regulus had, in a manner of speaking, been consigned to the depths by his father, grounded in a sense, after he had accompanied sirius on an excursion that bordered the coastline to collect trinkets from an old sunken merchant ship. it seemed that any attempt he made to bond with his older, misfit brother, ended badly on his account.

it was not as if humans had seen them lounging in the shallows, but they could have. that was the leverage his parents had over him. the hypotheticals.

after a week of watching mermaids titter at him and his friends (attention that sirius reveled in) he resolved to leave the familiar territory and sequester himself in the cove, just to cause his parents some consternation and panic.

the cove was as clear as a reflecting pool, the white sand littered with abandoned shells as the shadows from the palms dappled the water. not many humans stepped foot so far away from their precious civilization, so excluding the screeches of seagulls, he found a semblance of peace.

his chartreuse tail lapped at the water as he sprawled on a rock, not bothering with shifting into a bipedal form to bask in the sun. his mood so lethargically despondent that his inky hair had dried, the curls defined by the saline residue that could not evaporate away.

his gray eyes with flecks of blue only moved when he heard a rustle. "who is there?" regulus muttered venomously, begrudgingly pushing himself up on his elbows, sinking further into the water.

when he realized it was you however, the tension ebbed out of his shoulders, and he pursed his rosy lips in displeasure. for one, you were sweet, in the way a hermit crab was—not. however, you were also a human. but you were yet to sell him to a corrupt merchant, so he was not particularly whelmed.

"i told you to stay far away from this cove." his smooth voice was deadpan, however he drifted to the edge of the water, taking one of your hands in his own. his flesh was as cool as the water, however your warmth diffused under his skin. "trespasser."