The Merman & His Pirate Captain [part 1 of 2]
Note: This fanfic was supposed to be finished weeks ago but I kept getting busy, but I'm finally done with the first part! Yeah, I'll have to split it up because if I don't, it'll never be done so here's part one!
This fanfic was inspired by @us-ugay 's merman Alfred AU which I loved so much, so consider this a gift for them <3
[Story starts under the cut]
Anime: Hetalia World Stars
Ship: USUK
Rating: T
Wordcount: 5700
Summary: Merman Alfred loves to watch the land-dwellers from the town nearby and hear their stories, and he's especially obsessed with a particular land-dweller, the fearsome pirate, Captain Kirkland.
"John, ye arse, pass the damn bottle!", a brown-haired man slurred at his friend, who merely grunted as he took a big swig of the bottle before finally handing it back to his friend.
"You are real prickly today, Ralph. What's got your bottoms?", the second guy, John, questioned his friend as he leaned closer.
"What's got me bottoms, ye ask?! Have you not been living with us these past weeks!", Ralph slurred angrily, swishing the bottle wildly as he glared at John, who only rolled his eyes and let out an irritated sigh.
"Oh, it's about that then, huh?", he leaned back as he dug into his pocket and grabbed a cigarette. "It's honestly becoming troublesome and it's giving me quite the headache so I choose to ignore it.", he added with a dismissive wave and Ralph only blistered.
"Ignore it?! How the fuck can you ignore it when it's everywhere?! The arse is here and there too!", Ralph exclaimed as he pointed an accusatory finger at the other. "And tell me, how bloody hard is it to catch that damn bugger! If I were those stupid guards, I would have put an end to him within the seconds.", he claimed and John only snorted as he gave him a look over.
"If you ever came across him, he would have made you fish bait within seconds. Besides, you could barely stand on your own for five seconds and you expect yourself to be able to take down a pirate captain? Talk about dreaming.", John pointed out as he snagged the bottle out of the other's grip and took a swig of it. "But yes, that Kirkland is becoming a nuisance indeed. At this point, whether he's caught dead or alive, it doesn't matter. Folks just wanna get rid of 'em.", he sighed as he pushed himself off the floor and reached out for Ralph.
"What's that supposed to mean, ey?! I could definitely handle that skunk!", Ralph only yelled more but took the hand offered to him regardless. "If only we could actually locate the bastard...", he muttered.
John only shook his head as he wrapped his arm around the other and guided him off the dock, both still bickering about the wanted captain.
Once the two drunken men were out of sight, the water under the docks was disturbed as a figure with the upper half looking like a human and the lower half looking like a big fishtail, made their way back into the depths of the water. The figure swam deeper and deeper, making its way through the rocks until they reached what looked to be a cave with seaweed draped over the entrance like a curtain. Inside the cave, there was another similar figure lying on a rock covered with more seaweed, seeming to be asleep, until the first figure rushed to them and started shaking their shoulder violently.
"Matt! Oh, my ocean, Matthew, wake up!!", the figure, a merman kept shaking the other sleeping merman until they woke up, flailing their arm.
"What! What!", the other merman, Matthew, asked with worry but then glared once he saw the other, a wide grin on his face. "For fish sake, Alfred.", he muttered as he dragged a hand down his face.
"Matt, you won't believe this!! So, remember that cool pirate captain?! Turns out he's really wanted in that town and they even wanna kill him! I have no idea what he did recently but isn't that cool?!", Alfred rambled enthusiastically while Matthew only sent him a deadpan expression, right about done with his brother's obsession with humans.
"This is about your humans again.", he only said before heaving a sigh once the other nodded. "Al, I couldn't have cared less about what the land dwellers are up and even less about their drama. Please, leave me out of your obsession."
"But Matt! it's been so boring recently and the land dwellers are being funny!", Alfred whined as he flopped over his brother who tried to push him off.
"I don't see what's funny about wanting someone's head because they're being problematic.", Matthew stated and Alfred rolled to look at him properly.
"It's entertaining to see them do their silly fights.", Alfred argued while his brother rolled his eyes and turned his back to him to go back to sleep.
"Their silly fights end with more debris in the water and dead bodies floating around which we have to clean up.", the other argued with a yawn and Alfred pouted.
