He helped as much as he could, pulling himself halfway out of the tank and sliding a bit on the top of the glass wall, folding his tail a little so it wouldn't drag on the ground. The cart was a little shaky, as if the wheels were out of alignment, but he kept his head down and his hair wrapped around his other hand as if there were hidden pairs of eyes everywhere. He'd never been over such a huge stretch of dry land before... If he were to spend more than six hours away from water... He pulled the wet shirt down his tail a bit out of cautious worry, until they made it to Julian's vehicle.

"It's okay." He said, sliding himself to the door and glancing inside. "I've been in smaller places." Without waiting for Julian to help, he pulled his body into the back of the seat, then across, and pulled his tail up with him, folding it into the floorboard and onto the seat. "I'll keep out of sight." He called, and the door was closed and he ducked down.

It was a rough ride. Meison wasn't used to a vehicle and felt as if he were being tossed around on stormy seas. He kept his eyes closed hard until the ride was over.

Julian nodded and crept into the driver's side. His hands settled firmly on the wheel, and soon the human had maneuvered the vehicle onto the road. It seemed like it took forever for the traffic, the blaring of horns, the smoke, the smog, of the city to fall behind. In truth, it had only been an hour, half of the time Julian had told Meison to expect.

He was glad of that when he turned to rest emerald eyes on the merman's folded up form. "We're here. Come on, I'll help you get out." Quickly, eagerly, Julian stumbled from his side of the car and wrenched open the passenger side door. Soft skin, smooth scales, the sensations filled him as he wrapped his arms around the merman and struggled to carry him to the sea. Meison needed the water, just as Julian needed air.

Sand shifted beneath sneaker shod feet as the human stumbled this way and that until at last cool water was near in sight. Today's beach was empty, not much of a beach at all. That was why Julian had chosen it, and he was more glad of that now then ever as he slowly lowered Meison into the water. Letting go tore a strip of Julian's heart away, the feelings bellow exposed and bleeding at the thought of losing the beginnings of something magical.

Meison dove into the water in a moment, so glad to be away from the overload of odd, new noises. So strange, loud, a collection he'd never heard from within the storm before. He'd only ever heard it, saw it, from a distance, from far enough away that he wouldn't hear the full force of it. But while the ebb and wave of the true water was a relief to him, Meison couldn't move. Wouldn't. He drifted to a light outcropping of rock and held onto it, beckoning Julian so he didn't have to raise his voice but a bit, to speak over the weak waves.

"I do hope I wasn't too insufferable." He said, drawing circles on the rock. "Now that I can look upon what I used to be, I'm sick. I was such a... fool. Conceited and angry at the world as if I were the gods' gift to anyone who looked upon me." He reached up. "And you did something about it. Others would have given up early on." He was grateful for that. Now he could see the world in so many other colors and layers. It was like a new place. And he felt he had new responsibilities---his main responsibility being Julian. He didn't want to leave...

Julian complied, moving quickly into the water to join the merman. The ocean's salty scent made him smile. It had been a while since he'd taken the time to come out to the beach. The fact that he'd walked out on his job to do so, that didn't matter. No wait, yes it did. Thinking of that had Julian racing back to the sandy beach and plucking up his cellphone from his clothes. Hurriedly, the young man dialed and reported Meison missing, then stated that he'd gone out trying to find the people who'd taken the merman, but so far no luck.

Once that was taken care of, the human raced back into the water and gave the merman a sheepish grin. "I just gave you a chance... I think you're giving me too much credit!" Really it hadn't been too hard to do. Curiosity had won out over everything else when he'd first Meison, then protectiveness and that had grown into something else.. It was still growing.

Meison tilted his head at the words. "I don't give you enough." He sighed. "Others would have become annoyed with me. Curious, maybe, but they would never have taken the time to get to know me like you. I can be sure of that." He smiled, feeling words were beyond any manner of communication. Meison looked out to the ocean. It stretched so far... farther than he remembered. He paused, recalling that this wasn't like back at home. One could touch and be touched without the fear of someone blocking it or being scolded. So he released the rock, wrapping his tail around Julian and holding onto him so that they remained buoyant in the gentle water. "I just can't thank you enough for how much you've helped me. How much you put aside for me when you didn't even have to." There was too much to say, really, Meison was sure he could fill novels, castle walls, and still be left without a medium to communicate his gratefulness.

