Mermay Madness

Step. Step. Step. Step. 

The walk along the shore was peaceful and enjoyable to someone who just wanted to walk alone and enjoy the cool waters of the ocean by themselves... Unfortunately you hadn't the leisure of having that kind of experience. You used to. Oh you used to. But ever since you ended up crashlanding upon the shores upon this stupid island. 

It had been like any other day where you lived. You used to have a normal life. A small house, normal nine to five job working at the supermarket, and had normal hobbies for a young woman your age. Reading, going on nature hikes, occasionally fishing or going swimming in the nearby river since the ocean was a good hour away. So how did you end up here? Simple. You heard of a new tourist attraction being offered. A captain was offering boat tours to a big island that was rumored to be haunted by the ghost of pirates that died and most people avoided since it was abandoned anyways. It sounded rather interesting to say the least considering how mundane your life was. So you decided to save up your money and decided to go one day out of boredom. You didn't believe in ghosts so you'd either get a good scare or at least see a beautiful island you never saw before. 

You wished you had just stayed at home now. 

Because you had arrived and boarded that ship with at least six other people and the captain who promised the experience of a lifetime before departing. By all accounts it should've been just a five day trip. It took a whole two days to sail to the island, the captain would wait one day for you all to look around the small island, and then it'd take two days to return home. The fee was huge but it was enough for travel, food, and room and board. All in all worth it if it meant you could have a pleasant trip.

However your trip was anything but pleasant.

The first day into the trip was peaceful and serene as you watched the world go by. However when night came is when disaster struck. No one even saw it coming  when they struck. There you were on the deck talking to another passenger about his work which was botany and enjoying the cool night air when the first lurch happened. One moment you both were talking about the different colored roses and then the next everyone was sent sprawling across the ground or desperately grabbing onto the nearest wall as what felt like an Earthquake happened beneath your feet. You hissed as you hit your side rather hard and looked up to wonder what the heck that was.

"What the hell was that?!," one man shouted clinging to the deck's railings for dear life.

"Nobody panic!" The captain called from where he cling to the steering wheel and tried to reassure everyone. "We must've just collided with a reef! The ship was built to handle such things. We'll pass right over it and ever-"

He never got to finish his sentence when the worst happened. Another lurch hit the ship as it dipped suddenly to the left and a giant cracking sound filled the air. It sounded as if a hundred planks of wood were broken at once and even now you still remembered it. Your whole world was turned sideways and the air was filled with screams and splashes as the boat tipped over, over, over- 

And then there was a splash.

In an instant your entire body was soaked in saltwater as you were dunked into the dark ocean. Your body flailed in the darkness and bubbles rushed past your face as you screamed out under the waves.  On instinct you kicked and pushed your arms up beneath the waves as you pushed upwards towards the moonlight. The surface broke as you pushed your head above the water gasping and coughing for breath hearing the groaning of the ship as it slowly sank down into the depths and the panicked sounds of the people around you.

"SIRENS!!"

Your head turned towards the scream only to see one of the other heads disappear quickly as if someone had yanked him under the water. That's when the panic settled in. You shrieked and did the only thing you could do. Swim for the sinking ship. At the very least you could get a floating piece of wood to keep yourself afloat until you could escape. Frantically you swam for it. Pushing your muscles to the max and had just grabbed the upturned dock when something latched onto your ankle. With another scream you were yanked under the waves and into the darkened depths. Down away from the moonlight as you made useless grabs at it until black clouded your vision and every went black.

When you woke up next you had found yourself stranded on an island and had woken up alone on a beach that wasn't the beach you first left. On a strange island you didn't recognize and no one else around you but a few pieces of wood to prove that night hadn't been just a nightmare. From there you had wondered the small island looking for anything or anyone else to help you only to discover that you were all alone. 

All alone except for the creature that brought you here. 

And he did not take long to make himself known. You in desperation had tried to make a fire on the beach in hopes perhaps a passing boat would see it and come rescue you when you first heard him calling from the ocean.

"HEY!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Jumping you whirled around and stopped seeing the face of white hair and dark eyes bobbing in the water frowning at you. "You'll set the whole island on fire you dummy!! Hasn't anyone told you not to play with fire?!"

"Wha- ..W-Who are you?!"

"I'm your mate! That's who! This is my territory and I claimed you after sinking that dam invading ship!! Hey! Where are you goin'?!" He called after you as you did the only logical thing in the moment.

You turned and as fast as you could hightailed it into the tropical forest the island had, ended up hiding behind a couple trees breathing heavily in fear at what you saw. What was that?! A siren?! Sea monster?! Whoever it was he was obviously the culprit and why you were stranded here. You hadn't come back out until it was dark and you found a pile of sea bass on the beach strangely in a pile. A gift maybe? You hadn't touched them instead choosing to go to the far side of the island to try and see if there was anything you could do. 

From that day on you found out to spot him quickly. He was easy to spot because of the shark fin on his back. At first you were scared that sharks were circling the island too but without fail his head would always pop up right after the fin was spotted. And it was always the same encounter that followed. He'd smile scaring you with his sharp fangs and try to talk to you, offer you gifts(usually fish or seashells), or both. You'd just ignore him and run back into the woods. Once you tried to talk him into taking you back home or let you leave but he only seemed offended.

"This is your home now!," he insisted with a frown, "Tengen has a mate island too and he has three humans living on it! If you're just lonely I can ask if you can live there instead!"

You stopped talking to him after that which seemed to really make him angry. At various times the following weeks you'd hear him calling you or shouting angry curses from the water at different times of the day and night but you only ignored him which seemed to worsen his anger and shouting. Until one day for whatever reason you couldn't fathom the screaming and angry curses stopped all together. It was a trap. You were sure. A way to lure you to the water's edge for whatever reason. After four days of the continued silence your curiosity got the better of you and you found yourself walking to the beach. The beach was barren and nothing but a few seagulls were flying about.

However the beach was littered with things. Seashells and old fish of all kinds making you curl your nose up from the smell as the birds and crabs descended upon them. Gross. Was he just leaving you these things hoping to entice you?? Without a word you slipped back towards the other side of the island to escape the bad smell. The animals can have them for all you cared. Bur maybe this was a good sign and that he lost interest in you. At least you could now be in peace to hatch an escape plan. Unfortunately those holes were dashed when you saw the fin in the water and then a moment later his head popped up with a smile.

You stared at him before frowning and turning to leave instantly when he shouted out. "WAIT!! WILL YOU?! I GOT YA SOMETHING!!" In question you reluctantly turned to him and he held up an arm out of the water. Something sparkled from his webbed hand. "Look! It's a bracelet! Women love jewelry right?!"

You stared at him. "... Seriously? You're trying to bribe me with jewelry now?"

He frowned. "Hey! I had to trade Tengen a whole ass shark for this bracelet! Do you know how hard it is to kill a great white?! Be grateful that I was thinking about you!"

"I'll be grateful when I go home! You'll holding me hostage here! You don't even know me!"

"I like you! That's good enough! Will you just look at the dam thing?" He held out the bracelet swimming closer to the shore. "It's pretty ain't it?"

The bracelet was gold and studded with diamonds from what you could see. It was pretty and you never really had someone go out to hunt a shark for you before..and looking at him he wasn't that bad looking. Rough and full of scars but not bad looking. Immediately you shook those thoughts from your head and frowned again.

"It might be pretty but that's not the point. I don't like you like that."

He smirked. "Your red face says otherwise."

In an instant your face lit up brighter as you sputtered. "SCREW YOU!!"

"You want guppies too?...I mean I want a big family too bu-"

"IT'S A FIGURE OF SPEECH!!"