Flotsam;
Defined: The wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on the sea. Legally it belongs to the original owner, though finders may claim salvage.
: : :
/Mermaiden Zelbess, you have been summoned here before the council to again discuss the human that you have assimilated into your own family. Our sources have reported that you have succeeded in treating him and that his status is currently stable. This meeting has been called in light of recent developments to inform you of further precautions that the council, as well as the rest of the community, has realized are necessary now that the human is now again able to walk among us./
/Mermaiden Zelbess would be more at ease and probably more cooperative if the council would refer to her . . . human . . . as "Fargo."/
/The council will comply. Fargo, the human, has several times attempted to engage demi human residents in conversation against their will. Mermaiden Zelbess has failed to notify officials that her human, Fargo, is now mobile, against her moral duty as peacekeeper. Complaints have been filed and processed; therefore, mermaiden Zelbess and her kin are now charged with irresponsibility and will make certain in all future events that human Fargo is to maintain a healthy distance from Marbule natives./
/Mermaiden Zelbess accepts the responsibility of isolating Fargo./
/Mermaiden Nautilus understands the council's concerns as well./
/Furthermore, although we hope that mermaiden Zelbess will realize that the following are decisions reached with the best interests of demi human well being in mind, these rules must be enforced with your human, Fargo, no matter your opinion of them./
/Mermaiden Zelbess humbly advises the council not to be prejudiced./
/The council will heed mermaiden Zelbess's advice, if she remembers that the council's conclusions are both sensible and final./
/The Sage suggests that we reroute the subject to the real matter at hand./
/Mermaiden Nautilus concurs with the honorable Sage, as he makes an excellent point./
/ Very well. Mermaiden Zelbess, in addition to the previous conditions presented in her last meeting with the council, the human Fargo must leave if new of any signs of hostility towards the demi humans reaches the ears of this council. The human Fargo must leave if he shows any disrespect for our culture. If any of his kind should come looking for him, you must see to it that he is removed from the village and given back to them, even if it must be forcibly so. If this should ever happen, knowledge of the demi humans must not be divulged. Finally, mermaiden Zelbess is to resume interaction with the Marbule populace again. The council was displeased when secondary family and close friends came before us and projected anxiety over her preoccupation with her hu- . . . Fargo./
/Mermaiden Zelbess would please ask the council to observe her rights to a private life and her justified desire for them to butt out of her personal business./
/Zelbess, sweetie, there's no need to be rude./
/The Sage will sympathize for Mermaiden Zelbess's exasperation if no one else will./
/The council has no objections to Mermaiden Zelbess's unpleasant disposition as long as long as she obeys its command./
/Alright! Mermaiden Zelbess will uphold the council's unjust regulations!/
/Oh honey. . ./
/Mermaiden Zelbess and her mother are dismissed./
/Ah . . . if the Sage may, could he make a comment before the mermaidens make their exit?/
/He may./
/He would like to remark that Mermaiden Zelbess did an excellent job performing the solo at last week's festival. She truly has a beautiful voice./
/Why. . . thank you, honorable Sage./
: : :
/Zelbess's human. . . "Fargo," I think she calls him, has been wandering unchecked around the village these past few days. He may not be much of a threat right now, hobbling about like the sick man he is, but it irks me that Zelbess is as ignorant as she is to think that having a free range human in Marbule will not stir up any trouble./
/ Many mothers have had enough good sense to lock their children indoors when they see him coming around. Excuse me, HEAR him approaching. Typical human that is, crude and slovenly, braying with hilarity at every insignificant thing. The hulk doesn't have a shred of dignity. And I disagree with you about him being harmless. Have you seen the size of that brute? Everyone knows that just because an animal is wounded, that doesn't render it defenseless and meek. In fact, do you know any species that becomes more docile with injury? The human seems to be perpetually ill mannered . . . I fear for Mermaiden Zelbess and her mother's safety, I do. It's just them all alone in a house with Zelbess's untamed pet./
/The council has given her a scolding, I imagine. She should be less difficult from now on. It's likely that she will get bored of her plaything soon enough and give him back the humans before he's up to terrorizing us further./
/Some of the local youth have taken to throwing stones at the human when he ventures out of the house. Bless them, I don't blame them for their feelings, but it's not wise to provoke such a creature./
/He sneers at them when they do. I highly suspect that he may be unstable. Even more volatile than his kind usually are./
/I pray that mermaiden Zelbess rids herself of that deranged abomination soon./
/ She will for her people if not for herself, surely./
: : :
Zelbess shifted the claret tail that curved in a glistening coil underneath her as she rearranged herself in a comfortable position. Fargo was about to tell one of his stories, and while fascinating, they tended to be long. She had gotten into the indoor pool in preparation; an hour out of the water's natural buoyancy and her muscles started to cramp, especially if she was upright. Her mother was coiled around a chair. Her fins, still vibrantly colored but going ragged at the edges from age, sopped over the side and tickled a puddle on the perpetually sodden floor. In her cushion of moist moss, her expression said that she anticipated Fargo's story as much as Zelbess did.
