For myself and Rochiel Silverfire ONLY, please! No touchie. :3

Plot: A strange and beautiful song at sea lures a crew of pirates into a rather unlucky situation...


Name: Léandre Skelter

Age: Appears to be anywhere from seventeen to twenty-one...true age is uncertain

Short Biography: A nomadic merman with no known family or mate-related ties. He is afraid of boats unless they're sunken boats--he finds wonderful little treasures in these. Recently he's been haunting a 'graveyard' of sunken ships out at sea in a shallower area. He loves to sing...the song of his species lures in unwitting humans, whether he likes it or not.

Personality: He is a loner that usually reacts violently towards other merpeople invading his new territories. Whatever family he had is most likely dead by now, and he has never had a mate. He's never lived in a 'pack' of his kind, either--he's always been a loner. He tends to be somewhat blunt and rude, stating what he feels without thinking first. He needs a lot of personal space.

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Name: Captain Eliza Callahan
Age: 23
Short Bio: Eliza took to the sea at an early age as a cabin boy. She spent four years working before anyone realized she was a girl. Luckily for her, the captain at the time appreciated hard work over hardware and let her stay. She became a full crew member at the age of 16 and soon proved her mettle in battle many times. She was voted in as captain when she was 18 and the old captain retired to enjoy both his golden years, and his gold.
Personality: Fiery and independent. She is good-natured, but rules with a firm hand. She keeps a calm exterior, but gets a bit flustered if things are completely out of her control.
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Ships often avoided this little patch of ocean. For one it was rocky...the air was usually frigid and dropped below zero degrees at night, so ice coated the top of the water, as well. Storms wracked the area and made it nearly impassible at times.

But these reasons were not the main reasons why ships avoided the area.

The entire area was a massive ship graveyard, full of sunken and battle-downed ships. In the shallower areas parts of old ships could be seen sticking out from underneath the water. The going was treacherous, especially for bigger boats that could get caught on sunken ships underwater and end up sinking their whole ship. Due to the sheer amount of ships that appeared to have sunken here, the area was deemed cursed by many superstitious individuals...

Nowadays the only boats that dared to wander near this deathtrap were pirate vessels in search of old and valuable treasures from times gone past. And there were treasures for those who looked closely enough and accepted the challenge of overcoming the graveyard--large chests full of old, mint condition coins...golden goblets...silver platters...as well as many other goodies. The challenge, though, was navigating painstakingly through the graveyard without damaging the ship...with so much debris it was nearly impossible.

...Especially with the added threat of what was lurking in the water...

The weather was clear, the wind was right, and Eliza was in a supremely good mood. She had been up in the crow's nest enjoying the view when the masts that marked the ship graveyard began to rise out of the water like long-forgotten bones. Wanting a shortcut she grabbed a rope and fairly slid down to the deck. She blew quickly on the leather gloves which had begun to smolder from the decent. "Almost there boys! Our fortune lies amongst the bodies of those poor souls and their ships!" She laughed and made her way to the pilot who looked a bit troubled. She clapped him on the shoulder, "Why so dark, Swanson? We have a windfall coming our way!"

He looked at her seriously, "Windfall is what I'm worried about...but not the kind you're thinking about, Captain. This area is bad news."

"Surely you aren't a superstitious man," she goaded him good-naturedly.

"Aye, as you should be!" he responded sharply, "There's more than just ships haunting these waters. Some say when the wind is right you can hear the voices of all those who've died on those rocks collected together into a haunting song that will draw you to your death!" he shuddered visibly and crossed himself, "We shouldn't be here Captain. No good will come of this."

"I'd call a small fortune something good," she said, not one to be swayed by dramatics. She patted the poor man on the shoulder, "Don't worry, everything's going to be fine." She left him to his post and began making her rounds across the deck to see that everyone was in place and ready for the biggest treasure hunt of their lives.

The waters were eerily quiet and still. Even the wind seemed to slow down as the foreign ship approached the graveyard. The first loud sound was audible once the first mast reaching high up toward the heavens was passed. Something dropped into the water hard and quickly, making a loud, thunk-like splash. Whatever it was didn't resurface...perhaps it had been some sort of seal?

