Neptune's Blessings

AN:There is a flash back to rape in chapter 1. It is a rape scene that makes me a bit uncomfortable, even though I myself occasionally enjoy a bit of non-con fiction. This rape scene however is not supposed to be enjoyed. It is trauma that my protagonist is going to spend time trying to overcome. You have been warned.

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Merfolk in general have a tail that makes up two thirds of their body length. With a fin that is shaped like that of a betta but positioned like a whale's. Males, called mermen, have the longer fins while those of mermaids and youngsters called merlings are shorter. Their upper bodies are outwardly very similar to those of humans. Their dentition most resembles that of a feline or ursine, excepting their human-like but still sharp incisors. At the end of their fingers are semi-retractable claws, those possessed by mermen being more robust and harder, while mermaids have thinner, sharper claws.

--Excerpt from Marvin's Marvelous Field Guide to Nonhuman People

Chapter 1

A merman, like so many others this time of year, coiled up around a depression in the coral, guarding his nest of eggs. Unlike the others he was uncomfortably close to shore and extremely isolated from any nearby nesting mermen. Not even fathers teaching their young merlings how to hunt amongst the coral were within sight, nor were they close enough to hear if he was in trouble. Which, in this desolate sickly patch of coral he was.

Mermaids were supposed to bring their mates food while they guarded. If nothing else they should visit a few times a day and offer their breast. But his mate had not appeared before him even once. Not once since the day nearly four weeks prior, when she had laid his eggs and departed.

His name was Mathias. He was considered by most to be the most handsome merman of his pod. He had strong straight features, marred now by four parallel, bright red scars going diagonally across his left cheek. His eyes were dark blue, and his short hairs were medium blond. One of the ways that he stood out was the rich emerald green of his long hairs and posterior scales. Which transitioned smoothly along his sides into the bright silver of his anterior scales.

Most of his pod's coloration was more of a faded green on their posterior scales and long hairs, sky blue anterior scales. The delineation between the two was stark. Dark blonde short hairs, gray-blue eyes and tan skin were also the norm amongst this pod, all in contrast to Mathias save his tan skin.

Mathias stared broodingly at his eggs. A face that seemed more suited to smiles and laughter, already seemed to be forgetting what such actions are.

With a sigh, he buried his face in his arms to contemplate how he wound up in this mess. 'I never liked her,' he thought, 'but now I think I hate her.' "Oh gods," he whimpered out in despair, "I hate the mother of my children!"

He spent a few moments fighting the urge to scream, or yell, or cry. None of it would help right now. And he had no energy to spare on emotions.

Finally he got back to thinking, 'Well, she always viewed me as her rival. Although I never viewed her as mine. I was always trying to be the best me I could be. I don't care how I compared to others. But rivalries in a school is normal and it doesn't normally lead to this!... But then most people aren't power hungry, narcissistic, psychopaths like she is. Yeah that's probably where this all came from, her personality.'

'It must of been such a shock when we came of age. Going from being the strongest and fastest to being the third strongest. But mermen are stronger, so of course if she turned out to be a maid some of us would grow stronger than her. If our genders had been reversed I might have been faster than her.'

'Maybe she thought she would grow to be a man? I did once hear her telling her siblings that she would rule this pod one day no matter what her gender turned out to be. Well she is already being trained to be our next leader. So I guess she got her wish.'

