Chapter Text
There wasn't that many things of interest to Simon in this part of the ocean. The most interesting thing to happen were the occasional human ship passing through. They were the only thing that disrupted the blatant monotony around here. If he was bored enough, he'd follow underneath the boat and try and parse together what the humans above him were like. It could be entertaining.
However, there was a storm raging above the water's surface. It was worrisome to see a large human vessel out here during a storm like this but these humans seemed competent. They seemed very practical and the type to keep themselves safe during a situation like this.
So why was there a small form thrashing against the waves as the boat traversed on? His blood boiled at the realization that this vessel abandoned one of their one. Left to die.
He quickly swam towards the thrashing form, watching in pity as they surfaced briefly to take greedy gulps of air before being plunged back under. He circled underneath them for a moment. He was sure those little eyes flickered down towards him for a moment before they tried surfacing again.
He forgot just how small these humans are. So tiny, so little, merely the size of a freshly hatched mer. He ran his tongue along his bottom row of teeth. The size of a baby mer. He does have a way to save this creature!
Simon flicked his tail and dove deeper in order to get himself a new vantage point. Once he was situated beneath the little human, he swam up to meet them. He watched in pity as they sank under once more. His maw opened as he prepared to rescue the little human and he watched as they glanced down at him. He only briefly registered the horror on the little thing's face before he snatched his jaws shut.
Immediately, he could hear the human flailing around in the pool of water in his mouth. He cursed himself in his mind. Right, humans don't do this with their young. Shit, he's going to scare the ever loving shit out of this little thing. Not the first time someone has been scared of him and won't be the last. He'll survive and so will the human.
The human sank in the water in his mouth and he felt the phantom feeling of their feet brushing his tongue. He shivered at the feeling and yelled at his hindbrain begging for a proper taste. Not right now… No. Not ever brain, not making this worse.
However, he could tell the human was losing air quickly. So he guesses he'll get what his brain wants, he just needs to keep himself in check. He lifts his tongue up to meet the human and presses them against the roof of his mouth. He needs them to be able to breathe, they only breathe oxygen. They can't breathe in the water, no gills. That lack of evolution will always astound him but he knows they evolved that way for life on land. It's fine. He's not jealous.
Simon held the human against the roof of his mouth and quickly began swallowing the water. He could feel the terrified shaking of the human and the little pitter patter of their heart against his tongue. It hurt to have something so vulnerable be this scared of him, but he just needed to remind himself that they didn't know this was safe. He was doing this for him.
He won't let him be left for dead. Nobody deserves that fate.
Once Simon was sure the water was out of his mouth and the human could properly breathe, he lowered his tongue into a more relaxed position. This unfortunately left the human sprawled all over his tongue. The human tasted salty, as expected from them being submerged in the ocean. Everything was a bit salty down here.
But beneath that, he couldn't deny that they tasted divine. He's not sure he's tasted anything like this human before, but it was the best thing he's ever tasted. He's beginning to understand why his old podmates were so insistent on hunting and eating humans.
He cringed and tried to beat back those thoughts. Not food. He's not like them. He's not. He's better. He's going to save this human. He's not like them. He refuses to be like them. Never again.
A pleased growl still escapes him at the taste. He winces internally at the reaction. Urgh, curse his mer-brain.
If he ignores the taste, he can feel the human settling in his mouth as he began swimming away. The feeling was just as nice. But they weren't perfectly safe yet. He tilted his tongue to slide the human forwards.
The human seemed to be frozen in confusion, which definitely was helpful for Simon. He felt the human slip off of the tip of his tongue and tumble into brooding pouch beneath his tongue. He felt tiny little hands against the soft skin and he purred in delight at the feeling. He settled his tongue over top of them, keeping the human safe and contained while he finds somewhere to set them once the storm clears.
He could feel the human begin going limp, so Simon picked up his purrs. All too soon, the human had gone slack and Simon could feel them breathing softly as if asleep. Good. Rest up little guy. You'll be alright.
The swim was uneventful, but Simon was never once bored. The moment any form of boredom settled in, he could just focus on the weight in his mouth and the soft breathing from his occupant.
He noticed as the waves finally settled above him and was quick to give a few quick flicks of his tail to propel himself to a new beach he had noticed a few moments prior. Once he was sure there were no other humans nearby, he'd rather not freak out the population and have them send fisherman and hunters after him, he surfaced above the waves.
The sky was bright with little clouds dotting the sky, like the storm had never happened in the first place. He pulled himself onto the beach, feeling the sand shift beneath him as he did so. He dug his tongue down and scooped the human out of the pouch before gently tilting his head forwards, depositing the human into a hand.
They were still asleep. They looked content and Simon softened at the revelation. He brought the human up to study them for a moment, not every day he could see one of these little guys so up close and personal after all.
The striking similarities to mers was baffling. And yet, they lacked fins and scales and sharp teeth and claws and most of all they had no tail. In its place were two spindly legs for walking on land. He carefully drug a claw tip along their body and watched as they shivered under the touch.
It didn't help that they were beautiful, especially in mer standards. Hair the color of a warm beach and soft features along their whole body. He hoped that their eyes were the color of this gorgeous sky or perhaps the color of a raging sea. Those were blessed traits amongst mers like himself, those were the ones revered for their beauty as they were said to be blessed by the earth's sand and the ocean's waves. The ones blessed by both land and sea, the rare beauties of the world.
He wanted to keep this human to himself he realized with a start. Keep the little being as his treasure, as a gift from both the land and sea. They were abandoned by their own, surely he could, right?
He bit his cheek and forced himself to settle the being in the sand, watching as they sighed in a content manner. No. They probably still had somewhere to go home to. A pod. Or whatever humans call them. Simon doesn't deserve a treasure like this human anyways.
He pushed himself backwards to return to the sea. He spared one last glance to the human, the last one he'd ever have. At least he could save a precious treasure like them. At least he could still do good in this world despite everything.
He submerged under the waves after committing the human's visage to memory. What a pleasant memory to keep.