In truth, it was no seal. It was something else...something that lurked among the marine life crowding the sunken ships, which acted almost like natural coral reefs for fish. This 'something else' was terrified of ships. It fled to the back of the graveyard, where the most ships were piled together.

It was not happy about having intruders in its territory...but they didn't appear to be fishermen. No...not fishermen at all. They seemed to be scavengers of some sort. They often came around here looking for goodies the other ships left behind, this creature knew.

He ignored them for a while--the ship seemed to sail slower and slower as it navigated through the debris, probably looking for treasures. He ignored them for so long, in fact, that he forgot they were there. He breached the surface of the water, laying himself out on his favorite rock in the back of the graveyard. The sun was just threatening to set...the day had been rather warm, but the air was cooler at night. He liked to bathe in the moonlight.

Everything seemed peaceful around him...and suddenly, his mouth fell open. Out of his mouth came a soft, alluring, tenor sound. It echoed off of the wooden debris around him and bounced off of the rocks...it was a watery sound, with a hypnotic effect...

The going was slow, but the payoff seemed to be worth it thus far. Through the careful use of nets, cranes, and a lot of muscle the crew had managed to haul up a number of coins and some silver cutlery. It was looking as though Swanson's superstitious rabble was nothing but.

Eliza was knee deep with the rest trying to reel in a particularly large chest when the song began. At first she paid no mind, thinking it to be just the wind amongst the caverns and rocks. As the melody grew, she felt her mind begin to wander as visions of sunken ships and sea turtles, coral reefs and hammerheads floated into her mind. She shook herself back to reality as she felt the rope she had been holding ripped from her hands and heard the chest crash back into the water.

"What the hell is going on?!" she yelled, looking around at her crew who appeared to have frozen. She smacked the sailor next to her across the face, "Richards! Wake up man! We lost the chest!" the man mumbled something incoherent and continued to stare at the rocks deep in the pseudo-harbor. She looked towards the spot that seemed to have her crew hypnotized and for the first time, she truly heard the song. It was lonely and beautiful, and as she looked for the source it felt as though the mysterious spot was growing closer.

The ship shuddered, throwing a couple men overboard and the rest onto the deck. To her horror, Eliza realized the the spot was getting closer! She picked herself up off the deck and bolted towards Swanson who was staring ahead blankly. She shook the spellbound man but got no response. She attempted to take the wheel herself but the large man swept her aside as a horse would a fly. She was thrown against the rail, nearly falling into the frigid ocean as the ship hit another obstruction.

She could hear the music growing and swelling as it washed over the ship like a rogue wave. She felt like she was drowning in the sounds and from far away she heard herself say, "We're all going to die..." she lay on her back looking up at the sky as she tried to accept her doom. As she watched, the volatile weather lived up to its reputation. Dark clouds gathered and a strong wind out of the North caught the ship's ivory sails and sent it rushing to its destruction. She braced herself as best she could, but the crash was horrible. The ship's hull groaned and finally snapped as it pressed against a collection of rocks and debris. The mast came crashing to the deck, crushing countless men beneath the pillar of wood. She could feel the ship begin to sink and not a soul moved to save themselves.

As the frigid water began to lap against her back she sent a silent prayer to the heavens, "Merciful Poseidon, take pity on our seafaring souls."

The creature did not realize his mistake until he heard the ship crash, particularly loudly, into one of the larger masts poking out from the depths, and by then it was too late. He jolted out of his spell of singing and looked morbidly horrified. He didn't like humans wandering into his territory, especially fishermen...scavengers he did not mind as long as he was left alone. When they came sometimes, he would hide all the way in the back of the graveyard underneath the sand, where he'd dig himself a little nest to wait it out.

He sang to punish fishermen for hunting in his territory, to lure them to their deaths. And he would not help them. These were not fishermen...and his carelessness was costing some of them their lives. The moment his singing stopped, it would bring them out of their reverie...

The merman flinched when the ship dipped itself underwater. It was shallow in this part of the graveyard, seeing as it was where most of the boats were piled up, so the boat did not sink completely. He could see that quite a few of them were still alive--and quite a few were injured.

