Al had avoided the ocean, but then he heard about disappearances.

Humans being swept away, but their bodies never appeared, no matter how soon the Coast Guard showed up.

Eventually, a young woman had escaped.

From the description, Al knew in an instant.

Broken ribs.

Internal organs were bruised.

Legs nearly crushed.

Al traveled to see her.

She woke up after a few days, and when he asked her about it, she spoke softly.

"It was like you say. A mermaid, or man, I guess. Violet eyes. But he didn't let me go. I was lucky. Something attacked him, and he let go of me. I managed to get away. It helped that I was wearing a life jacket."

Alfred nodded. "I'd suggest you don't tell anyone else what happened."

"Understood."

* * *

Ivan nursed his wound with his sister's help, bitterly angry.

Natalia glared at Toris, but her mate ignored her, tending to the scratches left on his arms.

Sofia floated in between the three of them, silent and afraid to say anything.

Ivan finally snarled. "If I can't hunt, how are we to survive?"

"We've built up some reserves. We'll last through the winter now."

"We won't. It isn't enough!"

"YOU'VE BROUGHT TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO US! REMEMBER YOUR PARENTS?!"

Ivan lunged for Toris' throat, and the smaller merman threw him off. Ivan snarled and went for him again.

Sofia's arms separated the two, and she bared her teeth, a gesture that instantly put the two in their place. If she decided to, she could challenge Ivan and win, but for now she let him lead their small pod.

"Ivan, we must stop hunting the humans for now. We have drawn too much attention to ourselves. However, Toris, by injuring Ivan, we lose a hunter. We all must start ranging further, or resort to survival food."

They all grimaced at the thought of trying to tear apart sea urchins without stabbing themselves repeatedly. The damn things were hardly worth it, but it was food.

Ivan curled up in a small cavern, and then he felt Sofia join him.

"I'm sorry."

"No, Vanya. We needed the food, and you're the only one who knows how to hunt them. But for now, we must find other ways of eating."

"Toris' bite went deep. I don't know how long it will take to heal."

"Rest until it does. We will find food."

* * *

Alfred couldn't believe he was out here.

It was almost the middle of winter. The water was freezing now, and he'd finally managed to get to the beach on a day where it was safe to use the kayak.

He carried a pocket knife with him, and a gun, as well as a life jacket.

He paddled out as far as he could, and waited.

Nothing.

Finally, he sighed and headed back.

On the way back, he allowed it to drift for a while, setting his hand on the pistol.

The kayak stopped.

The gun was out in a moment, and Alfred waited.

Hesitantly, the head came out of the water. They stared at each other. The thing was using the kayak as shelter, knowing that Alfred could neither reach him or shoot him without sinking himself. "Will not hurt you." It said softly. "Very sorry for time before."

"You've killed a bunch of people. Five women, three men, a kid who'd just graduated!"

The creature, still using the front of the kayak as shelter, nodded. "My family starving. I responsible for them. It was only way to survive."

Alfred paused. "Why didn't you kill me? Why aren't you trying to kill me now?"

"Will not kill you now because Toris bit my tail. I am weak for now. Did not kill you because I saw something in eyes that said that you should not die."

Al stared at the creature, and then paused. "What is your name?"

"Ivan."

"Do you want to talk to me?"

"Da!"

"Then let go of my kayak. I'd paddle over to those rocks, and sit on them. We can talk from there."

Ivan looked at him strangely, and then nodded, disappearing beneath the water.

Al looked, and realized he must be right under the kayak, still using it as shelter.

"Damn."

He paddled to the rocks as quickly as he could, pulling himself out and sitting down.

Finally, the head of pale hair emerged out of the water again, still behind the kayak. The violet eyes watched him.

"So, Ivan, what do you want to ask?"

Ivan was silent, and then he lifted his head up higher.

Al saw the gills on his neck, and watched as they sealed themselves. The nose on that face, which had high cheeks, opened, and the creature inhaled.

"What is your name?"

"Alfred."

Ivan tilted his head. "I will call you Fredka."

"No you won't."