He opened his mouth, lips forming words of protest, but what Julian wanted to say floated away. Surprise replaced unformed letters as soft skin and smooth scales wrapped around him unexpectedly. It was so .... He didn't have words to even form thoughts about the sensations, the feelings, filling him. Instead, Julian lifted shaking arms to wrap them around the merman, and leaned his head against Meison's shoulder. "Oh you've helped me too, even if you don't know it Meison." He'd locked away a part of his heart, and Meison had reawakened that in Julian.

Meison smiled. He didn't know how it felt to be hurt as Julian must have been. It sounded painful---a different kind of painful, one that wasn't physical but emotional. Maybe social isolation wasn't as bad. "I'm glad I could... help." He'd never helped anyone before. It felt good, a strange sense of accomplishment he'd never had before, not with anything he'd done before. And he'd not done much. "And I'm glad you helped me. It seems like one good deed deserved another, no?" He chuckled, uncoiling himself from around the human and diving into deeper water, feeling it rush over his skin and scales unfiltered and energetic. It was so enticing to dart away, into especially deep water, but feared Julian wouldn't be able to follow. Humans were slow swimmers, and couldn't breathe as he could beneath the waves or endure especially pressurized levels.

He returned to where Julian was, drifting just below the water and emerging slowly. "You should get back before they find out what's happening." Meison warned. "I hope to see you again soon...? Perhaps in the evening?" He couldn't take away the pleading tone to his voice, but at this point he didn't care---he wanted to see Julian again, and as soon as time would allow.

He smiled, chuckled. What he do when Meison decided to leave him, to go out and seek others of his kind again? Julian felt a shard of dread fill his heart, alongside his contented feelings, when the merman slipped away from his grasp. He knew it had to happen, but so soon ... The human took in great gulps of air and struggled to stay afloat. It was better for Meison to leave now so the image in his mind was one of a young Julian in his prime. Thinking of facing the merman later on in life as a shaking old man was nearly unbearable.

Then Meison was back and pleading for Julian's return. The human cracked a smile. "Course I'll be back! I'll see you later." Turning his back on Meison was probably the hardest thing he'd ever done, but he managed. All too soon the beach was left behind and he was back in the marine park, explaining away what had happened with more ease then Julian had expected.

Meison watched him leave, hurry up the sand on two legs, two feet. For a moment he felt as if he had two legs and tried to kick out, but was met with little resistance and a slight wave that flitted away from him and met the others as they surged toward shore. He dove back under the water, darting out into the open water and staring down on the quiet solitude. Little fish swam about, into coral and seaweed and anemones that waved in light underwater currents. If he went out further he'd see little markers. Little silver points, like arrowheads, buried into stones. These were meant to point the way back to his home, deep, deep in an underwater cavern. He saw one slightly gleam in a spotlight of sun that came down on the water from high noon, and when he looked up, found only blue and white distorted above him.

Meison drifted on his back, in the utter silence devoid of people talking and filters in other rooms humming and air conditioners clattering. He was still too close to hear any form of whalesong, though, and that tended to calm him---even after he'd changed. From here, though, lying on his back in a current that drifted him along, Meison watched his hair float up in tendrils, like small, gentle feelers reaching for the surface, and his tail flowing as it slid him along. But he'd have loved to go back to the surface, to the beach, and lie on the soft, sugar-fine sand. With Julian. The human was so sweet. Kind. Meison sighed and watched the bubbles float to the surface.

It was dark by the time Julian was able to escape. He wasn't really running away, but it felt like it after the day he'd been through with police making him go through the day over and over again. Luckily no one really suspected anything, and even if they asked .. He'd just brought a friend dressed up as a merman to swim with him. They belived him. There was no reason for Julian to lie, after all.

He'd stopped by the fish store and bought some more of the fish he knew Meison liked. The treats struggled in their bags while he carried them carefully to the seaside. The young man let himself collapse on the sand, hidden from everyone's view by a rocky shoreline and trees clinging to the cliff sides.

