Yixing frowned when he saw Minseok swimming towards him. "You went too far." He said and frowned even deeper when he saw his arm. "What happened?"

"Yixing..." Minsoek was breathless as his gills worked overtime to keep up with his movements towards his brother. "Yixing I found something wonderful...." Yixing grabbed him by the arm and tears filled his eyes when he saw the deep gash sewn carefully together with fishing line. "Minsoek. This is from a man. I know. I told you not to go too close to the surface." He leaned over and began to knaw at the fishing line with his teeth to remove the stitches. He pulled the tangled line free from Minsoek's soft skin and when the wound started to bleed he held it closed with his hands. He closed his eyes and as his fingertips glowed in the darkness of the depths the wound closed over. Minsoek stared at in fascination as the wound became a scar, scattered with the same iridescent pinks and lavenders of Yixing's beautiful tail, and smiled.

"That's amazing." Minsoek grinned and turned around. "My back too...." Yixing ran his magical hands down Minsoeks back, sealing him and healing him, and he felt as good as new. "Minsoek. What made these marks on you? Too savage for a fellow fish. But they don't seem human?" Minseok turned to Yixing with his eyes shining bright. "I found them Yixing. I found our brothers. But they were wrong..." tears filled his eyes as he turned away. "They were wrong and I knew them but they didn't know me. They were black." The colour drained from Yixing's glowing face. "And they attacked you?" Minseok nodded.

"Then I got caught in  a net and a human man saved me. He was wonderful." Minsoek's eyes glittered and sparkled with the light of a million reflections as he remembered the feeling he had on Jongdae's boat. "A man. A man of the ocean, someone who knows the waves and the tides and the wind, someone who knows how to read the sky." Healed and refreshed, Minsoek swam in little circles around his shocked brother who was trembling with fear, the frightened expression not registering for the other excited creature. "Yixing he was beautiful. He smelled like the sea and the sun. Like salt and sky. And he saved me and fixed me and brought me back."

"How close?" Yixing was terrified. Junmyeon was going to be so angry if Minseok brought a man to their reef and was relieved to hear that he had only brought him half way. But still. He was going to find out. The King had to know and he would see the telltale signs of Yixing's healing anyway. "Minsoek. You have to be more careful. You can't be going to the surface, or so far from home, or anywhere alone. It's too dangerous." Yixing was already dreading the conversation he was going to be having with the King. "But Yixing. I found them. We have to go and get them back." He sighed. "And I have to see him again. I have to see the man." Yixing furrowed his brow as he settled Minseok into a nest to rest and heal. He didn't like where this was going. Not at all.

Jongdae woke up in his bed with the early afternoon sun pouring down on him thorugh the open window. He shook his head groggily and let the events of last night wash over him. He shook his head at how ridiculous it was. A merman? Yeah right. He had either hit his head or had spent way too much time on the ocean. Maybe he had been dehydrated or something? It must have just been a seal or something and maybe he fell trying to cut it out of the net or maybe it bit him or maybe he just dreamed the whole thing.....

He got up and showered and dressed in fresh clothes. He decided to go eat at the café and get a good nights rest. Clearly he'd had too much of the ocean. On the way to the café he saw his boat bobbing up and down at the end of the dock and he knew he better check on her to make sure he'd cleaned the deck properly.

A faint brown stain marred the beautiful wooden deck and Jongdae silently cursed. Blood was the worst as it soaked into the very fibre of the wood. He knew he would have to sand and revarnish at least that small patch and maybe the whole deck if he couldn't make it match. He would never stand for a blight on the beautiful visage of his pride and joy. He checked the nets and saw that, despite his questionable condition, he had made a decent repair to the cuts. 

On a whim Jongdae decided to check the cabin and chuckled when he thought of the ridiculous notion that he had put a merling creature into his bed and it woke up a man with legs. He laughed to himself at what he was now convinced was a vivid dream, the product of too much sun and salt, lack of sleep, and a possible head injury.

The sheets and blankets were still askew and Jongdae absentmindedly hoped in his daze he hadn't accidentally put an injured seal into his bed. He tossed the sheets loose to fix them up and heard a clatter as something hit the deck. Curious, he dropped the sheet onto the bed and dropped to his knees, feeling around under the bed. He felt something and grasped it in his hand and when he retrieved the hidden item he gasped a little with shock.

Nestled in his palm was a thin string hung with little pearls and tiny shells. It was delicate and beautiful and brought back a rush of memories from the night before. As he gently the string of treasure in his palm he remembered the same strings of precious beauty woven through the dark locks of an exquisite creature lying helpless and injured in his bed. And he shivered all over when he realised this was the proof that he hadn't been dreaming. The merling had been real, he had laid in Jongdae's arms, he had saved its life and been rewarded with a smile like the glow of a waxing moon and a glimpse of skin smoother than a rock caressed by a million waves.

He clutched the string in his fist and held it to his chest.

"Look for me when the moon is full.."

He remembered its words and counted down the days. In about 26 days it would be almost a full moon again and he decided he would look for him. He would sail his boat out in the direction the mood led him and try to catch another glimpse of the beautiful creature that was burned into his memory.