Vash mulls over his strange predicament while he recuperates, and tries not to feel lonely.

...xXx…

Vash groaned quietly. He covered his eyes with his arm and attempted to roll over, but stopped when his muscles protested.

Right.

He groaned again, his achy chest quivering as he sucked in a deep, deep breath.

Lowering his arm, green eyes blinked slowly as the black waters around him tinted grey. Walls of hollowed, dark red rock met his gaze, and were within his touch if he reached out. The tunneled entrance to the little cubbyhole showcased rays of far-off sunlight that were beginning to trickle through the Great Alcazar haven.

Vash forced his leaden body to roll onto his right side, almost onto his stomach, and he leaned against the wall as he tucked himself into the divot there. The small space had cooled over night, the sun warmed rock chilling faster in the deeper waters. A thick, sea silk weave covered him, and he was grateful that it helped to keep the bite of cold off of his skin and scales.

Moving wasn't exactly his specialty at the moment, and once the leopard-tailed male nuzzled into the kelp at the corner of the bed and the wall, his body slumped. Vash hardly had the energy to get up at all. At least, not for the past few days or so, and only just long enough to roll over to eat. The unfortunate events of the other day had ensured that he'd be useless until he was fully healed.

Turns out that being tossed around like a pebble by a massive monster and having an entire rotten ship crush him was bad for his health. Who would have thought.

Despite his soreness, the speckled merman was restless.

The only contact he'd had with anyone over the last several days had been whenever the strange, blind youngling came in to treat his wounds. The pale juvenile had originally frightened him the first night he'd awoken—to think, a ghost had been hovering over him! Alas, it was just the smaller male, floating silently, his milky eyes watching him sightlessly as his hands worked to tighten the wrappings around his wounds. Vash had gotten used to him after the first few instances, even though he still didn't know the youngling's name despite him being the only outside contact he's had.

Not even Lilli had been in to see him, since the others were keeping her away.

At first, Vash had been angry. How dare the others—these strangers—keep her away from him. How dare they presume that he'd be okay with that, in any respect.

After the second day of isolation, he'd begun to understand why they kept her away. He was in no way able to care for her at the moment, feed her or even stay awake enough to protect her. It would be risky to have her lay with him, in case she accidentally hit his wounds in her sleep, or roughed around too much—she was still a pup, after all.

Around the third night, the merman had to admit that he was . . . grateful his sister couldn't see him like this, any more than she already had. Vash wanted to stay, in her eyes, infallible. Plus, since his left side was throbbing; torn up his waist and arm, wounds reopened from his skirmish with—

Vash shuddered.

Lilli would still speak to him through their bond every day. Telling him if she was fine or not, babbling on and on about the other merfolk, what colors their tails were, the stories they told her, what new fish she'd eaten that day—and that was enough to settle his nerves. Apparently, she'd been playing with the other pup, Killian, and was growing quite fond of the merboy. However, whenever she would talk about the other pups from the Alcazar pod that she played with, his stomach turned a bit.

The emerald male worried through the hours whether or not she was getting along with them, if they were playing too rough, if she fit in—all of which Lilli would just tell him she was okay. The little mermaid had never been around others her age before, since Vash had raised her by himself. After their mother had passed, what choice did he have? At the time, he was only 15 cycles old himself, and it wasn't like he could have taken his baby sister and tried to move from their nest. That would have been a death sentence for them both.

Nevertheless, guilt gnawed at Vash more than any other pain.

The merman sighed as he buried his face further into the kelp nest, pulling the blanket up over his ears.

I wonder how different life would have been, he thought, if we had joined another pod.

Thoughts of them both growing older and bonding with other merfolk flit through his head, and he frowned. The idea didn't sit right with him. After all, he had grown up without a sibling, with only his mother for comfort, and he turned out just fine. Why couldn't the same be said for his sister? She had him.

Despite himself, the faces of the Sapphire Cavern pod filled his mind, and the leopard-tailed male almost whimpered.

Diedrich knew him, had known his mother before her passing, and had offered for Vash and Lilli to come live with him and his family. Afterwards, he had yelled at the older merman, snapping at him that he didn't want any pity, didn't need it. The alpha's pod had never helped them before—decidedly untrue, but at the time Vash couldn't be bothered to acknowledge that fact—so he didn't want their help. Diedrich had obeyed his wishes and left him mostly to care for his newborn sister by himself, only dropping by occasionally to check on them. Alexius had given him a similar offer, one which he'd also turned down.

