Under the Sea {Paper Mache Banshee and Seraph}

[Seraph]

“You’ll like it here,” he insisted as the taxi pulled up into the broken down drive way to an equally distressed house. Where the windows weren’t boarded up they were covered in cracks and grime. The wood was silver from years under the attentions of the elements, and she was pretty sure that all of it would moan if she stepped on it. It looked like it was about to tumble down about their ears. Joy.

Alex didn’t answer her father as she slumped down deeper into the uncomfortable cushioning. She had been happy back in their old house before his obsession had gotten hold of him. She only wished that her mother hadn’t divorced him. Then again, Alex thought, I would have divorced daddy too if I had the choice. Her mother had taken custody of her younger brothers but since she was in her final year of high school, she got to stay with her father, Dr. Alexander Bryce. Of course, that was when they weren’t planning on moving. Now that they had moved, any consideration that the custody ruling had was null-void.

“It’s perfect for my work,” he rambled down as the taxi rolled to a stop. He opened the door and scrambled out. Her father was always full of nervous energy, almost as if he had an electrical wire plugged into him. He was worse when he had coffee.

“Sure, daddy,” she grumbled as she pulled her backpack from the floor of the taxi as she slid over the seat to join him outside. She was tall, almost six-foot, and after being cramped in the taxi for an hour she relished being able to stretch out. She looked around and sighed. There was nothing around but the house, and a cool wind whipped off the waters of the sea only a stone skip away. It caused her all ready messy blonde hair to tangle about her face annoyingly. This was officially the last pace that she wanted to be. Alex wasn’t overly fond of the water; rather she wasn’t fond of the beach. She liked pools just fine, but the ocean always gave her an eerie chill. Something about never knowing what was under your feet didn’t sit well with her. It never helped that her father was full of wild theories regarding life in the ocean; his newest was that merpeople existed.

Dr. Bryce was half-way up the stairs when the cabbie turned and looked at her, holding out his hand. Alex closed her eyes and muttered, “How much?”

“A hundred,” he said blandly, with a trace of an accent.

“Great,” she said. Trust her father not to rent a car from the airport and take them to an island that was mostly uninhabited in the off-season months and get a taxi. She dug into her backpack and pulled out her wallet before fishing out all of her money. Alex was officially broke now. She handed over the money and headed to the trunk pulling out the luggage as she grumbled under her breath, “Just great, just freakin’ great.”

As the cabbie drove away and left her with a pile of bags at her feet and her father all ready in the house, Alex suddenly felt very alone. She glanced over to the ocean and shook her head, “I almost wish that Daddy’s right…almost.” Maybe then, she thought, she could go back to her friends and civilization—they didn’t even have internet here. Because of that, Alex had been forced to take a year off from high school; of course, her father said he was going to home-school her, but she knew that was a lie. With one final glance towards the ocean, she began to lug the bags into the house. Noises from the basement assured her that her father was alive and hadn’t fallen through any rotted flooring, and was most likely setting up his lab. At least he had the foresight to get their furniture there and his equipment.

 

[Paper Mache Banshee]

"Darrien! Darrien! Darrien! There is new people on land!"

A little sea horse came swimming as fast as she could to Darrien who was preoccupied with getting a clam out of a tight situation. Darrien tugged and tugged at a clam who had gotten stuck between two wedges of rocks. The sea was just too rough these days for the poor sea creatures. Except for Darrien and a few other merpeople he knew. People like him were rare but they did exist, each leaving in different oceans or seas. It was unlike the little story that came up about Atlantis. Darrien had been there before... all it was was a big group of coral, twisting and turning and forming a very pretty scene that almost looked like a castle. Alot of fish lived there and merpeople would visit it occasionally. It was no home to the merfolk though.

Darrien finally managed to wedge the clam out of the rocks and set it down on safer grounds before turning to the sea horse. He grinned.
"New people?" He asked, looking at the waters surface. He was gently being pushed and pulled in the waters as he stayed there thinking about land. He was just as interested in humans as they were in them. To him, they were just like them, expecpt unable to grow fins. Occasionally, if he could he would transform and go on land but he had to stay wet so he didn't bother going on land too much. It took too much time and effort.

Darrien was just like every other boy; a little over-the-top curious and could be pretty stupid at times. He would always be seen as different though. He had eyes that were so white you could barely see if there was color in them. You could assume he was blind if you never met him. He wasn't though. To match that his skin was a snow white along with his long hair that went to his waist. He never had the nerve to cut it. His tail however from the rest of his body being like snow was a faint blue over the tops of every scale with a pink outline, indicating that under the scales were a pink layer. His tail was also very long, and it kind of looked like a koi tail but only in his color and much, MUCH larger. It trailed at least 6ft behing him starting from his waist. But if he were to transform into a human he'd be a good 6'7". Now, if he were to stay straight enough to measure the length of his body from head to fin he would be almost ten feet. He was very beautiful though if you were to see him. He looked like all the fatasy mermaids in story books, really beautiful and scales would sparkle in the sunlight. It was as if he was ripped out of a book or painting. He was an arctic merman on vacation.

