Starter:
The moon was high up in the sky. It was a full moon. The waves hit the shore. It was a rather quiet night. The beach was unusually relaxing, despite the strange energy that was in the air.

This night, a new story was to begin....

It was so peaceful out tonight. Kailani had just been coming up for some air, and was enjoying the still calmness of the ocean's surface surrounding her for miles in each direction. Well, all but one of them; just a half a mile or so to her north was a small beach, with a cove nearby that was just perfect for hiding away and forgetting one's troubles. She loved it there. As she basked in the moonlight, however, Kailani heard a noise, which elicited a small gasp from her lips as she quickly darted under the water.

Swimming a bit closer to the shore, Kailani poked her head up just enough so that she could see above the water. She was startled, seeing a young boy was walking along the sand there, now just several yards ahead of her. The sound she had heard must have come from him, whether it was the kicking of sand, his feet shuffling along, or maybe even something he'd said... What if he'd seen her? He wasn't freaking out, so maybe he hadn't.

Being a bit of a daredevil, despite her fear and sound reasoning, Kailani swam just a little bit closer, stopping behind a rock near the cove. She wanted to get a better look at the boy, and she noticed his features: raven hair, much like her own, tan skin, and eyes that were just too far away to truly see. Eventually, he turned around and receded from her view; he seemed to be heading toward a shack not far away...

Jessica Smith was leaving her place of work. She sighed and looked around. She glanced up at the full moon and she suddenly had a strange feeling. Something was about to happen. But, she was not sure what it was. She had no answer. She could only wait and see...

Anyway, she headed home. She was unaware of what would happen at the beach or anything like that.

Waking up the next day to beautiful sun beams hitting the emerald waves above her head was always refreshing; and today was no different. Kailani stretched out her arms and yawned, taking in the morning (or rather, afternoon, for she was no light sleeper nor an early riser) light. Getting out of bed, she let her hair down, and swam toward the ceiling of her bedroom. Made entirely out of glass, this ceiling worked perfectly as an inconspicuous window, out of which Kailani would often peer in order to gaze upon her people.

Well, one day they could be her people: after the current king and queen passed on, and if they did not produce an heir, Kailani's mother would be the next to the throne. This was because Kaia's mother was the queen's one and only sister, and so therefore, subsequently, Kailani would become next-in-line. But, all she knew for right now was that if she didn't get a move on soon, Kailani would be in big trouble with her mother today. And she would be especially frustrated to know that Kailani had spent all evening gazing at the moon, far too close to the shore and a human man, no less. So, she finished her daydreaming, brushed her tangled hair, and hurriedly swam downstairs.

Alex awoke to the sound of his phone alarm, the gentle piano melody filled his darkened room as he struggled to wake up. like every morning Alex hated his daily routine. After quickly making his bed Alex went about getting ready to go for a morning run. Due to his job as a security guard for a privately owned security company, a job He hated, he was required to stay in shape. As he pulled on his running shoes he mentally planned out his run.Alex planned to run from his apartment down to the beach and back. After making sure he had his keys andf phone Alex headed out to start his run.

Jessica continued on her way. She was home soon enough. She was resting, trying to relax. She glanced out the window at times. She could not shake that feeling from before.

"What is going on?"
She finally voiced the question out loud. Anyway, she tried to get ready to get some sleep since she had been up for quite some time at this point.

After listening to her mother's morning ramblings and discussing her itinerary for the day (her mother was always wary of her as Kailani tended to get into some mischief while she was consulting with the palace advisors until evening), Kaia speedily left her underwater home and swam immediately toward the same spot that she had been the previous night; the beautiful shore of an even more beautiful, natural white-sand beach. Her mother would surely ground her for life if she caught her so close to the coast, especially in broad daylight, but she always felt that the risk was worth the reward.

As Kaia approached the ocean's shining surface, she slowly raised her head up out of the water, searching in every direction with her eyes first before fully allowing her face to be above the waves, being careful to make sure that there were not any humans close enough that they could see her. The only person she saw was a young man jogging swiftly across the sand, about a mile away from where she patiently waded, taking in the warmth of the sun and the beauty of the bright, blue, endless sky above. Off to the right and over the horizon, though, Kailani saw dark clouds forming, and she knew that come afternoon time it would likely be pouring rain.

Jessica slept for a while. She awoke from what was seemingly a bad dream not long after. She could not shake the bad feeling that she had.

"What is going on?"
She repeated her earlier question.

Anyway, she could not fall back asleep and so she would change and go for a walk to clear her head. She would soon end up on the beach, looking at the moon and such.

Evening finally rolled around, and with it, a giant storm. The clouds were thick and a deep grey above her, and the swirling waters were chaotic all around her, imitating a whirlpool. Winds whipped her ebony locks around her face in every direction, and she had to use her hands to keep it away, in order to continue spy- erm, people-watching? Kailani had wasted the day away wading near the shore, and she thought that she saw the same man from earlier that morning taking another jog. She could also spot a young woman ahead, walking slowly along the sand. She was still a few miles out, so Kailani assumed that the two could not return her gaze, and that she would be in the clear. She would head home to her mother soon, she told herself, she only wanted to stay out here above the sea for just a bit longer...

Kaia observed the two separately for a few minutes, analyzing their behaviors, but unfortunately, that meant that she did not see what she really should have been paying attention to: the gigantic wave that built up directly behind her. A wall of dark, ominous water slammed down on top of her, which wouldn't have been such a big deal (sure, the amount of water being forced into her lungs at such great velocity was painful, even for a mermaid, but she could manage) except for the fact that there was something else in the water, too. Before Kailani could dart out of the way, an entire whale came up with the wave and knocked Kailani senseless. She was hit so hard that her limp body was flung across the top of the water, and then tumbled through the more shallow waves, and into a tall stone jutting out from the water near the cove. Her body appeared lifeless, washing up on the shore about equidistance between the two human strangers.

Jessica approached the beach. She was unaware of what was going on. She glanced around. Then, she glanced back at the moon again. She did not notice what happened, nor know that the mermaid was around, not yet anyway.

She was unsure. She had a bad feeling. She tried to figure out what was going on. She blinked when she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

She carefully approached it...…

She gasped.