Dalea soon heard his foot falls on the wind and stood. She noticed that they were heavier than normal, which meant he found someone or something. She started to flutter in his direction and saw him carrying a mermaid the way he was. A spark of a dark feeling shot through her. She didn't know what it was, but she did not like this marmaid on sight.

"I didn't find anyone else," Jasper said when he saw Dalea. "Just her. She's probably going to hang around for a couple days, at least until she heals a bit. She got tossed around in the storm last night." He was pretty sure the mermaid could understand him, but it didn't matter. Everyone spoke Common as well as their native language.

Dalea nodded slightly then thought. "She's not like you." She observed since she wasn't walking. "Where would she stay?"

"Probably the bed, or the bath tub," Jasper replied. He didn't mind if he slept outside in the water. He'd done it before, it wasn't all that bad, especially when the water was warm.

Dalea nodded slightly, then wondered where she was going to sleep. She turned and moved back to the cottage. She set up the couch, cleaning up her small mess. Then she took her clothes moved them to another room. She would change and leave soon.

Jasper had already figured that Dalea would keep the couch. It wasn't as if it was an uncomfortable piece of furniture, he'd slept on it himself before. Taking the mermaid inside, he set her on the bed. He didn't mind that the blanket got wet. He talked to her for a moment, getting her name, and then left her to rest a bit. He went out to see what Dalea was doing.

Dalea blinked, looking at the merman when he came out. She'd figured out that the mermaid was in the bed now. That evil feeling inside her grew and she looked away from him, her fists clenching slightly. Why did she feel so strongly about this? She'd barely met the guy and she's already jealous over him. She took a deep breath and looked at him again. "I'm going to go into town to see if I can find work." She was dressed in the clothes he'd met her in and her hair was clean and neat.

Jasper blinked. He didn't understand her change in mood. Maybe it was a female thing?

"Okay...?"

Dalea nodded slightly and walked out the door and back down the beach. She wouldn't be able to get a job that had anything to do with deep water. Maybe food services? A waitress or something. They had those types of jobs in her realm too.

Jasper almost swore when he looked at the time. It was almost time for his afternoon/evening shift at the aquarium. He ran back inside, and let the mermaid (whose name was Atalanta, she told him) know he was going out, and grabbed his uniform to change in to. After that, he left his cell phone number next to the phone, just in case, and then left.

Dalea could hear him rush out the door, but she just kept walking. She didn't know if he was coming in her direction or not, but she wasn't stopping to find out. She really did need a job if she was going to live among humans.

Jasper passed Dalea as he left.

"I have to go to work," he said. "I work at the aquarium. If you need anything, that's where I am, just ask for me." He paused. "And I'm sure there are openings, if you need a job."

Dalea frowned slightly at his offer. "I can't swim. Remember?" She was still kind of annoyed. Not that she was trying so hard to get away from him, but he just passed her up like that.

"You don't need to," Jasper replied. "Only the trainers go in the water. Work in the gift shop or the petting pools or something." He shrugged. "It's just a suggestion." He had no idea why she was so ticked off, but he was almost late. "Think about it. I have to go, I need to be there soon."

Dalea nodded, then thought for a moment. She sprouted her wings and caught up with him easily. "Does your aquariam have places to eat?"

Jasper nodded as he walked.

"Yeah," he replied. "There's a cafe inside, and a few places around the area outside." He noticed she had wings and looked around quickly. "You might want to put those away, humans don't take well to such things."

Dalea sighed and hid her wings once again. She tried to keep in stride with him, but couldn't seem to. His legs were just too long. "Well...maybe I'll stop by and see if I can work there somehow."

Jasper noticed she was having trouble keeping up with her, and slowed down a bit.

"Come with me," he said. The aquarium was only a few blocks away, it wouldn't take long to get there. "I know they're looking for someone at the starfish pool and the gift shop."

Even Dalea knew what a gift shop was and that was not so thrilling. She looked at him curiously for a moment though. "What's a starfish?"

Jasper paused. He'd never had to explain what a starfish was before.

"It's a bottomfeeder," he said. "It's shaped like a star, and most kinds are harmless."

Dalea looked suddenly interested. "Are they cute?" They did sound cute. She wondered what she'd have to do with the job. She figured bottom feeder meant they ate poo or something.

"I guess...?" Jasper replied. "I don't know if they can be considered cute or not, you'd have to see them. I have one or two in the tank at home, I don't know if you saw them."

Dalea had seen the tank, but didn't actually stop to pay much attention to it. She shook her head slightly. "No. I didn't." Then she blushed slightly. "I don't mean to be keeping you. If you're going to be late, you should go. I can find my way around."

"Nope, you're coming with me," Jasper replied cheerfully. "They like me at the aquarium, so they'll listen when I say to get you a uniform shirt and put you next to the starfish pool as a trainee."

Dalea's eyes lit up and she smiled. She hugged his arm tightly. "Thank you, Jasper!" She was so excited! She'd never had a job in her life, other than ordering people around. She wondered if she could take being ordered around.