She wakes up to blaring lights.
Blinking her eyes a couple times, she tries to get used to the brightness of the space she's in.
When her eyes adjust, she looks around.
She.. Has absoloutely no idea where she is.
Sitting up, her hand comes up to her head and rubs between her temples, she has a slight headache and can't remember what she was doing.
She registers as she sits, that she's surrounded by a soft material, and that she, too, has the same kind of soft material draped over her bosom.
Her hand trails the material, touches it and moves it around as it sits on her body. It makes her think of some mating customs, where the ones involved in the customs drape seaweed and plants over their bodies. It also makes her think of armour, but… soft.
Pulling in the material, she notices a lack of scales dorning her chest, her hand glides over it and it's smooth all over, except for right at the tip. She prods at the weird spots, it feels weird. It's not scales, they're too soft.
She checks her abdomen, no scales there, either.
Pushing the material away, she glances at her tail.
Or, more accurately, nearly screeches in horror because her tail is gone.
She. She has Legs. Like the crabs at the bottom of the sea - she. Her scales are gone.
She.
She's. She's a land-dweller.
Did she leave the ocean? Was she cursed? Does… Does the ocean hate her now?
No, surely not. This may be a dream. She can't know for certain.
So stuck in her thoughts, she doesn't realise she's not alone until she's startled by the sound of something heavy dropping.
She meets the gray eyes of a large, and probably male, land-dweller. He looks about as startled as she feels, before a huge smile breaks out on his hairy face.
"Oh you're awake! Thank god. I was getting worried for a second there"
His mouth moves and makes weird sounds, but she can't understand him. It's unlike any sounds she's ever heard. A different language.
His smile slowly glides off as he has a moment of realisation.
"Oooh, right. You can't understand me."
The land-dweller gestures and points at himself in various motions, all while repeating the same sound over and over.
"Roger"
She wonders if that's his name.
She points at him, and tries to mimic the sound. She finds that without her gills working, breathing and speaking at the same time is weird.
"R...Rog-er?"
He nods, and the smile is back. He says his name in affirmative.
"Roger!"
Somehow, the smile feels almost infectious. She can't stop the one slowly gracing her own lips.
He points to her, and makes a questioning sound.
Guessing he's asking for her name, she tries translating her name into his tongue.
"R-Roug-e"
"Rogue?"
She nods, and as a way of poking a little fun at the situation, mimics his behaviour earlier.
"Rogue!"
He laughs.
Over the next few days that she spends with the land-dweller, she learns that his species are humans and, like her own, come in various sizes and shapes.
Roger, the Man, had found her washed up on the beach. He knew she was a mermaid and had always known her folk existed as his family taught him to beware living along the coast like they did.
When he'd found her, she'd been laying close to the waves in the wet sand, and her tail had been glinting in the sun. He saw her from his window.
He'd brought her up to check for injuries, and as soon as she completely left the water and started to dry, her tail morphed into two legs and her gills closed up. He was afraid he'd hurt her, so he brought her to his home. She'd been asleep for days.
Or, at least that's her best guess. They don't speak the same language, and have mostly communicated by body-language, gestures and various noises. But, it's progress as she's learned a few words in his tongue.
But for some reason, she feels as if she understands him perfectly even without the gestures, like looking and reading his eyes is all she needs. It's a weird feeling.
Every day he tries to teach her his language, helps her get better at 'walking', and even brings her 'clothes' to wear on her body, as people typically do that.
She feels a certain belonging in her heart, as she and Roger spend more and more time together. She feels completed in a way she never really has. It's like her thirst for adventure, but.. Something else, entirely.
In fact, she'd even call it.. Happiness.
Roger himself is all smiles and laughter, always shining like the brightest of deep sea fish.
They carry themselves around each other like they've been friends since childhood, and Rogue finds she wants to tell this man, this land-dweller her entire life story.
And that's when she realises it. Roger is her romantic soulmate.
She knows it in her heart that it's true, the more time they spend together, the happier she is, it's a completely new world for her to explore and claw open for discovery - and she's loving every second of it.
Being with Roger is light. It's happiness. It's adventure and, most importantly.
It's freedom.
Roger felt the same way, and a few months after she'd come to him, they spent the night together.
In ways she never knew possible and soon, she could feel it. The life that was growing inside of her.
She had mated with him and was now carrying their unborn pod - their child.
And for every second, she loved the combination of their love just a little more.
During her stay, she's learned enough of his language to engage in small conversations. When she'll have more vocabulary, he's going to focus more on teaching her to 'read' and write. She tried teaching him some of her tongue, but somehow the language of the ocean (which is mostly click based sounds or vibrations as she's come to realise,) didn't translate very well for some reason. They both had a laugh at it though.
