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Chapter 3:

Of Storms at Sea

Phantom took in the sight of the scars with a somber look. His own eyes flickering with a similar looking pain as he turned to look out across the water. His own mother had lashed out at him in a similar manner when she'd chased him from the shoal. His wounds didn't leave as much of a scar on his body as it did his mind... He could still see her face, fangs barred at him like he was a vicious stranger... he'd only been a child at that time...

He brought himself down to doze for a few minutes, feeling exhaustion trickling through him as the magic's pain ebbed away, leaving him worn and weary. All he wanted to do at that point was sleep, and too acceptance towards the boy's gesture to do so. This place wasn't frequented by many as it was, leaving him feeling a bit more secure in the fact that they would both be safe here for a little while.

He'd not noticed the boy's leave to set up a perimeter. Not until he sensed the warning the spell echo out like a threatening call. But quickly let his form relax, knowing the boy was simply trying to put up a safeguard around them. Lowering his head onto his hands, he let out a long, drawn out yawn, fangs showing before curling up and letting exhaustion take him.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been out, other than that by then the sun was high in the afternoon sky. A grimace settled on his features as he shifted, still not wanting to move. His form was stiff and sore, but at the least he wasn't exhausted anymore. In fact the main thing that hung as an afterthought was that he was hungry, the stress from the day before, including using a power he'd had little experience with had drained him of most of his energy, sleep had recovered what was lost, but his system was now complaining for a complete replenishment.

Sighing, he picked his weary form up before turning his gaze over towards the teen, prodding him a bit with his tail and giving a clack of his teeth together. It was a nonverbal gesture, but a familiar one none the less. In some sense it was an invite to go off an hunt. If the boy didn't know how to, he would be willing to teach the boy a thing or two about shallow water hunting. That and it would guarantee them a means of actually having something to eat.

Danny shook his head to break himself out of his stupor as he raised himself and nodded. He would have to look for some nearby seaweed for food. He smirked as a sudden idea popped into his head. Letting out a silent chuckle, he swam around the older, smacking him playfully in the face with his tail before darting out of vantage point. He continued to let the water bubble up a bit around him with his silent giggles before darting off further up and around the rock they had been resting on.

Phantom blinked, seeming completely disoriented by the action. Shaking his head once or twice to right himself, he stared off in the direction the teen had swum, almost confused. He'd spent so much of his life alone, the acts of play didn't quite make sense to him. He'd never truly gotten around to experiencing what it was like to get involved in a game, swat at one another in a manner meant to annoy rather than harm. He'd seen others interact in similar manners, but he himself had never actually gotten involved, thus it left him rather bewildered. It took him a minute to figure out what exactly was going on, before he mused, giving his tail a playful flick, green eyes watching the boy dart about. He still felt a bit stiff, and a meal was really what was on his mind, but he'd oblige the teen for now. After all, he was supposed to be in his prime, and wasn't about to go down playing old man just yet.

He shifted, giving his tail a powerful flick that sent him spiraling upwards around the rock face. He knew he could out swim the boy if he absolutely wanted to, but that was never the intention of the game. It was, if he was correct, a playful tumble amidst the sea grass, not a fight, and he'd have to constantly remind himself of that. It didn't mean he wasn't about to pull a few tricks out of his sleeve.

He let his fins lay flat, having swiveled around the rock face to lay against its dark surface, his scales all but causing him to vanish, the even deeper ebony scales, broke up the light along his form, the only part of him that would be visibly was his hair, which in the right light simply looked like some sort of plant in shallower waters. He mused, watching the teen before leaping down at him, bopping him in the back of his head with one of his fins before twisting his form round to spiral off through a patch of sea grass; a short laugh his playful retort towards the boy's earlier whack.

He kept up the playful game of cat and mouse, swimming circles and weaving in and out of the coral beds and gardens of seaweed before it settled into a peaceful calm as he drifted about on the thermal currents. He kept this up for a while, performing a number of simple feats, loops and twirls as he rode along the gentle tide. Upon one such motion, something had caught his eye before letting his form settle along the sand within a patch of weed. A single flick of his ear the only sign he made for the younger mer to join him there.

