May 11 Invasive Species…ish: version 2
>.> <.< Writing Lily as a kiddo is always fun, more so with DoomDad Slayer. more so with them as mers heheheh
This version of mer au Slayer is shamelessly stollen with massive amounts of love from @horseyneigh2002 He really loves his new adopted pup, but omg he keeps forgetting the chaos pups can get into without corralling them.... those poor fishermen were not expected the day to go sideways.
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[version 2] May 11 Invasive Species…ish
The small mer pup popped up half out of nowhere, but in all honestly she was as surprised as them. Or, almost as surprised as the fishermen who all froze. The camera on the boat for insurance and their own silly antics on occasion catching the whole thing.
Pulling up one of the newest, and largest traps after a string of not having much of a catch… and finding a little mer pup inside looking confused. Yet not panicking as she sneezed water to clear, and switched to breathing air.
“Hi!” the girl said with a chirping sound, from inside the trap as if it was perfectly normal to just sit inside one. Not seeming to be stressed as the trap was hurriedly brought on board and the group of three exclaimed startled sounds. She blinked up at them, flicking her tail fin to keep from being pinched by a crab. There were scattered shells around in the trap and the pup held some crab legs in her hands.
“What are you doing in there?” a bearded, broad shouldered fisherman asked as he helped unlatched a side of the trap. “How did you get in there, baby?”
“Eatting!” the girl said innocently, the small mermaid did not resist being helped out, as if used to humans. She held up a handful of broken shells to show her prize. Looking up at the big man, eyes wide at the dark and white beard as he settled her on top of a crate.
Checking her tail, feathery fins and arms for any scrapes, but only a few older ones were on her, “I see that, did you get into any other traps?”
The little gold and black striped girl shook her head, puzzled. “No? It’s only that one where I was left.”
“Left?” The big man glanced over at the area they had left the trap, not far from shore, a shallower area that sometimes in the lowest tides. “Is your pod fishing? Out hunting?”
“My daddy!” The girl chipped, grasping her tail fin with her free hand. “He said, I stay here, I get to hunt. And stay by the storm den- but the rangers in the land side of pod- they said THESE-”
The pup was rambling, so very excited to see new people that seemed nice she was skipping words a bit. Holding the crab legs up to show the fisherman, “Ranger said these are bad crabs for reefs and humans- but not for me! I can eat all I want! I’m GOOD at hunting crabs now!”
Rangers…
The man thought of the Mer Protection Agency that was local in the area, they had active rangers with the pods around. And thus the pups too, so this little girl was learning what… were invasive crabs and eating them?
That… was honestly smart.
“Are your fins okay baby?” The man asked as the crabs were checked and sorted in the trap. There were a decent amount and his little mermaid pup seemed to have thin fins. “You didn’t catch them in the trap did you? Or was… how did you get inside?”
“I’m fine mister!” The girl fanned out her damp fins to show, sitting up on the crate and munching happily on what was left of the crab legs. Breaking the shells to eat, “I opened the lid.”
“Lid?” one of the others asked, hesitating a moment and then laughed. The pup and trap were not hurt, “You know, she did a really good job at not hurting the trap.”
“Traps not mine,” the girl chipped happily, then held up the last crab leg, “But this is!”
“It is!” the bearded man laughed, “Do you know when your pod is coming back, baby? You want to jump off the boat?”
The gold and black pup looked up, judging the sky, then looking around the water and at a spot. She made a face, “It's still high tide… daddy is coming back at low tide. Can… can I stay out of the water?”
“Low tied…” Another voice, the pup looking over at where the captain had leaned out the door to the warm cabin. “That’s more then a few hours, you sure you want to stay with us baby girl? We’ll be pulling up traps and setting them all day.”
The girl wiggled, exited at that as she held up her last crab leg. “Can I have the bad for human crabs?”
There was a long awkward pause, and then the pup blinked as there was laughter. She was welcome to stay for a few hours with them, and Lily, the pup, was soon helped into a spot that was warmer and sitting up. The fishermen used some extra life vests to make her a seat, and a blanket was up over the girl to help her against the wind. She seemed pretty thin compared to other bigger mers, and the heat was something Lily was enjoying. Even having a visit inside the cabin with the captain.
Lily seemed absolutely ‘starving,’ or just like human kids was a near bottomless pit. More than happy to crunch into crabs of the invasive species there were pulled out of the traps. Putting the scraps in an offered bucket, being very neat despite the crab massacre.
The young mer was absolutely full of questions, fascinated at all the things inside the boat. Lily listened to all the explanations of equipment, asking more questions until she understood. Delighted to learn all about the semi new things. She knew a good amount about boats, happy to tell what she learned with the Rangers and Coast Guard.
The camera did catch at least two naps, solid twenty minutes between pulling traps up. The pup dosed with a nice full belly and held the hand of one of the fishermen. Who looked like he was dying of cute, once realizing mer pups squeaked in their sleep.
It was a few hours later the boat was back in the spot they had found the pup. A spot was found and anchored off the slowly revealed islet as the tide drew back, the engines shut off. It was afternoon, and the crew had decided to wait a little while, having their meal on the back deck.
The pup was delighted, and Lily had finally finished off her last crab and a little bait fish. Lily had been very helpful biting a few bait fish open for the traps. Now she was nice and warm under a blanket and a jacket. Sniffing the sandwich closer to her, but was not too interested in it other then a nibble on a taste of cheese.
