Her red hair was growing out and was reaching the nape of her neck. The red hair she usually coloured so dutifully was fading and the course black underneath peeked through in places. It didn't look bad; she looked exotic. Her tan still remained from her trip making her stand out in a sea of pale skin. Her gray eyes were bright today and looking around expectantly.

She wore a yellow dress. It wasn't quite warm enough for it outside but she pulled it off well inside. It was formal enough for work but informal enough to give her a youthful look. Her boss Doctor Grey had even commented on her choice of makeup for the day wondering if he'd accidentally over-scheduled her for tours. She'd given him a musical laugh while mumbling something about a busy day and dressing for success.

The truth was Martin was visiting today.

It had been over a week since he picked her up from the airport. She had gotten the hang of her two jobs again, thanks to the addition of a blackberry "smart phone" thankfully paid for by Grey. Grey had postponed her mermaid shows for this month to help her catch up at the mansion and in hopes of bringing in a new crowd in April and May. He was hoping to hire an assistant for her to help her accommodate the two jobs.

Raina had been thinking of Martin a lot. Perhaps it was the fact he was the first bit of companionship she received when feeling lonely, or even simpler still that she was quite fascinated with his powers... Raina couldn't get the idea of Martin out of her head. The very idea that someone could in essence time travel, age slower, or know the past and future completely boggled her. Of course she wasn't even sure if that's what Martin's powers did... but he was immortal.

She'd arranged this visit with him in a dream like state over tea. Martin made her feel relaxed. She needed a little bit of that today with the hectic morning she had. She wasn't sure if that had to do with his powers or if it was just him. But she liked it.

Besides, Raina truly did love sharing this world of the aquarium with her friends. It was practically a requirement that they all be trotted through at some point or another. It really was the best way to get to know Raina since she was so at home in the ocean.

She used to be so ashamed of her powers because of Rupert. Now, looking at the poster that hung of her on the wall swimming with Spooke the sea lion she couldn't be more proud. She was fighting for mutant rights both here and through the x-men. Raina was an all or nothing kind of girl with matters like this and at least for this point of her life she was all in on this mutant stuff.

She smiled secretly to herself as she stood in front of one of the main attractions of the entrance: a tank as high as the wall filled with colourful fish. Her body was silhouetted by the neon tank lights as she waited to give the tour she'd been waiting for all day.

The work had been progressing slowly. Again and again, in between the many things, errands, that had to be run this day, Martin stopped to take out his watch and look at it, see, time and time again, how far the arms had progressed, the little ones, as to not come too late to one of the few appointments - What did posses me when I told her about my Mutation? What did I think? I'm at the tactical disadvantage now.- he had made. Usually he tried to make people come to him. It was easier that way, on them, on him, his sense of time, of direction through the ages, did not allow for much else. A second or an hour, they could look alike to him, whenever they wanted. They only became what he wanted, once he willed it. And he did not want to risk hat, seeing that he had already been quite reckless in driving last time he was forced to board one of the menacing transportation devices, that no American seemed to be without. because he had been careless in his observation of scheduled appointments. Cars. A delightless thing, small engines running far too quickly to allow for anything but corrections, while it chose the way to take, more by the flow of traffic then the planning will of the driver. At least it was the way for him. The way of
driving.

That was why he had, finally, given in to his desire and, after a short shower and dressing period (subjectively, of course), boarded one of the Mansions many vehicles, only to stir his way through the traffic of New York more carefully this time. Only to the next underground station he would drive and then take the....people packed train to his destination. Oh... and of course he had dressed. A mixture of gray tones it was, from leather gloves to tie (hanging somewhat loosely around his neck, he hadn't fastened it yet), blending in with dark and colorful crowds alike. Not very much. It was a depressing color mixture, sucking the vividness out of the surrounding by default. But it was practical, there was enough room to run and to store a certain something. Yes. Martin had a knife. With him. And normal enough to be worn by some of the more odd youths around the city. Except maybe for the gloves. Who wore gloves today?

And so, to Martins great delight, he was able to enter the aquarium at the exact time allotted. it was not that he had stood outside for half an hour waiting for that time, that made him sweat a little bit. It was something else. The many people. That must be it. Yes. It was the people. Was Raina wearing yellow? - The color of treason? He closed the tie around his neck. His own personal gallow. Right here. It wore yellow. And he gray.

