[SierraHigh]

Greyson had just about lost track of what had happened during his trip. It started as part of some mission to South Africa, already miles away from his home in New York, and it'd ended up with him and a few others in his crew being taken hostage by some pirates off the coast. He didn't think it was real at first, but then he'd been punished for speaking up - a punishment which got him the black eye he sport currently - and it'd hit him like a train that this wasn't a joke. In a halfhearted attempt at escape, Greyson rushed out of his holding room and onto the deck, jumping into the sea with the pirates yelling and screaming after him. He thought he'd gotten away safely but it dawned on him he was in the middle of nowhere, stranded in water, probably with hungry sharks watching him from below... and after hours of struggling to stay afloat, he'd succumbed to his weakened condition. He'd accepted his fate in an odd way, assuming this would be the end.

But then he woke up, and he was on land. Or so it felt like land... His eyes cracked open slowly and he winced at the pain where his face had been bruised. The sun from above was glaring down on him, his skin warm from the heat, and he could fee the gritty texture of sand beneath his dry palms. Everything was uncomfortable, but he was alive. How? Greyson sat up slowly, grimacing and giving a look around. He wasn't in any better shape being on this island, and suddenly he wished he would've just been gone and forgotten in the waters of the sea. Dying on an island was worse. "Crap," he muttered softly, reaching a hand up to brush sand out of his short brown hair. This was not what he'd signed up for.

[bhdire8]

"So you are awake, finally. Here, drink." Up walk a tanned man. He looked like a Greek statue with the washboard abs and muscular body, his private parts wrapped in seaweed like "clothing". He handed over a large leaf with water inside. "You are quite a fighter I.would say, struggling in that part of the sea for so many hours. Mamy have given up long before you, but your perseverance impressed me and I got you out of water. I am Proteus, what's your namr?"

[SierraHigh]

Greyson jumped at the sound of another voice and he initially scrambled backwards thinking the pirates had found him again, but instead he came face to face with another man... one who looked like they could live perfectly well off on the island. Greyson stood shakily onto his feet and quickly took the lead, eyeing it cautiously and the water inside. "Greyson," be said finally, frowning as he took in the appearance of the man. "So... am I dreaming?" He looked around. "This can't be real. I thought Heaven would be a lot nicer than this."

[bhdire8]

"Heaven? No you are not dead, if that's what you mean. You humans with your metaphors and hidden meanings. I dont understand why you cant just speak your mind." Proteus shook his head, hands on his waist. "This island is one of my territoties that are thankfully still free of human disturbance. You should be safe from your attackers I think. The people that you have been so desperate to escape from? They are your enemies I presume?"

[SierraHigh]

Greyson couldn't believe his luck. First he'd been taken hostage, then nearly died at sea, and now he was stuck on some island with another random person that came from God knows where? "What do you mean free from human disturbance? You look pretty human..." Greyson bit his bottom lip and nodded slightly. "I don't know them. They took me and my friends and I got out." He hoped his friends were okay. Greyson took a tentative sip of the water held in the leaf. "I've gotta get back to them," he murmured, swaying on his feet, "they're probably in danger."

[bhdire8]

"I think you better sit back down." Proteus quickly went up to catch the man who almost collapsed. "You look very pale, is it because of the sun?" He felt around his forehead, testing the temperature. As he lowered him on the ground, he answered his quedtjon. "You are not aware of us? I thought all human knew about our population in the open sea. I am a merman of the Southern Pacifia clan. The boat where you jumped off, it had been hit by a storm and was blown away to out of my territory. I will need to ask the neihboring clan to know of its situation and the condition of humans on it.

[SierraHigh]

"I dunno what it is," Greyson frowned, briefly reaching up to feel at the bruises still on his face. It'd be awhile before those ended up healing. He drank the rest of the water, slowly but surely, and set the leaf to the side. "O-oh," Greyson stuttered with embarrassment, glancing back over to where the merman stood beside him. "Yeah, we do. I've just-" He shook his head. "I've never encountered one of your kind before. It's, uh, surreal. Kinda." Greyson felt his heart drop at the news but he agreed to take up the idea offered. He pressed a hand to his head and groaned. "This sucks... How am I supposed to get home... I can't stay here."

[bhdire8]

"Surreal? Ha that's an interesting word to describe us I guess. I can take you to the shore when you have healed enough, where do you want to be?" He sat down beside Greyson and asked. He was a bit curious at the man, he had met with human before, in his youthful days he had visited some bigger piers around even, but this was the first time he get to really touch a human body.

