Seraphina
Laying on my ledge, I stare up at the Surface. It is far above me, but I can just make out the Sun Goddess as she tickles the ocean. Mostly, I believe I am in shock at what just happened. He was so close, so terribly close. I feared for my life, I must admit. When he came down out of nowhere, landing on me like I'm some sort of creature he can possess. I did as best as I could, I fought, but he captured me as I captured him those many weeks ago. Looking at him from my place in the ocean, I had always felt a warm feeling in my chest, but now when the human's face swam into my mind all I felt was fear, anger, hatred. Keeping me on the Surface was cruel, I have heard the stories of those who stayed up there too long. They are rare, only resulting from the most extreme of banishments. It is a nightmare I do not want to face. The pain and humiliation.. How dare my human do this to me? I nearly froze in his strange world, with its odd texture and temperature. Perhaps that was his plan all along.
But no, it couldn't be. I think about how when he noticed I was cold the human had placed me back into my ocean. He couldn't be all evil if he did that. I am so confused. My head throbs. I close my eyes and roll over, prepared to sleep. But sleep does not come, at least not at first. I lie there, awake but perfectly still, for what seems like a very long time. My stomach rumbles and I ignore it. I have not eaten for a while, a long while, but I make no effort to move. My mind is still on the Surface with my human.
As the Sun Goddess is going to sleep for the second time since my capture, I finally rouse myself. I've made a decision about my next plan of action. Swimming upright, my tail is a bit stiff from lack of use. My tail.. The human seemed so interested in my tail. I wonder why. I myself see nothing of particular interest in it. It is a bit shorter than most of the other mermaids my age, but that happens in my clan. It is curious that the human would be interested in something so mundane. Shaking it off, I gather a bit of kelp and plunge my hand into the middle of an anemone. A hand full of clownfish eggs come out, which I drop into the kelp to keep them together. Popping one into my mouth, I begin searching for something else to give to the human. He probably hasn't eating without me there to provide for him.
The Sun Goddess is just about to sink beneath the far end of the ocean when I break the surface. It is dark, but I see just fine, the same way I do in the depths of the water. I locate the human standing down the shore a ways, staring out to sea. Such a curious pastime. Swimming forward, I reach the island just a little ways down from where he is. He notices me then and turns so I can see his face. In this odd orange and pink light, his face looks beautiful, in a different way than it normally does. I don't move for a moment, and neither does he. We simply stare at each other. Then I snap to my senses and look away, down at the food in my hands. I've managed to scrounge up a pair of small tuna and a lot of plants. He must be hungry after so long without food.
I let him take a few steps forward, so we're only about four tail lengths apart. His eyes flick to the food, and back to my face. I was right, he's hungry. I can see it in his lovely eyes. Another moment passes where we both watch each other, then I swim back a few more tail lengths, until I am a safe distance away. My human rushes forward and snatches up the food, digging into the greens right away. I smile with satisfaction and duck down under the waves, finally feeling at peace enough to get some rest.
From then on, I feel safer and safer approaching my human. He has not since tried to capture me or touch me at all, and even began to bow when I brought his food. After only a short time, I allow him within a mere tail length of me. This day, the Sun Goddess is straight above us when I surface. I have his food like usual, and I'm feeling daring today. I swim bravely up to the shore and wait until my pet walks over to me. He hesitates a tail length away, looking a little uncertain. With my most roguish grin, I lift my arms from the water and hold them above my head with the food in them. He smiles at me a most gorgeous smile, flashing his teeth, and reaches out to take the food. Our fingers brush and I feel my cheeks get hot. I smile a little bit and look away. I can see him smiling wider from the corner of my eye. He bows and backs away, says something in a language I vaguely recognize. Settling down to sleep later on, after the Mood Spirit wakes, I finally remember my lessons in languages as a young mermaid. The word he spoke was one from a tongue I had learned only a bit of, I forget it's name. It warms me inside when I figure out had just thanked me.
