Léan yawned absently after swallowing his first big bite of fish. He seemed...almost upset that someone other than a seasoned member of his 'family' was in here. He was most comfortable with the Ringleader, of course...but having a stranger in his aquarium, his sanctuary, was a little upsetting to him. He would get over it...

"...Three times a day, and a snack before performances," he hummed, stretching his tail out slightly. It sparkled in the cool bluish lights in the aquarium. "Fish for the three meals, and shrimp for a snack, usually. Unless I request something different...which I might."

He was obviously testing the young man. He would test him for a while yet--it was his way of deeming him 'worthy' or not. Léan was not a naturally kind creature.

Gian took note of that and he moved a bit to sit down. The merman really did resemble a fish who needs to be taken care of but he also resembled that of a man to be eating three times a day. With snacks, too, included.

"I'll do my best," was what he'd said with a small smile as he'd looked around the other's aquarium. It did look creepy and big but the vast oceans should've been bigger than this. Remembering Alfie's words about Léan's not so good past, he found himself blurting something out that he wasn't sure he should've did.

"What was your life before all these, Léandre?"

Léan froze. He had just bitten into his current tuna again, intended to keep eating. But when the other spoke a quick flurry of bad memories flooded through his brain. He shook his head fiercely and turned away from Gian, obviously indicating that he didn't want to talk about it and that he had struck a nerve.

He continued to eat in peace, ignoring what Gian had asked him. He didn't talk about his past. He had only spoken to the Ringleader about it. He trusted that man more than anyone else in the whole world.

Rubbing the side of his neck again, Gian supposed he shouldn't have asked. The other's reaction was enough to tell him that. "Sorry about that," he started as he'd looked off to the side for a moment. He needed to change the subject if he didn't want to get to Léan's bad side. He could also only guess that the ones who gave this merman a bad past would be his kin. Humans, after all, are the worst kind other than demons.

If anyone ever believed in them like he does.

"Do you... ever miss the ocean?"

((This is going to have to be my last post. I went to the doctor today and I officially have mono. :( So I need to get some rest. Night!))

"I do."

Léan's tone was calm enough, at the very least. It seemed that now that they were off of that topic, he was in a better mood for discussion. The wide open ocean was something he dearly missed and wanted to visit again someday. But he was too conditioned for life in captivity to even think about returning to the ocean for good. He would not survive.

He fell silent again as he ate away at his fish, ravenously. The taste of tuna never got old.

[[ Whoa. Get well soon! ]]

Gian smiled a little sadly. He'd expected as much. How long has Léan been kept captive in a big aquarium such as this? Oddly enough, he wanted to try and let Léan swim in the ocean even just for once, maybe twice or thrice. It didn't matter how many times; Léan seemed like a lonely guy in such a big aquarium. Like Alfie, he pitied this one, too.

"Do you eat anything else other than tuna?" he asked as he reached out to feel the water with the tips of his fingers. The water was cold, that much he could say, but he was going to have to clean it no matter what the temperature may be.

Léan cast a wary eye in his direction, the fins behind his ears flaring out just slightly. It was a blatant sign of aggression. He still wasn't comfortable with Gian yet. Having him touch the water of his aquarium didn't sit well with the merman.

"I can. I simply prefer tuna," he hummed, after swallowing a big bite of the tuna. He ate quickly--this first one was almost gone. "Tuna is my favorite fish. Shrimp are my favorite shellfish."

Gian saw the merman's fins flaring out just a bit and he immediately retrieved his hand back. Crossing his arms over his chest, he let out a short, "Ah," before he'd looked off to the side. What exactly should he be doing to pass time? Sitting here and talking to someone who obviously doesn't like him don't prove to be fun.

How was he supposed to please Léandre? "Why, exactly, do you hate me?" he asked as he moved his gaze back to the merman. He wanted to know so why not ask, right? He wasn't exactly the most patient of men and he always wanted answers thus the question that perhaps, the other 'freaks' dread to ask.

"...Very well. Let me be frank with you."

Léan's arctic blue eyes narrowed minutely and he, almost copying Gian, folded his pale arms across his chest. "I despise your kind," he informed him, flatly. "I cannot stand human beings. I've been through things in my lifetime that no one should ever have to suffer through because of the selfish nature of human beings. I think I've endured enough from humans to earn the right to be wary of them."

He leaned back against the tank ornament behind him, his fanned-out fins flattening again to show that he was no longer feeling hostile. "Forgive me if I see the human race as a bunch of cookies made with the same cutter. I have been through too much. It is not easy for me to open myself up to others."

