Asking around, Wjae discovered there were two mer with territories that included the atoll - a cecaelia and a seahorse. Not keen on meeting with a cecaelia - most were fine enough mer, just… off-putting - Wjae decided to track down the seahorse first. 

It wasn’t too difficult - the seahorse was an older mer, with a smaller territory than most. 

Hello, Wjae projected when he spotted the woman, I hear you were friends with a human, once.

The mer woman regarded him carefully, stilling to allow the shark to approach. Like most seahorses, she was only four feet in length, And what of it?

I am… interacting with a human that saved Prince Obal, the shark mer replied, A prince named Derra.

Ah, the seahorse mer seemed to relax, wrapping her tail around a nearby clump of kelp, Derra’s grandson. I remember.

Would that be ‘Old Derra’? Wjae asked, tilting his head. 

Once little Derra started going by the same name, yes, the woman replied, Though I mostly knew him as just Derra. I’m Kalop.

Wjae, the shark mer replied, Forgive me for my rudeness.

Kalop shook her head, Sharks - you’re always so direct. It doesn’t bother me - I hardly have time for prattle. So go on - what did you come here to ask about?

What happened to Old Derra? the shark mer asked, How did the two of you communicate?

Derra was deaf, the seahorse mer replied, We communicated using human hand signs. He died some years back - natural causes. 

Deaf? Hand signs? Wjae asked.

He wasn’t able to hear, Kalop nodded, I could teach you, but frankly, I don’t want to. Little Derra knows it. I’ll just teach you your name to put the idea in his head.

I appreciate it, the shark mer said, So has Derra always lived on the atoll?

He’s back? the seahorse mer asked, He moved away when his grandfather died. I didn’t know he’d returned.

Wjae nodded, One more question - how did you meet your Derra?

Dumbass fell overboard and I was young and dumb enough to save him, Kalop grinned, Saw him again when he moved to the atoll and just hit it off, I guess. 

Thank you, the shark mer said. 

It didn’t take too long to learn the hand signs Kalop had mentioned, and soon Wjae was back on his way to the atoll with his new insight. 

Derra lived with a grandfather with a mer friend - it helped explain how early sympathies for mer might have developed. 

Once again, the shark mer found Derra at the end of the lagoon dock - but this time Peyn was seated in a chair behind the prince, holding something of his own. 

As he’d done before, Wjae popped out of the water a few feet in front of the dock to make himself known. Derra noticed him quicker - likely he’d been waiting. 

“Hello again!” the prince called out, setting aside whatever he was working on. 

Peyn looked up immediately, grip tensing on what he was holding. 

Wjae swam around - on the side that kept the human guard between him and Derra. He saw Peyn relax as he did so - though the man didn’t seem to be a fan of the shark mer coming up on the dock again - still making sure the human guard was a buffer. 

“I wasn’t sure if you’d actually be back,” Derra said, turning around and scooting forward - only to be stopped by Peyn putting a foot out. 

The shark mer pointed to himself, then used one set of hands to make the signs Kalop had taught him. 

“Wuh… wah-jay?” Derra sounded out, then jumped, “Oh, is that your name? Wjae?”

Wjae nodded. 

“And you know sign language?” the prince asked, leaning forward. 

The shark mer shook his head, trying to see what Derra had been working on. 

“Oh,” the human sighed, leaning back as his excitement died. He followed the mer’s line of sight, and picked up what he’d set aside, “Did you… just learn your name, then?”

Wjae nodded, reaching out to carefully touch the… well, he supposed it was a carving, except it wasn’t carved. It was colorful and soft - and the shark mer pulled his hand away as he accidentally nicked the side of the white tablet. 

“Oops,” Derra laughed, pulling the picture back, “I suppose you wouldn’t be familiar with paper underwater. It’s a watercolor painting.”

Peyn shifted his weight in his seat, “At least it was just the side…”

Wjae tilted his head, looking at the small case of colors and a bowl of water. 

“Yesterday I was sketching,” Derra explained, “Today I was painting,” he set the paper in front of him, and picked up a thin piece of wood the mer had missed, demonstrating as he explained, “It works by mixing water with the pigment, which gets absorbed by the paper.”

The shark mer watched attentively, but was careful not to lean too far forward. 

“I guess it wouldn’t really be possible under the water,” Derra chuckled. He looked up from his painting, tilting his head, “Did you want to learn more sign language…? I’m a little rusty, but it would be nice to have an actual conversation.”

Wjae nodded carefully, then hesitated before - making eye contact with Peyn first - slowly reaching forward and tapping the tip of his claw under the prince’s scarred eye. 

Peyn tensed, ready to move - but allowed the contact. 

Derra blinked a few times, then realization hit, “Oh - wait, hold on.”

Wjae pulled his hand back, watching. He glanced at the human guard again.

Peyn was still tensed, but slowly sat back. He was grimacing at the shark mer, but didn’t say anything. 

Derra didn’t seem to notice as he reached up and casually popped his eyeball out. 

Wjae flinched back in surprise. 

“I hate it when you do that,” Peyn said - though he seemed amused by the mer’s shock. 

“Sorry,” Derra said, then looked back to the shark mer and held out the eye for inspection, “It’s glass.”

Wjae looked over the prosthetic carefully, and back up to the prince. He’d seen mer that had lost eyes before - usually fighting each other - so the healed empty socket was a more familiar sight. 

The human prince replaced the eye after a few moments, “I can’t see out of it, if you were wondering.”

So no magic, then, the shark mer confirmed to himself. 

They spent the greater part of the next hour or so going over human sign language - Peyn eventually going back to reading his book. Which was what Wjae learned after tapping said book, which seemed to bother the human guard far less than the shark mer getting close to the prince. 

Still, Wjae understood.