Brelix; Mershark Felix is captivated by Human Bridgette and aims to protect her.
Felix Noir Agreste was sunning himself in the dwindling sunlight, his black shark tail flicking in the water. He would soon leave his sanctuary for food and treasure. The closest port was his favorite, always full of careless humans who carried shiny objects. His collection was growing, and he often wondered if he was one of these 'dragons' his mother used to tell him about. Thinking about his mother made him scowl, he left his rock and started out toward the port.
Bridgette was finally able to escape work, the dressmaker she worked at was busy with new gowns for the upcoming ball. She quickly made her way to the beach, shell bag in hand. The sun was setting, and she wanted to see if anyone left any shells. Starting in her usual spot she made her way to a cove with tide pools. She found one or two shells and when she got to the tide pools, she spends some time watching the little creatures there. Continuing her walk she went further away from her usual spots, lifted her skirt, and waded into the water. She crept around the edge of the cove and could see the port in the distance, she decided to continue her search till she got there. Bri started to hum and eventually she started to sing, the sun was setting but the lack of light wasn't bothering her.
Felix was on his way to the port when he felt something, he wasn't sure what, so he stuck his head above the water. Looking around he saw someone on the beach, swimming closer he noticed it was a young woman humming to herself and picking up shells. He stayed low in the water, his large black tail hidden, his stormy grey eyes watched her carefully. When she started singing it sent a shock to his system, no siren he had ever met could compare to her. He drifted closer and closer, his tail skimmed the bottom sand and he was surprised she hadn't noticed him. His compulsion to collect came into effect but he didn't see anything shiny around. After some time, Felix realized that he wanted to have her, she was beautiful, better than any trinket he had. He noticed her getting close to his usual docks, and that the sun had set.
Bridgette stopped singing when it was dark, she was close to the docks, so she hurried her pace, being out too late could be troublesome. Ahead on the beach she saw many ships and men milling about the docks and surrounding area. She had to beware, sailors and pirates in this area could be particularly ruthless. She was almost to the walkway leading back to town when someone shouted at her. She froze, the voice did not sound good, chills ran down her spine and she slowly turned, readying herself for a possible defense.
Felix watched from under a deck, he saw the girl attempt to leave the beach but the men she didn't see were gaining on her. He became worried for her safety, the men were quite large compared to her small stature, he was sure that even he was a head taller than her. He was so thankful for his advanced vision now, in shark form everything was clear, and the night was nothing. If he was human, it would be different, the eyesight would decline but he would still have his strength if he needed to defend her. A quick change would be extremely risky now. He hoped nothing would happen where he would have to intervene. There were too many watchful eyes around tonight.
"Hey! Girl! Stop!" He watched her freeze then turn, she looked ready to fight and he felt proud.
"Is there a problem?" Her singing voice was lovely but the sass behind these words solidified his need to have her.
"Where you off to miss? Why don't you come with us, and we can give you a tour of our ship" The taller of the two men spoke and came closer.
"Uh no. I'd rather not." She tried to emphasize her displeasure at being stopped and quickly turned to sprint off and away.
Bridgette wasn't fast enough. The man reached his hand out and captured her upper arm in his meaty grip and she started to thrash.
"Let go of me!" She attempted to punch him, but he just captured her other arm. She started screaming and kicking when she was lifted off the ground.
Felix watched with horror as his possible mate was dragged back down the beach. She was so close to escaping the men, she fought, and he was proud. He couldn't help her now though, only watch and plot his revenge on them. How dare they take his new-found treasure. Careful not to be spotted, he watched them throw her bag of shells back into the ocean. The smaller man gagged her to muffle her screams and the larger man hiked her over his shoulder, she continued to kick. She thrashed all she could until the man put his hand on her ass and she instantly stilled. Felix unleashed a lethal growl and the men paused to stare into the ocean. He hid under the water watching them, he was livid. They moved on but the hold on the girl had him murderous. While under the water he dove to find her bag of shells they had thrown in the ocean. Collecting it he secured it closed and carried it with him while he continued to watch where the pirates would take the girl.
The port was full of ships, unfortunately one of the ships closer to the end was this rude pirate's. Bri had fought and now she slumped and saved her energy, she would need it for an escape later. The threat of these men touching her had her compliant, she wouldn't want to anger them. If she was smart, maybe she could still get out of this with her innocence intact.
The pirates took her aboard a nearby ship and she was out of his range of sight. They all seemed excited to have her and he felt his anger rise. If he wasn't careful, he might end up murdering this entire port. The need for blood was calling more sharks to the area, he could sense them in the water. Attempting to be patient, his pointed ears twitched, listening closely for her. The more he thought about her the more he felt this overwhelming connection to her, he didn't know much about mates, but he was sure she was special to him and him alone.
Bridgette was curled up on a bed, nicer than most, she assumed this was the captain's quarters. The men deposited her here and left. She wondered if her family would even notice her missing. She lived alone now, sure her parents visited her, but they were sometimes too busy at their bakery to make visits. Their next scheduled visit was next weekend and today was Friday. She started to cry, what if she never saw her family again, her friends, her boss, everyone. The ship creaked and started to move, she sighed, she fought, and she lost, now she had to deal with the consequences. She hoped the captain would be lenient on her, she didn't even know who he was or what the name of the ship was. All she could do was hope.
Felix saw the ship leave the dock, The North Star, and it was heading out into the open ocean. Tonight, he was fortunate, it was a new moon, so the darkness coated everything. He stayed close and followed the ship. His ears zoomed in on her cries every time his head came above the water. She was in the south of the ship, under the helm, he figured she was safe since most of them were above on the deck or in the front part of the ship. About two hours later the ship slowed and anchored. Her sobs had quieted long ago, and he knew when they dropped the nets that would be his chance to save her. Sharks were circling and at the ready, this would take cunning and precision, it was times like these he wished Claude was here to help.
