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The Sea Prince and the Kind One
The Sea Prince and the Kind One By PapollioCameo and Tachigami This RP is fairy-tale based, and as such contains cliche scenes, sappy or overly-dramatic dialogue, and all that good stuff. http://ipadwallpaperonline.com/wp-co...8/Atlantis.jpg The sun had risen and fallen at least fourteen times since his capture. Indeed he had counted, from that window he could reach at the top of his tank. It wasn't large enough to see the sea, from which he had been captured, and he didn't think he was near where the boats docked. Or if he was, perhaps the walls were too thick to hear outside now... Meison couldn't tell. But now he couldn't hide from the stares of human eyes. He couldn't escape their gawking, drooling faces. He could hear their words, their chatters of amazement, of conversation. The coral here wouldn't let him get completely out of sight, the rocks at the back of the tank better to perch on rather than scramble underneath or behind. And the bright little fish that they'd put in as 'company'... they mocked him! Meison had once been so beautiful. His long hair like the waves when dry, shining like silver silk thread. Who else had such a color? And his eyes, like lavender gems, so bright and shiny. Who had a jewel that shone to compare? Every lightly-tanned feature carved to sharp, elegant perfection, a god to rival Poseidon! His tail shone so many different colors in the sun and moonlight, silvery phosphorescence no one else had, ribbon-like dorsal fins that let him move in a way even the water couldn't mimic. Not even his father, the king of Atlantis, could come close, nor his mother the queen. Of his siblings, Meison was the one fretted over the most, watched wherever he went, oohed and ahhed at. Not now. No, not now. His tail was short and stubby, a slimy eel-like thing that stretched up his body, which now was a dull greenish tone. His hair had been replaced with dark strings that resembled sea anemones. His features had stunted, his hands ended with black claws and dorsal fins sharpening in an ugly way. His once-lavender eyes now yellow-green. His perfect teeth sharp and hideous. Now the oohs and aahs were most likely of disgust and not admiration. It was why he had fled home. Who would dare see him like this? Who would approach him? Disgusting creature. Such a horrid curse. Why? |
Julian looked from the pamphlet to the exhibit with a frown. He'd thought the tank would be bigger.... The poor thing didn't have nearly enough room to stretch its fins! Shaking his head, the the wiry youth shoved his way through the crowd til he stood in front of the glass. He couldn't help but stare with his emerald green eyes at the creature from the deep sea. It was such an amazing sight!
The cinnamon skinned young man tilted his head to the side curiously, unevenly cut hair in disarray. The tips were pale blonde, and became darker until becoming brown at the roots. He liked dying his hair like that, and by this point couldn't even remember what his natural coloring had been. At the moment he was more curious about the creature in the tank, and let his tongue play absentmindedly over his teeth. Clicks filtered into the air, a sure sign that Julian was playing with his silver tongue piercing again. |
Meison had resigned himself to being unable to hide about a week in. Everyone stared, and none of these humans knew of his true appearance. They couldn't laugh at him for having that stripped away when they didn't even realize his real beauty. And they probably never would. Sliding along the sandy bottom, Meison studied everyone that studied him. Adult men and women, large and small. Most had brown hair, black, light yellow he heard it called as blonde', red both orange-toned and dark, real red. And little children that looked like their parents, that shied away when he drifted by. Maybe they were afraid of him. If he didn't look like this... They would be amazed! And that one. He was a strange one. His hair had more tones. Many tones! It looked different. He liked that. Sliding his tail through the water, it propelled him lightly toward the glass and he pressed his webbed, clawed hands to it. the rough, scaly skin now made it a little difficult and bothersome to move as easily as he could once. Ah, if the top of his tank were open to these people! He would be able to talk to them. To this one specifically. What was that in his mouth...? Something silver? He squinted through his feeler-like hair and stuck out his tongue without necessarily realizing it. |
Most people backed away when the creature swam nearer, lifting clawed hands to press them against the glass. It had the oddest, well Julian supposed it could only be described as hair. Like a child he smiled, laughed, then stuck out his tongue as well to display his piercing. It was just a rod of metal, held in place by two tiny silver balls, nothing special really, save for the fact that it sliced through his tongue. It made talking different, little softer actually..