Gian thought so as much. He could only bring himself to shake his head at the other's apology and smiled. "That's all right," he told him as he'd slowly got up to his feet. He decided to walk around and see if anything else other than Léan's aquarium needed cleaning, "I thought so as much."

Shoving his hands into the confines of his pockets, he stopped and looked up at the roof of the tent. "I definitely agree with you on the selfish nature we have," he continued on. Pausing, though, when he'd realized the talk was getting too deep and perhaps a little more than personal, he thought to change the subject. "So, how is it like performing with everyone here? And, what do you say with little kids? Does the Ringleader let them see you up-close?"

Léan's tail flicked back and forth slightly, almost as if he was intrigued by Gian's brushing off of his rude and somewhat condescending nature towards humankind so easily. He finished up his first tuna handily and nabbed the second one, budging up off of his place on the floor of the tank. He floated along, at a considerable distance, when Gian walked around the length of the aquarium.

"I don't mind performing, as long as Shadow allows me to stay here. I'm happy here. I...get a little crowded sometimes. Shadow knows when I get crowded and then will kindly ask people to keep their distance."

He called the Ringleader so casually by his first name. The two of them must have been close.

Shadow. The merman seemed to talk casually of the Ringleader's name. Recalling back on Alfie's story, he supposed the merman's trust only falls on the tall and mysterious man. "You get a little crowded sometimes?" he asked as he turns to look at him and raises both of his eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

The boy continued to walk until he'd reached one corner of the said aquarium. Now that he'd pretty much walked half of the place, he could really say the aquarium was big. How deep was it though? The male looked back down at the water as he tried to get a smart guess of it.

"I get tired of having so many humans around me. Quite tired. When I reach this point I am often irritable and can be terribly unkind to guests. It's easy for Shadow to tell when my breaking point has been reached, and he will kindly shoo away humans."

Léan scowled slightly, taking a bite of his tuna and swallowing it before adding on, "How would you feel being stuck in a tank with nowhere to go, and with people constantly tapping on the glass and whining that I should be jumping through hoops of fire or balancing a beach ball on my tail for their amusement?"

Blinking, Gian actually found himself making a face at the thought of it. "No, yeah," he started as he shook his head, "That's definitely not a nice thought." Bringing up his hand to rub the side of his neck, he watched him eat the tuna and crouched down again. His arms stretched out on his knees with his hands dangling in front of him.

"But why the hell do they tell you to do all those things when just looking at you is enough of an amazement?" Pausing for a moment, he felt his cheeks color a tad and scratched at his cheek with his index finger. "I know looking at you would be enough. You're really beautiful for a man... a merman anyway." The boy looked off and got back up to his feet. He felt awkward so he'd decided to continue walking around.

Léan made a humming noise as a response to his first few statements and then flashed him a peculiar sort of look when he next spoke, noting that there was a bit of color to his cheeks.

Beautiful? Well, he'd heard that before. Shadow often cooed to Léan that he was beautiful, more attractive than nearly everyone he had met in all of his life. He'd thought it was all just empty praise, really. He'd heard it from visitors, of course...more than once. People were often entranced by his beauty, but most wanted to see more than beauty. They wanted to see tricks...

"...Thank you?" He sounded a bit bemused.

Gian hadn't expected the thank you with the question mark. Hell, he hadn't expected the merman to reply at all so this just made him feel a little more than awkward. "I was just being honest..." he mumbled, embarrassed, under his breath as he brought a hand back up to his arm. Rubbing at his arm a bit, he noted that it was cold.

And that he'd forgotten to ask for a coat. "What kind of water do like best? Hot or cold?" he asked the merman again as he looked over at him. He'd only realized now that he was up in the surface and it made him stare at him in awe at his beauty. Yet again, he was carried away.

"I prefer cold water in the summer and spring and warm water in the winter and fall. Before I was--...before I began forcibly living in captivity, I lived in the Bering Sea in the summer and spring and in the Gulf of Mexico during the winter and fall."

The Bering Sea was a northern sea near Alaska...an arctic sea. The Gulf of Mexico was certainly more on the tropical side...nice and warm. Right now, it was spring, just dipping into fall. It certainly explained the cool temperature of the room.

Only when did the merman talk did he snap himself out of the merman's tantalizing gaze. Dropping his hand back down to his side, he listened to him and frowned a little. Bering Sea and Gulf of Mexico? He's only heard of Mexico but he didn't know how far away those places are.