His approach was silent, striding, stringent, or as much so as the people around him would allow for it. His voice cordially, compromisingly distant, as were his eyes. Only that there was sweat on his forehead. A little bit. "Hello Raina." He managed to say it. But how did it sound? Friendly?

Raina hadn't heard Martin's approach, in fact she'd become quite engrossed in watching some rather odd behaviour of one of the fish. It had been swimming near perfectly vertical. When Martin said hello she spun around a little too quick and found herself face to face with him a little too close. Nose to nose in fact. She blinked, took a breath, and took a step back with a little blush in her cheeks. "Hello Martin." she smiled coyly.

Her heart raced and her legs felt a little shaky. She straightened her spine and tried to appear relaxed. Those gay eyes of his. What was it about those eyes? She smiled again out of nervousness. "I'm so glad you could make it." she was beaming again, a sort of energy. "I really think you're going to like this place." she reached for his hand to lead him absentmindedly and then only when she felt the touch of the glove did she take it back. She looked up at him "I'm sorry, I'm a touchy-feely person and I forget that you're not." she gave a shrug as if it didn't bother her... but inside it did just a little. Touching was one of the basic ways to establish human connection...

Determined to not make a fool of herself she started to lead Martin down a corridor toward a shark exhibit. "When I was in Australia I was doing research for this place." she explained "But my main goal here is conservation efforts..." she began to babble on about shark fining and illegal shark killings. How she'd seen it happen even here, how it drew her to work at the aquarium.

Soon they found themselves standing in a corridor made completely of glass. The corridor went directly through the shark tank and everything was a pale blue colour with moving prisms of light and shadows. Sharks swam next to them, sharks swam above them. "This is one of my favourite places in the aquarium. I wanted to show it to you first in case we ran out of time."

She found herself thinking for a moment that she was happy he wore a suit. Perhaps he had other meetings that day, but Dr. Grey would see the suit and assume this was a business tour. Perhaps he'd even stay out of the way and not surprise them at some point during this tour with a visit.

Despite her unexpected and sudden movement, Martin remained outwardly calm, even as her hand touched his. Only to immediately let go again. There it was again, that warm feeling coursing through the hand underneath the leather. The tingling of having touched another person, of having had contact. Made contact. An odd feeling. It seemed to be only people that gave it to him. And only certain people at that. But... it was better for both of them the way it was. Something like sadness rippled out over his face, only to be replaced by a sterner expression of purpose, radiation out from him like pressure, pushing against her vitality, her liveliness with all the might he would muster in these surroundings. The experience of a lifetime. And nothing more.

“I'm looking forward to seeing your workplace. And don't worry about the touching. I can avoid that when necessary.” He had had to learn about that the hard way, time teaching valuable lessons through loss of life. Being around crowds always necessitated certain preparations as well as a extra careful kind of stepping, attention. When time taught you something, you better listened, or you would not be around to see that happen a second time. There were no second chances. Not in his life. Not in hers. Not many anyways. They were left, shrouded in dark memories. He smiled weakly at her. These memories had no place here, not with her and not with any other of the Mansion staff. Or the children. They made his eyes look dangerous. They tended to reveal things about him, he wanted to not remember much of. He wanted to forget sometimes. Were it not for the dangers of forgetting. He was a careful person. So he chose the pain. He had chosen responsibility long ago really. And that was a pain in the.... . Sometimes. She spoke of sharks and things of marine life. He could relate to it somewhat. But sharks had not lived in the rivers he had worked on, so his knowledge of their life was updated with every sentence she spoke. And she had found an interested follower in him, his mouth making the appropriate “Yes.” and “mhh.” noises where they were called for. And while she was talking he studied her face a little more. Just a little. She really liked her work. He could tell.

This was some time.

“You look good.” Did that come out wrong? “I mean well.” He therefore corrected himself, before further damage could be done, distancing himself from her with a small step. Small because there was not much space to go to. Not many ways to get out of the way. Go out of your way. Trying to gloss over his slip somehow, he changed the topic quickly.

