Sleeping with the fishes (M-Joe & RikkaTag, 18+)

[M-jow]

So the mer went hunting as well, Theo wounded how it would be like hunting under water, not that he did ever want to try it himself.

 

It did take long for him to spot his pants and T-shirt laying in the sand, they were warm as he put them on, a little sandy but comfortable.

as he went back he started hearing singning, he didn't know the song but it was a nice melodi.

"What are you singning?" Theo asked as he stepped around the bushes. He went back to sit on the rock he han been leaning on from before.

[RikkaTag]

Gasped as he heard the other's voice. The blush on his face was revived and he coughed into his hand. "I... I don't know. It was just something I had found long ago. It was locked in a box."

 

Erol flicked his tail again and wondered if the other felt so dry from staying out of the water. He looked to the other and gave a weird face. "Do you always cover yourself in that? They look uncomfortable and over burdening."

[M-jow]

"Ahh, a musicbox, they comes with all kinds of melodis" One of Theo's sisters had got one that played 'little lam' when they had been Kids.

 

Theo looked down at himself. "No, it's like protection layer, in colder weather it keeps us warm so we don't get sick, or from getting sunburned." The send the mer a smil as his eyes ran up his body. "Is kind of like why you need to stay wat, when you are on land. Humans too don't were clothes when swimming either, but we do usually cover our genitals. shifteres can be more open forwards that since everyone are use to see naked bodies around a transforming, it properly about trust I think."

He wounded if the guy’s lower half haven't been all shark, would they then still not wear anything.

"Can you get sick if you swim in cold water?"

[RikkaTag]

"Music.. box..? Interesting. Do you know how to fix one?" Erol smiled at the new knowledge he was given. He was already starting to learn things he never would have figured out on his own. He adjusted his weight and stretched his tail out. "Your kind are strange, but I would like to try it one day. Maybe the witch of the seas could help. They say if you give her a terasure most dear, she will grant your wish."

 

"I have never been sick. Though, my brother once was ill from a fish he ate." He wet his lips and eyed the other man a moment. He considered the possibility that he may be able to get the other to teach him ways of his people. "Why do you cover yourself in water? My father says a man who must hide his appearance is a weak man who hides his truth."

[M-jow]

Theo was handy with his hands from doing varied jobs, but he had never worked with small handcraft before.

"I don't know if I can since i never tried before"

 

To know that the guy never once had been sick, made him think that the mer was truely lucky, that or he got a powerful immune system.

But when the mer told him that covering himself, signaled that he was weak, it send a bit of anger though his guts.

"We don't see it that way, in our world you are more like to get seriously punished for not wearing anything" Theo tried his best not to snap like he had before, as he spoke. It wasn't like the mer had said that he was weak, even though it sounded like it for Theo.

If anything that fact that he was the weakest shifter in his familiy, was a rather sore spot and had often been the reason to piss him off.

He moved uncomfortable on the stone he was sitting on before he got up, he wasn't mad, but he was just above it.

"You will have to excues me, but I really haft to do some things before nightfall, and I wouldn't want to spoil your hunt." He tried not to sounde as if he was throwing the guy off, but if Theo stayed he might start to blow.

He turned away from the guy and started walking back towards the house, not looking back.

 

His brothers and sisters had been mocking him, his entire life, living out here he had thought that he could escape from all that. But of cause the only other people living here also saw him as weak, and that only had to do with him wearing some light clothing.

[RikkaTag]

Erol frowed as he registered the fact that the other had been offended, he just wasn't sure why he was offended. The merman scratched his cheek and looked down sadly. "I apologize for whatever I did that hurt you. I meant noboffense. I don't know proper etiquette with speaking to those of the land."

 

The shark sighed and rubbed his arm before turning to the water and quickly jumping back in, splashing the water on the sandy bank. He couldn't believe the first time he had a chance to feed his curiosity, he went and ruined it.

[M-jow]

Theo spent the rest of the day feeling like a sour prik as he went clearing all the rooms inside the house. He tried his best to keep himself busy by airing the mattresses, washing the furnitures, gather fruit, making the beds and on and on. While he tried to stay as far away from any water sources as possible. He was still mad, about what the guy had said, but also asham about the way Theo self had acted. "Like a kid" He told himself.