He let out a small cheer before swimming up to the surface, his tail moving to the side rather then up and down. Only flaw in him was that he had nips in his ears and a few scars from rough play with sharks. He took a deep breath of the salt air as he looked over to the nearby island. He wondered who had moved in. Not much people would live here. It was just a vacation spot. He smiled and went back underneath the water and swam closer to the island to get a better look. Maybe if people were lucky, he would transform and walk around on earth. If people were to look at him wrong though, he looked like a shark from above. He definately didn't have te personality of one. He was a good boy and hard to hate. He was also very loyal to his friends. Once he got closer to the shore he peeked back above the water at the old house which had a for sale sign on it for a while but it had been taken away so he assumed that was the house they moved in. It was a rather old house and Darrien didn't see why anybody would want to stay there.​

 

[Seraph]

“Daddy,” Alex yelled down from the second story of the house. A frown twisted her face into something ugly as she surveyed the bathroom. She could live with having to pack newspaper in the cracks between the window and the sill, she could handle living on a generator, but she couldn’t handle what was staring at her. It looked like it was alive. It had to be alive for it to have taken over the bathroom the way it did, she could make out what looked like a tub or a sink until the moldy mess but she wasn’t sure. She yelled again, but got no response. Living with her father was almost like living alone. When her mother was around, it had been pretty nice even if she was a nurse and worked crazy hours.

Alex toed the edge of the mold as if she expected it to grab her ankle and suck her in. She had all ready fallen through one of the steps on the way up and twisted her ankle. If she hadn’t been wearing jeans she would have hated to see what the splinters would have done to her shin. It didn’t move, but Alex still wasn’t sure. This place was definantly a fixer-upper; no wonder, her father got it so cheap. She turned off the light and headed back down to the room she had picked out. It wasn’t the largest room, but it had a nice view of the sea and it suffered the least weathering. Her father could find his own room, but she highly doubted she would see him much. She’d just have to make sure to leave out food, like one did for an outside cat.

She glanced out the window to the sea and frowned. She was easily what people called a computer nerd. She would spend most of her free hours on the computer, it was only because she had such a fast metabolism that she didn’t suffer from being too overweight. She was soft, as she liked to describe it. Alex looked at the dusty mirror and would have jumped at seeing herself. She was covered in dust, not just because of the mirror, and looked as pale as a ghost. She frowned and thought over her choices: stay inside and go insane thinking about all of the repairs that she would have to do, or go and walk down the side of the beach. The choice was obvious as she reached down and dug through her backpack and pulled out her iPod and a light jacket—the beach it was.

“Daddy, I’m going for a walk,” she tried one more time to get some kind of response of the eccentric researcher but nothing. She didn’t hear any noise from the basement so maybe he was out and about all ready. As she walked out the door, she considered locking the door but figured they were alone enough out here that it didn’t matter. It was at least a two mile walk to the nearest town which consisted of a small grocers, an outlet store, a pub, and a small hotel. She would have to go there soon to get some groceries to get them through the next couple of days. She had some cookies, doughnut sticks, and diet coke, but that was hardly what she would call a meal.

She trudged through the sand grass as she walked closer to the shoreline, and put on her iPod and begin to listen to classical rock. Nothing better to tune out the world to, she thought peacefully, as she skirted the edge of the wet sand.

 

[Paper Mache Banshee]

Darrien swam just a bit closer as his eyes stayed glued to the house. It was almost as if it were calling out to him, which it practically was because his curiousity had stuck to it. But within a few seconds of getting ready to make his way out of the water, a girl approached, almost in a daydreaming state. By the looks of it, she'd rather be somewhere else then here. Darrien quickly made his way back into the water before she could even catch a glimpse of him. He sighed as he moved underwater. That was definatly the person that moved in, it was a fresh new face. He had always been a 'loyal visitor' to the island, not by fin but by foot. It was just like the way he knew everybody that would come to the island. If he didn't know them by name he knew them by look. They only knew him as a native of the island that wandered around. this was his favorite place next to the Arctic Ocean. It was also perfect because the sun isn't as strong as it is there then at other places so his skin wouldn't get irritated by the light if he were to go on land. No one on the island knew he was a merman. Or at least none he knew of.

When Darrien was so far that the new girl was just a speck, he pulled himself out of the water. It was an odd scene for those quick glancers. It was almost as if he had been swimming for days and struggling to get onto land. Like he was half dead and weak. He was pretty weak at the moment trudging his tail behind him. He had to be fully on land though in order to change. Darrien knew when there was no people around that would be able to make his figure out, so he never had to check when he pulled himself out onto land. When he finally got his whole body onto the wet sandy shores he smiled. It was a while since he's changed so it was going to be fun to see the changes on the island; even if changing took alot of commitment.

Darrien kept himself in a sitting position, keeping himself up using his arms. Then he closed his eyes and took a quick deep breath. Right when he inhaled, his veins turned a purple color and he transformed slowly. He had to keep his breath though. He could let go otherwise he'd just go back to being a merman. So he held his breath, waiting for the veins to reach the start of his tail. When it did, the scales slowly shedded off and dissappeared, legs forming until it reached the foot and the last few feet of the tail vanished. What was the fin turned into a garment he was known to wearing everyday as a human. A blue version of the tropical waist wraps fire dancers would wear in Hawaii. He made sure it was tight on before standing up to his 6'7". He stretched his arms out and moved his legs for a second before stepping into the water to clean off the sand on his legs then walking back onto the shore. He then let go of his breath, evening out to a normal pace. His whole body was still dripping wet from when he pulled himself out so he'd be good for an hour or so.

