He had started working more hours at the coffee shop since he had taken off of school for the semester after Jade died. It wasn't like he needed money-- he had more than enough, possibly for the rest of his life, but he also had a lot of time on his hands. And time when you were still grieving a lost love one was never good. So he picked up shifts and was working as many as thirty hours in a week, sometimes. And for the most part, it was effective in distracting him.
Except that there was this one girl that took issue with him. She was a new supervisor, and hadn't really had the chance to get used to Jake's coined brand of endearing idiocy. So she had a habit of lashing out at him for it. He would space out and forget to do things, or mess up drink orders, and Ashley was having none of it. So she had pulled him aside and scolded him for the things he had done wrong over the course of the week, and told him he was being sent home for the day with a written warning for one of them.
He had waited until after he had broken down sobbing for ten minutes in his car to call Dirk.
He sniffed roughly before answering, to try and sound less like he'd been crying.
"Would you perhaps fancy a late lunch? I've found myself with a bit more spare time on my hands than I anticipated for the day and would very much like some company."
"I know we're still not really talking about it, but... I love you, okay?" He bit his lip, because if he got to talking he was going to start crying again, and he had to drive home. "Um-- what would you like for takeout?"
Jake was what was referred to by his kind as a wanderer. He had a home, and when he was younger he had an elderly maternal grand-mer-ther, but he rarely stayed there for terribly long. He was difficult to get ahold of, difficult to spend time with, and even more difficult to tie down. He was distracted by everything, curious about more still, and could never, ever sit properly still.
Or, as the situation may have it, swim.
You see, Jake was a streamlined species of merfolk-- dark olive-tanned skin, sunbleached brown-black hair, bright kelly-olive green eyes and a tail to match. His upper half somewhat resembled a leanly muscular pacific islander in hue and build, as well as in the shape of his face and eyes, while his lower half faded into glittering scales and fins. His fins were a little torn at the ends from too much exploration into dangerous waters, but he still swam just fine, the majority of the power coming from the powerful muscles in his tail. His ears were the only part of him from the hips up that looked less than human, unless you counted his webbed hands and the fins on his forearms, the ears being flared out like what one might envision on a mythical creature such as a dragon. The species was heavily varied in its colorations, but Jake and his grandmother and twin sister were the only ones with the specific set of colors as themselves (and Jake the only one not a lurid highlighter green).
Today in his wanderings, Jake found himself in what had once been Houston, Texas, as far as the humans were concerned. The ends of his fins and the dotted markings all along his tail lit his way as he traversed old human dwellings, long-since abandoned since the poor bastards couldn't live underwater. Thusly, he emitted a faint lime glow as he drifted silently through the hallways.
Dirk might notice that lime glow from the hall, slowly moving closer without a sound.
Jake was also a regularly attention deficit child, paying zero attention to the fact that there had been a light on in one of the rooms down this hall and that it had since shut off. He had his own light, why did he need to pay attention to other existing light? So he kept right on drifting down the hall until he slowed to a stop in front of the room Dirk was lurking in, in all his glowing-tailed glory.
Well, that grabbed Jake's attention at least. He blinked twice, turned toward Dirk, and gasped as well.
The main difference here being that Jake can breathe seawater. Which he abruptly realized Dirk could not, hence his spluttering and suffocating. He waved his arms about for a handful of (precious) seconds, reached out, and in another handful of (possibly less precious, as he was spending them being proactive instead of being an idiot), he had Dirk under his arms and was swimming out a window with him in tow. Silly humans and their silly legs that made moving quickly so difficult, and their silly air-lungs, and-- Gosh they were just so silly.
And Jake just sort of. Held him up and out of the water at arm's length, staring at him in complete and utter confusion as he hacked his lungs up and spat into the ocean. The gills on his neck smoothed against his skin and he inhaled through his mouth, scrunching his face. It had been a long time since he'd done that.
"Is this an area that speaks English?" he asked, his own heavily accented by a myriad of things.
She probably figured Jake had been a drunken dream. Though there was a chance she'd brought up something about some ~dreamy fish guy~ in idle passing. ...Which likely sounded like drunken rambling, so was probably ignored, or thought to be nonsensical.
