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There was some splashing out in the water, for sure. There also seemed to be something wrong with the water...it was staining a pinkish color, like something was injured nearby...
Out in the distance, near the rocks farther out to sea, a figure pulled itself up onto the rocks, clinging to them with his last remaining strength. He was bigger than the merman she knew so well, with longer hair and darker features. He looked a lot more deadly, dangerous...hostile, despite his injuries. http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/o...g?t=1292202002 |
Alice saw the other figure hoist himself onto the rocks where she and Lean spent quite a bit of time. The pink of the water made her skin crawl but she couldn't just leave the merman out there. After a moment of hesitation Alice carefully swam out towards him. "Hello? Are you alright?" She had swam out to the point that her feet couldn't touch anymore. She stopped and treaded water a few feet away, she knew how skiddish Lean had been she didn't want to startle this merman, she just wanted to help.
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The merman's head whipped towards her, and a low, ferocious growl built up in his throat. It was territorial, nasty. There were several old wounds littering his arms and chest, like he'd been in a terrible fight.
...The merman on the tape...he had had long black hair and dark emerald eyes. |
Alice's eyes got wide as she recognized the merman from the footage Lean had shot for her. "Y-Y-you!" She slowly started backing up. "Oh no..." She turned and tried to swim back to shore as fast as she could. But she wasn't from the sea, she couldn't go very fast. Not good not good not good. was all she could think as she tried to get as far away from him as possible.
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((Poor Léan is sleeping in his sunken ship. D:... ))
The merman's tail flicked back and forth rather rapidly. He was aggressive...that much was obvious. He smelled the scent of another merperson on her, so he didn't immediately flee. All merpeople were somewhat frightened of humans, unless scents indicated they were close with merpeople. He didn't go after her. He looked like he was thinking about it, but he seemed to feel a little too weak. |
Alice glanced over her shoulder to see if she was being pursued, but when she wasn't she stopped. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked at him. He seemed to hurt to do anything. Biting her lip she again ventured closer. This is going to be a mistake i can tell... She thought.
She kept her distance a bit as she treaded water. But she frowned she didn't like seeing others hurt. "You shouldn't be here." She finally said after a while. |
The merman's back arched up, like an angry cat's would. He let out a feral sort of hiss. "And why not?" he spat, his voice a low, stubborn drawl. "I like the territory...I'd like to settle down around here. Your nomadic friend startled me...I'll admit I threw the first punch. But we both did a number on each other. If we hadn't startled each other, we might not have fought."
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She jumped a little bit as she watched him arch up. But she quickly recovered and glared at him. She wasn't going to like the merman that had hurt Lean "Well for one thing you can't take this territory. Besides there are far to many humans here. It would just be better if you leave." Alice felt surprisingly confident even though she knew she shouldn't be.
She was unaware that the water was bringing her closer to this angry male. |
"Sharing territory is not a big issue for me. I don't mind equally sharing territory. I don't intend to move anytime soon..." His tail swished back and forth rapidly, a warning sign, and he bared razor-sharp teeth at her. He was angry...but perhaps he was more frightened than angry. After all, merpeople were terribly afraid of humans.
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"I still don't think it is a good idea for you to stay. I would rather you not stay here with my friend. You may have not intended to fight but you did...." The anger was clear in her voice. Where the sudden courage came from she didn't know, but maybe it was because he had hurt her friend.
She was only a few short feet away now, the current brought her closer. "I don't want any trouble here in these waters." She said plainly more calm now. |
As if to demonstrate how close the current was bringing her to him, the injured merman reared up slightly, towering over her even though she was still a good distance away. He was big...much bigger and older than Léan was. It was a miracle that he hadn't seriously injured Léan...
"I don't cause trouble unless trouble is forced upon me," he retorted, flatly. "You are a human. You have no claims over these waters." |
Alice suddenly felt very small with him towering over her. "I-I never said i have claim over the waters. I just don't want trouble here. That other merman is my friend." She admitted, but she kept her eye contact. She didn't like being so close, but she didn't really want to turn her back on him again.
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The merman huffed slightly. "There's power in numbers. I'll make a proposal to your friend when he returns to the shoreline, here. Nomads will often form packs together, to share territory and defend it from outsiders. I'm not going to cause trouble. If you haven't already noticed, I'm in no condition to start trouble."
