Minseok had no idea what had happened to him at first. Although he was born with natural curiosity and an adventurous nature he had always been afraid of the water. When he'd woken up with a craving for the full moon it was like something had taken over his body. He had no control. It was almost like he was possessed.

He remembered pushing the little rowboat away from the sandy shore while the full moon overhead drew him further and further out into deep waters. He didn't remember how long he rowed for or how far out he went. But when he saw the strange rock formation looming out of the water he knew that was where he was supposed to be.

As he neared the rock formation that made a strange shaped island he saw that there was an opening. He rowed the boat inside and looked up. The rocks surrounded him like a well with dark damp walls, the black night sky overhead, the full moon perfectly placed in the centre of the walls. As he looked up he felt a connection, a synchronicity with the sky and the water he never felt before, and he closed his eyes in relaxation.

Suddenly the boat was bumped from below. And again. And a final bump that tipped it over. Strangely, Minseok didn't feel any fear or panic, just an acceptance and resignation of his fate. As the cold black water swallowed his body he relaxed and prepared to die. He hoped it would be a drowning rather than an attack from whatever bumped the boat. He let the cold black shroud envelope him and as he sank further and further from the full moon above he watched it fade with amusement.  He felt warmer the further down he went and he felt like he could breathe again as the warmth increased.

So this is what it feels like to die? 

To drown?

It wasn't so bad. But just as the warm relaxation surrounded him he stopped sinking. He was distracted by a flash of violet, then teal, then rich royal blue. The flash of colour and light distracted him again and then again from the other direction and he suddenly realised he was moving through the water. The distracting flashes that glittered and glowed with colour and beauty seemed to be under his control and shock flooded his body when he realised what it was.

Fins.

Tail.

His tail. 

His beautiful glittering scaly tail, extending from the bottom of his torso, sparkling in the darkness with flashes of purple and green and blue and glowing with luminescence as he began to swim through the water. He stretched his arms out as his tail kicked and he was pleased to see he still had hands but slender delicate fins ran down the backs of his arms. He reached around and found one down his back as well.

He kicked and swam through the water without a thought of how or why. Why had this happened to him? How did this magical event occur? None of this mattered to Minseok as he whipped his tail through the water wildly as he sped along the black murky depths.

He was shaken from his purposeless race by a flash beside him. He stopped and floated as a face stared curiously back at him. Minseok had never seen anyone as beautiful as himself but this creature was stunning. He had wildly floating black hair surrounding the most angelic face, pink and lavender scales glittering down the sides as they framed his features, a long pink tail extending out from his torso. "Hi. I'm Yixing. You're the new merling right?" Minseok looked down at his own tail and smiled. "I guess so."

Yixing squealed with delight. "We don't get new brothers very often." He held his hand out to Minseok who took it tentatively. "I have to take you to King Junmyeon. He's going to love you!"

Minseok had never seen a merling home before, let alone a merling castle for a King, and he didn't know what to expect. What he found was a huge coral reef, a mile long interconnected natural structure of iridescent coral beauty. The merling called Yixing led him along a sandy path untouched by foot or fin down the middle to a long bench shaped by nature and the tides. Seated in the middle was the most beautiful creature Minseok had ever seen. His hair was dark and waved around his face with the water flow. It was dotted with tiny pearls, as was the side of his face, and the long tail curled around him on the bench was a spotless and flawless iridescent white pearl. His body was tight and pale. His skin was flawless. The fins extending from the backs of his arms were translucent and glowed along the edge with their own luminescence. He was perfect.

"I found him." Yixing crooned deferentially as he swam to sink into the sand below the merling king. "Did I do well?" The dark eyes of the merling king glittered with love as he looked down into the face of the one who brought the new merling to him. "Yes my little starfish. You did well. Come sit by me." The king beckoned and the joy that spread across the one called Yixing was palpable. He settled on the bench next to the king who beckoned Minseok closer.

Minseok swam to defer at the feet of the powerful and beautiful creature before him. "You are a pretty one." He smiled at Minseok as he his cheek. "I can see why the moon chose you to be our new brother." Minseok felt the magic in his words through his body and he shivered at the King's touch. "Do you have a name?" "Its Minseok. And I don't know how or why I'm here." The king smiled gently at him. "The mysteries of the moon's magic are a wonder unknown to man or us. She brought you here for a reason." The king spoke with a combination of love and authority that made Minseok feel warm and safe and calm.

"Make yourself at home. Yixing here will show you around and look after you." The king smiled down at the beautiful merling hanging on his every word and nodding in agreement. "We only have a few rules and they're for safety. No going away from home alone." This sentence was said pointedly for the benefit of Minseok and also Yixing who blushed at the implied chastisement. "No going near the shore." Minseok nodded. "And always look out for your brothers. The ocean is beautiful Minseok. But dangerous for a creature of delicacy and beauty. "

"Come on." Yixing said as he grabbed Minseok by the hand pulling him away from the King. "I'll show you where you can make a nest if you're tired. Then I want to put shells in your hair! And you can meet our other brothers!" Minseok allowed himself to be pulled along with the current through the beautiful coral structure he now called home.