Thoughts of the pod continued to run through his mind, specifically how they had allowed Lilli and him to swim with them to the Alcazar. A fact that still surprised him to no end. He'd clashed with a few of the males at the border of their territories over time, just minor scuffles, but it was enough to make it clear that he wasn't going to be lenient against them for trespassing. That territory was his; his home, and his sister's, and he would make sure it was safe.

Yet, despite his aggression, they'd still allowed them to travel alongside the pod. Well, mostly.

Vash's eyes flew open as soon as the face of a certain merman appeared behind his eyelids. He huffed in frustration and huddled further under the sea silk weave, completely covering his head with it.

Idiot.

A pause. A snort.

A handsome idiot.

He made sure to keep that thought to himself.

Perhaps what soured his mood as much as Lilli being kept away from him, was the fact that he hadn't heard a peep from Roderich.

A tingling sensation pooled at the base of his spine at the thought of the other male, totally unbidden and, frankly, exasperating. Every time his mind went back to the brunet his body hummed, heartbeats full with satisfaction.

Alive, alive, chirped his inner voice, He's alive. Alive, and warm, and well.

Vash was still, honestly, reeling from that fact. How the violet male had come back from literal death, he'd never know, nor could he even fathom a guess. The blond wouldn't even entertain the idea that he had been the one to bring him back. Sure, he'd ripped that grotesque being from out of him, but even then Roderich hadn't awakened. Not until Vash had . . .

No. Impossible. Insane. None of that 'true love's kiss' for him, thank you very much. Only reality for him. No matter the how, he could admit that he was glad that Roderich was alive.

But he hadn't heard from the elegant merman. Not in person, or . . .

Vash swallowed thickly at the notion that they were bonded. Fucking bonded. After just one day of, what? Swimming from danger together? For fuck's sake, he grumbled inwardly. Maybe he'd been too far removed from others of his kind for a long time, but it didn't seem likely for a bond to form that quickly. Especially between complete strangers.

Unfortunately for the emerald merman, his anxious mind wouldn't allow him to just sleep and not think about it, like he wanted to. That's what he told himself again and again every time the image of the iridescent, shimmering, indigo male invaded his thoughts.

The miniscule amount of sleep he did manage to get that wasn't induced by whatever magic that blind juvenile sacked him with were filled with odd dreams. With dancing colors, flashes of white light, a swirling darkness that ate everything in sight, the suffocating smell of blood, along with the scent of something he couldn't quite place; and that's all he could remember.

The male always woke from those dreams unable to move, to breathe, trapped curled on his side in petrified horror.

Vash had shaken those thoughts from him then, attributing it simply being a biproduct of the experience of the other night, and he shook them from him now. Even though the sun was rising, he wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep and forget about everything for awhile.

He couldn't.

...xXx…

A couple hours later, when the waters outside were filled with enough light to brighten the interior of his little cubby, Vash gave up trying to rest.

The leopard-tailed merman was tired of laying around. Of being isolated and sulking. He made up his mind.

Vash hissed in discomfort as he moved his bandaged tail for the first time in days, pushing himself up by his arms. His left arm was bandaged by more silks, and the sting around his elbow wasn't nearly as bad as the burning around his waist.

I'm fine, he scolded himself, grunting as he untangled the blanket from his fins. I can get my own damn food.

Admittedly, the blond used his hands to pull himself across the circular nest towards the entrance as he carefully waved out the stiffness in his spotted tail. He picked up a small, curved bone from the pile of discarded bones from his meals and hooked it through the weave at his neck to hold it in place.

Once he was beneath the short tunnel, Vash pushed himself up and paddled through the carved exit, poking his head out to look around. The waters were clear and quiet. Even though the Alcazar was deeper underwater than his home in the shallows, it was illuminated well by the sun above, the rays reflecting all along the coral towers and forests. The faintest shine of the protective dome around them could also be seen if one looked closely enough.

Taking it slow, Vash freed himself from the stifling den and ventured forth.

The swim towards the tall clusters of coral was unhurried, and the male stayed close to the seafloor so he could push off the sand if need be. He'd rather take his time than injure himself further, lest he be confined to that cubbyhole in the rocks even longer. The thick weave was snugly clutched around his shoulders to stave off the chilly morning waters, and he was relieved. The sensation of the soft silk draped down the length of him was an unfamiliar one, yet welcome. He'd never needed such a thing before in his territory, but the Alcazar was a different matter.

Vash had only been to the Great Alcazar twice before with his mother when he was a pup, but he was glad that he vaguely remembered where the main common area was. As it was the place he spent the most time, and where the food was located.

