merman from my dreams

So I know this guy is a little strange, but the idea for him came from a dream, and dreams are strange, so, meh!

The dream doesn't totally make sense, and I can't remember everything but here's the gist:

A fishing boat is out on the ocean, pulling in their nets. When they get it on deck they find a young mermaid tangled in the ropes. Her skin is gray and leathery, spotted in intricate patterns like a shark. Her eyes are solid black and shine with fear, her lips are full and pouting, sharp teeth peek out from behind them. Her long lanky hair clings tightly to her as it falls around her form. They gather round her and discuss what to do with her. A handsome young fisherman convinces the rest of the crew to let her go; he gently cuts the ropes from around her, carries her to the railing and slides her over the side of the boat into the ocean. She smiles at him from below the waves and leaves.

The young fisher is out several days later in a small wooden boat, fishing and diving for pleasure. While he's prepping his line, a mermaid surfaces near him and swims toward the boat. She's larger than the one he saved, both beautiful and foreboding. She explains that the mermaid he saved was her daughter. The daughter has asked her mother to give the man one of the mother's pearly tears, which only a mature mermaid can make. She hands one to the man, it looks like a giant pearl, about the size of a marble, with a surface so opalescent it's impossible to tell what color it is. The mother tells him that this is a rare gift and it would be ungracious for him to refuse it. The man agrees to take it, and the mother explains that he must swallow it to truly accept their thanks for his kindness, and that the pearl will bring him luck and protection in the ocean. The man hesitates, then does so. The mother sinks below the waves.

In the darks of the ocean the mother tells the daughter that the deed is done, and one day soon the man will be hers. The young mermaid smiles, and a crest of flesh folds out from either side of her face and jaw.

A few years later the man is working as a deckhand on a passenger steam ship. While out at sea, far from land, something goes wrong in the ships boiler room. There's and explosion and the ship begins to sink suddenly. A few people manage to make it to life boats or life vests. The young man is not one of them. He is pulled down into the depths by the suction of the sinking ship. His lungs fill with water and everything goes dark. He slowly wakes to find himself changed, a monster of the deep. His skin, eyes, and teeth are just like the mermaids'. He has a crest of skin that creates a hood over his head that stretches to his back. The hood has an extra set of eyes so when he swims face down he can still see what's to the side and above him.

The man feels like he's been tricked, the mermaids have lied to him, and for some reason unknown, punished him by turning him into this monster. He swims away from the ship's wreckage, and off on his own for days, out to the patch of ocean where he first met them. As he nears his home port he sees another strange creature and realizes it's just like him. He swims toward it, and when it sees him it stops and lets him approach. He finds that they can talk to each other, and this new creature introduces himself as the triton of these waters. He tells the young ex-man that there are only mermaids, no mermen. That when a mermaid finds a man she wants to be her mate, it is her mother's duty to give a piece of herself to that man, and that piece will change him to something compatible with their kind. In order to be able to do this though, a mermaid must have had a child already (and that the child is always female). This way the daughter may not turn men on a whim, but the mother must also agree that the mate she has chosen is suitable.

The old triton is the young mermaid's father. He leads the young ex-man to the pair. The dream ends with the young mermaid delighting in how handsome her new mate is and how when she is old enough they will have daughters of their own.