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“There’s almost no webbing between her fingers,” Tianlang-jun says with pure delight. He splays his hands out excitedly, showcasing his own abundance of thin membranes that connect the slender, clawed digits. When he grins, his mouth is full of sharp white teeth. “Isn’t that remarkable?”
Zhuzhi-lang, as a being who is mostly serpentine, has no fingers and doesn’t feel qualified to comment. All he can do is nod supportively for his lord to continue.
“Humans are just so odd! Weird hands, round ears, and they can’t breathe underwater yet they still visit the ocean.” Tianlang-jun crosses his arms. His pointed ears twitch slightly, causing the long earrings dangling from his lobes to sway. The weak light of the sun glints off of his jewelry and makes the deep black scales of his tail shine magnificently.
They’re not too far from the surface. And only a small way off from where Tianlang-jun first happened upon the subject of his current infatuation: a human woman by the name of Su Xiyan.
Zhuzhi-lang wasn’t there to witness it but Tianlang-jun has spoken of the occurrence many times since. The exact details change with every telling: she jumped in valiantly to slay a great beast, or she fell from the sky straight into Tianlang-jun’s arms, or she cut him free from a dangerous fishing net.
The one constant is that Maiden Su showed no fear when she met Tianlang-jun’s vibrant crimson eyes.
Even Zhuzhi-lang can admit he finds that romantic.
Merfolk tend not to stray too close to where humans dwell, afraid of the strange creatures and their various adverse reactions to those who differ from them in appearance, but Tianlang-jun isn’t like that. He revels in the unknown secrets of humanity and thirsts for their knowledge. He likes to get up close.
Zhuzhi-lang does not.
But as long as his lord is happy, Zhuzhi-lang is content to slither after him. Someone has to look out for the last remaining heir of the royal family. Zhuzhi-lang doesn’t count himself, of course. As a pitiful thing who takes after his sea snake father far more than his mermaid mother, he doesn’t consider himself worthy of even a title. Despite the sheer number of times Tianlang-jun has requested he accede to his lineage.
“Dear nephew, are you even listening?” Tianlang-jun snaps his fingers in front of Zhuzhi-lang’s face. There’s hardly any noise but Zhuzhi-lang’s ears are naturally sensitive to make up for the usual lack of visibility he deals with deep underwater. Unfortunately, such biological gifts don’t suddenly disappear close to the surface when they’re no longer needed.
Zhuzhi-lang shakes his head to clear the lingering echo. His long dark hair flows backwards to fully uncover a pale face dotted with olive green scales that trail down, getting denser until the patches of skin are no more, and blend in to become his sleek curling tail.
“I was,” Zhuzhi-lang says slowly. His fangs poke out as he smiles sheepishly. “I’ve just…heard it all before…”
Tianlang-jun gestures to himself. “From me?”
“Yes, from you.” Zhuzhi-lang almost laughs helplessly. Who else?
“Oh. Well, good! The more you hear something, the more it has a chance to sink in.” Tianlang-jun swims closer to give Zhuzhi-lang’s head a couple of happy pats. Zhuzhi-lang is used to such treatment and allows it without any fuss. He enjoys the attention, even. Especially now that Tianlang-jun gives most of his focus to the human.
Speaking of—
Zhuzhi-lang’s ears prick as a creaking sound from above carries over. Tianlang-jun perks up immediately, his tail swishes enthusiastically for a moment before he rushes up to the surface.
“Be careful,” Zhuzhi-lang calls after him as he tries to catch up. “Make sure that it’s her.”
Tianlang-jun has already popped out of the water. Zhuzhi-lang sighs and works the paddle-like end of his tail rapidly to speed his movement. There are plenty of humans out there who wish people like them harm. His lord should be more cautious.
When Zhuzhi-lang breaches the surface, Tianlang-jun is already halfway on the little floating thing Su Xiyan sits in. He barely peeks his face out to meet the cool sea air and watches Su Xiyan help his lord into the, the...boat! That’s what it’s called. Zhuzhi-lang flicks his tongue out to smell the bamboo it’s made of and he gets the more overpowering scent of something floral. Probably originating from Su Xiyan.
It’s not bad. Just…new.
