Aquata Cove Ch. 11

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Merrick sat in the sand bank, at the very same spot where he was swimming around the human.

"Why am I doing this...?" He asked himself, 'Humans are dangerous, and here I am practically playing with it.'

Every ounce of reason in his head is urging him to just return to his pod, but here he is, loitering in the tides for the sole possibility that the human just MIGHT come here again.

"Huh?" The merman sniffed the water, sensing a strangely appealing taste. He looked up to see a half-gutted tuna. His tail unfurled before swimming up to see what's it doing here.

~~~

Adam sat and waited, starring at the filleted tuna, bobbing left and right on the wavering of the water.

His heart skipped a beat when he saw the tail fin of the tuna drag it under!

"O-Oh my God! It's here!" He said, "Haha!" He chuckled in utter excitement. Hastily, he picked up his fish knife, and carved into the herring.

~~~

Merrick just finished peeling the meat of the tuna off of its bone. He hasn't to eaten earlier, as recent events have caused him to forget to hunt for himself, and that tuna was tasty.

The merman picked up another scent, and looked up to see a smaller fish float on surface.

... Well, he is still hungry...

~~~

His heart pounded as he saw the herring suddenly sank down, just like the tuna. "Okokokok..." He muttered. He then took the small tray of the squid from the box, and strategically tossed them into the water, one by one, each squid leading to the reef.

~~~

Squid?

Merrick tiled his head to the side as he watched the small, white, dead squids plop into the water.

Blech, he doesn't like squids. But what's interesting is that they seem to be falling from the sky.

Curious, Merrick swam up, and moved his head out of the water. His gills closed once again as he inched to the reef, where he spotted a crap. He gasped as a three-pronged sharp edge launched out of the water, and caught the crab between the upper gap. The crustacean simply got caught, motionless as the trident pinned it down.

~~~

"Hoh!" Adam gasped as the merman's spear shot at his crab like a blink of lightning!

He starred, mouth gapped as the half-man half-fish picked up his weapon, and bringing in the crab to him. The creature turned it around on his webbed hand, tilting his head curiously as they spiky legs tilted limply. He then opened his mouth and bit into the crab.

Adam, holding the other crab in his hand, set the empty, fishy box aside. He gulped as he watched the merman eat ravenously into the orange-shelled crab. He waited for the merman to finish devouring the crab before making his next move.

"Ah... H-Hi..." The merman's head then turned to him, startled, "H-Hi... I uh... I have another crab for you..." Adam took one step, and the fish creature grabbed its trident, "Nono, please, it's ok!" He said cautiously, "It's ok, I'm not gonna hurt you!" He held his open hand with the other crab in the other. The merman starred right at him. He opened his mouth and let out a creaking noise, "I-It's ok... You're just..." He huffed as he chuckled excitedly, "You just... Wow, you're beautiful..." The merman tilted his head, his face contorting with confusion.

Adam set the crab down, and took a moment to take off his jacket, wearing no shirt underneath - he doesn't want to soak his coat again. He picked the crab back up, rose his foot again, slower this time, and gradually moved towards the aquatic humanoid.

"Thaaaat's it... Stay right there..." He said softly, "I just wanna look at you..." Adam came closer and closer, the merman faltering just a little, but didn't move away. The teen approached closer and closer,

To be safe, Adam placed the crab onto the rock, and pushed it a few feet away from him, and backed away. The merman looked at him, then at the crab, and then back at Adam, its face looking a little more confused.

"Um..." Sat down onto the rock, "So uh... My name's Adam..." He said, "Do you... Do you have a name?" Adam asked. He huffed and ran his fingers into his hair as he ducked his head down between his knees, "Oh my God, I'm TALKING to a merman!" He moaned as suppressed a rush of excitement. He scratched at his scalp with both hands, and looked back up again, having received no answer. He noticed that the merman seemed to have moved closer.

Adam gasped lightly at that. He gulped as he moved forward, very slowly, and crawled on his hands and knees.

Both of them moved until they were a foot away from each other. Adam reached his open hand out, slowly. The merman hesitated before he moved his own hand up from the water, and reached up as well.

Adam is on pins and needles as he slowly moved his hand to meet the other. The blue/white webbed hand flinched a little, before finally, their hands touched. Both of them felt a chill run up their spines as they touched each other.

Their fingers pressed against each other, and then the palms. Adam shook as he pressed his thumb along the web, and onto the slimy, slick palm. The merman's hand curled his fingers in as Adam's fingers slipped over the merman's hand. He felt the back of the merman's hand, and then onto his wrist. The merman let a scared noise, "No no, it's ok, you're ok..." He said as he moved his hand along the side of his hand.

In turn, the merman held at the teen's fingers, feeling along the smooth skin along. His fingers moved along, and interlaced with Adam's fingers.

"Wow..." Adam panted.

Just as suddenly, the merman pulled his hand away, and flipped into the water!

"NO!" Adam called as he reached out, "Nononono, don't go! Please!" Adam groaned as he moved back, and sat back on his rump, "Oh my God, what just happened??!" He said, his heart still going nuts inside him, "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!"

~~~

Merrick swam rapidly away, panting and moaning in fear as he moved. 'That... That was FAR too close! By the depths, what just happened?!' He thought. That human could've yanked him out of the water and hang him up to the sky!

The merman stopped, and paced around, resting back onto a nearby sand bank, and took a minute to think.

"... That... That human..." He remembers how the human moved. They way he came to him... Holding that crab... And he didn't even personally give him the crab, he just put it down, pushed it forward, and backed away.

"Was... Was that human... Scared of me?" He wondered... 'Humans... When they see an animal, they just kill them, right? But... That human didn't try anything at all... He... wanted to touch me...' Merrick thought as he looked at his own hand, 'He DID touch me...' He thought, 'And I touched him... His hand... His skin... It wasn't at all like a shark...' Merrick thought.

'This... This has to stop...' He concluded, 'He's a human, and humans are dangerous... But I need to touch him again, I need to FEEL him!' Merrick held his hand with the other, and held it to his chest.

'I shouldn't be doing this! I can't come here again! I can't tell ANYONE about this!' Merrick thought before he swims forth, picking his trident back up, and loomed away, pledging to never return to that reef ever again.

TO BE CONTINUED...