|
Post by Professor Henry Jamison on Jun 7, 2008 18:22:37 GMT -5
What was he to do? He had seen the wound on the creature's hand, and even though he had seen no weapon, he was sure the little urchin must have had a knife of some kind. He kept a revolver in his desk drawer, but while Jamison had always been a bit of a cold bastard, he was not keen on shooting the boy or the creature or even revealing the firearm's presence if he did not have to. Truth be told, it was thrilling to see the animal interacting with a human, and the boy did not seem to be in any danger in its company. The beginnings of an idea began to form in his head.
But a little more observation first couldn't hurt.
|
|
Erik (age 8)
- Ingenious Pilot -
not yet a manwhore
Posts: 165
|
Post by Erik (age 8) on Jun 7, 2008 23:17:23 GMT -5
Erik bound the creature's hand. It had been awhile since he'd felt regret at hurting anyone, but then, he avoided as many physical confrontations as he could. He was tall for his age, but he still wasn't very big. His eyes flicked constantly over his shoulder at Jamison as he worked. It took moments only, and while crude the bandage would hold. At least, Erik thought, until the creature swam again.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. He reached for his dagger again, keeping it out of the creature's reach. He turned, then, to face Jamison, and raised his voice so that it rang with commanding clarity in the room.
"We're leaving," he said. "Both of us. And you won't stop us."
|
|
|
Post by Wanizame on Jun 7, 2008 23:20:26 GMT -5
The merman hopped around the beach area, eyed the water, played with Erik's hair, until the boy turned to speak to the professor. He stopped and crouched behind Erik, peeking out from around the boy's arm, his eyes narrow and curious, head tilted and mouth pursed.
|
|
|
Post by Professor Henry Jamison on Jun 9, 2008 23:10:44 GMT -5
He stepped forward, away from the stairs, until he was before the tank and beside his desk. He kept his hands held out peacefully, bent at the elbows, and scrutinized the boy within.
"Oh, my dear boy, I would not dream of it! After all, I suppose you must be very bright and very capable if you managed to track our mutual friend all the way here from Russia. You must care about the creature very much." He thought he saw the child give the barest of nods, but it was difficult to be sure; the boy held himself like an animal ready to spring, and his reactions were not easy to decipher.
He pressed on, "I can tell that you're an intelligent, determined young fellow, and if anyone had to take such a rare and valuable subject from me, I would only be at ease knowing it was going to someone who would do his very best to care for it. I see you brought it a bit of food, so I can only surmise you have more ready wherever you plan to take it, and I also assume you have a warm, comfortable home prepared. Our friend has enjoyed a very comfortable stay here in my home so far--you can see his accommodations are much more lavish than he enjoyed at your carnival--but I can tell, given your strong attachment, that you would not consider taking your friend away from comfort unless you had a wonderful home already lined up for him."
He stepped back behind the desk and extended his hand toward the stairs. "The exit is that way, whenever you are ready. I shall make no effort to stop you."
|
|
Erik (age 8)
- Ingenious Pilot -
not yet a manwhore
Posts: 165
|
Post by Erik (age 8) on Jun 9, 2008 23:20:24 GMT -5
Erik's eyes narrowed. He hated how the man was talking to him--like he was a baby. A child. Children, as the man had helpfully pointed out, did not track creatures from Russia. Erik was quite disposed to hate him, on top of the fact he'd secreted the creature away down here and locked it up.
But he did have a point, as much as Erik wanted to deny it. So instead of moving towards the exit, he argued.
"Doesn't belong in a cage," he said. "Nobody does."
|
|
|
Post by Professor Henry Jamison on Jun 9, 2008 23:46:01 GMT -5
"A cage?"
Jamison regarded the child with a tinge of annoyance. Perhaps he was beginning to cave, but the professor had hoped that his first spiel would convince him.
Henry hated children.
"My boy, this is not a 'cage.' That thing they kept him in at your carnival was a 'cage.' This is a habitat, carefully crafted at great expense to your friend's specific needs. The water is warm and comfortable; the food is fresh and of high quality. He is only here so that I may observe him and learn more about him in the name of science. When I have learned all I can, I plan to take him back to the tropics and release him into the sea. Until that time, you have my solemn oath that he will be given better care than he has ever received in his life."
|
|
|
Post by Wanizame on Jun 10, 2008 2:00:36 GMT -5
Seemingly bored with the exchange, the merman moved away from Erik, lumbering over to the mud. It dug down and retrieved one of the apples it had buried there earlier, crouched over the water to wash it off, and took a bite (half the apple) then brought the other half over to Erik, hopping around in front of him and obscuring Henry's view of the boy while he offered Erik the uneaten half of apple, shoving at his narrow chest with a smile.
|
|
Erik (age 8)
- Ingenious Pilot -
not yet a manwhore
Posts: 165
|
Post by Erik (age 8) on Jun 10, 2008 9:24:03 GMT -5
Erik would never understand how anyone could think the way people thought. They were all cages. His fists clenched at his sides, the left one around his knife.
"I don't care what you call it," he said. "Science or freak show, it's all profit, isn't it? He's just a... a specimen to you. Not a living person. A curiosity." His young voice was nonetheless eloquent in its bitterness. "I don't believe you."