Now that he was human... or at least had legs he could see who it was that moved in. He didn't look much different. His skin was still the snowy white which was really the only oddity. Other then that he was just like a extra pale albino. Humans were always fascinated in his skin cause it was so well treated and it was so soft and smooth they would always ask him what his secret was and he'd say salt water. They never got him but he was telling the truth. It did good for his skin oddly enough. He stayed walking at the slow pace, smiling at the feeling of sand against his bare feet. He stopped when he noticed a starfish washed up on the shore. He frowned, leaned over, grabbing it, and placed it back into it's home, watching the gentle waves carrying it back underwater. Seeing the large ocean from land always caught his eyes. It was pretty. He was glad to live in the ocean. So he stood there, totally zoned out in the water, the gentle breezes brushing his skin and twirling through his long white hair. This was nothing like his true home though. ​

 

[Seraph]

Alex continued to walk down the shoreline and huddled into her light jacket as she cast suspicious glances at the water. It had all ready leapt up and drenched the bottoms of her legs in chilly water and now covered her jeans in sand. It was just going to be a joy to clean up later. There was still no sign of her father, or anyone else for that matter. She debated continuing down the shoreline, eventually she would end up back at her home but it was slightly chilly out and she liked to be warm. Other than that it was a pleasant, slightly overcast day. At least, she thought, it wasn’t raining.

She looked up at the sky as her tunes shifted to something a little more up to date and stared at the rim of light around a cloud, “Maybe I should just go into…ah…town…” Yeah, right, town. If that was a town she was in the middle of nowhere—oh, that’s right, she was. She sighed and turned around and started heading back to the house. She’d have to borrow some money from her father to buy groceries, not that he’d notice. But after she paid the cab fare, he owed her a little, she probably have to go buy some more gasoline for the generator too.

She tripped over something and landed face first in the sand. She stayed there a moment and considered rolling on her back and throwing a small tantrum. Alex hadn’t thrown a tantrum since she was nine and wanted to go to Disneyland for her birthday—she never did get to go to Disneyland that year, or the one after it. She turned her head and blow out the sand that landed on her lips before she knelt on her knees to look at what tripped her. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Alex felt irritation towards an element. It seemed that everything that was wood, or made of wood had a vendetta against her. She glared at the drift wood and snarled out, “I hope you burn!”

Great, she thought, only three hours here and I’m all ready talking to the driftwood. All she needed now as a soccer ball named ‘Fred’ to talk with. She got to her feet and brushed herself off before determinedly marching back to the crippled house. She would rather take her chances with the mold-ridden bathroom than the beach, at least with the mold she could see it’s attack a mile away!

 

[Paper Mache Banshee]

Darrien would've fell asleep where he was standing if it wasn't for a small yell that snapped him back to reality. He looked over, staring into the distance to see the blob of a girl was gone... or at least what he thought until he saw a blob get off of the ground. The ocean obviously didn't like her. He smirked and laughed a bit. It was a funny thing to see how such small things can cause a human anger. Curious once more about the new folk he followed her from the distance. When she reached the edge of the house, he ran over. On land or in water he was a quick fellow, always managing to keep silent despite his heavy foot steps.

He jumped over a washed up log and took a quick turn into the trees, deciding not to make her feel like she had a stalker. He took a small path around the area she was and to the front steps of the old house. He took a few steps back and looked at the house. He was shocked it hadn't crumbled yet. Then again it was an old house and he was a merman, which was more surprising? remembering what he was originally going he turned around and walked around the house , heading onto the beach. He could make out the girl perfectly once he stepped out from behind the trees. Just like any mysterious island boy he gave a smile to the girl as if he never followed her.

"Haven't seen you around this island before. You new?" Well obviously she was but if you were normal you wouldn't remember everything you saw. So he tried to act normal. it took him a while to learn it but after a few years he got it down. After he had said that, he wrapped his arm around the trunk of one of the trees and looked at her with his white eyes. He had the face on that told the world that nothing bugged him at all; full of wildness. Seeing the sand on her made him smirk.

"It seems the beach already met you. So I guess I'll be the second thing you'd meet. How do you like it on the island?" He didn't know how long she'd been here but he might as well strike up a conversation since he didn't have any sea creatures around. By his looks, in human years, he was nineteen. Wild and young and had years ahead of him to live. In merpeople years he was much, much older. Darrien took a small glance to the water then to the sky, hoping it would rain so he could stay on the island longer. He wanted to make the time worth while on the land.​

 

[Seraph]

Alex continued her muttering as she trudged up towards the house and jumped when she was addressed. She turned around and stared at the person, only to have to look up slightly. It was rare that she had to look up to people, even at her school the tallest person was 6’3” putting them only three inches taller than her. But he was…she swallowed and nodded, “Yeah…I’m new.” She pulled her iPod out of her pocket and turned it off before taking out the earbuds and wrapping them around it. She hesitated as she stood in front of the house and then up towards the sky; the clouds were getting thicker and she really wanted to get inside.

She fidgeted slightly as she looked at the young man in front of her, he was probably about her age she figured, and most likely a native of the island. She could very well tell him that she hated it and wanted to go back to the city where nature didn’t up and attack her at every given moment. And he was cute, she input silently, and he was probably the only person her age on the island when tourists weren’t around. Alex felt more than a little unsure of what do to; she was covered in sand and he had probably heard her insane ranting as she walked to her door. Why couldn’t her father just show up with one of his insane epiphanies right about now? She scuffed her wet shoe into the sand and shrugged, “It’s…all right.”

Alex glanced over her shoulder to the house and sighed, “Wish the house were nicer?” She glanced back over to him and noticed his eyes—milky white. That was unusual, she looked around for a dog or even a walking stick, but there was nothing. Maybe he wasn’t blind? And he was pale, more so than even her. She considered him being an Albino but then he would have had color in his eyes. She took a step towards him and glanced up at his face as she held out her hand, “I’m Alex…Alexandra Bryce.”

