Humans were dangerous.

It's what he had been told his entire life.

From the tales Wes told him to the whispered warnings of their mother when they ventured out at night to scare them from the surface to the rumors floating around in their small community under the sea. Soul heard it all. He knew every little detail about the world above the water's end, how it was different from the world they learned about in school. There were no glittering castles or welcoming people on the land. They were monsters. Every last human wanted them - his kind - as souvenirs or trap them behind glass walls.

They didn't see Soul, his family, his kind as anything more than animals.

Probably lower than animals.

Yet, even knowing this, he found himself intrigued by the girl who rescued him.

It had been his own dumb luck for not noticing the net where it laid waiting for him - he cursed his poor vision at night; what good was he if he couldn't see? - and he was sure she was going to gut him then and there. He thrashed around more when moonlight shone of the blade of her knife, yelled when she aimed it toward him where his heart was, but it never came near him. She didn't try and cut his tail off or leave him bleeding out for another evil human to find him or steal him away like so many others before him.

The girl had set him free, allowing him to live another day.

With only the moon's light to guide him, he followed her boat out to sea and watched as she dropped a silver human machine into the water. He kept his distance as he investigated the machine, noticing the whirls it made from its single eye, but nothing happened. The rest of the night was spent in silence save for the conversation between the girl and her cat where he only understood the mentioning of the snake lady who walked on land. Apparently she was a monster in both the human world and his own.

Tail swishing, Soul watched as she withdrew the machine out of the water and mumbled something about a lost cause for the night before heading back to shore. He remained there, his head barely breaking above the water until she was a speck in the distance when he dove back under to head home.

Maybe it would be the final time he'd see her.

Maybe she'd come back to do the same process over again.

Neither really mattered to him, but something weighed heavily in his chest and mind.

Curiosity for the unknown, perhaps.

Whatever it was, he needed to know more about the girl, the cat, and whatever schemes they were up to. Until they returned, though, he would wait. He'd keep her existence a secret from his brother, his mother, and his kind. He'd protect those he loved, and wait.

Several nights had passed before he saw her boat again.

The time span between their first encounter and now probably had more to do with his poor eyesight and there being a lack of a moon to guide his way than anything else. Living in a world of shadows and darkness did that to him especially when his sleep schedule was the opposite of everyone around him. Soul slept when they were active in the day and awake when everyone else slept. Wes was the only mermaid who bothered to change his schedule for Soul. His mother had tried, but she was older and sleep always ended up winning.

Tonight, though, the waning moon was a godsend as it shone down on the girl and her boat. She did the same thing she had done the previous night with the human machine and leaned on the railing as she stared out to the sea in front of her. Twintails floated in the wind when a breeze would drift over her, a low hum escaping from her throat. It took everything within Soul not to climb on the side of the boat to watch her closer. To see if there was anything he should be cautious about.

Soul was startled several minutes later when the girl spoke out, her head slowly turning toward the spot he had been floating at. It was another several minutes before he realized she had asked him a question, but he didn't know how to tell her he didn't speak human.

His heart jolted in his chest as the girl walked the short distance to the other side of the boat and kneeled down so she could see him properly. He was sure this was how he would die; alone and frightened in the middle of the sea with no witnesses around or anyone to find his body. His mother would weep for days, Wes would spend most of his time searching for him, but by the time either of them knew anything about Soul's whereabouts, his body would either be on human land or in the bellies of the fishes.

"There. He should understand us now," the cat said as she sauntered over to where the girl was. Its yellow eyes seemed to glow in the darkness, and it frightened Soul.

But not nearly as much as the fact that he understood what the cat said.

"Blair put a spell on us so we can communicate," the girl smiled. "I'm glad to see you're okay. I was kinda worried about you when you never showed up again. I thought you might've gotten trapped in one of Medusa's nets again or something. It isn't safe near the shore for someone like you."

While her voice was kind and sincere, Soul still didn't think he could trust her completely. For all he knew her talking to him could be a trap to lure him in and gain his trust. He remained silent, shrinking further into the ocean as if to hide.

She must have noticed his reluctance because her smile softened. "I'm Maka, by the way. I think it's only proper if you know what to call me. What's your name?"