“What’s your dad’s name?” the bearded man asked, not minding that they might get home late. It was definitely not every day one got to sit and talk with a mer of any kind.
“He likes John! But peoples call him a lot of things!” the pup giggled, Lily smiled as she grasped her tail fin, she was no bigger than say, a 10 year old human but for her tail.
“Where does he hunt?” The captain asked, looking around, noticing a dark shadow in the water. Offering a slice if watermelon from his lunch with the pup.
“In the deep-DEEP dark!” Lily chirped happily, paused and then added, “I'm not allowed to go that deep. It's really, reeeeaaally cold… and scary. There's monsters past all the big bones.”
“It sounds scary,” the bearded man agreed, leaning back on the rail beside the back of the cabin where the girl was.
Lily nodded, agreeing, “I don’t like going that deep, to the bones. But it’s kinda pretty in the glowing spots in the bone place!”
“What is the bone place?” one of the youngest of the fishermen asked, puzzled.
It was the captain that spoke up, not minding opening a water bottle for Lily to investigate and sip. As if this was not the first time he had a mer pup on his boat for a while or day. “It’s one of the underwater graveyards, for whales, big mers, and the deep sea monsters.”
Two snorted, but both the bearded man and the captain seemed calm. And then the girl piped up, “Daddy drags the monsters up and eats them in the bone place, so there’s a lot of big bones!”
The captain hesitated a moment and asked, “Lily, do you know what kind of mer your daddy is?”
“Big-big!” the girl promptly cheered, tossing her arms up and out, then scrambled to not drop the water bottle and get another drink. “Big… my new dad is a biiiig shark! He’s a reef guardian!”
“Huh,” one of the other fishermen tilted his head, “Hey Cap, wasn’t there up north a big levia-”
The ship shuttered and moved, everyone but the sitting pup scrambled to keep balance as something massive rose out of the water beside the boat. Just as massive hands were wrapping around the ship. Claws bigger than the men scraping over the metal, but not puncturing the hull, and the head of the great beast…
He was and was no human, too big- big enough to eat even ‘normal’ bigger mers. Jaws that parted to bare rows of triangular shark teeth and pale, cold looking maw- the air vibrating with a growl.
“Daddy!” Lily’s little voice piped up with delight. The only one on the fishing boat that was unbothered, the little mermaid pup tossing her arms up, and impossibly seemed so pleased and proud. “I got all the crabs!”
The giant, leviathan merman paused, blinked, solid black eyes shifting to show green. He stopped gaping and tilted his head, taking a second look at the boat that had his adopted little pup. The ship was lowered back into the water and he frowned. At first having thought someone else was trying to kidnap his defenceless pup, now he was able to focus and see how Lily was just giving a spot. She was very ful, but not in a cage, not anything but happy.
No restraints, no scents of stress or blood from his pup. Fresh fear from the humans, understandably, he almost ripped their ship apart.
He gave a slow, questioning rumble of sound, studying the humans. No weapons, frozen in fear of him, but no move to hold his pup hostage or… he sniffed.
Fish were there, but not a fish hunting boat? It smelled odd.
“I had fun!” Lily responded, as if understanding the deep vibrating tones. “They told me all about… crab-boats! And I got to eat all the bad for human crabs- and I helped bite some bait fish in the traps! And I got to try a watermelon and this-”
The excited pup held up her bottom of fresh water.
The gigantic megladon arched a dark eyebrow, he huffed and rumbled another sound.
Lily gave a nervous giggle, fiddling with her finds. “I was sitting in a crab trap… it got up on the boat. That’s how I got on, daddy.”
A long sigh came from the leviathan mer as he released the boat fully and sat back. No longer looming but hunching over the ship, still massive as he sat back in the shallows for him. Water lapped around his armored hide middle, one hand lifting above the boat and crew to… he pinched at the bridge of his nose, just above the wide scar there. Visible better with some distance.
The captain suddenly recognized the expression of complete exasperation from the giant as notably green eyes looked at his ship. At the comparatively tiny mermaid pup. Not just any exasperation, but that one type of long suffering parents the world over. Staring at their child and clearly wondering how they were alive, or where the brain cell that had been seen earlier had gone.
Leaning over, the giant leviathan mer reached for the boat again, this time not trying to scare the flinching humans. His claws were surprisingly gentle at getting the pup out of her blanket and wrapping around, supporting her little fram with fingers. Lifting her off the fishing boat, and snorted at the protesting squeaks.
He grumble-growled a sound.
Lily pouted back, “but…but it was fun? Not strangers anymore? We’re not in the bad place, so the humans are safe?”
Pup cradled in one hand, the megalodon Slayer proved to not be immune to a facepalm with his free hand. Then lifted the pup higher to sniff her, give a grooming lick to get the smell of the boat off her. Then moved the pup to be held like the world’s tiniest kitten to use his hands and arms to pull himself back into deeper water. Lily was pouting, looking at her new friends and waved as her giant father moved them away.
“Bye!” Lily called before being plunged underwater, leaving a more then shocked crew to watch as it seemed to take forever for the Slayer of all mers and leviathans to leave and dive back into the seawater. Caring his little adopted pup.
He was almost back to the storm den, making up his mind to find a well hidden and secure nursery grounds for his pup.
It hit him all at once, without warning that he had been called daddy.