MerMay 2026| Oceans of Oruun | Mylu

The sunbeams of Oruun’s upper reaches filtered through the crystalline turquoise water in shimmering, shifting curtains of light. Down in the nursery gardens outside the great city of Syrakai, the world was a riot of color and gentle motion.

Huge fans of violet gorgonian coral swayed in the rhythmic pulse of the tides, and schools of tiny, iridescent fry darted between the protective stalks of giant kelp. The air, or rather, the oxygen-rich water, carried the faint, sweet scent of blooming anemones and the briny, warm aroma of sun-warmed sand. It was a place of peace, designed for the growth of the next generation of Aquari, and usually, it was the place where Mylu felt most at home.

Today, however, the nursery gardens were proving to be a bit of a challenge for the large, peach-finned Omega. Mylu had been tasked with thinning out a patch of particularly stubborn neon sea-grass that had begun to encroach upon a bed of delicate glass-sponge embryos.

The sea-grass was beautiful, glowing with a vibrant, pulsating electric blue that hummed against the skin, but it was also notoriously clingy. Its long, ribbon-like blades were coated in a natural, harmless adhesive meant to catch passing nutrients, but for a clumsy seahorse Aquari with a very long, very prehensile tail, it was a recipe for disaster.

Just a little bit more to the left, Mylu. Easy does it. Don't let your tail wander... oh, bubbles, it’s so ticklish!

Mylu’s tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth in concentration as he reached into the glowing thicket. His large, burly frame was usually an asset when moving heavy coral stones, but in the tight confines of the grass bed, he felt like a whale in a tide pool.

His reddish-peach hair, floating like a cloud of soft silk around his head, caught the light with every movement. He tried to ignore the way the neon blades brushed against his sensitive gold scales, sending little shivers of static through his nerves. He was doing a good job, he told himself. He was being helpful.

Then, a sudden, playful current surged through the reef, likely caused by a group of younger Aquari racing nearby. It caught Mylu off guard, pushing his buoyant body forward just as he was reaching for a particularly thick clump of grass.

He let out a soft, muffled "Oof!" as he tumbled headfirst into the glowing blue ribbons. In a moment of pure, instinctual panic, his long seahorse tail lashed out, seeking an anchor to stop his descent into the muck below. It found a sturdy branch of elkhorn coral and wrapped around it with the strength of a drowning man.

The result was a tangled, glowing mess. Mylu was now suspended completely upside down, his powerful tail coiled three times around the coral branch, while his torso and arms were hopelessly ensnared in the sticky, neon-blue blades of the sea-grass.

Every time he tried to wiggle free, more of the grass adhered to his skin, making him look like a very large, very confused bioluminescent gift-wrap. His peach-colored fins fluttered uselessly, and his golden-blond highlights caught the light as he swung gently back and forth in the current.

Oh, by the Great Deep, not again. Talu is going to laugh for a week if he sees me like this. I’m supposed to be a professional gardener, not a piece of decorative kelp! Why am I so big? Or why is the grass so clingy?

He huffed, a stream of tiny bubbles escaping his lips and tickling his nose as they floated upward toward his tail. He tried to reach behind his back to untangle a particularly stubborn strand from his shoulder, but he only succeeded in looping another ribbon around his wrist.

He was stuck.

Really, truly stuck. He let out a long, theatrical sigh, his warm brown-gold eyes drifting toward the sandy floor above, or below, rather, as he waited for the current to settle or for a passing friend to help him out of his predicament.

That was when he noticed a shadow falling across the sand. It wasn't the darting shape of a fish or the familiar silhouette of one of his reef-cousins. It was someone new. Someone he didn't recognize. Through the haze of floating sediment and the distracting glow of the neon grass, he saw a figure approaching his little corner of the nursery.

His heart gave a little skip, partly from the embarrassment of being seen in such a ridiculous state, and partly from a sudden, inexplicable spark of curiosity.

Wait, who is that? They don't smell like the local pods. They smell... different. Like deep water and something I can't quite name. Oh, bubbles, look at me. I’m hanging here like a ripe sea-plum.

Mylu’s face flushed a deep, rosy pink that rivaled the color of his fins. He tried to straighten his posture, which was impossible given the circumstances, and ended up just swaying more vigorously.

As the figure drew closer, Mylu realized they were looking right at him. He couldn't see their face clearly yet through the glowing grass, but he knew he must look like a complete disaster. Most Omegas would have been mortified, perhaps even frightened, but Mylu’s nature was far too sweet for suspicion to take root.

Instead of hiding his face, he chose to lean into the absurdity of the moment. He stopped struggling, letting his arms hang loosely toward the seabed while his tail remained firmly anchored to the coral above. He offered a wide, sheepish, and very upside-down smile, his teeth bright against his tanned skin. His eyes crinkled at the corners, radiating a genuine, if slightly humiliated, warmth.

"Um... hello there," he called out, his voice soft and slightly muffled by the water, but carrying an earnest, melodic quality. "I suppose you’re wondering if this is a new type of reef-yoga? I can assure you, it’s much less intentional than it looks. I’m Mylu, and I seem to have had a bit of an... architectural disagreement with the greenery."

He gave a small, awkward wave with his one free hand, the movement causing a few more strands of neon grass to stick to his palm. He looked like a giant, golden-scaled puppy that had gotten itself stuck in a fence, his expression one of hopeful expectation rather than distress. He didn't know this stranger, but his instincts, those deep, nesting Omega instincts that usually focused on fry and flowers, gave a strange, sudden hum of interest.

Sha’laen? No, don't be silly, Mylu. You're upside down and covered in sticky grass. Just try to look dignified. Or as dignified as a seahorse in a knot can look.

"I don't suppose you have a pair of coral shears? Or perhaps just a very good sense of humor?" he added, his smile widening despite the blush that refused to leave his cheeks. He watched the newcomer with wide, curious eyes, his tail twitching slightly where it was hooked around the branch. "I promise I don't usually greet visitors by hanging from the ceiling. It’s a special occasion. Very exclusive."

The light caught the iridescence of his scales as he shifted, a shimmer of pearl and gold dancing over his burly chest and the soft curve of his stomach. Despite his predicament, there was a sense of immense gentleness about him, an aura of honeyed kelp and warm sand that seemed to push back against the coldness of the deep water.

He waited, dangling like a festive lantern, his heart thumping a steady, rhythmic beat against his ribs as he wondered what this stranger would do.