Chapter 24: Fellow Predators
1617 Words
Kaelonne came to with a jolt, open eyes taking in the still bright room. That was good, that meant that he hadn’t been out for long. He stifled a groan as he twitched his leg, the pulsing was in time with his beating heart, but it was quite numb to what he was experiencing for the last handful of hours.
The soft sound of shuffling came from his side, the owner jolting up to stand by his side as he curled his fingers into a fist. He squinted his eyes as the blurry figure of Hartley slowly came into focus, returning the smile he had on his face. “Nice to see you finally awake, sleeping beauty.”
“I know nothing of a beauty that may be sleeping.” Kaelonne groaned as the human pulled him into sitting, taking stock of the shear amount of sore he was. He raised his eyebrows at the neat wrappings around his leg, the black veins leaving no mark in their absence. “How long…”
“About an hour, give or take.” Hartley handed him a glass of water, allowing him to finally rid himself of the sandy feeling in his mouth. He takes a couple seconds to just breathe in the strong ocean air coming from the soft wind. “Alister is in one of the studies, said he wanted to get something.”
“I’m not too much of a fan of your doctor anymore.” Kaelonne groaned as he stretched his back, wincing as he heard a popping sound. He huffs as he takes in his rumpled state, pulling down his pant leg and rubbing a hand down the wrinkles now creasing his borrowed t-shirt.
“Can’t fault you there.” Hartley huffed, looking crossed between miffed and agitated, “How are you feeling?”
“A lot better, I can very much assure you of that at least. Leg hardly hurts.” Kaelonne set his feet on the ground, accepting Hartley’s offered hand until the world stopped feeling like it would flip upside down. The young royal hummed in approval as the injury only throbbed faintly, the painkiller was quite an experience. The Mermatian sighed as he realised that he would have to ask the big question, “Were… you aware he knew?”
“Not a clue, I swear.” Hartley sighed, leaning next to him on the table. Together they stared out at the ocean that felt to close, and yet too far, “But for some reason, it doesn’t surprise me. Alister was always a lot more perceptive than he let on. I’m sorry if it bothers you.”
“Don’t apologise for something you didn’t know about. Besides, I must admit my curiosity, what is Alister’s story? You mentioned something about a ‘battlefield medic’?”
“Ah yes. Alister wasn’t always a marine biologist, he used to be a soldier.” He glanced at Kaelonne to make sure he understood what he was saying, “Well, part sniper, part medic. After losing some of his team members, he decided to retire and buy a beach house. From there, he took interest, I guess. Taking care of injured, endangered, and illegally shipped ocean life gave him a purpose. Now he does research and stuff to help them.”
“I’ve… never heard of something like that, it’s amazing.” Kaelonne hummed. “So, what about you, what is your story with him?”
“Nothing much really, worked for him as an assistant for about a year or two. Really helped me out with some issues I was having with the whole gender and job thing. Basically, the guy that got me to set my brain in place and landed me in the happy place I’m in right now. I own him a lot.” Hartley gave a wistful smile as he stared out to the blue yonder, letting out huff as though he were more in the past at the moment.
“I am happy to have met him then.”
“Oh? I thought you didn’t approve of him just now?” Hartley chuckled, bumping his shoulder with a laugh. The door opened behind then, pulling them out of their musing. Kaelonne turned to face the biologist completely, ignoring Hartley’s lazy attempt of trying to copy an owl to keep the doctor in sight.
“Sorry that took so long. I’m glad to see you on your feet… Kellon, I believe?” Alister smiled, his white coat unbuttoned, his hair pulled back into a neat ponytail.
“Something like that.” Kaelonne shifted to meet him, summoning some of his princely side to greet the human with the respect he rightfully earned. He did essentially save his life after all.
“I’d imagine you have a lot of questions?” Alister finally pulls off his white coat and tosses it on an already crowded table, revealing a dark blue t-shirt and knee-length pants underneath.
