Chapter Sixteen
The Great Divide
Dean was still feeling a little lightheaded at the realization that he could actually understand the giant sitting in front of him. Let alone what said giant was saying. It was overwhelming and almost unbelievable that he was somehow this thing's long lost brother. Which is somewhat worse, hearing that he died defending this monster, and then died again in the literal hands of this same damned monster. How many times was he going to die because of him? At least the first time was his own choice, apparently, the jury's still out on that. At least, going by what the giant is saying, it was fucking heroic. So there's that at least.
There must have been a damn good reason to save its life over his own, besides brotherly love, Dean just has to tap back into that feeling again. His parents, John and Mary, only had one kid so it's a bit foggy for Dean to imagine what it's like having siblings. He knows he used to have them in several past lives, but that's in the past.
He's still scared as hell of all this, all that's happened in just 36 hours and who wouldn't be? Dean has every right to be scared and doubtful of the creature's intentions or truthfulness. Maybe the monster is delusional after all, and the cosmic connection that God said was there between them, was more related to the taxonomic rank. Going from domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and finally species. That humans and these sea creatures having a common ancestor was what God meant rather than literal sibling relations. Like, all dogs came from wolves but that doesn't mean that every dog is literally the sibling to each wolf. A metaphorical 'sibling'. God said that humans came directly from these Mers so that would mean that it's the wolf and Dean is the dog… again.
His head hurt.
How could Dean be related to it? How could he NOT be related to it. Afterall, he's sitting here with frickin' flippers because of a simple blood swap.
There were those cases he'd heard about, where someone had received a donated heart and suddenly the recipient was doing things that the donor used to do, knowing things that the donor knew. Or even remember things that the donor had done. Some research that was done on human hearts that proved that the blood filled organs have memory cells infused in them. Comprising a good portion of all memory cells in the human body. Nearly every organ has them but the heart has like a fourth of them and the brain has the lion's share of the rest.
Dean wondered if that also meant that the blood really was the key. That some DNA strand in the Mer creature triggered something dormant in his own human body to start the change. And it wasn't just the blood alone. Some reaction between the DNA strands The two vastly different strands splitting in two and fusing together again in a new way. And like a domino effect, Dean's body is changing with each new command and switch being flipped in each and every cell.
This might be the scientific reason for why he has flippin flippers and possibly a way to change back. It would make sense if that's what happened. No magic, just biology. It's why his lungs changed first, he aspirated the blood cells in the water so they got to his lungs first and changed them quickly so he could breath water. The human body must have had this ability all along but like an organ that's not used in awhile it forgot until it got 'instructions' again.
Like the appendix is leftover from a previous evolution. All humans have them but no one figured out what they're for. Fuck. That's probably changed into something too. Maybe helping his intestinal tract digest raw fish and kelp. Good thing he never had a problem with his appendix to have it removed. That would suck.
And come to think of it - the giant held him in his hand and got the blood all over the legs. Through the wound on Dean's ankle from the rope tied around it. That's why they changed so quickly too. The new blood changing the feet and then racing to the other leg through the blood vessels the minute they got the new genetic code. And spreading out from there like a fast acting disease. Dean's a walking petri dish. Would this happen to anyone he bled on? Is he gonna be like those monsters in horror movies where the blood changes normal people into creatures? Fuck. That's exactly what happened here isn't it.
Forget about that for now. All Dean needs is someone smart to take samples and study him and the giant creature to figure this out.
There might be a way he can change back!
Oh fuck! Dean has to get out of here. He has to find some scientists asap and get his blood into their hands and figure this shit out and he can have his life back! He also has to somehow get the giant's blood on their hands too and maybe they can change him into human so he's not a threat to humanity anymore. The creature just being here is a threat. Once people learn of his existence, there's no telling how big the hunt will be for him. Killing every large thing in the ocean looking for him. It would be for the best that Dean gets the creature to the scientists before anybody that has a boat and a harpoon comes around. Killing Dean in the crossfire as well no doubt. And Dean's not exactly looking forward to dying again so soon.
He knew and accepted that he'd been reincarnated. The evidence was coming back to him in memories that kept on popping up randomly. Things that he couldn't possibly glean from watching history channel shows.
For instance, to know the best way to build a carriage in the 1800's. Most history shows would only show the successes or the failures if they were drastic enough to note. Not ever mentioning the carriage designs that didn't account for people wearing long dresses in the front bench seat. Or if some bit of metal hanging out an inch too far, might catch on the frilled sleeves in the doorways to the main chambers of other carriages. History programs wouldn't bother with those small details. But Dean remembers them. All of it. He remembers talking to his father and sisters about the best way to design the steps to account for those extravagant dresses.
So that life had to be real. It had to have happened to him because if he thinks real hard about it, he can hear those voices and see the smiles in his memories. See himself drawing up designs and lists for materials to harvest from the woods for the forward driver's seats and dash boards.
Dean thought of this as he was staring absently at the crushed doorway leading down to the hold he was still sitting in. How the newly splintered wood would catch his shorts or hell, his fins, if he wasn't careful coming back out again. His mind briefly tries to save itself from the revelations he's presented with by trying to distract him about insignificant things.
The giant shifted slightly in front of him, nervous. Dean shook his head to bring it back to the present. The giant's smile fading a little at the lack of response. Oh right. It was saying its name. Sam. What kind of a name is 'Sam' for a gigantic Merman?
"Sam?" Dean said disbelievingly then snapped his mouth shut at how that might sound. The giant started to frown a bit more severely. 'Sam' nodded firmly at him and scooted a little closer to him which made Dean jerk back quickly. The sound of boulders being crushed to pebbles underneath the tons of weight from just one tiny scoot forward. Knowing he could be crushed far easier.
"Sam's a good name! Fine name!" he practically shouted and shifted back some more. Now practically stumbling backwards down the stairs. His long tail-legs flailed against the walls as he was forced to spin in place to be belly side down. Kicking his legs up and back behind himself to straighten them out. Wondering if he should retreat even further into his ship.
Sam sighed and made himself shift back again. His brief excitement at having Little one actually engaging him dissipated at how quickly he went back to that fearful state. "Yes. My name's Sam." he said a bit quieter. Bringing up his hands in front of himself to pick at his fingers nervously. He tried not to stare too hard as he asked politely, "And you're Dean. Right?"
Dean nodded back. "Yeah. My mom was a big James Dean fan back in the day."
"Who?"
"Nevermind. Uh, someone famous." Dean said, trying to think of some way to relate to Sam.
"What is that word?" Sam's brow furrowed.
"What, 'Famous'?" Dean asked and saw the giant shift slightly closer to hear him, reducing more boulders to gravel and making him gulp nervously. Dean would have to remember to speak up. "It means someone who everyone knows. Uh. Usually someone that's popular. Someone that did something important in their life so now everyone knows their name." Dean was struggling with this. Really, he's not entirely sure why he's spending so long explaining an English word to a Giant sea monster. But. it might be necessary. To teach him some words. Dean's not entirely sure when he learned Sam's language but, maybe it was from that previous life Sam kept talking about. The first one? He doesn't remember anything about it though - so maybe their language is inherent - in their genes. It's a Mer thing.