Blissfully brushing experimental strokes in the water as she tread to stay afloat, Zelbess rotated her end fin and the ones protruding out of her back. At the same time, she pushed out with the textured stretches of vivid skin spanning the spines jutting out of her body. Fargo was always staring at her. It might be because she found her as pretty as the merboys that kept pouting at her indifference for them at the window. Most probably because he found the bony formations growing out of her that were absent from himself too bizarre to ignore. Either way it made her blush.
He was interesting for her to look at too. Unlike mermen and merwomen, his skin was a dull, monotone light brown, instead of blotched with rainbow eyespots or banded with flashy bars down the side. He also was missing any useful body parts that most demi humans were blessed with; he had no tail to fortify his balance. There were no fins for propelling himself backwards and forwards as nimbly as a seahorse when swimming. His forehead was blunt, without even a single lump or protrusion that could mistaken for a horn. (Nowadays just meant for display, but an previously an evolutionary quirk meant for goring down opposition during mating season.) Still, Zelbess found the overall simplicity of his form a welcome change that of demi humans, whose vanity about their special extra features provided an extra thing to have heavy competition for.
He also had a length of bushy black hair, so long that it trailed down his neck and he was able to tie it back with a strip of leather. When he moved, it moved. When the wind blew in, the dark strings followed in the direction of the breeze's path. Some of the beastial demi humans had plush fur covering them, but it was close-cropped with muted colors patterning them all over; nothing like the glossy shape-shifter that hung down over Fargo's neck muscles. He also had stubble stippling his cheeks and a thick crescent of bristles over his upper lip. There was even a thin coat darkening his arms and legs.
Merpeople had hair, but only on the tops of their heads. It wasn't good to have something that could absorb water dragging you down in your own natural habitat. The marine demi humans had either shed the free-flowing water resistance early on, or never had any in the first place. Even their hairdos naturally hardened into sleek, geometrical blocks, as solid as coral, which cut through the waves like knives. It was pity; flexible hair would have looked lovely swirling underwater, and there was no humanoid that liked to frolic gracefully as much as young mermaids.
Her train of thought was interrupted with Fargo's raucous "HAR HAR HAR", accompanied by her mother's musical titters. Mostly all the women of their family had melodious voices, sweet enough to charm the barnacles off their perch. The men too, were gifted in that way, although their brass tones were more useful as signals, similar to the purposes of that of a conch shell. But that didn't mean they couldn't muster up an enchanting siren song when they wanted to. They just didn't, because it was really a feminine fancy to serenade neighbors. (Females could also weave intoxicating traps for unsuspecting victims, but that was frowned upon.) But it was a simple fact that no human's voice could match that of a mermaid's. They simply didn't know how to infuse that magical quality into the notes. (Their excuse was a difference in vocal cords.)
Zelbess refocused her attention to what Fargo was saying. It irritated her slightly that no sentence could be completed without profanity or some pirate jargon, which her mother giggled at. But she couldn't deny that she enjoyed listening to his stories. It was a breach of protocol to retell even old, worn Marbule legends out of season, so it had an added plus saving Fargo that he didn't mind treating them to accounts of his life after he had woken up. He seemed to have been all over the world and experienced everything there was to be experienced.