 

[Paper Mache Banshee]

Darrien grinned at her reaction. He wasn't what she was expecting him to be with the look on her face. He kept his laugh in though as she said that she was new. He already knew that though and he already knew she hated the island by the way she answered her questions.

"Don't worry, that's not the worst place to live on the island. The island is rather pretty once you visit more and more. Especially when the sun is out. " he said, giving a short nod and laughing. "You'll get used to this place quickly." He moved away from the tree and stood about a yard away. She was a tall girl. It didn't bug him though, judging that when he was in his merman form, she was a midget.

Then he noticed she was staring at his eyes. All guys would be jealous of him for his eyes. So white, no one would be able to tell where you are looking. In his world, he was an average merperson. Having a muscular body from swimming so much and pale skin (unless you were from a different ocean then it wouldn't be so pale). In the human world, he was like an angel on earth. His crystal eyes moved down to her hand when she extended it towards him. Then he reached out and shook her hand, hearing her name. It was a very pretty name. Definatly different from natives on the island. He smiled happily, glad to know this girl was nice despite the fact she look liked she would burst in depression and want to go inside.

"Nice to meet you Alexandra." He said and he took his hand back, soon folding his arms against his chest. He looked like he could be a body gaurd. he had the perfect pose. "I'm Darrien. Just Darrien." he said, smirking. He looked over at the house for a moment. "Did you come here with someone else? Obviously you look too young to live on your own. " He stated. He wanted to help her with fixing up the place. He felt bad that she was getting such a bad impression on this wonderful island. He thought fixing the house would be a good start. He wondered what it was like inside that made her hate the house so much. He never actually been inside even with all the time he had cause not one person seemed to want to be in it.​

 

[Seraph]

Alex felt short when he shook her hand and felt a blush rise on her cheeks when she was caught in her less than honest answers. From the way he spoke, he obviously liked the island a lot. If she had been in a different situation, she supposed that she would like it here. If she had internet and if she had packed sunscreen in her luggage, but she had neither of those things and knew the moment the sun came out, she would burn like there was no tomorrow.

“Nice to meet you too, Darrien,” she mumbled as he stood with his arms crossed over his chest. He was slightly intimidating like that; he reminded her of those pictures that her father used to show her of animals in the wild. Even though he looked relaxed, there was something under the surface. She glanced around and then looked at his eyes again; he wasn’t blind since he had grabbed her hand when she offered it but she didn’t know anyone with such an eye-color. And this was coming from a girl who had a genetic mutation that led to having two colored eyes, one blue and one brown.

She bit her bottom lip and gave a wane smile, “It’s…a nice place. I’m just…I really didn’t to move.” It was best to be honest, her mother always said, after all, it could mean life or death. But then again, she had been speaking in terms of medical history and in the hospital. She jumped as a drop of water splashed on her nose and she looked up as a few more drops followed. Alex looked at Darrian before she motioned towards the house, “Um…do you want to come in until the rain stops?” Mentally, she was hitting her head with a brick; sure, invite the guy who looks like he could bench press you easy. Never mind that he could be insane or something, sure…Maybe he wouldn’t accept?

Her mouth moved of its own accord, “I mean, if you don’t live close by?”

 

[Paper Mache Banshee]

Darrien didn't even notice the two eyes being different colors. He was too focused on other things to care. That's when she started saying something about her house. He looked away from the house back at Alex. You couldn't tell he was looking at the house cause he did it out of the corner of his eye. When it started to sprinkle he smiled; the gods answered him. Now he could stay out on land longer with the rain going on. He heard her offer to let him inside and he thought about that for a moment. Who knew what was in that house? It could be a serial killer or someone who's obsessed with merpeople. He was laughing on the inside. Yeah, like that would ever happen. His curiousity took over and he nodded. Excitement built up inside of him as he thought about the house.

"Sure, I'd love to. Out of all the places I have been I never been in that house before." he said, giving another short nod and moving over to the house. "I could help fix it up if you want. " he said as a little side comment to him accepting her offer. He turned back towards her and let his hands drop to his sides. She seemed bugged by something. He was going to ask why but then she spoke again. She said something that was more then true.

Hearing that, made him laugh. "Oh you're right. I live no where close to here. It would take hours to get there. I just come here every other month." he said grinning. "It really doesn't bug me though; the rain, that is." he said, following her. "Don't worry either, I wouldn't hurt anything even if I was paid to." he reassured. He was glad it rained. A while longer and his skin would've dried and then bad things would've happened. If he hadn't ran he wouldn't have quickened the drying. Thank you, God.​

 

[Seraph]

Alex smiled slightly as he laughed, he had a nice laugh. She walked up the steps, skirting the areas that looked weak and suppressed the need to stick out her tongue at the house as if to say, ‘Haha, you can’t catch me this time.’ She glanced at him in surprise at the offer of help before she bit her bottom lip and replied with, “Just watch your step? The wood is a little weak…”

She opened the door and stepped inside but held it open for Darrien. She had opened her big mouth and now she had to stick to her promise like any good hostess. Damn her mother for teaching her manners. At least her father wasn’t home, was he? She strained her ears trying to hear him, but there was nothing. If he was, he wasn’t doing anything loud. Maybe he was in town? That would be good…after all, she didn’t need him scaring off any guests. As much as she would like that, it just wouldn’t be right.