Jake had wandered closer to the surface by the time Dirk was down tying up ropes for his hammock, and noticed Dirk's shock of pale hair in the light, making his way to the surface again. He popped up out of the water directly below Dirk and grinned, waving at him while his gills smoothed back over to let his lungs adjust to air-only.
His teeth glinted in the light as he grinned, and Jake shook his head.
"Not in as many words, but it was hardly necessary." He reached out for one of the lower structural beams and folded his arms over it to hoist himself partly out of the water. His tail swished idly.
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Date: 2013-08-20 04:27 am (UTC)Except that there was this one girl that took issue with him. She was a new supervisor, and hadn't really had the chance to get used to Jake's coined brand of endearing idiocy. So she had a habit of lashing out at him for it. He would space out and forget to do things, or mess up drink orders, and Ashley was having none of it. So she had pulled him aside and scolded him for the things he had done wrong over the course of the week, and told him he was being sent home for the day with a written warning for one of them.
He had waited until after he had broken down sobbing for ten minutes in his car to call Dirk.
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Date: 2013-08-20 04:39 am (UTC)"Would you perhaps fancy a late lunch? I've found myself with a bit more spare time on my hands than I anticipated for the day and would very much like some company."
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Date: 2013-08-20 04:52 am (UTC)"I figured perhaps I'd pick up some carryout and just bring it home with me. Since I figure you're at the house."
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Date: 2013-08-20 05:01 am (UTC)He sniffed again.
"...Dirk?"
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Date: 2013-08-20 05:04 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2013-10-08 09:50 pm (UTC)Or, as the situation may have it, swim.
You see, Jake was a streamlined species of merfolk-- dark olive-tanned skin, sunbleached brown-black hair, bright kelly-olive green eyes and a tail to match. His upper half somewhat resembled a leanly muscular pacific islander in hue and build, as well as in the shape of his face and eyes, while his lower half faded into glittering scales and fins. His fins were a little torn at the ends from too much exploration into dangerous waters, but he still swam just fine, the majority of the power coming from the powerful muscles in his tail. His ears were the only part of him from the hips up that looked less than human, unless you counted his webbed hands and the fins on his forearms, the ears being flared out like what one might envision on a mythical creature such as a dragon. The species was heavily varied in its colorations, but Jake and his grandmother and twin sister were the only ones with the specific set of colors as themselves (and Jake the only one not a lurid highlighter green).
Today in his wanderings, Jake found himself in what had once been Houston, Texas, as far as the humans were concerned. The ends of his fins and the dotted markings all along his tail lit his way as he traversed old human dwellings, long-since abandoned since the poor bastards couldn't live underwater. Thusly, he emitted a faint lime glow as he drifted silently through the hallways.
Dirk might notice that lime glow from the hall, slowly moving closer without a sound.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-08 10:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-08 10:17 pm (UTC)The main difference here being that Jake can breathe seawater. Which he abruptly realized Dirk could not, hence his spluttering and suffocating. He waved his arms about for a handful of (precious) seconds, reached out, and in another handful of (possibly less precious, as he was spending them being proactive instead of being an idiot), he had Dirk under his arms and was swimming out a window with him in tow. Silly humans and their silly legs that made moving quickly so difficult, and their silly air-lungs, and-- Gosh they were just so silly.
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Date: 2013-10-08 10:32 pm (UTC)"Is this an area that speaks English?" he asked, his own heavily accented by a myriad of things.
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Date: 2013-10-09 09:22 pm (UTC)Jake had wandered closer to the surface by the time Dirk was down tying up ropes for his hammock, and noticed Dirk's shock of pale hair in the light, making his way to the surface again. He popped up out of the water directly below Dirk and grinned, waving at him while his gills smoothed back over to let his lungs adjust to air-only.
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Date: 2013-10-09 09:34 pm (UTC)"Not in as many words, but it was hardly necessary." He reached out for one of the lower structural beams and folded his arms over it to hoist himself partly out of the water. His tail swished idly.
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Date: 2013-10-10 12:39 am (UTC)(no subject)
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