Name: Léan Adoré Satoria
Age: Appears nineteen
Picture:

Name: Marc Anthony Strago
Age: Eighteen
Picture: Here.

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Marc yawned for the umpteenth time. He licked his dry lips wet and shuddered a little at the cold. Though his legs were apart, his arms were around himself. It was only four in the morning but he was already out with the other fishermen to catch some fish for breakfast. Sneezing right after he'd scrunched up his nose, the male let out a short, "Ugh," and grumbled something inaudible.

"Complaining already, are you?" an old man from another boat said as he'd snickered, "You haven't even caught a single fish!" Marc only made a face at the said old man. It was his foster father. His parents had already died a long time ago because of the pirates coming over the little village by the sea. Luckily for him, he was spared but with a price. It was said that they were going to come back one of these days and that they were going to take him in to their group. It's been fifteen years since then. He isn't sure if there were even still pirates in this generation.

"It's not my fault, old man. The tides are high today." That was obviously a ruse that had the old man laughing his ass off. "Sure. If the tide's high, then how come I've gotten a bucket now, eh?" Marc pulled his net up and cast if off again. Like the other fishermen, he was wearing a thin, white shirt with a thick overcoat and pants that had the hems of it rolled up. He also wore a pair of slippers since shoes is very expensive for them. He couldn't even afford buying clothes. They all cost a fortune. "Go 'way, old man. You're scaring all the fishes."

Once he was left alone, Marc sighed and looked over the surface of the water. Will this be like yesterday again?

Léan swims around until he gets caught in a net. He growls at first, knocking the boat around a bit. He thrashes bitterly, hissing at the men in the boat. He had been hunting for fish and somehow ran into the net, which has barbs all over it. So, all his thrashing was doing was injuring him. But, he'd been raised to fear humans and he always showed fear by being angry. He snaps at one of the men, barely missing his hand. He keeps hissing the entire time, as they try to get him on the boat. His hissing sounds quite similar to an angry cat's. His shoulders are up to his chin and his tail is thrashing. He looked like he'd would bite them if they touched him.

All that hissing, thrashing, and amazed sounds from the fishermen had him turning to look towards their way. His eyes caught sight of the tail first before it moved up to a man's chest to a beautiful face. Well, that was entrancing. Taking up his net, he gathered it up and put it in the back of his boat. "Hey," he'd started as he'd come up to them, "What the hell are you all doing?"

One of the men turned to look at him with a ferocious look. "This is our catch and he'll pay handsomely when we sell him off to the black market."

Marc's old man came over and so did a few other fishermen. Obviously, these men didn't know their place. They seem to own a boat his old man had spotted this morning. "You can sell off fishes, but not this one," Marc said as he'd took out his knife and took a part of the barb wired net. His knife, amazingly, cut through them but like the merman trapped in it, he, too, was wounded. "He's ours and he protects our sea."

"Hell yeah!" his old man butt in, "Get away from here and leave us be." Some of them even took out dynamites from their pouches. "Or we'll blow you up with us." It was enough to have the men let go of the net. But, because of the weight and the barb wire in rather tight, it had thrown Marc off balance and had him going down underwater with the barb wired net and the merman. His and the merman's blood started to color the sea but he paid it no mind and continued cutting off the net to open it wide enough and free the merman. Marc brought the barbed wire net up with him when the merman got out of it and he swam up to the surface. Damn. He thought he was going to die there.

"Is it gone, Marc?" the old man asked him. Marc only grinned at them and tossed to them the maimed barb wire and glaring towards the direction of the men with their big ship. He was sure this will not be the first time. They'll be here to try and catch their guardian again.

Léan stares at the boy that freed him, in shock. "Why...did--did you--s-save myself?" he asks, in a deep voice with an odd sort of accent. Almost an African accent, but with more of a squeaky sound. He still looks wary, but his bemusement seems to be beating that down an bit. He keeps his upper body under the water, trying to clean some of his cuts out. His tail is moving slowly, a sign of his wariness. It doesn't seem like a good idea to get too close.

Marc assured his old man that he was fine and they went their ways. The sun was almost going to rise, after all, and it was going to be time for breakfast. "Why shouldn't I?" he asked the merman as he'd smiled and swam to his boat. He hoisted himself up and ran his fingers through his wet hair. Seating himself on it, he looked down at the merman and the sea. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked him. His hands were bleeding but they were nothing compared to the gashes he remembered seeing on the creature. Folding his knife and tucking it into the tie that held his pants together, he washed his still bleeding hands.

Luchen blinks slowly. "Because....I am not...hu-human..." He stays partly underwater, looking puzzled. "And, I will be f-fine..." He still fidgets a bit, almost nervous to be this close to a human. He inspects his cuts slightly, pulling off a few of his scales. He frowns at them, sighing. His tail is still moving slowly, seemingly of it's own accord.

Marc raised a brow. "You protect our seas," he told him, "And you bring food to our tables." He smiled and pulled his own hands out of the sea. The salt seemed to help close the wounds, at least.

"Marc!"

The cry of his name made him snap his gaze out to the shore. He saw his old man waving his hands up in the air. It was a sign that the others have already woken up. "You better be out of sight for now," he told the merman as he'd smiled, "Should they come back, we'll chase them away. We'll protect you."

Luchen nods. He fidgets for a moment. "I will be bring you a repayment tomorrow. Meet by the dock at sunset." With that, he dives under the water and darts away, swimming quite fast. Once he gets far enough away, he stops and stares, puzzled. Never before had a human tried to help him, in anyway. "What does this mean?" he mutters to himself, in his native language.

Meet him by the dock at sunset?

As he thought this thought, the male idly tilted his head a little. "I wonder... why?" he asked before he'd shrugged and decided to go back to the shore where he was being called for by his foster father. "I'm here, I'm here," he told him as he'd brought the ship up with the old man, "They're all awake?"

The old man smiled. "Yeah. Did you tell that merman to hide?" Marc nodded and he'd shrugged again. "Couldn't have them find him, that's for sure."