“Why do you come here if you don’t live close,” she asked, even though he reassured her that he was harmless, she wasn’t so sure. After all, it never hurt to be cautious, right? And who in their right minds liked being out in the rain! She mumbled, “If Daddy hadn’t dragged me out here…” She didn’t finish that sentence. It brought up too many things she would be doing; she missed her friends and her books. She had to sell those since her father wouldn’t pay the shipping fees for them.

 

[Paper Mache Banshee]

Darrien watched her as he followed her every move. She was being pretty gentle, it made him let out a few chuckles. "This is a rather old house I'm guessing. " he said, grinning and trying to do what she was doing. He was pretty light cause his bones were like fish bones still, light and bendy. He looked at the door and watched her carefully opening it, making sure she stepped in the right places so she wouldn't fall through the floor. He was suddenly glad he didn't live in a home. He thanked her when she held the door open for him and he stepped inside. It was definatly not what he imagined...it was worse. This house could crumble at any hurricane that could possibly pass by or strong wind. It definatly wasn't a safe place to live. A small, "Wow" was all he could manage to say for the scene.

How long had this house been here? Why hadn't anyone remodled it? It had a wonderful view of the ocean and alot of space to build. He took a few careful steps before the floor creaked, causing him to jump a bit. He looked at the floor with a stern face but it washed away as he looked over to Alex. He had no problems like this where he lived. Only the blasted seals that wouldn't leave him alone were there. When he heard the question he frowned. He really didn't know why he went here when he could just stay at home. It was his favorite spot to be afterall. He tried to think of something to change the subject because he really had no specific reply to that. He could see Alex was trying to see if anyone was home. So obviously she did come here with somebody. Deciding it was rude to make a lady wait for a reply he took a deep breath and tried to think of an answer at the top of his head.

"Well, my home is all arou---" he paused. "I mean, it's all the way on the other side of the planet pretty much." this was getting confusing for him. "I erm, I guess I come here because I have nothing better to do and it's quiet. " He said, rubbing the back of his neck and messing with his hair. "Where I live, I don't really have anybody like you or other h-- people, to be around. Or a house in that fact. I am all natures boy. I come here occasionally just to hang around in the warmer areas for a while. I dunno." he said, struggling to make his point clear. He heard her mumble something but couldn't make it out so he ignored it. It must've not been important if she said it under her breath. "Im a swimmer." He said out of the blue after spacing out a bit. He gave up on finding out his reason. He took another step and it went okay. Until he reach about five steps the floor groaned and he tripped over a nail. He was really good with his feet, but if the area was murky he just couldn't shape things out. This was just filled with that atmosphere. He definatly couldn't hang out here long otherwise his scales, which are under his skin, would get covered in the mold and he could be in pain if that happens.

He moved over, sitting next to the spot her fell and looking down at his foot that had hit the nail. He was starting to think he should wear shoes. His side of his foot had a small cut and out of it came leaking his bluish green blood. Quickly trying to find a way to hide it, he tore off a bit of his cloth and wrapped it around his foot, tying a nice knot in it. It wasn't normal for humans blood to be that color so he tries his best to not get hurt.​

 

[Seraph]

Alex couldn’t help a small laugh at Darrien’s utterance when he saw the inside of the house. The outside was bad, but the inside was worse indeed. There were rotted through floorboards, nails sticking up every which way in some places, and like in the bathroom, mold had started to form in the corners. If they had been in the city, the place would probably be on condemned, pending destruction. She gave herself a moment to imagine riding the bulldozer plowing down the old house she was in now. A slight smile tweaked the corners of her lips before she was brought out of her day-dream as Darrien spoke. She caught, ‘I come here because I have nothing better to do and it’s quiet.’

She raised an eyebrow and nodded with everything else he said, “Wow…sounds…fun?” Alex was a city girl born and raised; her father, when he was lucid, had hypothesized that she would live for three days out in the wilderness before she died. That was without calculating the chances of a wild animals roaming about or harsh weather conditions. “But swimming is great!” She gave a happy smile before she sighed, “But there isn’t a pool around here.”

When he tripped, Alex winced and walked over to his side carefully, “Hey, are you okay?” She hesitated at touching him before she gently tugged on his forearm after he bandaged his foot up, “Come on into the kitchen…it’s tile there and it’s mostly…safe.” She glanced down at his bare feet with a bit of a frown, only a fool would agree to come into this crappy place without shoes but oh well. And the kitchen was the least damaged of all of the rooms in the house. Since it was in the center of the house and without any windows, it remained mostly the same. The tile was loose here and there and there might be a mouse nest or two, but it was easily the most comfortable room. And the most well lit. “Just follow my steps, all right?”

She started an odd dance-like pattern towards the hall that lead into the kitchen. She’d toe boards and if they creaked she would test another area until she could hop over to a safe board. Alex brushed her hair out of her face and reached into her pocket for a scrunchie as she continued the way towards the kitchen.

 

[Paper Mache Banshee]

Darrien looked at his foot and wiggled his toes to still make sure his foot worked. It stung a little bit and he definatly couldn't go into the water till it healed. Sharks would be swarming all over him if he went back in the water with his foot bleeding. He smiled at Alex. "I'm okay, nothing to worry about. It's just a small cut." It was something he needed to worry about. He could only stay out here so long and now had to wait for the wound to stop bleeding. When she mentioned the kitchen being safer he laughed. "There is a safe spot in this house?" he joked and grinned.

