The water was shining under the sparkling sun. Each wave would cause it to look like the milky way - shimmering stars appearing for half a second before vanishing again.

The little boat broke the clear water, soundlessly drifting and allowing itself to be carried off wherever. Two paddles were set aside, uselessly lying inside the wooden boat, still dripping little pools into the wood.

The boatsman - a single person, just a man - was leaning on the side of the boat, peering over into the endless depths.

Out here, the water was so clear that you could see fish swimming around, but that also meant you could stare right into the darkness down below. This far into the sea there was no sand to look at - no corals, nothing, just the deep and dark depths. From the shore to here, the ground first lowered slowly, then did a deep dip into what was pretty much a hole in the ground.

The man had tried diving here before. Just a short time, but he had seen a bit clearer - although the hole appeared to stretch on for infinity, there was actually an area that appeared a lot like a cave system.

He couldn’t explore it, however. Not only did he lack the oxygen, it was also far too dangerous.

Merfolk didn’t necessarily hunt humans, but they sure would eat them if they swam right into their territory. And everyone, absolutely everyone, in the village nearby knew that there was a merfolk group living here.

Fishermen were allowed as long as you didn’t enter the water directly. If you did… well, you better leave as quickly as you can.

There was also a dark and gigantic shadow that you could spot further away once in a while. Sometimes, its fins would stick out of the water, frightening everyone who saw it. No one had ever seen another beast this huge.

But on most days, the sea was quiet. The beast would not care about them and the merfolk would stay deep down below in their caves.

The man sighed. His fingers traced the cool water mindlessly. He was waiting, although it was always up to luck to say whether he’d wait for nothing.

This time, it appeared he was lucky.

The larger shadow that appeared moved nimbly up from the depths. It did a couple of beautiful twirls, almost like a dance, before it broke through the surface, coming close to the young man’s face. He was beaming at the sight before he knew it.

The merman was pure white. With pale skin and hair like starlight, he was like an angel of the sea. White scales shimmered beneath the water’s surface, covering his long fishtail.

All of him was decorated over and over. Pieces of corals, pearls, scales and shells, colourful string of unknown nature. He was an artwork looking more beautiful and more regal than even the richest humans the man knew. From the top of his hair to the fins around his ears and down his back, finishing with the end of his tail - the merman was clad in the most precious jewelry the sea had to offer.

“Did you wait long?” The merman crossed his arms to lean on the boat and placed his chin on it. His red eyes were squinting a bit - it was bright outside, though he could handle it for a while.

“Not at all.” The human sat up straight. A rosy blush was barely visible on his suntanned skin. He rubbed a hand through his red-brown hair, wishing he looked a bit neater in front of the merman but also knowing it was futile. “You’re not busy, are you, Kinsley?”

Kinsley didn’t reply but smiled wryly. It made the young man’s heart ache.

Luca knew that Kinsley had a son. He had heard about him not too long after first meeting Kinsley, and often Kinsley would have issues connecting to him.

“Are there issues with Finn?”, he tried asking carefully, shifting a bit so that his shadow would cover Kinsley just a bit.

“He’s being stubborn again.”

Kinsley did not look old, but his son was a young teenager already. He was raising Finn on his own, his partner having died early. For some reason, Kinsley always hesitated talking about his old partner, something that Luca felt he should but could not understand.

Whatever the reason, Finn couldn’t quite connect to his father. It often ended in fights.

“He doesn’t understand. He swims after Lonan so much that others are calling him a [tn content="Suckerfish"]A fish species that attaches itself to bigger fish :) Not exactly a compliment, actually[/tn]. Not that I mind, but… Lonan is colouring off on him.” Finally having someone to talk to, Kinsley couldn’t help but unload his troubles. “The sirens are coming close recently. Whenever the Moray’s not around they are scouting. Lonan is convinced we can fight them and Finn agrees with him. They have no idea.”

Luca’s fingers tightened around the rim of the boat. “Will there be a war? Will the others follow your brother?”

“They will.” Kinsley laughed. It sounded sad and pained. “This wasn’t my intention when I let him lead the clan. I thought he was close to Father in temperament, but I thought wrong. He’s foolish and rash like Mother, and look where that lead them to.”

