~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5 Months later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After a few fins(months to you humans) I was all settled in. I had explored all the areas of the mangrove and had marked the whole perimeter. No one had dared bother me not even the manatees that I sometimes saw swimming just a ways from my territory. I liked that a lot it meant no sharing with the neighbors although I did like seeing them munch on the seagrass. It was when a small click of dolphins entered my territory that I had started having problems. They had started eating a herd of peacock bass that I was going to sneak up on. I growled at them and launched from my hiding place putting on a brilliant display. I raised my dorsal fin and rattled it ominously hissing and showing my fangs and nails. I was not going to share this place with anyone I was certainly not going to crawl back to where I came from.
I ended up having to fight them to get them to leave which left one of them dead sadly and the last few injured. they clicked their displeasure as they finally left my territory and me alone bloody, tired, and hungrier than I had ever been. They had managed to rip and tear into me as if I was one their fish feast. I had bite marks on my tail and most of my fins had rips, tears and holes in them. I sank next to the dead dolphin and rested against it for a little bit. This is why I hated fights like this, they made merpeople weary, bloody, and hungry.
I was really hungry. I looked around for a school of fish I could fest upon and found a target. It was a mangrove crab crawling along the root unaware of the murder that had just been done. I carefully hid myself just underneath the root of the tree it was under, making a note of it's location before snapping up and grabbing it with my hands. I felt it struggle for freedom under my fingers as I brought it down to my face and shoved it into my mouth. I crushed it's shell with my fangs and dug the meat out of the shell. It wasn't enough to keep me full though that's when I looked at the dead dolphin. It was awfully wasteful to leave it there so I ate the poor thing. I only ate two thirds of the thing before burying the rest for later taking a note to give t a proper burial. After filling myself with dolphin and crab meat I went back to patrolling my borders afraid that more intruders would come. I guess that's what got me in trouble later one the following weeks.