Salt

[Whirlwind]

The beach blonde teen jogged up to her house and came inside, shutting the door firmly behind her. Her hand lingered on the door knob before her father's voice behind her made her jump.

"Hey kiddo. Spaghetti?" he asked. She whipped around with parted lips, holding in an inhale and her bright eyes wide. Her father hesitated before frowning. He was standing in front of a pot on the kitchen island that housed the electric stovetop, heavy eyebrow raising at his daughter's sketchy reaction to the simple question. "What's wrong?" he asked in a deep, serious voice.

Ruby forced a half, embarrassed smile, pushing hair from her tan face and white teeth glimmering behind pink lips that she used to hide what she was feeling. "Nothing… spaghetti is fine!" she said in a faux cheer. She walked over to the cabinet and grabbed a plate, and when she turned back around she was staring right back into her dad's unmoved gaze.

"Ruby…" he said in a warning tone, one that said he was not tolerating a lie. Ruby paused before looking down at her white plate, frowning and picking at a piece of food that had adhered to the surface thanks to the dishwasher.

"I have to leave dad…" she started off in a tone barely above a whisper. Tears began trying to race to her eyes, but Ruby hated crying more than anything just about. And so, despite her frightened, sad state she remained strong. Her hazel eyes glanced up to her dad's, who now just looked confused. "I don't know where I want to go. I haven't been accepted into any colleges or anything but I just… I have to go, you know? I can't just…" she sighed heavily and shook her head, returning to the spot of food, grateful that it was taking so much effort to peel itself away from the surface. The quiet of the kitchen made her ears ache, until her father cleared his throat.

"Does this have anything to do with me calling those people? Look I didn't tell them anything really. Just that you had had those symptoms and what they suggested. They wanted me to bring you in to one of their places but I said I wasn't sure about that. They seemed a bit off after that so I just hung up," he said, the hurt trying to be covered up by the forcefulness of his voice. Ruby just swallowed hard though and looked up again, neither smiling nor crying.

"I'll be fine dad. I'll call and text all the time," she said, voice still soft and looking for some shred of approval, but finding none.

"It's not like I can make you stay… seeing as you're 18. Never knew you'd just pick a day to run away," he said, grabbing his plate and heading in the living room towards the tv. Ruby watched him go, suddenly not feeling very hungry. But she knew this was the last warm meal for a while. And the last night with her dad for a while. And so she piled the tomato laced noodles on her plate, sitting in a recliner and having a silent dinner before she went to her room to pack.

 

[Mook-LandStrider]

Thomas heard the elevator open and glanced up again to see a girl come walking out. It was then that everything that seemed to possibly go wrong for her went wrong in less than three seconds. He didn't know what to say to her when she fell onto the floor but held but a slight chuckle. She was a persistent one none the less as she got back up and didn't even complain a single time. He didn't know what to do but suddenly felt a strong pulse when she got closer. It was then that she spoke to him and he just nodded slowly. "Hey." was all he could think of saying.

He then gazed up at her for several seconds "So! Sup?" He asked her before sitting forward and opening his bottle of water. "Ugh... Im thirsty." He said before guzzling it down. He felt nervous over drinking from his bottle of water. He eventually pulled himself together enough to introduce himself "Hey, You are the girl from the meeting. I know your boss... well... enough about him.. I am an Intern here." He said before rubbing the back of his head. He didn't know what all to say but felt a connection with the girl he couldn't understand.

 

[Ravenbelle]

@Whirlwind

She only knew that it kept getting stronger. Something was happening to her and it was almost as overwhelming as the time she admitted to herself that she was a merfreak. This pulse was dragging her towards the shore now and she tried to stop herself from following it, but only managed to swim veerry slowly. Leona had been through salt water cravings, itchy skin on land and finding out she had a tail and now this new crap she didn't understand?! She forced herself to turn away from the shore and put her hands on her face, breathing in the water deeply.