His gaze remained fixated ahead of him, as he pointed out what he'd spotted. Shifting through the weed, not far from them was a small shoal of red snapper. The fish were currently preoccupied with themselves and the food source abundant in the coral around them. They were small fish, generally hunted by humans for their meat, and it would take more than a few to satisfy the older mer, but this was more of an ideal opportunity to teach with easy prey than it was for the meal. Either way, the fish were unaware of their presence, and he was too opportunistic to miss a chance like this.

Fin's lying flat against his form; he motioned for the teen to flank towards the left, his own form stalking towards the right. He let his form half glide along the water, careful not to let his form disturb it any more than necessary. Excess vibrations were the quickest way to spook such skittish prey. He remained poised, muscles tense before, in a lightning flash of black, he's struck out from the 'brush' right through the center of the shoal. His jaws clamped onto his intended target, the rest scattering around the clearing in a panic.

Phantom was content with that, watching as some of the shoal spooked towards the teen's direction. Letting himself rest there, as he clamped down heavily upon his prey's spine, ensuring his catch.

Danny could tell that the other had been confused at the concept of play, perhaps because he had been isolated for so long, but it really didn't matter. The mer was careful not to actually hurt the boy and it wasn't as bad as the play back 'home' where they would literally bite at the others tail and side fins if they were nearly caught, or caught. He had to catch himself from biting down on the older mer's tail if he had somehow gotten behind him.

He really did have fun, seeing a lot of child in the older man. Mers never really did grow up, in a sense. Even when they had children they reminded like the child they had brought into the world. The teen chuckled as he darted in and out of the tall sea grass, his scales showing clearly among the weeds. He wished that he could blend into the rocks of the reef like his companion but to no avail, he simply didn't have the ability to do so. He didn't see the other coming as the man came at him and reiterated the action that he had done to start the little game. His cheeks flushed a bit in embarrassment, but the smile was still present.

He was startled out of his mindset when something seemed to have gotten the attention of the other mer. His eyes widened when he saw the school of fish not far off. The boy followed Phantom's direction to head towards the left as he smoothly made his way over to the edge of the rocks. It really was amazing seeing such an experienced predator go after their prey. The boy watched in awe as the other stalked towards the school and struck, catching one of them in his mouth, the fish scattering in the black haired mer's direction.

Danny's ears prickled a bit at the vibrations that the fish were creating in the water. He felt nervous. What if he messed up? What if he embarrassed himself? Self-check, he KNEW that he was going to embarrass himself. He huffed. At least he was going to try.

The fish had seemed to reform back into a smooth formation by the time he had gotten into a sort of hunting position. His nails curved into the rocks that he hid near. It was only when the fish appeared in front of him that he struck.

It was a clumsy first try, in all honesty. He wasn't very fast, his movements not precise, and he attempted to catch the fish with his hands. He managed to scratch a few of them though, and that was something to the boy. While the fish that had managed not to get caught in his claws fled quickly, the wounded ones were much slower and gave the boy a second try, this time with his mouth. He somehow succeeded in catching it after two tries, chomping down as hard as he could, hopefully breaking the creatures spine as the older male had done earlier. He looked over to the other and he shrugged sheepishly, with the fish still in his mouth, somehow still moving about as he continued to chew on it, hoping that it would just have died already.

The older mer chuckled as he watched the spectacle. It was an amusing sight as the teen floundered about in attempts to strike out at the fish. But he still had to admit it was better than his first attempts. With no one to follow by example, he'd been clumsy and uncertain. As a result he tended to pick fights with shellfish rather than swimming ones.

It took all of his strength not to lose hold on his catch and burst into a fit of laughter when the other looked over at him. The fish flopped around in the teen's jaws as he looked over at him. He just shook his head before bringing himself over towards the younger mer. Taking the fish from his own jaws, he held it out in a manner that indicated he wanted the youth to study it as he brought his other hand around to tap the base of the head, said location had the heavy marks of the older male's fangs, " You bite there..."

He just grinned sheepishly afterwards, before turning to wave the other to follow him. Carrying his catch in hand this time he shifted about in search of something before coming to a pause around a patch of weed. He'd come to realize that the teen preferred a vegetarian diet, and how his mate had gone about pointing out which plants could be eaten or not. The teen, seeming far too inexperienced for his age, left him nervous towards how he had survived so long, and thus felt it was important to impart what few things he could teach to the boy before he was forced to return the teen back to the deeper waters that were claimed to be his home... he still wanted to pick a fight with the ones who sent him here mind you...