"Back when you were living in the sea, too, do you, you know..." he trailed off and did some comedic kung-fu moves, "Fight off the predators? Were there even sea creatures that tried to kill you?"

((I'm heading to bed. Going to shoot for going to school tomorrow, so I need to get some shut-eye, considering I still feel terrible. :( Night!))

Léan's tail flicked back and forth slightly, and he took another few bites of his tuna before he answered Gian.

"...Predators were a constant threat, yes," he said, finally. "Manta rays and sharks were the main problems. However, they were not the most challenging problem of living in the seas. No...being a semi-nomadic merman was difficult...especially considering that I was always alone. Other merpeople posed problems, especially when it came to territorial disputes."

[[ Good luck! ]]

"There are other merpeople?" he asked, rather amazed at that fact as he raised his eyebrows a tad and crouched down by the edge of the pool. This time, he was interested in Léan adventures in the sea. "What was it like under the water?" He wasn't afraid of water but if he stayed down too long without any air supply of the sorts, he was going to freak. He supposed it comes with the trauma of having your head dunked into a pail back when he was a kid. He wasn't exactly sure why his mother did it but it wasn't the best of experiences.

"And do Manta rays actually, you know, kill things off with their tail?" Gian's eyebrows raised just a tad in curiosity, much like a kid's.

((I ended up not making it. :( Had such terrible stomach pains that I almost puked in the morning... ))

"Of course there are others." Léan looked offended. "Not many would dare to come near the surface in this day and age, however. Most live on the sea floor, where it is so deep that humans cannot travel. The only merpeople that are ever captured, reasonably, are nomads such as myself..."

He closed his eyes, leaning back and floating around on his back lazily. "...Don't tell me you have never dived before? Scuba-diving can give you an idea...and yes, they can. The tips of their tails are caked with poison."

[[ Aw, man. :'( That sucks. ]]

Gian didn't know. It wasn't his fault he wasn't educated on the supernatural. Hell, when he'd gotten to this 'freak' show; it was the first time he'd seen a mutated naga, a snake man, some guy who can bring back the dead, a merman and someone who can read minds. But, his enthusiasm to get to know them and be close to them to make up for the family he'd been wanting to have was probably what drove him to not running away from them when he'd met them in close-up.

"No," he said with a shake of his head, "I've never really been able to go out much." The teen stood up again and let out a quiet sigh.

"Hey," Hebs started as he'd poked his head into the tent. He grinned towards Léan's way and then turned his attention to Gian. "You hungry? Let's eat. I've already given the Ringmaster and Kratos their food."

When he saw Gian looking back at the merman, he gave him a little wave. "Come on. I can't have you fainting when you're supposed to be doing your job."

"Ask the Ringleader to take you scuba-diving. He'd be more than happy to." Léan said nothing about going along on this possible diving trip, probably because he didn't think it was possible. It was a long drive to the ocean...well, not long by human standards, but still. Four hours of being out of water would probably make him feel a bit ill.

His tail flicked back and forth when Hebs walked in, and he gave him only a curt nod when he waved. "...I don't think it needs to be said, but you should wake Alfie up. He's sure to be hungry." All that naga did was sleep, eat, and act like a perverted pig. He was friendly, sure...but Alfie and Léan often argued because of the pure differences of their character.

Scuba-diving? That sounded interesting but it'd be a lot more interesting if Léan were to come along. "I'll ask," he said with a nod and a bright grin, "Though... I'd rather if you were to tag along, too." Turning to look back at Hebs, the male went over to get the now empty crate. Without the tunas, it was a lot lighter.

"And... I'll wake him up." Hebs took the crate from him and he grinned his way. He motioned to the tent where Alfie's sleeping in and went off to prepare his, Alfie's and Gian's meal.

Gian knocked on the door to Alfie's place and he shoved his cold hand into the confines of his pocket. He wasn't exactly sure if a knock would suffice waking him up but he'd tried adding in another approach. "Alfie? Hebs asked me to come get you for breakfast." The man tried for Alfie's knob. If it were open, then he might be able to wake Alfie up easily.

"...Whuzzat...mm...?"

It didn't seem like Alfie was in any mood or state to wake up. The door to his room was unlocked--it always was. He had little to nothing to fear from any other 'freaks' in the show. He was pretty laid-back and friendly...and his guard was, as a result, down.

He was curled up in his nest, his tail halfway-coiled around his body.