Bit of a blood warning for this one.

…xXx…

Roderich kept as close to his saviors as they would let him. He couldn't quite help his happy humming as the trio made their way south through the pastures, the pace slow enough for him to keep moving steadily.

Even though the day had started badly, his luck was now beyond plentiful.

His new companions, Vash and Lilli as he had so pried from them, were an absolute delight to be around. They had not only saved him from being stranded, but were even kind enough to help with his injuries and share some of their food with him. And now they were ever so benevolent as to let him travel alongside them towards the shipping graveyard.

Not to mention, his emerald companion was quite the alluring male.

Who seemed very interested in him, as well, perhaps?

The green merman didn't think Roderich would notice just how entranced he'd been earlier during his singing. The violet male sang frequently—nearly every day as it was his favorite pastime—and was no stranger to having others watch him do so. He'd been told often that he had a lovely voice, one that most enjoyed listening to.

And yet, he'd never seen anyone quite as mesmerized as Vash.

Admittedly, he had been completely startled at turning to see another of his kind right in front of him. The stranger had thoroughly snuck up on him, and was certainly close enough to harm him before he could escape, and yet . . . The merman had been utterly enthralled, staring up at him as if he were a marvel.

The purple merman smiled to himself. Indeed, his luck had seemed to turn.

Roderich swam easily above the blonde pair, both of whom were mostly hidden in the grass beneath him. He kept an eye out for danger, ducking into the grass beside the others to sneak by a group of reef sharks at one point. He was even allowed to hold onto the merman's dorsal fin occasionally whenever he got tired, a touching gesture he didn't think he'd be allowed.

Another plus was the ever curious youngling swimming beneath the other male.

He wasn't one for dealing with young pups—despite being the ever constant babysitter for his youngest brother—but Lilli was quite the inquisitive young mermaid, frequently rolling to peek over her brother's shoulder to ask him something. At first, Vash did his best to keep her quiet, to keep them both quiet—for 'survival' reasons, he'd said.

"Something will always hear you," as he so expertly put it, and he wasn't wrong.

However, silence was boring at the best of times, and unnerving at the worst. Roderich would have none of it and endeavored himself to learn about his new companions.

The fusillade of questioning back and forth quickly became a comforting constant on their journey.

"Why are your scales so, um—" Lilli began, hugging around Vash's neck so she could keep looking over his shoulders while they swam.

"Hmm?" Roderich looked back at himself a moment, wondering if he still had scraps of seaweed trailing off of him. "What is it?"

The small girl whispered in her brother's ear and he though he saw the merman chuckle. The male whispered something back and the mermaid perked up, nodding before turning back to him.

"Why are they so purple?"

Oh, how cute.

"Well," he muttered, tapping his lips in thought. "They just are. I suppose I get it from my mother, I've heard I look a lot like her."

"Oh." Lilli's seafoam eyes continued to look over the violet male as he spoke, as if judging his answer's worthiness. "Can scales be other colors, too?"

"We don't have many violet creatures around here," the emerald merman spoke up, directing his statement to the other male. Roderich hummed in assent. That makes sense. Everything around here is green, green, and more green. Vash then answered his sister's question. "And yes, Lil', scales can be many colors. Most other merfolk don't look like us."

Her eyes got impossibly wider and she pulled back to stare at her brother in awe. "Really?"

"Yes, you'll see soon enough."

Roderich was then reminded of where they were headed and fell silent for awhile.

The Great Alcazar.

He'd been there exactly three times in his lifetime. The first time he had only been a baby, just born. His father still refused to tell him why he had been there, and he'd always assumed it had something to do with his mother. The subject was forever a touchy one so he never pressed. The second time he had been just a youngling, about Lilli's age if he had to guess . . .

The indigo male interrupted his reverie to ask, "How old are you?"

