As soon as I was dragged out of the mangrove I was tied to a post half submerged and half above the water. I shrieked and screamed protesting the binding but I was outnumbered and forced to stay in the enclosed area around the post. I remember shrieking and struggling on that post for 3 days straight till I could shriek no more. What was worse was that my injuries were getting worse. The bite marks dislocated my scales and swelled up making my silver scales seem red. While I had always wanted to be as colorful as some of the other surface mer my own color scheme seeming so bland of silver scales white fins and silver hair I did not want my tail to hurt this badly. I was worried that as soon as I was able to get away that I wouldn't be able to swim quick enough because of the pain. I gurgled in displeasure and sank as far as I could under the water. This couldn't get any worse.
After the fourth sleepless night something changed. I was visited by humans that seemed different than the others. I couldn't place what made me so wary of them but I could tell that these humans were different but just as dangerous. I hissed at them as they came closer to me recognizing one of them as female and the other a male. They looked at me like all the humans looked at me shocked and in awe. The new humans turned to talk with the others before the female started approaching me. I hissed at her in my raspy voice, it still hadn't recovered from my shrieking. She didn't seem to get the picture as she leaned closer to me gurgling in her native tongue. I snapped at her flashing my fangs and growling. She looked at me quizzically and stretched out her hand towards my face. I growled at it and moved away from her hand as it came closer. I snapped at her hand and she quickly retracted it frowning at me. I snarled and struggled to get out of the bonds banging my tail against the post. I shrieked in pain as I had forgotten how badly my tail hurt. The female seemed to have notice my discomfort and looked down at my tail. She gasped and yelled in her tongue at some of the humans as they grabbed my post. I hissed at them wishing I could rattle my dorsal fin at them to make them get away from me or at least be able to nip them but their hands were too far away and thus they lifted up my post and dragged me to the shore with me still hissing at them.
The female ran over to me as they laid me on the shore and looked at my tail again seemingly distraught at the wounds. This puzzled me. No mer had ever been this interested in me to care about whether my wounds healed properly as they were usually the ones who gave me the wounds in the first place, so why should a human care? Something deep inside me wanted to know what made her care and why she was so interested but all of that flew out the window when she touched the swollen bite marks. I shrieked and pain and tried with all my might to shrink away from her touch. But more humans came to hold me down further aggravating the wounds. Even though I was hoarse and it hurt I still screamed in pain. It hurt so much it was nearly unbearable. I couldn't take it any longer! Then sweet relief as their hands moved. I gurgled softly panting to try and recatch my breath. That's when I felt the most soothing sensation. something was rubbing behind my ear fin. I thrummed as I let the pleasant sensation wash over me closing y eyes and letting myself enjoy it. It felt nice, after all that pain it was really calming. I leaned into whatever was causing me to feel so pleasant inhaling it's scent to make sure I remember it. I felt a pinch on my neck after I did that. I growled at whatever it was that dared disturb this moment but felt to tired to really sink my nails into it. I fell asleep surprisingly comfortable for the first time in a long time.