He’s only snuck far off glances at the human before. This is the closest he’s ever gotten and she’s honestly quite pretty at this distance. Black robes are secured snugly around her lean frame but the sleeves have been tied back to reveal muscled forearms. Her hair is pulled up too and the nape of her delicate neck is visible.
Zhuzhi-lang sinks a little further below the water.
Tianlang-jun settles himself securely next to Su Xiyan; his powerful tail stretches out in front of him and the fins at the end twitch cheerfully as he smiles up at the woman who holds his affection. Su Xiyan has yet to sit down and tilts her head curiously in Zhuzhi-lang’s direction.
“Is that your nephew?” Su Xiyan asks. Her voice is lower than Zhuzhi-lang expected, gentle and measured in its cadence. Her tone doesn’t lack emotion, it’s more that what little she shows is clear and deliberate. Zhuzhi-lang is intrigued despite his apprehensive nature.
But he stays where he is.
Tianlang-jun looks over and laughs. “That’s him. Isn’t he cute?”
“Mn.” Su Xiyan smiles ever so slightly.
Zhuzhi-lang’s face flushes; the tips of his ears burn. He’s just about to dive back underwater when he hears Tianlang-jun speak softly to Su Xiyan.
“Ah, we’ve embarrassed him. Look at that blush—”
“My lord!” Zhuzhi-lang pushes out of the water, his full head and neck now experiencing the chill of air. “Please do not tease me in front of the human.”
“Zhuzhi-lang,” Tianlang-jun scolds. “She has a name.”
“That’s all right. The human will look away while you tease,” Su Xiyan deadpans as she takes a seat next to Tianlang-jun, careful not to jostle the boat.
“No, don’t! Xiyan should look only at me. What does the plain horizon have that I don’t?” Tianlang-jun pouts until Su Xiyan complies. He reaches for her small callused hands and holds them gingerly between his much larger ones. He’s obviously hesitant about hurting her and makes sure his sharp nails don’t so much as graze her skin.
Upon seeing such a gentle sight, Zhuzhi-lang can’t help feeling like he’s intruding. The quiet intimacy inherent in that simple gesture alone is truly unlike any interaction he’s been privy to before.
This is something else.
“You can come up here if you want,” Su Xiyan graciously invites, once more addressing a surprised Zhuzhi-lang. “There’s room.”
“Uh,” Zhuzhi-lang falters, shaking his head. He tries to get the wet hair to stick to his face and cover most of the scales. “No, thank you. I… I don’t…"
“Don’t worry about him, he’s shy,” Tianlang-jun adds with barely restrained impatience. “Pay attention to me instead. I feel so neglected.”
Su Xiyan exhales in amusement. “Well, we can’t have that.”
“Exactly,” Tianlang-jun agrees shamelessly. His mouth is close to Su Xiyan’s cheek and his lips brush against her skin as he speaks.
Zhuzhi-lang blinks. He should leave. This is… Oh, he’s too out of place.
Thankfully, Tianlang-jun manages to pull himself away from Su Xiyan just enough to gesture at Zhuzhi-lang with his chin, “Go on. I’ll return home later.”
“Yes, that’s—I think that’s wise. I’ll, um. Yes,” Zhuzhi-lang stammers.
“It was nice meeting you,” Su Xiyan almost smiles. Zhuzhi-lang nods shakily in return. The last thing he sees before retreating beneath the waves is Su Xiyan gently squeezing Tianlang-jun’s hand.
Zhuzhi-lang lets out an unsteady breath and a stream of bubbles escapes from his lips. His heart pounds as he swims. He’s heard about romance, he lives with Tianlang-jun so of course he has, but seeing two people be that close to one another…
Ah. He wonders if that’s how his parents were all those years ago. If they were as blissful as Tianlang-jun and Su Xiyan seem to be.
Zhuzhi-lang shakes off the thought. There’s no point in dwelling on times long gone and people hardly remembered. He should instead focus on scrounging up dinner for his lord and patiently await the inevitable tales of whatever Tianlang-jun is getting up to with his beloved human. Zhuzhi-lang isn’t quite sure what comes after holding hands but he assumes they must be doing that. Maybe hugging? Mn. That seems right.
He’ll hear of it soon enough, anyway. He always does.
Zhuzhi-lang does a happy little wiggle and dives deeper into the dark sea.