Julian liked that, and liked how the creature seemed to react to his presence. Maybe he could apply there for a summer job or something, at the museum of natural history. They were the ones who owned the thing before him, claiming it a miracle to have found such a specimen. It was proof then, that merpeople really did exist. |
Meison's eyes widened a little, and he backed away. It looked painful... The way a piece of metal was just jammed through his tongue. Meison curled his back into his mouth and shifted upward a little, tilting his head at the human. A human, with two legs. If he recalled right some merfolk walked among humans, leaving their Atlantis behind. Of course, only for a while---their agelessness would become a problem, and they would have to return to the water to be among their kin again. At least for a while. Meison backed away, flitting away into the seaweed nearby. This human was odd. He liked that. An oddity among so many normal, so much of the same thing. He had hardly spoken since his capture. And he'd been pleasant enough, he liked to think. Perhaps he could speak to one of his feeders, one of the men or women that cycled the water in the tanks atop the scaffold at the top of the tank. If he could just convince them... He peered out and around. A clock. By the way the hands rested at a diagonal manner, he assumed it was near closing time for the... what was this place? A Marina? A giant fishtank? What was it the humans called it...? |
Had he actually scared him? The thought was just too absurd to believe, and yet Julian couldn't help but think it. Questions began flickering through his mind, one after another and all about the thing in the tank. The thing, that was so unflattering. Surely they could give him a name.
For some reason, Julian got the feeling that the giant fish in the tank was distinctly male. It was hard to pull away now that the bells were chiming, signalling it was time for the park to close. He sighed, waved and sent a cocky grin to the fish. It just seemed like the right thing to do. The next day, he returned and with a resume this time. Eagerly, Julian handed it in at the main office then walked away. He was nearly jogging as he made his way towards the exhibit from the day before. It was less crowded today, probably because there were predictions of rain. In a way, he was just a little worried about the weird humanoid fish. How would it fare in such weather? |
Meison was curled in the seaweed. It offered a relatively soft bed, different from the sand. It felt unnatural, really, like stuff that might have been ground by humans and not the delightfully powdery stuff that was on the seabeds. It was dark outside for so long he felt he'd never get his chance to speak to the humans that fed him, until the window at the top of the tank that led outside began lightening in a manner of grayness that brought along rain. He shook his head, but as the room began glowing, he looked up. They were here! Shifting up, he surfaced and brushed back his disgusting hair. If one could call it that, really. Above the water he felt slimy, not like he should. "Pardon, madam." He spoke, a little hoarsely now that he hadn't done so in a while. At least he had retained his clear-as-a-bell tone between deep and light. The woman glanced around, a bit wide-eyed. "But I do have a proposition for you. Would you care to listen?" Pursing her lips, the woman in the hat sat on the scaffolding and abandoned the bucket of live fish she had intended to toss in one at a time. "Sure, what's wrong?" "Nothing, nothing at all. I was just... considering something." How droll, talking to this woman. As if she had any say in anything. He'd seen her obeying others as if she were a servant and they her kings. "Perhaps you may call me a specific name? You've never given me, nor asked me, of a name at all." She nodded. "Sure... Sure, that'd be pretty useful. What's your name?" "I am known as Meison." He bowed lightly, so that his flat nose almost touched the water, and descended. The name. It meant handsome. It meant beautiful. Now he was neither. He could never tell them what it meant. He stared around, watching the people that went around with sticks and buckets. They were getting ready to open. Maybe that strange human man would be back. |
When he reached the tank, he smiled and knocked against the glass. There wasn't really anyone around to see the action, certainly not any of the people responsible for taking care of the man-fish. Julian found himself really wanting to ask some of his questions, the most important one being whether or not the man actually was one of those legendary creatures, a merperson. Surely, having already been captured there was no ned to hide.
