Wow you suffered through to the second chapter, good for you!

Again, I would greatly appreciate if you could point out any mistakes I've made, and I will fix them ASAP.

I love you all 3

It was suddenly very cold. The water around him disappeared as he was pulled from the sea. His tail was tangled helplessly in the cutting fishnet, which dug painfully into his skin and scales as he thrashed about. He was caught, and the only thing he could do right now was put up as much of a struggle as possible. A couple knots snapped under his claws, only creating a small hole in the netting. He pulled desperately at the thin ropes, trying to widen the tear enough to escape through.

He cried out suddenly, ceasing his work as a searing pain tore through his shoulder, causing him to curl in on himself in agony. He was experienced with pain. He'd fought many battles with others of his kind in the ocean, but always with tooth and claw, never had he experienced anything like this. He'd been struck by a human weapon. A couple more shots fired from above, but luckily none of them met their target.

He could feel himself being dragged up the side of the boat, struggling weakly as the wood scraped against his bare skin. A hot flow of blood dripped freely from his shoulder, coating his chest and hands as he tried desperately to stop the bleeding. He could see the dark shadows around the edges of his vision, slowly closing in on him as he felt his remaining strength leave his body. His vision grew blurry, and the last thing he saw was his own blood falling far below him into the ocean, mixing with the once clear water and turning the spray a sick pink. He closed his eyes, losing his weakening hold on consciousness as he was dragged on board.

Captain Holmes watched the struggle from afar, marveling at how strong the mermaid was. He couldn't see all of her at once, as she was a tangled mess of fury in the net, whipping her tail against the restraints. He guessed that she was about 6 feet in length including her tail, which, although big, was still relatively small for a mermaid, and, unlike most of her kind, her sandy blonde hair was cropped short. Must be a reason for that, he'll figure it out later.

His pale hands gripped the railing in anticipation as she clawed her way through the net, lashing out wildly and struggling for freedom. He jumped slightly as a few shots rang out from the crowd gathered at the railing, and watched in horror as a stream of blood started to drip down her shoulder.

He marched over to his crew, scattering the crowd and heading straight for the gunman, whom he knew was Sebastian, the tall blond man he'd picked up after he'd been dishonourably discharged from the military, who was on the run from the law. He swiftly snatched the rifle from his hands, quickly disarming it and throwing it down on the deck. Sebastian was tall, but Captain Holmes still managed to look down on him.

"Mr. Moran, that is a rare and exotic creature, one that has yet to be fully explored and understood, and you're trying to kill it?" He pointed over the edge of the boat, to the slowly weakening being.

"It was about to escape, sir, I only immobilized it"

"On whose orders?"

Sebastian fell silent. The two of them stared menacingly at each other, Moran backing off slightly as a murderous presence glinted in the Captain's eyes.

"Mine, Captain." They turned to look down at the first mate, who'd made his way through the thinning crowd of crew members. Moriarty looked up at the two of them, both taller than him, though not by much. "He fired the shots on my order, sir."

Captain Holmes glared at him, scowling as his voice dropped menacingly. "That is not an order you have the authority of issuing."

Jim nodded. "Yes, sir it won't happen again."

The Captain looked from one to the other, quickly determining that his first mate was lying, that Moran had fired the shots without permission and Jim was covering for him. But before he could call them out on it, someone shouted from the railing, and the three of them turned to see that the mermaid had been pulled on deck.

Holmes forgot the situation at hand, anxiously pushing his way to the front of the crowd to get a look at the creature. His smile quickly vanished to a look of slight shock and confusion as he came to the creature's side.

It wasn't a mermaid at all, it was a merman. It was male.

His eyes swept over the nearly lifeless body, noting that he was still breathing, but had passed out due to blood loss. Not taking his eyes off the creature, he shouted orders over his shoulder to dress his wound. He surely was beautiful. His skin was tanned and his muscles defined by a life of swimming in the ocean currents. His body was slicked with blood, but Holmes could see old scars scattered across his torso, obviously from battles with other sea dwellers, possibly over food or territory or a mate. Even his tail, which was covered in small, light rosy scales, sported a few battle marks here and there. It was as though he'd been in the military, if merfolk had a military. Navy?

His thought process was stirred as the great tail moved slightly, shifting to the side as the merman slowly regained consciousness. His wound had stopped bleeding and was properly dressed, and the blood cleaned off his body.

