p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"strongspan style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.12px;"Here it is! Magnus' POV for the events of Seaweed. The second entirely unecessary multi-chapter fic that I wrote when I was supposed to be working on my next novel. It's done now, so I have no more excuses./span/strongbr style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.12px;" /strongspan style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.12px;"Anyway I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing. The updates for this should be much more regular than they were for 'Seaweed' ./span/strongbr style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.12px;" /strongspan style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.12px;"There are definitely inconsistencies, but they're minor things so I'm not fixing them. I've spent too much time on this as it is./span/strong/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Mers are dangerous." Cap'nport reminds them. He looks to each of the members of the team in they eye until they nod. "This is not going to be easy, but it is what must be done."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Despite the usual cheery irreverence of their team, everyone is serious. Mers are rare, and mers are aggressive, and now there's one in danger. They can see it in the distance now, a feeble disturbance in the water. The report had said that there was energetic thrashing. The mer is tiring, and if the tide gets to it before they do, the mer is going to drown./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Magnus grips the railing tightly, straining his eyes to catch a glimpse of the mer. All too quickly, it becomes all too clear that something is wrong. It isn't just any mer tangled up in discarded netting. It's a pup. Beside him, Lup is cursing under her breath. Mers are aggressive under normal circumstances, but entire pods will turn bloodthirsty if a pup is threatened./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Davenport slows the ship to a crawl, eyes darting over the waves, searching for the rest of the pod. They might have been spooked by the sound of the engine, but they'll be back soon. And they'll be angry./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""We're not going in the water." Davenport says over the lapping of waves. He immediately holds up a hand to ward off the arguments coming from every direction. "I'm not risking any of you against an angry pod of mers. We'll do what we can from the surface and go from there./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Quickly, furtively, they set about freeing the pup. He is thrashing weakly in the water, but no parents come to comfort him. They move fast, glancing over their shoulders, flinching at every wayward splash of the waves, but there is no enraged pod come to protect him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The pup has gone disturbingly still by the time they pull him up, and for a heart shattering moment, Magnus thinks that they were too late. Then he breathes and there is chaos, Merle and Lucretia trying to dart in to get to work, Davenport trying to keep everyone back and on alert, then the pup starts span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"screaming/span./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The mer pup is thrashing and screaming and in just a minute he's going to bring the whole pod down on them. Even if they were scared off by the engine, they wouldn't have gone far, mers were aggressive to humans and other mers, but parents, pods, were fierce defenders of the pups. Only, they don't come. The pup screams and thrashes and calls, but there is no pod to come defend him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Lup and Barry are looking out over the water, Davenport is holding tight to the wheel, Lucretia and Merle are trying to edge closer to the pup. Its chaos, its dangerous, so Magnus does what he does best./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"He rushes in./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"He'd spent some time as a grad student working at an alligator farm and those instincts are still ingrained in his muscles. He lunges when the mer pup hesitates for a split second and throws his body across the powerful tail. It isn't quite exactly like pinning a croc, there are less teeth to worry about for one, but there are sharp claws./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"He's careful not to put his full weight on the pup, because crocs could take it but mers seem like they would be more fragile. The others have fallen deathly silent, and when he glances up, they're all staring at him like he's insane./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"To be fair, he did just fling his entire body onto a dangerous ocean predator./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Magnus." Davenport says in that 'I'm trying not to yell but I would really like to' voice. "What—Did you even have a plan?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""It worked." Magnus says defensively. The mer pup is tense beneath him, frozen with fear, but he isn't screaming and thrashing anymore so there's that at least./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Davenport sighs. "Yes, I suppose it did."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The mer pup is breathing hard beneath him and Magnus shifts a bit more weight off of it, just in case. He doesn't start thrashing again though, instead he makes a pathetic little whimper-wail. The others flinch and look around, waiting for the pod to finally make its appearance./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Shh./span" Magnus says as soothingly as he can manage. He's not really good at gentle and soothing, but he got himself into this situation so he's got to get himself out. Preferably with as few mer bites as he can get away with. Something must get through to the pup, because it quiets down, or maybe its just going into shock. He's gone disturbingly still, aside from a fine trembling that has overtaken his entire body./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Where's the pod?" Lup asks, she and Barry are standing at opposite ends of the ship, searching the water. "They should have come tearing up the minute we pulled him out."