Marinus swam towards his new home. He had a sea star in one hand and a corral ready to bud in the other. Theanore would surely like these new additions to their home!
She was so small, the pretty nymph. When he had seen her in the water, he had felt guilty about invading her home. But he had also felt happy that he met someone so nice.
And she was nice. She allowed him to stay, in the end. Maybe next time he would bring her some pearl oysters? And some normal oysters for himself. Perhaps they could even share them? She must need to eat, surely.
Swimming into the pool, Marinus saw that the cavern was empty. He tried to call out to Theanore, but she didn't show up. Planting the corral in the ground, he watched as it finally bud.
If the fish didn't eat all the larvae, then the pool would soon be filled with corrals. And it was such a big pool too. Marinus had been forced to live in much smaller pools before when he needed to hide from fishermen.
Setting the sea star on the pool's bottom, Marinus went to sleep. He woke up much later and saw Theanore, now looking like she was really there, guiding ants around the edges of the pool.
"Thea, what are you doing?" Marinus asked.
The little girl showed him the ants.
"They are carrying soil here. I need more dirt around the pool if I want to plant deep wheat. And they will upturn the soil that is already here in order for new air paths to be created in it. The system said so."
"I brought you a corral," Marinus said, diving to the bottom of the pool and picking up the corral to show it to Theanore.
"It is so pretty," the nymph said, reaching out to touch the corral. Its sharp edge cut at her finger, and she put it into her mouth.
"What good are these things?" asked Theanore, now looking at the corral with furrowed eyebrows.
"Well, fish hide in them," Marinus told her happily. "They breed there too. Corrals are the trees of the sea!"
"So, are you a corral nymph, then?" Theanore asked, and Marinus giggled.
"No, Thea. I am a merman. I told you already," something made Marinus pause. "Thea, who is the system?"
"I don't know," the girl admitted, but then she smiled reassuringly. "But the system is my friend! She tells me all about the plants in my seed sack. Let me show you! System, how much mana do I need to upgrade a corral?"
As the corral is a complex living organism, you will require at least a hundred mana.
"That much, wow," Marinus looked at Theanore as she began to mumble to herself. Her fingers began furling and unfurling in a cute manner.
"Thea, why are you speaking to yourself?" He asked, and the girl made a motion with her finger to shush him.
"Didn't you see the words in the air?" She asked once she was done adding her twenty mana until it became a hundred.
"There is nothing in the air, Thea," Marinus said, now beginning to look worried.
No one but you can see these messages, Theanore.
The system wrote to her. Theanore looked saddened by that. She had been looking forward to introducing her friends to one another.
"Well, the system said that only I can see it. Marinus are there any other plants in the sea you can bring?" Theanore asked. Marinus still looked at her with worry written on his face.
"Yes. Seaweed. It will help feed the fish too. I can plant it around the coral reefs that are going to spring up."
Then Theanore looked ready to jump. That startled Marinus.
"Thea?" He asked, and the girl rushed out of the tunnel. She returned a full ten minutes later, carrying a pot.
"Try this and if you like it, don't eat the fish! I can make you a lot more for today," she said as she gave Marinus the food. Then, sheepishly, she handed him a spoon. "I forgot to bring you a bowl."
Marinus was smiling from ear to ear.
Theanore had made him something to eat! Just for him! He scooped some of the green things from inside the pot and ate it. Chewing, he found it was actually good, but it did little to elevate his hunger.
"Thea, this is a great side dish, but…"
"But you are still hungry?" asked the girl, dejected.
"You must be, too. Let me catch you a fish. We can share it," he submerged before she could protest and caught one of the bigger silver longtails. Getting out of the water, he raised the squirming fish like a trophy.
Then he bit it's head off and spat it down into the pool.
Theanore looked green at this, and she took a couple of steps back.
"You have to eat it now. Or else it would be a waste of a life," Marinus said as he placed the fish at Theanore's sock clad feet.
"I will cook it, and we will share it. But don't do that again in front of me, ok?" Theanore said, getting the fish off the ground and rushing out of the pool area to cook it.
"Wait, you have to clean it," Marinus called behind her and the nymph stilled.
"It came out of the water, it is clean," she said.
Marinus shook his head.
"No, you have to remove the guts and the waste. And, in case your stomach is like a human's, the scales too. Give it to me and I'll show you."
Theanore went back to Marinus and gave him back the fish. With a sharp claw, he tore at the fish's stomach, and then he removed something long alongside a bubble of some sort. The nymph collapsed, her legs not being able to hold her anymore from the shock of what she was seeing.
Marinus put the fish underwater and shook it a little bit.
"Thea, you have to understand that this is an eat or die world. These fish are not your friends. They are fish. Here, go cook it," he said as he handed the fish back.
"Is there not another way? What of the nettle soup?" Theanore asked.
Marinus just looked at her with sadness.
"I have seen merfolk who hadn't eaten enough, Thea. Their ribs show, and they can't swim very far. In the end, they sink to the seafloor, and they die. The fish wasn't in that much pain."
"It wasn't?" asked Theanore in a small voice.
"No," Marinus lied. He could only hope that Theanore was too young to catch up on his lie. Although he did bite through the head quickly.
Theanore nodded and went to cook the fish. The fire was very weak now, and so she placed the fish on some embers, turning it this way and that in order to cook it.
It smelt mouthwatering, and Theanore gave a silent prayer to whoever was listening that the fish was in a better place now.
Once the fish became slightly charred, the nymph placed it in the pot of the soup, now empty as she had eaten it all. On her small legs, she went back to Marinus and gave him his half of the fish.
The boy gobbled it up quickly, as Theanore ate her share in small bites. Then Marinus began to stare at the fish that swam by him.
"Do you want another one?" asked the nymph. She, too, was hungry for more. The soup had made her hungrier now that she ate it without the bread.
"I did say one per day…"
"I don't want us to become skin and bones," Theanore said, fear sipping from her voice at the prospect. "Please, Marinus, catch another one. I'll cook it."
Grinning, the boy did as he was told, but this time he bit off the head of the fish underneath the water where Theanore couldn't see. The nymph was grateful for that and when she was given the cleaned fish she rushed out.
The fire had nearly gone out, and Theanore didn't feel confident enough to rekindle it. What she needed were the embers, and so she placed the fish on top of them, just like before.
Once both Marinus and she were fed, Theanore laid down next to the pool and stared at the merman.
"Mari, can you tell me something about yourself?" she asked, and Marinus grinned at her.
"Well, I like swimming and the berries you gave me. I also like this place and will do my best to fill the pool with lots of plants and fish. But maybe some animals too. Did you know that male seahorses give birth to their young?" Marinus asked.
Theanore stared at him.
"Do mermen do the same?" she asked.
Marinus chuckled.
"No, Thea. Do you want me to bring a pregnant seahorse for you to see?" the boy asked, and the girl nodded.
Then, just as she was drifting off to sleep, he swam away on his new quest.