The ocean was calm, aside from the occasional underwater current that tried to bring Simon, an orca merman, down into the depths. He was tempted to allow it, to just let the ocean swallow him whole as it had his pod many years ago. He hadn’t allowed many close to him since.

He shakes the thought from his head, then he propels himself forward with his powerful tail. He reaches a small reef and begins to pick up the scuttling crabs as they try to evade him. He stashes them into his bag, his rough skin not affected by the crabs’ sharp pinches.

He swam forward into a large kelp bed, eyes roaming for anything else to add to his lunch, when he spotted something large hidden among the seaweed. Upon closer inspection, his webbed hand brushed against hard scales. The kelp parted, and his eyes widened when he realized that he had stumbled you, hidden away and napping, your tail gently swaying as the water flowed.