Daylight faded as Meison searched the bottom of the seabed, far from shore, hands and eyes scouring the rocks, the debris from old ships and cars, finding odd creatures. But there was one he was searching for in particular. He tended to see them around these parts before he was taken, and in only two weeks nothing could have happened to them. There, he found one lying on a rock, a starfish. It was a beautiful blue starfish, such a bright tone it didn't even look real, but it certainly was. It flowed a bit, waving its arms as Meison's gentle fingers picked it up, relishing the combination of rough and smooth textures. He set it against his arm, where it attached quickly.

Meison surfaced as the sun was just about to set. Anywhere other than at the sea, it would be entirely dark, perhaps with some shards of light waving up from the horizon. But when he surfaced, he found someone on the shore, and recognized the figure's odd hair colors immediately. Julian... Meison dove, sliding through the water as effortlessly as a shark and lunging up, onto the soft sand. It felt so powdery beneath him as he pulled away from the water, just enough so that his tail still drifted in the lapping water. "Julian..." Meison smiled brightly, and lifted his arm to show the starfish. "I found this---thought that perhaps you might like to see one up close..." He was just glad Julian was back. It had been so lonely, in an odd, solitary way, drifting half-asleep while he waited for the human to return.

He noticed a sleek form approaching, and watched with hope. It looked like Meison ... It was! He smiled as he moved to take a peek at the starfish draped across the merman's arm. Julian felt all silly and warm inside, thinking of the fact that the merman had thought about him. "It's beautiful." The murmur was meant as much for the merman as the starfish upon his arm, which reminded Julian.

"I brought fish for you." The human stretched his fingers out, letting them roll over the plastic bags until he could get a grip. Pulling them nearer, he placed them in front of Meison and smiled. Then he let his hands move to run his fingers through the merman's hair. It was just there, so tempting ... And yet it wouldn't have mattered if Meison had still worn his old form.

Meison smiled, tilting his head at the touch and glancing down to the gift. A few beautiful creatures laid on plastic, which would hopefully see more use instead of visiting a landfill. "Thank you, Julian..." He muttered. "I... haven't had time to collect anything today..." Except the starfish. He'd spent most of his time searching for a perfect specimen for Julian. A unique creature that stood out well---the starfish. It was so bright one could see it without even looking for it. So eye-catching it demanded attention even if one were supposed to be focusing more on an important job or point elsewhere. Luckily Meison had no job, or intention to find a distraction. Julian was distraction enough.

"I'm... glad you returned." He said after a moment, dusting sand off his stomach from when he had crawled up to the dry point. It felt good to know someone found him worth their time. To make that journey from city to quiet, secluded beach and even bring a gift. It made him feel warm.

"Why wouldn't I? I said I would." Bending down, he copied the merman's earlier position and plopped down stomach first on the sand, this of course after throwing off his shirt. The cool sea breeze made him smile. It was so beautiful ... All the more so because he was spending time with Meison, though questions were now crowding his mind.

"Isn't anyone missing you, down there in the sea? What does it look like? Where did you live before?" There were so many hidden wonders in the unexplored depths of the ocean. Surely, someday, Meison could show Julian some snippet of the life of a merman prince.

Meison pursed his lips, and studied his tail. It wrapped around himself a couple times and he absently stroked the thin, tapering fin that not only propelled him from place to place, but flowed in the water a good distance. “Maybe they are missing me.” He admitted. “But I would not say for my role in my family. What am I to them but an ornament? Perhaps they feel I... I’m not cut out for a leadership role. I’m sure if I never left I would still be groomed and praised for only my looks and never my intelligence. But then, I doubt one could blame them, I never made it a point to show my intelligence.” He smiled distantly.

“I lived in Atlantis.” Meison continued, flattening his tail against the sand and staring at it. It looked like satin. “From what I gather you feel it sunk hundreds of thousands of years ago? No, no... No, it was always underwater. And it’s not the ruins many of you feel it to be. It’s a thriving city that rules over many other, smaller cities and villages of merfolk. We’ve done so well in avoiding you all and your odd mechanical devices. And your ships. At least, in the recent centuries.” He finally looked up. “I wish I could show you the land I come from. The land further out, deeper down, without so much of that equipment you need. It’s so beautiful, so colorful and shimmering, like silver and gold, and so many layers. I feel like you could appreciate it.” Julian had so many layers, so many colors and stood out as if everyone else were just faded background pieces to his own personal world.