 

It was dark way before he finished clearing, he had eaten some fruit as he had went out to get some so he didn't feel hunger. But the big cat in him demanded meat, tomorrow in the morning he would go fishing, the kitchen wasn't ready for him to drag big game home just yet. He hadn't had time to instal the freezer, which still stood as brand new in plastic and all. But smaller game like fish he could eat the same day.

 

Theo was exhausted as he went up the stairs and into his bedroom. He dropped face down in the soft sheets and pulled off his clothes. It was to hot to sleep it anything, so he just stayed nude as he draged with his tired arms, a thin blanked to cover him, it would prevent mosquitos and other insects from biting him.

[RikkaTag]

Erol didn't look back as he determinedly swam to the depths. He was upset and felt guilt plague his chest. He hadn't meant to offend the other, but there wasn't much he could do now. Instead, he would focus on the task his father had given him.

 

The merman fetched his spear from his grotto and swam to his hunting grounds. After he had caught a good supply of fish, Erol headed back to his people with a seaweed net full of fish. He left his catch with the dwellers and swam to his grotto.

 

Spending the rest of his day surrounded by his curiosities, the shark slept upon one such curiosity which held soft base. The object had intrigued him at first, was what drew him to the grotto. Now, it was a mere comfort. (It's a bed)

[M-jow]

Theo awoke feeling the sun warm his cheek, and somewhere birds busy singning at the top of their lungs.

His legs were tangled in the sheets and he had a bit of a bedhair, but felt great. He got out of bed and did his business in the bathroom, brushed his teeths and got into some sand colored shorts as well as a white T-shirt. He made sure to put on the suncream before he went down to the workshop.

 

The room was filled with tools to work with both on wood and machines and on the wall hung a old looking fishing rod. After trying to look though every thing yesterday, he had found a box filled with fishing gear he could still use.

 

With the box in hand and the rod over his shoulder he went to walk alone the shore til he found a block of big rocks laying like a brigh a so he could get farther out. And even though it looked difficult for a human to get out here, it wasn't for a shifter with cat-like skills.

 

But the set up of the rod tog him a bit of time. Theo had only been out fishing with his granparents as a kid before they had moved to Canada, so he didn't have much experience, but he remembed the basic.

When the hook look to stay on the line, he but on the bait, which was a piece of the clam Theo had picked up on his way.

He throw out the line, looking a the yellow floater a surfaced. Now he only needed to be patient and wait for a fish ti bit.

[RikkaTag]

The next day, Erol swam to the gathering and ate breakfast before heading out. He was stopped by his father and groaned. He was so close.

 

The older shark raised his brow at his son and shook his head. He knew what the other did every day, but warning him off did nothin and he just hoped the other stayed safe. He gave Erol his daily task and proceeded to hand out daily tasks to the rest of their people.

 

The young merman sighed and took off as fast as he could and came to a hook floating in the water. He frowned and poked the hook, wincing at the small stab to his finger. He looked at the droplet that welled up and shook it off before following the line with his eyes. It seemed to attach to a blurry image of a blob. He wasn't entirely sure. Cautiously he swam closer, peeking oUT of the surface.

[M-jow]

Theo was mostly in thoughts about what needed to be done around the house. He needed to gather some firewood in case the power when out, the boat engine too didn't fix itself, even though he had no plan of using the boat, if it was neceassary or an emergency it would be good to have it ready. There was the fact that he hadn't planed on almost drowning yesterday, so getting to know the parts of the jungle was an absolutely must. He also needed to map it in his head to know where it would be best to run and hunt when he shifted.

 

Theo only stopped with his thinking as an familiar scent caught his attention and looked down. He couldn't help but to groaned as he saw the shark from yesterday whom had saved him. He wasn't mad about the thing from yesterday since he had tried to forget it, but surly the guy had scared all the fish off from his hook.

He had seen documentaries before and it wasn't like the fish came out to greet the thing.

"Morning" Theo greeted as he started rolling the line back in.