She had to calm down, get her priorities straight and...and what? Try to deny all this fish stuff and work her butt off to pay for her apartment--if she even still had a job-- and get stuck with random visions of memories from strangers who also had tails? How could she live like that? But what else could she do? She doesn't know how to be a...a mermaid. How could she even attempt something so alien and dangerous!? FYM is even looking for her kind, how could she do anything but hide--
the sound of water--of something swimming toward her cut off her train of thought. It was only when she heard a voice in her head that she was uncontrollably compelled to turn around.

"Hello?"
Said he. She knew that it was that shape in the water that was speaking to her. She knew him. As soon as she caught sight of the tail with her wide, obsidian eyes, she knew she had seen it before. So she had no restraint whatsoever when she swam toward him, quick and confident. She cut through the water with no hesitation and before she even realized it, she was right in front of him. She didn't care that she was only wearing a black bra and her shoulder scar were in full view of his ebony eyes. He was a merfreak too.

"You." Was all she could say in her moment of shock. She didn't even know what she was feeling really, but she didn't want it to go away. She had seen this man change into a merfreak for the first time, how overwhelming it was. His tail was like a wahoo fish. She knew all of the tails, she couldn't help but look them up when she saw them, drew them in her sketchbook. But she hadn't seen the hair or his jawline. So startling and new, even though she had seen snippets of his life in her head.
"...I..know you.."
If she had seen him as a human she probably wouldn't have recognized him, but even though she didn't know his name, Leona wanted to touch him. Just to make sure he was real. That she wasn't alone with all this insanity. But even here, in the moment underwater with one of her own...kind, she could not shake the grip of her distrust and fear of people she'd never met before. Leona never instigates physical contact anymore, so even though she was floating in front of him, so close that their chests almost touched, she didn't reach out to him. She just stared, in awe.

 

[Whirlwind]

Time was like sap dripping down a tree. Seconds were minutes, and slow motion became reality. Uriel 's eyes took in the vision of the brunette mermaid bee lining for him, and yet his mind couldn't comprehend it. Real. She's real. Real. Real. Real. And if she's real… they're all real. And I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy… his thoughts tumbled around in his head.

You… she spoke. Well, it wasn't so much spoken as much as a feminine voice echoed in his brain. I know you… the voice came again. This time he showed surprise in his features, a hand reaching out to run through the very ends of the woman's long locks that licked the water around them. He could feel the thick wet hair wrapping around his fingers playfully until he pulled them away, eyes just moving all over her spiny, striped form. So not only had he seen her, she had seen him? That might have been embarrassing if he hadn't been so enamored by the spooky reality of the girl in front of him.

But the eerie, still moment was interrupted as Uriel's mouth broadened. His lips pulled into the biggest smile and water warbled as it moved in and out of the gills that ran across his ribs and around his face. He was laughing. It was positively gleeful and full of joy.

"I'm not crazy!" he announced to the girl mentally, reaching out and taking hold of her upper arms. "You're real… I've seen you. Your, your guitar… when you discovered your tail… looking in the mirror… you were jumping into the water in my dreams…" he spoke, thoughts rushed in a would be breathless tone, excitement still bouncing in his gaze, but smile coming to a content place instead of uncontrolled happiness as the memories she'd unwittingly shared blared in his brain. "I've written stories about you. But I've never even been sure if I had your name right," he said, letting go of her and running a hand through his moving, white hair, silver tail swishing ever so slightly. "My name is Uriel."

 

[Ravenbelle]

@Whirlwind

Even in slightly murky salt water, Leona could see every detail of the merman's features crystal clear. He showed her a strangely surprised expression before moving his fingers toward her. It was a slow move and if she wanted to, she could have avoided it, but she didn't seem to want to move away. Her spines stiffened however, standing on end as if she had goosebumps. She wasn't used to gentleness but his fingers did no harm to her or her long hair.