Sam contemplated the explanation. He figured it must be a human thing. Perhaps, humans were so plentiful that they had to distinguish who was important or not. Who to listen to. Who to obey, or had good advice. He tried to relate back to Dean, "Like Pod elders." and smiled a little.
Dean's turn to frown. "What?"
Sam cleared his throat a little and explained, "In a pod. They listened to the elders for advice. They were well known and respected, just like James Dean." smiling down at his tiny brother.
Dean was starting to feel a creeping dread come upon him. There's more of them out there even now. Sam's not just a fluke of evolution or a leftover member of an extinct species. Like the lock ness monster. "And uh, where… where are your elders now? Your pod?"
Sam's nose crinkled, "I told you, they died. Did you not understand me?" seeing Dean shake his head he sighed, he didn't really want to retell everything he'd already talked about. His emotions were already all over the place, so he decided to keep it simple, for now. Perhaps Dean didn't understand every word, and he is missing pieces that would explain the events. "Oh. Umm, there was a Mer pod that I came across a hundred years ago that had an outbreak of fin rot. It killed the whole pod." Sam said quietly, feeling the need to add, "It was caused by things that poisoned the water and their food. The fish in the area were sick and they ate the fish and became sick."
Dean's eyes went a little wide. Ah. So that's what those words meant. He didn't catch every one of them during Sam's story telling earlier. He just assumed they migrated away. Hold on. A hundred years ago? How old is this guy? He blurted it out before thinking, "How old are you?"
Sam seemed thoughtful for a moment. "I think I'm 204 or so. We grow about a little bit a year after our nesting phase. Depending on our food I guess. Our first few years we grow very fast then it slows down to this. I was… alone for most of my life. Nearly all of it considering how long I've lived. I'm sorry I'm not… able… to tell you more about our kind. I don't even know what you don't know." Sam sighed a bit in frustration. Turning his attention fully on Dean hiding in his floating thing. "Can you come out here? It's hard to hear you in there."
Dean's heart rate increased. "It's fine!" he started to shout. "I can just speak louder!"
Sam quieted his voice. "Are you… still scared of me?"
Dean was about to say 'no' but he's pretty sure the evidence is speaking for itself. Not to mention the challenge that would surely come after saying 'no'. Being 'if that's the case then come on out.' and Dean DID NOT want to come out there. Not yet. So he answered truthfully, "Yeah, I mean, I don't actually know you. I mean, I know we were supposedly brothers a long ass time ago but I don't remember you. Or any of this."
Sam looked away and closed his eyes, "Yeah. I know. I'm forgetting what life was like back then too. I suppose you have it worse than me." He played with his blunt claws again. "I think… if you can come out? It would be helpful for my memory, maybe both of our memories? I mean, you look so much like you did back then. Slightly older, but still familiar enough. I think you might start to remember me too? If you're not looking at me from inside there. I mean, my brother could see all of me every day when we were both kids. Not just one part at a time. It might help? I can't imagine you have a good view." Sam huffed a quiet laugh. "I know I'm big. I know I look scary. But I SWEAR. I swear to you that I will not harm you."
Dean bit back the retort that Sam had already hurt him. Had KILLED him just yesterday. He didn't need to shove it in Sam's face. He's pretty sure his silence is speaking for itself.
Sam waited and waited for his tiny brother to come out in his own time but it didn't look like that was going to happen. And he's pretty sure he knows why. "Listen. I am sorry for what happened. I truly am. It was an accident. I didn't know you breathed air. I didn't know…"
Dean scowled a little. Unable to hold back now that the elephant has swam through the room. "You didn't know? You didn't know?! You've seen whales before. I know you have. You said so. You are hundreds of years old and you didn't realize that they breathe air? That some animals need air to live?"
Sam wiped his eyes, "Yes, of course I know whales breathe air, and dolphins and birds. I know that! But you looked Mer to me! You were my brother and my brother is a Mer! Mer's can't breathe air! Father warned us both to never go up there! He'd nested you for even wanting to do it with the dolphins - for even getting close!" Sam nearly growled, his hands chopping at the water between them. "I didn't think! Ok?! I didn't think! I see my brother for the first time in forever and I was surprised! I am sorry!" Sam's whole body was shaking at this point, his voice raising with his emotions. Tears gathered in his eyes, his face getting hot with frustration. "What do you want from me? I can't change the past!"
Dean had his hands up to ward off the sudden anger coming at him. Scared he'd pissed the giant off again. But hell, he was pissed too. He's the one that died. He's the one that kept on dying and coming back only to die again. "You don't know what it's like!" he shouted back. Forgetting himself and half swimming half crawling to the exit to be heard better. "I died! I died you asshole! I drowned right in front of you and you did NOTHING!"
Sam bit his trembling lip so hard blood was seeping out and floating in the water. "I tried to bring you up for air the second I realized what happened! I'm… I'm sorry." he managed to choke out.
"Sorry doesn't cut it pal! You killed me! Do you know what it's like to die? Because apparently I'm an expert at it now! This is my 9th life on this planet and guess how those lives ended? I was shot! I was poisoned! I was sick! I had heat stroke! And one that I've been thinking about a whole lot lately is the one where I was eaten alive!" Dean punched the deck of his ship. "Guess why that one is standing out to me right now? Huh? Can you guess?! Being afraid that I'm gonna be eaten alive by some creature that's a hundred times bigger than I am?!"
Sam was taken aback, stammering, "I would Never eat you!"
"You liar! I saw those teeth coming at me just after I was brought back again. Had your mouth open and waiting."
"What?" Sam was confused and tried to think back on his actions so far. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm sorry, I just…" He struggled to figure it out, "Is it because you're small? I think it's because I'm bigger than you, I think you're uh, assuming that I'd do that. Is it that?" Sam would have thought Dean was referring to the shark attack but no, Dean said he didn't remember that first life, and that it was something that was a hundred times bigger than him. The shark was large but only three times his weight. It must be one of the other lives he's led. A life where he was tiny and helpless to stop a predator. Sam didn't know how to explain that he wouldn't eat his own brother. No matter how hungry he got or how much he ticked him off. "I can't help being big! Or that I eat fish. You're assuming the worst in me and it's not fair." Sam defended himself against the verbal attack. Repeating in his head that Dean's just scared. That it will be ok. It's just because Dean is small.
"No, I'm not crazy! And you are dangerous. You look me in the eye you bastard and say you weren't going to eat me." Dean growled out, finger jabbed upwards at the fang filled mouth. "You might have changed your mind but just yesterday, you were going to. I know you were going to. Don't lie to me. I know what I saw."
"I wasn't! Wait, was this right after your body changed?"
Dean growled but still nodded, face flush with anger coursing through him. The audacity he had to lie to his face about something that important.