The nets were thrown into the water and he dove under the water to communicate with the sharks to stay away. Underwater communication was much easier than human language, he knew enough but it always got confusing, luckily, he never stayed on land long enough to put it to use. Felix waited till the nets started to be pulled in, quickly he dove into one. He scared some fish right out and started to press on the net like he was fighting to get out. It would make the humans feel better if they thought they caught him by accident. He heard them yelling when he was spotted outside the water, he thrashed a bit more until he was pulled onto the deck. The anger he felt earlier returned as he spotted the man who had touched his love. The crew gasped as they witnessed him in the nets, his large black shark tail blended with the shadows and his grey green eyes shined bright with the black scales around his eyes.
"It's a merman! Secure him before he sings!" He paused his motions to stare at who he assumed was the captain. He was a mershark not a siren, did they not know the difference? He knew humans were intelligent, but this was a very low bunch. Crossing his arms, he frowned at the crew, let them think they've won, for now. Slowly he was untangled from the net and he played docile, only the occasional hissing and tail wag. He flopped around on the deck for a bit before grabbing a fish, he smiled his fangs at the man who took the girl and bit into the fish, keeping eye contact. When he finished he was saw the blood and smiled more, he then threw the fish remains to the waiting sharks. He didn't eat much, just enough to make it look like he did. Checking his claws and flicking his tail he waited for them to do something. It was the captain who spoke first.
"What are you?"
"A catfish." Felix deadpanned in response, he got a few chuckles before the captain shushed them and glared coming closer.
"A merman huh? I've heard of your kind, never caught one of my own."
"I am quite certain you have never heard of my kind. First, you don't need to worry about me singing. I am not a siren!" He growled out. "Now choose! Throw me back or keep me for profit." He was baiting them, if needed he could easily jump back onto the ship if thrown into the water.
"What's your name?"
"Noir. Obviously." He pointed toward his large black tail, it was drying out and he would need to transform soon. Have humans gotten stupider every century?
The captain pulled a large knife out and Felix flicked his tail. "I bet that tail will fetch a pretty penny."
"Mmm, I'm sure it would. Too bad you will never have it. Now let's talk about the girl over there." His clawed hand pointed to the door where he was sure she was.
"Girl? What girl?" The captain seemed genuinely confused and Felix smirked, showing off his fangs then turned to face the man who took her.
"Why I was certain that man had his hands on her and deposited her there. I could be wrong, but I'm not!" Noir raised his voice to get his anger across to everyone, he would show no mercy when the time was right.
"Kol! What is it talking about?"
"I'm a he." His interjection went ignored.
Bridgette woke up to the yelling voices outside on the deck. Tears were dried on her face and she figured she cried herself to sleep. Getting up as quiet as possible, she pressed her ear to the door to hear better.
"I was going to tell you Captain! I got her for you!" They must be talking about me.
She tried to open the door but couldn't, it rattled a bit and she stopped as to not draw attention. Looking around she tried to find something she could use to defend herself when they came for her. In the background she could hear shouting and a strange hissing but paid it no mind, she was on a mission to escape.
Felix heard her wake and prattle around, he needed to make a move now. Carefully he positioned himself, then gave a large flick of his tail to the nearest pirate. They shouted as they fell overboard, and their scream was quickly silenced by the sharks. Felix then hissed and dove at the next closest crew member. Blood soon soaked the deck and he was about to transform when he realized the pirate from before wasn't killed yet. He killed his friend who helped him already and the captain. Felix transformed and hissed in pain, shedding his tail, his body turning human right before the pirate's eyes, who was hidden behind a barrel near the door.
Bridgette was on the bed cowering with a steak knife, it was the only sensible weapon she found. The gruesome sounds she had heard sounded straight out of a horror story. She secretly hoped they wouldn't discover her, or if they did, maybe spare her life. Something hit the door with a large bang and she jumped.
"Help me! Please!" The door rattled and opened before slamming closed again. The screams and growling that followed had her peering closer at the door, she stood, knife at the ready. The screams died and turned to a gargle and she saw the red blood flood under the door. Gasping she took a step back and screamed when the door opened.
Felix stood in the doorway, he watched his beauty, frozen with a knife in her hand. They stared at one another before he slowly blinked at her, he hoped she would understand the meaning. She seemed to relax but then took in the rest of his appearance, a cloth he quickly wrapped around him to cover himself, humans were sensitive about nudity he learned. Her eyes went wide, and he looked down at himself to see what was wrong. Oh. He was covered in blood, he shrugged and walked closer to her, it would wash off once they hit the water.
Bri rushed forward when he took a step, knife raised and a slight battle cry. Felix easily disarmed her and took her into his arms.
"Princess, please. Can't you see I'm here to rescue you?" She stilled, he had her in his arms and his voice was sweet like honey.
"Who are you?"
"Noir, for now. Do you want to get out of here, Princess?"
"What makes you think I'll go with you? And my name is Bridgette." Wow stubborn, perfect.
"Mmm, Bridgette, lovely." He started to pull her out the door and she went with him, she felt safe in his arms. He paused by the opening in the railing, she looked around and gasped. Quickly he grabbed her chin and made her make eye contact with him. "Don't look at that. I can be a messy eater. I'll get you back to land, but you must trust me. Do you?"
She paused to think but looking into his eyes and his slow blink, she made up her mind. "You saved my life, yes." Bridgette felt the strong arms wrap around her tighter and Noir slowly leaned down. His lips brushed hers gently, then with a little more pressure. She gasped, he had stolen her first kiss, surprisingly she wasn't that disappointed. Distracted by the kiss, he maneuvered them both over the side of the boat and into the darkness of the ocean below.