Which was why she really should really stop ogling him and listen up. He wasn't going to be around forever, after all.
: : :
Welcome to chapter 2, or the end of it. I want to leave a few more notes so the purpose/basic ideas of this story are clear. The first part was a council meeting. The second was Marbule gossip, most likely between acquaintances of Zelbess. Last was plain. . . interaction, can't think of a better word for it, between the characters. This applies to the first chapter too.
I know I said "next week". . . and this is, sort of. The week's not out yet. Cutting it close, but it counts.
I wanted to point something out, although mostly everyone should have made inferences of their own by now. The demi humans are obviously racist against humans, although right now (because the struggle with the humans hasn't happened yet) it's more scorn than resentful hatred. (As it was in the game) The demi-humans share the same perspective as humans presumably do at this point; they have mutual feelings of superiority over the other. Which of course will lead to some new developments-plot-vital developments- in chapter 3. It's due to come out next week, or a little later because I put off things a lot. (Although if I get, say, 5 reviews, I'll post it up sooner.)
And to the reviewers:
Greki- Thanks. I didn't think it was very deep, but perhaps it got deeper here? . . . Maybe even more so in the conclusion. (Looks at ending; worries about coherency) Yeah, probably. (Worries some more.)
Delita-chan- You know what? I know I shouldn't place heavy judgment on a fic's summary, especially since summaries are usually less interesting as the fic as a general rule- but it's true, if I see the word KIRGE (for some reason its always completely in caps. Wonder why that is. . . ) I refuse to read the fic. I have very few bad experiences with KIRGE, and I also have no substantial history of hating the couple.(come to think of it, it's cute.) I just do it. Even though I have not exhausted myself reading KIRGE fics, seeing 6 out of 10 new entries being KIRGE puts me in an ignoring mood, because they all sound the same anyways and I could never stand to like something unoriginal. Crazy, huh? But in truth, the relationship between Serge and Kid is quite boring when it comes to romance. You look at the game, and Kid says maybe 3 affectionate things to him, tops. (Serge is a mute, so no flirting on his part, obviously.) So Kid is romanticized into this person who'd do anything to reach her love-and that becomes her only image in fan fiction. Doesn't anyone notice that the majority of the time, she was gutsy and strong, with a tragic background and mystical connections? Why the heck should finding Serge be the mandatory plotline of every fic written about her? If people weren't such suckers for love, maybe they would have gotten Kid's point better (the HEROINE with a HEROIC side with significance in the story. She's not the side story girlfriend. That's really more Leena, no offense to her because she's cool too.) There'd be more fics out there about her life with Lucca, her duality as Schala, the way she has a code of honor even as a thief-anything, really. She was a diverse person, and with such potential for development. . . if things had gone differently, I might have liked her better in the fanfic world. Too bad so many people like the romance genre than the character's personality itself. It disappoints me. Augh, sorry for the rant. . . Thanks a lot for your comments, it made me happy that others appreciate new ideas. I thought I'd put some weight into that flotsam idea- Fargo at this point is seen as Zelbess's property, really.
Cheetah Smith-Well, although it is technically a Zelbess/Fargo, don't get your hopes up for fluffy scenes. I will clearly state here that there will be no kissing-after-a-moment-of-tension. It tends to be the climax in romances, but it doesn't work in not-really romance fics. Its kind of useless when used in this context anyways- the things that will happen between Zelbess and Fargo have an importance that far outstrips one isolated kiss. (Just a teaser for the next chapter.) Besides, I have difficulty thinking of Fargo and Zelbess as a touchy-feely couple- hard to, when the next generation gets the spotlight for love. Thanks, though. Pirates are awesome.
Oh, um by the way, it anyone wants to contest that rambling about Kid, er... I'd say email me, but it's deactivated right now, so the only option is to review. . . but I don't really like people cluttering the review box with debates that have nothing to do with the story, so, uh...if anyone knows an alternative, please take advantage of it? If it helps, my penname is tami3. (Unless it has a mention of the story, it won't be counted as one of the five.)
Anyways, I hope you'll like this enough to review- one chapter left! (urgh. . .notes almost as long story!)
