His Aquatic Angel

4 - fisherman's fever

After weeks of going out to sea and checking out, he was starting to lose it. He suspected that he was developing fisherman's fever, as his father liked to call it.

He was chasing down something that couldn't possibly exist. And even it did exist, he had no chance of finding it. If it did want to be found, it would have appeared by now.

Aaron had began settling back to his life. He got back into his apartment he rented out with his friend, Nate Clarkson.

He had got a job as a fry cook near the beach for the time being even though he could find one better, he was a graduate after all.

Now once his dad found out about him going out to sea, he was quite hesitant about the idea and found it odd that his son was in search of the animal that had saved him that day.

He thought his son was indeed, mad.

But his attempts to sway him away from going back out there was fertile. He knew his son was as stubborn as a nail.

But he feared for his son. He didn't want to lose him but he kept testing his luck.

And to think he thought his son would learn from his near death experience.

♡.♡

Aaron had been out scuba diving for the second time this week. He was hoping he'd find a trace of the the creature that spoke like a human. He had to.

All he spotted was the usual, same old-same old. Fish, sponges, algae and starfish.

Now he stayed there, watching the sea in it's peacefulness and he stayed still.

This place is so beautiful, he grew up under the water. It was so hard to imagine that he nearly died here, not too far from where his mother once worked.

Now he was compelled, he was always searching to the serenity the ocean brought but now serenity will now forever clash with death in his head.

He removed his snorkel and placed at the floor of the boat and looked out at the horizon and watched the water as it was troubled and settle at the same time.

The perfect equilibrium.

He just watched the sea then he looked at the opposite direction into the sand and where people sunbathed and walked side bar their friends during the day time. It was so far away it was as if it was almost disappearing to him.

And he remembered as a youngster, what he saw when he observed land from the ocean was a place more restricted than the ocean. A place full of rules and labels.

And just as he was in deep thought, he felt something slither under him.

He immediately coiled.

He climbed on his boat and assumed it was just another dolphin. He climbed unto the boat, still in his black wet suit.

He looked down at the water to look at what caused the noise. He saw a figure swimming in the water and he scrunched his face knowing very well that it wasn't a dolphin.

His flash light immediately pointed into the water and an odd mixture of glee, curiosity and above all, fear, ran through his body.

This could be what he had been looking for roughly three weeks.

"Hello?" He asked with uncertainty.

The figured stopped moving in the water. And the next minute that followed was filled with a chill silence.

"Is anyone still there?" He said but wondered why he was talking to a sea creature that could not possibly be intelligent.

But then he remembered the words the creature uttered that day he'd been saved.

N.. nautas?

"Nautas." He worded his thoughts.

And as those words where uttered, a figure slowly swam near the boat. His flash light following it's movement.

And then, it's head emerged out. The first thing he noticed were its ridges. He smiled, this was it. He wondered where he had left his camera.

But as it's head slowly emerged out of the water, his smile slowly dropped.

The creature looked devilish to say the least. It's big, dark black eyes shone brightly. A nose was no where to be seen, scaly texture of skin. It was... without a doubt... hideous.

And that's saying something as he'd only seen it from the chest up.

He was trembling in fear, slowly backing away from the monster before him.

His body couldn't stop shaking ridiculously. He couldn't afford to show that this monster had power over him, but he did show his fear anyway. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen.

His hands reached out for his camera as the creature stared blankly at him.

"Caéthas og'thaxon?" The animal seemed to ask and he's hand immediately pulled away from his attempt to grab a camera.

The creature did really speak, it wasn't just his imagination.

"I.. I don't know what you are. But don't hurt me, I beg of you." Aaron begged, his hands put together.

"Julmanag eh?" It asked, bobbing around in the water. He on the other hand was scared to the core, he didn't know how to react to a... talking fish.

"I don't understand anything you're saying." He said.

The thing then brought out it's hand and offered it to Aaron. It was it's way of showing that it came in peace.

But Aaron was just in the verge of losing his sanity. He looked at the creatures hand and sweated pebbles. It's hands here stuck together, they resembled ducks feet, only on hands.

And that creeped him out. He just watched the creature offer it's hand and he balled up his. Fear was over taking him

But the creature persisted with its hand. "Ruqa 'o Julmanag, xazgirath."

Aaron looked down at its hand, fearing that it might drag him down into the depth of the ocean. But he wondered why it would want to kill him when it had saved him once before. It must have risked a lot for the creature to save him only for it to murder him in the end.

He drew in slowly, shakily giving it his hand. The creature then slapped it's hand on his, with caused him to flinch away and curse out loud.

The animal watched and laughed at him. But he noticed that it wasn't a threatening laugh, it was a actual humorous laugh.

But he sat on his boat, hugged his knees and looked at the creature as it watched him. A dead cold silence covered the air and he wondered what it wanted from him.

"Why does it keep looking at me funny?" The creature asked out of the blue and his eyes widened.

He was shocked at it's ability to speak a new language.

"Wait, you speak English?" Aaron asks.

"Polyglot." It said. "I'm a polyglot."

"So what, do you speak every language known to man?"

"I don't, you're the first language I learnt to speak and understand."

"When did you learn my language."

"Just now, when I touched you. We learn like that."

His eyes popped open.

"How is that possible? What science do you have to back that up? Why do you need to touch me? Why, what are you?"

"Káe, you ask to many questions."

"Well, I'm sorry." He apologized.

"You're so scared of me, aren't you?"

"I, I can't deny that." He answered honestly. "I've never seen anything close to what you are, it's fascinating but mostly scary because I don't know when you'll eat me up ." He laughed with little humour.

The joke he made was too real to be funny.

The creature laughed in a low tone, but to his surprise, it still wasn't menacing at all.

"I won't eat you." It said quietly. "If I wanted to, I'd let you drown. Then feed on your carcass."

"Oh, that's... reassuring?" He said, the fear slowly dying down a little every passing second.

He looked at the creature that watched his every movement intently and bobbed around in the water. It was so clear that the creature was hyperactive.

"The thing about me drowning,

I just wanted to thank you. You saved me from a very painful end and if you did that for me, I guess, you aren't a very evil creature my mind keeps screaming that you are."

"You're welcome. Is that the reason you were out here for days? To thank me?"

"Yes, I owe it to you to display my respect for doing something really honourable." He bowed his head a little to show his respect.

"You're bowing to me?" It asks.

"Yes, to show my respect. I'm forever in debt of you."

"I never knew that man would ever bow for me. I'm honoured."

"You should feel that way, you saved me."

"I know but, you're human. You don't understand. I don't even know who you are."

"I'm Aaron Miller. Do you have a name?"

It looked around as if it were looking at someone watching it give it's name to a stranger.

"Nephrin." It said in almost said in a whisper.

"Nice to make your acquaintance." He offered his hand to it, a pretty normal human gesture. But as it placed it's hand in his, he pulled away at the usual slimy feeling and cursed out.

And Neprin laughed at him.