Re: Tests and Samples (Reserved)

[Rose for the Hunter]

Sayuri panicked hearing his voice over the megaphone. "we better get to the docks" they frowned and beached up quickly and dragged their nets to the beach, knowing they were. Sayuri still struggling within the nets as she was dragged there making her scream and yell at them angrily "Get off of me" her tail thrashing around and catching a few of them "Keep her down, a mermaid could get us a lot of money, sell her to an aquarium or in the black market even, one of the mysteries of the world" they said and moved in front of the net to hide her when he came over to check at which point Sayuri groaned stuck between a rock and a hard place. "Sorry we didn't realise our ship had gone that far, We caught this fish though away from the area so we should be able to keep it right?"

Sayuri frowned and yelled "I'm not a fish, Sollux can you give me a hand here I'm a little caught and don't get surprised either ok?" she said above them still struggling in the net unable to get free still and well, at least if Sollux knew she was there she just hoped he would be a better option than the fishermen.

[Dave Strider]

Sollux moved his way over to the close by dock as he saw them turn towards the shore. He took a deep breath making sure he could be as forward as he could with these men. They weren’t going to be sweet talking him.

He thought for a long moment over whether or not he should let them keep the large catch. He tried to look around them and see the whole fish but they seemed determined to hide it from him. He opened his mouth to tell them he guessed it didn’t matter when a familiar voice sounded from behind the fishermen. ”Sayuri?” He jumped onto the boat without hesitation and pushed them aside. He was shocked by what he saw. He opened and closed his mouth a few times. He looked the girl in the net over. Yup that was a tail.

Two things automatically began to conflict in his mind: his anger and disbelief at how they could do this to her… but also his scientific curiosity. He licked his lips and reached in his pocket. “I’m sorry but I’m going to have to take this specimen back to the university for examination.” He said. His face was deadpan as he showed them his ID from the university where he was studying. “You’ll help me move it to my truck. The university will pay you for this find.” He showed no emotion in his words as he motioned to the truck parked a short ways up the beach.

[Rose for the Hunter]

Sayuri looked to him, it was a hard thing to do she hadn't planned to tell anyone really since last time that had gotten her in trouble but at the moment it had been the best choice for her. She looked to him sadness falling over her when she heard his words, she was in disbelief at what was happening and sighed but she couldn't get out either way. The disgruntled fishermen frowned but seeing the ID and the thought of money motivated them easily before they got to work untangling her at which point she flicked them with her tail quite hard only to land back where she was before and frowned at them "I've decided, I'm not going anywhere, it's either being sold as an item or an experiment to someone I thought was a friend" she said annoyed and upset.

"Doesn't matter missy come on, two of you grab the tail and keep it still while we move her" he said two of them moved and grabbed her tail hard before the other one stood behind her shoulders and they helped move her to his truck "Where do we put her?" they asked him once there, they'd also kept her tail wet thinking she'd struggle staying too long out of water. "Well, where should we put her and what are we to get for this catch?"

[Dave Strider]

Sollux ran to the truck and pulled all of the large towels out from underneath one of the seats. He moved quickly to the water and soaked them. He tried very hard to keep the hurt he had seen on Sayuri’s face out of his mind. Truth be told, he hadn’t quite decided what he was going to do yet. He put the soaking wet towels down in the back of the truck. “Just put her back there. Cover her tail with more of these towels. I’ll write you a cheque.” He motioned to the rest of the damp towels as he walked to the driver’s side.

He pulled a book of blank cheques from the glove compartment and started thinking of a number he could part with. Fuck if it wouldn’t take him forever to pay back whoever he borrowed this money from. He hoped that Feferi’s mother would be in a good mood the next time he was over for dinner as he wrote down ‘$25 000’ on the line. He tore out the sheet and handed it to the man who seemed to be in charge of this crew. “This is all I can give you up front. The university will have to run tests before we can give you a proper amount. If you come by next Monday and ask for Sollux Captor… I should be able to give you a more fitting amount. Probably four or five times that.”

[Rose for the Hunter]

They did as they were told although were more than happy to accept what he'd given them but being told they would be paid more go their attention even more. She was far from happy at being kept wet it meant her tail wouldn't go and she was stuck. The three men seemed quite happy and were planning on buying a new fishing boat now with what they had achieved. Sayuri meanwhile had rolled onto her side thinking to herself, if only she hadn't been caught and gotten reckless. If she'd waited for her skin to dry out on that ship she'd have been able to escape easily. "What've I done" she muted and curled up in the back of the truck. "We'll see you then mr scientist" they grinned and left him to it.