Defined: The wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on the sea. Legally it belongs to the original owner, though finders may claim salvage.
: : :
/Mermaiden Zelbess, you have been summoned here before the council to again discuss the human that you have assimilated into your own family. Our sources have reported that you have succeeded in treating him and that his status is currently stable. This meeting has been called in light of recent developments to inform you of further precautions that the council, as well as the rest of the community, has realized are necessary now that the human is now again able to walk among us./
/Mermaiden Zelbess would be more at ease and probably more cooperative if the council would refer to her . . . human . . . as "Fargo."/
/The council will comply. Fargo, the human, has several times attempted to engage demi human residents in conversation against their will. Mermaiden Zelbess has failed to notify officials that her human, Fargo, is now mobile, against her moral duty as peacekeeper. Complaints have been filed and processed; therefore, mermaiden Zelbess and her kin are now charged with irresponsibility and will make certain in all future events that human Fargo is to maintain a healthy distance from Marbule natives./
/Mermaiden Zelbess accepts the responsibility of isolating Fargo./
/Mermaiden Nautilus understands the council's concerns as well./
/Furthermore, although we hope that mermaiden Zelbess will realize that the following are decisions reached with the best interests of demi human well being in mind, these rules must be enforced with your human, Fargo, no matter your opinion of them./
/Mermaiden Zelbess humbly advises the council not to be prejudiced./
/The council will heed mermaiden Zelbess's advice, if she remembers that the council's conclusions are both sensible and final./
/The Sage suggests that we reroute the subject to the real matter at hand./
/Mermaiden Nautilus concurs with the honorable Sage, as he makes an excellent point./
/ Very well. Mermaiden Zelbess, in addition to the previous conditions presented in her last meeting with the council, the human Fargo must leave if new of any signs of hostility towards the demi humans reaches the ears of this council. The human Fargo must leave if he shows any disrespect for our culture. If any of his kind should come looking for him, you must see to it that he is removed from the village and given back to them, even if it must be forcibly so. If this should ever happen, knowledge of the demi humans must not be divulged. Finally, mermaiden Zelbess is to resume interaction with the Marbule populace again. The council was displeased when secondary family and close friends came before us and projected anxiety over her preoccupation with her hu- . . . Fargo./
/Mermaiden Zelbess would please ask the council to observe her rights to a private life and her justified desire for them to butt out of her personal business./
/Zelbess, sweetie, there's no need to be rude./
/The Sage will sympathize for Mermaiden Zelbess's exasperation if no one else will./
/The council has no objections to Mermaiden Zelbess's unpleasant disposition as long as long as she obeys its command./
/Alright! Mermaiden Zelbess will uphold the council's unjust regulations!/
/Oh honey. . ./
/Mermaiden Zelbess and her mother are dismissed./
/Ah . . . if the Sage may, could he make a comment before the mermaidens make their exit?/
/He may./
/He would like to remark that Mermaiden Zelbess did an excellent job performing the solo at last week's festival. She truly has a beautiful voice./
/Why. . . thank you, honorable Sage./
: : :
/Zelbess's human. . . "Fargo," I think she calls him, has been wandering unchecked around the village these past few days. He may not be much of a threat right now, hobbling about like the sick man he is, but it irks me that Zelbess is as ignorant as she is to think that having a free range human in Marbule will not stir up any trouble./
/ Many mothers have had enough good sense to lock their children indoors when they see him coming around. Excuse me, HEAR him approaching. Typical human that is, crude and slovenly, braying with hilarity at every insignificant thing. The hulk doesn't have a shred of dignity. And I disagree with you about him being harmless. Have you seen the size of that brute? Everyone knows that just because an animal is wounded, that doesn't render it defenseless and meek. In fact, do you know any species that becomes more docile with injury? The human seems to be perpetually ill mannered . . . I fear for Mermaiden Zelbess and her mother's safety, I do. It's just them all alone in a house with Zelbess's untamed pet./
/The council has given her a scolding, I imagine. She should be less difficult from now on. It's likely that she will get bored of her plaything soon enough and give him back the humans before he's up to terrorizing us further./
/Some of the local youth have taken to throwing stones at the human when he ventures out of the house. Bless them, I don't blame them for their feelings, but it's not wise to provoke such a creature./
/He sneers at them when they do. I highly suspect that he may be unstable. Even more volatile than his kind usually are./
/I pray that mermaiden Zelbess rids herself of that deranged abomination soon./
/ She will for her people if not for herself, surely./
: : :
Zelbess shifted the claret tail that curved in a glistening coil underneath her as she rearranged herself in a comfortable position. Fargo was about to tell one of his stories, and while fascinating, they tended to be long. She had gotten into the indoor pool in preparation; an hour out of the water's natural buoyancy and her muscles started to cramp, especially if she was upright. Her mother was coiled around a chair. Her fins, still vibrantly colored but going ragged at the edges from age, sopped over the side and tickled a puddle on the perpetually sodden floor. In her cushion of moist moss, her expression said that she anticipated Fargo's story as much as Zelbess did.
