Girl With the Sea-Green Eyes - Revision history

Alveric: /* Chapter Twelve: What Lurks */

2012-09-20T16:28:48Z

Chapter Twelve: What Lurks

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	She awoke and opened her eyes. [Where am I?] ~~She thought.~~ Then a second, more disturbing thought entered her head. [Who am I?] She looked about and saw that she was under water. That did not bother her. She saw the tail of a large fish. That did bother her, especially when she followed its lines to see that it was attached to her at the waist. This led to a third and even more disturbing thought. [What am I?]		She awoke and opened her eyes. [Where am I?] Then a second, more disturbing thought entered her head. [Who am I?] She looked about and saw that she was under water. That did not bother her. She saw the tail of a large fish. That did bother her, especially when she followed its lines to see that it was attached to her at the waist. This led to a third and even more disturbing thought. [What am I?]

	Then a word came to her: [mermaid.] It was such a funny word. She sounded it out in her head. [Merrrrrrmaaaaaid. That's it! That's what I am!] This made her feel better. She flitted and spun about, happy that she had solved one riddle at least.		Then a word came to her: [mermaid.] It was such a funny word. She sounded it out in her head. [Merrrrrrmaaaaaid. That's it! That's what I am!] This made her feel better. She flitted and spun about, happy that she had solved one riddle at least.
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	She stopped crying. [Silly, my hair will grow back. As for my mind, maybe if I find out more things, more memories will come back to me; like puzzle pieces.] This brought her back to her first question. [Where am I?] It was dark, but not so dark that she couldn't see. She was in a very large pool. She swam about its perimeter. It was rectangular and, perhaps, as much as an acre in area. It was also surrounded by a vertical concrete wall. Large boulders and pots containing aquatic plants were scattered over the bottom, which was about thirty feet down.		She stopped crying. [Silly, my hair will grow back. As for my mind, maybe if I find out more things, more memories will come back to me; like puzzle pieces.] This brought her back to her first question. [Where am I?] It was dark, but not so dark that she couldn't see. She was in a very large pool. She swam about its perimeter. It was rectangular and, perhaps, as much as an acre in area. It was also surrounded by a vertical concrete wall. Large boulders and pots containing aquatic plants were scattered over the bottom, which was about thirty feet down.

	There were also fish of all shapes colors and sizes. They made her hungry. In truth, she was ravenous. It must have been a very long time since she last ate. She stalked a small school of foot-long, black and white, striped fish. She grabbed one with both hands and quickly bit it through the spine, killing it instantly. Then she hovered in the water and ate it. More memories emerged. There was a time when she would have been very disturbed and disgusted by what she just did. She was too hungry to worry much about it now, though. She filed them away with the memories of having legs and walking on land. The bones and scales she spat out attracted other fish, which risked ~~attracting~~ her attention to grab some morsels. She was sated, however, and ignored them.		There were also fish of all shapes colors and sizes. They made her hungry. In truth, she was ravenous. It must have been a very long time since she last ate. She stalked a small school of foot-long, black and white, striped fish. She grabbed one with both hands and quickly bit it through the spine, killing it instantly. Then she hovered in the water and ate it. More memories emerged. There was a time when she would have been very disturbed and disgusted by what she just did. She was too hungry to worry much about it now, though. She filed them away with the memories of having legs and walking on land. The bones and scales she spat out attracted other fish, which risked getting her attention to grab some morsels. She was sated, however, and ignored them.

	Her eyes ventured upward. [What is there, I wonder.] She flicked her tail, breached the surface and took a deep breath. It was terrible. She choked. It was so dry that it burned! [What's wrong? It's just air.] Then she remembered. [Oh, yeah. I can't breathe air anymore.] More fragments and snippets from her past life came to her. There always seemed to be more of them from when she could breathe air, walk and talk. Being a mermaid, however, never seemed far from her thoughts, especially when she was a child. But she wasn't actually a mermaid in any of her childhood memories. That must mean that she had become a mermaid recently. [That really doesn't seem like something that would just happen at random though.]		Her eyes ventured upward. [What is there, I wonder.] She flicked her tail, breached the surface and took a deep breath. It was terrible. She choked. It was so dry that it burned! [What's wrong? It's just air.] Then she remembered. [Oh, yeah. I can't breathe air anymore.] More fragments and snippets from her past life came to her. There always seemed to be more of them from when she could breathe air, walk and talk. Being a mermaid, however, never seemed far from her thoughts, especially when she was a child. But she wasn't actually a mermaid in any of her childhood memories. That must mean that she had become a mermaid recently. [That really doesn't seem like something that would just happen at random though.]