He watched with rapt attention as the creatures eyes opened, revealing clear blue irises that flashed like a mirror when he looked around. He took in a breath of dry air and coughed violently, bringing a hand to his shoulder as he screamed in pain. He curled onto his side, lashing his tail weakly as he coughed and sputtered in the warm air.

The Captain cursed himself for not thinking ahead. Obviously, merfolk couldn't survive without water. His mind raced as he watched the gills on the side of his neck work madly to take a breath. He shouted to his crew, calling out Sebastian to carry the merman. "Take him down to the ballast tank, he needs water"

Sebastian nodded, grabbing the gasping creature, throwing him over his shoulder and heading below deck. The whole crew was silent, only a few working to relieve the awkward stillness. Captain Holmes turned about, eyeing the crew, who immediately went back to work. He beckoned towards Moriarty, motioning for him to join him as he followed Moran below deck.

The tank was almost empty, though there was enough for the merman to breathe. Sebastian waded into the water with the creature in his arms, his breathing becoming laboured. The moment he touched the water, he started thrashing about violently, clawing at Moran's face until he dropped him, knocking the man over before swimming to the far end of the tank, which was only about 45 feet away. Moran scowled, reaching instinctively for his gun before remembering the Captain had confiscated it, and made his way out of the water.

Holmes and Moriarty joined him shortly as he dried off, glaring at the merman who was swimming circles around the tank, searching for some means of escape. The three watched him in silence for a minute, his rosy silver scales glinting in the dark water, illuminated by the soft light of a lone lantern that hung on the wall, nearly burnt out.. It was very quiet down below, the only sounds were the moaning wood of the ship's hull and the merman's quiet splashing.

Moriarty whispered to the Captain, tentative to raise his voice in such a quiet place. "Do you think he can speak?"

Captain Holmes went over the facts of merfolk in his head, the stories he'd read when he was younger, or that his brother would tell him before he'd left. According to legends and eyewitness accounts, some merfolk could understand and speak English or sometimes Latin, but usually only depending on if they evolved around human colonies. He shrugged lightly, whispering back "Let's find out."

He turned to the merman, clasping his hands behind his back and standing tall. "Have you a name?"

The creature paused, bringing just his eyes above water to glare at his captors. He made no motion to move towards or away from them, neither any inclination to speak or that he even understood them.

Captain Holmes watched him as his eyes flickered between the three, admiring the glassy flash that was produced with each movement, probably caused by the presence of a transparent third eyelid to protect the eyes underwater. He smiled to himself, calling out to the merman again "Have you a name?"

His eyes darted quickly to the Captain, looking him up and down, taking in his tall, pale stature, his decorated coat hanging elegantly off his lithe frame, the dark curls that framed his face under a gaudy pirate's hat, adorned with beads and feathers and lined with a black lace trim. He analyzed his face, looking over his strong jaw line and high cheekbones, the steep bow of his pale lips and his icy blue eyes. He'd never seen eyes like those before, almost inhuman.

They all stared at each other for about a minute, Holmes and Moriarty standing at the water's edge with Moran sitting a ways off, and the merman treading water easily with his strong tail. Finally, he brought his head fully above water and spoke "Who wants to know?"

Moriarty raised his eyebrows and Holmes's lips curled into a slight smile. Sebastian stood to lean against the far wall, still scowling at the creature, but with a bit more interest this time. Holmes answered the merman. "Captain Sherlock Holmes of the Deduction. Have you a name?" He asked, a tinge of annoyance entering his voice for having to repeat himself so many times.

The merman paused again, moving ever so slightly towards the three pirates. "John." He finally answered, his voice quiet and suspicious.

Sherlock nodded, taking off his hat and kneeling by the water. "You want to come here, John?" He held out his hand as he would to a dog, beckoning him over.

John stared at the long, pale fingers outstretched towards him. He refused to move, instead sinking lower into the water until only his eyes were visible again, watching every movement of the three men for about a minute, then he dove under water again, flashing his tail for just a second then swimming to the deepest and furthest part of the tank, disappearing into the darkness.

Sherlock sighed, standing up and brushing off his coat. He turned to the two men. "It's best we leave him alone now, he's probably still very overwhelmed with everything that just happened and it would be wise not to push any more on him." He led them up the creaking stairs to the upper deck, turning to Moriarty as they walked. "I will return to check on him. Until then, I am putting you two in charge of guarding him, make sure no one goes down there."

