The History of Helena Gorton, DDS

Part 1: When Helena met John

Hey all,

Here's part 1 of "The History of Helena Gorton, DDS," the story of my character, Helena Gorton, who is a fish woman, goth/metalhead, and a dentist, who also lives in San Francisco with her partner, John. This part of the story explains how the two met, which will lead into the next parts, which deal Moore with how she became "Helena," got onto her current career path, the trials and tribulations of her career, and more that will be revealed as I post more parts of the story. I will also provide a quick rundown of the characters important to this chunk of the story as a bit of a preamble. As I introduce other characters, I will provide basic information about them as well.

Characters relevant to part 1:

Helena Gorton:
-Basics:
  -Type/Species: Fish woman
  -Where is She From? Unknown, other than the sea. She was found by a fishing boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
  -Occupation: Dentist
  -Hobbies/interests: travel, alternative music, going to concerts, playing bass, driving
  -Where does she live? San Francisco
  -Diet: Exclusively raw fish and seaweed
  -Relationship status: lives with her partner, John Gorton, the fisherman who caught her in the Pacific Ocean

John Gorton:
-Basics:
  -Species: Human
  -Where is He From? Born and raised in Alaska, then moved to San Francisco, where he eventually became captain of a fishing boat called, "The Hammerhead."
  -Occupation: Commercial Fisherman/Captain of "The Hammerhead"
  -Hobbies/Interests: Studying marine biology, beard care, cars/driving, seafood, cooking, writing poetry, songwriting, playing guitar
  -Where does he live? In an apartment in San Francisco, with Helena
  -Diet: Lots of seafood, but he eats a bit of everything, and is generally adventurous when it comes to food
  -Relationship status: Lives with his partner, Helena Gorton

Side characters:
Larry Moorhead

-Basics:
  -Species: Human
  -Where is He From? Born and raised in Texas, but moved to San Francisco, where he was hired as a commercial fisherman on "The Hammerhead."
  -Occupation: Commercial Fisherman/First Mate of "The Hammerhead"
  -Hobbies/Interests: Woodworking, college football, studying historical war tactics, smoking meats
  -Where does he live? San Francisco
  -Diet: Largely meats, potatoes, beans, and bread. He also enjoys Mexican food.
  -Relationship status: Single

Now, onto part 1. Parts two through five are already completed, but I will post them later. Enjoy :)

Part 1: When Helena met John

Helena was born somewhere deep in an unknown sea, and grew up there. She got bored staying in the general area where she lived, much to the frustration of her family, but she left one day anyway, and just started swimming. One day, a fishing boat called "The Hammerhead" was out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where Helena happened to be. One of the fishermen, Larry Moorhead, chummed the water and cast a net.

Helena smelled the chum, and was hungry from her long swim, so she rocketed up to the surface to eat it. Larry ended up trapping her in the net, which sent her in a panic. There were other fish flopping in the net, and she tore through many of them with her fingers and teeth trying to escape. Larry rushed to get a harpoon to stop her, but another fisherman, John Gorton, the captain of the ship, insisted to try another way. He cut the net, and Helena fell to the deck. Delirious and exhausted, she passed out, though she was able to breathe.

An hour later, Helena woke up in sleeping quarters below decks. She was confused and angry, and slashed at everything in sight. The boat rocked, and there was quite the holy racket, which could be heard from the deck above. John Gorton commanded everyone to stand back while he went to the deck below. When he entered, Helena screamed at him in her native language, and lunged toward him. He dodged and ducked to keep himself safe, but still insisted that the others in his crew stay out of the situation, so as not to crowd the area or add more tension. Eventually, he was able to get a hold of one of her hands, and gave it a firm, but gentle pulsing squeeze. "You are safe," he said calmly. "We will not hurt you, and you can choose to stay here, or go back to the ocean." She was disarmed, and stood still for a while. She did not fully understand his words, but his tone was soothing.

Captain Gorton realized she did not quite understand, so he gestured to come with him as he directed her with his words. When they came back to the deck, He pointed and asked, "Stay here, or go back?" She looked between the deck and the ocean, and thought a while. The other crew members were still shaken from the earlier altercations, and argued amongst themselves and with the captain. Things got heated, and there was shouting and fighting. The captain shut it all down, and barked the order to his crewmates to cease argument. They were causing chaos, and it did not help the situation. Plus, Helena could have easily lashed out again. The crew begrudgingly agreed, and Gorton asked once more, "Stay here, or go back?" She was torn, as recent events rattled her deeply, and many of the crew seemed against or scared of her. She was also unsure if she wanted to turn back, though she knew everything and everyone she ever knew was back in the mysterious sea. While she did not know his name, she did see kindness, calm, and strength in John, which she admired. She also was so far out from her home that she was not sure how to get back. Tentatively, she said to Captain Gorton, "Here."

Gorton was shocked that she was able to say, "here," but she had picked up the concept from observation and his use of gesture. She also knew he would not really understand her language, and it was a pretty simple word to imitate. The crew was hesitant, to say the least, but they knew not to question Captain Gorton, and he seemed to know what he was doing when it came to Helena.

Three days later, "The Hammerhead" returned to San Francisco Bay, and the captain asked her, "Land, or sea?," and pointed to both. He wanted to check if she was sure of her earlier decision, and knew she could not just stay on the boat. She responded, with some effort "l-land" (the "L" sound was a bit unfamiliar to her, as her native language lacked a similar sound). They went back to Gorton's apartment, and she immediately fell asleep.