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""There's nothing on this side." Barry reports./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Did they abandon him?" Magnus asks, looking down at the pup. He's fairly old, maybe ten, eleven, not a newborn, but definitely not old enough to be on his own. He is thin though, and there are minor injuries, nips and bruises, scratches that might be from the coral, or from other mers./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""...It's possible." Lup says. "Maybe an orphan?" She gestures out to the calm ocean around them. "They certainly aren't coming back for him...so what do we do?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"As one, they look to Davenport. He frowns deeply, considering the mer pup and then looking out to the ocean. "He won't survive on his own." He says. "Even if he weren't injured, a lone mer is vulnerable, much less a lone pup."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Magnus forgets that he's basically the only thing keeping the pup from thrashing and pushes himself up to stare Davenport in the eyes. "So we just leave him to die?" he growls./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The others drift closer and Davenport sighs. "Of course not, but Magnus, you must understand. Mers span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"never/span do well in captivity. The longest anyone has kept one alive is forty-four days. Forty-four. Magnus. There isn't going to be a happy ending to this. We can do all we can, but I don't think it will be enough."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""We have to try." Magnus says./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""And we will." Davenport says. "First things first, let's try and keep the poor thing from bleeding out right in front of us, shall we?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Carefully, Magnus lifts off of the mer pup, but it doesn't start thrashing around immediately again. he's laying deathly silent on the deck and if he couldn't feel the rise and fall of his chest under his hands then Magnus would think he was already dead./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Lup and Barry are set to cutting away the net while Merle and Lucretia finish preparing their supplies and Magnus is left to keep a hand on the mer. He twitches occasionally, but other than that he's almost docile./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"It is utterly the opposite of everything the Institute taught him to expect from a mer. It's throwing the others off as well, Lup and Barry keep glancing at him and he can feel eyes on the back of his neck. The mer doesn't move./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Damn it." Lup mutters quietly, and she tugs on a bit of netting wrapped around the base of the mer's tail fin. "We have a problem. A big one."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The mer bursts back into life with a gasp and a high pitched trill. It tries to sit up, likely to make a swipe at Lup and Barry and Magnus presses down on its shoulders. "span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Shh, shhh./span" He tries to soothe, it seemed to work before, and that is holding true now. The mer stills, looking up at him with hazy eyes./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"It makes the chirp-whine again and tries to lift a hand, but Magnus wraps his own hands around the delicate wrist. "I know, I know, we're trying to help." He says as gently as he can./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Lup and Barry are working fast, their knives are silver flashes in the air as they pull netting away. Lup is muttering a steady stream of "span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"fuck fuck fuck." /spanas she works./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Lup?" Davenport asks./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""It's wrapped around his tail way tight." Lup says. "It's cut off circulation. I don't know how long but it doesn't look good."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The mer is coming back to life now, at just about the most inopportune time. Trying to move his hands, trying to look at Barry and Lup. Little chirps are rising from his throat, but he doesn't call out for the pod anymore./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Let me get a better grip before you start on that." Magnus says, and he shifts to cradle the mer's torso against his chest. Lup and Barry work fast, but the mer is definitely coming into his second wind now. Trying to look around, trying to move./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""I'm gonna try and get the net around his tail off." Lup says, looking to the mer's face. "He's not going to like this. You ready Maggie?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Go for it."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The mer is thrashing and struggling almost immediately and it's all Magnus can do to keep him from lunging, either for the ocean or for Barry and Lup. "I know, I know, I know." Magnus chants, a useless, empty phrase. He doesn't really know what the mer's going through at all. "We're trying to help. It hurts but its gonna help. I promise."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The mer tires himself out long before they're finished. He's breathing hard again, twitching every once in awhile, but there's no more fight left in him. "There you go." Magnus says anyway. "Just calm down, we're trying to help."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The mer twists in his grasp and turns his face into Magnus' chest. Magnus has to stop himself from pulling back, he'll take a bite if he needs to, but the mer doesn't bite. He buries its face into his chest like a kid scared by a thunderstorm and Magnus is struck with the thought that this span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"is/span a scared kid./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The Institute had been very clear that mers were not human. That was always a risk with magical creatures that looked so familiar. People would try to treat them like humans and end up doing more harm than good. People were fairly sure that mers were sapient, but that was pretty much it. All that was really known was that they were dangerous and aggressive. Magnus wonders if somewhere along the line, people were so focused on how different mer's were they lost sight of the ways they were the same./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Lucretia and Merle have taken the opening to dart forward and get started on what medical attention they can offer from the boat. From Lucretia's face, the prognosis isn't good. Lup and Barry are talking quietly together, still glancing out over the water like the rest of the pod is going to come./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""We should name him." Magnus says, his mouth moving the moment the thought pops into his head./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Magnus." Davenport says, with the same expression he wore when he said 'forty-four days'. "I don't think it's a good idea to get attached."