“Running out of time?” It sounded questioning. An invitation. Maybe she had had some thought on his power and wanted to lure him out with that? He did not suppose so. But there was always the nagging. he part of him tht did not want to trust anyone at all. The ice. His eyes were set on the mass of blue water, face shimmering as a reflection on the glass tube hilding back the masses of living. Of life. Of death. Water could be quite dangerous. Any seafarer could tell you stories of that. But not of the sharks, who were now under his scrutinizing attention. They had, contrary to popular belief, not that bad of a reputation amongst his colleaques. they did not live in his part of the world much after all. He was now quite interested in following them. And not the female by his side. Or so it seemed.

And don't worry about the touching. I can avoid that when necessary

She tried not to frown. She tried to think of people like Lee who couldn't touch without their mutation getting in the way. How DID she and Tarin have a relationship? How did she manage to have Alice in that dream...?

Thinking of the dream, the dream where she'd been having a baby, where she was with Rupert, where she was working elsewhere... her face clouded a moment. She didn't like that after all these months the dream would find ways to remind her it had happened.

****

A bit of time passed as she explained about the sharks. She tried not to sound like someone giving a tour even though she did. Martin seemed interested or was at least very good at being polite and she found herself relaxing even more forgetting about the accidental touching. She finished her bit and Martin quite surprised her by telling her that she looked good. She barely opened her mouth to respond when he corrected himself by saying well. She smiled. So, he could give compliments!

"Thank-you. I'm feeling well. I've caught up on my work and my boss is giving me as much help as he can in juggling the two jobs." she nodded. "It's difficult, we lack leadership at the mansion. We're all juggling so much. I need to work harder to make my job with the children a priority. It's just hard when I feel so at home here."

Raina would be lying if she said she wasnt tempted at the idea of staying in Australia with the other mutants like her. Escaping her responsibility a little longer to explore true freedom.

"You look 'well' too." she emphasized. "I'm not used to seeing you in this type of clothing, usually it is gardening clothes. I like it. It's a good look." she giggled a bit since her compliment was a bit too obvious.

He questioned her about time and it took her a moment to understand. "Oh. That's right, I guess that isn't a problem for you." she thought for a moment. "But for those of us without time-wielding powers it's quite the concern!" she winked.

"Let's head to the next exhibit. It's a tropical reef exhibit with sea turtles, sea horses, and lots of coral!" she exclaimed.

***

Time was passing. Funny how it seemed to speed by despite the mutant with the time capabilities. She didn't want their visit to end. She was enjoying being social for a change instead of working so much and she was really enjoying it with Martin.

She had led him around back of the display tank to meet Spooke the resident sea lion. She stopped at the entrance to the backstage and slipped off her dainty shoes and slipped on some large yellow rain boots. "Your shoes are probably fine." she explained as she pulled on a matching rain coat that covered her from neck to ankle. "And your clothes too." now she was pulling on large yellow rubber gloves "but if I get wet... there wont just be a sea lion in this tank." she laughed a little embarrassed feeling like a giant banana. "No jokes now." she teased. She didn't think Martin was the joking kind.

She moved to the edge of the water and pointed to an X marked on the floor. "That should be a good distance for you to stand without getting wet." she instructed. Then she slapped both her hands on her thighs and said "up up!"

There was a moving rush of water and a loud "arf!" and Spooke the seal leaped from the pool of water on to the stage in front of Raina splashing nearly no water. He'd been trained well. "Spooke, say hello to my friend Martin!" Spooke gave another "arf" and covered his face with his flipper. Raina laughed "He's confused and thinks we're giving a show." she said "So he's pretending to be shy." She gave another melodic giggle and Spooke's nose twitched as the air temperature changed just a fraction.

"It's okay Spooke! No need to be shy!"

"Arf Arf" Spooke gave a wave to Martin and then stopped, completely transfixed by him. He hobbled a bit closer to Martin.

"Eh... ok Spooke that's close enough." said Raina giving him a hand signal and Spooke stopped. "Wow, he really likes you. Spooke and I are co-workers. We do underwater acrobats for the mermaid show!"

Oh he was interested in her explanations. Hearing, seeing her in this blue world in her yellow treason dress was something he found strangely enjoyable. So much so in fact, that it was getting more and more difficult for him to resist... something. The something she was giving off. Her air, the air around her, breezes of life, flowing, whistling through the passages, tunnels through life, tunnels with life, exploding life, life, exploring, deeper down into the rabbits nest, there was someone who would like to see him, he was sure of it. Very sure. Not certain. Only sure.

There was a difference. In potential. Energy.

