"How'd it get loose!"

"Throw me a sword Harv!"

"Shit, we lost the Master Carpenter!"

"Somebody kill the damn thing!"

Just hours before Robin and Henry had retired to bed after a merry party of heavy drinking and chaos. They had just sunk a foreign navy ship and had their hull full of valuables, so night of celebration was called for.

But now the night was filled with screaming barely heard above the raging waters, and melodic creams of the mer lose on the deck. The beast was like no other they had encountered before.

This particular one was a level above the others, she was almost warrior like. She wore light gold ornaments above free-flowing fabrics of her revealing clothing. Her tail was sleek black with patches of pink and white scales speckled throughout and had more decorative fins than any others. And through this arguably flamboyant display, her purple eyes held death.

Usually, a mer on board was clunky and an easy target, but her moves were fluid and coordinated. Her ribbon-like tail snaking behind her, it was like she was performing a dance. The sword she snagged from a crew member was wielded just as gracefully as her body, but unfortunately, grace doesn't make up for practice.

With numbers on their side, she was captured and tied to the main mast and gagged her just in case. And at that moment she was nothing more than a fearful maiden, not a trace of the precious wrath she held before.

The crew crowded around her in wonder. This was the first time they didn't kill a mer, let alone keeping one on board. That was digging your own grave, but also an opportunity like no other. Most men kept their difference, but the brave few took a close look with the braver even going to touch her.

"Never thought a monster could be such a beauty…" One commented they all agreed. She was beautiful, the prettiest woman that even stepped onto their boat. Admittedly few women came aboard for more than a few minutes, which left a large percent of the men desperate. But none were so desperate to try anything with a mer, but it didn't stop a few of them from wondering.

Robin was still dazed from the alcohol and a pounding headache to boot. He rested against a crate miserably, feeling too horrible to care about the mer.

"I told ya~" Henry sang as he rubbed circles on Robin's back. He had warned Robin not to enter a drinking contest, but Robin was determined to win. Claiming to have a tactic for just the situation. And shockingly the man won despite being the ultimate lightweight, compared to the average pirate that is.

Robin huffed, burying his head in his arms. Headaches were bad, but mages had it the worst. The mind was a key source of magic, so a headache caused magic to somewhat malfunction, only causing more pain. Waking up in the dead of night paid him no favors.

"C'mon sleepy bird, beddy byes for you!" Henry lifted Robin to lean onto his shoulders and lead him to their room. He settled Robin into bed carefully as if he was tucking in a child. "Sleepy time for you nyaha."

"Thank you, Henry," Robin managed, he was already half asleep.

"No problem, see ya!" Closing the door behind him, He just hoped Robin stayed down long enough.

By the time Henry reemerged to the deck, everyone was gone except the captain. Which made sense with the number of injuries the mer caused.

"Hi Sir, whatcha lookin' at?!" He asked as he slid beside the man. It was clear the captain was looking at the mer, but Henry could see the gears turning in his head. "We gonna kill her or not?"

The older man shrugged, "We'll see, but if we do I'll send somebody to get you and your little friend." he mused teasingly. He looked at the mer, who was still out cold, with an uneasy look. Clearly, he didn't want to keep her onboard, but there were little options now that they had tied her down.

Henry looked up at the captain's words, "Whaddya mean? Robin's my best human friend so far, I don't get you."He thought back to his time with Robin but couldn't think of anything out of place. He was sure Robin was his friend and not faking it, he learned how to tell if Robin was lying after all.

With an amused smile, the captain shook his head and took his leave. "I'll check on the others; you keep an eye on 'er if you're planning on sticking around."

Now alone, Henry pondered on the captain's words, not making any sense of them. But his thoughts were interrupted by groans and a small trill. Taking a step back he saw the mer was awake.

Her eyes snapped open and she glared at Henry, baring her teeth at him. A reasonable response, especially considering Henry and Robin had done the final blow, he was sure she'd remember that for a long time. Her eyes were a purple void with black slits that only continued to thin.

"Get away from me!" She screamed with tears in her eyes, she huffed trying to put on a brave front. Her tail squirmed but was ultimately tied all around.

Henry noticed the rope grating against the gills around her waist and gently adjusted them above her hip. "There, now you can breath more!" he grinned. His grin wasn't as cheery as usual if fact Henry wasn't all that happy with this turnout.

He was used to murdering anything and everything; it never bothered him. His parents were fishers and always forced Henry to off any mers they happened to come upon. He never minded, until later in his life when their fishing boat was destroyed in a storm. They died, not that he cared, but he survived.

As long as mer was killed he didn't care, but keeping one hostage was just cruel. He was held captive most of his life, but getting rid of his parents was just the cure for that. He could hardly call them as such. He wasn't even sure which of them was his actual parent.

"Just leave will you!" The mer cried tragically, it was almost melodic. She struggled uselessly, anything in an attempt to get away from the human.

"What's your name?" He inquired cheerily, he was somewhat excited to meet an actual mer. Despite being half himself, he had never met another one outside of a fishing net.

"Why do you care, you're planning on killing me anyways? She glared accusingly but didn't dare to make direct eye contact.

Henry held his hand out, "I'm Henry! C'mon no need to be shy; I don't bite hard enough to kill."

She stared at the hand in confusion before looking at him again. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, for one she was tied up. Two, she had no knowledge of human greeting customs. It wasn't a threat, but she wasn't calmed by Henry's words.

"Olivia," she simply stated.

Henry nodded, glad about the success. "Well let's get you outta here nyeah? Better do it now so there's less of a caw-motion haha!" He cackled feeling at the rope, trying to find the ends.

"What?" She stared at him, more confused than ever. "You blasted me with magic, tied me up, and now you try and free me?!" her voice raised in anger, she was offended.

Henry shrugged grabbing at a knot he found. "I thought we were gonna kill you on the spot, captain usually goes for the kill. He might wanna keep you as a pet or something. Which is dumb, he should just get a crow!" With that a few caws were heard in the distance, his crows were never too far behind after all.

She complained about the situation a bit more but Henry was too engrossed in the ropes at this point. It wasn't long before they were all loose.

"Nyaha, all done. That took a while," he commented offhandedly with a softer smile replacing his grin.

Stretching out, Olivia splayed her body across the deck. Henry was surprised at how big she was. Initially, he thought she was just long, but her tail was also very thick, tapering out as it approached the tail fin.

"I'm going to drown this boat," She stated. "I appreciate the help, but I can't let you get any closer to my home." She nodded to herself in determination. A bit of her confidence had come back.

Henry only laughed, "Aww man, you're gonna kill everyone without me?!" Henry didn't care for the crew. He used to hold a sliver of fondness for the old captain before he passed. Now there wasn't anything holding him back. He'd just start anew once again.

Olivia shook her head in exasperation. Giving one final thanks she lumbered to the edge of the ship and jumped off.

Henry watched her go with a grin, he had no time to waste. He needed to grab his luggage catastrophe hit.