Sam held his hand up to his face and tried to think back at what Dean could possibly be talking about. "Oh! The string! I was going to take the string off of you! You were tied to me and I couldn't use my fingers to undo the knot. I was going to bite it in half."
Dean just stared at him. Trying to see it from the other's point of view. Maybe he did have it all wrong. He took a few more deep breaths, his head feeling a little dizzy. "So why didn't you? Why didn't you take the string off after?" he challenged. "Why didn't you let me take it off myself?"
This is where it is getting uncomfortable for Sam. Now he has to admit to wanting to keep Dean captive. He won't see that it's for his own good. "I saw that…" he floundered. "You were so scared of me… I thought. If I uh. If I took it off, you'd leave."
"Of course I would leave! You killed me!" Dean didn't dare mention that he still wanted to leave. It might provoke Sam into tying him up again like an unruly dog. Needing to repeat the most important information since it seems like Sam's willfully downplaying it. "You Killed Me. So yeah, you can't blame me for wanting to leave back then."
Sam felt deeply ashamed and couldn't bear to look at him. "Yes. I know. I'm sorry, but, you just said it yourself, you would leave, and I can't have that."
Dean wanted to keep arguing but stopped himself. Taking a deep breath of water and nearly clawing at his sides when it reminded him of how fucked up his body had become. Was still becoming. A hysterical thought about how he could straight up pose for the Starbucks logo with the two tailed mermaid but in male form with his two tails. Ugh. He just wanted to get away from all this. Taking more calming breaths he looked up at the monster in front of him.
Dean had to think about what he's saying before the last scrap of amiable ties to this monster are separated and he's seen as a nuisance again. Something to be kept locked away till he calms down. Dean can see it now. That boulder being shoved back into place now that he admitted out loud that he wanted to escape.
Sam wiped his eyes again and again. How could he screw this up so badly? He thought that if he was just allowed to talk to Dean, he could connect to him but all this is doing is making their relationship worse. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I can't say it enough. I know words will never be enough. I am so very sorry. I got you killed before and I killed you again." Sniffling in the water and clogging up his lungs with building mucus from holding back his tears and snot. Sam thought to himself as his eyes and throat burned. 'Hold it together. Be strong dammit. How can I be strong? He hates me. He hates me. He's right to hate me. And now my stupid body won't stop shaking.'
Sam hugged his sides and curled up into himself, he found himself babbling. "I'm sorry. I'm screwing it all up. I wanted you to be safe. I want you to like me. I want us to be brothers again. I'm sorry. I'm such a screw up. I'm such a failure. I just want you to keep you safe. I want you to stay with me… of your own choice. I'm sorry I trapped you."
Dean was still pissed but losing a little steam. The giant seemed to be as sorry as he says. Still, Dean couldn't help biting out, "Prove it."
"What?" Sam sniffed hard to clear his nose and throat. Ears tuned into the tiny voice that held his whole attention.
"Prove that you are sorry for trapping me and let me go." Dean folded his arms and lifted his chin.
"But, you can go, I took the rock away. I wanted you to come out to talk with me." Sam struggled to keep his emotions in better control.
"Not just now, and not just for a few minutes or hours. Let me go home."
Sam's face crumpled in pain. "I can't."
"Can't?" Dean challenged. "Can't or won't."
"Won't. I won't let you die down here again. This is what I wanted to talk to you about, to tell you that it's dangerous down here. I know you are from up there. But as bad as it seems down here to you, it's worse up there. Every one of the things that come from the surface poison all the things down here. It's killing everything. You might not see it but I do. Every day I see how the things from up there are killing the coral, the fish, the plants, the life down here. It's getting worse every year. Every new place I go to has something wrong with it. Things that never happened when I was young. And it's all because of those things from above. The coral aren't poisoning themselves." Sam wiped his face and frowned at Dean. How could he not know what the surface people are doing to his home? He waited for a few moments for his emotions to calm before looking to Dean to reply. To give some kind of excuse.
Now it was Dean's turn to look ashamed. Figuring out the best way of getting his point across. "Look, I know humans fucked up some things. That we have a lot to atone for." He saw the confused expression on Sam's face. Ah, human word. "Atone means uh - to make up for. To fix." he got an understanding nod back so he continued. "I know humans fucked up a lot of shit. - Made things difficult."
"Your floating things killed the pod. It poisoned the fish and then the fish poisoned the Mers. The babies died first." Sam repeated solemnly. Knowing that he didn't have to clarify.
Dean couldn't speak for a few moments. "It wasn't my fault. But. I will admit… It probably was human's fault. But! That's what I was out here trying to fix. To figure out how to better clean the oceans.'' He picked up a few bits of door frame and held them up. "To make sure that these don't pollute the ocean any more. There's massive floating piles of garbage out there. Microplastics that are getting into the water and eaten by fish and… uh…" Dean paused. "I agree. It's not great up there. But that is my HOME. I don't belong down here. I need to go back."
"You can't." Sam nearly whispered.
Dean snapped, "I could if you'd just let me."
There were several long moments where neither spoke. Each one trying like mad to come up with a way to get their meaning across. Sam heard Dean's stomach growl even from the distance between.
"You should eat." Sam said quietly. "I uh, I caught the mola mola for you. I don't know what your kind… I mean what you're used to eating."
Dean looked back towards the chunk of meat and bundle of seaweed. His stomach pinched again at the reminder that he was a few hundred thousand calories shy of what he needed due to the transformation. A transformation that is still taking place going by the coloring of his legs. The dappled browns creeping up the sides, so slow it was nearly unnoticeable. Dean looked over to the giant. To Sam, and saw how upset he was and decided to give the whole argument a rest for now. Let them both digest their words and views while they digest the food. He pushed himself back away from the entrance again, towards the fish and sighed as he pulled out his little pocket knife from his shorts and started to work away at the big fish. Grimacing at the texture.
"I don't suppose you have any way to cook food down here, huh." he asked as he flipped the sliver of meat about in the water, watching some kind of juices come out from it. Blood or oil or something. Ugh. He wasn't thrilled with sushi. He could eat it, sure, but preferred cooked food.
"Cook?"
Dean hung his head in defeat. It was a long shot. "Cook. It means to heat something up and make it not so raw and gross."
"Cook." Sam muttered to himself at the new word he learned. He looked up and around himself, almost making Dean laugh at the motion. "I don't think so. I mean. It's warmer up near the surface but not enough to uh cook the fish." Sam waved his hand helplessly at the waters above. "It didn't really change the fish to be eaten up there or down here."
"Dont worry about it." Dean shrugged and closed his eyes tight, opened his mouth and tried to chew as few times as possible to get it down as fast as he could. Holding another chunk of meat in his other hand he gagged on the raw fish and nearly threw it up. Forcing it back down again and taking several unsettling breaths afterwards. It wasn't the flavor so much as the texture. Fish isn't supposed to be so slimy and floppy.
Sam sounded worried, "Are you ok? Is it upsetting your tummy?"