"You just don't get it, the stories and drama are really entertaining. Besides, brother, it's about Captain Kirkland! The-"
"The coolest and deadliest pirate to ever exist, I get it. You've said that a thousand times before.", his brother cut him off with another yawn. "Look, Al. I'm glad that you're having fun with this and all but I don't appreciate it when you wake me up to tell me this. You should go sleep too.", Matthew added with a final tone before getting comfortable and drifting back to sleep. Alfred stuck his tongue out at the other, although he knew he was already fast asleep, before swimming to another rock on the other side of the cave. Lying down on it and getting into a comfortable position, Alfred sighed as he looked at the cave ceiling with a smile, all that was going through his mind was the Almighty Captain Kirkland. Although the guy was clearly a bad guy, he just sounded so cool. Like how he was able to set a whole nation on its toes and how no one was ever able to catch him. If that isn't cool, Alfred doesn't know what is. He was able to get a glimpse of said pirate once, and admittedly he was caught a little off guard at first. The man was just...small? Well, compared to the guards that were chasing him, he looked smaller but he was so fast and agile, Alfred was impressed. The way he maneuvered between the stalls and crates, the way he was able to effortlessly knock down everyone, and the way he was able to jump and swing from the roofs- it all just had Alfred in awe. The pirate was also quite talented with the sharp things called swords too, and his words! Damn, the witty things that man said just had Alfred gawking with a wide grin. He was obsessed with the captain. He always fantasized about meeting with the guy and it always left him feeling giddy even if he was aware it was practically impossible, but he could still dream. After some while, Alfred started drifting off to sleep with Captain Kirkland swimming around his mind.
Alfred awoke as early as he could, to see if he could catch any new stories about captain Kirkland from the land folks, though unfortunately, his brother caught him before he can leave.
"We need breakfast.", he simply said before tossing a bag made out of seaweed at him.
"But-"
"The land dwellers can wait, Al, they won't vanish.", his brother sighed before swimming off to collect whatever he decided to collect for the day. Alfred pouted and grumbled under his breath before swimming out of the cave. He tried to catch fish for a while before he couldn't help himself anymore.
Casting a glance back and not seeing his brother, Alfred swam towards the town and resurfaced under the dock he usually hides under. He had barely even arrived before he heard a shout combined with people frantically calling out to each other. Curious, the merman made his way from underneath the dock to a rock nearby to get a better view of what was happening and was immediately ecstatic. It was Captain Kirkland! The merman observed with glee as the man ran and avoided the guards, a smirk on his lips as he leaped onto one of the crates, hung onto a rope close by, and swung around to kick one of the guards in the face. He then realized the rope and kicked the other guard in the chest with both his feet. Quickly regaining his momentum, he sprung away towards the shore, where a boat with two other men in it were waiting for him. He had almost made it but another guard was able to tackle him and Alfred gasped as he leaned closer to see better. Alfred had thought that the guards had won but Captain Kirkland elbowed the guard in the face and swiftly pulled out a small shiny thing that looked like a tiny sword and stabbed the guard in the leg, who screamed as they fell back. The pirate pulled the tiny sword out and scrambled to his feet, giving the guard one extra kick in the face for extra measurement before running towards the boat again. This time he was able to hop onto the boat and quickly paddled away from the shore, a victorious grin on the captain's face. Alfred was cheering behind the rock as quietly as he could and felt energetic after witnessing this whole thing. After calming down a bit, he realized it was the perfect chance to see what kind of ship captain Kirkland owns and who is his crew, so without a second thought, Alfred swam after the boat, trying to keep as much distance as he could. It took a while, but after taking some turns behind a couple rocks, there lay Captain Kirkland's ship.
Alfred hid behind one of the many rocks around as he watched the small boat reach the giant ship. The captain was helped up by his crew, throwing the bag he was wearing to one of the men who rushed off somewhere with it. Carefully, Alfred tried to make his way closer to the ship, hoping he can get a better view of its surface.
"Amazing as always, Captain!", Alfred heard one of the crew boys say once he got closer.
"As expected of him!", another man cheered and Alfred heard someone scoffing. Pushing himself up slowly, he was able to see the crew a little better, easily spotting the pirate sitting amidst his crew.
"It was a piece of cake handling those idiots.", the captain spoke and Alfred couldn't help but gasp and feel giddy, it was the first time he heard the captain's voice! It was smooth and had an accent that Alfred was already obsessed with. He leaned forward a bit, wanting to hear the other's voice more clearly.
"Anyway, we should have enough resources to be able to head off, I'm assuming?", Captain Kirkland asked his crew and Alfred only grew more invested. Caught up in his excitement, Alfred misplaced his hand as he tried to push himself further up causing him to slip and fall into the water. He cussed as he heard the frantic footsteps on the ship and quickly hid underneath it, as to not be spotted.