He watched her every move, trying to remember each move so he could follow after. By the looks of it, a couple of long strides and he'd be safe. It was almost as if he had a time lapse in his mind because he remember one of her comments about a swimming pool. "We do have a swimming pool by-the-way, no one uses it though cause usually the ocean is better. It really is. The temperature is okay and the water goes out far enough before any coral or fish appear. " He began to follow her, skipping some of her steps cause his legs were longer and he could get farther.

Once they were in the kitchen he looked back down at his foot. His blood already managed to soak through the cloth. It was expected though because the cloth was really thin. Good thing the cloth was blue cause it almost matched the color of his... then again if it were normal red it would've made a giant red blotch on the cloth. He didn't want to get too involved in the subject of blood so he looked up to Alex and smiled. "So where did you move here from? I've been to a few places. Maybe I know it." Yeah, only a few, like three. This island, the Arctic, and maybe an occasional island he passed by... or was it a floating peice of dirt? It wasn't big. ​

 

[Seraph]

Alex nodded slowly, “You might want to see about getting a tetnus shot though…I don’t know how old the nails are around here…” Though when he joked about the house she laughed and nodded, “Barely, but it is safer than say…here.”

She glanced at him as he mentioned the swimming pool and her eyes brightened slightly, “Really? Where is it?” She hesitated and muttered, “I like knowing where my feet are at all times.” Once upon a time, she had stepped on a trigger fish and gotten poisoned, it had taken a day of keeping her foot in warm water to leech it out and even then she walked with a limp for a little while. She hadn’t gone into the ocean since, and that was when she was five.

Alex looked around the kitchen for a moment before she dug into one of the cupboards, “I know it’s here somewhere, just give me a moment…” She clattered the meager pots and pans she had on hand as she dug through the off-hinged cupboard. She stuck her tongue out at the cabinet as she pulled free a first-aid kit, “Nah!” She walked over to him, “I think the gauze in there will do better than your shirt? And there is some Neosporin in there too. And where I lived? Um…Reno, Nevada. Nowhere near the ocean.” She sounded a little too happy about that.

There was a sound of a door opening and a grunt as something gave way, “Alex! Alex!”

“Yes, Daddy,” she yelled back, as her turned her back to Darrien, “What’s up?”

“I did it! I found an merperson,” he shouted from another room, “I have it all on tape.”

Alex sighed and looked at Darrien, “Sorry, he’s…he has problems.” She sighed and shouted back, “Daddy, it was probably just a big fish. Y’know one of those radioactive ones? Sides, you just put those cameras up, maybe it was your finger?”

 

[Paper Mache Banshee]

Reno, Nevada.

Never heard of it. He watched as she began to dig around some of the cabinets for something. He moved over to see what she was looking for before hearing a small squeak and seeing a mouse scurry off across the floor and into a hole in the wall. He blinked and looked up at Alex who just turned her head to tell him about a first aid kit she had found. Luckily she hadn't seen the mouse, he seen many women react to mice and they all go crazy. He shuddered at the thought. He shook his head to heard how happy she was that it was nowhere near the ocean. "The ocean isn't that bad, seriously, I should know." He said, nodding once. He moved over and grabbed the first aid kit, taking out some of the gauze and and neosporin. He quickly took off the cloth and brushed some of the cool gel onto the wound then wrapped the qauze on it. Then whatever there was left over her placed in back into the kit and shut it, placing it back into the cupboard.

Just as he stood up he heard the sound of another voice that seemed overly excited. "Well it seems someone is rather happy about being here, father I assume?" He said, watching Alex turn away from him to respond to the voice.

Then he mention merpeople. He was the nly one around and knowing that made his heart jump. Oh great. That had to be the rarest thing to possibly happen in his life. Someone obsessed with merfolk. He wondered if he had done something or passed some sort of secret camera that possibly caught him swimming around. Thinking of all the possibilities made his face go blank as if he had been petrified by the basalisk. He didn't even snap out of it when Alex told him that her father had problems.

It took him a while to come back to his senses. When he did he gave a nervous laugh and rubbed his neck. "Merpeople, hmm?" he said, in thought. He caught it on tape too? Well that was a tape that he wanted to see. "Sounds interesting...." he murmured. He really needed to see that tape.

 

[Seraph]

Alex glanced over to Darrien and shrugged, “To each their own, I guess.” She gave a little smile, “I just don’t like not knowing what I’m swimming with…You never know when something will come up and grab ya, you know?” She watched as a spider danced across the countertop and shuddered slightly and wished that one of the mice would show up. They were at least cute, while, their tails were as they rounded the corners faster than she could see. She felt bad about considering laying down mouse traps for them.

Alex caught Darrien’s quiet murmur and sighed, “Please don’t tell you believe in that stuff too?” She grumped slightly as her father came in waving the tape, he looked at Darrien in a manner that was insightful but completely blind. He turned to his daughter and pointed at the tape, “I caught it on tape! I knew it was true. They’ll accept me back in the university now…” He turned away and muttered, “See, every legend is routed in fact.”

As Dr. Bryce began to walk out of the room, he looked at Darrien and then at Alex, “Nice to see that you’ve made a new friend.”

His daughter could only nod as she kept her head down, a raging blush on her cheeks. There was nothing like having a lunatic for a father. Nothing like it at all. She really wished that her mother had been less considerate and taken custody of her as well. At least then she would still be in a city.