"I wish I could see what it looks like. Your home sounds amazing, Meison." He laughed. " Hey, what do you think I'd look like as a merperson?" Hesitantly he reached out, fingers brushing against the tip of one of Meison's long fins. "It doesn't really matter though, whether or not I can go ...." He couldn't say more. Meison was just grateful to him for helping him escape, for listening, for actually seeing past what he'd looked like before.

Someday the merman would decide to go back to enchanting Atlantis. Such a lure would draw most anyone back to it. Julian's lips quirked up in a half-smile as he turned his eyes to the sea. "Is it true, that a merperson's song can make humans go mad?"

Meison paused, looking Julian up and down. "How would you look? I... couldn't begin to describe." He couldn't even find the words. In his mind's eye he imagined Julian's human legs to be gone, replaced by a long, flowing tail. The colors he imagined varied on blue to dark green to a golden speckling, like a seaweed bed dappled in sunlight. A tailfin flat and sharply cut, flowing in four different manners, and a long dorsal fin trailing the length of the tail itself.

Casting a glance to the sea, following Julian's gaze, he knitted his brow. "You refer to what your kind call Sirens?" He asked. "Females of more ancient myth that rested on rocks and small islands in the sea and sang to sailors, driving them to ram their vessels onto the islands and perish?" He smiled. "Perhaps myths did well to... exaggerate such things. Anyone with a perchance for storytelling is wont to add to the truth to make it sound a bit more fascinating. I suppose it's a loose definition of maddening... A merperson can easily create an obsession with a song. These songs have no defined words, but go upon watery, echo-like sounds that force a human to become... well, infatuated. Though we've never intentionally caused ships to run up on land..." If he recalled, Meison was sure he heard stories of mermen and women lounging on beaches of young islands, or on large rockbeds, singing their songs to pass the day away and ultimately creating head-on collisions with said islands and rockbeds. None were intentional, though.

He nudged the merman's shoulder playfully. "Really, that bad?" The person Meison had been once would probably have hated that kind of familiarity. The fact that the merman now accepted such touches from Julian ... It made him glad, though he didn't think he could admit it.

The night sky, with it's millions of stars, lit the beach. The light played over mounds of sand and made Meison's scales shimmer slightly in their faint light. "Do you sing?" He was already becoming infatuated, it wouldn't matter if he became more so... And Julian wanted to know what kind of tone Meison's voice might take if it was lifted, changed, to create music.

Meison rolled his eyes, and shook his head, staring at where the moon was. It didn't yet reach beyond the trees and foliage hiding the small stretch of beach from the rest of the mainland, but he could see a small part of it peeking from between the leafy branches. So close to the city, though, one couldn't see the real beauty of the starry sky, the way the galaxy swirled in dusty mist and huge, glowing stars dominated the otherwise endless emptiness. When Julian asked of his singing abilities, he quickly looked away.

"I never... tried." That was a bit of a lie. He did try, just not when someone could hear him. At one time he wondered if his voice were as beautiful as he was, but that state of mind had dwindled. He had stopped trying when he was turned, and hadn't thought about it since then. But now was as good a time as any to try again. Nervousness had blood rushing to his face, as Meison glanced around as if in search of anyone in the general vicinity that might hear him beyond Julian, and before he could stop himself Meison breathed in and broke out.

Low at first, the song almost resembled a type of whalesong, only clear, like a bell. A mixture of old language even Meison didn't understand filtered through an underlying tone that could be on par with the rushing of ocean waves. But he kept his eyes closed as if he wouldn't have to listen to any mistakes or see the look of disappointment.

Amazing. He didn't know if he spoke it aloud or not, but he leaned forward as he listened. This talent, this song ... Oh, Meison could be proud of his singing abilities. It was obvious he'd practiced. The young man didn't realize it, but he leaned forward just enough for the music to stop. He couldn't help but be happy and sad at the same time. The music had stopped, but now he was outside by the sea, lips pressed against lips, close to the merman he'd come to care for so unexpectedly.

Meison gasped when he came back to reality, feeling the warmth of another living being so close, then entirely close the distance, cutting off his voice. He'd never really been kissed before, not by anyone, at least, not like this. It felt like it meant something, and instead of recoiling as he would have before, Meison leaned forward, closing his eyes to cut the world out. No one would have done this, not before his change, while he lived among his own around those too afraid of him or repulsed by his attitude.