He had made no move to hide himself, he realized, and he suddenly panicked. He didn't flee. He couldn't even move. He was stuck in that spot, perched on a rock near the back of the rear of the graveyard...in plain sight.

Just before the waters closed over her head, she heard the shouts. Whatever spell had come over the men had been broken and panic had begun. Her own limbs found life as she sputtered and began to swim towards something--anything--that would not sink. Her arms found a dead ship's mast protruding from the water and she held on as though it was the most precious item in the world.

She looked around, trying to assess the damage. At least eighty percent of her crew had been lost. The few who survived were clinging to whatever debris they could find, including each other. She watched, sickened, as a few of the panicked sailor grabbed on to others who were desperately trying to tread water...sinking them both. The icy water was stained with blood as the ship slowly broke apart from the wind and the waves that thrashed it against the rocks and skeletons of other ships. Flying pieces of wood and metal crashed into the water, taking many more souls with them.

As she watched the carnage, something else caught her eye. There appeared to be a man sitting on a rock not five-hundred yards away. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, not believing. The same man appeared to be some sort of fish from the waist down. A merman? she thought, Impossible! she had never believed the fairy stories about merfolk and sirines lurking in the sea, but here was one sitting and watching her ship sink. Lost in her confusion and thoughts, she let her guard down. A rope from the mizzenmast snapped and the end whipped in her direction, striking her across the head. All went dark.

A few seconds after he'd frozen, the merman suddenly sprang into action. He dove off of his rock, without fear, into the bloodstained water. He was going to fix his mistake as best he could. Most of the humans were already dead, killed by the impact of the crash and the falling masts of the ship. A few others were sinking.

Thankfully, most of the humans that had been thrown overboard and hadn't hit anything were still alive...it meant that much more of the crew was alive than he'd thought. He went after them first because they were in more danger. He quickly guided them to the masts of sunken ships, urging them upwards onto safer parts of the ships or onto the nearby rocks, which towered about most everything else. They were so stunned that they didn't even stop to stare at him--they just scrambled for safety. He gathered them in groups of four--as many as he could possibly direct at a single time.

He was able to rescue at least ten from beneath the crashing waves. He wasn't able to keep good count, because he was in a panic. He next went after those who were clinging to debris, helping them up onto the rocks and higher parts of sunken ship. He took note that there was only one female on board.

When he had finally helped the humans reach safety, he collapsed on a lower part of one of the ships, panting heavily. Now that the humans were safe, as long as they stayed put for the remainder of the storm, he did a quick head-count.

Twenty. There were twenty left, out of a larger crew. Twenty of them had survived. That had gone better than the last time he'd tried to rescue poor, unfortunate souls that had wandered onto his territory.

When he caught his breath, the merman disappeared back beneath the water, looking for any more survivors. He found just two more. They were badly injured, with broken limbs, concussions, and water in their lungs, which he quickly pumped out using his fists and pushing down on their chests. He pushed them up to safety as well, his arms shaking from the effort.

Now all that was left was to wait things out...he dipped underwater slightly and kept a close watch on the few humans he'd managed to rescue from the ship. He would continue to keep watch in case one of them went overboard.

As the fog in her brain cleared, she woke slowly. Instinctively she put her hand against the growing lump and winced. Her head was pounding and her vision hazy, but she was clear enough to realized she was no longer clinging to the mast. Instead she lay on a large, flat rock staring up at the stormy sky. She almost smiled, but groaned instead, "Thank you Poseidon, I guess I owe you one..." she said quietly, before slipping back into sleep.

She floated in and out of consciousness as the storm passed over. Hearing only faint noises from what she assumed was the remainder of her crew. The full moon was high before she came out of her dreamscape completely. Her head was pounding as she sat up and surveyed her surroundings. It seemed the survivors had all made their way to rocks, but like her, consciousness eluded them.

Feeling incredibly alone, the weight of the situation began to sink in. It was below freezing out here; it would be a miracle if they survived the night! And two miracles in one day was too much to ask for. She shivered violently, her clothes still wet from her initial plunge, and began to sob softly into her arms. She never cried. She hadn't since she ran away from home after her father killed her mother and nearly did away with her as well. But losing her ship, her livelihood, and her crew...it was too much. She sat alone on her rock and gave in to the sorrow, her cries echoing across the silent sea.