With a small whimper, his head shifted slightly as his hunger and emotion fueled exhaustion dragged him down into a fitful slumber.

~~~~~

"Juno." I whispered longingly into a head of light brown and dark green hair. Juno was one of the younger members of our school, and so matured a year later than my two brothers and myself, who were all courting her. She was smaller and curvier than most, with darker coloration than any excepting her father. She would not be going gravid this year and so would not be choosing a mate until the next. However, practice was part of courtship.

"Juno." I whispered again as I trailed kisses down the side of her head. Something about the kelp forest we were floating in seemed ominous. And there was a growing pit of dread in my stomach. But no matter how I tried to stop and look for the danger I could not gain control of my own actions.

"Matty," she murmured in response as she turned her head to meet my lips with her own. Teasing my tongue out to dance in her mouth, she wrapped her arms around my neck to hold me close. My hands settled on her hips for a moment.

My right hand traveled up to cup her breast. As the left traveled down to find the slit amongst her scales. Finding my goals my thumb ran circles around her nipple while my knuckle gently pressed into and ran along her slit.

Pretty soon my tongue was moving desperately in her moaning mouth. While my erection ground against her tail.

All too soon and not soon enough, she pulled her head away to breathlessly beg, "Mathias, please make love to me." With a needy groan I maneuvered her into position for my semi-prehensile penis to find her entrance. With a gentle tug at her hips to fully hilt myself, I wrapped my tail around hers and started undulating myself in and out.

My body has long since lost itself to pleasure. But my mind was still screaming that something was wrong. I just could not remember what. That is until I came. Then I remembered, this is a dream. It has already happened.

As he pulled away, I screamed at my past self, 'No! Don't go hunting. Stay! Cuddle, make love some more, talk until the moon rises!' But my pleas fell on deaf ears. As my mom often said, If people of the past could hear people of the future. Then the future would never happen.

She grabbed his arms and pulled him back with a playful pout. "Stay with me?" she asked him teasingly.

With a chuckle he kissed her forehead. "I've only had small meals for the past week." Smiling, he caressed her cheek and continued, "It's time for me to go hunting and get a big meal."

Behind his smiling eyes I begged pathetically, 'Please Juno, command me to stay. I can go a couple more days without hunting.' But of course she does not. What happened next has already happened, and like the nightmare it is. Will continue to happen. Until there is no longer a me to dream.

With a worried smile she sent him off. "Be safe hunting."

Grinning cheekily, he reminded her, "I always am."

I wondered as he swam through the kelp, 'Was that smile more worried than normal? Did Juno know that Chloe was lying in wait for me? If so, was she commanded to silence, or did she have some faith in that psychopath's integrity?' These questions would probably never be answered. Because I doubted I would ever have the guts to ask them aloud.

Towards the edge of the forest Chloe called out, "Mathias! Wait up."

Groaning, he rolled his eyes and turned. She was heavily gravid. So for once he could have outswam her if he tried. But like a good little mer he stayed put and waited.

Once she got within conversing distance, he grumpily growled, "I'm hungry, so make it quick."

She beamed at him, as if she were about to grant him the biggest prize and the best favor all rolled into one. "Will you be my mate?" she asked him cheerfully.

He stared at her slack jawed and incredulous for a few moments before barking out, "Are you kidding?! Because it's not a very good joke. Also. No!"

Her smile slowly turned into a scowl, and her arms crossed as she asked petulantly, "Why not? We're both the strongest, fastest, smartest, and best looking for our genders."

I had always thought Juno's whole family was better looking than either of us. And I could think of at least five other people who were smarter than both of us. But such arguments had always been useless with her.

He brought up the only argument that mattered, the one that should have settled the issue, "But we don't like each other."

Huffing, she rolled her eyes. "I hardly think that ma-" she began only to be interrupted by his irritable, "It matters! So, the answer will forever be no!"

At this point I start to frantically scream and cry within the prison of my mind. Trying desperately to wake up or block off what came next.

With a roll of his eyes, he turned to swim off. Only to be halted by her command of, "Mathias, mate with me."

He bellowed out in shocked anger, "No!" But his body obeyed him no more than it would obey me.

He cursed as he plunged into her too firm depths. A tirade about how wrong this was tried to leave his lips before being silenced by her command to kiss her.

