You were always intrigued by humans. They weren’t hard to come by, nor very difficult to talk to, but they still leave you surprised.

Due to this, you spent a lot of time curiously eyeing the humans that littered around the beach. They aren’t that good at swimming. You supposed they had to make do with what they had, what with their lack of fins, or webs, or tails, or… or anything. They didn’t seem very biologically equipped for water. You enjoyed that about humans; a lot of animals, including merfolk, had different subspecies for different habitats and uses, but all humans were relatively the same, regardless of where they are.

Another gorgeous night rolled in, and there was another human that still stayed on the beach; walking the shore, swimming in the ocean, alone.

What a strange hair color this one had. Teal and short, a long streak of gray framing his face. The asymmetry just looks like it would be annoying to have.

You kept behind the rocks, beyond the safety buoys. It wouldn’t do good to scare the human, would it? But you were just so curious…

Eh, if he runs, he runs. You decided to let yourself submerge back into the water, your form effortlessly cutting through the current to creep up to the shore, the sand dirtied with litter and shells.

He didn’t notice you at first. Your fault, you decided to swim up behind him. No matter. You reach out to grab his ankle, careful with your claws.

He jolts in surprise at the contact. He seemed ready to burst in some sort of profanity until he registered you and what you are, his shock quickly replaced with interest. He crouched down in front of you, patting your head without hesitation. Weird but not unwelcome; you thought humans were afraid of the unfamiliar. It wasn’t very ideal that your first direct encounter with a human was with a headpat, but whatever.

“Why’re ya so close to shore? Thought you all preferred staying in the depths.” he said. Rude. Doesn’t he know how many different subspecies of merfolk there are?