Vash turned his head to the side, mouth opening to answer for her, but the young mermaid cut him off eagerly. "Oh! I'm five and a half cycles!" She sounded so proud, as young ones tended to be over such trivial things.

But he could play along; he was used to doing so with Killian.

"No!" he feigned, pressing his hand to his chest in mock disbelief.

"Yes, yes!" she trilled insistently.

"Surely you jest, madam. You're far too mature for one so young!"

Lilli giggled at him, her cheeks turning a rosy pink.

Roderich smiled at her and was about to delve back into his thoughts when he caught sight of the emerald male beneath him pet the young girl's hair affectionately. She rubbed her cheek against his happily for a moment before squirming out of his arms once more to return to swimming on her own.

The small act made his heart all-a-flutter, peaking his interest. He suddenly desired to hear the male's voice. "And how old are you, darling?"

Vash immediately stopped swimming. The other two looked back at him in surprise as they halted a few yards in front of the spotted merman. Lilli floated up under the violet male instinctually to conceal herself in his shadow, looking between the males apprehensively.

Roderich couldn't peel his eyes away from his emerald savior.

Had he said something wrong? It was a simple question, not one he'd expect anyone to get so flustered about. Certainly not enough to be that red-faced—the sight alone made that feeling in his chest spring up again. But, why was he—?

"What did you call me?"

Ohhh. A thin eyebrow arched upwards, and the violet male dared to be daring. "I called you 'darling,' dear Vash. It's what you are."

And oh, did the male's face just light up at that—as if a fire bloomed into being beneath his skin. A half-caught rebuttal flaked off the blonde's tongue, leaving him gaping there like many of the fish around them.

At first a flash of anger danced in those viridian irises, and Roderich felt unease creep up his spine for the first time since their meeting. The spotted male held out his arm towards his sister, whom of which quickly darted over to him and ducked under his belly, little face peeking back out through the grass.

What a weird feeling it was, Roderich mused, to be treated like something dangerous.

Vash began swimming again, his face an unreadable hard mask as he passed by the violet male.

Roderich hesitated to follow, wondering if he was even still allowed to. They were all still headed in the same direction and it would be outright ridiculous if they were to suddenly part now. Wouldn't it?

"I apologize if I've offended you," he spoke quickly, rushing to correct himself. He turned to see the emerald male pause, his head tilting slightly to assure the other that he was listening. Roderich took that as his cue and he cautiously made his way after the pair, easily playing off his words along the way. "I meant nothing by it, just that you've been so kind to me that I don't quite know what else to call you—besides your name, of course."

Vash visibly sighed, his shoulders sagging and his tail slowing. Once the violet merman had caught up to them they all resumed their previous pace forward for a few silent moments.

"I'm twenty cycles."

The brunette looked down at the top of the bright blonde head beneath him, the knot of unease within him loosening. He couldn't quite see the other's face, but the tips of his ears were tinted a pretty ruby.

Roderich felt his chest warm. That little sparking sensation in the back of his head from earlier returned in full force now, and he struggled to comprehend it. What was that?

"Oh? So you're a bit younger than I am," he said, trying to distract himself from the other's oh-so-red ears. "By two cycles, I think."

"You think?"

"I'm unsure of when I was born exactly. Even my father's a little hazy on the subject," the indigo merman muttered, eyes catching a bit of movement to their left.

The large grey object darted behind a rock, but not before he could see the telltale stripes along its flank. He brushed his hand against the other male's shoulder in warning.

Vash rumbled low in his throat, turning to look at the merman over his shoulder. He caught sight of where the violet male was looking and peeked his eyes over the top of the seagrass to see the danger himself, but Roderich swiftly pushed him back down before he could get a look and ducked into the pasture beside the siblings. Silver-dipped webbed fingers grabbed hold around a spotted waist and quickly pulled them to the right, dashing through the grass with powerful flicks of his long, mauve tail.

