His answer was called from a distance away, his new friend (?) already a few feet away.
"Leon."
Carlino hummed low in response, flopping back to lay down and allow the soft lapping of water to run over his wounds and take them out to sea.
"Leoon-a."