Seas of Magma

A Taste of Sea Life

By the time Maxie awoke, Archie wasn't there. He groaned and stretched, but he winced and panted when he found he could barely move anything below his torso. Had he been sleeping funnily? He assumed so. It was just as he was about to try and roll over when Archie came out, dressed in just a long white shirt, looking like he'd recently showered. For a moment Maxie was in awe. The crisp white cotton was a perfect contrast to his dark skin.

"Did ya sleep well, Max?" He was smiling, though the smile faded when he saw that Maxie was in discomfort. "Ya okay? What happened?"

"Must have slept awkwardly. I can't move..." The merman hissed in pain. Frowning a little, Archie climbed into the pool and knelt beside him in the shallows.

"Lemme see if I can loosen ya up a bit." Dipping his hands into the water, he carefully ran his fingers down Maxie's back, firmly rubbing circles over any tensed muscles he found. As he found the join where human met fish, he could feel that the muscles were very knotted and bones were displaced. "Alright. This may hurt ya a bit..." Sticking his tongue out of the side of his mouth in concentration, he slowly began to work his fingers into the muscles, loosening the knots while also carefully easing the displaced bones back where they should be. Maxie winced and shuddered with the intense pain, but Archie forced himself to continue on, knowing that once this was sorted, he'd be a lot better after.

After around ten minutes of concentrated massaging, Archie had finally managed to set everything right. Maxie felt a lot better for it and he could move properly. The sailor stood up then, his now wet shirt clinging to his skin, translucent from the saturation. "Anyways, Max. I was gonna tell ya that I sorted somethin' out fer ya. I got a contact in Seaworld in Mauville who says that he can get ya in there. At least there, ya can swim about and get ta know what's in the sea without actually bein' in the sea. I actually found an old lidded tank in my garage and it looks big enough fer ya, and I figure it's better'n tryin' ta fiddle about with plastic sheets in my truck. It's all filled up so we can go now if ya want." Maxie responded with a nod. Slowly Archie picked him up and carried him to the tank, carefully lowering him into it and securing the lid before making sure the entire tank was strapped down so it wouldn't rattle about. He then left to change into his usual wetsuit before driving to Seaworld.

Once they arrived there, Archie parked the truck up by a side entrance while several strong men came over to unload the tank from the truck so Maxie could be put in one of the large pools. Seaworld had been the perfect idea in Archie's mind since it had many of the plants and animals found in the sea in a relatively enclosed space, which meant that Maxie could adjust to the ecosystem before he was released into the sea. Once the merman had been set in the pool, the tank was strpped back into the truck ready for when they decided to leave.

Heading in through the main entrance, Archie could see that Maxie was swimming around the massive tank, checking out all the underwater life, and he wasn't sure if it was genuine but he seemed happy. And while they were there, perhaps they could have a little fun. The sailor waved Maxie over to a quieter part of the establishment and suggested that he hide somewhere, wait for some children to show up, and then scare them. This sounded like an ideal plan, so Maxie found a secluded area to hide in, surrounded by seaweeds and corals so he could lie in wait.