It's mystifying for her in a way, as she and Roger go out to get 'groceries' together or on walks at the 'park', how domesticated it all feels. She's still 'energetic and unpredictable' as her previous pod had been describing her, but for the first time in her life she wants to settle down for a while.
During this period of carrying her unborn, her instincts, while slightly more dormant than when she lived in the sea, have been flaring up more frequently whenever she feels predators near her and her pod.
Roger just laughs at that for some reason, even though from the looks of it her actions are very inappropriate in his culture.
But his laugh just increases the love she feels for him.
Recently they'd decided on names. If they have a 'Boy' it's going to be Ace, and if they'll have a 'Girl' it's going to be Ann. Rogue was surprised to learn that humans are born with typically one sex and they can't naturally change it should they wish. Something, she'd been so used to in the sea. However her mate did tell her that a lot of 'people' do in fact change it, or live separately from their sex as something else. She liked that.
And then, months later, she had her child.
It was a boy, and he was born in a 'hospital'. (She later learned that you needed personal files to be admitted to hospitals, something Rogue had no idea of where Roger attained one for her,) and he was a healthy baby with 'freckles' and dark hair. Rogue loved his blue eyes, but her mate told her that his real eye color hasn't come through yet so they probably won't stay blue.
Which was fine, she'll love him either way.
They brought Ace back to their house (that was starting to get a little cramped,) and had friends over (Rayleigh and his wife, Newgate and Oden and his wife,) who all congratulated them on a healthy boy. Their friends helped them cook and clean for a few days while they adjusted, and Roger and Newgate discussed moving their house, while Rogue hummed lullabies to their son.
Watching as Ace slowly grew filled her with a sense of purpose in her life, gave her fulfillment - this life were truly a blessing.
Roger were right, Ace's eyes weren't blue and ended up being golden brown with specks of grey - it reminded her of some seashells she'd found at the bottom of the ocean in her home.
They did move their small pod elsewhere. It was still close-ish to the sea, but not right outside their window close like before. It was going to be a new start for them, and she was more than ready.
And then one day, when Ace was around two years old, it cracked for the first time.
She'd had a nightmare, a horrible one, she could still hear the screams in her mind. Roger had been woken by her startled rising, and had taken one look at her before gently hugging her all night. That night, she realised she'd kind of been living inside her own bubble.
What had become of Dragon? Of her family and her home?
The next couple of days her attention had been elsewhere, and Roger knew. She'd been looking towards the directions of the sea, and so he cornered her an evening after Ace had been put to bed.
"I can see it you know, you're worried."
He tells her, putting a strand of hair that'd gotten loose from her bun behind her ear.
She smiles at his kindness.
"I am. I had a nightmare, and it made me realise no one knows what happened to me. I don't know what has happened to them, either."
He searches her eyes, for what she doesn't know and can only guess. Finally, he sighs, defeated.
"I want you to go"
Shocked at his statement, she nearly stands up and crashes her head into his in her haste for understanding.
"What?! But- I-"
Clearly realising his mistake, he holds up a hand to silence her before rubbing a shoulder and meeting her eyes.
"I didn't mean permanently. You've told me nothing of your world, and I don't know what's awaiting you, but it sounds like there is something or someone. And I imagine you'd like to put their minds at ease should they have worried. I want you to go back and do that. We'll be waiting for you here in the meantime."
She was relieved she'd misunderstood him, but it still tore at her heartstrings to leave her pod behind. She didn't want to, but she couldn't put herself first. Who knows what could have befallen her home while she'd been gone.
"...Alright"
He smiles his sunshine smile at her, taking her hand to rub circles on her palm with his thumb.
"Tell me about it? Your home?"
The moonlight is spilling in through the window, showcasing him in an amazing light that bounces off his skin. She smiles.
"It's an empire. We have buildings and pods like you, and a government with rules as well. I.. Were of a high standing family, who were set to become a council officer should my parents pass away. Because of that, it was decided that me and my friend, Dragon, were to mate. This is common there, to keep the genes pure. I love my home, but it wasn't meant for me, as it felt more like a cage."
"Is that why you left?"
"No, I think it was to find a child, but I don't remember much of it anymore. Even if they won't allow me back inside, I want to ease the mind of Dragon at the very least. He was my best friend, and I imagine my disappearance were hard on him."
Roger grins gently as she talks about the different types of people she's met, and about vibrant tails with matching fins. They don't go to bed until late that night.