"I told you not to bother with him, Maka," the cat mewled. "He's part of the mermaid clan. They don't trust humans."

The girl - Maka - didn't give any indication of having heard the cat save for a quick flick of her eyes before they were back on Soul.

"I know. So I don't blame you for disappearing the night or being silent now, but I'm not like Medusa and her group. I'm…," she trailed off. Her brows knit together as if what she had to say were difficult for her to admit. "I'm different than them. I hang out with a talking cat and my best friend is a shadow singer. I'm also friends with a Death God, and my other friend is currently traveling through Peru to become a God himself. Which I know probably isn't very convincing, but trust me when I say I'm not going to harm you. I wanna be your friend."

Maka reached her hand through the rails of the boat, extending it toward him, but Soul wasn't entirely sure what to do with it. Was he intended to sniff it? Or bite it? He wasn't accustomed in the pleasantries humans gave each other, so he only stared at it.

"You're supposed to shake it," the cat clarified after a minute or so.

Blinking, Maka said, "Oh. I guess your greetings are different from humans." She pulled her hand back toward her, a faint flush dusting her cheeks as she did so. "I didn't think about that. Sorry."

There was something genuine in her tone that told Soul she didn't mean any harm to him, or maybe it was his sheer need to continue doing dumb things. Whichever it was, he found himself trusting Maka a little bit; at least, more than he had originally. Besides, if anything were to happen and she ended up being dangerous, he was positive his teeth were sharper than hers. He could easily rip her throat out and defend himself if the time came for it.

Rising above the water slightly so his mouth was exposed, he said, "My name is Soul."

A smile broke out across Maka's face as she tilted her head slightly. "It's nice to officially meet you, Soul."

The next few nights when Maka drove her boat out to the same spot, Soul watched as she performed the same routine over and over with the silver machine. It wasn't until about the fifth time of him seeing her doing so he finally asked what she was doing. He figured he trusted her enough by this time to tell him the truth. At least, he had never sensed her lie to him or caught any tell in her voice - a change in her tone, a quiver, hesitation - to tell him otherwise. She was trustworthy enough.

"I'm a student at the university back on the island," she told him. "My research is with the night time activity of dolphins and what they do when they're asleep. I use the machine to track their movements and have a recording device to draw them near the boat."

He hadn't seen any dolphins near the boat since they first met, though.

"Probably because you're a shark," the cat (whom he had come to know as Blair) told him. "They don't tend to come out when predators are around."

Maka pursed her lips as she considered Blair's words. "That could be the problem."

"I could leave," Soul offered.

Though, he didn't know what he would do. There wasn't much for him back at home since Wes had started working nights and his mother was asleep along with everyone else. A part of him also didn't want to leave Maka. Truth be told, he had grown used to her over the last few days. It felt like there was a connection between the two of them; like Fate had pulled them together for some odd reason and they were destined to meet.

"Or maybe we can meet after I'm done with my research," Maka said, her gaze hardening on him. She didn't seem to want to get rid of him so easily either. "I'm usually out here for two hours tops, and afterward, we can meet by the shore and talk."

Soul winced at the mention of the shore. It was risky for him to be so close to the humans. Near where they could easily spot him and spear him with a hook or throw a net around him. The horror stories from his youth plagued his mind as he slowly shook his head in response to her offer. Maka must have processed what her words sounded to him because she put her hands out in front of him as if to ease his worry.

"There's no one out on the shore who'll see you. Most people on the island are asleep around this time. I'm usually the only one awake."

His red eyes darted to her, accessing the offer and weighing his options. She hadn't lied to him thus far. What would be any different about this time around? Besides, the sooner she finishes with her research, the sooner he'll be rid of her and the risk of his home being tainted by human hands.

"Sure."

She smiled, and his heart warmed at the sight of it.

He hadn't anticipated the wait it would take for Maka's boat to reappear at the pier.

Soul swam around the long, wood legs of the pier, glancing up to the walkway expecting it to be some sort of trap or con to drag him into the human world. His stomach churned each time he checked the surface, and his heart hammered against his chest when a leaf blew in his vision. It was nerve-wracking to be so near the shore and the human world. The last time he had been this close, it was because he was stupid enough to search for food near the nets without paying attention to where he was going. Maybe now he was a different kind of stupid.