He followed her steps, her lead, through the tunnels, burrows, ladders, steps, here and there turning to supervise some marine animal, knowing some of them, never having seen others. Sometimes he even spent time looking at what appeared to be only rock formations. Sometimes they even were just that. And he appreciated both the, mostly poisonous, animals abilities at camouflage (with a very personal kind of sentimentality) as well as the natural rock formations, placed by skilled palms in pleasing patterns. Pleasing to the eye and calming as well.

A rock, palm sized stone, fell into a lake once. And the water rippled.

Then they got into areas that were more rigidly controlled (by some locked doors only, maybe a camera here and there) and he knew that he was taken to the more private part of the tour now. A peek into her world that he was offered maybe, just a look behind her masks. What would it cost him? For once he asked the curious questions to himself. Just this once. And maybe he didn't even want to know the answer... Though seeing Raina dress up in all-water protective gear had something of its own sadness. She wore more yellow now. Her own protection. He looked down at his leather-covered hands. And his smile dissipated as he looked at her. “I would never joke about this.” And he meant that. Really. Honestly. There was his voice saying it. His eyes were in concordance.
Not touching water. Part of her price. Her very own one. The private one. One of them. She wore yellow. It was the color of treason. His reason. Betrayed him. Slipped from his grasp, escaping into thin air. Radiance had won. He moved where she asked him to be.

There was something splashing. Moving. Arfing. Making living noise. And it moved where her hand went. Under her comment. It was a good thing. And it moved right at him. Forward, ever forward. And Martin was still. Still. He did not move, but looked at her companion, the animalic one, instead with eyes that seemed to pierce, as if he could will it to stay away. Force it away from him through pure thought. And his hand moved inside its cover. The sea lion was close now, standing at an arms length, had his head bent towards the lady in...yellow.
And Martin touched its head. Stroked it a little.

“Arf.”

The lion was pleased it seemed. And Martin was somewhat stricken speechless.

ooc: I wrote a really great reply to this, but I wrote it on my phone and it didn't post! Now I have to try and remember....

ic:

He would never joke about this. That stopped Raina for a moment leaving her a bit frazzled while he interacted with Spooke. She tended to joke about things that made her upset or hurt to think about. It wasn't a joke. Not so long ago. She remembered how absolutely terrifying it had been the first time she transformed and the many times after that.

But she'd begun to love her mutation and feel at home in her fishy skin. It was a part of her. "Not so long ago I tried to change it." she admitted turning away from him to search for a bucket of fish for Spooke. "I even went to see a doctor who thought he could cure me. That sort of back fired. You can't cure mutation. But it was new and I was scared." she still bore the scars of that attempt but thankfully with her pale skin the lines down her naked chest weren't noticeable. "I used to really resent who I was but not anymore." she found the fish bucket and turned to smile at him.

"Sure, I can't sing without freezing things, and I can't swim without changing. But this is the real me. I feel at home in the water like Im a part of it." indeed she did, it was written all over her expression; stories thousands of years old of her kind in the water.

Of course instead of standing here in a raincoat she'd prefer to be sitting on the edge with her feet in the water. That couldn't happen. But maybe one day when she was sure Martin was comfortable with the idea she wouldn't mind being her fishy self around him. It was different if he came and watched a show. She was performing, there would be glass and an audience between them. It still maintained the fantasy. But for now, for instance, it would mean something much more intimate.

She painfully remembered the many times Luke had seen her as a mermaid. The first time where he'd nearly drowned, the second where she nearly suffocated. Her expression became a little listless. Was this her doom? To try and entice men like the proverbial siren? She shook her face as if it would shake away the bad thoughts. She focused back on Martin. "Here." she handed him a stiff and frozen fish, it was odorless. "Just do it gently like this." she held out her own to Spooke holding it by the fin.

Spooke turned his attention happily from Martin to Raina to carefully accept the fish. He gave a happy "Arf" and slap of his flippers together.

"It really is something though, to be in the water the way I can. To move with such power- you wouldn't believe the power of a tail! And to be so graceful! I'm really clumsy on land. Oh and to break with the waves..." she was getting excited now thinking of it. "That's... well that's really something."

Again thinking of the water brought her thoughts back from the damning past and curious present to the potential future. She smiled. "You try." she said motioning to the fish.