[SierraHigh]

"Home, but that's far from here I'm willing to bet." Greyson sighed heavily, trying to make sense out of what had happened. "Not to mention I kind of need to find my friends first. If they're all still okay." Greyson eased back onto the sand and pressed both hands to his face, careful of his bruises. "What are we supposed to do..? What am I supposed to do?" He figured he could just talk to the merman. Humans knew they were a thing but the chance of ever meeting one was extremely rare. Greyson let his hands fall from his face and he instead looked back up at Proteus. "You live around here?"

[bhdire8]

"Not really. My home is underwater. But when I feel like wanting to breath air above, I will come here for a stroll. I will get your friends' information as soon as possible but then it could take quite some time. We are... scarce in number, so gettinf hold of a member from another clan is actually quite hard." Proteus couldnt hide the sadness toshow on his face. Their population was so low now that it was very likely they were going to perish.

[SierraHigh]

"Oh... well, how long is quite some time? This isn't the tropical paradise I expected." Greyson smiled sheepishly. "Honestly though, I'm not sure I'll stay sane on an island for quite some time." Greyson gave a thoughtful hum. "Really? Everyone on land tells us to be careful of you guys because of your numbers." This was the first encounter Greyson had had with a merman and luckily it was a good one. He'd heard enough horror stories of people being ripped to shreds by them.

[bhdire8]

Proreus smiled sadly at Greyson. "It is very probable that our race will die out, if not in my generation, then the next. To put it bluntly, there is no longer available mates for me. I have been seeking for someone for over a year now but still, no luck. There hadn't been a new baby born for 5 yeaes now." He sighed and then siad "anyway that's not your poblem. I will try to see i can get hold of the information in a week. If you want to leave this island, i can bring you down to my home actually."

[SierraHigh]

"Can you guys not mate with humans? It sounds like a far stretch, but..." Greyson shrugged lamely. "Five years is a long time." God knows he didn't know much about that aspect of life. He was still in college, which reminded him how he hoped he'd be excused from all his classes after literally getting captured by pirates. "It's okay. There's no rush. The main thing is I'm just not sure I can stay on this island for long." He swallowed thickly and watched Proteus curiously. "Oh? How's that..? I don't have a tail or gills or anything..."

[bhdire8]

"Well... hmm. Actually humans are possible in terms of procreation, but since the row raaces re not exactly on friednly terms... it is not very probable that I can convince some human to build a relationship and carry my young. Besides, merman gestation, though short, have some anciliary effect... anyway. Hmm actually I have the ability to let you breath underwater, but it wojld require a little bit... intimacy?"

[SierraHigh]

"Oh. Huh. I'm sure there are humans out there who don't absolutely hate merpeople... I mean, I don't." Greyson didn't have much of a strong opinion about them either way, but it always unsettled him to hear news stories about the latest merman attack on a human. From this interaction, Greyson wouldn't think they were anything like what media portrayed. But then again, the media was kind of corrupt either way. Greyson's cheeks flushed under the bruising on his face, his brows drawing together. "What do you have to do?" he asked curiously. "If it means I can get off this island, let's just do it."

[bhdire8]

"Our... our secretion from the mouth can allow you to do so, with... your direct ingestion." Proteus said uneasily. "In short.... I need to kiss you." He fidgeted on the spot. "Each time will have an effextive period of 30 minutes. If you are not willing it is alright, I understand that's a fairly intimate act in humans and it is perfectly understandable if you are not willing."

[SierraHigh]

Greyson listened to Proteus speak, shrugging a bit at his explanation. "If that's what needs to be done, we can do it. It's alright." He looked to the water quickly and then back to the merman. "How far away is your home? Or I guess, how deep down is it?" Greyson flexed his fingers and frowned. "I'd hate to be all the way down at the bottom of the ocean only for the breathing thing to run out."

[bhdire8]

"I think ww can reach it within one kiss' time. Well we can always extend the it by another kiss." Proteus looked at Greyson's pale face and added "but before we do that, I guesss we needed some food. Do you want to come with me? We can pick some fruits together."

[SierraHigh]

"Oh. Okay. Yeah, that would be a good idea." Greyson huffed as he stood up from his spot on the ground, wiping the sand from his clothes briefly and then turning back towards the island. This was such an odd experience, he didn't know what to make of it. He wished his friends were here with him, or were even okay. His escape might have put them in jeopardy. He'd never be able to forgive himself if that was the case. Greyson started towards a bush where some kind of berries grew. "You'll have to tell me what I can and can't eat," he smiled a bit. "I'll end up picking the bad stuff otherwise."

[bhdire8]

"Well everything is more or less edible here." Proteus absentmindedly pulled a berry from the bush and fed it to Greyson. He acted so naturally that looked like he do it everyday. "Try this. Wont kill you." His eyes, however, look mischievously at Greyson, waiting for his reaction towards this extremely sour berry.