[Dave Strider]

Sollux grinned and waved as the fishermen walked back to their boat. As soon as they were far enough away his face dropped into a serious look and he leaned over the side of the truck. ”Alright, I think you should start explaining things to me.” He demanded in a stern voice. Why was this girl he had been running into for a couple weeks showing up with a tail? As a man of science he had a lot of trouble even believing what he was seeing. And now he was also out a good chunk of money… He deserved answers.

[Rose for the Hunter]

She looked to him a moment and moved to sit herself up "It's a bit of a long story" she said to him "But I was actually born like this, yes I'm what you would call a mermaid and well, I moved here after my pod or rather family ended up being found near the Caribbean I think it was, I didn't go on shore too much. But I knew if my body dried off enough I could walk on land but that took time but a single drop of water makes my scales appear and enough of it and my legs turn into a tail" she said trying to explain. "I just wanted to live in peace but I got caught in their fishing net while collecting the black pearls from the oysters here, you have a huge colony of black-lipped oysters and they produce beautiful natural black pearls, you have a few odd oysters which even produce pink pearls, but while collecting them I got caught in their net like the one before although that one was discarded, those huge scales you found are actually mine as well." she said "But they caught me there and either way I would be sold" she moved her tail a little. "It's quite hard to explain really I was born like this after all"

[Dave Strider]

Sollux rubbed at his temple and let out a heavy sigh. ”If this wasn’t as fucking mind boggling as it is… I wouldn’t hesitate to bring you back for tests. But… I’d have to talk to a friend before making that decision.” He opened the back of the truck again and started pulling the towels out of the back. ”I’ll be telling Fef. So you should probably either escape while you can or whatever the fuck you want to do now. “ He put his arm underneath hers, putting his hand firmly on her side and heaved her down to the warm sand behind the truck. They were maybe 10 to 15 feet from the water and Sollux waited to see what her immediate reaction would be.

[Rose for the Hunter]

Sayuri looked to him a little surprised but grateful as he helped her out of the truck and being put on the sand, she was still a little shocked but he seemed angry "I'm sorry, it's all my fault, I'll find a way to pay you back as well I promise, although from that look on your face i doubt you'd want to see me again" she said to him as she moved a little more towards the water but stopped and et her skin dry out instead, after a few minutes she was back on her feet and moved to start heading home, she had no idea what to do now, she had to find a way to pay him back although eh still seemed rather upset. She hadn't meant to hide it to the point it caused anger but she hadn't wanted people to know because of that reason.

[Dave Strider]

Sollux didn’t know what he wanted to do right now. He rubbed at his face and let out a haggard sigh as she moved her way down the beach. More than anything this was a huge chance to study something that wasn’t even supposed to exist. Sayuri had been nothing but kind to him and she’d even saved Fef. He got in the truck and started it up. He would head right for Feferi’s house. He had some serious things to talk about with her.

Feferi was adamant that he went and apologized to Sayuri as soon as possible. It was clear that she didn’t really believe what he had said. But he could also see that she had that spark of curiosity that made her need to see for herself. She sat herself in the passenger seat of his truck, “We’re going to her place right now.” She stated not budging. Sollux reluctantly gave in.

“She’s probably not here. This is usually the time we’d see her on the water.” He said as they approached the house Sayuri had mentioned she lived in.

“Then we will wait for her. I know you don’t like apologizing but you have to man up.” Feferi said punching him in the arm and knocking on the door of Sayuri’s home.

[Rose for the Hunter]

Sayuri appeared a little later on a little surprised to see them there. "You looking for me I'm guessing?" she asked, she had a pouch full of good sized pink and black pearls that she'd found in the oysters in the depths of the sea. She unlocked the door and let them in "What is it you want to talk about?" she asked them acting as though nothing had happened although her body language did show she was still a little upset about something. "also Feferi how are you doing?" she asked "Looks like I brought you up too quickly so sorry about that" she said to them both "Want something to drink?" she put the pearls down and went to the kitchen, the place seemed relatively normal considering. She did have a few seashells and other strange things she'd collected while swimming. She'd guessed that Feferi knew and was a little hesitant to speak about it before she came back with one cool drink for them all and sat down on the couch waiting for a moment before speaking "So why are you here exactly?"

[Dave Strider]

Sollux stepped back and let Feferi do all of the social shit. Sayuri was acting like nothing happened and that was frustrating. As they were ushered inside Feferi turned and gave him a look that told him she knew that he was lying. And that was even more frustrating. He could feel a serious headache developing quickly.