It was a sad thought, thinking of the fact that this amazing being had been taken away against its will from home. There was a definite kind of beauty in the creature, a dangerous kind. Julian was reminded of something his parents said once about their dog, it had been so ugly it was cute. |
He had gone back to hide, or at least, try to hide. Curled in the seaweed he was relatively similar in color, and could bury his head in his arms as he liked. Until a strange sound---but not uncommon---filtered through the water. Glaring out, expecting to see a child or stupid adult gawking in at him, his eyes widened a bit to see the lovely human man back, with his odd hair colors and silver on his tongue, and eyes that looked like emeralds. Had there been a storm to brave, coming here today? The sky did look dangerous, what he could see of it. Uncoiling himself, he drifted forward on his flat belly, keeping low to the sand. Why had he come back? What was there located here that could draw him back? Perhaps looking upon his hideous green and black and yellow-orange features, his stunted, flat eel's tail, his sharp teeth and ugly feeler-hair, made this one feel good about himself. The thought made him bare his teeth, and bury himself partially under the sand with a few waves of his tail so that he could still stare at the man. |
He looked like an eel, the way he moved forward. Julian crouched down, elbows against his knees, so that his eyes were relatively level with the mercreature's. "Why are you doing that?" He poked the glass, tapping it lightly again. "If you're hiding, don't. I think you look cool." Kind of reminded him of the type of creatures people came up with for that Space show, Face Off. He'd always thought it was interesting, how even the least appealing of forms could hold beauty. It was there, if you took the time to look.
Julian knew he certainly was at the moment. Scales glistened, not quite hair moved elegantly, swaying with the current. The dark of the other man's claws, it was a rather nice color along with those yellow eyes. Shrugging, the youth moved to lean his forehead against the glass. |
Meison drew back slightly. Was this human simply playing at his appearance? Was this term 'cool' a flattering insult? He raised himself up, breathing in a bit. "Are you blind?" He demanded, lurching forward as if the words would be more forceful that way. "Are you finding it humorous to insult me for my looks!? I'm a disgusting, hideous creature! Look at me! Look at this!" He gestured to himself. "A stunted tail, pointed ears! Filthy teeth and hair that looks like a reef of living undersea worm!" His voice was a little delayed in the tank, but still easily heard through the glass and water. "Why you humans get such perverse pleasure from locking me up and staring at my grotesque body is beyond me! What I had of humanity has been taken and all you can do is stare with an unhinged mouth as if I'm some miracle! I'm horrible! I wish you would let me fester in my own pool of rot and let me die!" He would have shed tears if the saltwater hadn't stolen them away the moment they tried to gather. Flitting away, Meison gathered a mound of sand behind the seaweed and huddled into it, leaving only his shoulders, head, and hair floating for anyone to see. |
"They stare and mock, I admire." He did his best not to show how shocked he was. The other man was speaking, and Julian had barely thought such a thing might happen. "The way you move is really interesting, sinuous like a snake. Those claws of yours look like onyx and your hair, it reminds me of seaweed, dancing in the current." These were such strange thoughts, ones he'd not thought to speak so quickly to the person his mind had lingered upon.
"So what's your name? My name's Julian." He started making his tongue piercing click again. The noise served as a welcome distraction, a necessary repetitive action. |
Meison tensed for a moment. That wasn't right. And he was only speaking of the parts of Meison that he hated most of all. His claws, eyes. His hideous hair and stunted tail and hard skin that made it so uncomfortable. How could this human man admire such despicable things? He uncoiled himself, moving slightly out of his hiding place and drifting a little forward, curling on a rock that had been set near the front of the tank and closer to where this Julian-character stood. "My name is... Meison." On the rock he sat on his stomach, curling his arms under him as he had when he had retained his more merman-appearance. "You may be surprised to know that I once looked so vastly different." He muttered, loud enough for Julian to hear. "I once had hair the color of moon-beams, as long as my torso and as wavy as a calm sea. Eyes like the start of sunset, a purple and pink, they shimmered, I was told, like gems. And a tail so elegant most maids were desperately envious..." He smiled when he thought back to that. And frowned when he remembered what had changed that. |
The youth tilted his head to the side, a fringe of unevenly hacked away hair obscuring part of his eyes for a moment. "Meison..." The name rolled off his lips, sliding from his tongue, as he savored it deliberately. How could Julian not, when faced with a creature of legend?
