|
Post by Wanizame on Jun 3, 2008 18:32:52 GMT -5
When Jamison walked away, it squeeked along the glass for a few moments, watching him, and then turned again to chase fish around the tank. When it grew tired of that, is hopped up onto the shore and disappeared into it's cave for the night.
The next day, Jamison would find it crouched over the pebbly "beach" of the enclosure, picking through the rocks. Whenever it found one it seemed to like, it dropped it into the tank, and it had dropped about ten, it dove in after them and collected them from where they'd scattered at the bottom.
It put them in a neat little pile near one of the light domes, spending quite a bit of time arranging them and picking through them. Several were discarded, left to scatter in the slight wake of the filtration system. It kept only the reddest specimens.
|
|
|
Post by Professor Henry Jamison on Jun 3, 2008 18:44:45 GMT -5
Jamison stared at the strange collection his aquatic quarry had amassed, his hand automatically recording in the journal what his eyes saw before them. He stepped nearer the tank, squinting to see what the creature was piling up as best he could. The creature did not seem to be disturbed by his observing, and so he made no move to stand to the side as he watched. In fact, he even went so far as to press his face to the glass, at which point he realized that what the merman was collecting were tiny stones from the habitat. Upon making note of all the similarities between the collection, Jamison glanced over at his desk before hurrying over to the stairs and shouting up them.
"Waterbury!" he bellowed. "Mrs. Waterbury, run to the market this instant and purchase me several green apples!"
He returned to the side of the tank immediately after and watched to see what the creature would do next. In all his preparations, this was nothing like anything he had thought he would see. His schedule would have to be redone yet again!
|
|
|
Post by Wanizame on Jun 3, 2008 18:49:30 GMT -5
((YOU DID NOT! *wheeze*))
Once the rocks had been collected and piled--placed just so behind one of the light domes so that the slight current of the filters would not disturb them--it lept up onto the shore again and explored a little more than it had the past few days, though now out of Jamison's view, as that part of the display was still caked in mud.
|
|
|
Post by Professor Henry Jamison on Jun 3, 2008 19:31:16 GMT -5
((If you can guess her first name--and you had better be able to XD--I'll give you a nummy S:} ))
While Mrs. Waterbury was out, the professor ran around the house, gathering items of every color he could find. When he returned to the basement, arms laden with BOOTY!!! an assortment of oddities from around the house, he was nearly out of breath. He set about determining which were safest to put in the water and then separating the items first by color, then size and shape. Testing the ability to see colors was hastily added to his experiment list and then put onto his newest amended schedule, listed to begin immediately after the housekeeper returned.
|
|
|
Post by Wanizame on Jun 3, 2008 19:39:26 GMT -5
((THEREASA! or however you spell it))
The creature remained obscured behind the mud-smeared glass for a short while until the man came back into the Library. It slipped into the water where it could watch him, and tilted its head curiously at the assortment of things he had.
|
|
|
Post by Professor Henry Jamison on Jun 3, 2008 20:08:18 GMT -5
((*numnum* Moo ha ha! I tricked you! You got nummied instead! >:} ))
The apples arrived soon after, along with tea and cake; Henry had to briefly congratulate himself on the hire of Mrs. Waterbury as he downed a quick cuppa before getting back to his work. He thought, to catch the creature's attention, that he should begin with a tried and true method.
So, taking two apples--one red and one green of approximately the same size--in either hand, he approached the tank and gently rapped on the glass.
|
|
|
Post by Wanizame on Jun 3, 2008 20:10:58 GMT -5
It pulled its attention away from the things on the desk and eyed the apples and the man, scooting along the glass until it was in front of the scientist.
|
|
|
Post by Professor Henry Jamison on Jun 3, 2008 20:13:21 GMT -5
Jamison mustered a grin for the creature and held out his hands, presenting the two apples. His journal waited patiently in his pocket.
|
|
|
Post by Wanizame on Jun 3, 2008 20:16:15 GMT -5
It pressed its face against the glass and its mouth worked a bit--though it only seemed interested in the red variety, its eyes trained on that particular hand.
Of course, it knew it couldn't get at the treat through the glass, and it pushed away from the front of the tank, making a circle and coming back, popping its head above the water line and looking from the apple to the little feeding hatch and back again.
|
|
|
Post by Professor Henry Jamison on Jun 3, 2008 20:20:37 GMT -5
Jamison grinned and hurriedly scooped up the bucket of red apples and the bag of green and ascended the ladder quickly. He slipped the chute open and peered down into the tank where the merman was floating at the surface, watching.
Reaching back, he took three of of both varieties of apple and dropped them in in pairs; first two green, then red and green, and then two red. Rather than rush back to the ladder, he pressed his face against the open chute and watched.
|
|
|
Post by Wanizame on Jun 3, 2008 20:30:21 GMT -5
The sharkman swam around the little cluster of apples for a moment, dipping down under the water and coming up again in their midst, making them spread out from eachother. It grabbed one red apple in its jaws and waded back, pushing some water forward with its thick webbed hands, causing the apples to move around over the surface.
After it ate the single red apple, it grabbed a green one in its mouth and dove to the bottom of the tank, where it turned over so it was belly up, and let the apple go, chasing it up to the surface. It did this several times, but only with green apples, letting the red ones float on the surface.
This excersize continued for ten minutes or so until it got tired of the game, and the red apples were gathered up and pushed up onto the shore. The green ones were, one by one, stuffed into its mouth, chewed up and swam over to where it had pushed the little pile of plant material in the rear of the tank. The mascerated apples were spit out within this area.
The creature then spent some time chasing fish, as usual it looking like nothing more than a game, until one might notice the fish were being herded toward the little patch of floating veg.
|
|
|
Post by Professor Henry Jamison on Jun 3, 2008 20:40:28 GMT -5
Jamison scurried down the ladder while the creature played its bizarre game with the green apples, scribbling notes and drawing charts in his notebook. When the creature had finished with the apples--and spat some out...? he made more tiny scrawls on the page--he turned away and took a bag of marbles from the assortment of household items he had collected earlier. But when he approached the tank yet again, he paused, noticing something odd about the merman's swimming pattern. It seemed more intent on blocking off the bulk of the tank than catching the little fish. He waited, marbles in hand, to see what it would do.
|
|
|
Post by Wanizame on Jun 3, 2008 20:46:47 GMT -5
It stopped just the right distance away for the fish to calm down, and they naturally gravitated to the green patch and began to nibble on floating apple mash.
Satisfied, the merman swam to the otherside and hopped up onto the shore where it was obscured again by mud. It burried the apples deep into the muddy part of its habitat and covered them up.
|
|
|
Post by Professor Henry Jamison on Jun 3, 2008 21:02:33 GMT -5
Jamison stared in confusion at the feasting fishes, wondering just what the merman's intentions could have possibly been. And then it had disappeared so abruptly! He debated dropping his bag of marbles to make notes, but decided to continue on with his work and wonder about the fishes later.
He approached the glass and tapped on it loudly enough that he hoped the creature would be able to hear outside of the water and waited to see if it would return.
|
|
|
Post by Wanizame on Jun 3, 2008 21:04:37 GMT -5
After a moment, it dove into the water at the far rear of the enclosure and swam to the glass, pressing up against it and watching the Professor curiously.
|
|