Trusting a human was the last thing he should be doing.

After an hour of swimming around, Soul was ready to leave when he saw Maka's boat slowly return in the distance. The low hum of the motor vibrating in his chest and warming his skin at the sight of it. He squished down his feelings and swam to where Maka docked her boat, popping his head above the water to watch her. When she caught sight of him, her smile was bright and welcoming. It caused his stomach to perform backflips.

"I have something I wanna show you."

Maka pulled a book from her backpack and nodded for him to follow her out to the sand. He swam along the pier, listening as she continued to talk.

"I know you aren't used to humans or what we do, so I thought I might show you what I do. I found this old book in my dorm that might tell you more about what I'm doing out here."

Without saying anything, he followed her until the sand in the ocean touched his belly. He was slightly hesitant about crawling onto the shore to where she sat on her knees, the book open in her lap as she turned on a lamp and set it beside her. It was far too close to danger. Soul felt if he were to take the step to get closer to her, he'd be putting his life at risk. The fear of never seeing his brother or mother again settled in the pit of his stomach as he contemplated what to do.

Trusting a human was idiotic at best.

Yet he found himself crawling up the shore and resting in the side by her feet, his tail dipped in the ocean and slapping the surface every now and then.

Once he was settled, Maka smiled at him and opened the book. There were illustrations of dolphins, diagrams labeling different parts of their bodies, and notes written throughout it. Soul wasn't familiar with books in the human world, but, from the few he had found at the bottom of the ocean, he knew it wasn't what they normally read. The words on this book were handwritten like someone had taken the time to carefully craft their words and research into something coherent for the world.

"This belonged to my mama," Maka said as if reading his mind. She brushed her fingertips over the words, her gaze soft with love and admiration. "She gave it to me before she passed away a few years ago, and I've been out to finish what she started."

His heart tugged at her words, and his gaze drifted to her face. In the moonlight, she looked like a being from the heavens, an angel whose heart was full of love for the thing in her hands. It was admirable. Soul had never met another being - mermaid or human or otherwise - who looked at something with so much passion in her eyes. A thought wishing she looked at him like that crossed his mind, but he quickly batted it away, chiding himself for even thinking of it.

It didn't save his chest from tightening and warming, though.

Several nights passed.

Soul continued seeing Maka on the shore, continued listening to her stories about her research. He listened as she went on and on about the mating habits of dolphins, how they disciplined their children with tail slaps that reminded him of how his mother raised him, and the way they spoke to each other. It was all interesting, things he had never known before, but the best part of listening to her talk had more to do with the excitement in her voice, the way her eyes lit up when she talked about her research.

It warmed his heart to say the least. It made him happy to be out there in the middle of the night, the full moon glowing down on them, and the risk of being captured.

He would even go as far to say being captured while Maka was in the middle of her stories would be worth it. The last thing he'd be more than happy to see before dying would be her smiling face.

The same couldn't be said when he returned home that night, though.

Dread filled his heart as he swam between the reefs and makeshift homes of the other mermaid in his community. He couldn't quite pinpoint where the feeling came from, but he had a feeling something was wrong. Something felt off about his return home. Usually he would see a few of the other mermaids leaving their homes to get ready for their day or see them out and about already. But now, as he swam closer to home, it was eerily empty and quiet.

When he entered his home, he found it trashed and ruined. Seashells were scattered on the floor of his home, barnacles broken and priceless gifts his mother had received shattered. His heart dropped as he called out for Wes; his stomach lurching when nothing returned. Soul frantically swam around the home searching for any sign of life, but found it empty.

No one was there. He was alone.

Silence filled his ears as he sank to the ground, an unsettling feeling resting in the pit of his stomach.

Soul barely slept during the day.

He kept waking up nightmare after nightmare, the screams and cries for help from his brother plaguing him. There was no sign of what had happened in the home. A part of him had expected burglars probably came and robbed them when Wes and their mother were out, but when darkness fell, there was no sign of either of them. Soul was alone.

Utterly alone in a world of darkness.