Blissfully brushing experimental strokes in the water as she tread to stay afloat, Zelbess rotated her end fin and the ones protruding out of her back. At the same time, she pushed out with the textured stretches of vivid skin spanning the spines jutting out of her body. Fargo was always staring at her. It might be because she found her as pretty as the merboys that kept pouting at her indifference for them at the window. Most probably because he found the bony formations growing out of her that were absent from himself too bizarre to ignore. Either way it made her blush.
He was interesting for her to look at too. Unlike mermen and merwomen, his skin was a dull, monotone light brown, instead of blotched with rainbow eyespots or banded with flashy bars down the side. He also was missing any useful body parts that most demi humans were blessed with; he had no tail to fortify his balance. There were no fins for propelling himself backwards and forwards as nimbly as a seahorse when swimming. His forehead was blunt, without even a single lump or protrusion that could mistaken for a horn. (Nowadays just meant for display, but an previously an evolutionary quirk meant for goring down opposition during mating season.) Still, Zelbess found the overall simplicity of his form a welcome change that of demi humans, whose vanity about their special extra features provided an extra thing to have heavy competition for.
He also had a length of bushy black hair, so long that it trailed down his neck and he was able to tie it back with a strip of leather. When he moved, it moved. When the wind blew in, the dark strings followed in the direction of the breeze's path. Some of the beastial demi humans had plush fur covering them, but it was close-cropped with muted colors patterning them all over; nothing like the glossy shape-shifter that hung down over Fargo's neck muscles. He also had stubble stippling his cheeks and a thick crescent of bristles over his upper lip. There was even a thin coat darkening his arms and legs.
Merpeople had hair, but only on the tops of their heads. It wasn't good to have something that could absorb water dragging you down in your own natural habitat. The marine demi humans had either shed the free-flowing water resistance early on, or never had any in the first place. Even their hairdos naturally hardened into sleek, geometrical blocks, as solid as coral, which cut through the waves like knives. It was pity; flexible hair would have looked lovely swirling underwater, and there was no humanoid that liked to frolic gracefully as much as young mermaids.
Her train of thought was interrupted with Fargo's raucous "HAR HAR HAR", accompanied by her mother's musical titters. Mostly all the women of their family had melodious voices, sweet enough to charm the barnacles off their perch. The men too, were gifted in that way, although their brass tones were more useful as signals, similar to the purposes of that of a conch shell. But that didn't mean they couldn't muster up an enchanting siren song when they wanted to. They just didn't, because it was really a feminine fancy to serenade neighbors. (Females could also weave intoxicating traps for unsuspecting victims, but that was frowned upon.) But it was a simple fact that no human's voice could match that of a mermaid's. They simply didn't know how to infuse that magical quality into the notes. (Their excuse was a difference in vocal cords.)
Zelbess refocused her attention to what Fargo was saying. It irritated her slightly that no sentence could be completed without profanity or some pirate jargon, which her mother giggled at. But she couldn't deny that she enjoyed listening to his stories. It was a breach of protocol to retell even old, worn Marbule legends out of season, so it had an added plus saving Fargo that he didn't mind treating them to accounts of his life after he had woken up. He seemed to have been all over the world and experienced everything there was to be experienced.