Dean huffed a laugh. "Nah, I'm fine. Just being a wuss about it." Cutting the chunks up even smaller so he'd only have to chew twice before swallowing. Next few bites were practically mush but he decided that was probably the worst texture to deal with so he went back to grape sized chunks. "Oh God that's awful." he spat. Taking a few bites of the seagrass to force the fish down faster.
Sam looked around himself again, wishing he had better options for his small brother. "Would you prefer more crab? Or mollusks?"
"No, this is ok." Dean waved a hand at Sam. "Thanks… for breakfast." He had to admit it was kind of Sam to catch it for him and gather up the seagrass. He made himself eat and eat until his stomach was visibly distended. It didn't hurt at all and he rubbed at the bulge. Wondering at the size of it and if this was his new normal. "Hey, so what do you eat? Mainly?"
"Me? Oh uh, everything. I can digest just about anything now. Plants, animals, shelled beings, but not coral, rocks or sand." Sam winced at sounding so stupid for pointing that out. It should go without saying. "But when I was smaller, I got sick a lot from eating the wrong fish or sea anemones. I used to eat a lot more meat when I was able to catch it. Now, as you can imagine, I can't exactly see most fish anymore unless they are in large shoals."
"What does whale fall taste like?" Dean asked as he cut up the rest of the fish into more manageable pieces for dinner and breakfast. Tugging a shirt out from his closet to wrap around the meat to keep those tiny fish from eating it. Like flies on his food, he can't stand the thought of other things eating his food first. "I remember reading that whale meat is oily and fatty."
Sam was visibly disgusted. "I've never ever eaten my darling intelligent animals, Dean. Whales have the most beautiful songs and their friendship lasts their whole lives. You call me a monster but you…" Sam sneered. How would Dean know what whales taste like? Humans. Probably ate up all the whales and that's why he hasn't seen as many now as he had in his childhood.
Sam grabbed a large rock to have something to squeeze and release some tension. "You haven't even seen the real monsters have you? Instead of going after whales and dolphins, those deep trench creatures are the ones that deserve it. Horrible things. Violent things. I delight in killing and eating. Those are the stuff of nightmares." he said and looked worriedly back down to Dean. "But don't worry, I won't let you near them for the first 30 years."
Dean nearly lost his lunch. 30 years. The first 30 years. Implying there will be even more after that. Fuck. he has to get out of here. He kept up the conversation. He can't let on that he hasn't given up on the idea of escape. It might take a few days… ok, weeks, but one day he will get a chance to get the hell out of here. Baby steps. Make friends with the monster so he lets his guard down. Stop antagonizing him to the point of getting Sam visibly angry. Besides, it would help if he knew what he'd have to face once he escapes. Also, to maybe teach other people what's down in the trenches. "What are those monsters called?"
Sam considered the question for a moment. "I don't know. I hadn't heard the stories about them since my family was still alive. I've seen them, I've fought them and luckily lived, but I know I would have died if I hadn't been this big. They are Mer killers. You wouldn't have a chance. They would eat you up." he said and looked damn near certain of that fact.
And maybe, Dean supposes, he might be right about that. But, in all his years of research he never heard of anything that big. Implied or otherwise. Of course, he's staring at something that shouldn't exist right now. Perhaps those textbooks aren't as thorough as he once thought. What he would give for a photo of something like that. He already got some footage of Sam. Shame he had to give up his go-pro to be his message-in-a-bottle. He still has his cell phone but it's so waterlogged and useless. Well, he does have that other camera - but that, like the cell, needs to not be soaking wet to work. Fuck.
Sam was happy that the conversation was turning more amiable. Reasonable. Less fear and hatred being tossed around. "I can bring back a small one someday to show you if you really want to see it. One that's already dead so there is no risk of you getting hurt." Sam grinned, maybe this is something Dean would be interested in. "Would you like that?"
Dean's eyes lit up. Oh to be the first person to see not one but two previously undiscovered sea monsters. He should win an award for these discoveries. He should really try and figure out how to get those cameras to work to help document, because his drawing skills suck. "Yes! I want to see all of them. You can bring them here for me to study and learn."
"I would be honored to show you! It's my goal to teach you how to survive here!" Sam was elated. Finally a breakthrough!
Dean smiled at the joyful look on the big guy's face. Almost forgetting for a moment that that would be the perfect chance for a get-away. When it's gone. "So is the trench far?"
Sam's smile fell into a thoughtful one. Looking up and away towards the west. "It is… many many days of travel to get there, even at my speed." he considered the vessel Dean was resting in. "I will have to carry your small home with us. I vowed not to leave any floating things unburied. It will poison the fish and water. It might not be right away, but they always do." he said and his hands reached forward.
"Don't touch it!" Dean practically yelped, hands outstretched as if he could stop the giant at all. "You're gonna break it!"
Sam's hands fell and he frowned. "Sorry. I'll uh, I'll figure out a way to transport it without breaking it. Perhaps you can help with that?"
Dean was still breathing hard at the memory of his poor ship being toyed with and breaking bit by bit already. "Just don't touch it right now. Please. She's been through enough."
"Ok." Sam said softly. His fingers twisting around each other and fiddling with his own tail fins. "I am sorry for that. Please know I wasn't trying to break your floating thing. I was curious. I admit, I'm still very very curious. But I will respect your floating thing."
"Ship." Dean said, "It's called a ship, or boat."
Sam silently repeated the new words and tried to put them to memory too. Continuously adapting his mind to allow all these strange human things into it. Looking back over the human shiporboat. "Can you teach me about your shiporboat?"
Dean chuckled, "Yeah, I can teach you about my ship." Dean put away the meat once he was done cutting it up and wrapping it, setting it inside his fish cooler in the galley. "Though I don't know how much you will be able to see. I will give one rule. A rule that you must follow."
"Anything."
"No touching without my knowledge or permission." Dean said firmly, crawling out a little more onto the deck, testing the waters as it were, seeing if the big guy would try and grab him right away. "That goes for me and my ship. No grabbing, no touching."
Sam bit his lip. "I can't promise that."
Dean's heart fell a little, "And why not?"
"I might have to, to get you away from something dangerous. I might have to make sure you don't go swimming into an area that would harm you. Or, if there's something that's going to attack you."
Dean folded his arms tighter. Ok, he can see how that might be something he's going to have to compromise on. It's not like he's the best swimmer anymore with these abominations that used to be called his legs. "Ok. BUT! Only in emergency situations. If I'm about to die and the only thing that can save me is you grabbing me. I don't want to be grabbed up all the time. It's scary. Even if you mean well, I don't like it."
Sam nodded. Grateful to be given some guidance himself. "I also have some rules. To keep you safe." Waiting for Dean to show he understands and accepts. "You can't go anywhere without me knowing about it. I, myself, am too big. My body just being this large compared to you is dangerous. I get that. I can't help it or stop being big. I wish I wasn't because I can see it's clearly scaring you and I don't want to be scary. I know my body is dangerous if I don't know where you are. I am constantly worried I'm gonna squish you. So to fix this, you must be within eyesight of me at all times. I must know where you are. You can not hide from me." Sam winced slightly, knowing how this sounds but needed it to be said.
