(Reminder, for plot convenience I made Lian a crab in my mer fanfic, he's a seal in Monsoon's AU)
Ingo pulled himself out of the shallow pool of water he had been laying in while his injuries healed. It was… hard, to be honest, much harder than it should have been. He looked back towards his- his tail. He gulped nervously, for someone that didn't remember anything but his name, the idea of having a tail made him very uncomfortable for some reason, it just… felt wrong. It was big, too big in his opinion, unwieldy, twisted in strange ways and he couldn't move it well, even moving the smaller flippers felt foreign to him.
With a sigh, he pushed and braced himself as he splashed loudly into the waterway twisting around the individual water pools where the injured and sick rested. Ingo lost count how many days it was since he woke up in this strange place- maybe it was weeks, even months. His injuries were the worst, especially the one on the head and the dorsal fin that had snapped in half. While recovering, he met a lot of the members of the Pearl clan that had taken him in, he had watched Calaba and other much younger medics treat anything from a bleeding scrape to a shark bite on one of the guards' arms.
Ingo, a bit clumsily, swam towards the cave opening, stopping to look for his coat and had. Most of the clan wore close to nothing, especially the men, but the though of going out absolutely naked made him shiver. Soon, he spotted his clothes hanging from a big rock jutting from the wall, someone probably put them there, so they won't drift away when the tide came. He stretched, pausing a bit at the sight of his now black-white clawed hand, and took his clothes. The first thing he did was securely put on his hat, relaxing at the familiar weight of it, the white shirt was looking terrible, full of holes and patches of long-dried blood, thankfully his coat had fared better, probably because of the sturdier material, even if the edges were a bit rough.
'Well, I guess this will have to do for now.' – Ingo thought as he put on the coat and buttoned the buttons in the middle, his chest still felt a bit bare but he wasn't feeling as exposed as before.
"Ah, you are up!" – a young male voice sounded from the cave opening.
Ingo quickly looked and in from the water poked the head of a young boy- he had light brown hair that curled slightly despite dripping water and had a big white cowboy hat, he also had some gray and tan-colored flecks on his cheeks.
"Where did you get that cowboy hat?" – Ingo blurted without thinking.
"I found it, also, what's a cowboy?" -the boy asked back but Ingo couldn't answer because he also didn't know.
The boy swam closer, Ingo's eyes widening as he confirmed that it wasn't the perspective, the boy was much smaller than him, heck, maybe even much smaller than a child around his age should be.
"Warden Calaba sent me here to check on you and bring you some snacks. I didn't expect you to be up and about! Ah, my name is Lian, by the way, Warden Lian!" – the boy surfaced even more and proudly puffed out his chest.
Ingo had no idea what warden was, but guessed it must be big deal. He noticed an odd bracelet around Lian's right hand, then he noticed a small wrapped bundle of seaweed under his left forearm, a strong fishy smell wafting from within, it made his stomach growl.
"Here, eat this!" Lian handed over the bundle "It's only meant to be a light snack, Calaba said they'd bring more tonight."
Ingo looked at the bundle- it seemed so big when Lian was clutching it, but now it fit in Ingo's palm. He'd probably finish it in 2-3 bites, he'd seen bigger burgers and onigiri- whatever those were. Already used to the food, Ingo started slowly eating his snack.
Lian climbed up a stone ledge and settled himself on the rim of one nearby shallow pool of water, watching Ingo with poorly hidden curiosity and fascination. Now out of the water, Ingo could also take a better look at him- he wore a shawl the same pinkish color with blue accents almost everyone he saw wore. The flecks of color on his cheeks reached down the back of the neck where they became bigger spots and stretched down the arms and back. They boy also seemed to have tiny openings in both sides of his chest area and unlike the others, which had some sort of mammalian tails, his bottom half was that of a crab, the carapace and his tiny black claws reflecting a bit of the dim light coming from outside. He also had a belt weaved from some plants with a few crude tools and pouched tied to it. Lian was definitely curious and he was surprised the boy hadn't bombarded him with questions by now.
"So…" Ingo licked him lips clean from the last bits of seaweed "It is nice to properly meet you, young Lian. You must have heard from miss Calaba, but my name is Ingo, nice to meet you." - Ingo extended his hand for a handshake but Lian just stared at it.
"Uh, do you want me to climb on or…" – Lian shifted.
"Ah, my apologies! I was simply greeting you."
"I see. We don't get many visitors here, by the almighty, I don't even think I've seen another orca mer before! You're like- huge! Even bigger than Warden Gaeric and he's the largest in the whole Pearl clan!" – the boy stood up, his legs excitedly tapping on the stone beneath.
Ingo quietly chuckled as he listened to the young boy speak about his clan and the other wardens, also about Lord Kleavor (whoever that was) and all the different rocks he found while outside.
"-and then I saw this absolutely huge piece of rock, so shiny and sparkly but it was too big and tough for me to take it or break a piece off of it." – Lian pulled out a roughly made pick from his belt and spun it in one hand.
"I see. Well, young Lian, I do hope you can bring be to see that rock one day!" – his voice boomed inside the cave.