Both men nodded "Yes, sir."

Sherlock left the two stationed at the top of the stairs. He was a bit nervous about leaving John in Sebastian's hands as he tended to be a little impulsive. But Jim would keep everything in order. He had a good head on his shoulders and Sebastian listened to him. Most importantly, Sherlock trusted him.

He made his way to his Captains quarters, pulling an old Sea Legends tome from his bookshelf, faltering slightly under its massive weight. He flipped through the yellowing pages, reclining on the worn couch against the far wall. He smiled when he found the chapter on Merfolk, examining the sketch of a mermaiden on the first page. It depicted a beautiful creature with fair skin and a lithe, feminine body which gradually turned into a long, shimmering fish's tail. Sherlock thought it was fairly accurate, though John had more fish features, such as gills and fins and slightly webbed fingers. Of course, he had to take into consideration that John was male and most likely a different type of merman than the one in the drawing.

He turned the page, finding a list of the subchapters. There were three designated types of merfolk; common mermaids, sirens, and sea hags. Sherlock turned to sirens, placing a mental note to look at the other two later.

He found another picture, this time of a female sitting on a rock singing to a ship at sea. She had much the same appearance as the previous one, though she seemed to have a shorter, stronger looking tail and sported a number of fins like John. He flicked through the chapter, looking for anything on the male of the species. Singing, shipwreck, drowning, nothing on mermen. He tossed the book aside in disappointment, listening to the satisfying clatter it made as it hit the ground. He brought his hands to his lips in his signature thinking position, unfolding his legs so that he was lying out flat on the couch.

So there was no material in that book, supposedly the most accurate one he had, about the male species of the merfolk. That might make things a bit difficult in trying to understand John, at first, but he couldn't help the broad smile that pulled at his lips as he thought about exploring and discovering something so new. He jumped up from the couch, sweeping the mess of papers off his desk and replacing it with piles of books on myth and sea lore. He would learn what he could about John's species today, and tomorrow, he will study John himself.

The water in the tank sloshed about lazily with the ships movements, the rocking motion creating miniature waves on the wood panels. If John closed his eyes and ignored the creaking of the wood, he could almost sort of picture himself back in the ocean. He sighed heavily, opening his eyes again and watching the ripples above him. He'd really gotten himself screwed over this time.

He estimated it'd been about 20 hours since he'd last seen Captain Sherlock Holmes and the other two men, Sebastian he'd heard the blond one called, the one who had carried him to his prison. And the one with the dark eyes was something short, James? Jake, no... Jim? It was either Jim or James. He flicked his tail absently above the water, sending a sharp ripple across the surface. He hadn't slept since his capture. Sebastian had brought down a couple of fish for him, throwing them down just above the waterline, but he hadn't touched those either.

He sighed again, settling at the deepest part of the tank, resting his arms on the smooth wood floor and curling his tail loosely around him. He absently looked over the tiny cuts and bruises he'd acquired from the previous day's scramble in the net, brushing his fingers gently over the hole in his shoulder. The bandage had come off in the water, obviously, and the skin was free to heal properly in the salty waves.

He looked up as he felt vibrations in the water, someone walking down the stairs. It wasn't Sebastian, he had long, heavy strides that almost pounded against the wood, and from what he remembered, the dark eyed man had smaller, almost bouncy steps that fell very lightly. This had to be the third man, then, Captain Holmes, as he glided down the stairs, his elegant footfalls barely detectable aside from the soft click of his boots.

His suspicions were confirmed as he saw the pale figure appear in the doorway. The water distorted his image a bit, but John could clearly see the long, dark coat that nearly dragged behind him, and the decorated hat he wore proudly atop his curling mess of hair. John peered over the waves for a better look, being careful to stay out of the light of the lantern he held in his hand.

Sherlock surveyed the dark waters, searching for the telltale shimmer of the merman's scales. He set the lamp down, quickly realizing he must be hiding in the shadows. "John?" he called out softly, waiting a moment for a response. When none came, he kneeled at the water's edge, sitting his hat by his side. "John, come out please."

He didn't know why he did it, but John slowly emerged from the shadows, eyeing the pirate captain as he moved towards him, only keeping his flashing eyes above the water. He stopped just out of Sherlock's reach, prepared to flee at the slightest hint of danger.