"No. Absolutely not. I do not agree with that." Dean stayed firm.
"It's for your own safety!"
"Don't care. I need my privacy man. I can't deal with being stared at constantly. This is already giving me the heebie jeebie willys." Dean sighed as he explained another few words. "I understand you want what's best for me. And I'm telling you now, that I will need some space. And I'm sure you too would want your own space as well. You can't sit there and tell me that you wouldn't want some private time. You said yourself that you spent most of your life flying solo, swimming solo, and having such a drastic change in your life is gonna be stressful enough as is."
Sam conceded the point. "So how are we going to fix this?"
"I don't know. But, we can talk about it. Right?"
"Yes! Exactly my point." Sam nodded enthusiastically again. Maybe they could work something out. "I want to learn from you and I want to teach you. We can become such good friends!" He kept the word brothers to himself for now. Best to start small. At least they moved tentatively beyond enemies. "So, tell me about yourself. What is a human?"
Dean chuckled aloud. How does one start that conversation? "Humans are… humans are basically the apex predator on land, and I'm guessing you are the apex predator of the sea."
Sam smirked a little - picking up the meaning of those new words easily enough in context. "Only when we are past the 50 ft mark or so. Before then, we might be killed by whales and sharks outside of the deep trenches. There are also a lot of things that can poison us, regardless of size but I don't think you meant that, did you? There are a lot of animals that can kill you right now. Not just the common large predators. I'm assuming you know a little bit? Maybe about the things in shallows? You knew what a mola mola was though." Sam squinted at the little one, trying to figure out what he already knows or assumes to know. "I don't think those would kill you, they are large enough, but docile unless teased. However, in the trenches… down there… it's a whole different game."
Sam tilted his head a little, looking at Dean's body and recalling what it looked like before the change. "Did you have some kind of advantage over the surface predators? Wherever you had come from? I didn't notice your claws earlier, or fangs. And not to upset you, but you didn't seem to get around all that well on your old tails."
"Legs. They were legs. I don't know what to call them now." Dean muttered and scratched idly at the appendages in question. "I don't know how to explain it to you, but I was pretty good at running, and humans are excellent long distance walkers. We are considered pursuit predators as well as hunters." and then went on to explain what that all meant, simply running prey to exhaustion and then killing them when they drop. How most prey animals only have enough energy to escape a predator for so long till their body's can't take it anymore and the humans simply catch up to them where they fall. It sounded a bit weak to his own ears as he addressed the arguably largest predator currently alive on planet Earth. That he knows about. Fuck.
Dean trailed off during his explanation of the previously known evolution of man. Having to alter it to allow for the real truth of it. How mankind came directly from Mers, not hominids. He wasn't privy to the ins and outs of it from God and Nature the other day - when he was dead. So he is justified in being a little salty about having the whole history of humankind be turned on its head. Being the bearer of bad news to the rest of humankind if he ever gets back up to civilization. How the scientific community at large would call him a hoax or burn him at the stake for being a lying abomination of nature. Who are they gonna believe? A thousand years of study or some guy that got himself turned into a fish? Claiming he spoke with God and Nature and got the low down in person. Ignoring that bucket of worms, he will have to explain to everyone that they are all just malformed Mers and it's just one blood drop away from turning back into one. And that we are far far Far from the most powerful and dangerous beings in the world. If it weren't for human technology and community, people would have been wiped out eons ago.
Humans somehow became very small and pathetic looking in comparison to the behemoth sitting in front of him. "Ok, I might have exaggerated a bit. Humans are apex predators up there, but it's mainly because of our brains and intelligence, our tools we create and manipulate and our community. A single human can't go up against a bear, but give them a gun and it's all over for Yogi." Dean sighed again and had to explain things about every other land dwelling predator and prey animal that Sam had never heard of. He put his college education to work as he tried to be patient with his student. It was thanks to his extensive studying of all things ocean that helped him think of great analogies that would help the big guy understand.
That conversation went long into the night and barely scratched the surface. Of course Dean can't tell Sam everything about humans in one day. Just like he's sure Sam's centuries of experience can't be summed up either. Dean can't help but be a little excited about learning about the ocean from the fish's mouth. Ok, a lot excited. Ecstatic. Rabid for knowledge. And, with these memories of his past lives through history - he can add even more personal experience than his 2 and a half decades of living in this current life.
When it looked like Dean was getting tired of talking and frustrated with having to explain every little thing, Sam finally took pity on him and called for a break in the lessons. They seemed to be never ending and it was already getting to be darker up there. Dean visibly relaxed and realized he was sitting quite comfortably at the rear of his ship, in full view of the giant. Sam could grab him easily but he's holding back.
Dean trailed a hand where the ladder would fold out and down to the water's surface for easy access for swimmers to get back onto the ship. Now, the ladder was a little bent out of shape from the manhandling it had to endure yesterday.
Dean leaned over to look at the poor engine too and saw just how messed up it had become. A quick glare sent upwards saw Sam's face also looking at it but with curiosity more than guilt. Of course, it's not like Sam knew what it should look like versus what it looks like now. Dean sighed again in frustration. Lightly punching the mangled machine before noticing something else hanging off of the back of his ship. Specifically what his feet were doing.
Dean's legs were curling subconsciously around the lowest rungs of the short ladder. All of his former toes turned extremely flexible like a real fish's tail. Like he had no bones at all and they were merely jointed fin rays. Almost looking more and more like a cross between a betta tail and seal flipper. As in, it looks strong but also kinda pretty. Streamline and more natural looking and less vomit inducing. His former heels now resembled the caudal peduncle and the feet themselves the caudal fin. A very small part of his mind said this is good. That this is right.
Dean would deny it to his last breath that the abomination his body had become was anything but abhorrent - out loud - but in his head he could see that it wasn't as visually distressing as it had been yesterday. It was still growing and he wondered what it would look like when his DNA finally settled down.
Dean gently rubbed his thumb and forefinger along the sides of his legs where there was a very long rippling fin forming between his hip and down on both legs. He supposed it kind of resembled the pelvic fins, or perhaps anal fins on fish. Or finlets but on the sides instead of aligned vertically. He's even debating calling them tails now since they certainly don't look like human legs and feet anymore. Changing by the hour.
Dean noticed that the colorations on his legs and around his waist were starting to show up in a kind of mottled stripe pattern. Like dappled spots in a series of lines. He remembered reading once that all humans have stripes and varying patterns on their skin but they are invisible to human eyes. Only a few humans have a condition where the lines and stripes become visible. What were they called? Right, Blaschko's lines. Human eyes can't pick up the stripes but they are there, on everyone.
Dean now guesses that they might have been evolving from the Mers over the past few eons. So humans had something else in common with their ancestral creatures. Huh. What else was it about Blaschko's lines? That cats can see them? That was a weird night at Bobby's while watching that program. Dean remembers looking up ways to see the lines for hours on Bobby's computer with no real luck. He looks at his webbed hands and the stretched skin between the first joints in his fingers and how those stripes seem to be following a path that was already there, just not visible until now.