The emerald male was reassured that the den he'd been placed in was a good distance away from the center of the Alcazar. He wouldn't want to be too close to everybody else. It would've been distressing to be around the busy activity of everyone milling about and clustered together.

As the blond merman swam underneath coral archways, belly skirting the sand and seaweed beneath him, he stopped at the edge of a ring of granite stone steps that dipped down into an amphitheatre. He saw the bowl of caught fish down in the bottom of the arena, and his stomach growled.

Vash held back at the top of the coliseum when he saw the flicker of several tails across the way. He ducked down to press himself against the sand, staying in the shadows of the stone columns. A group of larger males appeared from around the lower level steps, and Vash recognized a few of them.

There were five in total; two belonging to the Sapphire Cavern pod and the other three to the Alcazar.

The two Sapphire males swam close together. The black striped silver-tailed-silver-haired one ruffled the smaller blond one's hair, toothy grin glinting in the early light. Vash recognized the blond one as the one who had arrived with Diedrich to save them from the tiger shark. Ludwig, was his name? He had no idea who the silver male was, but he did realize it was one of the ones who'd threatened him once they'd caught up to the pod.

The leopard-tailed merman watched as the pair slowly made their way towards the food bowl with the other three males.

Vash recognized one of the Alcazar mermen, one with dark amber hair that was tied back and a spiny crimson tail, as one who'd originally helped move him into his den. He didn't know his name, since he'd been too exhausted to care. Another merman who looked to almost be his twin, with shorter hair and a slightly lighter red tail, swam alongside him. That one was loudly riffing and crowing with the silver-haired Sapphire male. The last merman again had brown, curled hair, and his tail was similar to the others with spikes and fins, in a burnt bronze with lighter stripes. That merman particularly looked not quite awake, and radiated annoyance.

Vash grimaced in equal discontent. Settling into the seagrass beneath him, the speckled male tugged the silk weave better over himself and laid his head on his arms. He didn't want to attempt to waddle down towards this group and make himself a target, so he would wait for them to leave. Though, he knew they wouldn't attack him, not there, not unless they wanted to deal with Alexius or Diedrich, but he still didn't want to give them any ideas.

The emerald merman relaxed in the shadow of the archway, letting his muscles thrum and throb. The coliseum was warming from the sunlight trickling down from the surface far above them, the graven stone and coral glittering.

Vash witnessed as more merfolk showed up. Two mermaids; Emma looking very sleepy while swimming with the fuschia and aqua-tailed beauty, who was combing her long hazel curls with her fingers.

Elizabeta, right? he thought, recalling the name Roderich used. The one who's mated with . . . was it Gilbert? Whoever that is.

He relaxed his head back atop his arms, keeping watch with half-lidded eyes as the mermaid smiled and chirped excitably to Emma.

The spotted merman kept an eye on them as they met up with the group of males over the bowl of food and began chatting. It seemed he got his answer when he saw Elizabeta go over to the silver-haired male and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He didn't think the other's grin could have gotten any wider.

Off to his left he spied the flicker of a violet tail, and his heart thumped.

Roderich swam over to the food dish rather swiftly, which seemed unlike him. Vash's gaze followed him intensely, surprised to finally see the other for the first time in days. The merman looked well; scales shining, eel-like tail waving rhythmically, his arms no longer bandaged by cloth. The purple male didn't acknowledge his family once he reached the bowl except for a nod before reaching into the dish, grabbed a few fish, and disappeared through a tunnel on the opposite side of the arena.

The little squeeze in Vash's chest went ignored.

The blond didn't know what to expect. If the other had seen him, what would he have even done? Cried out in front of everybody to say hello? Swam over to him and invaded his personal space by touching him and brushing against his tail? As if.

The slight twinge of disappointment also went ignored.

Vash shivered in the shade and took a deep breath, exhaling heavily as he let his body fully settle into the grass. He pushed all thoughts of the other male from his mind, not willing to think about senseless things.

Looks like I'm going to have to wait awhile, he mused, viridian irises tracking more tails as they appeared. He should have predicted this—it was early morning, after all. Everyone would be getting up to eat something or go out to hunt. He, too, was hungry, but he could wait until everyone had dispersed.

Before long, Vash was dozing under his blanket.

Iridescent flashes brightened the darkness behind his eyelids.

...xXx…

Vash is a wallflower extraordinaire (who's maybe got a crush).

On a side note, that bronze merman swimming with Antonio and Fausto is Lovino! :D Both Italy brothers with be introduced more thoroughly soon, don't worry, but since they're not the focal point of this fic it's taken a bit.