Thankfully, the blonde male allowed him to do this, assisting him with their speed while holding his sister close to him. The young mermaid wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tightly as the three of them hurried through the meadow.

"Tiger shark," he mouthed quietly as emerald eyes glanced to him.

Roderich wasn't one for prolonged speed, but under the circumstances there was no other option. They were hidden mostly in long grass, but given his contrasting complexion and the fresh injuries along his arms he was sure that the farther away they were from the predator the better. Most other kinds of dangers they could outrun or fend off if need be, but tiger sharks were the worst to face up against. They almost never could be scared off and usually weren't satisfied until their prey was locked in their jaws. Merfolk simply avoided them as best they could.

The purple male stole a look over the grass back to where he'd seen the shark behind them, only to find it gone. The clear waters should have made him rejoice, but the lack of any sort of creatures, shark or not, troubled him more.

"Is it gone?" Vash purled, angling their trajectory back towards the south. The green merman allowed his sister to hold onto him by herself so he could free up his hands, and reached for his spear.

"I do not know," he admitted, eyes scanning over the grass desperately. A feeling creeping up his spine made him whip his head around to the right, making sure they weren't about to be completely blindsided.

Sure enough, there was a dark dorsal fin sticking up out of the grass slowly curving around them.

Alarm bells were ringing fully in his head now. The predator most certainly must smell his wounds. Terrific. His eyes kept track of the shark in his peripherals as it moved ever closer while he mapped out his surroundings: kelp forests to his right, cluster of rocks and coral to his left, and nothing but empty green pasture in between. Doubly terrific. Of all the things he didn't think he'd be doing today, outrunning a tiger shark was definitely up there with 'being left behind by his family' and 'meeting a promising new friend.'

And oh, his tail already ached just thinking about it.

Despite his vexation, Roderich didn't hesitate to free his bone dagger from its ties as he let go of his companion. Vash looked at him then; brows furrowed in confusion as the purple male pushed him forward. "What are you doing?"

"I do not believe he's after you, dear," the brunette advised before dashing straight up towards the surface. He heard the male call after him, but it was too late.

Amethyst eyes glanced back briefly to see if his strategy had worked, only to look on in horror as the shark lunged after him. He pulled his tail back just as jaws snapped at him and sprinted his way over towards the coral formations. That was too close. He wasn't sure if the shark would even follow him at first, but no, he just had to be proven wrong, of course. Was luck with him or not today?!

Heart pumping, fins swishing fiercely, Roderich kept just out of reach of the predator. He dove in and around the large outcroppings of coral and rock, causing the shark at one point to smack into a large chunk of coral, breaking it in half. The tiger shark swam away after that, in a daze, and the merman took that moment to catch his breath as he hid in between two large rocks.

Resisting the urge to over think his situation, the violet male did his best to try and stay calm. He smoothed back his hair out of his face as he slouched against the cool stone. While he'd never quite had to face a shark by himself before, he'd worked with his brothers many times before then to chase them away. He wished he'd brought more than his dagger on this trip; thinking back to his elegantly carved sword displayed above his nest bed and how he'd be much more confident facing down the hulking beast of teeth and muscle by himself if he had it.

He played out every warning his father had ever given him regarding evading predators as a comforting mantra in his head. Stay silent. If that fails, then keep low and fast. Hide in the first bit of cover, if you can. Always have your blade out. You'll never know when you'll have to use it.

He worried the handle of his dagger, raising it up protectively in front of his face.

Roderich felt an instinctual pull in the back of his mind and looked up across the spacious field. In the distance he thought he saw a large black tail with a slightly smaller silver-blue one beside it. He took a double take, eyes straining to see if the sight was true and not just a hopeless mirage his mind was giving him.

And he would have rejoiced, he would have, if it weren't for the gaping jaws circling him.

Well, silence was unnecessary at this point, and so he called out to them with all the energy he could muster from his heaving chest. His cry got cut off in a high pitched shriek as the shark dashed at him again, apparently recovered from hitting the coral.