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""I think its a great idea." Magnus says stubbornly. "He's not just an animal, look at him." He shifts his arms so that the others can see the face of the sleeping mer. "He's a span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"kid/span and he's scared. We can't just give up now, we have to span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"try/span, Davenport." He looks to the others, hoping to find support in at least one of their faces./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Maggie." Lup starts, but that's all she says. Her expression is pitying, the same way it was when Jules was in surgery aft the crash. The way you look at someone who is holding onto hope long after everyone else has figured out the inevitable./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""No, Lup." Barry says. "Magnus is right. We're a research team, we're meant to bespan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" learning /spannew things, not relying on old ones. Obviously, the way mers have been handled in the past doesn't work. Maybe its time we try something different."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Davenport considers this for a long moment and then he sighs. "Alright. What should we call him?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Fisher." Magnus says immediately, it's a stupid name, absolutely terrible, but maybe that's what they need. Something silly, something light to fight back the darkness./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The others laugh and there are a few other suggestions thrown around, but by the time they make it back to the institute, the mer is named Fisher. Of course, then the lighthearted atmosphere takes a deathly plunge all over again because Fisher is in all kinds of trouble./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Lucretia and Merle are moving in that quick-quiet way that means span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"keep the fuck out of the way /spanand the rest of them sort of hover around the edges of the room, not sure what to do. They pull the rest of the netting off and set about cleaning the wounds when Fisher starts to wake up./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"At first its subtle, just a few twitches and shifting around, but it soon gets to the point that yeah, they're about to have a scared, injured mer in the middle of their lab. "Magnus." Merle says without looking up. "Put your coat over his eyes. Try and keep him from stressing out."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Right." Magnus says, pulling his jacket off and spreading it over Fisher. The little mer makes a whining sound that is so like a kid being told to wake up for school that Magnus nearly jolts. Then Fisher is whining, crying out for the pod that didn't come even when they were still out at sea. He's starting to get more energetic as well, moving his limbs, trying to sit up./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Shh, buddy. I know. Just hold still for a little bit longer." Magnus says, running a hand through the tangled hair on top of his head./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""He's not gonna like this." Merle says, tying a tourniquet around Fisher's right arm. "We need a blood sample though."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Merle is right and Fisher puts up more than a bit of a fuss, but Magnus thinks its more about the restraint than the actual blood draw. When Fisher raises a hand to tug the jacket away, Merle makes a move to stop him, but Magnus holds up a hand. "Let him." He says. "He's freaked out enough without being blind on top of it."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Maybe he's still in shock, maybe he's just been through so much weird shit that this doesn't' even phase him, but Fisher stays calm even though he's in unfamiliar surroundings. He's looking around, sure, and he looks nervous but he isn't thrashing and panicked. It's a step in the right direction at least./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The others creep over, Davenport wants an update, Lup wants to know what the plan is now, Fisher watches them warily, but he doesn't freak out at this either. Maybe, just maybe, this will actually work out./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Then Fisher trills again and his hands move in a way that is undeniably deliberate. Barry gasps and practically lunges across the lab, staring at Fisher like he's just revealed the secrets of existence. "Did you see that?" He squeaks like they weren't all standing there. "A sign language! Of course! I don't know why no one else put it together before this!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Lup grabs him by the back of his jacket and tugs him into place beside her. "Probably because everyone else was busy trying not to get span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"killed/span."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Barry, true to form, doesn't seem to notice the clear warning. He's using diver signals to try and communicate, and Fisher looks like he's trying to talk back, but neither of them have any chance of understanding each other./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Things are actually going well until Fisher tries to move and throws himself back into a panic. By the time he calms down, everyone is exhausted. He may be small, but mers are strong. Barry gets sent off to bring the blood sample to Lucretia and somehow, Magnus finds himself holding hands with one of the worlds most dangerous magical creatures./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"By the end of the day, Lucretia has the lab results back and Davenport calls a meeting to discuss moving forward./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""There's no infection yet." Lucretia says. "But it doesn't look good."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"As if they weren't already dabbling in risky territory. Magnus listens to Lucretia and Merle talk about blood flow and gangrene and wishes that he could understand./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"At the end of the day though, there is only one option. If Fisher's tail doesn't recover, they'll have to cut it off before it kills him. There's no way that they can release him back into the ocean with such an injury, it would be cruel, and there has been a long standing ban against euthanizing mers even if they didn't know that he was intelligent. All they can do is heal him to the best of their abilities and hope that Fisher can adapt to life with humans./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Magnus goes to sleep that night with Davenport's words echoing in his head./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"'Forty-four days.'