“Don’t worry about it. Would have been a lot worse if I didn’t come up at all.” Feferi said with a small laugh sitting down on the couch and pulling Sollux to sit down next to her. “We’ll both have some water if that’s okay. And Sollux has something he’d like to say to you.”

Sollux hated it when she got that tone. That motherly tone, talking to him like he was a bad kid. He was older than her and she just. Ugh. He didn’t know of a way to prove himself. Feferi had no clue what he had seen and she definitely did not believe him. That headache was really starting to get bad fast. He picked up the water Sayuri had placed on the table and took a sip. Then realized something he could do to prove he wasn’t making shit up.

He looked at Sayuri for a long moment. Then he turned to Feferi. He gripped the glass of water tight before splashing it all over Sayuri. “Yeah. I’m so sorry.”

[Rose for the Hunter]

Sayuri nodded and brought them both over a glass of water. She looked to Feferi not quite understanding what Sollux had to say but guessed she hadn't believed him, her theory seemed to be proved when he splashed her with water making her tail appear as well as her gills and the fins that appeared by her ears but she could easily hide those. "what was that for, she didn't believe you did she?" she frowned at him. "You could've just said and I would've told you, no need to do that" she said a little annoyed since she now had to wait for her skin to dry off again. "Should've known something was up when you both came here" she frowned at them both "and I said I'd pay you back anyway, black and pink pearls are worth thousands to jewelers because they are very hard to get hold of, I was out getting some for you since I don't have many in my house at this point in time, they're my main source of income at the moment after all" she said bluntly and frowned at them both waiting for Feferi's reaction.

[Dave Strider]

Sollux immediately felt horrible for doing that. He fell back onto the couch and put his head in his hands, “I’m sorry.” He said sincerely this time. But at least Feferi wasn’t looking at him like he was a kid anymore. No her eyes were trained on Sayuri’s tail.

She covered her mouth for a moment before dropping her hands to her lap. She leaned forward and a huge smile grew across her face. “They were your scales. Wow, I seriously… Sollux I’m sorry too.” She turned her attention to Sayuri’s face, “You’re amazing. This is amazing. Do your lungs still function fully when you’re like this? I have a lot of questions. I’m sorry. Just… wow.” She was completely flabbergasted and she was trying her hardest to keep her hands to herself.

[Rose for the Hunter]

"Yeah, but they tend to switch depending whether I'm inland or in the sea" she said to her cautiously "Sollux can you get me a towel from the bathroom so I can dry off a little quicker?" she asked him and thanked him when she did received the towel and worked on drying herself off as best as she could before a minute or two later her legs returned. "I tried to stay hidden since it causes all sort of problems, I did get helped out of one but… " she paused "I wonder if he was serious or not now" she sighed and ruffled her hair before sitting up properly and looked to them both sipping her drink "it's only water though, not any other liquid" she explained before she was asked.

She stood up and went to where she'd put the pouch an took out some of the pearls handing them to Sollux "here they should get you back the money you paid, they're a decent size but the harvest is small this time of year" she said to him bluntly before sitting back down and finishing off the drink she was having.

[Dave Strider]

Even though he had literally no idea as to what this house was like on the inside Sollux stood and fetched Sayuri a towel. It was literally the least he could do right now. Damn he felt like a huge jerk right now. He sat back down and sighed.

Feferi was tripping over her words and didn’t know what to say or do with herself at the moment. This was the sort of thing she had always wished existed and now she was finding out that it did and wow she was going a little gaga over the whole idea.

Sollux looked over the small orbs he was handed. Yeah he could probably get a decent price off of these. He really hadn’t expected her to pay him back this quickly...or at all for that matter. He didn’t say a word about it though.

”We must be some of the only humans who have seen someone like you… have you ever purposely let anyone else see? I mean that’s not really something you can just say. Or maybe it is. I’d be terrified I’d be captured and taken away from the ocean for good.”

[Rose for the Hunter]

" I didn't purposefully let him see, I had no choice… it was either him or a trio of fishermen who were going to sell me to an aquarium or lab somewhere for experiments" she said "so I didn't have much of a choice in this case and No I don't usually let people know, last time someone found us I ended up being split from the rest of my family" she frowned at them. She settled back in her chair and thought a moment "To be honest I thought that you'd be angry for not telling you, I mean he was anyway" she sighed and gave a yen before getting herself some more juice to drink. "I'll probably end up moving soon, after being discovered it's best i don't stay here for too much longer"

[Dave Strider]

”To be fair, that’s why they sold you to me…” Sollux muttered. He received a swift smack from Feferi, who clearly did not think this was the time or place to bring that up again.

