A New Friend (Rysmarin ~ Kichou)

[Kichou]

Julia Carey skipped along down the dock of the massive city, humming a silly little tune under her breath. Her short brown hair waved around her as she went, just falling an inch below her shoulders, and her sparkling blue-green eyes looked all around her at the boats and shouts of people to one another. Some people would catch sight of this young 14-year-old and give a smile and she would smile and wave back at them. She often came down the docks since she usually had nothing better to do, what with her parents working all day almost every day and it being summer vacation and all.

The young girl finally came to the edge of the dock and stopped with just her toes hanging over the edge of the wood, her eyes gazing down at the swirling waters below. It was a beautiful day with a nice sea breeze coming in-land and the smell of the ocean was everywhere. Decided this was a nice place, Julia sat down with her legs dangling over the edge and she took a moment to readjust the dark blue and green skirt she had on and her cute little dark blue tank top.

Was she waiting for someone? Not really. However, the young girl was feeling lonely and did sometimes hope to meet someone to be her friend to spend time with her. She did occasionally hang out with friends from her school but often they did other things with their parents or family. Julia knew no one in her family except for her parents and both pairs of her grandparents, so there were no cousins to see, no aunts and uncles to meet. She didn't even know if she had aunts or uncles. She didn't know for sure.

Sighing quietly, she placed her arms on her lap and looked out over the ocean. She always loved it, whether the waters be calm or rough. Birds cried overhead as they circled around boats and occasionally dived down to the water to scoop up fish. Such a peaceful day.

 

[Rysmarin]

Erasmus Rybar, one of the many workers that roamed the docks and a true man of the sea, walked along the wooden planks, his shift almost over. Why was he a true man of the sea, you might ask? Because he was, for lack of a better term, a merman. His skin was tough, leathery, and deep blue like the dark depths of the ocean. He had fins on his fore-arms and webbing between his toes and fingers, easily making him the best swimmer on the dock... Though he'd often claim to be the best in the worldd.

He had the lithe, well toned form to support his boasts as well. He wore heavy work clothes to guard against the elements and steel toed boots to guard against dropping heavy things on his feet. He also wore a sort of cloak for modesty's sake, under which something seemed to writhe periodically, though whatever hid underneath never showed itself. His hair flowed down over top of it, long and ebony-black.

He checked his watch and grinned lopsidedly. "Quittin' time." He chimed almost musically, snagging his lunchbox from a nearby handrail and heading down the way, none the worse for wear after a long days work. It wasn't long before he noticed the young girl sitting alone on the dock, watching the ships and staring out to sea. He nearly chuckled, remembering seeing her a number of other times as well, and decided on a whim to walk over and check up on her.

He walked up behind her and tapped his lunchbox on one of the dock-posts, making sure he caught her attention. He then held up his lunchbox. "Mind If I join ya, small fry? Seen ya a few times down this way before, 'n thought ya might prefer some company, 'nsteada sitting alone like this." His mouth was curled into a kind smile that crinkled the skin of his large, dark green eyes. He stood and politely waited for her to reply, as much expecting her to tell him she didn't talk to strangers as accept his offer.

 

[Kichou]

Julia lifted her head at the sound of a voice and gave the man a friendly smile, one she was well-known for. She remembered seeing him every now and then working around the docks and was always fascinated by his skin; she found it interesting and she enjoyed interesting things. She enjoyed them so much that, if she found something different than what it usually should be, she'd stand and stare at it for long periods of time to take in the view. Which she had once found herself doing to the merman just because his skin was so different...really just his overall appearance was different. In a good way.

"Sure!" she replied happily as she patted the spot next to her. "I don't mind some company. It's always nice to have someone to talk to." She gave another cute smile and then looked back out over the water, swinging her legs back and forth a bit. Her mother had always chided her to not talk to strangers, but that was so hard! How was she to make friends if she didn't talk to people she didn't know? So Julia often made it her job to get to know lots of people--if only as aquiantances--unless they gave off a 'creepy' vibe. And she wasn't getting that sort of feel from the merman.

"So," she said after a moment of silence and looked up at him, her hair bouncing lightly around her head in the movement. "What's your name? If you'd like to share, of course. I'm Julia!" She gave a silly little smile, a slight blush of shyness coating her cheeks.

 

[Rysmarin]

He chuckled, slightly amused by her shyness. "That it is a good thing at that, li'l miss Julia. Anyway, it's pleasure to meet ya. My name is Erasmus Rybar." He said, returning her smile as he sat beside her and opened his lunch box. "Most people on the docks just call me Eric, though, since my name's weird 'n a bit hard to get right... 'N some of my friends call me Eros now and again." He made a bit of a face at that. "Not particularly fond of that one, but they think it's hilarious." He sighed a little, but just shrugged in the end. "But whatever, right? No harm in a new name now and again."

His smile returned and pulled a tuna sub-sandwhich out of his lunchbox that looked almost to large to fit inside, as well as a can of generic cola and a bottle of water.He unwrapped half of the plastic-wrapped sandwich, took a bite, and stared out to sea as he set the other half aside, near the drinks and such between them.

He considered her for a moment, then swallowed. "Have ya had lunch yet today, Julia? If not, feel free ta help yourself, there." He nodded his head towards the sandwich and drinks. "I always bring more'n I need, in case someone forgets their own. None of us would be able ta work here without a full stomach, ya know... Obviously, though, today they got smart and brought their own. Guess they don't like tuna as much as I do." An amused twinkle lit in his eyes as he chuckled softly.

 

[Kichou]

Julia smiled at the man, thinking his name was unique. "Well, I like your name...Er-as-moos," she replied, having to say his name slowly, but even then she got it wrong. She glanced down momentarily at his sandwhich as he asked if she had eaten and she gave a tiny smile. "I just had...some crackers for lunch. Thank you very much!" She picked up the sandwhich and sniffed curiously, wondering what was in it since she never had tunafish. She took a small little bite and chewed it, savoring over the flavor, and swallowing before giving a smile up at the merman.

"Eras...mus," she began, able to get it right that time. "What is this, on this sandwhich?" she asked curiously. "I've never had it before. But it does taste very good!" She seemed to act quite young despite being fourteen already.

 

[Rysmarin]

The merman smiled slightly as she mispronounced his name. "Ya really can call me whatever ya like, Julia, but if ya insist, it's pronounced like... Air. As. Muss." He watched her curiously as she sniffed at the sandwich, though inwardly he wondered slightly what her situation was like. The second time she mispronounced his name, he just chuckled and shook his head. "Huh. Never met someone who didn't know what tuna was. Tuna's a type of fish, usually eaten with mayo. I also like 'em with salt... 'n occasionally, hot peppers."

His eyes glinted again, obviously amused by the thought. "Just salt an' mayo today though, no peppers. Anyway, ya like it, kido?" He smiled a bit at her, taking another bite of his own half of the sandwich, then taking up the bottled water to wash it down. He paused to roll his shoulders a bit, the joints eventually cracking as something shifted under the cloak, Ccausing him to sigh contentedly.