He shook that thought from his mind before waving over towards the teen and beginning to point out certain plants he could recognize, "Sam says this one makes good... er...salad.."

The name was obviously that of his mate, though the word he used to describe the plant struggled on his tongue. It wasn't one that really fit into the mer language as it was definitively a human invention, and therefore a human word. He just shook his head again before turning to point to another one, "Beware of this one... it looks rich... but gives nasty stomach cramps..."

He continued on for about half an hour surprising even himself at how much he'd retained on the subject, all the while the two of them collecting things to gather up a decent meal. It was a content little adventure, leaving him stretching out within the sands, rubbing his stomach happily. It wasn't a gorging meal, but having anything in his stomach at this point made him feel far better than he had earlier.

He then rolled onto his stomach letting his form perform a daily ritual most surface mers participated in, the art of basking in the sun. He'd yawned, resting his head on one of his arms, his double sail sprawling out to its full extent, revealing the sharp barbs along its form. The sail seemed to serve a number of purposes to the male, both in swimming, fighting, and apparently it also worked as a power house, soaking in the warm rays of the sun. The true intention of such an action was due to how much heat he needed to collect. He wasn't sure how long he'd be in the company of the youth, but he was certain he was going to help the boy get safely home. The dark waters the boy favored just happened to be colder than he preferred, and thus having a bit of backup warmth never hurt anyone preparing for a bit if deep water adventure.

Danny looked at the fish and sighed before chomping down hard in his own. It thankfully stopped moving and died like it should have the first time. Pulling it out of his mouth, he began digging his teeth in it, succeeding in removing a portion of the skin so he could get to the red meat that was on the inside. He finished up on it rather quickly, probably leaving a bunch of good chunks of meat uneaten in the process.

Then for the next, what was it, hour, at least it felt like it to him, the older led him around, showing him which types of sea grass were eatable or not, which was truly helpful seeing as once he went back home, he would be back to his strictly vegan diet. After the tour, the older proceeded to sun bathe. At least that's what it looked like to him.

The boy giggled a bit before he saw that what light was coming from the surface began to dim slowly until there wasn't much at all. Danny's eyebrows furrowed at the development, not liking what it could mean. His eyes suddenly dilating as he felt energy pulsating from above. This was one of the basic things that his kind of mer was known to look for. Energy, not magic, building up, was something that all of his kind was supposed to anticipate and rejoice in. It meant that a storm was coming. It meant feeding time. And judging by the movement of the water and the energy crackling and shifting much farther above them, it was coming fast and hard. His fins and body seemed to shrink into himself as the water grew darker with the tell tales of a fast coming storm.
No. Anything but this. Not now!

Danny had wanted the older mer to know that he wasn't a real monster. He didn't want him to see what the younger mer could potentially become. This was NOT something he wanted Phantom to see!

He would have been screeching at the other in panic if he could. Instead, he zipped to the others side and began pushing at the others body in a panic, trying to get the other to lift himself off of the rock. They had to get to a cave. They had to find a cave now.

The man had probably lived near shallow waters most of his life so he didn't know what he was supposed to do at times like this either. The nearby schools of fish however did, and quickly made their way straight out of there. They may have been near a coral reef, but they weren't close enough. They were too close to deeper waters. He knew they had reached an area that could potentially go down deeper than the older mer had ever gone, and it had been only a little nagging feeling at the back of his mind until now. Worse part was that these parts weren't close to his shiver. If they were caught by another shiver, they would be torn piece by piece in the deep sea mers' mad feeding frenzy.

No, that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that there happened to be a human's boat; wasn't exactly sure what its purpose was; caught in the storm and was coming closer and closer to their location. He always had the worst of luck.

If Phantom thought that he was a monster now... he probably would once he saw who gave the legends of mermaids sinking sailor's ships their name.
Thus he searched around with his eyes trying to find a place where they could take cover and hide away.