There was shuffling from down below the rocks. A very tired merman had gone out the moment before the storm ended and had just returned. On his back was what looked like a heap of dry firewood, which he gathered up in his arms and was careful not to let water seep onto.

He noticed that most of the crew was delirious...a few were unconscious. He slapped the rock next to him with the fanned-out fins of his tail, holding the firewood up towards the rocks from where he was. It would probably have to be lifted up piece by piece...but if a fire was started, they could huddle around it for the night. There was an island less than a mile from where the graveyard was. It was a small, lifeless island...but it was an island all the same. It was a place that was safe from storms, seeing as there was a small, mountain-like hill on one side of it.

But moving them there would take a while. And the humans, and even himself, did not have the energy to make such a large move tonight.

He waited to see if one of the humans would notice what he had brought them.

Sure enough, as Swanson came around his eyes lit on the pile of dry wood that had appeared before him. Without hesitation he began to arrange the wood and struck up a spark using the flint of his necklace and the blade of his dagger. It didn't take long for the wood to burst into flame.

The bright and sudden blaze seemed to draw the crew like moths to a flame. Silently they made their way and huddled around the campfire to wait out the night, many falling back to sleep as soon as they had reached their destination. Eliza saw the flames as well and her tears stopped. Someone was alive enough to make us a fire. she thought as a spark of hope flared inside her. She wiped her eyes, but didn't move immediately. As Captain she was supposed to be strong. The crew looked to her for guidance and reassurance and she couldn't let them see her with puffy red eyes and a runny nose. No, the fire would have to wait until she calmed down a little more.

The merman stayed ducked out of sight, still a little wary about being seen by the humans. He recalled, suddenly, that he'd seen one of the humans--the female--look his way just before he had tried to come to the rescue. Perhaps he was already done for, then, if one of them had seen him?

While he thought, he took a good, long, hard look at their sunken ship. It was not in bad condition, save for the hole in the hull and the fallen mast. Everything inside, save for precious metals and cutlery, was probably done for. But it could be repaired in time. It would take a while...and it would need to be pulled to land.

Making a decision, seeing as he would need to help them, the merman pulled himself up onto one of the smaller rocks below where the humans were. He laid himself out on that rock, peering up at them silently and waiting for someone to take notice of him.

Finally composed, it was time to face her crew. She stood, still a bit shaky, and began to make her way across the rocks. Luckily for her the campfire was only a short distance away so after hopping a few rocks and shimmying across a fallen mast she was able to reach the gathering.

Despite the cold and injuries the welcome was warm and joyous. The crew seemed elated that their captain had survived the crash and she was quickly gathered in to the circle huddled around the crackling flames. As the group quieted down again Eliza took stock of how many of her crew survived. Twenty. Only twenty including herself. She sighed heavily and stared across the fire.

A small bit of movement caught her eye over the edge of the rock. She frowned, not believing what she had seen. She stood up and made her way across the rock as the crew watched. When she reached the edge she looked down to a rock below and froze. "You!" she said quietly, "You...can't be real!" The crew stared at her, thinking she had gone mad, but her eyes never left those of the creature laying before her.

The merman's expression was wracked with a strange mix of suspicion, guilt, and sadness. He bowed his slightly curly blonde head down, his eyes closed. He didn't say anything for a few moments. He was perfectly still, save for the very tip of his tail where it split into curly, translucent fins. The scales on his tail were a dull light blue color, but they shone in the clear moonlight and sparkled slightly...he had an eerie, majestic beauty about him.

Then again, all sirens did...

"...I am sorry," was all he said when he could finally speak. He could speak English...it was what he had taken as a second language in school, and he'd had near-perfect marks in his English class. "...Shall I search for more survivors?" It was possible that some more of the crew had floated out of the graveyard. If he called for them, perhaps they would answer...