Eyes wide, she stared in fascination at his form as he did with her. They were so close to each other that it was kind of uncomfortable, even if her tail didn't want her to move away. Not even when he smiled. It was as if she was torn between being a fish girl like him or being her human self with her protective tendencies and fearful mind. The stranger showed off his razor teeth easily. Leona knew of course that she had them too, but she had never seen them. It was intimidating and her heartbeat quickened, though when he started laughing, it was clear that he didn't want to hurt her. It was almost surreal how she watched him, observing every little motion and sound. There was no way she could conjure this with her imagination alone--she thought it was impossible when her tail first appeared--even his gills were in a different place!

His words in her mind startled her this time, for they were loud as if he was actually speaking, but his mouth didn't move from its enthusiastic smile. More than his words though, his sudden hold of her arms made her flinch and stiffen. It took considerable effort to keep her arms away from him when the moment made her want to use her spines for once. Sure he was the living confirmation that she was not alone in this, but he was still a stranger, and a strong one at that. And he knew things about her. Apparently she wasn't the only one who had seen things in her head. He saw her too. It freaked her out. She never lets people in, at least not that easily. How much did he really know about her?
Her muscles only relaxed when he let go of her, running his fingers through his striking white hair. She swished her tail once, moving back and away from him a bit while her mane floated around her head like a dark halo. She paid it no mind. She was still trying to come to terms with all of this, hiding behind her wall with a mask that gave nothing away in her expression. When he gave her his name, she reverted to a tougher front, refusing to let her temptation of telling him her name get in the way. This is dangerous. They're still close to shore. Maybe she should go. She just has to know she can get back somehow.
"Heh. Like Ariel. Look, Little Mermaid. I didn't find you for nothing. Let's just..uh, skip the small talk. Tell me something I don't know. Like maybe how to get rid of this tail?"

 

[Mundane Monster]

Now that he was speaking to her, Anita didn't really know what to say to him. Did she just out right mention the...Condition? Or should she bring up the subject in code riddled with analogies? All of the buildings had some type of audio or visual security surveillance, so she knew she couldn't just blurt it out. But writing it down or starting a game of charades would be even more suspicious.

So she did the only ting she could think of.

"Yeah, I'm FYM's PR, I do the news reports sometimes, and all of that." She ignored the comment about her father, because if he thought he was her boss then that was for the best. He would be a lot more less likely to trust her if she told him that the Lead Scientist and President of FYM was her father. "Anyway, I've seen you around and I wanted to know if you maybe, wanted to go on a date with me?" She blurted out, the words tumbling out of her mouth like puke. It was horrible, she had never asked a guy on a date before and this wasn't even a real date invitation. She just knew that the pulsing got stronger near him and she needed to get him out of the building where she could talk to him without anyone listening in.


- -
Marina's face hardened once more when the boy mentioned the salt water. She wondered if he was genuine. He didn't look like a suspicious person, but then again what does a suspicious person even look like. She just knew that she didn't want to reveal any information, but she also didn't want to let him go just yet--

"My dear, who is it?" Naji asked from behind her as he approached with Azra trailing behind him. As soon as Naji's gaze landed on the newcomer, he gasped and stumbled backwards almost squashing his daughter who let out a squeal and ran to her mother.

Marina and Azra both called out for Naji in worry, but he soon righted himself.

"Y-you," He stammered staring at the young man on the doorstep. "Come in," He stated, gesturing for Marina to move from the doorway, she did so but not without sending her husband a questioning look.

"What is it? Do you know him?" She asked, confused, but Naji was too concerned with beckoning the boy inside and shutting the door quickly. He didn't want any neighbors to see anything and start getting suspicious.

