Sinbad awoke to a sharp sting on his neck, eyes shooting open to find the source of the pain. There was someone else there, face buried in the sailor's neck. A fin popped out from between wet, white hair. He quickly realized that his pain was caused by fangs, and blood was running down his chest, mingling with the sand. He shoved his attacker back, catching him off guard and throwing him into the sand.

The boy in front of him only looked half human, but Sinbad knew exactly what he was. An Atargatis: a being of the sea which was half human and half fish. He was a sailor's worst nightmare, or at least that was what he had heard.

Sinbad held the wound on his neck tightly, attempting to stop the bleeding. The human eating part was true at least. At least the bite had looked worse than it actually was. The atargatis stared at him, a deep growl emitting from his rather slim form. Sinbad found he looked a lot less frightening than he had been led to believe at least. Apparently, atargatis weren't a far cry from the merfolk that granted wishes. He looked mostly human, freckles decorating his nose and shoulders, and the only thing slightly frightening about him was the sharp fangs that were still bared at him.

He finally connected the dots with what little he remembered after falling into the ocean. He thought the figure he had seen had simply been his imagination or perhaps someone he once knew coming to take him back to the Rukh. Clearly, it had been the young atargatis in front of him. He couldn't understand why he would save him only to try to eat him, but he owed his life to the creature either way.

"Relax. I don't take kindly to being bitten, but I assume it was you who brought me to shore. You saved my life."

The atargatis gave him a dirty look before growling again, shifting his tail restlessly. He kicked up a flurry of sand in Sinbad's direction, causing him to shield his eyes. When the sand finally settled, the creature was gone.

Sinbad pursed his lips in irritation as he looked around. Sure, he was on shore, but he had been dropped off in a secluded cove with no easy means of escape. Maybe the atargatis really had intended to eat him. There was a cliff surrounding him and the ocean in front of him. Trying to swim away was pointless since he didn't even know where he was. Not to mention there were worse things in the sea than a temperamental man eater.

By sundown, he had at least found enough wood to start a fire. He could at least hope his crew would see the light and come retrieve him. That was, if his ship hadn't been torn to pieces or his crew sure he perished. He sighed, hungry and cold.

There was a splash from the water and he turned to see a few fish flopping fruitlessly on the sand. He looked back out at the ocean to see the fair haired atargatis glaring at him, his face mostly submerged. Sinbad stared back, trying to judge the creature's intentions. After a minute or so, the atargatis began to growl at him.

"Is this your attempt to fatten me up before eating me?" He laughed, moving to take the fish anyway.

"Shau aun, haurloa." The atargatis spat, vanishing back into the water. It was likely he didn't understand a word the sailor said anyway.

The fair haired atargatis was back the next morning, glaring at him from the water. There was more fish on the shore and the creature insisted he eat them. Sinbad was grateful, regardless of the intention. The atargatis made no attempt to come back on the shore, leaving Sinbad to wander around under his watchful eye.

He had finally come to recognize the cove, but unfortunately for him, it was the only outlet to the sea on the whole chunk of land and they had passed it a day before the storm hit. Sinbad doubted his crew would find it easily. He could have easily used Focalor's power to fly from the cove after he had filled his stomach, but his curiosity with the young boy in the water kept him there.

He watched the atargatis stare at him, noticing how his fair skin was beginning to burn. He had no idea a fish could burn, but he was half human, at least in theory. He wondered if his observer noticed his burn or if he even cared.

"Why don't you come up here and rest in the shade? I'm not going to attack you or anything. Although, that might be your plan."

"Mind iya'aum own business."

"So you do know how to speak my language?"

"I nann a up here and here. It as' like a's hard."

"You're going to burn up if you stay in the sun."

"Sa'?"

Sinbad frowned. "Was that your way of telling you don't care?"

"Ir I come up here, iya'au'rr probably gut rlo like iya'aum kind usually does." He growled.

"And that is any different than eating me?"

The atargatis remained quiet. After a few minutes, he came closer to shore, moving his way carefully onto the sand. His eyes never left Sinbad, even after he was under the shade of the cliff. He figured that was enough and took to watching the boy watch him.