"What was that?!", he heard the captain demand as he hastily neared the edge of the ship.
"Sounded like something fell."
"Do ye see anything?"
"Maybe it was one of the fish jumping around?"
"A fish wouldn't make such a big splash, moron."
Alfred heard all the commotion going on above him as he held his hand over his chest, feeling his heart beating rapidly. Cursing to himself, he tried to swim away quietly, deciding it was about time he heads home anyway before he gets caught. It really was a shame though, he wished he could stay a little longer and listen more to captain Kirkland speaking. The merman swam away, nearing his home, relieved to get away from the commotion he had caused. He however still had a huge grin on his face, until he saw his brother waiting with his arms crossed over his chest. Fish poop, Alfred had completely forgotten about the food.
"Alfred! Where were you? I was so worried!", the other merman swam quickly over to him once he spotted him, worry written over his face.
"Relax, Matt, I'm fine!", he assured and Matthew sighed after giving him a look over. "Gee, what's with you all of the sudden?", Alfred questioned as he swam around the other, spotting a school of fish passing by.
"What's with me? There were a bunch of ships sent out a while ago and I was worried you were going to get caught or something!", his brother explained and the merman was confused.
"They sent out ships? Why?", he questioned and Matthew looked at him funny.
"I thought you were near the town, doing your daily eavesdropping?", Matthew asked, his eyes narrowed at the other. "If you weren't there and you weren't collecting food, Where were you?", his brother demanded and Alfred spluttered a little. He knew getting too close to pirate ships was a big no-no and they were taught from a young age that any merfolk that dares get close is basically asking to be killed and if Matthew finds out, he's going to get in big trouble with their father.
"Oh, um...I saw, uh...I saw things floating?", he tried to come up with anything but he could tell from his brother's expression he wasn't buying it. "...I was just swimming around...", he finally mumbled but Matthew only narrowed his eyes more.
"Alfred.", he called, his calm voice sending chills down Alfred's spine, remembering the same lecturing tone from his mother. "You weren't doing anything you aren't supposed to do, were you?", Matthew asked and Alfred gulped.
"What? What makes you think that? I'm a good merboy!", he laughs nervously and Matthew raises a brow at him.
"Your gills are quivering.", Matthew simply stated and Alfred knew he was caught but tried to laugh it off.
"Nah, they're not. It's just...um...", he trailed off, knowing that whatever excuse he comes up with won't save him. "I saw the captain...", he finally sighed, not looking at his brother.
"Saw him? Where?", his brother's tone was getting firmer and Alfred really hated how it made him feel like a child.
"Um...don't tell father, but I may or may not have found his ship...", Alfred finally admitted and Matthew's eyes widened.
"You didn't get close, did you?!", his brother immediately asked.
"What! Pffft, of course not. We aren't supposed to do that, remember?", Alfred lied, desperately trying to calm his gills down before they gave him away again. Matthew narrowed his eyes again and Alfred could have sworn he was looking into his soul but after an agonizingly long minute, his brother closed his eyes and sighed.
"Look, Al. I trust you have enough common sense to know what's right and what's wrong so I'll assume you're telling the truth. I won't tell father about your little hobby- yet. If you do something dumb that puts you in danger then I'll have to take it to our parents.", Matthew warned with a soft but firm tone and Alfred only nodded. He knew his brother was only looking out for him so there was no point in arguing. Alfred went back to catching more fish for them while Matthew left to deliver the things he has collected to their parents.
*****
A couple days had passed since the last event, Alfred still went to the town to hear more stories about Captain Kirkland and often watched his ship, this time keeping an appropriate distance between himself and said ship. Captain Kirkland was still causing trouble wherever he went and Alfred would always watch with awe how he was able to win every time. However, one day, Alfred was awoken before the sun had risen by the sound of bombing and the water vibrating around him. Startled, Alfred looks over to his brother's side, who was also awoken. Before either of them was able to register what was happening, a mermaid from their school rushed into their cave.
"The stupid land dwellers are having another ships war. Everyone is advised to stay in their cave until they're done so no one gets hurt.", the mermaid delivered the message and left quickly. Alfred and Matthew looked over at each other and Matthew had an expression that clearly said "don't do something stupid" before lying on his side and trying to go back to sleep. Alfred didn't say anything but kept watching his brother for a moment before quietly and swiftly making his way out of the cave. If there was a ship war, then Captain Kirkland had to be involved, right? This was Alfred's chance to actually see the Captain in action and he wasn't going to miss it.