Phantom growled slightly when he found the boy pushing at him, pulling him out of his food induced nap. But sensation of panic he felt from the younger male kept him from lashing out at the teen in irritation. Raising his head, he turned his attention towards the younger mer with mild curiosity, wondering what exactly had him in such a panic, but then he felt it more than anything.

Ears pricked, he turned his gaze towards the surface, sensing the rushing tide turning into a vicious squall. The storm looming in was quickly changing the gentle terrain into a spiraling mess, not that most of the coral minded, the rough waters brought about all sorts of feeding frenzies as everything was stirred up around them. He wasn't terribly concerned, considering he was familiar with how rough the tides could become and could ride the seas with relative ease, but the growing panic of the youngster told him he should at least console the other. Though he couldn't help but get a feeling of unease, as if there was something else going on far more worrisome than being unable to swim in a thrashing sea.

Picking himself up with a grunt at the youth's incessant tugging and pushing, he stretched himself out before turning his gaze about in search of shelter. The teen having already darted off ahead of him in what seemed like desperation. He paused only for a moment upon sensing something far larger than normal shifting through the ragged seas, visibly tensing as he came to conclusion that it was a manmade vessel. However, he was forced to remind himself that this wasn't his territory, and what he'd promised his mate, he was forced to push his aggressive tendencies back and press on after the teen.

He swiveled about before letting out a short, but echoing call, waiting a few moments before waving the youth over, his form diving down along the slope. He repeated the call once more to ensure he wasn't hearing things, finding the echo the same, however much louder confirmed that he was indeed near their desired destination. Giving his tailfin a flick, the older mer dived down to the entrance, letting his fins flare up defensively as he checked out the entrance to the sea cave, it was necessary to ensure that he wasn't stumbling on an eels nest... Finding it clear, he nodded, allowing the boy in first as the youth seemed desperate to get out of the way of the storm, or so he thought.

There was still the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something was wrong, and he felt his aggressive instincts to protect the youth rising to the surface. Visible as his fins were raised like hackles, fangs slightly bares as he remained coiled up near the entrance, watching the rough waters outside.

Danny wanted to yell at the other when he started letting out noises even though he knew that the older was only looking for a place to hide. He didn't want the deep water mers to FIND them. That fear was greater than the thoughts of being tossed about by the harsh currents. But the other didn't seem to understand that it wasn't just the shifting of the tide that was causing his alarm.

He was not at all calmed at having found shelter. He forced the other down when he found him looking out, teeth bared and hackles raised, until only the top of his head and eyes were showing, before baring his own teeth at the man as if to tell the other to calm down or he would force him to; or at least try, he wasn't above fighting for something as serious as this; his instincts were already on the edge as it was. If it was his own shiver, he wouldn't be panicking so much.

His gaze shifted back to look outside of the cavern, eyes moving back and forth shakily. He didn't like watching the hunts, the brutality of it all but it was mandatory for him to at least watch if he didn't participate.

The boy's fins began to vibrate as his face twisted with fear. They were coming.

He groaned as he felt the magic inside himself stir as his own sea witch empowered all of her shiver to rise to the top to feed. He was already feeling a number of them rising up from the ocean floor at record speed, with the generously given magic giving them a speed boost. Danny could imagine it all too clearly in his head. Their happy laughter filled with anticipation and relief at finally getting to eat. They would be here soon, in less than ten minutes human time. The boy slumped into the cavern, moaning silently in despair, his hand covering his mouth and his eyes filled with self-loathing.

If he was alone he probably wouldn't have felt half as terrified and disgusted as he was now and that was probably what sickened him the most. That he had been so sensitized to this brutal feeding. Seeing the people he used to call his own kind get eaten. And they had to be torn to pieces before they got low down or there wouldn't be much left to feed from.

Phantom narrowed his eyes at the youth, his teeth remaining bared. The fact that the teen was panicking wasn't helping him calm down either, let alone the growing storm outside. His instincts had him tempted to put the teen in his place if he kept up.

However, he found himself distracted from the boy as the water all but filled with sound. It was then he seemed to understand what was happening, but that didn't calm him in the least. However, his wild, aggressive panic had halted, and if the other could sense his energy, he would of noticed that it had grown cold, not in fear, but with a killer's intent.