/span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Mers are dangerous." Cap'nport reminds them. He looks to each of the members of the team in they eye until they nod. "This is not going to be easy, but it is what must be done."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Despite the usual cheery irreverence of their team, everyone is serious. Mers are rare, and mers are aggressive, and now there's one in danger. They can see it in the distance now, a feeble disturbance in the water. The report had said that there was energetic thrashing. The mer is tiring, and if the tide gets to it before they do, the mer is going to drown./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Magnus grips the railing tightly, straining his eyes to catch a glimpse of the mer. All too quickly, it becomes all too clear that something is wrong. It isn't just any mer tangled up in discarded netting. It's a pup. Beside him, Lup is cursing under her breath. Mers are aggressive under normal circumstances, but entire pods will turn bloodthirsty if a pup is threatened./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Davenport slows the ship to a crawl, eyes darting over the waves, searching for the rest of the pod. They might have been spooked by the sound of the engine, but they'll be back soon. And they'll be angry./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""We're not going in the water." Davenport says over the lapping of waves. He immediately holds up a hand to ward off the arguments coming from every direction. "I'm not risking any of you against an angry pod of mers. We'll do what we can from the surface and go from there./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Quickly, furtively, they set about freeing the pup. He is thrashing weakly in the water, but no parents come to comfort him. They move fast, glancing over their shoulders, flinching at every wayward splash of the waves, but there is no enraged pod come to protect him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The pup has gone disturbingly still by the time they pull him up, and for a heart shattering moment, Magnus thinks that they were too late. Then he breathes and there is chaos, Merle and Lucretia trying to dart in to get to work, Davenport trying to keep everyone back and on alert, then the pup starts span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"screaming/span./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The mer pup is thrashing and screaming and in just a minute he's going to bring the whole pod down on them. Even if they were scared off by the engine, they wouldn't have gone far, mers were aggressive to humans and other mers, but parents, pods, were fierce defenders of the pups. Only, they don't come. The pup screams and thrashes and calls, but there is no pod to come defend him./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Lup and Barry are looking out over the water, Davenport is holding tight to the wheel, Lucretia and Merle are trying to edge closer to the pup. Its chaos, its dangerous, so Magnus does what he does best./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"He rushes in./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"He'd spent some time as a grad student working at an alligator farm and those instincts are still ingrained in his muscles. He lunges when the mer pup hesitates for a split second and throws his body across the powerful tail. It isn't quite exactly like pinning a croc, there are less teeth to worry about for one, but there are sharp claws./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"He's careful not to put his full weight on the pup, because crocs could take it but mers seem like they would be more fragile. The others have fallen deathly silent, and when he glances up, they're all staring at him like he's insane./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"To be fair, he did just fling his entire body onto a dangerous ocean predator./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Magnus." Davenport says in that 'I'm trying not to yell but I would really like to' voice. "What—Did you even have a plan?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""It worked." Magnus says defensively. The mer pup is tense beneath him, frozen with fear, but he isn't screaming and thrashing anymore so there's that at least./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Davenport sighs. "Yes, I suppose it did."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The mer pup is breathing hard beneath him and Magnus shifts a bit more weight off of it, just in case. He doesn't start thrashing again though, instead he makes a pathetic little whimper-wail. The others flinch and look around, waiting for the pod to finally make its appearance./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Shh./span" Magnus says as soothingly as he can manage. He's not really good at gentle and soothing, but he got himself into this situation so he's got to get himself out. Preferably with as few mer bites as he can get away with. Something must get through to the pup, because it quiets down, or maybe its just going into shock. He's gone disturbingly still, aside from a fine trembling that has overtaken his entire body./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Where's the pod?" Lup asks, she and Barry are standing at opposite ends of the ship, searching the water. "They should have come tearing up the minute we pulled him out."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""There's nothing on this side." Barry reports./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Did they abandon him?" Magnus asks, looking down at the pup. He's fairly old, maybe ten, eleven, not a newborn, but definitely not old enough to be on his own. He is thin though, and there are minor injuries, nips and bruises, scratches that might be from the coral, or from other mers./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""...It's possible." Lup says. "Maybe an orphan?" She gestures out to the calm ocean around them. "They certainly aren't coming back for him...so what do we do?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"As one, they look to Davenport. He frowns deeply, considering the mer pup and then looking out to the ocean. "He won't survive on his own." He says. "Even if he weren't injured, a lone mer is vulnerable, much less a lone pup."