Captain Holmes smiled, drawing his knees up to his chest as he sat down on the damp wooden floor, his dark coat splayed out behind him. "Hello there"

John watched his movements carefully, drawing himself only far enough out of the water to respond. "Hello."

A pleased look lit up Sherlock's pale eyes. He slowly lifted his arm, reaching his hand out to the merman. "Will you come closer? I want to see you"

John just stared at him, lowering himself back into the water. Slowly, very slowly he inched forward, watching the captain carefully as he dragged himself into the shallow waters.

He was close enough for Sherlock to touch him now, but he didn't dare risk it for fear of scaring him away. He shifted his position again, retracting his arm and leaning forward on his knees to examine the merman. His body was small and slender, carved in places by strong muscles and tendons developed most likely over a warring history. Sherlock studied his face, softly worn by sun and sea wind, though not enough to accurately calculate his age. "How old are you?"

John tilted his head slightly, never taking his eyes off the captain. The question confused him. Merfolk had a fairly accurate sense of time, but they didn't find it very important to use it to track one's age like humans did. It seemed like such a vain practice. "I don't know"

Sherlock furrowed his brow "You don't know?"

John remained silent.

"When were you born?"

"I don't know"

"Can you guess?"

John hesitated, counting back the years to when he was a kid. "... About 30"

Sherlock smiled. "Same age as me, then. Do merfolk have the same lifespan as humans?"

John shrugged. "Probably, I don't know."

"You don't know?"

John sighed. He didn't feel like talking much, especially to the pirate that just kidnapped him and would probably be the end of him soon, but for some reason, he felt like he owed him something. "There haven't been records of a mermaid dying of old age for a long, long time."

Sherlock nodded in understanding. Merfolk were creatures of legend and myth, something humans are uneducated about and therefore scared of. Tales have been spun of how mermaids stole husbands from their wives and drowned them in the ocean and how sirens brought ships to their doom with nothing but their voice. Some of the more outrageous tales warned of merfolk summoning deadly storms to shatter a ship and send it's crew adrift. Any human that came across a mermaid in this day and age would surely kill it.

He decided to drop that subject. "You are a siren, correct?"

John nodded.

"Do you sing?"

He nodded again. The Captain's deep voice was very soothing, and John couldn't help but to draw himself a little closer. After all, this was the first time he'd been so close to a human, and he was just as curious about Sherlock as he was about John.

Sherlock smiled, pleased that he was able to make the merman feel comfortable. "Will you sing for me?"

He shook his head no.

Sherlock frowned, leaning forward so he was resting his hands on the damp wooden floorboards. "Why not?"

John stared at him for a minute. He thought the Captain a fool, for the only time a siren sang was to bring down a ship or drown a sailor. "My song is a survival technique, not a party trick"

Sherlock was intrigued. Of course he'd read all about siren's songs, but this was really his only chance to question a real member of the species. "Is it just used for sinking ships? Surely it has other purposes."

John sighed, resting his arms on the floor by Sherlock's feet, his rosy tail floating lazily in the water behind him. "It has other purposes, yes, but I really don't think it's a good idea to demonstrate right now."

"Why not? You could use it to capsize the ship, make my crew jump overboard, set yourself free. Do you not want that?"

The merman smirked, splashing his tail lightly and sending a ripple across the water. "Captain Sherlock Holmes I could sink your ship with a single note. But at what guarantee will I be secure as it falls apart? A sinking ship is never safe."

Sherlock smiled back, impressed by John's intelligence. He had far more questions, but someone was clattering down the stairs behind him. He turned to see Irene appear in the doorway.

"Captain, there's a ship on the horizon, your presence is requested on deck."

Sherlock sighed, brushing off his coat as he stood. "I'll be up in a minute, Ms. Adler, organize the crew, prepare to set sail." She nodded and disappeared up the stairs.

He sighed, turning back to John, but the merman had swam away the minute he'd turned around. He looked around for him in vain, but he was hiding somewhere in the shadows again. "John, I'll be back soon." And with a flourish of his coat, he was gone.

John stayed at the bottom of the tank for about an hour, watching the water slosh about as the ship moved. He folded his arms under his chin, sighing deeply. He couldn't tell what was happening above, but seeing as he was on a pirate ship, he was sure a battle would ensue. He flicked his tail absently, watching the waves reflection on his scales in what little light was in his prison.

He looked up as the door opened, letting in a soft yellow glow. The Captain's lanky shadow cast over the water, looking for John as he set the lantern down on the floor.