He was confused. That had to be the name for that feeling in his stomach as the animal went on and turned its head, returned to his mistress the gaze, was caught again by the net of his fingers resting lightly on the snout, the yellow flower that had sprung up here in the middle of the sea, it was the thing that connected them. Animal and man. And Martin still stood, watching little waves form on the surface of the artificial lake like there was something important hidden there, in the reflection of the artificial suns that illuminated this place. They were drawing him in. Drawing him closer, the spot, it was coming near to them.

She talked about her pain. Her experience. Her ways. And he was there. Every bit along the way his eyes were there. No expression was lost on him. The movement of her fingers as she recollected the unpleasant experience, eyes searching for the suns in the sky. That little tightening of the throat that announced the graveness of the situations she had faced these days stretched out until it was barely recognizable. So much joy. The joy was lost on him in a way. He had not felt it in using his gifts. There was purpose in using them sometimes. And that was good. But it was painful. And dangerous. And murderous. And he did it sometimes. Because that was part of what he was. Being different. Just a touch. Just a touch that made all the difference. But she... had joy to share as well as the other thing. Shared it with him. And those eyes left her not. They were there. He accepted her gift. Her joy the flower. She was blooming for him today, that smile it was her gift, was it not?

So much confusion in his heart.

His hands stroked the lion of the waters lightly as he formed his words, chose them carefully, selected them from long lists that were to be found in no dictionary. Not these. These were from another place. Another time. For here. They had been spoken nowhere else. They were new words. From an old mouth. “The one has fallen / a great light from the sky / blooming in darkness.” A Haiku? Poetry? Just a little gift. There was nothing it could do to harm him, that lion. It could make him bleed. Maybe even die. If it was lucky. But that would change nothing, would it? Eternity in the blink of an eye.
And his eyes were old today, so very old.

The lion nudged, budged against his hand, as it turned away to grab its prize in his teeth, a small fish. And then it was his turn, yes? He accepted the gift, stepped forward to do so, closer to the water, of the small frozen something firmly grasping it at the same spot that she had taken hold on it, his fingers lightly touching hers, electricity spiking somewhere, neurotransmitters running, amok, as he took it from her hand only to stop, turning to her, as she finally broke out. So much feeling in one person. So many positive thoughts. Such an experience. It was the feeling in his stomach. Maybe. His gaze shifted inwards, inside, away. A thousand mile stare. Away from here. Just anywhere.
And there was the sea lion named Spooke. And Spooke disliked not getting his prize. He played well in the shows. And he got all the fishes he wanted. He had learned all the tricks that the nice fish with legs had taught him. And she had fish for the dry-legged man, too. And that was his fish. So he wobbled to the man. Applauded. And he did not get the fish. Spooked disliked not getting the fish. Or being ignored. A little. He was standing in front of the fish-lady and her companion now, eying the fish steadily, readily. And as it shifted places, so shifted the Lions attention. The man was not nice enough to give Spooke the fish. His thoughts were elsewhere. On the other hand, the nice man had a fish. So Spooke did another little trick that would probably get the man with the fish to give up the prize that lay locked in his hand. One of the grand tricks it had to be for that one apparently. And there was one trick that always got him fishes. This one thing that was always fish-rich. Spooke wanted to give Martin a hug. And he wanted the fish. It was frozen. And it was delicious. While said Martin was still looking for words, the sea lion erected himself to full land height and wobbled towards the youthful timemancer. It were only a few feet. He did not release the fish upon seeing the approach of the animal, but backed up a little further, quite instinctively. And a little more. He was still away. And he backed up. Just that there was no more. Just the emptiness under his feet.

And then things were pretty cold quite suddenly. And over him a sun was shining. It was yellow.

Raina watched everything happen in slow motion. Her heart beat like a drum every second. Her mouth went dry. He eyes were wide. Martin didn't have a clue what he was doing. How Spooke would get over not having the fish right away. Spooke would show off. Spooke would do a big trick... and that's what Spooke was about to do. She knew what was going to happen before it happened and her rain coat was all ready dropping at her feet before Martin even knew what hit him.

Spooke hit him. Quite literally. Meant to give him a hug, actually. Raina didn't think Martin would see it that way now that he was flying backward into the water after taking a few steps back too late. Her rain coat was at her feet and the boots were off in an instant. Martin was sinking, she suspected with a rather shocked or confused look on his face- if the blow from Spooke didn't knock him unconscious to begin with.