Making his way to the surface, Alfred tried to locate the safest but closest spot to be able to watch the breakdown. resurfacing behind a rock, Alfred saw Captain Kirkland's ship surrounded by two other ships and their canons were firing at each other. one of the ships was close to the pirate's ship, so the crew of the other ship was flooding Kirkland's ship. Alfred couldn't see exactly what was happening but he was so excited to watch the whole thing go down. Looking a little closer, Alfred was finally able to locate captain Kirkland, swinging from the ropes on his ship and knocking his enemies out. At some point, the pirate was cornered by three of his enemies and Alfred was clenching the moss of the rock he was watching from behind. Was that it? Have they got him? Will he be able to run away? So many questions ran through Alfred's mind as he watched with wide eyes and a wide grin on his face. Before one of the men surrounding the captain could strike with his sword, Kirkland ducked down and did a wild spin, knocking two of the men with his leg, one of them was able to jump away. The third man brought down his sword but the pirate met it with his sword, both clashing harshly with each other. The pirate was able to evade the other's strike but before anything else happens, a big boom echoed as one of the rivaling ships launched a big canon that hit the base of the pirate's ship. Alfred couldn't see anyone's expression but the pirate was turning around wildly as the three men surrounding him ran off to get back to their ships. Alfred saw the bodies that fell dead in the water and the canon balls tearing through the woods of the pirate's ship and he couldn't help but feel excited. This, by far, was the most exciting fight he had witnessed. Amid the panic, another big boom echoed and the pirate's ship started completely falling apart, Kirkland lost his balance and was flung into the sea.
Alfred gasped and his eyes widened before he quickly dived back into the water, immediately locating the pirate. Alfred was ecstatic. This was his chance to see Captain Kirkland up close! The merman swam a little closer, still trying to be as cautious as he could. He couldn't wait to see the other as he swam to safety, except the closer the merman got, he realized the pirate wasn't moving, and the more Alfred looked, the more it looked like the pirate was sinking. Huh, that's weird, was what the merman thought before it hit him. The pirate was unconscious, he was drowning. Panicking, the merman swam quickly towards the unconscious pirate, easily catching him and swimming to the surface. Once he was up, the merman realized he really didn't know what to do. There was an unconscious human in his arms and he couldn't take him back to town since he was wanted dead and Alfred had no idea how he was supposed to help a human. With no other idea in mind, Alfred decided to take the pirate to an island close by he suddenly remembered.
Swimming with an unconscious body in hand was harder than Alfred had imagined but after a while, he was able to get the other to safety. Gently, he laid the pirate on the shore and quickly back into the sea, hiding behind a rock as he proceeded to lose his mind. He saved him! He saved The Captain Kirkland! Alfred was so excited, he didn't know what to do with himself. Finally, he was able to gather his bearings somewhat. The merman gingerly peeked out from behind the rock to find the pirate was still unconscious. Hiding again behind the rock, Alfred took a deep breath as he thought about what he was going to do next. He knew humans needed food, probably some water and after such a fight, the pirate definitely needed to rest. Alfred took another deep breath before he peeked again at the pirate, the sun at this point had started rising and as the sun rays fell on the unconscious form of the pirate, Alfred realized he didn't get to properly observe the pirate earlier, too preoccupied with saving him. With that in mind, the merman swam out from behind the rock and neared the shore. Alfred never liked being onshore because it made his muscles feel strained but he pushed himself and crawled a little on the sand to get a better view of the other and Alfred felt his breath stutter. The man was quite beautiful, kind of like the coral reefs he used to swim between as a child beautiful. The first thing Alfred noticed was the big eyebrows and weird dots decorating the man's face, which he thought was some kind of dirt so he tried to wipe it away but couldn't, he then noticed the other's skin was somewhat soft, his blonde hair glistering in the sun rays. Alfred ran his finger's through the other's hair and was fascinated by its softness until his fingers reached the man's forehead and noticed what looked like a scar. He ran his fingers over it and slowly lowered his hand to touch the other's cheeks again. He neared his finger's near the other's nose, and felt him breathing softly in and out, he then caressed the man's lips, which were sort of chapped compared to his but the merman was fascinated regardless. Alfred hadn't realized how distracted by the pirate he was until the other suddenly frowned and started coughing out water. Startled the merman scrambled back quickly but hadn't jumped back into the sea yet. He saw the other's eyes slowly flutter open, still unfocused but Alfred couldn't help but near again, captivated by the color of his eyes, a shade of green he had never seen, so beautiful like the jewelry he saw in the sunken ships, framed by long eyelashes. The other looked at him into his eyes for a moment before his eyes fluttered shut again. Alfred blinked rapidly as he realized the other had passed out again but still didn't look away from the pirate. After a while, Alfred decided he should go catch some fish for the man and hopefully try to sort out his thoughts.
