Chapter 3
Craig roamed around the beach, pacing as he waited for the creature to come back to the small island with hopefully the location device in it’s hands. It didn’t take long for Craig to find something shiny, he found a crushed up can and some soda tabs that were washed up on shore that he hopes will suit the creature’s needs. He also made a makeshift spear out of a long stick, vines, and a sharp rock he found to use to catch some fish. It didn’t take long as the raven haired man had pretty good reflexes or at least they were better than the average person. He assumed the merman wanted the fish raw, so he caught a couple in the span of a couple hours and even cooked some for himself with the extras, saving 3 for the merman.
Nighfall came not long after, Craig was still waiting for the merman to come back, sitting on a rock as he looked out into the dark ocean, small waves occasionally hitting the sand that sat on the shoreline. His eyelids felt heavy as he rested his head in his palm, fighting to stay awake. He can’t go to sleep now, what if the mermaid comes back and he doesn’t know? Sitting up straight, he stretched his arms and legs, lightly smacking his face. It didn’t seem to do anything though, as he still felt extremely drowsy. The last thing he needs to do is sleep, the raven haired man thought as he slumped down and rested his head in his palm once again. Maybe just.. a bit of shut eye won’t hurt, it’ll be fine.. He thought as his eyes slowly closed shut, immediately drifting off to sleep right after.
…
Craig stirred, his eyes slowly opening no thanks to the bright beams of the sun burning them. How long had he been asleep for..? He was still laying on the rock he fell asleep on earlier, and tried to sit up but felt a weight on top of him, making him unable to sit up. He slowly lifted his head, a blonde head of hair coming into vision. It was the.. merman? But isn’t he supposed to be in water? Craig’s eyes widened as he quickly lifted the merman off of him with a grunt and sat up, backing away as he stared at the merman who almost fell off the rock.
“You have legs?!” Is the first thing he asked as the creature looked right back at him, maybe even more terrified than him.
“Y-Yes! *Agh!* I’m sorry y-you were sleeping a-and-“ He stops forcefully as Craig put his hand over his mouth, quieting the creature as it twitched.
“Calm down.” He mutters with a sigh, “First of all, answer my question. And second, take this..” He says as he took off the thin coat he was wearing, handing it to the bare chested merman with a tiny blush on his face. The merman hesitated to take it, slowly putting it on as he looked questionably at Craig.
“W-W-We can.. we get l-legs when *tic* we l-leave water..” The creature says in a quiet tone, fiddling with it’s hands as Craig nodded understandably, resting his chin in his hand as he got lost in thought.
“Makes sense. Well, did ya find it? I don’t wanna spend another day on this damn island.” He looks back up at the merman who opened it’s hand to reveal the small black device that he was missing. The raven haired boy quickly grabbed the device out of the merman’s hand, inspecting the damage. Thank god, it still works. Craig let out a sigh of relief, pressing a button on it to send his crew mates his location, kind of like an alert or an SOS.
The merman looked at Craig with a pout as it watched Craig hold the small device in his hands, messing with it. “W-Well?”
“What?” Craig looked up at him, an annoyed expression plastered on his face until he remembered his side of the deal. “Oh, right.” He puts the small locator device in his pocket, reaching in to pull out some soda tabs and a metal spoon that he found earlier as well.
“This good?” The raven haired man asked as he held his hands out, carrying the shiny objects. He watched as the merman inspected it, immediately picking up the spoon as a huge grin appeared on his face.
“Woah! W-What is this?!” The creature asked excitedly as he held the spoon up in the air, gasping at his reflection that appeared on the metal.
Craig sighs again, “It’s a spoon, nothing exciting. Chill.”
“W-What’s a sp-spoo..” The creature struggled to pronounce the word, looking at the raven haired man who looked annoyed again.
“We use it to eat stuff like soup and cereal.” He muttered as he watched the creature tilt his head to the side, figuring he probably doesn’t know what soup or cereal is either, Craig let out another long sigh. “I caught you some fish.” He jumps off the rock, some sand flying up due to the impact, as he walked over to his small makeshift camp site, which had a shelter build out of wood and a fire pit right outside that was still burning. The merman looks down at Craig who was now on the sand with a worried expression as he didn’t know how to get down.
“I-I can’t g-get down!” He whined aa he watched the raven haired man turn around, looking back up at him.
“Then how the fuck did you get up?” He watched the merman shrug. “Ugh.. jump off, i’ll catch you.” He murmurs as he walks back over to the rock, holding his arms out. The rock wasn’t even that big, a bit taller than Craig, though he was around 5’11.. maybe the merman wasn’t just a pussy.
“A-Are you sure y-you’ll *tic* catch me?!” The merman yelled worriedly, watching the man nod. The mermaid slid off, closing his eyes as he fell straight into Craig’s arms, completely unharmed.
Craig didn’t even flinch, the merman was actually quite light. “You okay?” He asked as he lowered the merman back on his feet, watching him immediately falling once he let go. The merman yelped as Craig quickly got down in a crouching position. “What do you not know how to use your legs or something?” He asked, watching the merman shake his head no. “Idiot.. how dis you even get on the island?”
“I-I was able t-to walk before b-but it took me a bit.. I’m not *tic* used t-to it yet..” He murmured, embarrassed.
“Here, I can help you..” Craig sighs as he picks up the merman bridal style, carrying him over to the small fire pit that was burning slowly, then sitting the creature back down on the sand, handing him one of the raw fishes he caught. The merman was practically drooling once Craig handed him the fish, immediately eating it once it was in his hands and finishing in under a minute, licking his lips with a huge smile.
“Slow down, holy shit.” Craig stared at the merman shockingly as the merman stared back, looking at him with pleading eyes. “What? You want more?” He asked as he watched the merman nod quickly. Craig picked up another dead fish and threw it at the merman, watching the merman eat it in under a minute again. He tossed the merman the last fish he caught, the creature smiling after he was finished. “There, are we good now?”
The merman nodded, “T-Thank you- um..”
“Craig, Craig Tucker.” The raven haired boy response, a small smile plastered on his face.