His form had tensed, pushing them further into the cave, never turning his back towards the entrance. His actions then stilled, much like a predator waiting to strike, his form partially fading into the dim of the cave, all except his burning, toxic eyes, pupils slitted with calculating anticipation. He wasn't going to go out there and fight them, the action was purely defensive. His whole form was blocking up the way out, keeping the youth safely hidden within, forming a barrier against attackers. It was a similar action performed by mother mers when they defended their young. He dared them to even draw near the cave, after all, his specialty was in ambush, an overcurious stranger would find itself attacked and yanked in if they ever drew near.

One of his ears flicked, as he could hear the teen's distress. Glancing over his shoulder, he found the teen curling in on himself, the sensation of disgust and fear all over him, though it seemed directed at himself. It clicked in his mind that these mers were similar to, or were his kind, and judging by how the boy had acted, he loathed what he was, much as Phantom did, in a different sort of way. He sighed softly, bringing his tailfin over to gently brush the teen, a comforting gesture. He wasn't about to let the boy get hurt on his watch.

His gaze then turned back towards the mouth of the cave, focusing once more on his instincts. Letting himself fade from gentle father into a deadly phantom. His form tensed up like a spring, waiting in silence for any intruder that dared linger too near.

Danny looked at the other with watery eyes before looking down and shaking his head. Grabbing the others hand, he started ghosting over it as he had done not too long back, assuming that the other would understand.

'You think you understand what a monster is, but you have never seen one'

His kind didn't just threaten and push around others of their own kind, kill off of instinct. He pushed the other away, not wanting any comfort. He had brought this fate onto himself. He had made himself this way. Danny let his body float down as he heard the screeches start to fill the open space. As he was used to doing so the boy pushed himself up a bit to watch as more mers poured out of the vast abyss. Not all a sleek black as he was, some with the colorings of very dark and demented versions of the beautiful colors the upper sea mers had. Though there were younger mers, looking to be around his age with the same obsidian coloring as Danny. Most had black hair, but one had a brilliant red tint to it. They traveled in groups with the others of their age, looking so very excited.

He saw one of the adults fake claw one of the children in the face to get the mer's attention, the child moving back just in time. The older mer, with her long scarlet tail bore her teeth at the boy, grabbing at the younger mer's face with her long nailed fingers and judging by her body language, she was telling him to stay put. The child must have been a troublemaker for her to have been so harsh with him...

The female left them after a while and the other two younglings giggled at the actions of the supposed mother. They then proceeded to go off playing a game that he was familiar with, Sharks and Guppy. It started with the traditional whack in the face with the tail and the taunting with the jewelry, purposely making the rings around his tail and wrists jingle in what most humans would consider 'seductive'. Then the proposed 'guppy' fled as the others from the shiver began joining in on the game, usually the ones obviously not assigned to lure in the prey. They nearly caught the 'guppy' many times, scratching him sometimes with their claws and screeching at the boy while he simply laughed despite the pain that he knew the child was in, and going to be in. And when the teen was caught; a slash across the shoulder; the child let out a rather pathetic growl as he was secluded from the group, he faintly heard one of them cry out that the boy was 'dead'.

Danny didn't worry too much. The boy would be rejoining the group within a few hours.

The remaining mers were headed for the human boat; they didn't even pay attention to anything else. He knew that this wasn't the only boat caught out at sea, and he knew that his shiver would be eagerly attacking it as of the moment. He could only frown, all fear and terror having drained from him, now a sense of hollowness replaced it. He tried not to let himself feel anything when the hunt began. He could cry later when no one was watching.

"I Have..." Was Phantom's whispered response.

He didn't like seeing the teen like this, eventually shifting from the entrance, albeit keeping a very close eye on it. He let his form curl protectively around the youth. It was moments like this that invoked the male's inner instinct to protect this foreign child; for the boy's self-loathing reminded him of himself for most of his younger years. In some sense neither of them had truly seen what made them consider themselves monsters; the boy was fearful of what he could do, and of his own kind for what they were doing, and Phantom had closed himself off, attempting to avoid a past he'd never mentioned to the mer.

Of how he used to rule over his reef and part of the open sea, taking down anything that came across his path. He'd forged such fear himself, having taken down boats with his own two hands, and struck terror into the other predators to where sharks familiar with him would flee on sight. It was power, and it kept him alive back then... but it also left him a monster in the eyes of his kin... and among humans that he'd fallen victim to not so long ago...