She sat down heavily, gaping at the strange and beautiful creature. It took a moment before she spoke; quietly at first, but it quickly grew, "Sorry? You're sorry? You killed almost all of my crew and you're SORRY?!" her eyes flashed as her face contorted with rage, "You're a monster!" Grabbing a dagger from her belt she lunged at the merman, fully intent on slicing his throat. She was stopped by a strong hand grasping her arm. She whirled around, furious, and was met by Swanson's stern but gentle face. "Let me GO!" she tried to jerk her arm away, but he held fast, "This is mutiny!" Hot, angry tears coursed down her face.

"Captain," he said quietly, "The creature didn't mean to. He saved as many of us as he could." He let go of her arm, knowing she wouldn't strike out again. She didn't. She also didn't look at the creature again, even as she addressed him.

"Don't bother. No one could have survived this long in the water. If they didn't drown, they froze," her voice was flat as she turned back to the fire and sat, hugging her knees to her chest.

Swanson looked back at the creature, "Thank you siren. Forgive the Captain. We all know it was an accident...but she's still hurting,"

The merman did not back down as the human's voice rose, nor when she scrambled to reach some sort of weapon that was hanging at her side. No...instead, he reared up on his tail and puffed himself out, making himself look much bigger than he actually was. He bared his teeth, which were razor-sharp and pointed, and the thin, large fins at the side of his head and halfway down his tail flared out widely, a sign of aggression. Merpeople were not the friendliest of creatures, especially toward humans.

When one of the bigger male humans held her back and she appeared to have given up on her crusade to harm him, only then did he settle back down and the fins laid flat against him again. He let out a low grumble before he finally spoke again.

"...Haven't you heard the stories?" he asked, flatly. "The tales of ships constantly sinking in this area? Did you wonder why so many ships met their fates here? It's because my kind haunts this place, constantly. I've only been here for four months and already three careless ships other than yours have sank here. There was only one survivor from all three ships. She lives over there now."

He jerked his head towards the southwest. Just visible at this time, there was a small island...only about as large as their ship had been. The girl he had rescued had been a stowaway on a merchant ship...she was only seventeen. The merman had only been able to help her. She now lived on that island alone...to make up for his blunder, he'd taught her how to fish and how to find other sources of food. He visited her once every two days and brought her food and other goodies he picked out of the fallen ships.

"Our singing is oftentimes something we cannot control," he continued, pointedly. "It is why we try to stay away from you humans...you hapless humans, who find the sound so mesmerizing that the rest of the world shrivels up and dies when you hear it. You should have taken heed of the stories and stayed away. But since time can't be turned back..."

He flicked his tail back and forth, slowly. "...The island is the safest place for you at the moment. If you want to get back to sailing, your ship will have to be repaired." He glanced at it, half-sunk in the water. The masts were history and would need to be rebuilt. The ship itself was only damaged in a few places...but the holes were large. "...I can have it moved. But I will need time to find help to move it."

He brought a hand up to scratch at one of his ear-fins. "I can take four of you at a time to the island. Whether you want to leave now or later is up to you."

((Sorry I'm taking so long. It's spring break and I don't have internet at my parent's house. I should be somewhere soon where I can do an actual post. Just wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten about you! =^_^=;; ))

((Take your time! :D))

Swanson looked to his captain, knowing she had been listening despite her apparent lack of interest. She made a movement with her shoulders that none but one who knew her well would recognize. He turned back to the merman, "We should go tonight. The sooner we seek shelter the better." With that he began dividing up the crew into groups of four, starting with the injured and weak. He put himself and the captain in the final group, knowing she would refuse to leave the rock before the rest of her crew was safe. When the groups were chosen he returned to the edge of the rock with the first round, "How are we to do this then?"

Eliza was numb. Not only had her entire world been destroyed this day, but her whole world view as well. She was never the superstitious type; sure, for the crew's sake she wouldn't whistle aboard the ship, or perform any of the other little rituals that they believed would bring misfortune upon their ship. Fat lot of good that did. she thought bitterly. But the...the creature was something different. He was no rumor or shadow in the night, he was an honest-to-god flesh and blood being! She couldn't argue that. She tensed, thinking about his song and the way he had puffed up like some hellish lizard-fish. She wanted to hate him. Hate him for destroying her life and her friends. But somehow, she couldn't. I'm tired, she thought, I'll hate him more in the morning. Her head was still resting on her arms as she stared at the fire. Slowly, her eyes closed. She could hear the men being moved to the island, group by group, but by the time the merman returned the second time she had drifted into a deep sleep.