Sinbad had seen merfolk before and the boy was almost exactly the same. There were a few more fins here and there, but easily mistakable if not for the fangs. What bothered him was the visible scar on the atargatis's tail. It was long and almost stitch like, marring both sides as if they were made by the same blow. Then again, maybe atargatis weren't as civil with one another as the merfolk were. Or maybe other creatures were higher on the food chain.

"So, what do you plan on doing?" The boy asked, still watching.

"I'm going to wait for my crew for now." Sinbad raised an eyebrow. "That was much more fluent than before."

"I said it wasn't hard to learn. I simply never had anyone to talk to so I could get the hang of it."

"A quick learner then. What are you going to do?"

There was no answer.

"Do you plan on eating me?"

"No." He looked a little conflicted. "You're interesting."

"Oh? Well, if I'm not your dinner, then I'll introduce myself. My name is Sinbad."

"Sinbad: the pirate who plunders from royal transport ships and givens his riches to the poor. Sinbad: the conqueror of seven dungeons. Sinbad: sailor of the seven seas. I've heard of you."

"You're well informed."

"There is this one mermaid who tells a lot of your stories. Funny how you have fans under the sea as well as above it. Though, you are apparently a womanizer. She is smitten with you." He sounded slightly disgusted.

"Really?" He laughed. "So, what is your name?"

"That's a stupid question."

"How come?"

"Atargatis don't have names. Neither do merfolk for that manner though they like to name themselves so they feel more human."

"Well, that is no good."

"Why?"

"I don't have anything to call you."

"So?"

"We can't be friends if I don't know your name."

"Like hell you need it. I'm not going to become your friend. So your crew is filled with people from all over the world. So what? You're not adding an atargatis to your list of members. What are you, a shepherd?"

"I didn't say you needed to join my crew."

"That is exactly what you said. Your crew are also your friends, no?"

"You don't need to follow me to be my friend."

"I don't understand your human logic." He growled.

"Let me put it this way then. I would like to know what to call you so I can hold a conversation with you better."

"Fine."

"So? What do I call you?"

"I don't care."

"Mm. How about Fishy?"

"No."

"Chompers?"

"No."

"Fins."

"No." That last one sounded scary enough for Sinbad to stop with the teasing.

"Then Ja'far. Is that okay?"

The atargatis looked away from him for the first time the whole day, apparently embarrassed. "That's fine."

"Are you really sure your crew is going to come for you?" Ja'far said plainly as he sat so he was just in the water. "This is day two and not a single ship has gone by."

"They'll come."

"They probably think you are dead. If they don't come, what is your plan?"

"I don't really have one." Sinbad laughed a little.

Ja'far shot him a look. "Are you even worried about being stuck here?"

"I can always use one of my djinn to fly away."

"And you haven't done this yet why?"

"Because my crew will come find me."

"You are unbelievable." Ja'far scoffed, splashing a bit of water his way with a flick of his tail. "Irresponsible. Foolish. You are wasting time sitting on the beach while your crew worries about your safety."

"They know me and I know them. They are all capable men and they know something like that wouldn't kill me."

"So you are simply lucky. You would be dead if I didn't fish you out of the ocean."

"Why did you do that anyway? You brought me to shore and could have eaten me well before I woke." Sinbad smiled at him curiously.

"I cac miy a' ooa iya'au, acaa'." Ja'far grumbled. "What idiot takes his clothes off while he sleeps? That is why it took me so long to start. I have never had a human strip in front of me without even knowing he was doing it."

"So people have stripped in front of you on purpose before?"

Ja'far glared at him. "Not my point."

"It happens often, actually." He laughed.

"I'll pretend you didn't admit that." The atargatis sighed. "Does your neck hurt still?"

"Ah, that. Don't worry about it."

"It's really red. It wasn't as if I didn't get a good bite."

"I said it was no problem." Sinbad smiled at him.

"I cannot understand how you just talk to me like I'm another human. You treat me like I haven't devoured 30 or so of your kind." He looked away, growing annoyed with that smile.

"You ate fish yesterday. Why eat people too?"