He let his glowing gaze settled on the boy for a few moments, taking in how the younger mer was trying to steel himself from the events unfolding. He sighed in response, resting his head a top the youth's head, "Even born into a world of monsters... you are not one of them..."

He gave the teen a nudge with his cheek, that despite the teens attempts to close himself off, the adult was still willing to be there for him. He'd then moved to settle near the entryway again, playing lookout. He was paying less attention to the adults at this point, seeing as their minds were focused on their intended target. His mate would give him an earful for not saving the sailors aboard, but nature was nature on the rough seas, and he had been known for eating them at one point himself. Meat was meat to a hungry guppy... adolescent or adult...

His gaze instead had turned its attention warily towards the youngsters. Despite the fact that they were children, and thus easy to overpower if need be, the cause for concern was if they stumbled upon their hiding spot. As youths, especially rowdy teens, were boisterous and would give them away if found. They were at a safe enough distance at the moment that he didn't have much cause to be too concerned, but their presence was still there none the less...

He shifted one of his ears back to listen to the younger mer behind him, knowing the boy was stewing within his own confliction emotions. Perhaps it was best if he talked it out a bit, despite his dislike of using his voice so.

"You know... I made mistakes... in my own past... some that if you knew me then... you'd not be sitting here now..." He sighed, not turning back to gauge the younger mer's expression. If he did, he knew he'd stop talking at the sight of those deep, pained eyes, "I was struck... bitten.. and chased off by my own mother... and forced to learn everything on my own... I grew cold... and opportunistic... whether animal... human... or another mer... if it bled... I'd eat it... It didn't help... when... I came in contact with that magic... It took hold of that anger... helplessness... and hate... it made me feel cold... deadly... Like a madness... And yet I liked it...!"

His tail swished slightly, his eyes having widened a bit as his fangs showed in his exclamation. Before he let his features dull into pained silence between them, "I took on anything back then... whether it was a dozen mers or a full blown ship... it was child's play... In the end I took one too many ships... and almost paid the ultimate price when they came after me with their nets and their guns... If not for a human girl... I would not be here today...."

He bit his lip, lowering his gaze to his clawed, webbed hands. It wasn't his story to tell about his mate, as she was still uncomfortable about the whole change and thus he'd agreed to her privacy on the matter. But he was still honest when it came down to it... she'd been human when he'd saved him from himself...
He was jostled out of his thoughts however, upon feeling a shift in the water. His form tensed as he stilled, watching the waters intently. The youths were about 30 meters off, still far too comfortable for his own liking.

It wasn't a strange feeling that came with Phantom curling around him. Danny had been near many clingy mers in his time like this, all of them so touchy and unafraid. He could already hear the tunes of the siren call ringing through the ocean and above the water.

The other was trying to tell him that he wasn't like them. That he wasn't their kind of monster. But the other mer had the misconception that he was born here. Oh god, if that had been the case, then he wouldn't even be having these feelings! He wouldn't have had any remorse for what he was to do.
His own story wasn't very original... He, a human, fell in love but when he changed to be with the other, his love rejected him...Tragic but typical.
Danny felt the nudge and opened his closed eyes before continuing to shake his head. The other just didn't understand. Then the mer began to talk, to tell his own story... and the boy's eyes widened at the last bit.

The other... had been able to resist the magic? That was nearly unheard of! Pure magic was like a spell in itself, twisting the minds of those around it and making it so very primal and dark. A great deal of respect for the other mer grew in the boy. The man had a tough life, basically being kicked out of his home and made to live on his own when he was just a child. He suddenly felt like he was an ungrateful brat. Here he was wallowing in his own self-pity when the other had gone through so much hardship to simply survive. Then he heard the other mention being caught and getting help from a human.

At that... he couldn't help but let out a silent chuckle. It reminded him too much of the way he had protected the one that supposedly had loved him from nearby marine biologists along with other outside dangers that a sea creature had no control over.

Realizing that the other could have gotten offended, he turned to look to the other before tapping his finger against his temple before pointing to himself. Reminds me of myself. What did he have to lose? Nothing. He had already lost everything.