"The going will be a bit tough. I can take two up front with my arms. The other two will have to cling to my tail and waist. But it is the quickest way to get through the water. I assure you no one will freeze. The island is not far, and the girl who lives there will be glad to share her fire as long as those who arrive help her to feed it..."

Once he was finished explaining, the merman helped the first four crew members down off of the larger rocks and towards the water on the smaller rocks. Once they were all just above the water, he instructed them to slide down into the water all at once and take their positions. The two that were in the worst shape were put up front, so he could carry them in his arms. The other two were left to cling at his spry tail.

He made it across the expanse of water and to the island in less than five minutes. He swam much like a dolphin in the water. When he returned for the second batch of pirates, he repeated the process.

When he finally returned for the last group of pirates, which included the largest crewman and the captain herself, he helped the other two crewmen down and proceeded to help the talkative duo down. It was a freezing journey through the water, but it did not take long for him to reach the island once more...and when he dropped the last four off, all of the pirates had been moved.

The pirates that had been brought there first were all huddled around a large fire--some were off plucking branches off of the trees that littered the island to help feed the fire to a considerable growth.

There was a single small hut, built for shelter, here on the island...there were also a multitude of caves on what looked like a large hill in the middle of the island that could also be used for shelter, but would probably lay untouched for tonight. Standing by the shelter, seeming surprised and somewhat wary of all the commotion, was a ragged-clothed, filthy person...most likely female. She couldn't have been older than eighteen, with how small she was. Her fire-red hair had grown wild and untamed since her arrival here--her hair was the least of her concerns. She didn't seem surprised at all to see that there was a merman among these survivors.

Eliza was woken from her nightmare of crashing wood and strange creatures by Swanson's hand on her shoulder. "Captain, the siren is going to take us to the island now," he said. She shrugged and wrinkled her nose at the thought of having to spend any time with the creature responsible for the wreck. She walked numbly to the edge of the rock and prepared to jump in, but Swanson stopped her. He had a look of concern on his face, "Captain, I think you should be one of the ones he carries in front..."
She turned on him, her eyes flashing, "Why?!" she drew herself up indignantly, "You think I'm so weak I can't swim along behind? That I need to be carried?! Well as Captain I say I will not be carried while my crew has to swim!"
Swanson sighed and placed both hands on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eye, "Eliza, you took a serious blow to the head and you may have a concussion. I know you can swim, but you are injured. We almost lost you once already today and I don't want to risk you passing out and sinking. Think of your crew."
She was caught off guard. Swanson was her friend, true, but he never called her by her first name. She was a little touched by his words, but wouldn't show it. She harrumphed and looked away from his piercing eyes, "Fine."

The final four crew members slid into the water around the merman. Eliza and a wiry deckhand taking the front spots while Swanson and his apprentice hugged the creature's tail. The journey was silent as they made their way across the frigid sea. Despite her best effort, Eliza couldn't help but be fascinated by the way the creature moved through the water. Like one of the dolphins she saw sometimes as they skimmed alongside the ship. Trying to be subtle she examined the merman. He was beautiful and strange, he brought to mind an octopus she saw in the shallows once. It was shiny and colorful and the bands of color rippled across its body as it swam away in a cloud of ink. The merman's tail seemed to shimmer in an icy rainbow as it reflected the early streaks of dawn. She watched as he propelled himself through the water, marveling at his speed and grace. Her gaze moved up his body with his side fins, lean torso, and curly golden hair. She suddenly realized that she was staring and hoped the creature hadn't noticed. She turned her eyes towards the island and pretended nothing had happened.

