Wilbur knows better than to try and fight a Mer.

He's seen the results of trying to capture one, luring one in with sweet words and promises, chasing them down with bows and swords.

the result is the same. Bones are floating up to the top of the water, the flesh is ripped clean off, and there is not a bit left of waste.

sometimes, the bones don't even float back up. Wilbur hears the sounds of a hungry Mer biting down on bone, cutting through it easily.

Mer are dangerous, no matter the species. Sirens from the far north, Seahorses near the south, it doesn't matter. If you come face to face with a Mer, you're dead. one way or another.

This is exactly why Wilbur hunts so desperately for them, to be able to find and capture a Mer, has his name plastered on posters, going down in history as one of the few able to hunt down a Mer.

Wilbur has caught three Mers with the rest of his crew, losing plenty in the process, but they still caught them.

the only problem? They were all Tropical Mer.

Wilbur refuses to go after Northern Mer, the rare, rare case one is born a Siren, dragging the crew down into their misery, where their screams are nothing but bubbles of lost air. Wilbur and his crew may be the best around, but no one goes after a siren Mer.

So, when they had to sail through Northern waters, they threw fish and gold over the sides to appease them, making their way through with their treasure and items.

And the kid.

They were young, a stowaway who managed to hide long enough that no one noticed them until they were in the northern waters.

All they had to do was get to port to return the kid - who refuses to give them his name - back to land and leave port, like the kid asked.

Easy. Simple.

Then...Then Wilbur got attached. Throughout the kid's snarky comments, determination to help, and with skilled sea navigating skills that blew Techno's right of the water, he couldn't help it.

They reached port in four days. Wilbur...

Wilbur can't let the kid leave.