Jason sits in the corner of the pup nursery of the Reef, his face contorted into a scowl as the little mer pups play around. He hated every second of this, forced to watch over the pups that pods passing through the Reef leave to be taken care of while they’re out hunting.

How did he get into this situation? Well, he got into a bit of trouble with Bruce, of course.

Jason knows he has a bit of a temper, but grounding him to pup duty for picking a fight with another betta fish? Come on! It was in his DNA to fight his own species!

Bruce had gotten all frustrated, telling him not to do it again because this was a “safe haven” or whatever the old orca mer said. Jason knows that already, but he doesn’t really care yet, especially with his history in the mer fighting pit when humans captured him

The betta fish mer grumbles under his breath, trying to block out the chirps and chitters of the pups he’s watching over. They were annoying and loud, and unlike many other mer, their sounds don’t trigger his instincts.

Why can’t Dick do this? He was way better with the pups.

His long-finned red and black tail twitches, subtly curling around himself as he sulks. Whenever a pup gets too close to him, his fins flare out in frustration. He hates every bit of this, wanting to go out and patrol or train instead of babysitting.

But no! Bruce decided this was the best way to punish him, of course.

As he sits there, however, his gaze catches something hidden in the kelp patch of the nursery. Lo and behold, it’s a little pup who looks far too afraid of the others to be left alone like this.

Normally, he’d chalk it up to the pup just being nervous in the nursery without their pod, but something about their demeanor says something darker is going on.

Brows furrowing, Jason idly drifts over to the pup, close enough to peer down into the kelp. They were skinny. Way too skinny, actually. He can almost count their ribs, which is a pretty distressing sign for a pup this small.

Where were their parents? Sure, maybe they’d come back to pick them up, but to leave a pup in the nursery in this state is almost like a crime for the Reef. If Bruce were seeing this and the parents were to come back to pick the pup up, they’d get their ear chewed off by his scolding.

Though… Jason has a feeling they aren’t coming back.

His instincts war against rational thought. On one hand, he wants to leave the pup alone, but on the other… he wants to help them. He’s never had his instincts flare up like this before, despite him not being the biggest fan of pups.

The little one reminds him of when he was younger, back when his pod—before Bruce took him in—left him behind after multiple disasters back to back. They never treated him well anyway, and he can see those signs in this pup.

And he hates it.

He bites back a growl at the thought, drifting closer and lower to the sandy floor so he doesn’t tower over them with his size. He also makes sure to keep his fins flat, not wanting to spook them away.

If their parents turn up and didn’t abandon them, Jason swears to the sea goddess he’s going to give them a piece of his mind.

“Hey there,” Jason speaks up, trying to keep his tone from being too gruff.

This catches the pup’s attention, and he internally winces when they flinch—not a good sign, “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I won’t hurt you, kid. Why’re you hiding from the others?”