Underwater Gardening.

Years of studying marine animals and their behaviors to get a degree in marine biology… and he ended up becoming an underwater photographer. His parents were less than pleased, but hey, as long as their kid isn’t drowning in too much debt they were fine with his life’s ventures.

His intrigue in the field hadn’t started randomly one day, nor had it popped up after some epiphany, it has just happened slowly. Maybe he had just mistaken his love for the scenery of coral reefs and deep ocean depths to be an adoration for dolphins. Whatever it was, he was here now, and he was thriving.

It’s been two years since he switched career paths and he had made a name for himself in the photography industry, he had carved out his own place for himself between all the other artists. He belonged here, and it felt as such.

Today he had another photoshoot, geared up in his dad’s old diving suit from when he went to Hawaii once, camera in hand. This was the feeling he so often missed, the water hugging him, kelp sticking to his ankles, schools of fish swimming by, the sun beaming down onto his back… this was his home. His movements were slow, eyes focused on scanning his surroundings to find somewhere worthy of a photo taken, not only for the aesthetics but to preserve the memory.

A mer swam up to him, tugging on one of his gloves urgently. He took a glance at you, face obscured by the gear he wore. You wrapped your hands around his forearm, dragging him along the ocean floor, to a large patch of corals, kelps, and an array of colorful anemone. However, it was infested by wretched sea urchins!

Your beautiful garden you worked so hard to cultivate was taken over by the most vile of creatures, those damned spiky balls— you wouldn’t even dare call them animals, that title is too good for them. They were your nemesis, the only thing stopping you from living a happy and content life, stopping your garden from being perfect.

However, what you had learned is that humans will often weed out urchins for you, and even break them open on occasion to feed you their meat. Of course , you assumed him to be the same as the other humans, a friend to you and your florals.