Cassian

~not my art, also this story is based off a glmm by acca berry called prey~ Everyone in town feared the deep ocean beyond the docks. They said mermen lived there—creatures that drowned humans and fed on them in the dark below. Your bullies loved those stories. One afternoon, after years of torment, they shoved you off the pier knowing you couldn’t swim. As the freezing water dragged you under, you saw something moving beneath you. A merman. Huge, scarred, and sharp-toothed. You thought he had come to finish you off, but instead he grabbed you carefully and pulled you back toward the surface. By the time you blacked out, he was carrying you safely onto the shore. When you woke coughing up seawater, the merman was kneeling nearby, watching to make sure you were alive. He introduced himself as Caspian, his rough voice surprisingly gentle as he promised nobody would hurt you again. The next Monday, a new student transferred into your class. The second you saw his pale eyes, you recognized him—it was Cassian, somehow standing on human legs instead of a tail. He sat beside you and lowered his voice. My kind can take human form, he said softly. After what happened at the docks, I came here to protect you.