Sherlock walked to the water's edge, searching the shadows for the familiar glint of his tail. He kneeled on the damp wood, inching back slightly as the water lapped at his trousers. He rested his hands on his knees, waiting patiently for the merman to emerge.

And John did, creeping from the shadows, swimming slowly towards the pirate Captain. He stopped a few feet away, his tail dragging slightly on the tank floor, treading water with his arms. He waited for a moment for Sherlock to say something, lifting himself out of the water when he remained silent. "Hello."

Captain Holmes smiled, glad he'd been able to get the merman to speak first. "Hello."

John thought for a moment about swimming away, ignoring the Captain and minding his own business, but his curiosity got the better of him and he moved a bit closer, ignoring his instincts to flee and resting his arms at Sherlock's knees. "So what happened up there?"

Sherlock looked down at him. "Nothing, it was a fishing ship a ways off, they bolted as soon as they saw our flag."

John nodded, looking past him towards the still open door. He could see a light coming from the top of the stairs. From what he remembered when he was being carried, he was taken down two flights of stairs, and he remembered being near the bow of the ship, although he wasn't really sure.

Sherlock caught him staring. "Are you trying to plan your escape?"

John scoffed, looking up at him. "Yeah, I'm just gonna run up a couple flights of stairs and then jump overboard."

A smile crept into the Captain's features, which he quickly tried to hide by looking at the doorway behind him, as though he was contemplating the merman's escape route. "Well, I suppose that could get a bit tricky"

John snorted "Yeah, ya think?"

The Captain resisted the urge to laugh, drawing his coat tighter around himself. His reaction surprised himself. He had here, in the ballast tank of his own ship, a specimen that no human before him had any contact with or records of, and instead of taking samples or conducting experiments, he was sitting here talking with him as though they were old friends. He smirked at the concept. Friends.

He took his hat off, setting it on the ground next to him. "So I guess there's really no hope for you, is there?"

John smiled, shaking his head. "Nope, I'm trapped here until you decide to set me free."

Sherlock sighed, leaning back on his hands and watching John's tail float delicately in the water, shifting every now and then to keep his body afloat. He hadn't really thought about what he would do after he'd finished with John, if he was ever going to be. It made it a bit harder keeping him here now that he knew him by his first name. "Do you have a surname, by the way?"

John stared up at him "A surname? You mean like a family name?" he nodded. "Watson."

"John Watson" Sherlock extended his hand, which John took after a second of hesitation. "Nice to meet you, John Watson."

For a moment, the two of them forgot their situation, that one was a captive and the other a captor, one was a merman and the other a human, that one was predator and the other, prey. And for a moment, they were meeting on the same level, as friends.

They sat in silence for a while after they each pulled their hands away, lost in their own thoughts. Sherlock had never really had a friend before, and now after two days this merman was the closest he'd come to making one. Strange, but something of a bond had formed between them. At first it'd been an experiment, a way to earn John's trust so that he could examine him, but now he looked forward to seeing him. There was something about him that was just so soothing, so relaxing.

And John was feeling similarly confused about the whole situation. Here he was, a prisoner on Captain Holmes's ship, and he found himself not wanting to leave. He excused it as curiosity towards humans, but he knew, deep down, there was nothing waiting out there for him if he were to be let go. He was alone in the ocean, with no friends or relatives to speak of, aside from his sister, but he hadn't seen her in years. So in a way, this was a kind of adventure for him.

Finally, Sherlock broke the silence. He shifted forward so that he was leaning on his hands, looking down at John. "Can I touch you?"

John was a bit taken aback by the Captain's forwardness, but figured if he wanted to harm him, he would've done so by now. He shifted himself so that he was laying at the water's edge, tail curled to the side within Sherlock's reach. "Go ahead."

Sherlock smiled like a kid on Christmas morning, reaching out to gently stroke the glimmering scales. He ran his hand lightly down his tail, marveling at the strong muscles underneath, tensed to flee at the first hint of danger. He was surprised at how fish like it felt. He'd half expected it to feel like a costume, like someone had pulled a fish tail over their legs. But no, this was very, very real, and it pleased him to no end.

He moved his hand to John's hips, which made him flinch a bit. He may not be human but the movement still felt sexual and awkward. He repressed his urge to swim away, resting his head in his arms and casually flicking his tail as the Captain continued.