The next day, Roger, with Ace on his shoulders, see her off at the harbour.
Initially, they wanted to hide all things merfolk from Ace, but given he's so young, they figured he wasn't going to remember. Roger told her to jump into the water and see what would happen, in hopes that her tail would return. She'd been sceptical about that, but Roger assured her it was worth a try.
Jumping into the ocean, as soon as she hits the salty water she feels her body change and her gills open. Sticking her head out of the surface, she waves at her mate and child, who waves estatically back at her.
"Have a safe swim! We'll be waiting as long as it takes!"
She keeps watching her pods smiles as she dives back down, beginning her long trek back.
At first it was difficult figuring out where to go, so she'd ask fish or other wildlife if they knew about a merfolk colony close to their location - some could help, others could not.
She wanted to be back to her family as soon as possible though, so she forewent resting and swam as long as she could, only stopping for quick naps every once in a while.
Because of that, she doesn't know how long it's taken her to arrive at the compound, but at one point she recognised the wildly vibrant coral fencing.
She was back.
Wasting no time, she pushed her muscles to the limits and speed-swam to the edge, before leaping over the fence and nearly ramming into some plantage that hadn't been there before.
She stopped for a moment, feeling her stomach clench and her gills being overworked, she almost opened her mouth to breathe in her lungs, but she's pretty sure that wouldn't be a good idea.
After finally feeling like she could breathe again, Rogue slowly made her way through the different plants towards the edge of the town, where she could follow the road to Dragon's house. Of course it'd be easier to track him down scent-vise, but she's forgotten her friends smell. Therefore, she'd just have to look.
She'd arrived at a later time it seems, as the streets were unlit with no algae in sight, and barely anyone were outside their home. Few stopped to look at her, and even fewer looked surprised or shocked to see her.
Following the almost nostalgic feeling hard coral roads curving towards the north end, she unconsciously sped up as she got closer.
If she remembered correctly, Dragon lived in a small house with room for himself in a small part of the northern border - he was very private and talked with even fewer people than her.
Finally, she caught sight of the dark green, almost grayish brown house at the end of the block tucked away in a corner surrounded by grays and white corals.
She knocked quickly, waiting a few seconds while listening for movement from the inside. When none came, she knocked again with more force in it this time.
Finally hearing some grumbles, it didn't take long for the door to swing open.
In front of her was Dragon, who looked at her life he'd seen a ghost. His hair had gotten longer and were swept back, and a large criss-crossing scar had settled across his left eye going nearly all the way down to his chin. His eyes looked tired, dark and stormy with unbidden unrest, and his once flawless tail had gotten tears in his fins.
Her hand flew to her mouth in shock and sadness over the state of her friend.
It almost looked like he didn't recognise her, but every so slowly his hand reached out and touched her shoulder. His eyes widened before he all but threw himself at her, hugging her tightly in relief. Being careful of his backfin, she hugged him back just as tightly.
"They said you were dead. Where have you been?"
Pulling back, she sees him looking her over, possibly for injuries. She lets herself be checked.
Chewing on her lip, thinking of what to tell her friend.
Glancing around them, she ushers him back inside and follows, before closing the door.
Likely sensing that this was a serious topic, Dragon sat himself on some plant decor. She sat across from him.
"... I met my soulmate."
Dragon looked surprised for all of two seconds before nodding his head, a gesture for him to go on.
"He's amazing, and.. We have a child together. A son. His name is Ace…"
Her friends' eyes had an understanding glint to them. She probably didn't need to say it, but she felt she had to.
"They're both human"
"I see. Why have you returned then, Rogue?"
She sees no fear or rejection in her friend, and that soothes her mind a little bit.
"I.. Had a nightmare, and realised that you probably didn't know what'd happened to me, and I didn't know if anything had happened here. So.. I came back, to soothe your mind"
"Thank you. But you must go as soon as possible."
"Has something happened while I was gone?"
Dragon no doubt sees her eyes turn to his scar. He sighs.
"You could say that, yes. Right after the storm my father sent out a search platoon looking for you. They found a few scales, but nothing else. We were told you'd passed away. Of course, they panicked a bit considering we were to mate, and so they attempted to mate me to someone else. This didn't work as they'd already mated everyone else off. My.. Grandmother heard of this as well,"
He stopped for a moment. Rogue didn't blame him. She'd met her once, and the woman had given her chills. Garp was a tiger shark merman, his father also a tigershark, but his mother had been an orca mermaid. Orca genes rarely come through for good reason, especially in the warmer water, as the orca merfolk are usually hardcore predators - even within the mer-family. Garp had inherited some of the predatory instincts from his mother, she's sure, but the woman could throw a punch and was pretty temperamental.