"Alright, so you were uh, what most'd say the epitome of beauty... Right?" With a light grunt, Julian let his lanky frame fall the the ground. Still his hands rested against his knees as he pulled them up nearer his chest. "What did you do? You must have gotten on someone's bad side, to end up like this. Though, like I said before you look real cool. That's a compliment, not an insult. You may not be pretty Meison, but you sure are interesting, deadly dangerous looking." He grinned, and lifted a hand to tweak the silver stud piercing through the flesh of his left nostril. That one was new, just gotten yesterday. It had been impulsive, but almost necessary after he'd seen how the mercreature had reacted to seeing his tongue piercing. |
He shook his head. "I don't understand what you mean by that." Meison said flatly. "But this is not me! None of my kin even come close to the hideousness that now plagues me! I don't want to look dangerous, or deadly, or anything that could even be considered such a thing! It's so hard to live in a body you don't even know." He looked sadly at his hands, the claws that made it hard to pick things up, that snared on his snake-like hair. Then he lowered himself to the bottom of the tank, to where Julian sat on the floor. "I was... cursed. By a two-legged woman that could breathe underwater. She said... She said I was so selfish, and self-absorbed, and conceited, that I couldn't see past that or see others for what they had to offer beyond their own beauty. She said since I could never see the beauty in others, I would turn into a beast of my former self." He paused and looked over to a commotion halfway down the hall. A formal-looking man had cornered the girl that had fed him and was yelling at her. And after a moment she turned, threw her hat, and stalked away. Meison thought he saw tears in her eyes. "Now..." He muttered. "Now I have to... have to learn something. Something about seeing others for their own beauty, not just outside, but in as well, and I'd remain like this forever if I didn't. I had to see what they could offer me... beyond lending their own appearance." He lifted himself up. "But what can they offer me!?" He darted away, curling atop the rock in the back of the tank. "Leave me alone! I've had enough of people staring at me for any reason!" Curling his tail around his head, Meison tried to blend in with the backdrop of the tank. |
Julian shrugged, standing as the merman drifted away to pout. He could see why the witch had cursed him. It reminded him of Beauty and the Beast, a conceited prince cursed to look like a monster until he could see past his old views. Perhaps he had a beauty waiting for him? It would be interesting to be around to see that happen, a living fairy tale unfolding right before his eyes. A grin bloomed across his features at the thoughts.
The commotion, the argument, made him turn around and look at the girl leaving. "Oh I'll leave for now alright, you big cry baby, but I'll be back. " The words were spoken as he tilted his head to look over his shoulder at the merman. "Moping around really isn't going to do you any good, you know Meison. You should think real hard 'bout what that witch said. Seems to me she was trying to teach you a lesson." Shrugging, he turned away fully and walked towards the serious looking man who'd just screamed at his former employee. "Hiya, what was all that about?" "That ... fearful girl got scared and wanted that beast shut away. She quit, but now we have a vacancy..." "Well, I just applied here this mornin' actually.... They should have my resumé at the office. Name's Julian Rue." He stuck out his hand with a grin, and shook the man's hand firmly in his own. Hopefully he'd get hired to take care of Meison. That would be a blast, he was sure! It was the perfect excuse to spend time with the merman, without having the need to leave. Even fi he didn't get to work with the cursed mercreature, he'd still get to learn all about the fish and other things at the marine park. |
Witch? Hah! It was well known---at least to undersea life---that a merman or a mermaid could easily return to the waves half-transformed. To call her a witch would be giving her far too much credit, though how she managed to transform Meison so quickly, and drastically...? It hadn't been normal, not even by merfolk's standard of power. Cursing the human under his breath, Meison curled a little more and glanced over his shoulder as Julian went to talk to the formal-looking man that had made the girl cry. She'd been a pretty little thing, but the way her face screwed up as if she had smelled something horrible had made him do a double-take. Curiosity overpowered his own self-pity, and Meison drifted upward until he breached the water, able to listen to the conversation that otherwise would have been too muffled to hear. What did they call him...? Diving back down, Meison pounded on the glass. "I am not a beast!" His voice cracked as it reached a high tempo. "You horrible beings, land-walkers! You have no idea what I am! You'll never appreciate me, never see me for what I was!" He banged his fists on the glass once more, doing a tailspin and making swift rounds in the tank, forming a slight whirlpool at the top, but little more. |
The business man's mouth turned down in a scowl at the merman's display. "If you can deal with that thing, you've got a job."