Sherlock smirked slightly at John's reaction, reciting a curt apology before continuing to examine him. This was definitely the most interesting part of the merman's body, where the scales melted into human skin. They transitioned seamlessly, gradiating from rosy silver to nearly transparent, allowing the skin to show through. He was surprised to find that these transparent scales covered most of his abdomen and nearly all the way up his spine, lending a glossy wet appearance to his human half.

John closed his eyes, slowly growing used to the pirate's thin hands exploring his body. It was an odd sensation, especially since he didn't show any intention of stopping until he'd examined every inch of him, but an unusual feeling of trust was building inside him, letting this stranger in as though he were a lifelong friend.

Sherlock moved to study his fins, long and translucent coral in colour. He'd seen them flow in the water, appearing almost like ribbons as they rippled against the waves. There was one on either side of his pelvis, each about a foot long, and surprisingly strong given their paper thin appearance, a dorsal fin that ran down the length of his tail from the small of his back, and of course the silvery fluke that measured almost three feet in length, and strong enough to take out a horse with one swing.

John sighed as Sherlock studied each one, how they functioned and where they connected to his body. He was starting to feel a bit manhandled, and he flicked his tail in annoyance. He smirked as he felt the Captain nearly fall backwards, not bothering to open his eyes.

Sherlock caught himself before he hit the floor, steadying himself with his arms as he watched the deadly tail settle back into place. He made a mental note to be a bit more careful in the future. He turned his attention to John's head, examining quickly the gills that flared on either side of his neck as the salty water flowed over them. They were covered in the same transparent scales as his abdomen and spine, and he reached out to touch them.

John jumped as Sherlock's cold fingers brushed against his throat, not realizing he had moved from his position near his tail. He glared up at him angrily, choosing to remain silent as he moved to settle his head back down in his arms. Maybe he could catch some sleep as the madman above him continued to look him over.

His thoughts were interrupted as said madman caught his face, forcing him to look up at him. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, Sherlock examining their colour and John wondering what the hell could be so interesting about his eyes.

Finally, Sherlock spoke. "You have a third eyelid, don't you?"

John nodded

Sherlock lowered his hands, dropping them to rest on his knees. "Show me."

John obliged, sweeping the transparent film over his blue eyes. He could still see fairly clearly, though everything was a bit brighter now. He wasn't quite sure how it worked, but it helped him see in the water's depths, so he didn't complain.

Sherlock's smile widened, practically a grin now. John's normally dull blue eyes took on an inhuman luster, flashing brightly and perfectly reflecting everything around him. Even their dark colour seemed to change to a sparkling aqua hue.

John stared up at him, daring to break the awkward silence. "Why is this so fascinating?"

Sherlock was brought back to reality "Because humans don't have a third eyelid, since we don't need to see in harsh conditions."

John tilted his head to the side, examining Captain Holmes's eyes more closely now. "Really?"

Sherlock nodded. John pushed himself up out of the water, staring into his eyes. There was no transparent eyelid, but something was definitely off about them. He'd heard that human eyes came in a variety of colours, mostly green, brown and blue, and the few times he'd been close enough to see them he'd only seen those three. He'd also heard of humans having silver or violet eyes, or even eyes of two different colours, and very rarely no colour at all. But he'd never heard of eyes like these. He supposed they fell into the blue category, though they were unnaturally bright with flecks of iridescent green woven in, and his whole iris seemed to shine like silver. If he didn't know any better, he'd say it was practically every eye colour mixed perfectly into one. But of course, that was impossible, right?

Sherlock pulled back after a minute, feeling a little awkward now that the merman was examining him. Was this how all his test subjects felt? He tried not to think about it.

John sighed, settling himself back into the water. "You have very different eyes"

"I know"

"I've never seen eyes like yours before"

"So you've seen other humans?"

John shrugged. "A few"

Sherlock decided to drop the subject. He'd had enough awkward moments for the day and decided it best to leave the merman alone for now. He stood up and brushed off his coat, returning his hat to his mess of dark curls.

John watched him carefully. "Leaving so soon?"

"I'll be back later tonight. I can tell you haven't eaten since you came aboard, do you want anything?"

John nodded, not realizing the growing emptiness in his stomach until now. "Whatever you can spare."

"Very well, I'll be back within the hour." He turned back to the merman once he'd reached the door. "It was nice to finally meet you, John Watson."

John pushed himself back into the water, floating just above the surface. "Likewise, Sherlock Holmes."