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Magnus forgets that he's basically the only thing keeping the pup from thrashing and pushes himself up to stare Davenport in the eyes. "So we just leave him to die?" he growls./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The others drift closer and Davenport sighs. "Of course not, but Magnus, you must understand. Mers span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"never/span do well in captivity. The longest anyone has kept one alive is forty-four days. Forty-four. Magnus. There isn't going to be a happy ending to this. We can do all we can, but I don't think it will be enough."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""We have to try." Magnus says./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""And we will." Davenport says. "First things first, let's try and keep the poor thing from bleeding out right in front of us, shall we?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Carefully, Magnus lifts off of the mer pup, but it doesn't start thrashing around immediately again. he's laying deathly silent on the deck and if he couldn't feel the rise and fall of his chest under his hands then Magnus would think he was already dead./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Lup and Barry are set to cutting away the net while Merle and Lucretia finish preparing their supplies and Magnus is left to keep a hand on the mer. He twitches occasionally, but other than that he's almost docile./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"It is utterly the opposite of everything the Institute taught him to expect from a mer. It's throwing the others off as well, Lup and Barry keep glancing at him and he can feel eyes on the back of his neck. The mer doesn't move./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Damn it." Lup mutters quietly, and she tugs on a bit of netting wrapped around the base of the mer's tail fin. "We have a problem. A big one."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The mer bursts back into life with a gasp and a high pitched trill. It tries to sit up, likely to make a swipe at Lup and Barry and Magnus presses down on its shoulders. "span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Shh, shhh./span" He tries to soothe, it seemed to work before, and that is holding true now. The mer stills, looking up at him with hazy eyes./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"It makes the chirp-whine again and tries to lift a hand, but Magnus wraps his own hands around the delicate wrist. "I know, I know, we're trying to help." He says as gently as he can./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Lup and Barry are working fast, their knives are silver flashes in the air as they pull netting away. Lup is muttering a steady stream of "span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"fuck fuck fuck." /spanas she works./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Lup?" Davenport asks./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""It's wrapped around his tail way tight." Lup says. "It's cut off circulation. I don't know how long but it doesn't look good."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The mer is coming back to life now, at just about the most inopportune time. Trying to move his hands, trying to look at Barry and Lup. Little chirps are rising from his throat, but he doesn't call out for the pod anymore./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Let me get a better grip before you start on that." Magnus says, and he shifts to cradle the mer's torso against his chest. Lup and Barry work fast, but the mer is definitely coming into his second wind now. Trying to look around, trying to move./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""I'm gonna try and get the net around his tail off." Lup says, looking to the mer's face. "He's not going to like this. You ready Maggie?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Go for it."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The mer is thrashing and struggling almost immediately and it's all Magnus can do to keep him from lunging, either for the ocean or for Barry and Lup. "I know, I know, I know." Magnus chants, a useless, empty phrase. He doesn't really know what the mer's going through at all. "We're trying to help. It hurts but its gonna help. I promise."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The mer tires himself out long before they're finished. He's breathing hard again, twitching every once in awhile, but there's no more fight left in him. "There you go." Magnus says anyway. "Just calm down, we're trying to help."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The mer twists in his grasp and turns his face into Magnus' chest. Magnus has to stop himself from pulling back, he'll take a bite if he needs to, but the mer doesn't bite. He buries its face into his chest like a kid scared by a thunderstorm and Magnus is struck with the thought that this span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"is/span a scared kid./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The Institute had been very clear that mers were not human. That was always a risk with magical creatures that looked so familiar. People would try to treat them like humans and end up doing more harm than good. People were fairly sure that mers were sapient, but that was pretty much it. All that was really known was that they were dangerous and aggressive. Magnus wonders if somewhere along the line, people were so focused on how different mer's were they lost sight of the ways they were the same./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Lucretia and Merle have taken the opening to dart forward and get started on what medical attention they can offer from the boat. From Lucretia's face, the prognosis isn't good. Lup and Barry are talking quietly together, still glancing out over the water like the rest of the pod is going to come./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""We should name him." Magnus says, his mouth moving the moment the thought pops into his head./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Magnus." Davenport says, with the same expression he wore when he said 'forty-four days'. "I don't think it's a good idea to get attached."