Julian grinned. "Sure thing, when do I start?" They went over the details quickly. Sure, Julian wouldn't have very many days off, but that suited him just fine. It wasn't like he had too many friend to hang out with. There were a few of course, but it wasn't like they'd understand his fascination with the ugly looking merman, swimming around moodily in the tank. Once the business man had gone, the young man moved to the tank and pounded on the glass with an open hand to get Meison's attention. "You're right, you aren't a beast. Wasn't going to say otherwise with him around though, seeing as I wanted the job of taking care of you." Julian smiled, leaning his body against the cold glass as drops of rain began to fall. It was just a drizzle, and far more soothing then bothersome. "Meison, you aren't what you were and that's all I or anyone else here knows." Catching a glimpse of yellow eyes, the youth found himself pressing himself even closer to the barrier separating them. "Ah, what I wouldn't do to see some acceptance in those fascinating eyes of yours." Julian didn't quite understand what he was trying to say. The merrman's self loathing was a horrible thing to see, and to watch it change to something other would have been nice. The newly hired worked also wondered if perhaps he could be accepted by Meison, but as what he couldn't imagine. |
Meison stopped after a moment, and drifted downward to Julian's height. "Acceptance...?" He repeated. "Why should I dare accept anything? What should I accept, if there was anything to in the first place? I've been taken from my home. From my hiding place. I've been shoved into a tiny tank and surrounded by humans. Little ones with sticky fingers that beat on the glass and give me headaches day after day! Flashes of your camera-things that make me see spots and feel sick! And people making ugly faces at me because they don't know what I really am! They think I really look like this, they think and think and I can't tell them otherwise! I feel so damned helpless!" He sobbed for a moment. "Julian! You don't know what it's like to be put in a little cage like a human's sideshow. You let yourself look however you want and you can help it! You can change it! You can blend in or stand out as you like! I don't have anywhere to hide! I don't have anywhere to get away from their ugly stares!" He'd tried to claw the glass before, but that had been stopped quickly when the light screeching only filled the water around him and didn't even scratch the glass. He couldn't grab the scaffolding above the tank and he couldn't launch himself out of the water, his tail was too stunted, too short. |
Julian leaned back as he rolled his eyes. "Idiot of a merman, that isn't what I was talking about! That right there isn't fair and is downright wrong, but I promise I'll try my best to help make things better." He was going to try and find a way to free Meison, hard as that would be. He was sure there were ways, people he could contact. Barring that, an escape plan would need to put into place once he knew enough about the park and the transportation of sea creatures. Putting Meison's life in jeopardy because of is own incompetence and ignorance was out of the question.
