exastris_scientia | the mythological creature open post

[ the transformation from human to merman is not exactly painful. it's strange. it's far easier to change back to human, he's found. but he's never known quite how long it takes for him to change, but then this is the first time someone has been with him during it.

he's already lost the ability to speak standard once he senses (huh, that's a funny thing) julian's distress above him. there's a soft whine, and he reaches towards the feelings like he would follow the sound of his voice. calm down, julian. i can feel you freaking out from down here.

which then, he realizes, might not be conducive to him not freaking out. his eyes have adjusted to the change, adapted for the low light levels beneath the waves, and he looks at himself to make sure he's fully changed. he clicks in approval, and starts to swim for the surface.

it's a couple of minutes after that he breaks the surface, hair matted from the water, and cants his head up at the pier where julian is standing. oh---oh, it'd almost be hilarious if he didn't look half scared out of his mind. ]

Edited 2016-01-02 08:19 (UTC)

[julian had frozen when he heard--or, more accurately he supposed, felt, jim's voice in his head, halfway through taking off his other shoe. telling him to calm down, as if all of this was perfectly normal and he didn't think you were moments away from drowning.]

Calm down?

[he...totally doesn't squawk. YOU COME UP HERE AND SAY THAT TO HIS FACE basically. you're just making him panic in other ways now.]

What's going on?

[you look--well, perfectly normal from up here, from what he can tell at first glance. just treading water. what is not perfectly normal is you being telepathic.]

[he did kind of squawk and it was kind of adorable, honestly. but jim will keep that to himself considering the serious nature of the situation. it's now that he wishes he could just talk to him plainly, even if mild telepathy is useful now.

jim chitters just a little at the question, and when he dives in headfirst to swim the rest of the way to the pier, his golden tail comes up to help propel him through the water. he breaks the surface again, right next to the pier, and uses his claws to find purchase against the busted concrete, to pull himself up a little.

he gives a soft whine in question. this close, it's easier to tell that he's got fangs instead of normal human teeth, and claws that are clacking gently against the pier. ]

Please don't be afraid. [ his tail splashes the water gently. ] No one else knows.

[do not tell anyone.

the tail is enough to drive all this weirdness home. julian just drops his shoe--it falls onto the pier with a soft thump, and he follows suit not long after, basically folding down onto himself to sit cross-legged at the end, over the water.

he's got claws, he's got fangs, he's got a bloody fish tail. his boyfriend is a bloody mermaid. merman? what is the proper term for this? julian sure as hell doesn't know. between the whole 'be not afraid' and 'no one else knows' thing, though, he's sure it's not some simple explanation as his father being an alien.

julian sounds slightly breathless--and he's dropped the affected british accent, simply forgetting in the heat of the moment.]

I'm not afraid of you. You just bloody well scared me. I thought you'd hit your head or something.

[ cross his heart.

jim watches julian's reactions carefully. this week, whatever the hell they want to call it, is a bunch of firsts for both of them. and wow hey, he's not a fish. he'd be indignant if he thought you believed he was. merman is the correct term, or at least from what he gleaned from his ma before she refused to speak about it.

his face screws up a bit when he talks again without the accent that he's gotten used to. the noise he makes is akin to a startled laugh. the noise he makes after is a whine in question.

then he shakes his head. no, he didn't hit his head. definitely not. he jerks his chin over towards the small beach. there's a lot of rocks, it wasn't meant for sunbathing, but he can pull himself up easy enough if he's careful. ]

Easier there?

[ridiculous seems like an appropriate sentiment.

and julian doesn't believe you're a fish, that's just the closest thing he can approximate that tail of yours to.

he only realizes that he let his real voice slip until after jim obviously questions it, non-verbal though it is. julian sighs. cat's out of the proverbial bag, might as well not even try stuffing it back in--jim's far smarter than that.]

Section 31 knows my voice, I'm not about to walk around San Francisco broadcasting myself with my regular accent. I can even fool voice recognition algorithms should I try hard enough.

[he sees the motion of his head, cants his own in that direction as well. it's enough to see the beach, certainly.]

This is your show, as they say.

[ jim listens as he explains the bit about the voice. he'd laugh if he could, but as it is it comes out a bit strange. new vocalizations and all that. the clicking noise that follows is almost a tsk.

but that's pretty interesting that he can fool the voice recognition if he tries hard enough.

he lets go of the pier, sinking back under the waves that are lapping, and swims over to the shallows where there are less rocks. it's enough that he can lean comfortably on the bottom, still partially submerged, but not so far up that he'll risk drying out and changing back just yet.

jim just waits for the other man to get down there and join him, tail splashing as the water laps at his lower half. he wonders if there are any schools of fish or dolphins nearby tonight. it's been a while since he's swam with them, or tried to talk. he could show julian, if he wanted. ]

It's what I was designed for.

[answering the unasked question. obviously unasked, since jim doesn't seem to be capable of speaking--obviously his vocal chords have changed as well, which makes sense. speaking underwater would be...well, incredibly difficult, if not impossible. at least the way humans were designed to do it.

the route he can take is much more direct than the one julian has to, picking his way carefully over the rocks so he doesn't slip and crack his head open. it wouldn't put him down for long, but long enough, and he'd really just rather avoid the mess and headache. he hasn't put his shoes back on--in fact, he leaves them up on the shoreline--and when he settles next to jim he spends a few moments fussing with the cuffs of his pants, rolling them before sliding a bit farther down so his feet are in the surf.]

So, as secrets go, we seem to have traded rather large ones.

[ it's a little hard to ask when his vocal cords have changed, yeah.

jim waits, watching him as he makes his way over. he doesn't want julian to hurt himself, so he's patient enough to wait. he chitters in amusement while he fusses with his pants. he gives a shrug and then nods. they have. ]

Yeah. Just a little.

[he's just generally rather fussy. he'd just rather not get his pants soaking wet, since they're going to have to walk back. presumably. they could stay out here all night, but...

julian looks at jim, obvious fondness and love in his eyes. it's not just anger that the augments feel deeply.]

Thank you. For trusting me.

[ they'll be out there a while. jim won't even change unless he's completely dry, so that will take time unless julian is going to run back and get him a towel. he chirrups, and smiles back at him.

he's only ever felt this way about one other person, and he realized it too late. he doesn't want to make that mistake again. he reaches out, hand open, so that julian can easily avoid his claws. ]

Thank you.

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