But now he couldn't see the man, because the creature was capering in front of him with a half-eaten apple. Erik curbed an impulse to brush it away impatiently. "I'm not hungry, thank you," he said with unexpected politeness that strained against his fear and indignation.
|
|
|
Post by Professor Henry Jamison on Jun 11, 2008 17:04:34 GMT -5
The brat! Henry was quickly losing his patience. Perhaps it would be better to send Mrs. Waterbury to alert the authorities and have them deal with the little bastard. But, looking at the pair in the tank and their obvious geniality, the professor couldn't help but consider the little idea wiggling in the back of his brain. He would have to find some way to lock the tank, of course, and some means to ensure that he wouldn't be murdered in his bed, but the idea had merit.
He moved around the tank until he could see the child clearly.
"I can tell you're no ordinary boy, though your attitude toward advancement is a little perturbing and decidedly old-fashioned--surely you can appreciate the merit of studying such a rare creature as this! I've been all around the world, and I have only heard of his like in myths and legends! Think of what we can learn: he might be some missing link in evolution, what man might have been if he had never crawled onto land. Do such things hold no interest for you at all?"
|
|
Erik (age 8)
- Ingenious Pilot -
not yet a manwhore
Posts: 165
|
Post by Erik (age 8) on Jun 11, 2008 17:17:44 GMT -5
It did interest him, of course. Intellectually--as much as anything was intellectual with a small boy. But he could not separate that interest from the fact of the cage.
"That doesn't matter," he said. "It's a person. It wasn't meant for this."
He waved his free hand to take in the "habitat."
"People don't act like themselves in cages. If you really wanted to study it, you'd let it go and watch it in its home."
|
|
|
Post by Professor Henry Jamison on Jun 11, 2008 17:41:09 GMT -5
"Can you truly not understand the merit of my work? I would dearly love to return it to its home, more than I could say. I spent my youth traveling the world, studying animals in nature, recording their habits, their diets, anything I could. However, there is no practical way for me to do so with our fellow here. I cannot follow it into the water, and I cannot test as accurately in the sea as I can here, where it is so much easier to observe. When I have learned all I can from observations and had proper time to study, it is my hope that I may be able to discern where it truly came from and do a study of the area, perhaps look for more of its kind. I highly doubt it came from Fiji, and I wouldn't like to take it to the wrong place." He approached the tank and looked pointedly at the way the creature gamboled about in front of the child. He took his journal from his dressing gown's pocket and made a few notes.
"Look at how it is behaving with you, for example. Clearly our friend is a social creature. I have a hard time believing there are not more of its kind somewhere, but where is the question. The oceans are vast, child." Given the lack of visible genitals, Jamison was actually very unsure of anything regarding the production of such animals, but where there was one...
|
|
Erik (age 8)
- Ingenious Pilot -
not yet a manwhore
Posts: 165
|
Post by Erik (age 8) on Jun 11, 2008 17:59:46 GMT -5
Despite himself, Erik listened. He was still very young, and though distrustful of people, also had few options when it came to caring for others. He had not, really, thought through his plan. Where would they go? The creature needed water--Erik could swim, but could hardly survive in an ocean.
What had he expected?
It wasn't as if he, himself, had not recognized the value of captivity. Or the illusion of it, anyway, while they were paying you.
"You don't want to dissect it?"
He wished the creature could talk. Could tell him what it wanted. Because, frankly, as impulsive as he was, Erik didn't have anything to offer. He looked at the merman seriously, attempting to still it by laying his hand lightly on its shoulder.
|
|
|
Post by Professor Henry Jamison on Jun 11, 2008 18:54:34 GMT -5
Jamison full-out laughed. "Dissect it? Why on earth would I dissect the only specimen at my disposal when there is so much more to be learned from watching? I've had the creature barely a week, and I've nearly filled a journal already without doing any tests at all. There is more to be done with it alive than dead, I assure you."
The boy seemed less sure of himself, if only because he had ceased making petulant outbursts. Perhaps it was time to make his proposal?
"What is your name, boy?
|
|
|
Post by Wanizame on Jun 11, 2008 22:09:43 GMT -5
When Erik refused the apple, the creature stuffed it into its own wide maw and grinned, still moving quite animatedly in front of the boy, lifting this and that, rubbing up against him from a crouch affectionately. When the boy put a hand on its shoulder, it tilted its head at him and then looked out at Jamison, then just slipped into the water while the two of them spoke.
If Erik looked now, he would see how graceful and happy the creature was in the much larger space than its tiny tank at the carnival. It dove to the bottom of the tank, and emerged again with a handful of Red Things to show Erik, hopping onto the stony shore and holding them out to him. There were the stones, of course, a couple of deep red wood carvings it had taken from Jamison's library, the shell of a red fountain pen, and some of the marbles.
|
|
Erik (age 8)
- Ingenious Pilot -
not yet a manwhore
Posts: 165
|
Post by Erik (age 8) on Jun 12, 2008 12:01:06 GMT -5
Erik was now in a state of full-blown indecision. His every instinct cried out to get him out of there, with or without the merman. He did not trust the old man or his intentions.
But he did not have a viable alternative for the merman's care. Arrogant as he want, he had doubts about his ability to care for him adequately. He was concentrating hard enough on his own survival. And the creature looked... content. Even happy, in its way. Erik examined the red things distractedly, reaching out to run his fingers over the smooth wood of the carvings. It didn't seem the worse for wear, and in fact seemed better then it had at the carnival. Erik bit his lip and glanced out at Jamison.
"My name is for my friends."
((I'm sorry, the Lawrence of Arabia temptation was too much.))
|
|