Did he dare? Julian would. "Trust me Meison. I'll do what I can for you. Starting with something nice and simple. What do you like eating?" That was something that others would heed his words about, he was sure. Those who owned the park wold want their newest attraction to be well fed and kept healthy to draw the masses. Maybe he could mention banning the pictures while he was at it.. Or at least making sure that the flash was off. |
Meison simmered in his annoyance, but bit back any harsh words he might throw at the human. This was the only one that had even considered speaking to him. Most thought he was mute, or stupid, or didn't know their language. But what if this one got scared of him like the girl from before? He'd spoken to her and she eventually called him a beast. He was a beast to her. To others. To most. Meison curled up on the sand and studied Julian. "My tastes are considered... hard to accommodate." He said. "I eat angelfish and specific deep-sea starfish, seahorses, blue horseshoe crabs... Something you might know as an Orange Roughy, whale eggs, and butterfly fish. And something you like to call a 'blue tang'." He crossed his arms lightly. "You seem to think these things are... rare." Where he came from, these creatures were in overabundance. He never understood why people on land kept ogling them constantly as if they were like diamonds in the water. |
They were indeed rare, but Meison was rarer and brought in a lot of money. "Oranges I can get easy enough. I'll talk to the people in charge of getting food about the rest of it..." It would be easier once he knew who they were.
A throat being cleared interrupted his thoughts. "So I see you're the new employee, in charge of that ... thing." The middle aged woman had her hands on her hips, and looked at the merman disapprovingly. "Well come along, time to get you set up." Julian sighed, turning to glance at Meison as he stood. "I'll be back later." (She's an npc character) |
Meison growled at the way the woman regarded him. He hated that look. He'd seen it enough before! Darting forward, he stuck his tongue out at the woman, and she gave him a hard look. Giving up, Meison drifted away from the two humans and curled up in the seaweed again. His presence scared away the little fish. The woman crossed her arms slightly as Julian approached. Her black-gray hair was up in a high, tight ponytail that easily showed her narrowed blue eyes. "Hope you're up to the challenge." She said as Julian approached. "Name's Carol Beau, I've been here the past fifteen years." She sighed lightly, and glanced over to the tank Meison was in. "This one's been silent since we got him." She continued, waving Julian along as she turned to go down the hall. "Personally I think he's more trouble than he's worth." She shook her head. |
"Well maybe telling people to turn off their flash when they take pictures of him would be a good start." He had to say it even if there was a chance he could get into trouble. "The name's Julian Rue. It's nice to meet you."
The young man followed her as she guided him through the park, pointing out different areas and telling him about his responsibilities. "Do you know how to use scuba diving equipment?" " A bit Ma'am. Enough to get by." He'd taken it up out of curiosity, and it was a good thing to know when you lived not far from the sea. Carol nodded. "Good, you'll be able to help clean the tank then, and inspect it weekly for any problems." Hearing that, Julian found himself looking forward to it. He would be able to get a closer look at Meison, might even be able to swim with the other man. |
Carol came to a stop outside a room off to the side, labeled 'Employees Only'. "Here's the locker room and employee restrooms. Left's for the women, right's for the men. Showers are back there too for after a swim, can't be running home every time you need to get clean." She stepped in and pulled something off the wall. "Here, this is an employee sheet for newcomers. Fill out your information and you'll get a keycard ID. It'll grant access to slightly more restricted areas." Meison had glared after them from his place, but didn't care to know what they were doing. Humans were curious things, if a little stupid in bulk. Maybe it was their mob mentality. Meison didn't know, and he didn't care to wrack his brain trying to figure it out. He slept, if a little difficultly. ***** The next day was just as dark as the first, only louder as it roared in thunder and flashed in lightning. Even from his place in the water in a large building, Meison could see the way the rain fell in sheets and lightning cracked across the sky, bounding down below tall buildings and possibly hitting the sea. He'd loved storms. The light from the streaks of energy made his scales and hair glitter brightly and in more striking tones, made his eyes shine. But after the transformation he'd hidden away from even the rain, under outcroppings of stone or in large beds of seaweed. He dared not go home, let his parents the king and the queen, his brothers and sister see him like this! How despicable... He stared at the people going by quietly. Workers, it seemed, by the way they were dressed similarly. They always looked at him when they passed, never at the tanks elsewhere. He turned his back to them defiantly. |
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