 

[Paper Mache Banshee]

Darrien rolled his eyes, placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. "No I don't believe it. I know it's TRUE." he said in a very blunt, but truthful manner. When he realized what he had said he mentally slapped himself. Well what could get better then this? He watched as Alex's dad rushed in and waved a tape around like he had just invented the light bulb. He laughed a little to himself. He reminded him of the mad scientists from some television shows. His eyes mainly stayed on the tape but they moved over to Alex when he had started to walk away. She must really loved him by how embarassed she looked. She patted her head and laughed then looked over to her dad.

"Can I see the tape, Mr. Bryce?" He asked, tilting his head curiously. He could already feel that Alex was gonig to think everyone was obssessed with merpeople. He leaned over and whispered to her. "Just be happy you even have a dad. " he said smirking. He didn't have a mom or a dad. He really didn't know how he even came around to existing. So his life was just a mystery.

Just like a boy and his father heading off to a football game, Darrien walked over to her dad, crossing his arms. Not to make himself seem more insane in front of Alex, he kept his voice low enough so only her dad could make out what he was saying. "What do you want to do with merpeople? Really, they are nothing interesting." Well that was a lie. Look at him. Snow white, white eyes, if you feel his skin you could make out scales and blue blood. That reminded him. He looked down at his foot, checking up on it to see the blood only got through a little. Since the bandage was more white, you could clearly make out the color of the blood. Shaking the thoughts away and returning to his small conversation he looked at Mr. Bryce. "I could help you maybe. Unless you are aiming to capture them and use them for study..." He lowered his voice into a whisper. "My folk are told to descend from merpeople." ​

 

[Seraph]

Alex looked at Darrien like he was insane as he began to egg her father on and she ducked her head closer to her chest and wondered if the floor would swallow her up? If she had been in the parlor area, it would have been more than a hope but in the kitchen…she just wished that her father would go back to normal soon. She jumped slightly as Darrien whispered and she gave a faint nod, “I do…” Despite all of his eccentricities and the fact he pulled her out to the middle of nowhere, she was happy she had him. But still, she bemoaned in her mind, couldn’t he cool it a little? It didn’t help that Darrien was asking questions about the subject and looking genuinely interested.

Dr. Bryce’s eyes took a moment to focus on Darrien and he tapped the video tape against his chin before he shook his head, “No, no, you can’t see it. I need to document it and then set up the next feed…” He looked at Alex, “I won’t be in for dinner, so don’t worry.” He started to leave again before he stopped and looked at Darrien again, “What else would I be looking for a merperson for? What if they are a genetic mutation of humans or vice versa? If that gene could be harnessed…people could live on land and in the sea! Overcrowding would be solved.” He waved his hand, “If you want to help, help Alex.”

The scientist started to walk towards the basement again and Alex gave Darrien a side-long glance, “Descended from merpeople huh? Next you’re going to tell me that selkies are real too?” She looked a little tired and disappointed and muttered something like, “So much for normal people…”

 

[Paper Mache Banshee]

"Well then, you'll never catch a merperson then." he said after her father left but something echoed in his mind that that would kick him later. Hearing his last comment made him laugh. "I have no clue what a selkie is but you obviously don't believe in them well enough to know whether they exist or not with that comment you made!" Pause "And you should be the one helping HER!" he added, pouting but wiping it clean off as he turned around to face Alex. He took a good long look at her. She seemed like someone he could trust. And after all, knowing she was paired up with an obssessed scientist would make her keep it for sure to make her seem less insane.

He moved over to her, grabbing her hand without a word, pulling her up into his arms and rushing out of the house. "I am going to show you something. Knowing you, you can't blab it away." he said, grinning as he ran back out into the ran and over to the water. "You could also say it might make you appreciate your dad more. Even though if he was mine... I would've ran away." he said, shuddering as he ran to the shoreline. He placed her down. "Sorry for the sudden pick-up." he said, nodding before looking at the water. "I just think I should show you this..." He said, taking off the bandage first on his foot. He didn't need anything disfiguring him in the transformation. Some of his bluish blood leaked out as he walked into the water. He looked over his shoulder at her.

"Be prepared." He said before jumping into the water. Once he was fully submerged he took in a deep breath of water and transformed almost immediatly. As he transformed, the spot where he was began to glow like a rainbow had been underneath the water before it went away and he was done transforming. He smiled, looked up at the surface, seeing the rain pitter-pattering on the surface before swimming up. He peeked over the edge so all Alex could see was his head before he swam over to the shoreline. Then he pulled himself out of the water as fast as he could, dragging the long tail behind him. Then he looked up at Alex, waiting for her reaction. ​

 

[Seraph]

Alex looked at Darrien and shook her head, “You know, you started it…Daddy is really serious about this. Jokes about being descended from merpeople don’t make him ha---What are you doing?!” She let out a small shriek as he picked her and started running out of the house. She struggled in his arms and gaped at him like a fish out of water as she spoke, “Couldn’t you, you know, so me in the house?” She calmed down slightly when he put her down, but she inched out of his reach and kept a suspicious eye on him as he took off the bandage on his foot, “Um…okay?”

“You’re bleed—“ She drew off as she looked at the stain on the bandage and what seeped out of the wound and into the water. Alex looked at him, confused and whispered, “It’s…blue?” When he dove into the water and walked a little closer to the shore’s edge and let the water lap at her shoes as she watched the spot glow. She bit her bottom lip as Darrien re-appeared, only this time with a tail. The young blonde woman pointed at him as she tried to form words.

She did what most sane people would do. She fainted and fell forward into the water.