Alveric: /* Chapter Eleven: The Colony */

2012-09-14T16:47:41Z

Chapter Eleven: The Colony

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:47, 14 September 2012
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	The day's lesson began with <Sharks hunt when the sun goes down.>.		The day's lesson began with <Sharks hunt when the sun goes down.>.


	== Chapter Twelve: What Lurks ==		== Chapter Twelve: What Lurks ==

Alveric: /* Chapter Twelve: What Lurks */

2012-09-14T16:33:54Z

Chapter Twelve: What Lurks

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Alveric: /* Chapter Eleven: The Colony */

2012-09-14T16:28:25Z

Chapter Eleven: The Colony

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:28, 14 September 2012
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	The day's lesson began with <Sharks hunt when the sun goes down.>.		The day's lesson began with <Sharks hunt when the sun goes down.>.


			== Chapter Twelve: What Lurks ==

	== Chapter Twelve: What Lurks ==		== Chapter Twelve: What Lurks ==

Alveric: /* Chapter Eleven: The Colony */

2012-09-14T16:19:02Z

Chapter Eleven: The Colony

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:19, 14 September 2012
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	The day's lesson began with <Sharks hunt when the sun goes down.>.		The day's lesson began with <Sharks hunt when the sun goes down.>.


			== Chapter Twelve: What Lurks ==

Alveric: /* Chapter Eleven: The Colony */

2012-08-17T17:16:40Z

Chapter Eleven: The Colony

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:16, 17 August 2012
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	== Chapter Eleven: The Colony ==		== Chapter Eleven: The Colony ==

			Chapter Eleven: The Colony

			Paul's first hint of trouble was after he boarded the plane. He was chatting with a young mermaid from Glasgow, named Lorena, who had returned to the States after hearing about the Sutherland Express. He felt and heard the engines throttle-up and saw the flight attendants frantically rush to close the hatch. [We're leaving without Alex?] He thought. [Why the rush?]

			Then the Mer he had been talking to screamed and pointed out the window. There on the wing was Alex in desperate lightsaber combat with a strange woman. Seconds later, they were both gone and the plane climbed away safely. There was still no word as to what was going on when they landed near Nassau.

			After some discussion, Tara and the majority of the Mers decided to continue on to the Sutherland. That was when Ben and Maddie got their surprise. Instead of the Gulfstream Explorer, there was another ship, a wooden sailing vessel at the dock.

			Ben was a bit stunned, but overjoyed. He carried Maddie up the gang-plank and took command. The ship was a reproduction of the USS Ranger, a sloop-of-war built for the War for Independence. He rechristened her the Merry Maid, in honor of his first mate, and began supervising the loading of the Merfolk and their supplies. By evening, they set sail.

			Early in the morning they were over the Sutherland and ready to unload the supplies and disembark the Mers. There was relief when word came over the radio that Alex was not seriously hurt, followed by more worry when Annie's injury and the Silent Sisters' stranding became known. All went well over the Sutherland, however, and soon the Merry Maid set out once more for Nassau with Professor Williams aboard, to coordinate the Sisters' rescue. Tara, with Paul's help, was left in charge of the new colony and seventy-five Merfolk.

			Paul was not happy. Neither was Tara. As soon as they hit the water, the mermaids scattered in all directions, swimming furiously in the sheer joy of their new freedom. Getting them together again was going to be quite a chore. Fortunately, there was no hurry; darkness was a long way off.

			Communication, however, was going to be a big problem. Neither Hannah nor Alex were available. Paul had only been able to give one brief lesson in sign language on the deck of the Merry Maid. Unfortunately, due to all the excitement, few attended and even fewer paid attention.


			Paul floated above a pile of supplies. He saw Tara swimming close by and motioned for her to come closer. [Now's as good a time to start as any.] He thought.