Dean took a closer look up at Sam who seemed to be deep in thought about something, glancing over now and then at Dean but turning away the second Dean caught his eyes. Trying to give the impression that he's got privacy at least. When Sam noticed his steady gaze he stopped averting his and sat up a fraction straighter.
"Did you want something?" Sam asked timidly. As if knowing the knee jerk reaction to that would be 'my freedom.' but still asked all the same. Dean decided to take it easy on him for now. At least he's trying.
"To know a bit more about your environment. I mean. Where do you live?"
Sam's face looked like he was surprised by the question and a wide grin formed. "Of course!" he started enthusiastically but quieted his voice when Dean put his hands against his ears. "Sorry. Uh, what did you want to learn first?"
"Where do you live?"
"Um. Here. There. Everywhere. I don't stay in one place long. We used to, I mean when you were born Mom and Dad said that they were at the cliff for a little while waiting for your egg to hatch. That you were a little late hatching and I was too. The nest was dug out of the side of a very tall cliff next to shallow waters but Mom and Dad warned both of us to stay away from the shallows. But that was ok, we had the dolphins to play with and many coral reefs to explore and tons of fish to hunt and eat and many games we made up with Mom and Dad and…" Sam's enthusiasm was petering out. "And it was great. Really great." shaking his head a bit and looking like he was stealing himself, putting away painful memories behind a wall, before returning to his childhood. "Dean, I mean… my older brother, uh you…"
"It's ok, you can refer to that Dean as your brother. If it's easier to talk about it. And I'm not technically related to you. I never had any siblings in uh, this life."
Sam nodded a bunch of times and continued on, without using Dean's name but rather saying, 'my brother'. "He invented a few games with the juvenile dolphins. And the dolphins would teach him some too. Blowing bubbles and making round hoops with them. As I mentioned earlier, my brother wanted to do that too and asked Dad but Dad nested him for days. Dad warned us many times to stay away from air, that it is very harmful to us and might even kill us." Sam gazed at the ship for a moment. "When I reached up for your ship - that was the first time I'd ever touched air. I was so scared I was going to die."
"So why did you?" Dean asked without accusation.
"I had to find out what was drawing me to the surface. I mean, I'd felt the pull for nearly my whole life. And when I felt it this time, it was the strongest it's ever been. And when I finally caught you it stopped like a kelp rope snapping."
"What's this about a pull? Like migratory instincts?"
"What?"
"Oh well like how you know to go south for the winters instead of the freezing waters. How whales and dolphins and fish and lots of animals move around every year? Was it like that?"
"No. Because it kept on moving on me. It wasn't consistent at all. And I guess, it's because you weren't consistent. I tried to figure out what it was for many many years but overall I just, I guess I just used it as a kind of tool to figure out where I was."
"Like a compass." Dean nodded. And before Sam asked, he explained what a compass was, magnetic north, true north, magnetic fields and was surprised when Sam followed along easily enough. "You know this already?"
"I didn't know that's what you called them." he shrugged. "I know which way is north and south and where all the reefs and trenches are in the oceans."
"All of them?!" Dean exclaimed.
"No, of course not all, I'm constantly finding new things. But I suspect I know about half of the places in this ocean over the years." and chuckled. "That is, I know where the edges are and made a few loops around and in the middle parts and along the deeper parts. Zig zagging and following my whales and sharks. Looking for my kind. This ocean is quite large, but I don't know if there is more out there that I haven't found yet. I went to another large one but it wasn't half as big. A few times I went to other much smaller oceans but they just weren't home to me. So I came back here, closer to where my original nest was. I'm guessing of course. I hadn't gone back there exactly so I'm not entirely sure where it is. And I doubt that it looks the same."
"You've been around the entire Pacific Ocean?!" Dean didn't know how to respond to that. Itching to run… swim back inside and pull out every map he has to show them to Sam. Only just holding back because Sam wouldn't have a chance in hell at reading the maps or seeing them for that matter. Being that they are about as long as his thumb and highly detailed. It would likely look like a handful of sand sprinkled around a picture of a circle.
"Pacific Ocean? It has a name?"
"Yeah. It takes up a very very large portion of Earth. The other ocean you're talking about is probably the Atlantic Ocean and you would have had to go very far south to reach it. Past South America. I doubt you tried crossing at the Panama Canal. Not having been on land, you wouldn't even know that that was a possibility. To skip South America's length altogether to get to the Atlantic. Oh and that you definitely would have seen humans long before reaching the canal if you went that way." Dean then went back to trying to explain everything and found his voice failing him. Having to explain that Earth is the planet they are on and that there are other planets and what a planet is. Sam just looked on dubiously. Of course he wouldn't know about other planets. Having never seen anything outside of the ocean. Never even seeing dry land before. Dean had his work cut out for him in his explanations.
Sam gently waved his hand to Dean to stop. "I'm sorry, we can stop. I wasn't trying to push you so hard. It seems like I'm learning far more about your home than you are of mine."
"It's the same world, it's just, this is how humans see it. We aren't built to be down here and get lost easily. So we made maps to help us find our way across. Not a lot of people want to stay out here for too long. We get sick. And eventually we need to come to port to restock, refuel, and get some human interaction otherwise we go crazy."
Sam was a mix of understanding and awe at how humans were similar to him in that last respect. "Yes. I am aware. Mers would go crazy too without the pod. I found that out on my own but also from the pod that got sick. I felt it in myself. How unsettled I was feeling before I found the other Mers. And how calm I was after following them around." Sam swallowed hard, "That's part of the reason why I didn't look for what was pulling me. I was afraid it was my insanity. And that if I found whatever it was, that that would be the end of me. I'm not sure if I want to tell you this, but you need to know. I'm sorry I can't sweetcoat this."
"Sugarcoat." Dean mumbled distractedly. Part of his head wondering what down here is 'sweet'.
"So you need to know that all Mers will go crazy if left alone for too long. And when we do, we sometimes become suicidal, or… in rare instances… we start killing things. And if the Mer is very big it takes an entire pod to bring it down." He said as if pulling it from deep within himself. "But that's not gonna happen to me!" he assured a little too loud and quickly. "Now that you're here, I'm already doing much better. Now that you're here I can talk to someone and be near someone that knows what I am saying, or meaning and it's not just another dolphin shark or whale it's something that can talk back. And you have no idea what a joy this is. How complete I feel." his hands came up to rest over his heart and his eyes looked suspiciously wetter underwater. Wiping the goopy tears from his eyes. "You're saving my life just being here. And I am saving yours by being your person. Don't you see? We need each other to stay sane."