Things were about to get a lot more intimate. She took one last look at everything around her and pulled the dress up over her head. She knew the underwear would be toast when she got out of the water but the bra was a solid black colour and could at least pass for the usual bikini top she wore performing anyway. She did have a change of clothes in her locker but she wouldn't be able to put the dress back on, it was crumpled in a puddle of water on the edge now.

She dove in a perfect jump that made her slice through the water toward him. She'd actually gone down a few feet before her mutation burst into action and the familiar twists, pains, pops, and grinds took place. She moved much faster once the transition was finished and reached for Martin like a dart. She hooked him under both arms being sure she was face to face to make sure he wasn't unconscious and wouldn't need CPR. That was how it all started with Luke after all... she grabbed him at the bottom.

She bolted directly up in a straight line and broke the surface just as Spooke catapulted in to enjoy the frenzy. He swam circles around them. Raina still held tight to Martin around his upper torso under his arms face to face. Her arms weren't very strong but the tail could tread the water easily enough to keep them both supported. Her face was covered in droplets of water. It seemed to stick to her. She looked almost alien with her red hair completely slicked back. The ethnicity of her eyes was all too apparent.

The gills on her neck flared and then closed as she peered into Martin's face. "Martin," she shook him a bit "Martin?" Spooke gave a few encouraging slaps. "Oh boy, you're supposed to wait until the second date before you go all Disney on me." she was terrified he was hurt and trying to cope with humor by referencing the famous mermaid movie.

All the shards cutting up his soul. Make me whole once. Please. Make me whole and learn to fear all that you see.... He wouldn't really have called it being unconscious, but he was quite... indisposed for a moment. Until the cold sank in. A blink it took for his mind to be cleared of the daze. The blink of an eye. Hiding his thoughts from the world. The broken thing went whole again in a instance of eternity. Everything was cold around him. Tumbling. Up and down were mixing. Sides were swapped. The heavens were below. Some instinct, primal memory, ingrained in the strands of his DNA maybe, maybe a result of his living on and around the water, held his mouth shut, as his clothes, full of water, proceeded to drag him down, relentlessly down to the ground. Weighing him down... forcing him down where down was. The bottom. To drown. His mind worked still. At full capacity. He knew what was happening. Falling into the water was a bad thing for anyone working on a boat. But he never had had to cope with high waves. Or been jumped by a something-hundred-ish pound sea lion before.

His eyes were wide open. Blue seeing blue. I'm pleased to meet you, too. He noted how the light of the artificial suns broke in the waves that he had made. Sending down rays into the blue. Light rays that illuminated his face in an organic pattern, ever shifting. He saw the sea lion. The shadow of the sea lion. Probably eating the fish quite merrily. Happy. Pleased with himself. And he was sinking down. Help me I'm drowning. For real. This once in water. Just once in water. It was wet and pleasing. Weighed less then the memories, the pressure on his ear increasing with the depth. There was a cracking noise in his ears. And he heard, faintly, a splashing sound.

And he saw a mermaid swimming for him. Coming for him. He saw everything that happened. Felt it happen. Her hands tightening around the bulk of his clothes. Tightening around his body. Pressure dropping. And there was air quite suddenly. Fresh air in his lungs. And her voice in his ear. Sweet feelings. “I didn't have the time to wait.” Irony. Just a little bit. She had found another mask it seemed. Under all the rubble. A smiling one maybe. Because it was not cold. But he had to cough anyways. “Lets get out.” Of the water of course.

"Oh Martin thank God!" she cried out hugging him still mid water. "I don't think I could take another friend drowning!" drownings seemed to happened a lot around Raina. A lot. "I'm glad you're okay." now that her body had a chance to be relieved it ached all over. This water was icy cold for Spooke's purpose not for her or Martin. "You might catch hypothermia. " that, and her boss wouldn't be too happy she'd let a sea lion toss a prospective client- at least that's how Gray would see him- in a tank.