			Tara swam up and raised her eyebrows.

			<We need help moving these supplies.> he signed.

			Tara looked at him curiously, but shrugged.

			Many gestures in sign are iconic, that is they resemble the meaning they try to convey. There are not enough of these to make learning it easy, however. Paul repeated his sentence. Tara continued to look at him blankly, but pointed upward and swam for the surface. Paul followed her.

			The surface was about forty fathoms over their heads. 250 feet is a quick swim, but even Mers have to be cautious about rising or diving such a depth too quickly. Even though they took their time, Paul's ears were hurting when he breached the surface.

			"What were you trying to say?" asked Tara.

			"We need help moving these supplies," Paul said and signed.

			"You're right; we need to get to it." She started to dive.

			"Wait! Repeat after me, in sign." He repeated the phrase, slowly.

			Carefully she made the symbols. She had trouble because of her webbed fingers. "Was that OK? I couldn't do some of them," she said, frustrated.

			"Close enough. We might have to develop our own Mer dialect."

			Jackie and Julia popped up. "What's going on?" asked Jackie.

			"A language lesson. You're just in time," said Paul.

			Soon, he had all three mermaids working on the sentence. Jackie had some problems despite having no webbing.

			"Darn! Now how did that go again?"

			"Like this," He took her hand and shaped the fingers.

			"Oh, OK," Then Jackie blushed and took her hand back. "I got it now, thanks." She looked in every direction except Paul's.

			"I'll do this every day here topside," said Paul. "I'm afraid I've not much experience teaching. If I did, I'd teach on the bottom, like we were all deaf."

			"I'll try to get everyone organized and up here first thing each morning." said Tara.

			He shook his head. "No need. Everyone will eventually realize that they need to learn this. I'll come up each morning after breakfast and whoever wants can come up with me. I'll teach 'til people's attention starts to wander."

			"Sounds good to me, "said Julia.

			"Yeah!" said Jackie, a little too loudly.

			"Great! Let's move those supplies. The four of us ought to be able to handle it," said Tara.


			As evening approached, the bell was rung and Tara counted tails. There were five missing. [Damn it!] She thought. She swam up to Paul and showed him five fingers. He nodded and signed.

			<I'll grab a couple of…> Paul realized for the first time that there was no sign for mermaid or merman. He made the sign for girl, and then waved his hand like a fish swimming. <…and try to round them up.> [I have a feeling we're going to have to combine and make up a lot of words as we go along.] He thought.

			Tara was able to get the general idea of what he was saying and nodded vigorously.
			Paul swam over to Aurora, tapped her on the shoulder and motioned for her to follow. He saw Jackie and moved towards her. She saw him and froze, like a deer in headlights. He raised an eyebrow.

			[She's an odd one.] He thought. He pointed to Aurora, himself and the hatch, then motioned for her to come with them. Once outside, he got their attention again. <Look for strays, but stay together.> They nodded in unison. He hoped they understood.

			They had hardly started out, when the first turned up. She was a brunette with a silver tail whose name Paul didn't know. She smiled sheepishly and ducked quickly into the hatch. [One down, four to go.] Thought Paul. Two more were rounded up a couple of minutes later.

			Finally, after several minutes of searching a widening circle, off in the distance in the fading twilight, Aurora spotted a couple, hand in hand swimming slowly toward the sunken freighter. She brought them to the attention of Jackie and Paul. Paul sighed with relief then swam toward them to make sure they didn't dally too long. Jackie and Aurora followed. He kept watch on them as they closed; it was one of the guys, Phil, and a female he didn't know. They spotted the search party and waved.

			Paul was waving back when his eyes caught movement behind the Mer couple. He puzzled for a moment at the large and indistinct shape, then his blood froze. Shark! It was swimming at a leisurely pace but was clearly interested in the unusual creatures in front of it. Paul was in no doubt that it would try a 'sample bite' on one of the two Mers.
			He waved his arms frantically and pointed, but they just waved again. He wished he had some way, any way of warning them.

			Suddenly, something swished by him, it was Jackie, swimming furiously. She darted left to put space between her and her companions and then began flitting and thrashing about as though in distress. The endangered couple stopped, confused, but the shark's attention was now fully on Jackie. Paul was stunned, [What the Hell?]

