sort of the beginning/prequel of the last fic. Its not as romantic as I wanted it to be but I'm really sleepy and its more a pre-romance first meeting. for @awesamdream-seasonal-prompts mermay event<3
After his pod was gone, Dream carved out a territory along a lonely coast.
The port town was only half-built at the time. Fishermen were fewer, prey was abundant. Dream could easily haul a week's worth of catch and spend the rest of his days exploring the region. He liked his neighbors well enough, and even if one of them was an annoying pain of a mer, Punz's existence far made up for it. They hadn't warmed to Dream immediately, but he was nothing if not persistent in his goals, and eventually he was allowed inside Punz’s precious sanctum full of glittering treasure from both the world above and deep below.
They offered to take Dream on one of their hunts. It had been close enough to mating season that Dream's heart had fluttered hopefully. Thinking back on it now made him feel pitiful and foolish.
The port town had expanded. Larger boats, larger nets. The humans had been encroaching on his territory. At first he had been willing to take some of the loss- he knew humans were poor hunters in comparison, it was only fair to give them the space to make up for it- but they'd gotten cocky. Nets tangled through the ocean floor sand like gaping maws, gluttonous. They pushed farther, took more, and Dream's catch pile was a pathetic, shallow grave.
There were so many humans. There was no reason for them to begrudge him if he just took a few. They'd have less to feed then, as well.
There was an anchor's chain around his tail.
You'd have thought he'd know a little human by now, from living so close to them, but language spoken through air sounded so different from language spoken through water. Less emphasis, no trills or chirps. Their songs couldn't be seen, only heard.
Also he didn't like them very much, so there wasn't much incentive to be close enough to hear.
From what he could tell, they planned to throw him off the ship and into the ocean below. It was an idiotic plan, because he wasn't a human. He didn't drown. Did they forget? All of them??? Surely the dozens of humans on board didn't suffer a collective fugue.
Maybe they assumed he'd starve because he was tied up. It certainly wasn't from the beating; his blood had dried hours ago, wounds already beginning the healing process. Being in the water would only make recovery easier. But unless a helpful mer came by, he couldn't move his arms to free himself, so… he was not doing great on that front.
Maybe they assumed he'd make a new territory away from them? He wouldn't, but it was brave of them to try.
The ship didn't stop when the humans finally came over to drag him; two for him, four for the anchor. Cheers from the others rose up as he was thrown unceremoniously down to the depths below. The first inhale of sea water was so relieving that it almost distracted him from the darkness rapidly approaching to consume him.
He couldn't tell you how long he was surrounded by darkness.
He just kept being pulled. Down. Down. Down.
He'd slept in dark caves sometimes. Being a mer usually meant his eyes could adjust to it on some level.
Eventually even the light above was swallowed by the void, and he saw nothing.
When the anchor finally hit something, Dream nearly heaved from the sudden stop. His mind was thrown back into his body with a jerk.
The ground moved under him, and he was flung yet further.
"Oh." A voice echoed all around him as he finally hit the true bottom of the trench.
He'd hit Sam's head, he later learned. Sam didn't seem to mind; the kraken was incredibly polite, using some sort of magic to glow in the dark and allow Dream to finally find reprieve from the endless despair.
The questions he received were equally as endless, however.
"Who are you? What's your name? How did you get tied up? Where are you from? Would you like some food? Whats your favorite-"
The intimidation factor of the kraken was greatly reduced the longer they talked. Sam, despite his size, magic, and power, seemed far more interested in learning all about his potential sacrificial lamb than eating it.
Dream wasn't going to take any chances though.
"I have to go now," He said curtly. Sam looked disappointed, but nodded.
At full speed, Dream could make it out of the trench in 30 minutes. It would be exhausting, but he didn't care. He needed out.
Sam followed. The glow of his fins kept the darkness away. He still asked questions.
Dream reached the trench's edge. He bid Sam goodbye.
Sam followed. At a distance. Smaller. He looked like he wanted to still ask questions.
Dream found he didn't really mind, in the end.