"That's like me asking you why you eat fish even though you can also eat the land animals. Because it is something different. Human just happen to be one of the only animals who venture to sea. I've taken out sea fowl before, but I don't really care for them."

"Any plants?"

"I'm not a herbivore." Ja'far responded simply, pushing himself off the shore and vanishing into the water.

Ja'far returned the next morning with a bundle of seaweed. He gave it to Sinbad, quietly instructing that he place it on his wound. It was a simple treatment that would clean the bite on his neck and ultimately help it heal. He could say he was surprised his strange friend knew of such things, but he really wasn't. Ja'far lived in the ocean after all.

They didn't talk much at all for some time. Clearly, something was causing Ja'far some stress. He sat quietly in the shade of the cliff, not even bothering to watch Sinbad. A few times, he was sure the fair haired kid had fallen asleep, but he would stir if Sinbad continued to watch him.

By midday, the sun had been completely hidden by clouds and a chilling breeze blew into the cove. The sky let loose a light rain that came down in waves. The downpour didn't disturb the ocean much, at least, not enough to cause his crew any issue. That didn't help the fact he was getting wet though.

The rain stopped hitting Sinbad and he looked over to find Ja'far sitting close, the translucent green fins on his tail acting as a shield. Ja'far made no indication he wanted to talk and Sinbad felt it better not to try to thank him right away. He watched the fins, which were really more like a light veil, admiring how beautiful they really were. Alluring; just like they were meant to be. It made it easier to trap foolhardy people in the illusion of him being a harmless creature.

Against his better judgment, Sinbad reached out and stroked one of the fins carefully. It was soft and smooth, just like he thought. The underside remained dry even as the top was drenched with rain. Ja'far didn't seem to notice as he continued to touch the fin with some fascination.

That scar caught the sailor's attention again. Up close, it looked relatively old, long since healed and forgotten. Still, he could tell it had once been a life threatening wound. It didn't matter what Ja'far was, nothing could survive bleeding like he must have for long. He reached out for the scar, running his fingers down it and feeling the uneven surface. The scar was smooth compared to the scales that were hardly visible around it.

"Stop touching me." The calm yet irritated voice next to him ordered.

He looked at the fair atargatis to find he hadn't even opened an eye. Since he wasn't paying attention, Sinbad went back to studying the fin over his head. He hardly touched it with his fingers before it was slapped in his face and Ja'far moved feet away from him with an angry expression.

"Fine! Get soaked! See if I care."

"Come on. I didn't mean to make you mad."

"When someone tells you to stop something, you do it."

"I didn't think you could actually feel that."

"Yes, I have feeling in my fins. Not much, but I can tell when someone is messing with them."

"Sorry. I've never been so close to it before. It's pretty."

Ja'far gave him quite a disgusted face. "So you flirt with men too then?"

"Who said I was flirting? I was telling the truth." Sinbad was glad the rain was stopping, because he was sure Ja'far wasn't going to offer him shelter again.

"There is nothing 'pretty' about me. I blend with the sand."

"That isn't true."

"The next time you fall into the ocean, I refuse to save you. Good luck." He scoffed, vanishing again into the sea.

Ja'far didn't return the next day. Instead, Sinbad was met with the familiar sight of the Sindria and the roar of cheering from the deck. Even as far offshore as they were, he could hear them. A smaller boat came to pick him up, led by Masrur and Sharrkan. They told him how they looked all over for him and that they were glad they finally found him. But Sinbad wasn't as cheerful. Instead, he found himself wondering what had happened to the atargatis that had saved him from his certain death.

A/N: Well, if I went on about what even inspired this, it would simply take to long. Basically art history class, mermaids, and too much time and paper for drawing. As for what I decided to call Ja'far's species, that is a much better and shorter story.

Atargatis was a Syrian deity who is now popularly described as the mermaid goddess. Her daughter was an Assyrian queen. Assyria is the model for Partevia (from what I've read) which obviously is the country Sinbad is from. It literally took me four hours to decide that. xD

As this is my first actual fanfic, I am welcome to helpful criticism or even complements if it is really that worthy so far.