Nightmare needed a break. His pain in the gills of a shiver (who he loves dearly or he would have eaten them by now) have been causing trouble nonstop for the past week or so. Killer keeps stealing Cross' fish. Dust and Killer keep getting into petty arguments. Horror has had a hunger week and keeps eating all the fish they have in storage when they're sleeping. And Error won't stop complaining about Ink.

So, Nightmare shrunk down to his smaller size and left the cave, just swimming aimlessly by some coral reefs. None of his shiver came to this part of the ocean, mainly because most of them complained the water tasted funny and the others didn't like being alone in uncharted territory. Didn't matter to Nightmare, as long as he had a place he could get away from his idiots of a family.

Sitting on a rock, Nightmare's tentacles shifted and wrapped around various parts of the rock to keep from slipping off. Sitting cross-armed just looking around for anything interesting to get his mind off things, Nightmare perked up as an unfamiliar scent reached his nose. It wasn't just some fish or sea plant, nor was it some land dweller falling into the water. It was another merfolk. Not many came here, after all Nightmare and his boys were popular, and not for good reasons. Especially with all the merfolk they killed last time.

Instead of feeling angry, Nightmare found himself curious. Most merfolk scents hurt his nose, disgusting him, but this scent smelled sweet, not overbearingly so. Like being in human-infested waters and finally reaching fresh water after days. Smelling the water around him, Nightmare tried to pinpoint the scent, looking around. Finding it coming from a nearby rock formation, Nightmare's body started moving on its own, in the exact direction the scent was coming from.

Reaching the top of the rock formation, Nightmare searched for the source. After a long moment his gaze landed on a mermaid. There, curled up on a rock just staring at nothing before her, clearly upset. By what? Nightmare didn't know; he had never seen the mermaid before. Usually Nightmare would be amused seeing others' misery, but something about seeing this mer upset stirred something inside him.

Without thinking, Nightmare looked around for fish, feeling the pull of instinct which he hadn't felt in centuries. Seeing a school of fish nearby, Nightmare sneaked his way over, hiding behind coral for the perfect time to strike. Once he knew the fish weren't able to swim off he darted out of his hiding spot, grabbing two with his hands and a few with his tentacles. The rest scattered, darting into coral for cover. He didn't care as he didn't need all of them. Looking at how many he had, Nightmare let a few go as he didn't need many.

Going back over to where he had seen the mermaid, Nightmare made sure she was still there, glad to see she was. Nightmare snuck over, not wanting to startle the mermaid. He set most of the now dead fish in a small pile on the rock next to where she was sitting, keeping one in his hand as he hid behind a rock. Purposely making noise to get her attention.

The mermaid glanced over at the sound, surprised to see fish sitting next to her. Confused and cautious she looked around for who or what brought them. Nightmare waited a moment before coming into view. She tensed, backing away slightly. Nightmare stopped, not deterred. He waited till she calmed a little before approaching again, stopping by the fish he brought. He held out the one in his hand, staying a respectful distance away as he offered the fish to the mermaid who had caught his attention.