[RikkaTag]

Erol frowned and looked to the side. "What are you doing? Is it a strange custom for those of the land?"

 

The shark blushed and shook his head. There he went again, saying things without proper thought. "I'm sorry. I mean, is it a common thing for your people to do?"

 

The shark grumbled and scratched the back of his head. It seemed frustrating when he talked. He wasn't sure what to say now or how to say it. "Um... did you eat morning meal?"

[M-jow]

The way the guy spoke without thinking and driected himself was kind of fun to watch, and he looked kind of cute all frustrated while blushing. He was clearly interested in the rod, but also tried not to sound as if Theo was a totaly alien.

So okay, he would forgive the shark for spoiling his try to fish.

"Well, I thought I could catch a fish or two for breakfast, and yeah it a custom we use to catch fish, there were a small net as well, but I don't know how to use those." Theo throw the line back out, this time a little further to the right and away from them. He smiled down at the shark as he lay the rod to rest in his lap.

"So whats you up to today, planing on recsue more people?"

[RikkaTag]

"Fish..." Erol tapped his chin in thought for a moment before grinning. "We use Spears and nets. I was using my spear yesterday. I can teach you to use a net."

 

The merman was excited to know he held knowledge he could give the othe man. It made him feel more equal. He swam closer and grinned as he leaned on the rock with his elbows. "We could do a trade off. I teach you and you teach me. Allow me to start by catching you fish in apology for my blunders."

 

He waited for the other to give an affirmitive or otherwise. He was hoping the other accepted his offer, but didn't know the man enough to know how he would respond.

[M-jow]

It was pretty much Theo's stomach who did the choosing, by making a loud rumbling sound just then, agreeing to the guy’s offer. Though he was embarrassed he tried to cover it by clearing his throat.

"Sounds fair to me"

 

Theo still wasn't sure if he really could teach the merman, but he now knew that the shark pretty much wanted to know anything Theo did. So maybe he could do it, wouldn't hurt to try... right?

[RikkaTag]

Erol was all too happy to hear the other's stomach growl. He grinned and nodded before splashing back in the water and diving deep.

 

He swam fast and deep until he came to an old spear. He quickly rigged it with a new spear head made of coral. He used his quickly fashioned spear and swam quietly to the fish crossing where schools of fish crossed each other's paths. He wait for the right moment and threw his spear. He pinned three fish to the ocean floor. He pulled his spear free and grabbed the fish by their tails, swimming quickly to the surface. When he came up, he tOsseo his head back and grinned. "I got it!"

 

The shark held the fish up and swam toward the rocks again. "I wasn't sure how many you wanted."

[M-jow]

Theo had used the time to take apart the fishing rod and clean it with a cloth to prevent it from rusting. When the shark came back he was sitting at the same rock, only this time with his feets hanging down and in the water. It felt nice and cold him in the heat.

 

"Wow, that was quick, you must really know the parts down there." Theo meant is as an complement, of course the guy was a predator, it would only be natural that he could hunt.

"Well I can only eat two at most, but I can grill all three of them and let you have the third one, if you like to tast?" This was Theo's try to be nice and maybe give the guy a little back. He guessed that the merman properly never had seen how humans made their food by open fire before. Wait... wouldn't that maybe scare the guy, he was part fish after all, but he too ate fish right? Theo was confused.

"Unless you don't want to, with the fire and all."

[RikkaTag]

"Oh! Yes, I know it like the back of my fin." Erol grinned in pride as he plopped the fish on the rock. He enjoyed the compliment and the offer to share a meal was appealing to him. "Sounds great. What is fire?"

 

The shark hoisted himself up to sit on the edge of the rock and swayed his tail through the water. He scratched the back of his head and smiled brightly. He was already learning new things and he just met the guy yesterday. Surely that meant he was doing great. "Will you showill me?"

[M-jow]

"I'll show you, but we should relovate back to the bach then. I need wood to make the fire, so I'll go get it. If you want to help you could clean the fishes." Theo wasn't bad at cooking, though he could never be as great as his mom, he could survive by what he made.

 

He took his things and put back on his shoes before jumping back up the trail of rocks he had taken to get out there.