“I do, and I believe I would be right to assume that you would as well?” They followed the biologist through the door that led to the rest of the building, trusting him to lead the way.
“Hmm, right this way then.” They were led deeper into the construction, Kaelonne ignored the sound of the crashing waves from the beach growing softer as he limped along with Hartley’s help. The air was noticeably cooler, the place darkened to suit underwater type creatures.
Kaelonne had to admit that the place was built quite beautifully, it was so calm and quite compared to hustle and bustle of the city. There were ceiling-to-floor glass walls on one side where larger creatures most likely resided, separated by a wall. There were a few smaller, circular windows on the other side that allowed them to glimpse smaller animals in their copied habitat. A few times, there were small tanks in the middle of the hall with little sea-creatures inside, the walls of the glass labelled in such a way that the reader could easily tell that the beings were well loved and care for. The young royal wanted to explore the places were the halls branched off, but there would be time for that later when explanations were heard.
His ear, though missing their fins, twitched in a way he was quite familiar with his entire Mermatian life. He raised his eyebrows as they passed a large, windowed tank similar to all the others, not sure where the sudden warning of danger came from. Kaelonne removes his hand from where it kept steady balance on Hartley’s shoulder, bringing their strange little procession to a stop. His ears twitched again, the feeling very strange without out his sharp hearing and whistling to accompany it. He idly notes Hartley reaching out a hand at him as he limps closer to the tank, his mouth opened in questioning before Alister shakes his head.
The Mermatian is hardly inches away from the one thing standing between tons of water and the rest of the building. The enormous, blue yonder seemed calm and empty, sun beams creating patters. Something inkles in his brain, a familiarity. Not to soon as the behemoth of a creature rises out of the depths without warning, a sharp intake of breath behind him making the young royal’s head twitch. He doesn’t dare take his eyes off the predator before him, tilting his head in challenge.
The killer whale seems to find humour in this, swimming closer in a graceful tail movement, teeth showing slightly in acknowledgment of his challenge. Both predators enraptured with the other, neither of them quite in their element. They spend almost a minute like this, Kaelonne noting the deadly being’s damaged and healing fin with understanding.
The killer shark gets close enough to presses its nose on the glass for all of two seconds before swimming away with a rush, breaking the entrancing calm that had fallen over all of them. Hartley lets out a sigh of relief as Kaelonne simply tilts his head and huffs in slight disappointment. It was not everyday one is able to meet a fellow predator without risk of a painful death. “What on earth was that about?”
“That just confirmed what I assumed; your friend here is not human.”
“And that was some sort of test?” Hartley raises his eyebrows incredulously, most likely still trying to register that he just watched his friend and a killer whale have a stare off.
“Not really, this is the way to my office, Kellon’s reaction to a fellow predator was just a bonus.” Alister had the gall to shrug, sticking his hands into his pockets with a nonchalant smile.
“That didn’t really explain what happened.” Hartley instinctively holds out a hand as Kaelonne limps back over, looking between the biologist and royal for an answer.
“Though Kellon is in his human form, the killer whale, or Bella as I call her - she’s a temporary visitor ‘til one of her fin heals - still recognised him as a powerful opponent and an equal.”
“That’s… ridiculously cool.”
“Not as cool when you actually have to fight them.” Kaelonne had to admit, he was having fun watching the horrified look pass across the human’s face more than he should have. Not that he would ever admit it out loud, that would just kill the fun.
“Wait, have you ever fought a killer whale before?”
“No, but I have hidden from a few. Mermatian tip, don’t approach something with more teeth than you if you’re not wearing the proper armour or gear.”
“Huh. Makes sense. Usually the human’s code is, if it bites you, bite it back.”
“I’m pretty sure no human has ever said that.” Alister side-eyes them as they continue walking, taking them up a series of stairs that led to the next level of the building.
“To-ma-toe, to-mah-toe.”
“Humans are still confusing to me.”
“Me to.” Alister snorts.
- Writer