Which was why she really should really stop ogling him and listen up. He wasn't going to be around forever, after all.
: : :
Welcome to chapter 2, or the end of it. I want to leave a few more notes so the purpose/basic ideas of this story are clear. The first part was a council meeting. The second was Marbule gossip, most likely between acquaintances of Zelbess. Last was plain. . . interaction, can't think of a better word for it, between the characters. This applies to the first chapter too.
I know I said "next week". . . and this is, sort of. The week's not out yet. Cutting it close, but it counts.
I wanted to point something out, although mostly everyone should have made inferences of their own by now. The demi humans are obviously racist against humans, although right now (because the struggle with the humans hasn't happened yet) it's more scorn than resentful hatred. (As it was in the game) The demi-humans share the same perspective as humans presumably do at this point; they have mutual feelings of superiority over the other. Which of course will lead to some new developments-plot-vital developments- in chapter 3. It's due to come out next week, or a little later because I put off things a lot. (Although if I get, say, 5 reviews, I'll post it up sooner.)
And to the reviewers:
Greki- Thanks. I didn't think it was very deep, but perhaps it got deeper here? . . . Maybe even more so in the conclusion. (Looks at ending; worries about coherency) Yeah, probably. (Worries some more.)
Delita-chan- You know what? I know I shouldn't place heavy judgment on a fic's summary, especially since summaries are usually less interesting as the fic as a general rule- but it's true, if I see the word KIRGE (for some reason its always completely in caps. Wonder why that is. . . ) I refuse to read the fic. I have very few bad experiences with KIRGE, and I also have no substantial history of hating the couple.(come to think of it, it's cute.) I just do it. Even though I have not exhausted myself reading KIRGE fics, seeing 6 out of 10 new entries being KIRGE puts me in an ignoring mood, because they all sound the same anyways and I could never stand to like something unoriginal. Crazy, huh? But in truth, the relationship between Serge and Kid is quite boring when it comes to romance. You look at the game, and Kid says maybe 3 affectionate things to him, tops. (Serge is a mute, so no flirting on his part, obviously.) So Kid is romanticized into this person who'd do anything to reach her love-and that becomes her only image in fan fiction. Doesn't anyone notice that the majority of the time, she was gutsy and strong, with a tragic background and mystical connections? Why the heck should finding Serge be the mandatory plotline of every fic written about her? If people weren't such suckers for love, maybe they would have gotten Kid's point better (the HEROINE with a HEROIC side with significance in the story. She's not the side story girlfriend. That's really more Leena, no offense to her because she's cool too.) There'd be more fics out there about her life with Lucca, her duality as Schala, the way she has a code of honor even as a thief-anything, really. She was a diverse person, and with such potential for development. . . if things had gone differently, I might have liked her better in the fanfic world. Too bad so many people like the romance genre than the character's personality itself. It disappoints me. Augh, sorry for the rant. . . Thanks a lot for your comments, it made me happy that others appreciate new ideas. I thought I'd put some weight into that flotsam idea- Fargo at this point is seen as Zelbess's property, really.
Cheetah Smith-Well, although it is technically a Zelbess/Fargo, don't get your hopes up for fluffy scenes. I will clearly state here that there will be no kissing-after-a-moment-of-tension. It tends to be the climax in romances, but it doesn't work in not-really romance fics. Its kind of useless when used in this context anyways- the things that will happen between Zelbess and Fargo have an importance that far outstrips one isolated kiss. (Just a teaser for the next chapter.) Besides, I have difficulty thinking of Fargo and Zelbess as a touchy-feely couple- hard to, when the next generation gets the spotlight for love. Thanks, though. Pirates are awesome.
Oh, um by the way, it anyone wants to contest that rambling about Kid, er... I'd say email me, but it's deactivated right now, so the only option is to review. . . but I don't really like people cluttering the review box with debates that have nothing to do with the story, so, uh...if anyone knows an alternative, please take advantage of it? If it helps, my penname is tami3. (Unless it has a mention of the story, it won't be counted as one of the five.)
Anyways, I hope you'll like this enough to review- one chapter left! (urgh. . .notes almost as long story!)