 

[Paper Mache Banshee]

With that, Darrien laughed. "Well, that was definatly the reaction I was expecting out of a human. Unlike her dad..." He rolled his eyes and looked at the house before quickly moving and getting Alex out of the water and onto his lap. It was about all he could do. He couldn't just leave her out in the rain while she was unconcious either. So he did the first thing that popped into his mind. Gently, he placed Alex on the ground, away from the water. He looked towards the house, having second thoughts that this would ever actually work. Then he tried it out.

"DAD!" he shouted as loud as possible in a girlish voice, trying to immitate Alex's voice. "HELP ME!" He hoped it would work. Before he was going to departure he looked at Alex and smiled. "Well now you know that your father isn't insane...I'll see you later." he whispered as if she was still awake then turned around and pulled himself as quickly as he could back into the water. He moved a bit into the water before hiding behind a rock. Just to make sure he peeked around the rock, looking from Alex and to the house then Alex. Waiting for her dad's response. Surely his dad couldn't be so busy that he wouldn't help the only child he had with him. That would just be heartless.​

 

[Seraph]

Dr. Bryce peeked his head out of the door at the house at the shout and frowned and shouted back, “Alex, you know I’m busy…” Nonetheless he moved down the steps and skipped over the dead places with more agility than his daughter before walking down to the crumpled form he spotted on the shoreline. His eyes widened and he moved quicker and knelt next to her, checking her pulse. He relaxed a little and looked around, “What gave you such a fright?”

The older man shook his head and looked at his daughter despondently before he hefted one of her arms over his shoulder and started to drag her up the beach back to the house. It was slow work but he helped his unconscious child back into the house, but was thankful when Alex came to just before they hit the porch steps. She groaned softly and mumbled, “Daddy?”

Dr. Bryce looked at her and set her down as gently as he could and he knelt in front of her, “What happened?”

“I…don’t remember,” she lied blearily as she thought back to what she saw. It couldn’t real, Darrien couldn’t be…be a merman…? But he had a tail and everything, he had been beautiful to look at. Well, at least she recalled vaguely that he was beautiful before she fainted. She couldn’t believe that she fainted! “I…I just want to go to bed, Daddy.”

“All right,” he agreed, and again helped her as they walked into the house.

 

[Paper Mache Banshee]

Seeing Alex's dad come out made him feel better. He smiled and watched the two for a moment before sinking under the water and swimming away to find a place to rest for the time being. It had been a... long day.

As hours passed for him, he couldn't help but worry about the tape her father got of a 'merperson'. He didn't know whether it was actually Mr. Bryces finger or him. Unless there was another merperson somewhere nearby then that maybe would explain it... he thought. Just to make sure he swam for quite a long time, looking for any signs of any other merperson but found none. He swam above the surface, looking at the starry sky then around the waters. Everything was so much more calmer at night. He smiled, moving onto his back and gently swam around upside down.

Even though he seemed calm, he still had worry at the back of his head. This was the greatest time to fish because fish were practically blind and the better fish seemed to hang around nearby where all the coral was. He noticed some odd going on's with some new boats that were floating around the sea. He never seen the boats in the water before. He had always thought they were display near the fish meuseum. He decided to check it out. Slowly he pulled himself under the water. He stayed there for a moment before heading off to where the boats were floating moitionlessly in the water. He wasn't too used to the dark as much as the fish, he was practically blind even though you wouldn't expect him to be when his lights glew in the dark.

As Darrien swam, he hummed a little hawaiian tune, enjoying the relaxed waters. His enjoyment went away when he got caught in a net. "Greeeat. " he grumbled, trying to get himself loose. Usually it wasn't a problem, getting caught in nets. He usually always found a way out. He noticed that there were two large boats, one to each side of him and that's where the nets connected. Another new thing was that the net was like metal. It was also old. He could feel some loose wires grabbing hook of his tail so he couldn't move and he winced at the feeling of metal tearing his fin. That made him decide it was no good to move. Letting out a stressed groan he stared up at the surface, wondering what he was going to do. He was trying to go through all his options in his head. ​

 

[Seraph]

Alex sat on her bed with a blanket wrapped around her as she started out into the sea. She couldn’t believe that her father wasn’t crazy, it was…mind blowing. She wanted to tell him, she really did, but at the same time, Darrien had trusted her enough to show her this even after only knowing her for a little while. She worried her bottom lip as she thought over all of the possibilities. She hadn’t been able to sleep even though that was what she told her father that she was going to do.

She listened to him tinker around the house, mostly the basement before she finally listened to him go to bed. Of course, she had to crack a smile when he had finally figured out the upstairs bathroom was unusable, what surprised her more was she heard him say that he would have to fix it. Usually if he said he would do something, he would. But that had been hours ago…slowly Alex crept out of her bed. She still had her shoes and didn’t worry so much about getting a splinter or walking on a nail, she moved on the study boards to keep her noise to a minimum. When she made it to the door of the basement, she hesitated. Part of her felt bad for about what she was going to do but the other part of her…

Alex took a deep breath and sneaked down the stairs into the basement and turned on the small television down there and started to watch the tape her father recorded. He had caught a speck of something that could have been Darrien, she thought tiredly, but it looked more like a piece of driftwood to her. She had another moment of indecision before she ejected the tape and took it with her as she left. She left the house and hopped over the stairs of the porch, and she landed on her feet before she took off down the beach. She stumbled several types before she came to a place that was far enough from the house that she felt comfortable.

“Daddy, please forgive me,” with that, she sat down and began to unravel the film from its case and wrinkle it, tear it and otherwise destroy it until there wasn’t a shred of usable evidence left on the tape.