His old wounds were still leaking out blood. They were raw, and starting to get infected. Unlike Léan, he had had no medical treatment to help his wounds... |
Alice frowned seeing the blood. Running a hand over her face she mumbled. "I can't believe i am going to say this..." She looked back up to him. "If you follow me to shore, i can try to treat those injuries of yours." Before she could get an answer, a wave caught her off guard and crashed over her head sending her underwater. She had just exhaled to, she had no air in her as the water shoved her down.
When she finally surfaced, she was sputtering coughing up water and trying to catch her breath. |
This merman did not seem to like the idea of going anywhere near shore. Plus, he was almost twice Léan's size...so there was no way she was picking him up. His tail flicked back and forth. "...I'll move to where the rocks end, but no further than that," he said, shortly. He was mystified by her sudden change of heart.
He did, however, find it hilarious when she rolled it underwater. He made no moves to help her, instead chuckling under his breath. He had a deep, sultry sort of voice. |
When Alice heard him laugh she shot him a glare. "Do you want my help or not?" She hated seeing others hurt, besides, with him bleeding in the waters he was going to draw sharks and that is something she definitely didn't want. She slowly began swimming her way back towards the shore. "If you stay on the rocks ill bring the stuff out to you."
Then she left him and swam all the way up to the beach. She hid the wheelchair and stuff under the porch and then went into the house. What are you doing Alice? she asked herself. He almost killed Lean and you're helping him? "Well i can't leave him to die. Or draw sharks." She grabbed the first aid kit and made her way back to teh ocean |
The merman shuffled himself more towards shore on the rocks, finally finding a comfortable and easy-to-reach place on one of the flatter rocks farther in toward shore. He wouldn't dare to come onto shore, though--that he just wouldn't do. He was a proud merman, not some human-wannabe.
He was built. Very much built. He much more resembled a merman of legend than Léan did--he was fierce-looking, had a lot of muscle to him, and was territorial and unfriendly. |
Alice saw him and waded out to him. The water was only about up to her waist so he was easily within her reach. Still she felt intimidated by him. He was thick and strong, so unlike Lean. She set her kit on the stone next to him. "I'm not doing this for you ya' know. I just don't want you drawing sharks in." She looked up at him and hesitated before she reached a hand out to his fin. Was he going to shudder away or let her touch him.
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The merman's fins frilled up slightly, in an aggressive manner, and his emerald eyes were watching her with the utmost sharpness. No movement of hers would escape his sight. He was perfectly still, though. A good sign, for now. It meant that for the moment, he was not interested in attacking her.
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Alice pulled out a peroxide soaked cloth and looked up at the merman's eyes. "This will sting, but i need to disinfect the area before your wounds begin to fester and go beyond hope of healing." She Hesitated a moment longer and then pressed the cloth to one of the wounds.
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The merman's upper lip lifted up over his teeth, and he growled lowly, threateningly. He didn't move closer or make any attempts to harm her, though. It probably meant he had accepted the pain the peroxide was causing, possibly understanding the need for it.
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Alice frowned when she saw some of the injuries. They could probably use stitches. She glanced up at the snarling merman as she continued to disinfect the woulds. Did Lean really do all these? She thought back to his injuries... Shaking her head she put the peroxide away. "You could use stitches." She had done enough in her studies on animals, but never to a person, it wasn't all that different was it?
"Are you going to let me do them?" She reached into her kit and pulled out the curved needle. She didn't realize how much it looked like a fish hook. |
Stitches seemed to be something this merman was familiar with. Did that mean he had had companions in the past, perhaps a pack? If that was the case...where were these pack-mates, now?
He visibly shrunk away at the sight of the needle, immediately recognizing it as something that looked like a fish hook. Fishing was dangerous to merpeople...it was near impossible to pull them up, but the hooks could cause permanent facial injury and scarring, and could sometimes pull out tongues. "...I will be watching you carefully," he warned, shifting so that it was easier for her to work on stitches. |
Alice threaded the needle with its special thread and began to stitch up a few of the larger wounds on him. She did it slowly are carefully. She didn't have any numbing agents so the merman could feel everything. Alice was quite surprised he hadn't lashed out at her yet. In the long run this would all help, but it seemed like she was doing nothing more than inflicting more pain.
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The merman was very still, showing no signs of the pain being inflicted on him other than the occasional twitch and gritting of his teeth. Was he used to pain? It was an odd thought, but...perhaps he was. Perhaps he'd come out of a bad home, and perhaps he'd had abusive partners in the past.
He was silent, as well. He didn't talk to her, or make any noise. |
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