Ivan glared at him, and suddenly Al realized that if the damned thing could breath without gills, this itty-bitty rock wasn't a great amount of protection.

"On second thought, Fredka is fine."

Ivan suddenly smiled, and Al found himself staring at a mouth full of needle sharp teeth.

Shit, what the hell have I gotten myself into?

* * *

Ivan, despite his injury, was in a pleasant mood when Natalia got back.

She looked at him, and in the way a mermaid already bonded with a mate could tell, she knew he had found a mate.

"Who?"

"Huh?"

"You have a mate, don't you?"

Ivan paused, and then he nodded.

"But he is a human."

* * *

Alfred found himself heading back out into the waves, wondering what the hell he was doing.

Settling on the rock, he silently waited.

Finally, the face he had grown so familiar to appeared.

"I didn't bring any weapons today, so if that's what you were worried about, you can come out from behind the kayak."

Ivan tilted his head, looking at Alfred curiously, and then nodded, swimming around the kayak and pulling himself onto the rock halfway, letting his tail remain in the water.

Alfred looked at his body and realized how powerful Ivan must be. His shoulders were broad, and his body was long. From the little bit of the tail that he could see, he could imagine the powerful muscles that propelled him through the water.

But at the moment, his body was slightly emaciated, and he didn't look very strong.

"You hungry?" He asked, kneeling by the kayak.

Ivan nodded.

"I don't know if you'll like anything, but it's what I have.

He offered Ivan some beef jerky, which he chewed on gratefully, though Al noticed he tucked part of it in a small net he had slung across where his body and tail met.

When Al offered him a turkey sandwich, Ivan took a small bite to be polite, and then pulled the sandwich apart to reach the turkey, leaving the lettuce and bread for the gulls.

Al was glad he'd packed a second sandwich.

"Why are you saving some of it?"

Ivan paused, and then spoke. "My sisters have not caught anything since last saw you. Other pods settled in this area now, and with their larger numbers, they able to catch more. I must share whatever food I find, or am given."

"So you travel in family groups like orcas?"

"Da, though Orcas are assholes."

Al nearly choked, and Ivan looked at him with concern. "You alright?"

Al started laughing. "Assholes? So you do swear!"

Ivan frowned. "Orcas are not funny, Fredka. If merfolk too close when they hungry, goodbye life. Lose many members of pod that way."

Al stopped laughing, and from the fire in Ivan's eyes, he knew he had made a mistake. "I wasn't laughing about the orcas. I was laughing about the fact that you swore. I didn't know you knew those words."

"Words like that not used lightly." Ivan said, still angry.

"Did you lose someone to the orcas?"

Ivan's face lost some of it's fire, and he nodded, melancholy. "Da. My mother."

Al reached out to touch his shoulder, a gesture of comfort, but the mermaid suddenly turned his head sharply towards the sea. "Someone coming. I must go."

"Wait!"Al heard himself say before the mermaid was gone.

Ivan turned, and Al could tell he was anxious to get going.

"I'll try to come back soon. Will you still be here?"

Ivan suddenly smiled again. "Da. Until spring. Goodbye, Fredka."

And with that, he disappeared under the waves.

A Coast Guard craft came by right as Al had climbed back into the kayak. He had no idea how Ivan could have heard it so far away.

"There's a storm coming in, so you'd better head to shore. A lot of people have disappeared around here lately, and we don't want you to become one of them."

Al nodded, and then paddled towards the shore, disappointed that he hadn't been able to spend more time with Ivan.

* * *

Sofia could see her brother was smitten.

The strange dried meat, which was odd, but filling, made their stomachs happy, as for the first time in two weeks, it had something other than fat or urchins to work on.

The bite on his tail was almost completely healed, and it drifted, almost lazily through the current.

Toris, keeping his voice low, spoke. "If he does not find a way to be with that human, than he'll suffer."

Natalia nodded. It was hard on a mermaid's health to be away from their mate for too long.

Sofia spoke. "Another pod spoke of coming across a sea witch, but they say her prices are high."

"Then it's too dangerous."

"I think it's our only option."