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There was a Merrow in his front yard. Specifically, a Merrow Submissive. Makoto rubbed his eyes, squinted a bit, and stared some more. Sure, the storm damage was a bit significant, but he hadn’t quite expected it to bring a Merrow into the yard—really!That was more of his weird luck than he cared to examine at all. In fact, given the state of the hole in the restaurant’s roof, the deep gouges in the yard, and the downed trees everywhere else, it was a wonder the property hadn’t suffered more. He had storm insurance of course, but that also meant that he’d be on clean-up duty for the foreseeable future. And dealing with a weird, prickly Merrow was absolutely nowhere in his skillset. The Merrow in question, of course, was a gorgeous specimen with pitch-black hair, brilliant blue eyes, and the creamiest, palest silver-and-blue scaled skin that Makoto had ever seen. Said Merrow was also pinned under one of the giant trees that had fallen across the unfinished outdoor eating area, spared an actual skewering by virtue of the pallets of decorative stone waiting to be used. A chilly breeze blew in from the Merrow waters in the distance and the Merrow shivered, shrinking back down in the little puddle in the dirt underneath them. Makoto sighed. He should probably call his parentals. Or his friends. Or even his siblings. But—he could move the tree and maybe that was all the Merrow needed. Shrugging into one of his outdoor coats, he charmed his boots on and clomped down the stairs to investigate the unwanted intruder—no, the unlucky Merrow—and hoped that he was awake enough to make his face look somewhat friendly. The Merrow spotted him at once, perking up and then hunkering down again as they peered over the thick wooden branches their pretty blue eyes. Makoto swallowed hard. Up close, they were unfairly pretty. He had no idea if it was simply the whole Merrow thing or if all Merrow were meant to be as stunningly gorgeous as the one currently half-squashed into his front yard. “…hello,” he offered, when he was closer. The Merrow stared at him. A few fins fluttered weakly, but nothing else happened, prompting the Merrow to turn and scowl at their own pinned tail. A very pretty tail, to be sure, but a tail nonetheless. Long, deep blue and with the telltale hints of silver, that tapered off to a sort of grey near the tail fins. Delicate tail fins that ended in a showy flourish with delicate ruffles and little ridges where the scale colors blended together. The Merrow turned back to him with the most pitiful look on their face. Makoto resisted the urge to sigh. “Do you want help?” He asked, carefully. “I can—get the tree off of you.” The Merrow perked up, a series of chittering sounds emerging from somewhere—Makoto couldn’t tell where, because that mouth hadn’t even moved, much less opened—and their long, elegant hands had the sharpest claws he’d seen yet. “I’m an Earth element,” he said, quickly. “I can sort of lift it off of you, but you’ll have to hold still.” The Merrow cocked his head to the side and then shrugged as if such a thing didn’t really matter. Maybe it didn’t. Makoto gave them another moment, then reached down and leveraged the tree up and out of the way. He did his best to use his element to make the process as painless as possible, relieved when it was clear that there was only some heavy bruising and no visible blood anywhere on the Merrow’s tail. The Merrow in question made a few more curious noises, before turning back to Makoto with an expression that immediately sent a chill down his spine. Oh, sweet mother of Ergen! He should’ve just stayed inside. Stayed in bed. Curled up in the blankets and let someone else come and deal with this mess. That too-innocent look on the Merrow’s face was immediately followed by the very familiar sound of a growling stomach. Ah. Soft color suffused the Merrow’s pale cheeks and they curled into a shiny, pretty little lump of sorts, still peering up at Makoto as if they were the most fascinating creature they’d ever laid eyes on. Makoto swallowed a groan. Now that he’d heard it, there was no chance of him getting the Merrow to make their way back to the Merrow waters. Instinct would compel him to help and part of that help would entail finding and making something suitable for both of them to eat. Oh. He might as well just give up after all…“I didn’t make breakfast yet,” he said, before he could stop himself. “Do you want something to eat?” A curious chirp came from the Merrow. “If that’s a yes-” The Merrow lifted both arms up in a clear message. Makoto stared. He was really too tired for all of this. One giant hand came up to rub at his face. “You want me to—you know what, I’m not—this is just my luck. Really, really weird luck. Come on. Up you go.” He picked up the Merrow with a bit of care, taking his time to make sure that he didn’t jostle them unnecessarily or anything as he supported the massive tail and the surprisingly warm body against his own. The Merrow studied him with intense eyes and a soft sort of chirruping sound that could’ve passed for a purr, if they’d been a land walker. The interior of the house—or at least, his little apartment above the restaurant—was untouched by the tree that fell through the roof, but it was also meant to be a cozy, homey little space specifically for an Earth elemental. He carried the Merrow through the small living room, through the bedroom, and into the bathroom where he could immediately start filling the tub. The Merrow made approving noises and tried to lunge towards the barely filled tub. “Oi—wait!” Makoto tightened his grip and nearly dropped the Merrow when his fingers touched bruised scales, earning him a fierce hiss in turn. “Hey! Don’t just-” The second hiss was surprising and the Merrow toppled out of his arms—and floated right into the tub, effortlessly. It was, of course, too small, and a significant portion of their tail was curled up and over them. Water began to pour out of the spout at an alarming rate, waves of steam wafting upward to the ceiling. The Merrow sank down to submerge as much of themselves as they could in the tub and it was their growling stomach—again—that set Makoto back in motion. He scrubbed a hand over his face again. “I’m going—the kitchen’s that way,” he said, pointing. “I’ll leave the door open if you need something. Try to use words, if you can? I don’t know Merrowspeak, but I do know Elvish, some Faespeak, plain Basic, and Orc, alright?” He left the door open and shuffled on out to the kitchen. Gingerly, he picked at the wet spot on his shirt and cast a drying charm that fizzled out halfway before his shirt was properly fixed. There were worse ways to start the day, sure, but he’d be damned if he knew what they were…