She led him to the latter that regular trainers and care takers used to get in and out of the tank. "Here climb up this. Once you get up that first door on the left will take you to the mens' locker area. There's actually a sauna in there for emergencies like this." she motioned with her hand. "You'll have to wear one of the trainer outfits until we can get your clothes dry. They are dark blue coveralls, you'll see them on a shelf next to the showers." she propped herself up on the edge of the tank and with every ounce of her strength hoisted herself up and managed to balance her weight evenly enough to hoist her tail up too. Usually she had other employees around to help her get up. She wasn't always be herself. Granted she'd been practicing at the mansion to help her quickly change back, but she hadn't be prepared for this. Looking around the area her face was a little grim. She had absolutely no way to dry off without help.

"You should hurry." she said turning her attention back to him. Normally she'd be embarrassed. Despite the fact she was comfortable in her mutation she didn't always feel confident with people up close. Up close she didn't look so fairy-tale like. Her tail was long and flexible but strange looking. The scales were closer to shark skin more than anything. Her skin has a strange tint, her eyes seemed bigger, and every once in a while her gills would split open only to realize they weren't submerged in water and close again. She knew she was strange to see up close. But she wasn't thinking about any of that. Her own teeth were chattering and she was stronger in these conditions then Martin would be.

She watched to make sure he would get up all right and understand her instructions. When he was out of the area she tried to figure out how she was going to change back if she could at all. She may have to say goodbye to Martin once she knew he was warm and safe.

Just some things wiggling where they shouldn't be could not keep him from doing what needed doing.Then he was out of the water, went out of the water, by hoisting himself up the ladder, pushing up, out, of that friendly grip, of that friendly smile, taking with him it seemed, half the water of the pool, which had nothing better to do then fall back into its basin in a wave first, in small streams later. His skin was tinted blueish now too. The air was blowing over his dripping clothes. Cold air. Cold water. Everything was so cold. And the fact that his lips had turned a quite interesting shade of sapphire had, as was fitting for a male, nothing to do with his rather shaky smile. The chattering one. At least he gave his own applause for pulling it off. “Ill-l-l b-e-e ba-a-a-ck as s-s-s-o-o-n-n-a-a-s-s-i-i-c-a-n.” The last bit of clatter was rather quickly spoken, the dripping tail of human flesh wrapped in thick blankets of cold to keep him fresh, that meaty bit of life, it was already on its way to the showers.

Spooke was unimpressed by all the commotion at the pool exit. He had his fish after all. And the tail-lady had joined him again. How nice of her. He was happy. He had a fish.

It was only under some really how water – he had discarded the room with the still cold air as needing too much time to prepare and headed straight for the watery goodness of a metal outlet- , so hot actually, his fleshes color shifted to a bright red, that he realized he had seen her naked. In a very intimate sense. In a sense that was different from the physical one. She was lying out there. In the cold. Alone. And had a tail. As well as grills. Grills! She really went into a fish form. But she mentioned relatives... Others like her... But she went into fish form... That wouldn't protect her from the touch...no...It was settled then. So quickly and easily, as he passed out of the steaming shower. There was his pile of wet clothes on the ground. His gloves even. The second pair, too. Tossed down. A damp pile of dark colors.

He grabbed himself a navy blue coverall as well as something – he didn't even look at the color – to wear on his legs, before grabbing whatever bit o cloth he could lay his hands on. Water was responsible, yes? So she needed to get dry.... He rushed out with a tangled mess of things under his arm. Rushed. He did. And he had not done so in what? Ages? Since a few days ago?

Just keep silent. "Here. I hope that helps." He was still driping wet from the other water. But his clothes were dry now. And his skin reddened. And he felt that it was necessary that way. She was helpless after all.

ooc: I can't believe how many spelling errors and grammatical errors I had in that post! I am very sorry! I do have a learning disability so sometimes spelling and writing is tricky but I'm usually more thorough with my edits. I apologize and applaud your ability to make sense of that mess!

ic:

As soon as Martin was gone from the room Raina covered her chest with her arms. She didn't even give any thought to how she looked earlier and now she felt incredibly self conscious. She was very annoyed at the situation- on the point of tears. What was her problem? Nearly drowning every man she met. Sure, bring him around the sea lion that would be a fantastic idea!

She rubbed furiously at the scales trying to will them to go away but knowing at this rate it would take hours to dry off with nothing to absorb the water and very little heat in this enclosure. So much for seeming mysterious to the opposite sex. She mentally slapped herself. All of this gallivanting around lately just wasn't her. The charged gym sessions with Garret, drinking with Sam, nearly drowning Martin.... she felt like a heel.

