[IC] Dangerous Worlds (1x1)

[Mistress Dizzy]

Kassy couldn't help the puzzled look that crossed her face. While she did hold the boy close, and allow him to nestle against her, she couldn't rightfully claim motherhood. "Oh, Charlie, that's very sweet... but I'm not your true mother. You must know that... Where is your family, Charlie? Where do you live?" Surely his true worried mother was out looking for him. While she waited for him to answer, she carefully ferried the boy back toward the cave.

Now that Charlie had opened the door, all sorts of feelings were crowding Kassy's mind. She'd always wanted to be a mother. In her youth, she thought she would find a nice merman and settled down, have a few guppies of her own. But those dreams had dried up and crumbled years ago. No man in the city would ever love her. Even those who might even give her a chance would be turned away by her reputation. No one wanted to be associated with her...

[TheFlyingScotsman]

Charlie didn't seem at all prepared to be away from the mermaid. Leaning into her, Charlie's eyes closed, then opened again to gaze back up at her. "Brother said that Daddy's gone for a very long sleep... Brother not want me, he leave me here.. Dunno my Mommy." Charlie's eyes grew sad, the tiny teen leaning into Kassy more.

The child was clearly to young to understand the implications of no family, lacking the comprehension to know what death meant, and why his father hadn't woken up yet.

[Mistress Dizzy]

Kassy raised her eyebrows, and simply held the child. "Oh, poor little guppy." Her heart went out for the boy. Their stories were so similar... she hated talking about it, but she had to let Charlie know he wasn't alone.

"I understand, little one. My mother... went to sleep when I was young. My father took me to my aunt's house. He said he would be back soon." A soft sigh escaped her. She didn't know if the boy would even understand. "I'm still waiting for him to show up." She smiled, but her eyes were sad. Her hand went up to quietly stroke Charlie's hair. "Do you know anyone else?"

[TheFlyingScotsman]

He shook his head, resting his head on her shoulder. It was dark now, the moon reflected on the calm ocean, broken on ocassion by a fishing trawler, the crew on it's way to collect the nightlty catch. A tugboat slowly departed the harbour to collect a floating crane for rescue work, a large cargo ship on the horizon.

Charlie yawned sweetly, sucking absentmindedly on his thumb. He was cuddled to her as if she was his mother, feeling rested and relaxed against her soft body.

[Mistress Dizzy]

At the waters that splashed into the edge of the cave, the water started to become disturbed. Kassy's head jerked toward the sound, pulling up an invisible shield in a moment's notice. She and Charlie vanished instantly. The surface of the water broke as a head poked out. Curious blue eyes scanned the cave.

Kassy smiled brightly and lowered the shield- but only partially. Charlie was still hidden. "Leo! I'm here!"

The rest of the man's head popped out of the water, to his shoulders. "Kassy! You haven't called for me that way in a while. Is everything okay?" He looked worried. "I didn't know what to expect, so I brought help." Someone else popped out of the water- a woman, with deep purple curls and eyes like emeralds.

"Oh, Bianca!" Kassy's smile flickered, but only slightly. "You're here?"

Bianca smiled. "Well, I wasn't about to let my husband swim into danger alone. What's going on?"

Kassy breathed out nervously. "Well- you're about to find out." She let the rest of the spell fall away, revealing the little human in her arms. Leo's eyebrows went way up. Bianca's mouth dropped open, and she was the first to speak.

"Is that... a human?"

"Yes." Kassy nodded, idly smoothing the boy's hair. "His name is Charlie. I got caught in a fisher's net, and he saved me... But he's all alone and quite ill... I need help."

Leo looked less surprised than his wife. He knew what Kassy was like- gentle and giving to a fault. "...what sort of help do you need?"

[TheFlyingScotsman]

Charlie remained asleep in her arms, curled into her. He seemed peaceful, a small hand grasping the tunic wrapped around his tiny body. As his chest rose and fell in stesdy unison with his breaths, the boy would cuddle in closer, feeling a little chilly with the drop in temperature outside, a sea breeze rolling in.

Beneath the surface of the ocean, a submarine moved through the murky water, the occupents on the hunt for rare and valuable fish. Turning towards the cove, it began to make it's way towards the mermaids and merman, seeking them out..

[Mistress Dizzy]

While Charlie slept, Kassy and the others made the cave more cozy. Leo, with his air magic, tidied up the cave and made it nice. Bianca had fire magic, so it was she who lit the shredded papers along with a large driftwood log, to start a fire. While they were doing that, Kassy went to hunt down some food and have a moment to herself, before she returned with enough food for all four of them. Freshly killed fish and kelp.

Leo was looking down at the boy with an odd look in his eyes. "He's so innocent..."

Bianca shook her head. "He's a human, Leo. Even if he is a small one. They're dangerous, you know that."

Leo reached out to stroke his cool hand across the sleeping boy's forehead. "But what if we could make him not dangerous? Children are different from adults. They do better with proof and are more malleable to changing ideas."

Bianca frowned, taking her husband's hand from Charlie's face. "And, so?"

"So... we show the boy that we are not to be feared." Leo said, leaning forward to kiss his wife's forehead. "Then he will learn, and teach others."

Kassy surfaced near the mouth of the cave, with several fish, interrupting the conversation. "I've brought food."

[TheFlyingScotsman]

Charlie stirred at the return of his "mother", making his way to her side. Gripping her hand, he smiled up at her quietly and happily. "Mama. Mama cuddles?" He spoke softly and sweetly, craving her affections at that moment in time.

Under the murky waters, the submarine came to a rest near the cave, as a few of the crew began to discuss the best way to obtain proof of Mermaids or Mermen.

"If We be able to steal a few scales an' bits of hair, we'll 'ave all the proof we need!" The captain spoke in his grizzled way sounding, prehaps unsurprisingly, like a sterotypical pirate.

"Aye Aye Captain!" The crew spoke in unison, as one began to sing.

"Ohh, who lives in a pineapple under the sea?"

"SHUT UP!"