QT: Gilded Waters

5: Analyzed

The man who'd introduced himself to Deidre, Shen, pushes up his glasses. He was holding a strand of hair he'd plucked out from her head to the sunlight.

Taking a piece of paper off his deck, he carefully places the strand there, and folds it up. Shen would study the sample later. He wanted to gather some other samples, not just her hair, before he got to the good part of analysis.

Unknowing of his plans, Deidre rubs her head from the slight pain. Then goes back to licking her sugar painting. Her small red tongue flickers out as she enjoys each long swipe that coats her tongue in sweetness. She wanted to make the pretty butterfly last, so she ignored Shen. Meanwhile, the man measured her tail, took a charcoal copy of her scales, traced out her webbed fingers on a piece of parchment.

"Spit here"

He holds out a clear vial, and Deidre obediently spits, opening her mouth and letting her silver saliva drip out.

With a practiced motion he puts the cork stopper on top and uses his magic to transport it to him laboratory.

Deidre watches his magic under long lashes, licking her lips to taste the sugar that had coated itself on them.

Researcher Shen was not all too bad.

Everything he was doing was a lot less invasive and annoying than the hospital tests. At the hospital, there were days where which kept her constantly running through different machines, getting her blood drawn-

Something glints in the man's hand.

-And Deidre pauses, eyes widening.

Look what the sea has brought up!

Deidre vehemently shakes her head and pushes against the marble wall of the pool to get away from the man.

Before she can dive backwards into the pond, he's gripped her hand tight in his own.

It was the first time a human had ever touched her in this life. Was a human hand always this warm? Before she had time to even finish that thought, Shen was quicker.

A small burst of pain. He'd pricked her!!

Deidre hisses at him, showing her sharp white canines in instinctual anger. Deidre bares her teeth when she was angry, which usually happened with the other mermen who would try to play with her hair. They only did that to signal to her in hopes that she would take them as her first mate.

Thud!

In time with her hiss, she'd sent a palm into Shen's chest, sending him flying backwards into the wall.

Crash! Shen lands against the wall, hitting the wall with a sickening crashing noise. Deidre immediately regretted her actions.

She also regretted the fact that she'd dropped her candy into the pool at the same time. Her brown sugar painting was gone, dissolved into pieces in the water. A few brown bits sparkled atop her tail, but they were tiny. Not even big enough to make one mouthful.

Deidre holds back the urge to bawl. She wanted to cry. Cry big, gasping tears. She'd accidentally attacked someone and lost her precious candy in the process.