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Léan's eyes were closed, and his breathing was slow, synchronized. "A stranger wandered into my territory. We ended up fighting..." His voice was a soft whisper. He cracked one eye open to look around, and noticed the camera. "...I would make sure that's all right. It wasn't damaged in the battle...you should have some good footage on there..."
Despite how severe his wounds looked, he didn't seem too injured, based on how he was acting and how calmly he was speaking. |
Alice shook her head."I don't care about the camera! You are hurt, I'm worried about you!"She looked at how calm he was and couldn't understand it Did he really think she would care more about stupid footage than her friend?. She looked down at her hands on him, they were covered in his blood."What can i do to help you?"
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Léan sighed, quietly. "...Perhaps, bandages?" he suggested, absently. He lifted his head up off of the sand--it was slowly staining crimson. "...I don't think...I should be in the water..." he added, hesitantly. He didn't know where he would go, where it could be safe, on land.
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"Right bandages..."Alice said to herself. Then when he mentioned not going back in the ocean, Alice paused. Where could she take him that it would be safe? Then a thought struck her. The porch on the condo was raised above the sloping beach. Under it was a jacuzzi that the family didn't plan on using. "I know where i can take you."As carefully as she could, She picked Léan up on her back. It was a good thing she wrestled constantly with her brother so she was stronger than she looked. Trying not to hurt him, Alice carried him across the beach.
She set the merman down once they were under the porch next to the in ground jacuzzi. She turned the hose on and started filling up the small pool. "I hope this is okay." |
Léan almost panicked, flight instincts attempting to kick in, when she picked him up. He resisted the urge to snap at her exposed neck, and allowed her to carry him. He was probably going to bite if she dropped him or slipped, though, on pure instinct.
He was surprised when she sat him down next to an odd-looking pool, though he winced when the dirt from beneath the porch touched one of his wounds. The water would take care of it. "...Anything is better than the ocean," he reminded her, swaying slightly. "...Blood attracts sharks..." |
After carrying him, her clothes were covered in his blood as well as her hands. "Yeah, i don't want you to get eaten..."She looked around."You can get in there, i'll be right back with some bandages." Alice ran up around the condo to the door, she was lucky that her family was still out in town. She threw the door open and went to the closet where the first aid kit was. She grabbed the whole thing and ran back down to where Léan was hidden. She was panting when she hunched down next to the pool.
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Léan hadn't bothered with the jacuzzi yet. He had a feeling it would be better to stay on land, for now, until his wounds stopped bleeding and began to scab over. He didn't address her when she returned. He was probably slipping in and out of consciousness, due to his extreme amount of blood loss.
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Alice pulled the compression bandages out and began to apply them to the half conscious merman before her. she applied antibiotic ointment to the wounds , she didn't know how susceptible mermen were to infection, but she didn't want to risk it. After covering all the wounds and making sure the bandages were secure, Alice gently put a hand on Léan's cheek."Stay with me, I don't want you to go unconscious on me. you still need to help me out and tell me if i'm going to mess something up."she gave him a weak smile.
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Léan's tail flicked back and forth, absently. His eyes were cloudy. "I'm awake..." he responded, his voice weak. "...I will be fine, just laying here...possibly a bit more out of sight, or covered...at least until my wounds start to heal..."
He coughed slightly, shaking his head a few times to clear it. "...For now, you should head inside...after you've finished what you need to. Distract yourself from my injuries--I'll be all right...check the camera..." |
Alice grabbed the tarp that had been covering the jacuzzi and hung it from the bottom of the deck. she held the two bottom corners down with rocks, creating a temporary wall. the only way someone would be able to see under the porch was if the walked all the way down and around the condo. "That should do for now."she looked back at him, not liking the idea of leaving him there. But she did as he wished and walked around to the other side of the beach to get the piece of equipment. it was fine, except for being sandy. After walking back over to her injured friend, she squatted down and a thought occurred. "Do you want some pain killers? they might help."
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At the mere mention of human medicine, a shudder went down Léan's back. "No...no, thank you. I will be fine," he assured her, managing a slight smile. "I just need to rest...I hope...I hope no one sees me. I don't want to cause any trouble..." He was in too much pain to be angry or bitter about possibly being seen...he just wanted to get some much-needed rest and let his wounds settle.
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Alice backed up a few feet to give him some space so he could rest. She sat with her back leaning on one of the support beams of the deck with the camera in her lap. After a few silent moments, Alice turned the camera on and watched the footage.
