Heyo! Here's a small drabble for mermay!
Levi was the Shiganshina Aquarium's resident grumpy merman. He disliked all but a few of his keepers, being kept away from the other mers due to his rather possessive and territorial tendencies. He longed for freedom, but due to his long track history, he sadly wouldn't survive in the wild. His tail was a lot weaker now that one of his flutes is heavily damaged. He wouldn't be able to swim fast enough for long enough to catch his own food. Not to mention he was blind in one eye due to a large scar from a fight with an angry polar bear. He would lash out against anyone he didn't trust, unable to make relationships with other mers. However, he was lonely.
They tried introducing him to other animals and even tried to find him a mate, but he acted out aggressively to them. That was until they dropped a young mer into his tank. Little Eren had been found badly injured due to a boating accident that had sadly killed his mother. There were no mapped-out pods in the area that would take him so lead trainer Hange Zoe suggested he be introduced to the Shiganshina Aquarium pod. They thought that perhaps a younger pup could bring out the more protective instincts in their lonely mer. They all stood on standby, ready to take Eren out at a moment's notice if Levi decided to get violent.
Levi was prepared to do as he usually did, but the way Eren's eyes were sparkling with curiosity and naivety had Levi still. He allowed the pup to explore the tank in peace, but when he neared his nest he hissed, only to regret the scolded look and whimpers he received. Eren avoided his cave for the most part, sometimes coming to the entrance at night and calling for him, but Levi never responded. For a few days, it went by the same. Levi would watch from his cave as the humans threw all sorts of toys for the mer to interact with. Levi had to admit, watching him swimming around, his little squeaks of excitement and squeals of joy when they threw in a treat for doing a trick, were kind of cute. Even more so when the first treat Eren got he would always bring to the cave. He never went in, but he would put it there for Levi. Levi always waited for the pup to look away before taking it, enjoying the treats he himself never got.
Then one day they took him out. Levi had fallen asleep, watching the mer sleep in a makeshift coral nest little ways outside the cave. He heard no chirps or squeals, no clicks or purrs. The dark mer investigated, confused when he saw Eren not asleep in his little nest, but also not playing about. He searched the tank but found no sign of him anywhere. At first, he was glad, thinking that he would once again have the alone time he thought he wanted. But after only a few hours he realized he missed the happy chirps and whistles. They reminded him of his own youth, playing with his mother. A few more hours went by, and with no sign of the pup he began to mourn, thinking perhaps the humans took him away for good. He called out for the pup, wailing in his siren voice when he still doesn't show. Luckily, it's only 10 minutes after he begins his screams that Eren is returned. He was getting his check-up, as well as being socialized with the other mers but after the head trainer heard Levi's cries they knew they had to return Eren.
Eren is happily surprised when once his lowered into the tank he is met with outstretched arms and deep chitters. Levi receives him quickly and drags him down to Eren's nest, sniffing about him and grooming him while the employees watched in awe. Eren purrs like a motor, enjoying the attention and mimicking it as best he could when Levi allowed it, but he was so focused on having him back he often growled at the pup to hold still, thinking he was trying to leave him again. It was at that moment, Levi knew that no matter what he did, he had to have Eren by his side. Levi became quite possessive of Eren, following him like a shadow. Any food the trainers wished to give Eren had to be inspected by Levi thoroughly. Whenever Eren wanted to sunbathe, he had to wait for the cautious mer to scope out the area to ensure it was safe. Levi was smitten, corralling the boy into his cave when the sun dipped low crooning at him until they fell asleep tangled together. Soon he began to even play with Eren, not even shying away from the humans that Eren trusted so much.
Hange was especially thrilled, having been there when Levi first entered the aquarium. They even took the initiative and slowly introduced Levi to other mers with Eren. Levi disliked it at first, growling at anyone who went near his precious pup, but Eren was so friendly and excited that it melted the old mers heart. Now every week Eren and Levi are brought to the large pod tank for a few hours to mingle much to Eren's delight.
Levi was happy and so was the aquarium, no longer were they worried for his health and mentality. All it took was a little ray of sunshine to chase away his cloudy day.
I enjoyed this one a lot and I hope you did too! Now hopefully someone will make this into a longer fic...
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/daemonic_nomad