Theo placed the stuff ny the door at the house, and started picking up small piece of driftwood along the bach. When he had enough for a small pile, Theo went back and started making the bonfire as close to the water as he possible for the wood to stay dry.

Some dry peat and an match, was really all he needed to start the fire, and soon the flames started getting a hold of the wood.

Theo turned then to the mer with a grin. "Tada, this is a fire"

[RikkaTag]

Erol was quick to take the fish to the beach and frowned as he stared at it. Clean the fish? Perhaps their cultures were more different than he thought. How did one clean a fish? His people just ate them. He looked up and watched the shifter set up and start the fire before his frowned.

 

"Um... well, you want me to do what with the fish?" The shark sighed as he laid the fish on the beach and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry. I don't think I understand."

[M-jow]

Oh... The guy ate the fish raw... Well no biggi Theo did too when in his jaguar form, but still eww. He swallowed hard before sending the shark a smil.

"Oh, well I meant to gut it from intestines, I don't eat those or any raw meat when in human form." Theo took off his shoes yet again, maybe he should consider leaving the shoes. He walked out In the water to the mer holding his hand out for a fish. "Lets clean the together then, do you have something sharp to cut?" Theo brought up his pocket knife to show that he got something.

[RikkaTag]

Erol nodded as he dug in the sand beneath the water and pulled out a sharp rock, holding it up. He smiled and handed over a fish before grabeing one for himself. He watche'd the other to make sure he didn't miss a thing. "No insides. Just meat. Sounds easy enough."

 

The shark scooted closer to the other and gasped. He had a sudden realization as he stared at the fish. "Wait! You know what I am and I know what you are, but we haven't formally introduced ourselves."

 

The merman smiled as he dusted sand off himself and rand a hand through his hair quickly. "My apologies, my friend. My name is Erol. I am son of the task keeper."

[M-jow]

Theo held back a laugh, realizing that the guy was right about them not yet knowing eachothers names.

"Well, Erol nice to meet you, my name is Theo." Theo answered and tried to introduce himself like the otherothe had. "Son of the beta from the West northern pack."

 

As the introduktion had been done, he started to clean his fish with a small, but deep enough cut to get the guts out and wash the blood out.

"So whats a task keeper?" Theo asked while making the cut. He had his eyes on the fish, but saw the shark thougth the corner of his eye.

[RikkaTag]

Erol watched Theo clean the fish and smiled as he followed his example. He was always best at learning by watching and doing. His father used to say it meant his mind wold broaden their people's understandings of the world. He shifted and leaned over the fish ad he considered how to explain his father's placement.

 

"Well, the king... that is Doryl, right now. The king decides your placement in our city and then he has tasks compiled each day to give out." The shark looked up at the shifter and grinned. It was a thankless job that his father did, but he was b proud of him. "Father is the one who decides which task goes to who and he must tell everyone in the city their task."

 

Look down at the guts they removed from the fish and poked at it. "I suppose you can say... he is the reason I saved you. His position is what proves b everyone has a purpose. No matter where you are from or what you are. We all have purpose."

[M-jow]

"Hmm, that sounds kind of like how we got it as well. The alfa the King you could say, is the one who decides things,and makes the rules. Where my dad the beta ensure that others followes those rules and does their part to the communtiy." Theo knew that if it haven't been for his father being the beta, others than his brothers would had teased him as a kid for his size. He had always looked up to his dad, the man was kind in his own way, strong, and always ready to step in if something bad happened. Some in the pack had always feared him, and Theo could only guess it was cause of being a jaguar.

 

"A purpose you say..." Theo replied thougtful to himself. Well neither his dad or the alfa had been able to find one for Theo and he was a bit saddened by that fact. All his siblings had somewhere they belonged, jobs or families, he really envied all that at times.

 

"Ouch!" Theo jerked his hand back startled and dropped the pocket knife. While being in too deep thoughts he had cut himself. It wasn't a deep cut, but the knife was very sharp and had made a clean cut alone his palm.

Theo cluthed the hand to keep the blood from flowing, but a bit still ran down his arm in a dark red stripe.