 

[Shadicmaster]

Just as soon as the decision had been made in Lucas' mind that he should get moving along, before he just as soon had the authorities called on him, there was a new voice that called out from a short ways behind where the woman was, from as far as the male could hear. But even more than he heard the man, he felt him, his presence, as if the switch on an powerful electromagnet had been turned on, dragging his gaze up to the man whom he had seen to be the one speaking. Of course, he seemed just as surprised as Lucas himself, though Lucas was able to refrain from stepping back, so as not to look too out of the ordinary. He had already been standing outside the home for quite some time, and his neighborhood patrols didnt help what he would soon be lead to. Thankfully, he was quickly summoned inside, a request he was more than happy to comply with, though he felt slightly uncomfortable with the child and woman whom he assumed to be this man's wife. He felt nothing from them, as if they were ordinary people, and that in itself was worrisome. How much did they know? How trustworthy were they? And even more pressing, with the farther he got from his own home, the more worried he became for his sister, feeling the same pull that was what had drawn him to this man. It was a strong force, something he could never deny, but after years of forcing himself to ignore the pull from his sister, he would have to do so now.

Once in the house, two questions were asked, questions that were reasonable considering the circumstances, but hard to answer, at least from Lucas' perspective. He thought back to a couple of times when he had seen visions, seen the tails of others, even if only briefly. He and his sister had only traveled the long ways out to the beach once before, being when they had realized their true forms, though as it was such a brief encounter, he was able to soothe any discrepancies with his sister, helping her cope and eventually come to terms with herself. He knew that she was a surgeon fish, he himself being a tiger shark, and now, as he remembered the longer of the flashes of images he would occasionally see, the ones that were longer and more substantial, Lucas could tell who he was. He knew this man and that he was the right one, the great orca, and that his senses hadn't lead him astray. The boy shook his head, trying to form some sort of cohesive sentence to speak, to try and ease the situation, but none came, his mind feeling as if it had been stuffed with soaked cotton balls, leaving no room for logical thought.

 

[Whirlwind]

Ruby's bag was full of comfortable clothing, a pair of flip flops, and only a few pieces of makeup. She had her laptop, cell phone, and a few pieces of jewelry. A few books, mp3 player, and a handful of pictures completed her wants, while she had a backpack full of things she'd need in case she got lost or someone tried to take advantage of her. She could only hope the machete in her bag wouldn't be needed along her trip. She sat on the edge of her bed and began braiding her hair, letting it rest on her shoulder when she was done, and then standing to slide out of her clothes. The tattoo emblazoned on her back broke up the monotony of otherwise smooth tan skin as she bent over to grab on her jeans, zipping them up and then going for her bra and top. She slid a black hoodie on over the top and then some thick socks and her favorite, lilac colored tennis shoes. She knew if she stayed and slept tonight like her dad thought, he would try and talk her out of leaving or even prevent her. She had to go tonight to make it less painful for them both.

And so, once the snoring from between her dad's lips began reverberating off every wall in the home, Ruby carried her bag, backpack strapped on tight, and headed downstairs. She slid out of backdoor, peeking around and listening in silence. She had a map for direction, but luckily had a good, innate sense of direction as well that she planned on following. Not to mention she felt this ache, like a gut feeling. It wanted to send her southeast, and so, knowing the importance of instincts, Ruby set out off quietly in her car down 101. She didn't know how long she would be driving, but the further she went, the stronger the feeling her chest became. This had to be the right decision…

 

[Mook-LandStrider]

Thomas stared blankly at her proposal. He began to laugh but not at her. He didn't know what to do in the situation. She wasn't the first girl to ask him out and wouldn't be the last but it was the first time it was ever out of the blue. He waned to say 'No Thanks' but somthing about the girl continued to drive him towards her. It was then that his stomach began to rumble lightly and he stood up "I will have to turn you down on the date but I am hungry... lets go out to get somthing to eat.. I am out of wanna and my throat is killing me.. I think I am getting sick." He said in a ploy to try to get out of the building.

He had no idea what she meant but he needed to get some type of salt water in his system quick. He walked across the room sucessfully and didn't fall like she did and hit the elevator button "So! What do you say about that atleast? I don't want to sound rude but you aren't really my type... I Also don't even know you at all yet." He said before the elevator doors opened "I need some fresh air so if you want to join me you can. Otherwise I will see you around and such... Also! That lunch is still an offer if you wish to join me. I want to know what its like here since I am most likely going to be placed into a high position once I graduate." he stated as the doors of the elevator opened.