When the other tensed up, he blinked before turning around to see that the teens had gotten closer. If push came to shove, Danny could always pass as one of them. It was the adults that he would have to worry about.

The older male gave a smirk in response, content to see he'd at least been able to relate with the teen. The boy was a troubled soul; they bother were in their own right. But the fact that they could have the strength to still persevere was a strongpoint, something in which gave him that spark to all but accept the boy around like a younger brother, son almost. It was almost like looking into a mirror with this child, and yet, he was his own person, with his own story behind him with all its strengths and weaknesses. He let his tailfin flick slightly, a sign that he understood.

He'd then gone back to focusing on the so called shiver outside. The sheer amount of movement had his luminescent, catlike orbs darting about trying to watch everything; though they would fix on certain clusters of them at different moments. Either way it was still a predatory analysis, his mind picking out the stronger ones from the weaker ones, calculating his odds less he got into a fight with one of them. He'd all but frozen still as he noticed a few of the teens looking their way, probably curious about the cave. He didn't move, and that was enough of a warning towards the younger mer behind him; grateful his own form faded with the rock face. However, if they drew too near, he would end up having to use other means than camouflage. But intimidating them would bring too much attention, and depending on how hungry the adults were, would depend on if he ended up having to deal with a massive fight.

Danny's eyes widened as he beckoned the older to come inside the cave before making his decision. He was probably going to regret this so much later. He took off the band on his shoulder, handing it over to the other mer. With it he was too easily recognized as from another shiver. He then pushed passed the older mer, shooting out of the cave before circling the mers, who looked surprised at the appearance of another and smacked one of the teens in the face with his tail, initiating a game.

Giving a smirk, he did the traditional gesture before swimming off to the left of the cave, still near the rocks. The teens, not willing to turn down even the smallest bit of fun, shot after him screeching and hollering at him as he made his way around the rock, once in a while sending out small flashes of his magic to give the illusion that he could screech back.

The others weren't able to swim as fast due to the fact that they weren't as used to being above the sea line which gave the younger mer an upper hand. He swerved around the rocks easily while the others with their shorter tails had to constantly turn in order to make the corners. The boy let out a silent giggle when he saw that the others had lost sight of him before stilling upon a shadow over his form from behind. The boy turned around and gasped as he saw a handful of claws coming towards him.

He barely managed to duck out of the way as he found himself now being chased by some of the adults of the shiver, only staying ahead of them slightly with the complicated maze that he had entered. He was getting farther and farther away from the shallows and closer to the area that they had previously come from. It didn't suit the boy well but he continued swimming, the others continuing their chase.

The funny thing was that they still thought that it was a game.

But the minute they realized that he didn't have a symbol on his arm, they would think that he was open for the taking. He would be taken in by a foreign shiver whose sea witch, when she came upon him, would immediately recognize the magic signature of which the spell that was cast belonged to. That wasn't something he liked to think about.

When he registered that he was no longer being chased he was far from the reef. The mers had probably abandoned chase when they realized that they were going too far away from their group.

Danny looked around, suddenly feeling the exhaustion set in. He hadn't ever tried to swim like that in his entire life; or the time he had been underwater anyway. Now he knew why. The boy pushed himself to a nearby rock and lay on it, completely exhausted. The black haired mer sighed as he remembered his companion. The other was probably furious with him.

He let out a breath as his body protested getting up. If he was going to collapse, he preferred to do so in some place where it was safer. The boy registered wandering around a bit, going a bit deeper before his luck struck him and he found a cave. It looked small as he struggled his way into the entrance, barely fitting through. The boy barely registered the fact that he was no longer breathing in water, rather air as he swam forward and climbed onto the dry stretch of rock in front of him, pulling himself up until only his tail fin was in the water.

He winced when he tried to move his left shoulder and brought his hand only to feel something warm on his shoulder, pulling his hand away to find that he was indeed bleeding. So that was why they had stopped chasing him. He was 'dead'.

It took very little time for him to flop back onto the cold rock. Perhaps he could lie here for a minute or two... The boy's eyes, unwillingly, began to close. It wasn't long before he had fallen asleep in somewhere completely unknown to him.
He would imagine that the shiver had retreated back into the depths with their feast in both their hands and bellies.