A mermaid was swimming towards the throne room. He had an elegant and serious demeanor. His long reddish pink hair flowed with his movement and his pink eyes shined with a few shimmer of gold within.
"Father, you called?"
"Your sister ran off to the human lands, go find her and bring her back."
"Yes."
"Wait, Lusca. Take this with you. It'll let you transform your tail into human legs."
"Thank you, father. I will prepare and leave right away."
Lusca had nine siblings. He was the 3rd son. And his sister was the youngest born. Lusca arrived at the shore and saw that there was no one around. He had brought human clothes he had found from a shipwreck under the sea. He put on the necklace and his legs formed from the splitting of his tail. Lusca enters into the tropical forest and wanders for a while. He seemed to have gotten lost and had no idea which way to continue going. Then he found a cave and entered. It was getting very dark out and he needed a place to rest. Walking deeper, he noticed silver scales. It was a dragon. A currently sleeping one.
"How beautiful."
He got closer and touched the scales. Lusca's mermaid scales were smoother and more flexible. But dragon scales were tougher and harder. He could feel the body heat of the other as he ran his hands on the scales. The dragon opened its eyes and Lusca noticed.
"Hello, I'm sorry to intrude but may I stay here for the night?"
The other continues to stare for a moment before closing their eyes again. Lusca assumed the other allowed him to stay. He put down his little cloth baggie and left to find a river and catch some fish. He came back with a bunch skewered on a few sticks. He ate in peace and silence. At some point, the dragon had opened its eyes to observe Lusca. Lusca was enjoying his fat fishes and noticed a gaze on himself.
"Do you want some?"
He asked with a slight tilt to his head.
'No…Thank you. Is it your first time on land?"
"How do you know?"
'Humans cook their meat. Otherwise they will become ill.'
"Oh!? Thank you for the information, I would have blown my cover trying to pretend to be a human. I'm Lusca. What's your name?"
'Neitos.'
"Neitos…Nei, can you teach me how to cook?"
'...yes'
Lusca had fun staying in the cave with Neitos for a few days. Then he finally decided to leave and do his mission given to him by his father.
"I'm sorry for leaving, Nei. But it's urgent and I can't push it off any longer. I was given a task from my father to search for my youngest and bring her back home."
"Alright, be safe and careful."
"I enjoyed the time we spent together. I hope to meet you in the future. Farewell."
Neitos gave Lusca directions to the nearest village as well as some gold coins. He didn't have any small change. He traveled from village to village. As time passed, human civilization grew and villages became towns and then cities.
Current timeline is the modern age. Lusca was walking around the city like normal and his high senses picked up the sound of a mermaid's echo. It was not heard by humans as it's a special call for help with the merfolk. He walked towards the direction of the call for help and also picked up the scent of the sea. This city had no bodies of water within reach. He turned the corner and noticed two males. One male was being pushed from behind as the buffer male nagged the other to hurry up. Lusca kept silent and hidden. He continued to follow them. At an abandoned and ruined down warehouse, he heard the same merman echo with a sob within his voice.
Lusca instantly knew what was happening. Merfolk hunters. They find and hunt down merfolk and would cause injuries to the other to make them cry. Merfolk have the ability to turn their body fluids into pearls. Mainly, the hunters would farm for pearls from merfolk tears. Which has the highest chance of forming into pearls. When he left Neitos's cave, after a few weeks, he was found by merfolk hunters and almost caught. Afterwards, he became more aware and careful of his actions.
Lusca opened his mouth and used a sound wave attack. Causing the men's heads to burst into a blood mess. He came out of the corner which he was hiding at and went to untie the merman's wrists. The merman had tears on his cheeks and the sound of pearls hitting the floor was all they could hear. Lusca picked up every pearl and put it into a little baggie. He handed the baggie to the other.
"A royal?"
"Yes, no need for the formalities. Let's hurry before more hunters come."
The other was about to bow but Lusca reached over and stopped him. Only royal blood of the merfolk are able to attack with their voice. The merfolk can all only guide and control other humans by their singing. They then rushed out after checking that no pearls were left behind. Lusca lived in a huge loft apartment within the center of the city. They travel through the crowd like fish in the sea and quickly arrive at Lusca's home. The other made no noise the whole time, staying silent. Lusca had started a company a long time ago. He made the other his personal assistant since the other was homeless and jobless.
"You have a meeting this morning with another company."
"Let's hope this new business partner of ours will be nice."
"Same, the last ones were snobby as fuck. Thank god they're gone."
Ronan groaned as they arrived at the company building and went into the elevator.
"Please hold the door! We're almost there!"
A young man shouted from a distance with another man behind him. The other man had long silver hair and deep emerald eyes.
"Eh? Neitos?"
"I finally found you."
"Huh? You were looking for me?"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry I didn't visit you after I left. I seem to have trouble with directions."
"It's fine. Did you find your youngest?"
"Unfortunately, no. I can't even find any trace of her. Who is this young man? Also a dragon?"
"Halfling. Your youngest may have made a deal with a god or goddess for human legs."
"Ah, that's right. She ran off without a transformation stone."
The Sea God was the only one Lusca knew that was able to create these stones. Not many merfolk know about the transformation stone since they are content living under the sea kingdom but there are some like Ronan and himself that go to the human land. There is a secret knowledge that if you are able to find the sea temple of the sea god, you are able to pray and request for one. Other gods can give merfolk human legs at the price of losing their voice. And this transformation is a not reversible human form. No special abilities with their voice or forming pearls with their tears and no super strength. Once they are found that they are merfolk by their loved one, they will turn into bubbles and disappear with the wind. Their soul will be given to the god they had traded with.
"She's either taken and held captive by merfolk hunters like me or she got caught by the one she loves and died."
Ronan inputted into the conversation. Lusca had a frown on his face.