Roderich bolted, not quite as fast as he had intended, and he felt the chilling brush of teeth against his waist.

Just when he thought he'd been caught, a heavy weight knocked into him, pushing him out of the way of the snapping jaws. Emerald spots flashed across his vision and he barely had time to register the merman clinging to him before the two of them barreled into the tufts of seagrass, rolling with a hard thud as they hit the sand.

The mauve male blinked, gasping in lungfuls as firm verdigris fingers pushed him back into the ocean floor.

The mermen had landed beside a large overhang of table coral, and Vash was quick to pull them beneath it. Roderich struggled to fold all of his tail underneath it; resorting to wrapping the appendage around the base of one of the coral stems and them both, tucking in close under the umbra of the reef. Certainly the tiger shark wouldn't be able to reach them without breaking its nose against the sharp ridges of the overhang.

The violet male glanced at his once again savior, noting that Vash was eagerly brandishing his jagged stone spear.

And that he was sans his sister.

Roderich held the other closer as an ominous shadow passed before them, delighting in the vicious growl he could feel rumble throughout the spotted male's chest. "Where's Lilli?" he gasped, still collecting himself.

"Safe."

And that's when he smelled blood, tasted it on his tongue even. He glanced around in a panic. Was he hurt, or was Vash? He didn't feel any pain other than the burning in his lungs and muscles, but adrenaline was a hell of a thing and he was positive that he had to have some sort of scratches. The shark had nearly bitten him in half, after all.

Looking down at the male in his arms, whose torso he held flush against his chest, he spied several deep gashes cut into his left arm, just above the elbow. Something hot flowed against his abdomen and he stared further down to see even more slashes across the other's hip. The white strands of cloth were torn and ragged, stained a dark crimson. The thick gush of blood clouded around the pair, leaking out of their hiding place and into the clear, sunlit open water.

Roderich just about choked at the sight, never having been one for gore—and this certainly was more blood than his own measly scratches. Something sharp glinted through the wounds and—oh wow, was that a tooth?

Vash, to his credit, bared his teeth and held up his spear regardless. Blade pointed outward, he took hard jabs at the passing shadow that loomed in front of the entrance of their cubbyhole. Some of them connected, but none of them drove the danger away.

"Vash—" he rasped, unable to take the eyes off the ripped flesh. "You're bleeding."

"I've noticed." The emerald male gritted his teeth with a wince, leaning evermore into the indigo merman's hold.

"Like, a lot."

Vash whimpered softly, nodding his head in understanding. The mauve male felt his heart drop at the grim look in those emerald eyes.

Why, oh why did the other rush in like that? Why would he do that? Roderich just couldn't fathom the reason—the other male had a youngling to care for, after all. And he was only a stranger. He'd specifically swam in the opposite direction from the two to lead the shark away from them, not wanting to put them at risk for his sake. Sure, Vash had been kind to him so far, but this was just preposterous.

The violet male flustered over the injuries, deft fingers quickly tearing off the now useless strands of cloth and pressing them into the wounds. The green merman gasped, a groan hissing out between his teeth as he leaned into the pressure. The other allowed Roderich to hold him up, supporting him as he guarded them with his spear.

A sudden, calliopean crack of sound rippled through the water—something akin to thunder rocking through the waves and the long violet tail wrapped around them was the only thing that kept them both from slamming into the coral from the force of it.

Both males covered their ears to protect against the high pitched howls that followed, able to see the noise rippling through the water.

After silence fell, Vash turned his head to look at him, face pained and confused. "What was that?"

"That," Roderich huffed, relaxing with relief, "was my father."

…xXx…

It's maaagic, ya knooow . . .

This story went from 0 – 100 real quick oops.

Also, no hate towards tiger sharks! They are pure and soft muscle nom nom machines~ Very dangerous, though. 11/10 would not bleed in front of again.