“Well I’m not angry. And Sollux isn’t angry. Sollux just seems sour because that’s how he is.” Feferi said with a large, beaming smile.

“I’m a little frustrated with it.” Sollux corrected quickly.

“Okay… He’s a little frustrated. But that’s sort of normal for him.” Feferi giggled and took a large sip of her water.

When Sayuri said that it was in her best interest to leave now that she had been seen both Feferi and Sollux exclaimed, ‘you can’t!’ and immediately looked at one another. Sollux looked down at his lap and Feferi looked up to Sayuri. “You’ve really just let us get to know you and you’re going to leave? I really thought we could be good friends.” Feferi said with a frown.

Sollux continued to stare at his lap he did not lift his gaze to look at either of the young women. Why had he said that? He liked to think he was being kind like Fef was but he was more upset by the fact that they would be losing such an important piece of study. He was a horrible person.

[Rose for the Hunter]

"Well, I can't risk being found out more than I already am, it's a shame since this would otherwise be the perfect place for me to stay" she sighed and looked outside "and I was getting quite comfortable in this house to" she frowned a little "and he defiantly looked angry when we were in the truck" she said to them both bluntly, "and we remained hidden for a reason anyway, because if people knew, our life would not be easy" she said and sipped her drink hesitantly. "I can still call you if I want to talk Feferi, I have a mobile you know and our society isn't that much different than the one up here anyway so it's not exactly a mystery"

[Dave Strider]

Sollux huffed and rolled his eyes finally looking back at Sayuri but Feferi was the one who spoke, “I guess it makes sense. It’s just sad to hear that. You have to promise me that you’ll go swimming with me at least once before you leave though.” Feferi said holding out her hand to the other girl, “Shake on it, okay?”

Feferi was going to make this so much more emotional than it had to be. Maybe Sollux would be upset about it for a night but Feferi would remind him of it every day for the rest of the time they lived on this beach. Which very well could be the rest of their lives. It was almost enough to make him make it safe for Sayuri to stay here for longer.

[Rose for the Hunter]

Sayuri looked to her and nodded shaking erg hand "Ok, ok I'll swim with you at least once ok?" she said to Ferferi and looked to Sollux for a moment knowing he had nothing to say. "I'll probably start packing tomorrow and looking around for somewhere new" she said "I still have to try and find somewhere and save up the money as well so I've got a bit of time Feferi so don't panic ok?" she said to her "We can organize a swim together in the next few days, have your mobile on you, I can give you my number that way" she said and moved to whisper to him "Maybe leave Sollux behind eh does seem upset and annoyed still"

[Dave Strider]

Feferi smiled softly at Sayuri. “Okay, you’ll have to show me where you found all those clams too. I’ve never really looked too much for them but wow pink pearls sound beautiful.” She hummed to herself and downed the rest of her drink.

Sollux had taken to looking out a window that had a view out onto the ocean. He wasn’t at all concentrating on the two girls anymore. He was very obviously lost in his own thoughts.

“Don’t let him bother you, he’s just grumpy when he doesn’t understand things. He gets headaches a lot; it’s not really your fault.” Feferi said in a hushed tone taking out her phone and handing it to Sayuri so she could put her number in it. When her phone was handed back she sent a quick text to Sayuri’s phone so the other girl would have her number as well.

She turned to Sollux ad nudged him. “Do you want to get going, Sol?” She asked upon getting his attention. He just shrugged in response but after a moment stood up and started walking towards the front door.

“I guess that’s a yes… ” She turned to Sayuri, “If we don’t see you in the next couple days I’ll try and text or call you. I’ll see you soon.” She finished before waving and following Sollux.

[Rose for the Hunter]

Sayuri nodded and looked to them both before speaking "I can help you a bit with understand my race more but… I can't really do much else, also it's easier for me to go to the depths you both cannot, even with your scuba gear" she said "I would've liked to help out if I hadn't been found out to be honest" she smiled and waved goodbye before she sighed and got to work packing up her stuff "Might as well start now" she sighed and looked out to the sea for a moment as she packed away the sea shells and other things she'd collected in her short time being here.

The next day she headed down to the beach cautiously and early morning before heading into the water quickly and diving under, she stayed in her depths more so as not to get caught or seen really and settled in her new favourite spot there and sighed "such bad luck" she muttered.

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