He moved back to take a breath, and turned his gaze down a little. "Seven centuries..." He muttered, an admission as much as anything. "... and I've never even been touched by another. N-not in a meaningful way, that is..." It was a rather sad thought, but he grinned anyway. It felt like it was changing, and changing quickly.

He was shocked by the simple sentence. It was like being doused with cold water after having been out in the sun for too long. Was Meison really that old? Julian must seem no more then a child to him, and so eager to please. But then, the merman had never experienced anything like that one breath stealing kiss before. In some ways, Julian was far older then the centuries old merman, and he couldn't help but realize how bittersweet that was.

"Meison ... I'm kind of glad to be the first, even though I can't help but think of all the complications.." Mortality, it was such a horrible thing. But there were tales of humans being turned to merpeople by spells, and so there had to be a chance that was possible. It wasn't like anyone would miss him overmuch.

Meison stared down at the sand, and drew small circles into the miniscule bits of crushed rock and shell. “I think about the complications as well.” He admitted. “Time moves so fast for a near-immortal. Thousands of years can pass and feel like mere months. Weeks can pass and feel like minutes. Each time I surface from beneath the waves it’s as if a decade has gone without me. I’ve lived to see ships turn from ragged, unsturdy wooden things to huge white things bigger than an island, and possibly stronger. I’ve observed a child on the beach one day, and her wedding the next, and suddenly, she’s visiting the place one last time before death takes her old soul.”

He breathed in slowly, biting back a whimper of sadness. “To be perfectly honest, it feels as if I’ve known you for moments. The sea changes from day to day, and the merfolk live among one another, so it doesn’t feel as if time passes faster and faster. Each day observing the humans, how they grow and change, feels as if I’m watching something at ten times its speed. I’ve been worried about that since I saw you. That if I got too attached to you, you’d be gone tomorrow, and it’d be impossible to visit your grave because I... can’t leave the water, or work my human legs if I could.” He pulled a veil of hair over his eyes, soaking his tears before they even fell.

It felt like something moved up into Julian's throat, making it near impossible for him to speak. He had thought things were bad from his viewpoint, but hearing how things were through Meison's eyes made him oh so sad. Trying to imagine what being left behind might feel like only added to the emotion; it would probably have made his heart break into two, shatter into so many pieces that nothing would ever make it right again.

Sun bronzed fingers reached out, weaving through silky strands of amethyst until they finally reached soft skin. "Oh Meison... I can't ask this from you. It would be horrible of me to. I don't want to see you so sad, and I don't want ... to leave you behind." He moved, shifted, so he could plaster himself against the merman and wrap his arms around the finned man. Shivering at the contact, Julian tilted his head and focused his eyes upon the eternally beautiful, timeless, sea.

He didn't want Meison to go, but if the merman didn't leave then ... It would be so much harder when Julian aged and eventually the tremulous end of his life came to pass.

Meison reflexively pulled Julian close to him, and closed his eyes tightly. He couldn’t really... leave. Not for more than a day and night at a time, the time that allowed Julian to keep to his job and have an at least acceptable night’s sleep. And it was stupid to think that after Julian put his job, probably his freedom, on the line for him... For him! More or less a monstrosity to most other humans before---they couldn’t see what Julian had. Even Meison couldn’t see it.

“I don’t think I could go away after what you’ve done for me.” He muttered, taking a breath. He could smell Julian’s hair, and it smelled... odd. Not a bad type of odd, but perhaps what human flowers would smell like. He’d never been able to smell any of the beautiful tropical flowers before---he’d never had a chance to stand on two legs, or experience what some merfolk wanted to try. “I don’t care how long it feels... Even if it’s only a moment. I want to spend time w---” Something shifted nearby. People? Why were people coming here? They had lights, and he could hear something rattling. Did they have a box? Or what they called coolers? Why so late? Why here!?

He pulled away from Julian and shook his head. “Please come back.” He couldn’t say anything else, or they would see him. He twisted, pulling himself back into the water and leaving the starfish for Julian. The water had cooled since sunset, and washed over Meison and made him gasp in surprise. In a moment, he had disappeared from the surface.