She wasn't expecting Martin to appear as quickly as he did and her eyes were a little too wide. She knew her expression was one of distress so she did her best to smooth it over as quickly as she could. A smile twitched in her lips- she was freezing and feeling a bit light headed. But Martin looked dry, and safe. So she could really smile about that. "You were quick!" she exclaimed. She looked at the pile of linens on the ground and smiled thankfully up at him "thank you so much." she was embarrassed to be caught in such an intimate and vulnerable way.

She grabbed a handful of laundry and started wiping herself down. She started to warm up a bit and she was able to get her torso and arms dry and wrapped her hair in a towel so it wouldn't drip down and start the process all over again. However the tail was another problem. She was sitting on the ground which was permanently wet. She was determined to get dry without Martin's help but after a few moments of furious padding down with the linens it seemed very clear that she wouldn't. Tears of frustration threatened to spill over and she looked at Martin embarrassed "Im sorry." she started "I think I've been spoiled lately with all the safety nets I have in place to help me control my mutation. I'm a little frustrated," she continued trying to get dry but became clear she couldn't.

She took a breath making her shoulders raise in a heaving motion. "Martin..." she began while wrapping her arms and torso in a towel. "I think I need you to pull me into the locker area. If I get in there I think I can get fully dry in just a few minutes." she looked up at him. "You can... just touch me through the towel?"

She didn't want to make him uncomfortable but she was doing everything she could not to panic. She was thoroughly embarrassed and wanted to gain back whatever little bit of pride she had left.

There was a puddle where the lady lay. Had decided to lie down. Not that she had that much of a choice as her tail limited her movement capabilities on land severely. Quite severely. And not only was Martin red, but she also. Maybe for different reasons. There was no embarrassment for him on that level. Only understanding of some sort. Of the sort that grows with age. OF the kind that grows through seeing. Through observation. He had seen things much more horrible then a woman without a dress. Yet his skin still refused to leave the color behind. The widened blood vessels, wide open visibly. The red touch on his cheeks. For some reason it as adamant that way.

Yet his eyes were of a decided calm. As was his voice. Slightly strained. Maybe it was just the hint of a foreign accent. His features blank of any smile. Blank of anything. A lifeless mask with flushed cheeks. Only the eyes spoke. And he wanted to let them speak only one thing: Its alright. Forced them to in his own way. Masks. Hidden behind them he was safe. Always. Except maybe from certain people. Shattering them. He was lucky that he had had a good cold shower. And a hot one after the cold one, too. Kneipp had taught people that that was healthy after all. He should be glad, shouldn't he? Everything is so good. Is good so. This way.

Not that it was. His reaction had been sluggish. He had himself thrown into a giant aquarium by a sea lion. If his employers found out about that they might reevaluate his contract. And he wasn't thinking about the Mansion part of his employers right now. Highly paid specialist. And gets beaten by a sea lion. Nearly drowned. Somewhat unprofessional. And, despite all his feelings, he decided to treat the other situation with utmost proficiency. Not that he had much expertise in these areas. He just noted that she was close to tears. The water in her eyes was a giveaway like that. Her tail. Her grills. They gave something else away. She was not for sale.
Not that he thought she was.

His hands. Without gloves... pull her? His mask shook a little. And his expression changed. Bewildered. That might have been it. A hint of.... fear? The unknown? The variables were dancing behind the mask. The shaking one. Their round dance. Round and round was an earthquake in his mind. A cracking of the mind. Patterns shifting. Welcome to my world?

His hands were wrapped tightly into linen so they became two baubles of cloth rather then recognizable appendages. He was feeling the texture.... of her body? He rather would have. Part of him. Texture of the cloth it was only. Something new and undiscovered. Slightly rough against the skin. Slightly fishy one might say. If it were appropriate. So little they got to feel directly his hands. They were sensitive. And the cloth was an unknown variable. It was one too. How to solve this differential?

He grabbed her under both arms with his toweled hands while making a low hum. As if this was a perfectly normal occasion. Normal. He needed to convince himself of that too. So a slight humming. It was just right. “Its alright. Everything is alright.” Humm hmm. Half naked mermaids. Humm. So very normal. Hum. Ooooompf. He wasn't really strong. But he tried his best at tugging her into the direction she had asked. He hoped it was the right direction he was heading her in.