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""I think its a great idea." Magnus says stubbornly. "He's not just an animal, look at him." He shifts his arms so that the others can see the face of the sleeping mer. "He's a span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"kid/span and he's scared. We can't just give up now, we have to span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"try/span, Davenport." He looks to the others, hoping to find support in at least one of their faces./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Maggie." Lup starts, but that's all she says. Her expression is pitying, the same way it was when Jules was in surgery aft the crash. The way you look at someone who is holding onto hope long after everyone else has figured out the inevitable./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""No, Lup." Barry says. "Magnus is right. We're a research team, we're meant to bespan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" learning /spannew things, not relying on old ones. Obviously, the way mers have been handled in the past doesn't work. Maybe its time we try something different."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Davenport considers this for a long moment and then he sighs. "Alright. What should we call him?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Fisher." Magnus says immediately, it's a stupid name, absolutely terrible, but maybe that's what they need. Something silly, something light to fight back the darkness./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The others laugh and there are a few other suggestions thrown around, but by the time they make it back to the institute, the mer is named Fisher. Of course, then the lighthearted atmosphere takes a deathly plunge all over again because Fisher is in all kinds of trouble./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Lucretia and Merle are moving in that quick-quiet way that means span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"keep the fuck out of the way /spanand the rest of them sort of hover around the edges of the room, not sure what to do. They pull the rest of the netting off and set about cleaning the wounds when Fisher starts to wake up./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"At first its subtle, just a few twitches and shifting around, but it soon gets to the point that yeah, they're about to have a scared, injured mer in the middle of their lab. "Magnus." Merle says without looking up. "Put your coat over his eyes. Try and keep him from stressing out."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Right." Magnus says, pulling his jacket off and spreading it over Fisher. The little mer makes a whining sound that is so like a kid being told to wake up for school that Magnus nearly jolts. Then Fisher is whining, crying out for the pod that didn't come even when they were still out at sea. He's starting to get more energetic as well, moving his limbs, trying to sit up./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""Shh, buddy. I know. Just hold still for a little bit longer." Magnus says, running a hand through the tangled hair on top of his head./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""He's not gonna like this." Merle says, tying a tourniquet around Fisher's right arm. "We need a blood sample though."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Merle is right and Fisher puts up more than a bit of a fuss, but Magnus thinks its more about the restraint than the actual blood draw. When Fisher raises a hand to tug the jacket away, Merle makes a move to stop him, but Magnus holds up a hand. "Let him." He says. "He's freaked out enough without being blind on top of it."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Maybe he's still in shock, maybe he's just been through so much weird shit that this doesn't' even phase him, but Fisher stays calm even though he's in unfamiliar surroundings. He's looking around, sure, and he looks nervous but he isn't thrashing and panicked. It's a step in the right direction at least./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"The others creep over, Davenport wants an update, Lup wants to know what the plan is now, Fisher watches them warily, but he doesn't freak out at this either. Maybe, just maybe, this will actually work out./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Then Fisher trills again and his hands move in a way that is undeniably deliberate. Barry gasps and practically lunges across the lab, staring at Fisher like he's just revealed the secrets of existence. "Did you see that?" He squeaks like they weren't all standing there. "A sign language! Of course! I don't know why no one else put it together before this!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Lup grabs him by the back of his jacket and tugs him into place beside her. "Probably because everyone else was busy trying not to get span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"killed/span."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Barry, true to form, doesn't seem to notice the clear warning. He's using diver signals to try and communicate, and Fisher looks like he's trying to talk back, but neither of them have any chance of understanding each other./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Things are actually going well until Fisher tries to move and throws himself back into a panic. By the time he calms down, everyone is exhausted. He may be small, but mers are strong. Barry gets sent off to bring the blood sample to Lucretia and somehow, Magnus finds himself holding hands with one of the worlds most dangerous magical creatures./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"By the end of the day, Lucretia has the lab results back and Davenport calls a meeting to discuss moving forward./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT""There's no infection yet." Lucretia says. "But it doesn't look good."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"As if they weren't already dabbling in risky territory. Magnus listens to Lucretia and Merle talk about blood flow and gangrene and wishes that he could understand./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"At the end of the day though, there is only one option. If Fisher's tail doesn't recover, they'll have to cut it off before it kills him. There's no way that they can release him back into the ocean with such an injury, it would be cruel, and there has been a long standing ban against euthanizing mers even if they didn't know that he was intelligent. All they can do is heal him to the best of their abilities and hope that Fisher can adapt to life with humans./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"Magnus goes to sleep that night with Davenport's words echoing in his head./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" align="LEFT"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"'Forty-four days.'/span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p