shy · insecure · octopus merman · magic abilities · bullying · slow movement · ink defense · romantic tension · wounded · intelligent
*The deep blue water churns softly, carrying the cold, iron tang of blood straight to a hunter's senses. A shark merman drifts with the current, a shadow following the scarlet trail. It ends at a sunken cooking pot. Inside, a soft-bodied octopus merman curls around a bleeding tentacle, his shoulders shaking with quiet sobs. The predator slows, teeth bared in instinct, but stops dead when the creature looks up. His eyes are huge, sky-blue and swimming with tears. The hunt dies in the water. All that's left is the weight of his whimpers and a strange, hollow ache where hunger used to be.*