Jasper heard the door to the cottage open and looked over. Well, Dalea had found the clothes he left for her, that was good. And they were too big for her, just like he figured they would be.

"Morning," he greeted, quickly finishing his breakfast and brushing off some stray fish scales from his hands.

Dalea tried to keep the fluid from rising to her throat. "Morning." She sighed, sort of quesy. She looked around and wondered if she could find something to eat other than fish. Not that she minded fish, but seeing him eat it that way made her not want any.

Jasper looked at her curiously. He hadn't realized yet that it was his breakfast that made her queasy. It was something natural enough to him that it didn't occur to him that others might find it unsettling.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. "Did you not sleep well?"

Dalea shook her head slightly, the queasiness was starting to leave her. "Just that I'm hungry..." She looked around again, trying to find anything she could eat.

Jasper opened his mouth to offer to catch her something, and stopped. Right, of course. Fairies probably didn't look at fish for breakfast the way he did. He was about to say that the kitchen was stocked when he paused.

"Was there anything in particular you liked?" he asked. Best to find out now.

Dalea looked at him, then shook her head. "Not really. I'll eat just about anything." She paused, then added. "Except fish...."

Jasper thought for a moment.

"There's fruit in the kitchen," he offered after a minute. "Feel free to help yourself to it, it's in a bowl on the counter." It seemed like the best thing to offer to her. He didn't want to cook, and she probably didn't know how to cook, so fruit was the best option.

Dalea actually perked up at the mention of fruit. "Thank you." She bowed and ran back inside to munch on the fruit. She was so hungry that she may have eaten it all if she hadn't remembered that it wasn't her home.

Once Dalea was happily munching on fruit, Jasper stretched out and relaxed in the water. It was his day off from work, and he planned on enjoying it. Not that he didn't like working at the local aquarium, but sometimes it was good to just laze about.

Dalea came out with a pear in her hand. She sat on a rock and nibbled at it as the wind swirled around her. She was just waiting for her clothes to dry, then she'd leave and see if she could find some type of work.

When Dalea came back out, Jasper was sitting up on his rock again. He was looking off into the distance, a look of concentration on his face. A high-pitched keening could be faintly heard over the water, although it was so faint that one almost had to be looking for it to hear it. Jasper did hear it, though, and he was listening to it.

Dalea heard it, a strange sound that both mystified her and scared her at the same time. She said nothing, but slowed on the eating of her pear.

Jasper closed his eyes and listened. Someone was singing, sending a message. It wasn't from all that far away, just over in the nearby settlement, and the singing was being done both under the surface and topside. Clearly, someone was either bored, or something was going on. He listened more, trying to understand the message.

"The storm last night was bad," he said as he listened. "A few people went missing. The water was rough, they might have gotten washed up somewhere." He propped himself up higher on the rock, looking up and down the beach. "We should keep an eye out around here, make sure they aren't found by humans if they do wash up on the beach." Turning back towards the water, Jasper let out his own keening sound, sending a message back that he would look around the shore. It was deeper than the one coming from out on the water, but it was still an unearthly sound.

Dalea fluttered over to him when he spoke. Her eyes widened. "Wait. Humans? Or other 'people'?"

"Humans wouldn't have been out on the water in that storm," Jasper replied. Quickly, he took his land form and wrapped his towel around his waist. He wanted to check the rest of the beach and make sure nobody had washed up on the shore during the storm.

Dalea tilted her head in confusion. She'd thought humans had boats. She shrugged, but blushed and looked away when he shifted. Then she looked at him and walked behind him. "Do you want some help?"

"Sure," Jasper replied. "Keep your eyes open for any mermaids or mermen washed up on the beach. Like I said, some people haven't been accounted for, so I want to make sure they haven't washed up here."

Dalea nodded slightly. "You go that way, I'll go this way." She started off down the beach where she'd come from. She used the wind to keep an ear open for any sounds that might have been them.

Jasper nodded and started down the other end of the beach. He didn't really expect to find anyone, but anything was possible, so he kept an eye out anyways.

((Oh oh oh! >< You think we should find somebody?))

Dalea searched high and low, floating down to hard to reach places. Like rocky caves off the shore or just large solitary rocks.

((Up to you~ We can if you like))

Jasper picked his way along the shore, wading into the water in some places and diving down in others to make sure nobody was hiding.

((oh! What if it was a girl? And Dalea got jealous because she was being taken care of by Jasper?))

Dalea wouldn't go near the water, well...not too deep. She wouldn't go in above knee deep water. She was NOT going to got through that again.

((I like that idea.))

Jasper had no such issues with going into deeper water. He was checking one of the underwater cave clusters when he came upon a mermaid hiding in the back of one of them. When she saw him, she tried to press herself even further back, to hide.

Calm, Jasper said in Oceanic. It was the language that all sentient creatures of the sea spoke. I won't hurt you. Are you from the settlement out past the reef? After a moment, the mermaid gave him a hesitant nod. Jasper held out a hand to her. Come on, the storm is over, it's safe to go back out.

The storm threw me against the rocks, the mermaid replied. Her voice was soft and high, and oddly pleasing, but then all merpeople's voices were. I've torn off some scales, and I've gotten scrapes and bruises... I would rather not leave.

I have a cottage topside, Jasper said. It would be safer for you there if you'd like. The mermaid looked at him strangely, and he added, I'm a half-breed, I can live topside.

The mermaid hesitated, and then nodded.

Getting out of the water might be best.

Dalea sighed when she'd been searching forever and couldn't find anything. She soon walked back to the cottage and slumped down on the sand and began drawing elegant pictures in the sand. It started off as scwiggles, but turned into a merman. Jasper to be exact.

It took a bit of coaxing, but Jasper was able to get the mermaid to come out of hiding long enough so he could take his land form and lift her up out of the water. She seemed nervous, being up on land, especially with someone like him, but she was staying still enough. She wrapped her tail around his waist so she was a bit more secure as he walked back towards the cottage with her.