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The gorgeous dragel had just put him in a bathtub.Hm.A rather minuscule bathub, to be precise, but it was a tub and it held water and that was probably good enough, considering that every other component of his unlikely situation was enough to constitute a proper emergency. Oh, if only his parentals could see him now. His Sire would likely drag him off by the tail, while his Mera scolded loudly and efficiently in multiple dialects and his Third swam behind to make very sad disappointed faces at him.They had taught him better than to get caught or beached, but honestly, he hadn’t even done anything this time.Haru splashed a hand idly in the water, just to have it spray against his drying skin. There wasn't anywhere near enough moisture in the air or surrounding spaces for his tastes, but the water was helping and as soon as he could get something to eat, he'd be a lot better.The bruising on his tail and the slight tears at the edges of his fins would heal up soon enough, if he was careful.He could be careful. Mostly.Those kinds of injuries were problematic out of water and nearly nonexistent when safely beneath the surface. Shifting into a landwalker, two-legged form was bound to spare him some of the initial discomfort from healing and such, but the thought was so repulsive, that Haru nearly gagged.Sinking further into the cramped tub, he let the water lap at his chin, directing more warm droplets upward to keep his tail wet and at the proper angle so as not to throw his back out. Honestly, there were so many things to keep in mind whenever he went on land!On the other fin, the gorgeous Earth dragel who'd helped him out from such a tight spot had seemed so nice and friendly, that he'd allowed the bit of help to keep from suffering out on dry land.Such pretty shiny eyes, gold too. A very gentle aura for an Alpha as well. Soothing, almost, with how his elemental control was firm, but not rigid. Haru trilled softly to himself, replaying the memory of those sturdy arms carrying him in to safety.He really ought to thank him, somehow.Memory was a bit patchy, but he knew it'd return in time with a bit of extra water and maybe a nap. He only recalled that the storm had come out of nowhere and he'd had no warning at all. One minute he was drifting peacefully into a favorite basking spot and the next, the currents had turned wild and vicious.It'd happened so suddenly, he could help but be suspicious.Sometimes, poachers would try horrible tricks and set traps to try and catch unsuspecting Merfolk any way that they could. Artificial storms or unnatural currents were common ways of doing so.This close to Nevarah though, was unlikely. He couldn't think of anyone within his extended family clan that would've been cruel enough to consider such a mishap as a prank, but sometimes, there were a few friends that he would very much like to slap over the head.Haru blew bubbles into the water, pulling even more of the warm water from the showerhead to spray perfectly across his glistening scales.The unhappy rumble of his tummy was even more awful than before, when he caught a lovely savory whiff of roasted fish.Roasted. Fish!Haru licked his lips. He sniffed a few times, a low whine building in his throat.Was the Alpha actually roasting Mackerel? His Favorite?A full-body shiver ran through him, flinging water droplets all over the place as common sense was overrun by instinctive urges. Everyone knew that a good Alpha who prepared your favorite food was a possible Intended with enough skill to become a potential Bonded.Haru was picky too.Mackerel was—special. It wasn't the fanciest of fishes and roasting it was certainly a far cry from some of the more delicious and extravagant dishes that could be found along the main Merrow City underwater, but-!The heavenly scent wafted his way once more.Haru strained to sit up, clinging to the edge of the tub to try and see out through the open door. He chirruped twice, attempting to sound inquisitive and mostly just sounding rather soggy and sad.The sound had the desired effect of bringing the sleepy-headed Alpha rushing to come and check on him, which was good enough.Haru eyed him expectantly."What happened?" Makoto stared back at him, sadly empty-handed, his face flushed at the corners and his hair sticking up in the back.Haru drooped, half-slithering back into the tub from where he'd been halfway to climbing out of it all on his very own.Makoto's stare turned into an expression of obvious confusion. "Please tell me you can speak," he said, a tad plaintively. "I really don't think I could handle calling in a favor this early in the morning before I’ve had a-“Haru gave a light chirp and click, before sniffing appreciatively at the tasty smells that had followed Makoto all the way across the little house. It smelled so good. He only wanted a little bite.Maybe two. “…Mackerel?" he asked, hopefully. Shaping the word in his mouth into what he thought was plain Basic. Merrowspeak could be so inconvenient when it came to Landwalkers.A beat passed.Another followed.Makoto stifled a groan, head craned up to the ceiling, sturdy arms on his hips. He seemed to be finding some sort of instruction manual up there, because he muttered a few things, rocked back and forth on his not-skinny-legs and then made another odd groaning sound.Haru watched and listened with abject fascination.Eventually, Makoto came to some sort of decision. He backed out of the bathroom doorway, turned on his heel and stalked down the hallway to the end of the house.Haru blinked after him. He clicked twice, politely, for good measure, to ensure the food would come quickly. Food, then—other things. But preferably food first. Mackerel was serious business.