By the time Alfred returned to the small island, the sun was almost in the middle of the sky but the pirate was still unconscious. Alfred neared and dumped the fish he had caught by the man's side, he then proceeded to watch the other again. Even as Alfred was catching the fish, all he could think about was the captain, especially his green eyes. Alfred reached out his hand and gently ran his thumb over the other's closed eyes. The merman never thought something could captivate him so much as this pirate had him. Alfred leaned in closer to the other's face but quickly jerked away when he realized the other was slowly gaining consciousness. The pirate started coughing violently and Alfred immediately dove back into the water and observed the other from behind a rock. The captain slowly pushed himself off the sand to sit up and looked around, squinting his eyes, not used to the bright sun yet. He then looked out into the sea, an unreadable expression on his face, before he grabbed his hair and pulled at it, seemingly frustrated with something. Alfred wanted to get closer but knew better. He was going to have to keep the distance. For now, anyway.
The pirate then suddenly froze, as though he just remembered something. He blinked twice, before looking frantically around himself as if searching for someone. Alfred was confused but then it dawned on him. The other had seen him. Well, more like his face but still. The merman bit his lip as he slowly lowered himself in the water, trying not to get the other's attention. Not seeing anyone around, the pirate calmed down for a moment but when he lowered his eyes, he finally noticed the pile of fish next to him. He stared at it, not sure where it came from before he reached out and grabbed one of the fishes. It was fresh, the pirate seemed to note. He slowly put the fish down before getting to his feet, and immediately grabbed a dagger out of his belt.
"Show yourself!", the pirate yelled, his voice cracking a little at the end and he coughed again. Alfred felt his heart do the same funny thing it did when he heard his voice for the first time, and the merman was tempted to get closer again, and he would have. Had the other not have an object that could kill him.
"I know you're somewhere here! Who else would pile fresh fish like this?", the pirate yelled again and Alfred decided it was about time he went back to his den. Maybe the pirate will relax eventually and Matthew is probably looking around for him anyway. Quietly, Alfred dove back into the water and swam away. He could come back later to check in on the pirate, who probably was still panicking. He couldn't really blame him, with a whole Nation on his back, of course, he would be on defense. He just hoped the pirate wouldn't get too far from the shore or that anyone finds him meanwhile.
*****
To say his brother was pissed is an understatement. He got so mad it hurt.
"You're lucky our parents aren't here today.", he recalled the other vaguely threatening him and Alfred was upset at first but he understood why his brother would be so worried. With the whole ship war thing that just took place, most merfolks would be on edge as they could get hurt if not careful enough, and although Alfred really didn't like lying to his brother, telling him he saved a pirate would probably be the worst idea ever so he had to keep that to himself.
After begrudgingly finishing his chores, Alfred managed to sneak away from the den and made his way to the small island he left the captain on. The sun had already set and most of his kin would be asleep soon anyway, so no one should notice his second disappearance.
Finally reaching his destination, Alfred slowly resurfaced behind the same rock he hid behind earlier that day. He peaked from around the rock and was relieved to find the pirate hadn't left the shore, but there were some adjustments done. Alfred noticed the other had somehow managed to start a fire, the pirate's coat and shirt were lying close by, probably to dry out. The pirate himself was sitting in front of the fire but wasn't entirely shirtless as Alfred had expected. The other had what looked like bandages wrapped tightly around his chest and Alfred wondered if it was because the other was hurt during the fight. On the other hand, the merman was delighted to see that the pirate was in fact eating one of the fishes he had caught for him this morning and felt pride swell up in his chest, his tail swishing with excitement in the water. Since it was dark already, Alfred slowly lifted himself behind the rock and crossed his arms on top of it, resting his head on them as he watched the other eat. Some time passed like this, when the pirate finally finished his food and leaned back against the rock behind him, his eyes closed.