It was beautiful. Colors and plants that Alice has never seen before. She saw the wrecked ship were the merman was staying and got a glimpse of his hunting of a shark. Alice sighed, there was so much she was missing and here was the proof. She wished she could experience that underwater wold first hand, but since she couldn't she would treasure the footage always. Just before the recording came Ro an end, Alice let out a small gasp. It had caught a glimps of the other merman. She looked over at her friend as he tried to rest.don't worry, I won't let anyone find you... That's a promise. she thought to herself. |
Léan heard the click of the camera, and the sounds of the footage playing back. He was glad that the camera had not been damaged... else-wise, all the work he had done today to keep it from being damaged would have gone to waste. He jumped a bit when he heard the distinct sound of the other merman's territorial screech, just before the film cut.
He was fairly sure that other merman, though gravely injured, was still in his territory somewhere. |
Alice looked over at her friend and a sigh escaped her. She wished there was more she could do. She got to her feet and stretched as she walked down to the surf water and let it wash up over her feet and legs. What could she do to protect her friend?
She bent over and tried to wash the blood from her hands. Another sigh escaped her when she watched the water around her stain red. She pulled her tee shirt off and held it up to the moonlight, it too was covered in blood, there was no saving it. She looked a few yards up and saw Léan, maybe he could use it as a pillow. |
Léan opened his eyes a tad more once he heard her returning. His breath was heavy, slow. He would be fine...but he needed to rest for a long while before he would be fully recovered. He lifted his head a bit, licking his chapped lips slightly.
"You can head back to your nest, now, if you'd like..." Of course he would refer to it as nest... "I will be fine out here as long as I'm not found..." |
"Here."Alice slipped her shirt under his head trying to make him more comfortable. She stood and rubbed her arm as she looked at him. "I'll be back to check on you in the morning."she sighed and tried giving him a smile.
She turned and started up the path to the condo, but she stopped and looked out at the ocean. If only she could have been there, maybe she could have stopped the fight.She hung her head, no use dwelling on it now, what's done is done. Now she just had to figure out how to get in the house with out someone noticing she wasn't wearing a shirt. |
Léan immediately took to the softness of the shirt, ignoring that it was now drenched in blood. He hoped the vast amount of blood in the water wouldn't attract sharks to the beach...especially if the humans here planned on swimming anytime soon.
His only response to her reassuring words was to glance up at her absently, semi-hopefully. He was tired, and just wanted to rest... |
Alice was able to successfully sneak into the condo without anyone noticing. She climbed into her soft bed and glanced out her window in the direction of the ocean. She prayed her friend would be okay throughout the night. Alice however was too worried to get any decent amount of sleep.
After rolling around in her bed for a few hours, she climbed out her window and silently made her way back down to where the merman slept. Alice took her seat against on of the porch support beams and watched her friend's chest rise and fall as he slept. After a while her eyes grew heavy and Alice fell asleep right there. |
Léan slept peacefully throughout the night. He didn't stir...not once. He remained in a deep, pleasant sleep...through the night...through the morning...and through the early afternoon, as well.
His wounds seemed to be healing nicely...but he probably wouldn't be able to head back into the water for a few days... |
Alice stretched when the sun woke her up. She looked over and found Léan sleeping peacefully. She smiled and made her way up to the condo to see what her family was planing for the day. When they all woke up, her mother told her of a nifty little market that she wanted to check out, of course her step dad and little brother were going to, while James had already met a few locals, he was going to meet a few girls on a public beach.
Good that meant that no one would happen upon Léan. When everyone left around noon, Alice changed into her swimsuit and headed down to the beach for a swim until her friend woke up. The water was nice on the hot summer day, Alice just hoped that the other merman didn't make an appearance while Léan was sleeping. |
Léan woke up about twenty minutes after she began her swim. His eyes were hazy, and he still seemed terribly tired. He lifted his head up slightly. "...Mm..." He shook his head a few times, blinking. It took him a few minutes to realize that he wasn't in water, and that his stomach was grumbling. He needed food...
He didn't smell any odd scents nearby...though he did smell the overwhelming stench of blood around him... |
Alice wiped water from her eyes and looked over at the beach. When she saw Léan sit up, she swam over and made her way up the beach. "You're awake! How are you feeling?"She knelt down next to him, but made sure she gave him enough space.
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Léan sighed, stretching his tail out slightly so that it was straight on the ground. "Tired...and extremely hungry," he murmured, lowering his eyes. He was in no condition to hunt, but he didn't want to have to force her to fetch food for him...
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Alice tilted her head quizzically. "Well, what do you want? i might be able to get you something?" She shifted her position to allow room for his tail. She was curious as to how he was staying out of water so long, she thought that merfolk required water constantly.
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The only sign that he felt a bit ill was the fact that the scales on his tail were beginning to peel off. He peeled constantly when he was out of water...well, his tail did, anyway. It was odd for him...and not so pleasant when he accidentally fell asleep on rocky bluffs out at sea. "...I...am willing to try whatever you have to eat. I don't want you to have to go out of your way for me."
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