Merstuck

Chapter 5

Dirk sits back in the tub and sighs. Yes, he's comfortable, and he's full from the meal Jake brought him earlier- Steak and broccoli, Jake called it, a nice break from fish- but he was bored out of his mind. He shifts, his tail forming tiny ripples in the water.

The door creaks open and Dirk turns his head to look at whatever it is. He sees Jake poking his head in.

"Hello, Dirk!" Jake says with a smile, Stepping in a little more. "Do you want someone to talk to?"

"Sure," Dirk says, shrugging. He puts his elbow on the edge of the tub, eyes following Jake as he walks over and sits next to the tub.

They're silent for a moment before Dirk asks, "What do you want to talk about?"

"I have a few questions about your species," Jake admits, a little awkwardly.

Dirk rolls his eyes and sighs. "Fine," he says.

When he looks back up at Jake his eyes soften. The man looks like an overgrown child, grinning from ear-to-ear excitedly.

"So," He asks, "Why do you have those strange coloured stripes down your shoulders and back? Do they do anything cool or are they just for show?"

Dirk pauses for a moment before saying, in Aquatic, "They light up." Jake watches, eyes wide.

"What was that?" Jake asks in awe, eyes trailing down some of the stripes.

"Well, we can't open our mouths and speak underwater, obviously, so our ancestors created an underwater language using the bioluminescent stripes we were supposed to use to distract or ward off predators like sharks or sirens. It's typically the average merfolk child's first language." Dirk explains, Jake nodding every once in a while. "There are many different variants, which usually accompany the verbal language humans speak in that geographical area. We still learn human language, though, obviously; usually the language most commonly spoken by the humans closest to a pod. Some merfolk learn a few more if interested, or if their family transferred pods."

"That's incredible! What did you say in your language earlier?" Jake asks.

"I simply told you that my stripes light up." Dirk says, a little awkwardly.

"Oh," Jake says. His brows furrow for a bit in thought. "Okay then, do you have gills? I didn't see any before you changed forms."

Dirk simply lifts his arm up, showing Jake the large, orange-tinted gills down his side. Jake inhales sharply, looking up and down Dirk's side.

"Whoa..." Jake murmurs quietly. "What happens if they get cut or stabbed?"

"Most merfolk die," Dirk says simply with a shrug. "It's like slicing open a lung. Some lucky merfolk make it to the shore and survive, but that's incredibly rare. Slashing a merperson's gills is a common death sentence."

"Is your hair naturally that colour?" Jake asks quickly, changing the subject, as he motions to Dirk's platinum blonde hair.

"No, I was born with dark brown, almost black hair. This is just the result of one of my friend's experiments gone wrong." Dirk says, shaking his head. He lets out a dry chuckle. "Just after it happened, my younger brother demanded she cast the same spell on him. He thought it looked cool."

The two continued talking back and forth for a long time. Dirk was glad to ramble on to an eager listener, and Jake was incredibly interested in everything Dirk had to say.

"One last thing," Jake asks some time later. "What is that for?" He motions the the silver band around Dirk's neck, encrusted with a vibrant spectrum of jewels ranging from pale yellow to dark orange. Dirk reaches up and touches it absentmindedly.

"I'm not really sure," He says after a moment. "I've had it for as long as I can remember. My younger brother has one, except it's red. That friend I told you about earlier, my cousin, the one that changed my hair colour- she has one too, as well as her older sister. Theirs are purple and pink, respectively." He thumbs the tiny jewels on the necklace before adding, "We don't like to take them off. It feels wrong. Unsafe, somehow."

"Does every merperson have one?" Jake asks.

"Nah, just us." Dirk says.

Jake nods thoughtfully when suddenly they are both interuppted by Jake's stomach growling loudly. He looks out the tiny window in the corner of the bathroom and is shocked to see that it's dark outside. With a laugh, he heaves himself onto his feet.

"I'm going to go eat," Jake tells Dirk, looking down at him with his hands on his hips. "I'll bring you some food in a bit."

"Hey, wait," Dirk says just before Jake leaves. Jake turns back to look at him. "Maybe... you could bring your food in here and we could talk a little more?" He smirks. "I have a few questions about your species."

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan!"Jake repsonds, grinning.

Soon, Jake is sitting beside the tub again, and the two are eating what Jake calls "pizza".

Dirk figures that he won't have to sleep that night.