Dean made fists out of Sam's sight. What does this mean for his future escape attempt? Would Sam just go crazy when he leaves? Would he turn violent? Or kill himself? Dean can't say he doubts any of those endings for the big guy. Sam did seem a bit unhinged once Dean got past the shock of being able to talk to a gigantic sea monster that's over 200ft long and 2 centuries old. He is starting to seem like a guy that's had a very very rough life but somehow still has the drive to continue on. Even when he was faced with a lifetime of loneliness. God, Dean feels like a jackass now for having to leave him alone again. But… wouldn't it be safer for the rest of mankind if he stayed down here? Convince Sam not to try and go after any more humans?
Dean's main decision to come back to life, to change his body and go through this suffering is so that he could warn humanity of the dangerous sea monster. But, if he stays here with Sam, he could do just that. He might be able to talk Sam out of future interactions with humans. But for how long? Is he going to only live as long as a human and leave Sam alone again in just 60 more years? Would Sam go on a killing spree then? Or try and find Dean again the second that 'pull' comes back and then try to kidnap poor baby Dean from his new parents?
Dean's head hurt. This is so fucked up. This is too much for one person to contemplate. Thankfully Sam quieted down again. Always considerate of Dean's emotions it seems. Letting Dean take his time like now to come to his own terms. To talk when he feels like it. He must be thinking that Dean's thinking over their future together. And he is, but not in the way Sam's probably hoping.
Sam is doing that grinning thing where it looks like he's just happy to be here, and maybe he is. Dean has to keep reminding himself that Sam's time scale is far far longer than Dean can comprehend. Dean thinks that Sam might take a few hours to have a 'quick' daydream. Meanwhile Dean's on emotional triage. Thinking about worst case scenarios at breakneck speeds. This is probably the most excitement that Sam's had in decades and is processing it as well.
Sam tentatively spoke up again, "I don't want to push you. Or upset you. I just, I noticed that you have been having a bit of trouble getting around. And I made this little thing. For us to have some fun together!'' Sam leaned over and looked at his creation made with boulders and sand with the rest of the mola mola at the end of the path puzzle. "I made this thing while you were asleep and I think you may like it." he motioned with his hand to his other side but Dean couldn't see anything at all from his spot sitting at the rear deck.
Sam started to reach forward but paused when he saw how fast Dean leaned back in fear. "I would like to pick you up and bring you to it, so the surprise isn't spoiled." he explained and moved his hand closer but at a slower pace. Resting it on the sand just below Dean's curled flippers.
"I don't want to sound rude, but no?" Dean said hesitantly. Watching the hurt fall across Sam's face followed by sad acceptance. And now he could kick himself if he still had feet. He was being rude. Sam was trying to connect with him and he's blowing him off. Sam didn't have others he could play with. "On second thought, yeah, I'd like to see what you got." after all, how many people could say they played with a sea monster.
"Yes!" Sam held up his bed sized clawed hand again, then looked at it and quicker than Dean could comprehend, swapped that hand out for the other one. Explaining just as fast, "I took the sharp edges off of the claws on this hand so I wouldn't hurt you. I never want to hurt you again."
Dean looked between the two hands and sure enough, all of the fingers sported claws that were rounded off instead of sharp and pointed. Wondering at what had the strength to hold up to that shearing. Noticing the boulder that was used going by the deep gouge in it in a semi circle curve. Fuck. The force that was needed to do that. Dean gulped and looked back up to the eager face of the creature in question and tried and failed to remind himself that Sam has that power but is using it for good. Not to be intimidating. He's not a monster.
Dean jolted at that last thought and sighed. He'll go see this thing, but, on his own terms - his own mobility. "I don't need a hand. I got this."
"I'm scaring you again aren't I." it wasn't a question. Sam looked away after that and turned his hand around to push himself up and back, scooting the hundred tons of Mer body back and across a wide stretch of ocean floor to make way for Dean's meager passage. His long tail flipping around in a circle so that he wasn't sitting on it, instead, spreading it out behind himself and into the distance from Dean.
Dean had to remind himself how to breathe again and almost laughed at that when he felt the water rushing from out below his ribs instead of up and out like it had done for the first 26 years of his life.
Giant wing fins shifted about in the space behind Sam's back and lifted up his torso along with his arms to get the rest of his body in order. Pushing aside the odd boulder here and there that poked him in the belly. As easily as shifting an acorn from under a thigh while sitting in the yard. Once the body settled, so did the wings, draping down and tucking around Sam's torso in what looked to be an uncomfortable angle.
Dean cocked his head to the side at the facial expressions Sam was trying to hide. "You don't have to do that. With your uh wings. It's ok. That doesn't look comfy."
Sam perked an eyebrow and grinned a little, relaxing his wings back and up to their natural positions, folded up along his back a little and moving gently with the currents. "Thank you." he mumbled. "And you can do whatever you like to feel more comfortable too. Don't let me stop you. Or uh scare you. I mean, tell me if I'm being scary, please. I promise to try and not take it to heart." his face scrunched up again a little. "I don't know what all I do is frightening. If it's something I can stop, I will. I promise."
Dean nodded, "I appreciate that. I do." he said and added cheekily, "and if I scare you, lemme know."
"So you can do it again?" Sam joked.
"You got it.'' Dean huffed a laugh. Looking down at his leg tails and then the ground beyond. Knowing it's very silty and will billow if he just jumps but there isn't really another way to get down there now. The ladder is useless to him with feet like this. So he turned around and faced the deck as he used his knee bends instead of feet, or well, where his knees used to be. The joint wasn't entirely gone yet but he'd be lying if he said he knew where it was now. His legs were growing longer than a humans as well, not just the feet. The knees now beyond reach of his hands if he were laid out straight. He touched the bottom and pushed off of the ladder and landed on his rump. Turning around to be in a strikingly similar pose as Sam.
"All I need now are wings too, huh?"
"No, you need your one long back fin. You had one, I had two like Dad, you took after Mom. My fins folded more than Dad's too. His were just up and down, and as you can see, mine are almost like a second set of arms but with one bone instead of a hand." he leaned forward to show off his wings and Dean was impressed with the size and mobility of them. He hadn't gotten a good look at them till now. Always something in the way. "Your old fin was half your length and very flexible, it stuck up high and waved side to side to help you swim very fast." Sam added after a moment with a bit of pride. "But I was faster."
"I bet." Dean sized up the wings. The colossal tail had one-two-three…. Ten tail fins. Well, it would have been ten if that hip one wasn't messed up. Right. Shark attack. Don't dwell. Fuck. "And those arm ones too, I bet those help getting around." he said to derail his own thoughts before they showed up in his face or tone of voice.
"I'm the only one I know with these extra ones on my arms. I suppose it helped me survive for so long. I'm grateful. Are yours coming in yet?"
Sam's question had Dean nearly punch himself in the face as he quickly looked at his own arms. Nothing there. He sighed in relief and held them up for better view. "Nope. No such luck." all the luck. Fuck sake he had been lucky there to not have fucking arm fins as well. Fuck. When he gets back on land he's already gonna have to find some way to chop his legs off. He doesn't want to have to chop his damn arm fins off too. He can probably get a simple enough surgery done on his webbing between the fingers…
"Don't worry, they'll come in.'' Sam seemed hopeful and Dean pat himself on the back for pretending to be hopeful too. "So I'm gonna make a path in the rocks for you so you don't have to climb over or around them to get to this thing I set up." he warned ahead of time so as not to scare Dean needlessly. Sam brought a hand over and using his first two fingers, pressed them into the silty sand and rocks and dragged them along in a mostly straight line around a large pile of boulders. Bringing the hand back again with a fist ful of sand to pour over the path to cushion it some more against the rocks that didn't move out of the way.