It was a struggle for him to swim to the surface to meet Maka. She knew about his needing the moonlight to see where he was going, and if he didn't show up on the night of a full moon, she'd be worried something had happened to him. He tried to figure out how to tell her his family was gone on the way to the surface, flipping over every possible scenario for why they left. Neither his mother nor Wes were the type to desert him without a warning, at least. Wes was the last person Soul expected to leave him.

Maka's pacing was the first thing he noticed. The second was the line between her brows.

"Is everything okay?" Soul asked when he poked his head above the water.

"No. Everything's not okay." Maka stopped her pacing and sighed. "Medusa attacked one of the reefs in the ocean last night."

His heart dropped.

"And word is she managed to get her hands on some mermaids." A growl that seemed entirely unlady-like erupted from Maka. "I knew this would happen! I've warned the Headmaster of the biology department about Medusa and her group, but he never listened! I'm sure other supernatural beings are in danger!"

"What do you mean other supernatural beings?"

Sharp, green eyes snapped to him. "That's Medusa's whole thing. She's out to rid the world of your kind and others like you. Others who aren't" - she paused to swallow as if the next words pained her to say - "others who aren't human."

Soul pulled his gaze away from her, mulling over her words, and the next thing out of his mouth came without his volition.

"My family's gone." He hated how small his voice sounded. "Our home was attacked last night, and no one's come around. Do you think my reef is the one she targeted?"

An image of Wes' body plastered the wall drifted into his mind, but he quickly pushed it away. He didn't want to dwell on the terrible possibility. Not now. Not when there could be a chance his brother and mother were alive. Trapped, but alive.

"I don't think it's a coincidence," Maka admitted. She fell to her knees on the pier, startling Soul out of his reverie, but the fire burning beneath her gaze washed it away. "I'm going to figure out where Medusa is keeping the mermaids she stole, and I'm going to set them free. I promise."

Awe burned through his body at her determination.

"I can turn you human if you wanna help," Blair cooed from her spot on the pier. "It would probably be quicker if someone else helped Maka."

It didn't take him long to figure out what Blair was implying. And, while tempting to spend more time with Maka and help her fight for a worthy cause in the human world, the thought of being in the human world frightened him. Being close to the things he feared for so long, the things plaguing his nightmares and keeping him up at night, was probably the worst thing he could think of.

Other than his family being in danger, of course.

Still, he couldn't compel himself to accept the cat's offer.

"I-I can't," he said, shame filling in his gaze as he shrank into the water. "You'll have to do it alone. I'm sorry."

Maka's smile held the kindness he had grown to associate with her, but a sadness still resided beneath it. It twisted his heart.

"It's okay. I promise I'll find out where your family is and save them." She stood from the pier and dusted herself off. "I'll be back as soon as I have some news."

Without saying another word, she turned and walked down the length of the pier. Soul watched her form leave, moonlight casting her in shades of white, until the darkness swallowed her up.

Soul waited three days for Maka to return with some news.

He waited for her until the sun rose, when it pained him to stay above the water's surface. Waited until the birds on the shore woke and sang out to the world it was a brand new day, but she never returned. A part of him didn't want to give up on her; she had been so sure her plan to protect his kind would work. Another part of him was starting to lose hope; it was foolish of him to trust a human.

When had a human and mermaid ever been friends? When had their partnership ever ended on good terms without one of them dead?

After seven days passed with no sign of Maka, Soul retired back to what remained of his home to wait until Death decided it was his turn to go with his kind.

Maybe it was fate or destiny or sheer idiocy, but Soul found himself returning to the surface twenty-one days after Maka's disappearance. Or maybe it was the hope something had happened.

Either way, Soul had never seen a more beautiful sight than Maka's smiling face as she recounted everything that had happened in the last three weeks beneath a bright, full moon. How she found out where Soul's family was, that they were alive and well, and she was concocting a plan to throt Medusa's plans with the help of some of her friends. It was the hesitation, though, that caused Soul to pause in his joy and contemplate what it was she needed to tell him.

For them to push the plan in motion, they needed him. The mermaids weren't going to trust humans - whether accompanied by the supernatural or not - unless they had a familiar face with them.

Reluctantly, Soul made the decision to take Blair's offer and become human under the guise it was to help save his family. And, if it also meant spending more time with Maka in her world, then it was an added bonus he was willing to agree to.