Ocean Storms

Avernion: I don’t know why, but the last line in your review made me laugh. Thanks for reviewing, I really appreciate it! It made me want to update again this weekend.

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The same as with Damien, Angel pressed his face up against the glass, staring at the boy in front of him.

Kevin clapped his hands, and started making faces, sticking his tongue out pulling at his bottom eyelid.

The scientists were going to take Kevin away, but John held his hand up, making them stop, to see what the merman would do. They were all surprised when Angel started making faces back.

After a little while of watching the exchanges of the two, they began to talk amongst themselves. Damien, however, leaned against a wall to watch, his head cocked to the side, as if he was in deep thought.

A few minutes later, he walked over to join them. He sat down on the floor, beside the kid, who was jabbering away about something that Damien didn’t bother to listen to.

Angel looked up, and Damien got a chance to see his pupils weren’t rounded like a human’s, but slit like a cats, closer to Damien’s own, not that the other’s knew.

“Mister. Hey. Mister!” Kevin tugged on Damien’s sleeve, getting his attention, speaking loudly enough to get everyone else's as well.

“What?” The man asked, finally looking away from the merman.

“Angel want’s your watch.” Damien blinked in surprise, and Vic walked over, crouching down near the kid.

“How do you know this?” He asked kindly, and Kevin looked up and smiled at him.

“Cause he told me so!” Vic exchanged looks with John, and shrugged.

“There is lore to do with Mermaids and treasure. Your watch looks like gold, and it’s shiny, so he probably wants to hide it.”

“But how does the kid know that?” John asked, coming up as well, and everyone stared at Angel, who was looking at Damien’s watch, who had it up in the air, waving his arm back and forth. Sure enough, the merman’s eyes were following it.

“Put it in.” Damien took the watch off, and handed it over to Vic.

“You sure?” He asked, and the man nodded. Vic looked over at John for permission, and the elder scientist nodded as well.

“Might as well. I don’t think Barlow’s would mind too much if it accidentally fell off during feeding time.” Vic smiled, and went up the metal stairs that led up to the top, where there was a small metal door that opened to allow someone to drop something in.

Vic looked to make sure that Angel wasn’t near, but he was still near the floor, looking up at the door. Vic opened it slowly, just a crack, before throwing the watch in and quickly shutting and bolting the door.

They watched as it floated down in the water, going to the sandy floor. Angel slowly swam over to it, and picked up.

He held it in his hands for a moment, before looking over at the group of scientists that had gathered around, and gave them an distrustful look.

“He doesn’t want you to watch.” Kevin said, before turning around and covering his eyes with his hands.

The scientists looked at each other. Vic was the first to follow Kevin’s example, and then Hector. John rolled his eyes, but decided to humor them, and did the same. Damien didn’t.

Even so, Angel looked around, before swimming to a spot on the floor of the tank, and started digging in the sand. It seemed that it wasn’t what he wanted, and so he swam to the opposite end. Still no. He dug in a few more spots before, it seemed, that he found a spot to his liking, before putting the watch in the hole, and covering it up.

Damien watched the scene with interest, noticing him get a look every now and then from the merman. It was a look, in all his years, he still couldn’t describe.

“He’s done,” Kevin informed, turning around as Angel swam over, and then the boy looked at Damien. “He says you better not tell anyone.”

“But how do you know?” Vic asked, crouching down again, and Kevin pouted.

“He told me.” Vic sighed.

“But how did he tell you?” The small man tried explaining, but all he got was a shrug, so he tried something different. “Can you talk to him?”

“Yeah!” Kevin said gleefully, clapping his hands again.

“Could you ask him something for me?” Vic asked, and Kevin looked at Angel, before shaking his head.

“He doesn’t want to talk to you.” He stated.

“Why not?”

“He doesn’t like you. He’s says your really mean.” Kevin pouted.

“But what have I done?” Vic said, looking hurt, and Hector rolled his eyes.

“He says you took him away from his home. How could you do that!” The last part came out with a sob, and Vic flinched, looking up at Hector in desperation, who sighed, before picking the kid up in his giant arms.

“There there,” He said, and the kid buried his head on the scientist’s shoulder, and Hector walked him away from the tank.

“That didn’t go as well as expected.” John muttered, taking out his handkerchief, and coughing into it. Vic was still on the floor, looking sad.

“I’m horrible…” Vic muttered, rubbing his face with his hand.

“Don’t let it get to you. He’s just a kid.” John tried to reassure, he didn’t need to have any doubters.

“I know. And I know this is my job, but still…” Vic got up, and left the room in a hurry, not forgetting to grab his book along with him.

“Didn’t think something like that would affect the man so much,” John said to no one in particular, watching his friend leave.

“I think he’s onto something,” Damien said, this time, not actually trying to start a fight.

“What makes you say that?” John wasn’t too keen on fighting right now either way. They just made a discovery, albeit a small one, but still, it was what they were here to do.

“He looked like he was thinking about something, and he grabbed his book along with him.” Damien replied, looking back at the merman, who was staring at the kid being held comfortingly in Hector’s arms.

“He needs to eat,” John was talking about Angel, and Damien looked over. “I mean, he can’t just go without food, and, unless he eats rocks, he’s not getting anything to eat. It’s wonder how he’s still as energetic as he is.” John mused.

“Just keep trying different things.” Damien sighed, knowing that John had a point. He didn’t want the creature to just up and die because of their stupidity. Nothing deserved that kind of death.

“Maybe it’s the feeder?” John looked over at the younger man, a thoughtful look on his usually frowning face.

“What do you mean?” Damien said, partly curious, and partly just humoring the man.

“He seems to like you.” Before Damien was able to reply, John walked off, making his way to Hector and Kevin, and told the scientist to put the boy in his room, because he was asleep, and the room should’ve been ready by now.

John left soon after, telling Damien to keep an eye on Angel for a short while.

The minute John left the room, Angel went back to staring at Damien.

“What do you know…?” Damien asked the merman, knowing that he wasn’t going to be answered.