Prompts stolen from @justshance. all pieces are up for grabs if anyone wants to take them further or rework them. @shancemermay
5. Coral reef
“Hello, please can someone help me?” The black tip reef shark mer called out into the reef as he made his way a little deeper into the cluster of corals and sponges. He held his one good to the upper shoulder of his stump. A small cloud of red spilling from his fingers and cut along his face. A few others along his body that was littered with old scars. “Please. I need help. I was told to come here to find it.
Lance watched with others of his community from the safety of the corals to the sharks pleas. He made a move to go out into the open, but was grabbed by another cleaner wrasse mer.
“What are you doing?” Sanda hissed at him. “He is a predator and an outsider. Leave him to the tide.”
“He is hurt, and in need of help. Do we not help him because he is not from our reef?” Lance asked. “We help other predators.”
“We help those from our community. Who know should they turn on us they will not be helped again. There is nothing to stop an outsider from doing so. They will just move on to the next reef.” Sanda pointed out in a tone you would use to remind a the water is wet.
Lance puffed out his chest as he patted his work bag. “It is in the nature of a predator to kill, just as it is my nature to help.” with that lance darted out into the open behind the shark. The shark mer turning to the disturbance in the water. “I can help you. In exchange for things you no longer need and not eating me.” lance said once the shark’s eyes were on him. His last sentence said with a nervous grin. He cringed a bit when the shark jerked back in it’s slow movement towards him.
“I won’t eat you.” the shark’s brows drawn tight in a pained puzzle. The shark eye up the much smaller mer. Nearly a quarter his own size. “I…” he was cut off.
“Good then we are in agreement.” the smaller wrasse mer flitted up to the shark with a lack fear. “I’m not the best medic. But afraid i have to do. Let me see that shoulder.” the shark pulled back.
“You are bleeding all over the place is does that slash on your face mess with your smeller?” he asked scrunching up his face just an arms length from the shark.
The shark let out a huff. “It does, but i know i am bleeding. But my friend needs help more. I will be fine.”
“And where is your friend?” lance asked looking around drifting in a slow circle moving up in the water column to get a better view.
The shark winced at that. “He is not here. He couldn’t make the swim. Please, come with me to help him.” the shark asked.
The wrasse mer looked nervously from the shark to the coral cluster he knew sanda was hiding in. before shaking his head and squaring his shoulders. He met the sharks eyes and gave a determined nod. “Of coarse. Show me to the person who needs help and i will help to the best of my abilities.”
The shark mer swam up to the wrasse with a warm smile. “Thank you. Please follow me. My name is shiro.”
“Lance.” the wrasse mer said with a small smile of his own, pressing closely to the sharks side near his belly keeping behind his pectoral fins and out of arm’s reach. “Lead the way big guy.” the two kept close as the shark booked it to open water, lance keeping up thankfully by stay in the streamline of the shark’s body as it cut through the water with great speed despite his injuries. When ever he couldn’t keep pace he’d reach out tentatively and grab the shark’s pectoral fin. Shiro would only glance over his shoulder at the motion to make sure the wrasse stayed with him. “What is your friends name?” lance asked after a short time passed but he was much farther from home than he had ever been.
“Keith. He is also a shark, but smaller than me. Young.” shiro answered. “Thank you. For agreeing to help me. And trusting me. I know it seemed like a trick or a trap to ask you to leave the safety of your home with a stranger.”
“Trust is earned and traded.” lance recited his lesson from his favorite teacher the shrimp mer coran. “But help can be freely given should one choose. And i have chosen to follow my nature to help those in need. And you are in need.” lance gave a light squeeze to the shark’s fin. “Maybe should you and your friend not eat me, we can work on trading trust.”
“You have earned my trust already lance.” the shark answered sincerely. “Neither of us will harm you.”
“Yes there.” shiro pointed to a cluster of dead and bleached coral. Between it and the rocks they had made a rather large cave under the debris. Inside was a shark mer with longer dark hair curled up in aganony. A bloody gash seeping red into the water from his cheek. The larger mer quickly settling in around his friend. “Keith i’m back. I brought help.” shiro turned back to look to lance who was hovering at the entrance to the cave nervously. The soft pleading gaze from shiro bringing him closer to the other shark who was thrashing wildly every few minutes.
“My name is lance and i’m going to do my best to make you feel better.” he said softly opening his bag and pulling out a snail shell with a hollow urchin spin from a hole in it’s center. Moving closer to press it to the sick sharks back near his gills.
The shark jerked back and growled. Causing the smaller mer to drift away from him. “What is a runt like you going to do?” it growled.
“Everything i can. You just have to let me.” lance said back sternly. “Can you tell me what’s wrong since you can insult me.”
“Poisoned.” the smaller shark growled, while the larger said it more softly.
“By something you ate or something stung you?” Lance asked quickly pulling out a deep round shell and a coral cone with a rounded bottom.
“Maybe if i eat you, i’ll feel better!” the smaller shark snapped thrashing in pain again.
“Keith stop!” shiro snapped at his friend before turning to lance, “ please, he didn’t… he won’t…” but he stopped as lance swam up easily to the smaller shark and pulled his eye lid open to look into his eyes.
“Answer the question mullet. I can’t make a remedy unless i know which. And what did it.” lance pulled the shark’s ear before smearing a salve onto the wound on his cheek from another clam shell in his bag.
“Stung.” he quipped bitterly. Wincing at the stinging wound and manhandling.
“A lionfish mer tried to take our cave.” shiro answered instead. “We fought, but keith was stung.”
Lance smiled and patted keith’s unmarred cheek. “See not so hard. I have what i need to take care of that. Was it your face here that got stung?”
“No my clasper did.” keith snarked sarcastically.
“Well either way wouldn’t be much of a loss for you i’m sure.” lance sassed back settling into the sand and pulling a few things from his bag to place into his shell and began to crush with his coral. Ignoring keith’s growling. “Shiro can you catch a small flounder or white fish? Something bland? It will help the medicine go down easier for your friend.” he didn’t even look up from his work. Even as keith thrashed again.
“Go it’s ok. I’m here to help. After he is free of the toxins i’ll give you both a through check up teeth and parasites and all your little cuts. He’s too sick to stomach me as he is.” lance said with a smile at the calmer shark.
“I wouldn’t be able to stomach you if i was starving.” Keith shot back.
“I take it back. How about the nastiest sea squirt you can find. Really make this medicine taste like parrotfish poop.
Shiro smiled at the fiery little wrasse, giving a light chuckle before heading out to collect a meal for his friend. Shiro returned with enough to feed all three of them. Helping lance to force feed keith who swore it was poisoned by the wrasse to kill him faster. Lance saying the initial sting was making him have hallucinations or it was part of his permanently damaged brain since he hallucinates his hair being in style. Shiro laughing it off as keith being a picky eater. But they did get him to take the med. The trashing had become far less intense just minutes after. Shiro invited lance to stay the night with them in their cave after he treated shiro’s wounds. The rest could wait till the next day, and he’d swim lance all the way home. Lance agreed wholeheartedly, snuggling up under the sharks fin for the night. .
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