I focused on the feel of her claws digging into the back of his head. Did my best to ignore the feel of her tongue invading his mouth. The disturbingly pleasant feeling of his penis plunging in and out of her slowly softening passage. I did my best to ignore the feelings of horror, revulsion, and complete violation that just gets worse every time I have this dream. I did my best to just focus on the pain. And like always, I failed.

Finally, he shot his load and was able to pull away. Panting as if he were in oxygen starved water. He stared at her in obvious horror and revulsion.

Obliviously, she gazed at her swollen belly and said with proud satisfaction, "See how much better it is when you just obey?"

When she looked at his face however her smirk turned into a scowl. And with a scream of anger she extended her claws and slapped him as hard as she could...

Chapter 2

Mathias awoke with a gasp. Clutching his left cheek he could not help but relive the rest of that night during his waking hours.

Hyperventilating, he swam in a panicked circle around his nest. Even without being able to think straight he wouldn't willingly leave his eggs.

He remembered as if it were happening again. How he woke up from that slap, to her dragging him by his hair over the abandoned coral. He was sure she was going to kill him. So he begged and pleaded as she dragged him past the coral and nearly to the beach. Once they reached their destination, she merely gave him a contemptuous glare, laid their eggs and swam away.

He spent the rest of the night and part of the next day carefully maneuvering his ten fragile, pearlescent, gelatinous eggs into a safer, more secure location. Once he was done, his torso was covered in scrapes and bruises. The spot they had been initially was now dry. But the eggs were blemish free, and fully submerged. Their coral nest would soon be fully fortified.

With this last vision, he was finally able to snap out of it and cling to the side of his nest with eyes fixated on his eggs. "The eggs are safe." He chanted to himself, while shivering in reaction, "The eggs are safe. The eggs are safe. They will successfully hatch into fry. Which will grow into healthy happy merlings. The eggs are safe."

Once Mathias had calmed himself down, he began to range around his nest for food. Having found a single crab about the size of his thumb he popped it into his mouth. Crunching it down quickly, he groused aloud, "I'm going to have to move the fry when they hatch." Swiping a shaky hand over his face he laughed ruefully and muttered, "If I live that long."

It was at that moment that he noticed a shadow moving over the water. He used to hunt seagulls on the wing when he was younger. These days he did not find it worth the effort. But that shadow was quite a bit bigger than a seagull.

His adams apple bobbed as he swallowed, imagining the taste of fresh bird flesh. Without a conscious thought he was moving. He swiftly cut through the water and with a mighty leap he had the... Bird? By the wings.

Mathias' thoughts raced as he tried to wrestle the cursing... birdmaid? To wrestle the feathery thing into holding still, so they would fall into the water. 'Very large. Talons almost piercing my tail. So, sharp talons. Dark brown feathers. Head and chest of a mermaid. Small arms placed under the wings that look like someone took a bird's legs and turned them into arms. probably six nipples under the breasts. Incomprehensible noises that are probably words. Not a monster bird. Harpy. Ugg! I don't want to be a murderer.'

With a frown and a sigh, he tried to release her and fall back into the water. Only to realize that she was gripping him with four limbs while her teeth yanked and gnashed on his ear. Yelping, he switched between trying to cripple her wings, to trying to escape her grasp.

But it didn't matter how he twisted and scratched. He no longer had the strength to escape or properly wound her. Twenty minutes later the harpy crashed them into the beach pinning him beneath her.

He clawed the shoulders of her bird arms. His tail whacked her about the head. Her arms were crossed over his throat with her weight behind them.

Leaning into his ear, she growled throatily, "Fuck, flee, or fight to the death?"

His tail stopped midair to flop back to the sand. His claws pulled back as his hands relaxed. As soon as he relaxed she slowly let up the pressure on his neck, so that he could ask, "Fuck?" He had never heard the word before and was curious.

With a lusty grin, she swooped down to kiss him. Which elicited a startled gasp. Taking advantage of his open mouth she eased her tongue into exploring his mouth. He froze up momentarily expecting it to feel vile. Only to find her tongue warm and pleasant. Especially when it rubbed against the roof of his mouth. He found it so arousing that pretty soon he was moaning softly into her mouth while wrestling her tongue with his own. Trying to get it to spend more time at the roof of his mouth. All while his trembling hands slid down her body.

The pleasantly erotic feel of her feathers under his fingers and her warm skin under his palms further distracted from any thoughts excepting, 'This feels good.' Soon enough his hands found her hips and slid inwards to explore her belly. Where he found the first of her nipples. Obsessing over the feel of her tongue in his mouth, he still retained just enough self control to gently caress her lower most nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. As he moved his hands up to the next set of nipples she pulled her head back. With a needy growly whine he pinched and tugged at those nipples.

