A Stranger

(OK! So, Kleavor is apparently an insanely huge mantis. No problem! Then I add more and make Avalug a big-ass leatherback turtle! Also, in my story at least, Lian is a crab in this, not a turtle or a stonefish, that's the only way the boy would be able to reach the huge mantis living in the woods and most definitely scared of huge bodies of water. Irida is a sea lion and Calaba… I am thinking a sea otter. Obviously not all things drom the real world apply in the AU.)

Everyone was panicking. No one knew what was happening or why the storm had started in the first place, they only knew the results- the swirling tear in the sky and the few days or stormy weather that followed after its appearance.

Members of the Pearl clan swam from place to place, observing and trying to fix the damage caused by the bad weather. Ice chunks had broken off and were floating on the surface, a few hitting their heads on them as they emerged for air, currently a small group of youths was tasked with gathering the bigger chunks and carrying them to the shore. A few of the homes near the surface were also damaged and needed fixing, Lian was especially upset. His home was in a small sea cave near the beach, which he used to dry seaweed and small fish on, because of the storm's sudden appearance, all the drying food was blown away and washed into the sea, his drying racks were also ruined.

"And to top it off, I won't have Lord Kleavor's favorite snacks prepared for the next offering! Can you imagine how sad the lord would feel?!" – the young boy crossed his arms and blew a few bubbles.

"I know it might upset the Lord, but I can't do anything about it, Lian. Everyone is busy and Calaba won't let me out of her sight for long. You can ask some of the others to help you rebuilding them when they are free or maybe ask your pare-" – Irida was cut off.

"NO thank you! I appreciate the idea, Miss, but I would rather do it myself. It will be faster than waiting." – he turned around and swam to the surface.

Irida sighed and shook her head. Lian may be a Warden, but he's still the youngest of Pearl clan's Wardens, only Sabi from the Diamond clan being younger. You could still see he was not fully mature, the rounder cheeks, softer shell and a bit squeakier call.

'Why, why must he act so immaturely. If it was me-'

Irida stopped that train of thought. No matter what she wished or what she imagined, it was a fact that her parents were now gone, nothing would ever bring them back, leaving the space they occupied empty and for her to fill. She swam back towards the clan settlement. Some would occasionally pause to greet her and continue on their way. Calaba was busy directing some of the other healers where to go and gather medicinal plants to replenish the stock they used. Irida was quite bored, she had just officially taken the role of a clan leader, so the elders still did a lot of things instead of her.

She wanted to help! She wanted to be useful, to be a good leader! She couldn't just sit back and watch, no matter how overprotective Calaba was, she wasn't a pup anymore!

'Maybe… I CAN do something to help. If I remember correctly, the Seasnare Lian uses to tie the wood pieces together doesn't grow too far away from here. Everyone is busy… I can go there quickly and return without anyone noticing! Easy-breezy!'

The young clan leader snuck out, looking over her shoulder in case someone followed her. She finally reached the end of their territory, the forrest of Seasnare a few hundred meters ahead of her. She smiled, quickly went for a breath of air and swam downwards, a smile on her face.

….

Thunder boomed above him as huge waves smashed into his side, causing pain and a feeling of wrongness. He was lost, he was confused, he didn't know where he was!

The last thing he remembered was going down one of the maintenance tunnels to check on some malfunction or something like that, then, suddenly he is falling into the cool sea water below with a painful splash. He floundered about in the darkness, his body not quite listening to him.

He finally breached the surface and took a breath of air before a huge wave crashed on top of him, spinning him in the water, then another and another. He then collided with something, or was it many things? He wasn't sure but his back flared in agonizing pain and he could swear he heard a SNAP even in the stormy sea. He scrambled and pulled himself up the thing he had crashed into- it was cold and slippery but he gripped with all his might, fingers sinking in it a bit. With a loud gasp and a wet cough, he appeared above the raging waters, clutching onto a giant wall of ice for dear life. The waves hit him again and again, trying to rip him away from the wall. He knew he should get out of the water, pull himself up, so the currents and waves wouldn't drag him in the deep and drown him, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't manage it. His legs just wouldn't move the way he wanted them to! He couldn't pull himself with just his arms, his bottom half suddenly seeming to weigh a ton.

Oh no! Was that what the snap was? His spine breaking, leaving him with paralyzed legs in a middle of a storm-

*Crack!*

He looked up towards the sound, his eyes widening as he saw a sizeable chunk of ice break from the wall he was clinging to. He didn't have time to contemplate what to do as one of the smaller chunks hit him on the head pretty hard. His hands slipped and the sea swallowed him. The edges of his vision began to darken as the throbbing in his skull set in. The last thing he saw before blacking out was the ice raining down and falling towards him.