"Ah- umm…" suddenly Lian looked away "I-if you want so badly, I guess I'll try. But! We've been distracted long enough. I shall be taking my leave now and inform Warden Calaba that you are out of the pool." – he had a small blush on his cheeks as he turned around and jumped off the edge.
Ingo panicked and tried to catch him, so he wouldn't get hurt but the boy landed with a small splash in the water and swan away hurriedly. Ingo looked at him in bewilderment for a while. Ingo then slowly moved to the entrance of the cave.
'Agh! Too bright!' – he had to blink the spots out of his eyes for quite a while before his vision cleared.
In front of him was a hidden beach, clean golden sands, small traces of vegetation could be seen growing on the unimaginably tall cliffs surrounding the beach, snow and giant icebergs dotted the landscape. He shivered at the sight and it was not because of the cold sea breeze, the sight of those glaciers made him uncomfortable.
"I see that you are out already." – the old healed, Calaba, quietly swam to him and looked him over.
"Ah, yes. I am feeling much better since being in your care! Thank you very much for the hospitality!" – he bowed to her.
Calaba was taken aback by the gesture and submissiveness such a big mer showed her, especially an outsider. Usually whenever a traveling pod of dolphin mers would pass near Hisui and try to go through their territory, they would often dismiss her for being old and short, then immediately regret it as she whipped them with her stick across the head.
"Just keep it down or you'll cause an avalanche with how loud you are! And don't thank me, you should thank out clan leader, Irida for finding and bringing you here." – she barked and then grumbled under her nose, making a gesture for him to follow her.
She led him away from the shoreline and didn't start any small talk, so he looked around some more. There wasn't much to see beside the ice and beach, an unfamiliar hace surfacing here and there to look at him and then disappear below the waves, a few bigger mers armed with makeshift wooden spears circling in the distance and… was that Lian putting something up on the beach? Ingo squinted to see better.
"We're here." – Calaba announced.
Ingo focused back on her and noticed they had stopped near a small stone outcrop, on it sat a young lady with blonde hair, some pretty important-looking head and neck accessories and the tail of a … some type of seal, he thinks. She also had a sash around her waist with the Pearl clan symbol. Behind her, partially hidden by the rocks lurked 2 othe mer- a bare-chested man with blue-ish hair, a serious scowl on his face while looking sleep-deprived at the same time and the same symbol somehow shaven onto his chest; the other one was a much older and smaller mer, he had graying hair, smooth, shiny gray tail, probably a dolphin, a sort of knitted and a sash across his chest, the look on his face wary but a lot less hostile than the other.
"Hello, Ingo, I am glad for us to officially meet. My name is Irida, the leader of the Pearl clan." – the young girl spoke.
"Oh, no, the pleasure is all mine!" he bowed deeply yet again, shocking the others "I heard that you saved my life and I am indebted to you for that. I want to show my thanks and appreciation but… honestly, don't know how." – he admitted, adjusting his hat a little.
"I see… Well, it is one of the reasons I decided to meet you here today. I would like to offer you to stay here and join the Pearl clan."
"Irida!" – the large spotted mer shouted as he pushed himself up from the water.
"Miss, you can't jus-" – the older merman started.
"What are you-" – Calaba also joined.
"SHUT UP!" Irida shouted and made everyone stop and pull back a little "Don't Irida me, Gaeric! And you two, I know you are mistrustful of outsiders, I can't blame you, but I refuse to let the mer I saved, to be left alone without any memories in the open ocean! You know how dangerous it can be out there, especially if a mer is alone and I won't let his life be put at risk again the moment he's deemed healed enough! Well… that is if he wants to stay, of course." – she looked at him, waiting for an answer.
"Well, I am thankful for the offer and will help with whatever I can to help and repay the hospitality!" – he said loudly and bowed yet again.
"Whoo! The un here's really loud, just as you said Calaba. He looks strong, if a bit scrawny for an orca merman, he'd be useful for carrying heavy stuff… Oh, maybe he'd become your assistant Calaba, helping you carry herbs and other things, being frail old lady and all." – the dolphin merman propped his left elbow on the rocks and teasingly grinned.
*THWACK!*
Fast as lightning, Calaba had pulled up her stick and slapped the man's hand.
"Call me frail old lady one more time and I'll be sending you to the medical bay myself, you thick-headed buffoon! I am only 86 and still swimming, last time I remember you were complaining about backpain and going gray and bald. And you're what? In your 60s? I will outlive you and tell your great-grandkids how stupid your shiny bald head looked." – she pointed the tip of her stick at him.
"Ahem! Now, let's get back the conversation- Ingo, as the leader of the Pearl clan, I welcome you. Being part of the clan will not mean you'll be held here against your will. I know orca mers usually travel all the time and I would gladly allow you to leave if you found your pod or decided to join another one. But while you are part of the clan, there are a few rules. You'll be taught more later on but there are 3 most important rules you must always follow. First, no fighting within the clan, meaning you can't fight and hurt anyone that's part of the clan. Second, make sure to listen to the commands of the leader or wardens, the risk of not listening will be solely on you. And third, do NOT go into the Diamond clan territory, it might start another conflict and we don't want that. Later, you'll be shown where their territory is and which waters are considered Pearl clan territory or neutral. For now, please don't stray far from the beach."