"Oh yeah baby," she cooed out huskily, "Pinch and pull." She rocked her wet mound against where his scales met his skin and only inches from where his penis was rapidly emerging.

He arched his head back with a moan. Waves of pleasure wracking through his body as he practically mauled her rows of nipples and her two perky breasts. With his claws occasionally pricking her skin. "Do you like that?" she cooed huskily.

"Yeah," he responded shakily.

"Do you want to be inside me?" she asked teasingly.

"Please?" he begged brokenly, his whole body undulating beneath her.

With a frown, she shook her head. "No. You should demand it," after saying so, she lunged down to kiss and nip along his neck, shoulder and finally his collar bone.

He writhed and moaned as she played him like a pleasure filled instrument. That is until he caught the scent of her blood, and his body reminded him of one of the miseries he had been ignoring and making worse.

With a growl of mixed lust and hunger and a surge of strength, he hugged her tightly and pulled her abused left secondary shoulder up to his mouth. Ignoring her squawk of surprise, he licked her skin clean. Then latched onto the largest wound to suck hungrily. She bit and tugged his ear as her little talon-like hands moved over his sides and chest.

He closed his eyes and moaned in pleasure. The sensation of her skin and feathers against his face, her dull teeth on his ear, her soft chest on his neck and shoulders and even her small hand talons scratching delicately at his ribs. It all conspired to drive him back to a heightened state of distracted arousal.

He let go of her and whispered hoarsely, "Move down." He continued to instruct as she moved, "Lower, lower, a little more. Mmm! Yeah, right there!" His hands settled back onto her hips gripping tight enough that his claws caught in her feathers. A low moan escaped from him at the feel of his tip seeking out her entrance amongst her damp and wet feathers.

With a grunt he thrust up into her uncomfortably hot, yet oh so pleasantly wet, and tight yet pliant depths. With a mewling moan he gushed, "So hot! So good!"

Whimpering, his hips slapped back to the sand as he complained, "But on land, I'm so heavy."

Chuckling, she pressed her lips back to his so that their tongues could duel while she roughly rode his throbbing penis. Mathias eagerly kneaded at her hips as their mutual sounds of passion continued to get louder and louder. Until suddenly, he couldn't stand it anymore, and with a cry he dug his claws into her and yanked her down to have the most intense orgasm of his life right into her depths.

Shuddering and gasping, his hands flopped to the sand. As she arched and trembled upon him.

He was unsure how he felt about what just happened. Nor how he should feel about it. But he was sure it was closer to a positive emotion than he had had in over three weeks.

"Huh," she remarked as she calmed down and climbed awkwardly off him. "Your hair turns blond as it dries."

"Weird," he said hoarsely before asking worriedly, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she replied with a cheeky grin, "I'll be completely healed in a day or two."

"Good," he grunted out, as he tried to rock himself out of the hollow they had created in the sand around his upper body.

She watched his futile efforts for a moment. Then glanced at the surf. Then gave him a confused look and asked him curiously, "The tide will reach you in about five minutes. Can't you wait and relax until then?"

Mathias frantically shook his head and explained, "I've got to get back to my eggs!" Without anything to distract him, his anxiety was swiftly mounting.

Although clearly startled, she swiftly thrust a foot out over the top of him, her four toes clenched into a fist. "Grab my wrist, I'll pull!" she blurted out hurriedly.

He grabbed the proffered appendage firmly. Then with a sklorping pop she half pulled him out of the hole. But more importantly onto his belly. Then like a clumsy seal he turned to make his way into the water.

"Why did you attack me?" She asked him crossly.

Quickly as he could, he thought up a lie, "I, uh, thought you were after my eggs."

At this she scoffed, "Bullshit. There is nothing in these skies that would threaten a mermaid's egg. Try again."

Sighing he admitted shamefully, "I'm starving." Then before she could respond he plunged his head into the water. Pausing only long enough to let the water flow into his poor sore throat. He quickly made his way to his nest.

Chapter 3

Arriving at his nest, Mathias frantically checked it over. Finding no signs of damage or anything hiding amongst the eggs he collapsed on the edge and started to think, 'I think those words she said at first were curse words... But they're not ones I'm familiar with.'

"What is a cunt and what does it have to do with fucking?" he mused as he gazed around at his surroundings.

Mathias sighed and looked back at his eggs. 'There were a lot of bubbles coming out of the sand, and lots of tiny fish. I should be able to take them hunting there until they can safely make a longer journey.' he thought optimistically.