…..

Irida happily swam through the underwater forest, picking through the long, flowing plants, choosing ones that were thick and were not torn or browning. If she was going to help with the materials for Lian's drying racks, she was getting the best quality Seasnare!

"Hmm~Hmm…" she happily hummed and thrilled, a full song almost coming from her lips.

She stills suddenly, her hairs can feel something, something big. She looked around, ready to bolt, it wouldn't be the first time a large predator had attacked a mer and it wouldn't be the last. She saw something move this time, deeper into the forest of seaweeds, something big and black. She slowly backed away, ready to bolt, a warning call building in the back of her throat, ready to call the guards and alert the clan of the potential predator and then, she heard it.

"U-uugh…"

It was weak, stuttering and barely audible, but it was definitely a distress call, not the uniform calls each clan used but the most instinclual and basic call each of them understood- the call distressed or sick newborn pups or delirious adults in the medical bay would make. Irida paled, dropping her haul and swimming towards the figure without a second thought.

There, on the seagrass-covered seafloor laid an unfamiliar mer. He was easily twice her size, but he looked terrible. His whole back was scraped and bloody, the dorsal fin on his back seemed to have snapped in half, he wore strange clothing that fit well with the black and white patterns of his body, they were also tattered. He was losing some of his color, he looked weak and thin, no doubt his ribs would be showing if his clothing was removed. His eyes were cloudy and unfocused, he was struggling…

'He needs air!'

Irida approached the stranger, careful to not touch any of his wounds, making a soft clicking sound her mother had used to calm her. The stranger's eyes moved to her for a fleeting moment and drooped even more. She had to act fast! Despite his bigger frame, she moved him without much struggle on his side, only the water resistance slowing them down on the way up. They breached the surface and she almost went back down under, then his weight came down on her, water no longer supporting it. The stranger finally took a loud and long breath of air, then coughed harshly. She was worried something was wrong but his breathing soon returned in the form of weak panting. The man barely clung to life but now he was breathing! He could be helped!

She carefully draped his top half over her shoulders and swam towards the Pearl clan settlement. She and the large man were quickly noticed by the patrolling guards.

"Call Calaba! He needs help!" – Irida shouted.

One of the guards nodded and quickly swam to call the old healer, the other one approached and helped the young leader bring the stranger to the healing bay.

"Lady Irida?! What is the meaning of this?! I turn my back for a moment and you've come from outside the clan territory with a strange man!" – Calaba shouted, even as she took stock of the man's injuries.

"Sorry, Calaba. I just wanted to help…"

The old healer smiled a bit and sighed.

'Just like her mother…'

"Well, if you want to help, then hold him in place as I take those rags off of him." – she went back to her stern expression, not showing herrare smile to the girl, she was being scolded at the moment.

The next fer days were going to be critical- the man starved, injured and half dead, showing clear signs of loneliness. Being alone for long really did a number on their people.

…

He woke up slowly, his heavy eyelids peeling open. He was in a stone chamber- or was it a cave? He looked around, blinking sleepily, his eyes looked over-

'Wait… those… aren't my hands!'

He jumped up a bit, pushing himself up, the strange, clawed, black and white limbs moving too. Something heavy and unfamiliar moved behind him, he could feel it move. He looked bac, seeing that from the waist down he had the body of an orca.

He struggled to move in the shallow pool of water, to get away but the strength he found earlier was quickly leaving him. He was soon laying on the stone, panting heavily.

From the water further down the cavern, a short old woman emerged. She looked normal, then he saw that her bottom half was also not human. Was she like him- NO, NO! His mind was telling him this was all wrong… but why was it wrong?

"Ah, I see you are awake, stranger. How are you feeling?" – she approached him cautiously.

"I- I think I am fine…" – even tired, his voice filled the cave.

"Naturally loud, I see. Well, you are lucky our miss found you or you'd be dead right now. What in the name of almighty Sinnoh happened with you, lad?" – she asked while looking over his back, most of the wounds already healed, leaving tiny scars.

"I- I don't-" a sharp pain in his skull made him wince "I can't remember…"

"Then, where you are from? Any family passing by? Were you migrating?"

"No- I- I can't remember!" – he panicked.

"Calm down! You'll open your bigger wounds, also your dorsal fin is still broken."

He took a few calming breaths as the patted his shoulder.

"Then what can you remember?"

"M-My name… my name is Ingo. T-that's all."

"Well, Ingo, I am Calaba of the Pearl clan. I will be your healer."