Well hell, that was kind of him, Dean had to admit. Dean pushed himself around so he was facing the right way and started to scoot forward along the ground. Mindful of the eyes far above him tracing his path. The hand came back with three more fistfulls of sand and kept pouring them along the path as Sam noticed how wide the tail fins were compared to it. Fussing with it and scooting boulders further away as if any rock scratch would kill Dean if he touched them.
Dean was starting to think it was a bit tedious after a few minutes of his fussing. "I'm not some delicate flower, ya know."
Sam bit his lip, caught in the act of pouring more sand. "But, your fins are still growing and they haven't been used before. They are delicate. But it's ok! They will get used and form a stronger skin and you won't have to worry about it catching so much. The skin is fragile."
Dean grumbled as he turned to look at his feet fins again and yeah, they did look baby smooth compared to the battle worn ones on Sam. "Gimme a break would ya?" too quiet for Sam to hear. Not only was he a damn mermaid but he was a delicate one at that. Not to mention how fragile he is compared to fuckin SAM who is for all intents and purposes, the largest living animal on earth. Probably. God I hope so because having something bigger than Sam out here is just terrifying by itself.
He couldn't stop himself from asking. "Have you ever seen anything as big as you. Or bigger?"
Sam thought about it for a moment, "Including tentacles?"
"What?!"
"Nevermind. Uh - how do you want me to answer? Are we talking body length? Or overall? Or of our kind that I saw in the past? Because the elders from that pod were about 60 of your tail lengths longer than I am now. Give or take. It's hard to tell because I can't measure anything easily enough. I suppose it's relative."
"I suppose too.'' Dean grunted as he made his way along the path at a snail's pace. Feeling like Ursula the sea witch in that one scene where she's pulling herself along the deck of the wedding ship. Random moments from that movie keep popping up in Dean's head. Go figure the reason why, he thought sarcastically to himself. "So, one way to tell is something that stays the same length. You see my ship? How long it is?" waiting for Sam to get a good look and then looking back. "She is 40 feet long stem to stern. Front to back. So going by my ship, how long are you, and how long is the biggest thing you have seen that's still living down here."
Dean had to keep himself from shouting in surprise when he saw Sam immediately get up and shift over to his ship at a speed he couldn't match. Sam, to his unending credit, did not touch the ship at all from Dean's point of view and after a few moments of billowing silt and soft grunts at the awkward angles and positions Sam managed to scoot his body up and down the area next to his ship. Thankfully avoiding the side that had all the debris that they picked up yesterday. No sense squishing it under 20 feet of silt.
Sam had a hell of a time seeing the ends of his tail fins and the ship since his tail was so long and settled for slapping it into the ground to leave a mark where the end was and then draw out his own outline in the ground. Getting an idea, Sam moved back to an undisturbed area and laid down face first into the ground and wiggled his whole massive body into the ground to leave a deep imprint.
Pushing up with his hands and wings gently and slowly he got out of the indent and moved away from it. Measuring out the ship with his down turned hands making estimates in the sand. Drawing out the ship length on the ground and bisecting it in half and then quarters to get an idea how long ten feet is out of forty. Dean was impressed. Unsure if he could so quickly use another foreign measuring system so fast. Sam measured out his hand and wrist to mark how long ten feet were and then scratched his skin on his hand where five feet must be. He then moved his hands towards his imprint and counted up the human measurements. Coming back over to Dean and grinning. "I am 208 and a half of your feet long." and added, "What's a foot?"
Dean resisted holding up his own foot and seeing how inaccurate that would be and downright confusing. Instead, holding up his hands "About this long. It's also what I had before these things." and wiggled his tail fins in the air… water… whatever!
"I see." Sam said and brought his own hand closer to Dean's and used the ends of his claws to carefully measure out how long a 'foot' was and frowned severely. "And um, how tall are you?" not wanting to measure himself. With how Dean's shying away from his claws again.
"I was six foot one, now.. I'm, I guess…" he splayed his leg tails out again and took a page from Sam's book and moved along the path to an unspoiled section of sand, laying down fully in the sand and making his own meager imprint. Then turning to the side to measure himself out and found himself to be about 9 feet 4 inches long now. Give or take. "Damn." and still growing. "Fuck."
"Something wrong?"
"No." fucking yes something was wrong. Fuck sake. "I'm fine." I'm not fine im fucking 9 feet four inches long. Snarling under his breath at the strange outline his body is making in the sand. His shorts disturbing the line of his body in the sand. He turned away from Sam and checked 'under the hood' again and was glad as hell that he was still mostly normal 'down there'. But on closer inspection… it was a little smaller… no. Dean dismissed the idea quickly. Of course 'Little Dean' is smaller, it's cold as a witches tit in the bottom of the fuckin ocean. I'm surprised it hasn't gone inside entirely like Ariel over there. Wait… It's not going inside. Is it? He tilted his head to the sides to inspect his package and could tell it was different and that made him a little pale. It wasn't a drastic change but there was a change.
His gaze drawn towards Sam before he could tell his eyes 'wtf no don't' and saw that Sam was on his stomach again. Hiding the man's sea snake cloaca underneath. Stop looking at the man's junk bump pervert. Dean chastised himself.
A voice rumbled from above mixed in with those chirps that Dean's mind instantly translated like all the times before. "Doesn't sound like you're fine. And I mean I get it. I just. I want to know if there's anything I can do to help."
"No. It is fine." Dean told himself as well as Sam. "I'm not hurt or in pain. I'm just… adapting." Realizing he never answered the other question. "I was six foot one inch, and now I'm 9 feet 4. There's 12 inches to a foot and there's no way in hell you can see that measurement. Oh and feet and foot are basically considered the same thing. It's a human thing." shrugging off the incoming question with the catch all answer.
Sam didn't push.
Dean went back to the path to help avoid the conversation he didn't feel like having. Now wanting to see what Sam has in store for him if only for the distraction. He'll deal with his reproductive anatomy later.
It's not like he was fighting off the ladies before becoming a sea monster, what are the chances that any woman would be interested in him now? Besides that of a study subject instead of a study partner. Oh well. There are people who are into all kinds of things. Maybe this will be a chick magnet. Maybe he won't have to chop his body up once he gets back home again. Get a good gig at SeaWorld or Oceanland. If he's never able to breathe air again he doesn't have very many options waiting for him back home.
There's always a chance that some scientist can reverse engineer this DNA thing.
One can only hope that this is reversible.
He has to have hope.
Sam laid patiently, and watched his small brother's slow progress along the ground and hoped for the best for Dean.