Now the new scar made sense.
She nodded, signalling to him that he didn't need to go into detail on that.
"They even considered mating me to a foreign merfolk from a different empire, but I refused. I'm glad you're alive, Rogue, but you should go. I can't imagine what they'd do should they learn you're here."
She understood his unease of the situation.
"I understand. I shall leave right away. Thank you for the warning.."
She righted herself, swimming towards the door. Hesitantly gripping the handle before turning to look at her friend.
"..You can come with me, if you'd like?"
She hopes he'll say yes, but she also knows he won't. Not if it could put someone else's safety at risk.
He smiles and shakes his head no. At that she turns around, not bidding her friend a goodbye.
She doesn't do goodbyes, as she knows she'll want to see him again.
Closing the door, she swims back the way she came from, taking extra care into not being seen.
When she's nearing the east, something grabs her tail and almost slams her into a coral wall. Turning to look behind her, she's met with the furious gaze of Garp. The tiger-shark merman's claws digging into her tail hurts slightly, but she's currently too nervous to really think about that.
"My precious daughter in law miraculously comes back from the dead, and she doesn't even stick around? Where do you think, you're going?"
He's in work mode, she knows, and right now all he really sees is a mermaid dangerously close to becoming a criminal. Again.
He doesn't wait for her to answer (and probably wasn't looking for one, either,) before flinging her back and slamming her head-first into the wall she'd almost hit before.
She blacks out almost instantly.
****
When Dragon is told they needed to collect his seed for insemination, he'd refused outright. But apparently they weren't taking no for an answer, and if he didn't come along they'd fetch guards to drag him out and collect it for him. He didn't want that, so he did it himself.
"Will you at least tell me why?" He asked his father, who had been standing guard outside the collection room. He handed the collector the infested coral.
"In case we'll need it. You don't need to know more, son."
He had a bad feeling about this, and he hoped he were wrong.
(P.O.V. Change)
When Rogue woke up, her head hurt. Her abdomen were wrapped in seaweed, and she'd been bound to some flat coral that resembled a table. Garp's mother, Ariana, were looking down at her with her arms crossed. Remembering she'd been caught, she realised there were no way for her to run.
"Welcome back, Rogue. I'm pleased to inform you that the mating was successful. During your pregnancy you're to stay here in the mid block so we can keep an eye on the progress. We're so happy you've returned to us" She told her, making her feel like she'd been dunked in ice cold waters.
She couldn't be surprised, they'd been desperate - they'd done it to her while she'd been asleep. Holding back her tears, she silently cried inwardly, wishing to see her son and her mate. But she had a feeling she wasn't gonna get back anytime soon.
Looking down at her still covered abdomen, she touched the slimy surface and sent out an apology to the life growing inside of her.
'I'm sorry, but I don't think I can take you with me when I leave. It's too dangerous a trip for a newborn, and I can't stay. I don't belong here'
She prayed to the ocean, to please forgive her for her selfishness.
***
It's during her second pregnancy that she realises how lonely she'd been here.
While before she'd been allowed to swim where she wanted within the boundaries of her home, now… she's not even allowed to do that.
She has a guard plastered to her to make sure she doesn't overdo it or do any strenuous activity, to ensure the younglings health be in top condition.
The only times she's allowed to be alone is at night. Not even Dragon is allowed to see her. She doesn't even know if he knows she's here. She wonders if her friend knows about their child.
In a way she hopes he doesn't, but if that were the case then how did they get his seed? She'll likely never know.
She's almost at the end of her pregnancy though, and so she's been confined to her quarters where a certified birth helper had been coming and going every so often, always followed by two or more council members.
And then one day, she feels the egg inside her belly pop and fluid start to gather.
The birth itself is a blur of pain and brightness of algae in her mind.
As she was laying on the table, gasping and blinking to clear her vision, her hearing slowly came back. It was silent, unnervingly so.
Gathering the last ounces of her strength, she ignored the blood and fluids around her and instead focused on the child.
Her offspring, who was so small with still closed eyes, were held in the hands of Ariana, who was looking at the child with disgust, her lip pulled back showing her teeth.
Her child, and, if the smell was right, her son, had his tail open instead of coiled like you usually see on younglings.
But she had no doubt that the attention wasn't on that.
No, her son's tail, scales and markings were all.. Completely and thoroughly mixed.