Back then, when Alfred had heard about the tales of the pirate for the first time, he was purely curious about him and wanted to watch him in action. Now, However, It's as if that one close look Alfred got of the pirate had stirred different emotions within him, emotions he couldn't entirely explain but it left him feeling warm and giddy. As if locked in a trance, Alfred slowly left the rock he was hiding behind and approached the beach as quietly as he could. The pirate still had his eyes closed, so the other found it easy to sneak behind another much closer rock. The merman then pushed himself up on the rock to get a better view of the other. Alfred watched for a moment before an idea started to form in his head and he probably should have weighed the pros and cons of it, but being as reckless as ever, he didn't. He grabbed some of the seaweed clinging to the rock he was hiding behind and quickly threw it at the other before dunking as fast as he could behind the rock again, peeking a little. The pirate was startled when the seaweed hit his face, quickly sitting up and looking at it with pure confusion before looking around. Alfred knew it was a little unfair to play with the exhausted pirate like that, but he was still a merman, and teasing the land-dwellers was basically in their genes, and so, Alfred was stifling a snicker as he watched the other turn around himself with confusion.
"Bloody hell! Where are you? That seaweed didn't just throw itself at me, you wanker, so show yourself!", The pirate yelled with frustration and Alfred had to lower back into the water, so the other doesn't hear his snickering. Forcing himself to calm down, the merman resurfaced again and watched the other's frown deepen as he didn't seem to find the culprit. Toying with the idea a little, Alfred just decided to throw caution into the wind and just do it. If things go sideways, he could just swim away. So taking in a deep breath, Alfred made sure he was still well-hidden before carrying out his little plane.
"I would like to show myself, but with that dagger in your hand, I don't think I will.", Alfred said and the pirate stilled and turned to the location of the voice but wasn't able to make out exactly where it was coming from.
"I'm not putting the dagger away, you could be here to kill me for all I know.", the pirate replied sternly, still glancing around and Alfred couldn't help but snicker again but quietly.
"Don't worry, I'm not even a pirate. Actually, I'm the one who saved you from drowning and brought you here.", Alfred confessed, still hiding behind his rock but he saw the pirate freeze as he glanced out at the water.
"You...saved me? Wait. Were you- Are you the man with the blue eyes?", the pirate asked, still hesitant to put away his dagger, if anything, his grip on it seemed to tighten.
"Yes...", The merman simply replied and the pirate's grip loosened a little.
"Who are you? and where on earth are you?", the pirate demanded with a frown and although his grip was loose, the dagger was still out regardless.
"Put your dagger away, and I'll show myself.", Alfred asked again, feeling nervous as the reality of what he has done finally settled in but he couldn't back away now. The pirate still looked hesitant and Alfred almost thought the other wasn't going to do it but eventually, the other gave in with a sigh before tucking his dagger away back in his belt, securing it as well and Alfred felt a little relieved.
"Alright, the dagger is out of the way. Now, do your part.", the pirate demanded again, still frowning. Alfred took in a deep readying breath before finally, slowly leaving the rock and swimming closer to the shore so the other could see him. He only revealed his top half though, unsure if it was safe enough to let the other see the rest of him. The pirate stared at the body emerging from the water, his eyes widening a little.
"My name is Alfred. Nice to meet you.", The merman introduced himself with a friendly smile to let the other know he was no harm. The pirate stared at him for a moment, still not trusting the other.
"Alfred.", The pirate repeated the name slowly and Alfred felt his gills shiver. "Alright. Why are you hiding in the water?", the pirate asked and Alfred cursed himself, not having thought this through.
"Oh, I-uh... I was just swimming...", Alfred lied, knowing full well it was probably obvious. As expected, the pirate raised a questioning brow at him and Alfred gulped.
"At night?", the other asked and the merman laughed awkwardly, not sure how to defend himself. The pirate's gaze was still fixed on the merman, trying to make out his features as much as he could in the dim light the fire provided. Suddenly, the pirate froze and his eyes widened again.
"You-Are those gills?!", he wondered, and Alfred swore as he quickly tried to cover them but realized it would be a futile attempt since his body had scales scattered around it anyway and some parts of his skin were tinted a bluish color similar to his tail. The pirate gawked as he seemed to notice the rest of his features before gasping and suddenly stumbling back.
"You are a merman!", the pirate exclaimed once the realization dawned on him and Alfred cursed out loud this time as he was indeed exposed. The pirate quickly reached for his dagger, pulling it out and the merman immediately backed into the water a little, his hands held up.
[To be continued]