			Jackie plunged downward toward an outcropping of coral, the shark fully intent on intercepting her. Its wake nearly bowled Paul over, but he managed to grab its tail, momentarily distracting it. This gave Jackie just enough time to wedge herself into a small crevice and draw in her tail. The frustrated beast slammed against the reef breaking and gnawing parts of her refuge away. Paul tried to grab its tail again, but was slapped away. Finally, Aurora picked up a chunk of coral and bashed it against the shark's gills. It convulsed as though electrocuted and then swam rapidly away.

			The sand and silt on the bottom was stirred to where it was impossible to see. For a few nightmare seconds, Paul didn't know the shark was gone. He tried to find Jackie. He found the sides of the crevice then reached in and felt a tail. He pulled. It was definitely a Mer-tail. He hoped Jackie was still attached to it.

			He swam above the silt cloud, dragging Jackie behind. She was curled into a fetal position, eyes closed. She was bruised and bleeding from being slammed against the coral, but seemed otherwise unhurt. Paul cradled her in his arms and swam for the Sutherland.

			After a minute or so, Jackie opened her eyes and gently wiggled out of Paul's grasp. She smiled, pointed to herself and made the OK sign. Paul was skeptical. Aurora shook her head and mouthed the words, 'What you did was batshit crazy girl!' The wayward couple just looked sheepish. Paul frowned at her but could not help being impressed. They all swam to the freighter, entered and closed the net behind them.

			Later, after everyone had settled down and no serious injuries were found on Jackie, she floated near the forward bulkhead, unable to sleep. The day's events kept racing through her mind and she couldn't get Paul's look of obvious admiration out of her head. To tell the truth, she didn't want it out of her head. She also remembered how he held her and began daydreaming about what his lips might feel like against hers. She squirmed and flipped her tail, almost propelling herself headfirst into the bulkhead. She opened her eyes and looked about, hoping no one saw that. If anyone was awake, they didn't notice.

			Her eyes fell on Paul, halfway across the hold, asleep. She watched him breathe for a while and began wondering what it would be like if he wrapped his tail about hers and pressed his frills against her.

			She shook herself and rubbed her temples. [I can't believe this!] She thought. [This can't be happening! He's a guy and I'm…]She looked at herself and sighed[…I'm so not a guy anymore. Damn!]


			Early the next morning, Friday, December 8th, Paul leisurely gathered and ate his breakfast then headed for the surface. More than a dozen Mers showed this time, including all those from the day before. Jackie stayed farther away and said very little. Paul thought she might have been a little embarrassed by the chances she took last night. He approached her intending to reassure her that she did the right thing. Again she got that deer in headlights look. This time she 'eeped' and dove out of sight.

			[Eep?] He thought. [She really is strange, but very cute.]

			The day's lesson began with <Sharks hunt when the sun goes down.>.

Alveric: /* Chapter Ten: The Maiden Without Hands */

2012-08-17T17:14:00Z

Chapter Ten: The Maiden Without Hands

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:14, 17 August 2012
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	She lay back down. "I feel fatigued now. You can leave."		She lay back down. "I feel fatigued now. You can leave."



			== Chapter Eleven: The Colony ==

Alveric: /* Chapter Ten: The Maiden Without Hands */

2012-08-07T16:50:44Z

Chapter Ten: The Maiden Without Hands

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Alveric: /* Chapter Nine: From Out of the Darkness */

2012-08-07T16:42:05Z

Chapter Nine: From Out of the Darkness

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:42, 7 August 2012
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	==Chapter Nine: From Out of the ~~Darkness~~ ==		==Chapter Nine: From Out of the Shadows ==


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	Yoda squinted at me. "Indeed, arranged that will be. There is something only you among us may do. Something that might help her as well as everyone else."		Yoda squinted at me. "Indeed, arranged that will be. There is something only you among us may do. Something that might help her as well as everyone else."


			== Chapter Ten: The Maiden Without Hands ==

Alveric: /* Chapter Nine: From Out of the Darkness */

2012-08-06T16:01:39Z

Chapter Nine: From Out of the Darkness

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