“What will happen if there’s a war?”

“A lot of us will die, if not all. The sirens aren’t stupid enough to attack when the Moray is close by. If Lonan ends up angering them, they will stop hesitating and directly attack.”

Kinsley lowered himself into the water, then pulled himself upwards. In one swift motion, he landed on the boat, letting his long fishtail dangle over the edge. The boat rocked under his weight but soon smoothened its movements again.

Luca reached out to grab Kinsley’s hand. It was cold. “And you? What about you?”

“I will fight and die with them, if it comes to that.” Kinsley stared out into the water, his eyes lowered. He turned his hand so that he could hold Luca’s, lightly squeezing it. “Don’t come out here anymore. We don’t know when things might start happening and you’re easy prey for the sirens.”

“I-”

Luca choked up.

I have been coming here for ten years. I have been by your side as much as you let me. I have tried my best to support you. Will you really leave me like this?

He did not say any of the thoughts in his head.

Instead he lowered it, his messy hair covering the watery green eyes. Kinsley pulled his hand away and rubbed it over the soft red-brown strands.

“Whenever I see you, I want to ask you to dig a hole”, he suddenly laughed. “Dig a deep, deep hole and fill it with seawater so I can give my son into your safe hands. You’d be better at raising him for sure - you’re good with kids.”

“You wouldn’t know”, Luca humpfed, grumbling.

“I would. You come with them to the sea to fish and teach them.”

Luca turned his head away, embarrassed. He did do that, but he hadn’t thought he would be watched. Many of the village's kids treated him as a teacher, and he liked telling them about the sea and the merfolk. The kids were cute.

“I’d do that.” Luca spoke into the following silence. “I’d dig a hole and fill it with seawater. Bucket by bucket. I’d do it for him and for you, if you wanted me to.”

But you don’t.

Kinsley laughed again. This time, he pulled Luca close to himself, putting his head onto the other’s. He let Luca bury himself under his chin, enjoying the human warmth for a moment.

“To not swim is the death of the merfolk”, he murmured softly. “We need the sea. But I want you to know how precious that offer is to me.”

Luca pressed his eyes tightly shut. He did not like how this conversation was going, how the tone was shifting.

“You’re so different from how my wife was. She was really soft and gentle. Very introverted. You’re a very supportive person, the type to rush to help out. And yet… you both can read me pretty well.”

“You’re planning something”, Luca said, trying hard not to choke.

“I’ll visit the sirens. Yes, they’re an aggressive group, and yes, their type does hunt us, but… There’s no purely good or evil species, nor do they know the power of the Moray. I’ll go and see whether I can persuade them - maybe if we leave and they have this place as their own hunting ground, they won’t pursue us. I’ll either convince them or die trying.”

“Your brother won’t like you trying to strike a deal with them”, Luca worried. He did not want to think too much about the last sentence.

Kinsley chuckled. Luca felt something on the crown of his head, soft like a kiss.

“Lonan might be rash, but he’s my brother. He will understand that it’s an attempt at saving as many lives as possible.”

Slowly, the merman pushed Luca away. He let himself slide into the water again, then reached out to stroke Luca’s cheek a final time before swimming away lightly on his back.

“This will probably be the last time we see each other, human. I wish you kind weather and good harvests”, Kinsley said in his melodious voice, eyes suspiciously lowered and lips slightly trembling.

Luca forced himself to smile. It was probably the ugliest smile he had ever made, but he did not want to send Kinsley off crying. “And I wish for you to have the open sea to swim in without having to worry.”

The water splashed. Kinsley’s figure descended back into the darkness and Luca watched, frozen, until it was invisible.

Only after a couple of minutes did he manage to take up the paddles, slowly making his way back to the shore.

He pulled his boat onto the sand and turned back to the sea. Closing his eyes and putting his hands together, he quietly prayed.

“Please… let everything go well.”

But this time, God did not hear his voice.

Owl

Welllll we all know how that turned out.
There's 3 parts to this. The other 2 parts will appear when it happens in the story's timeline - this is the past, but the other two parts will be the present.
As a sidenote - the Moray keeps the merfolk safe, but it's a wandering beast. It won't stay in one place forever.