When they reached the island she quickly left the creature's arms. He was making her feel strange and uncomfortable and she didn't like it. She made her way to the fire and did a quick headcount before joining the men collecting firewood. But she hadn't gathered more than an armload before she was told to go back to the fire and rest with the injured. She grumbled, but this time she didn't resist. As a small act of defiance she did not sit down, but walked to the girl instead, "Hello, I am Captain Eliza Callahan," she extended her hand, "I would like to thank you for letting us share your fire and your island. We will be happy to help you in any small way we can -collecting food and firewood or whatever you need- in hopes that we might somehow repay your kindness."

The merman had indeed noticed that she stared at him throughout most if not all of their journey to the island. He could almost feel her eyes burning into him, traveling up his torso, then back down again to his tail. He didn't seem to mind...in fact, he didn't even turn to fix her with a questioning gaze. He assumed that she had never seen a creature such as himself before...it was natural to want to stare.

When he finally reached the island with them in tow, he noticed how quickly she fled away from him. He did not leave once the last few crewmen were on the island. He stayed near the shore, laying his body out on the sand and watching everyone work to get firewood silently.

The girl was a little startled when Eliza approached her. She had big violet eyes that accentuated that wild red hair of hers, and she sniffed slightly when the other female held out her hand, wanting it shaken. She reached out and took the offer, shaking the other woman's hand somewhat firmly for her size.

"I'm Java, Java Fikira...thanks for the help. I certainly don't mind sharing the fire..." the girl hummed softly, shifting a bit where she stood. "I could use the help gathering food and fishing. I mean...Léan brings me food every two days, but he can't possibly hunt for everyone here now."

'Léan,' pronounced lay-on, was most likely the name of the siren sitting just a few feet away in the shallows, allowing the small waves to wash over his tail and keep it moist. He did not react to the girl calling him by his name.

Eliza smiled a little, she respected a firm handshake, "We will be happy to earn our keep," she shot a glance at the creature, "Léan..." she tested the name, "Sounds French...I assume that's the name of the..." she wasn't sure what to call him, "the creature..." she cleared her throat quickly and looked back to the girl, "Well, thank you again. I should...rest, I suppose," she gave the girl a friendly nod and returned to the blanket that had been spread near the fire for her.

Her spot at the fire faced the ocean and she watched as the sun began to rise slowly. The scales in the surf caught her eye and she found herself examining the merman once more. She shook her head and tried to think of other things, but the glint kept drawing her attention like a moth to a flame. She slapped herself mentally and buried her face in her arms. Why couldn't she couldn't just ignore him?! I must hate him so much that I have to keep an eye on him. she told herself. Satisfied with her justification she curled up next to the fire and drifted off.

It was a fitful sleep and not at all restful. She was woken ever two hours by various crew members to make sure her concussion wouldn't kill her. Around midday, the ship's medic was finally functioning well enough to tend to the injured crew. It was a miracle he survived at all, but he set to tending to the injured without a complaint. He treated Eliza last (she wouldn't allow it any other way). He checked her eyes with a small torch that had somehow survived the crash. He concluded that the concussion was minor and should heal in a day or two. Until then she was to be woken every two hours. She was just relieved that all who had survived until now would continue.

The crew who were well enough still to work, including Swanson, began exploring the island. While they were gone, Eliza decided to try talking with the Siren. She walked to the edge of the surf and looked for the creature in the shallows. Hesitantly, quietly, she called his name, "Léan...?"

Java was the last of the survivors to settle down and rest--she was making sure that everyone had a small place to sleep. She, after all, knew the island well. She had been here for quite a while already and was surviving well enough...

Once Java had settled down to rest, the only one still up and about was the siren himself. Léan kept watch over the survivors for what seemed like hours...two or three hours, to be precise. After that amount of time, he turned and headed back out into the surf, disappearing from view. He had probably gone to hunt. If it was to hunt for them, as well as himself, it would take him a while...

It seemed that was what he was doing, for he was gone for quite a long time. When he did return, what he assumed to be the medic of the ship was looking everyone over, albeit slowly. He was carrying a large load of fish tucked under his arm, all folded up together. He was in the murky shallows sorting through and counting the fish he had retrieved when he heard someone call his name. It was not Java, and it was a feminine voice...the captain, perhaps?

In response to her call, he briefly poked his curly blonde head out from underneath the seawater. "Yes?"