"Understood! I will do my best to follow these rules, miss Irida." – Ingo saluted and received another set of strange looks.
"I don't like him." – Gaeric grumbled but dove down and out of sight, leaving for his cave to catch up on some sleep, he'd been awake for almost 24 hours already.
===Meanwhile in the warm waters south===
"Aaaaaadaaaaamaaaaaaan!" – Arezu screamed loudly and she furiously swam as fast as she could.
"Wuh!" Adaman, who had been dozing on a flat reef rock, suddenly jolted up and frantically looked aroud "What? Where is-? What's happening Arezu? Did something happen in the clan? Are those pesky sharks back?! If so, I'll get Mai and we'll-"
"What? No, nothing happened, everything's OK in the clan." – she stated calmly.
"Then why, in the name of the ancient one, did you rush here screaming like that time a bull shark tried to eat you?" – he looked at her with a deadpan, part of his long hair floating in front of him.
"Sorry, but I just came upon the most wonderful thing in all of time!" – she latched onto his forearm.
"Is that so?" – he looked down at her, the sparkle in her eyes making him lean back.
Usually, when she got that sparkle, she was so excited about something she wouldn't take no for an answer and drag someone with her to do it, whatever it was. Like the time she dragged Iscan to a cave to search for razor clams since the paint from their shells would have made their clothes look more vibrant. It ended with them returning with only 1 clam and the top of Iscan's head completely shaved off. The merman has since started shaving his whole head and actually liking the new look, but still!
"OK! So, remember a few days ago how a strange purple dome appeared near the west swamp while I was there collecting mineral rich mud for Lady Lilligant and I had to run?"
"Yes, I remember. Everyone was worried another hole might have been opening but, thankfully it disappeared."
"Yes, so, while swimming away, I saw strange shadowy things moving about, scaring the animals and other stuff seeming to fall from the sky, so today I returned there to look around. At first, there was nothing, I looked through the whole area and found none of the shiny things! I was so disappointed and about to go back when I saw it! On a tall branch of a tree I found a strange object hanging. So, I climbed up, untangled it from the branches and climbed down before looking it over. I was blown away! The color! The styles! The fashionable poses! Kyaaah!" – she waved her arms around excitedly and swam in circles.
"…And?" – Adaman almost didn't dare to ask.
"And I want to test some of it on you! I saw a really nice-looking hairstyle! I would have shown it to you but when I tried to take it with me it got all soggy and soft in the water, so I had to leave it on land. Such a shame, I think you would have liked the look and also you DO need a haircut. I saw you adjusting your tie more often and moving hair off your face. So, it'll be two fish with one spear kind of thing!"
She could barely hold herself and Adaman could clearly see it, also it was true his longer locks were bothering him and he didn't have time to braid them…
"Alright, fine! I'll try this new look you have in mind, just… please don't make me bald like Iscan…" – he laid himself down, allowing the little shrimp mermaid to start her work, snipping away at his hair with her claws.
"Hey, he looks really good with that hairstyle!" – Arezu pouted.
"Yeah, yeah, let's get over with this." – Adaman sighed and closed his eyes.
…A while tater….
"Aaaaand… All done!" – Arezu proclaimed as she snipped the last strand of hair.
Adaman opened his eyes and lifted himself up from the rock.
"Ah, wait a moment! I have to tie this last part back to finish the look!" – Arezu exclaimed and quickly went to get his hair tie.
He felt the familiar pull and tug on his hair soon after.
"Muah! Absolutely stunning! I bet all the girls in the clan will be swooning at you, even those that are not single anymore! Come on! Let's show your new hairstyle to the world!"
Adaman was skeptical, it was very easy for Arezu to exaggerate things and he dreaded to see what she'd done to his hair, he had felt her clip very close to his skin a few times.
'Well, no use in wasting time, let's get this over with.' – he thought as he swam after her and towards the clan settlement.
As they came closer and closer he noticed the other clan members stop and look at him, some of the younger ones even pointing before their parents scolded them and pulled them away. Before noticing, he and Arezu had reached her home, where she kept all the things she collected from the surface and her tools for her care station. Among those things was a large mirror she had dragged from a sunken ship and was using to show others how they looked after a haircut.
"Ready to see the new you?" – she teased.
"Let's get this over with. Show me." – he braced himself, already thinking when it would be best time to shave to not hurt Arezu's feelings.
She finally turned the mirror towards him and-
"Wow…" – Adaman leaned closer to get a better look at his reflection, turning his head left and right.
"I know, right?! I was swept away by all the different hairstyles! And this one, I felt was for you." – she grinned.
"This is actually really good! Might take some time to get used to it, but it looks great!" – Adaman posed.
Yes, it was a bit unusual, with the almost completely shaved sides but he didn't mind it.