He barely had any hair, and the backfin were so tiny she couldn't see it that clearly, but it looked like a tiger-shark fin. He had markings on his back belonging to that of an orca, before the small fins of a dragon fish protruded from barely there hips, with stripes occasionally interrupted by orca spots danced down to the tip and last fin, which also were shaped like a tiger-fish fin.
"What is this?," Ariana hissed.
Rogue knew she had little to no energy, but the paternal instinct in her caused her to move - just in time as Ariana threw her son, her claw catching on his tiny cheek and scratching him. Rogue's fins lifted in aggression as she let out a warning growl, clicking her tongue and showing her teeth while cradling her child to her chest. Her son was crying, and still bleeding.
Ariana growled in return, shifting into a battle, her hissing could probably be heard at the other end of the building.
"You dare defile our standing with this? These genes? You're cursed! You shouldn't have returned, because of you we're without an heir" The mermaid said, but Rogue wasn't having it. She wasn't going to let her, or anyone else, hurt her youngling.
Her eyes darted around for an escape route - she's quick, but she has to be careful. Too much jolting could cause her son more distress. Ariana gave a push with her tail before taking off, Rogue dodged as neatly as possible, before swimming out of the room as fast as she could in her exhaustion.
She swam for a window, hoping to shake off the orca mermaid before she caught up. If she had to sacrifice her life or her health to protect her youngling, then so be it.
What she hadn't been expecting to see outside though, were Dragon and Garp, who both looked surprised at seeing her swim out the window.
Garp's face morphed in confusion at the crying bundle in her arms, and Dragon looked disturbed before realisation creeped in. Right behind her and smashing into the coral window frame in her haste, was Ariana.
She sped up, and half expected Garp to go after her again, but she was surprised to find him getting in the way of his mother. Dragon nodded to his father before quickly swimming up to her.
He steadied her before they made their way to his house. Her son had quieted down in the meantime and he wasn't bleeding anymore, she licked the wound clean and hoped it was enough. His gills were working still, and she could feel his heartbeat.
As soon as she sat down she nearly passed out in exhaustion, with Dragon nearby her instinctual overdrive had finally shut down and all she felt was a deep boned tiredness.
She thinks she heard someone telling her to sleep, promising her to take care of it, but she was out before they finished talking.
**'*
When she woke up again, she was surprised to see her son sleeping on her chest. This close, she could see a tiny barely there dusting of freckles on tan skin, and the cut he'd gotten had been wrapped in seaweed.
Sitting up carefully and keeping an arm around her child, she noticed Dragon sitting down on some plants opposite of her. He was eyeing them warily, with slight guilt in his eyes.
"My father came by while you were asleep. My grandmother has been calmed down. I'm sorry harm had to befall you and your youngling,"
She noted he didn't say 'Our' or 'my' which, for some reason, was a relief to her.
"However.. You might've realised this, but you're gonna have to leave. They've ordered for either your arrest, or for your exile as an order from the ocean. They deemed you hated by the seas, and therefore you shall roam it alone. I'm sorry I couldn't help that. All I could do, was get custody of your child until a new heir will be made or a new family takes over."
Even though she'd already decided to leave, it doesn't get any easier to hear that she's been exiled like that. But what truly breaks her heart is that she's now forced to leave behind her son, whom she didn't want to love.
She trusts Dragon though. Trust him enough to leave him with her child.
"Please, take care of him" She says as she rises. Handing Dragon her son is a bit awkward, as Dragon tries his best to be careful. Lucky for him she has experience, and she guides him on how to hold her offspring.
"I will"
She kisses him goodbye, and silently asks her friend to not tell him about her.
The message must get across, as he nods before turning to look away from her.
She leaves the house, not surprised to find Garp there, who's here to escort her out of the bounds.
The swim is silent, neither having anything to say as she's flung across the coral fencing.
From there, she makes her trek back to where her pod is.
Unaware of how much time has passed, she follows the pull in that direction and sooner than she'd thought (or maybe she just lost track) she's dragging herself up on a familiar sandy beach, before getting up on her legs and walking to her home, the scents of her pods getting closer and closer, the longing inside of her growing like an itch inside of her ribcage that's begging to be relieved.
She doesn't bother knocking on their door, she takes the spare key and opens it - it's early so she knows Ace is asleep but Roger's not. She finds her mate in the kitchen, tiredly making something to eat, she clicks to get his attention making him turn around. Her eyes water and she finally lets herself crumble as he runs to catch her. He rocks her and doesn't say anything, only making soothing noises.
She tells him what happened, cries out the sorrow and loneliness she'd felt.
Together, they decide that they'll never let Ace go into the ocean.