Tanked

5

Chpt 5: Learning

(Ascal’s pov)

“Heads and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes. Heads and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes. And eyes and ears, and nose and mouth. Heads and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.” Rinus sang. His voice was beautiful, even when singing the simple song a three year old could sing. He poked my body parts each time he said their name, like I had showed him. He almost poked my eyes out twice, but after that, he started just pointing at my eyes each time he said them. “Feet and tummies, arms and chins, arms and chins. Feet and tummies, arms and chins, arms and chins. And eyes and ears and mouth and shins. Feet and tummies, arms and chins, arms and chins.” He sang the second verse; then the third. “Hands and fingers, legs and lips, legs and lips. Hands and fingers, legs and lips, legs and lips. And eyes and ears and mouth and hips. Hands and fingers, legs and lips, legs and lips.”

I clapped and said, “Good job, Rinus. Very good job!” I was proud of him. He was very smart. I only had to show him which body part was which and sing the song to him twice before he memorized everything. That was amazing! I then decided to try to teach him how to sing the song in English. “ok, Rinus, I’m going to teach you the song again, but in English.”

Rinus tilted his head to the side and tried to repeat the word. “E-e-en-eng-enli.” He stopped and his eyebrows knotted together in confusion.

“Listen, Rinus. En-gl-ish.” I sounded it out for him and his eyes lit up.

“En-gl-ish.” He sounded out slowly and I clapped.

“Good, now say it faster.”

“En-gl-ish.” He repeated faster. “En-gl-ish. Engl-ish. English!”

“Yes!” I yipped in glee.

“Ascal, what is English?”

“English is the language of the humans.”

“Who-mans?” Rinus tilted his head to the side and I smiled at him.

“No, hu-mans. It’s a u sound.”

“hu-mans.” He smiled and yipped, “Human! What is a human?”

“A human is…well a human is that man you saw. He was a human. They got legs and feet and toes and ears just like me.”

Rinus titled his head to the side; then something seemed to click as his eyes widened and he pointed at me with a smile. “You’re a human, Ascal!”

My eyes widened and I chuckled, shaking my head. “No, I’m different from a human. I’m an elf.”

“Elf?” I smiled when he said the word perfectly.

“Yes, elf.”

“What is the difference between an elf and human?” he asked and I smiled at him.

“An elf is a magical being that cares for the forest and wild life. Humans are not magical and they tear down forests and hurt the wild life.”

“And a human is that man?” I figured he was talking about Lord D and I nodded. He suddenly snarled slightly and hissed out, “I do not like that human! He hurt Ascal!” I nodded and Rinus wrapped his arms around my left leg, pushing his head against me. “I like Ascal.” I looked down at Rinus in wonder. He smiled at me and suddenly dived into the water. I watched as he swam to the bottom of the tank and picked some seaweed before swimming back up to the surface. He grabbed the side of the tank, and with a powerful flick of his tail, boosted himself onto the platform. I could only watch in wonder as he slid to sit behind me, his tail flopping awkwardly. He seemed to finally get comfortable as he stopped moving and I suddenly felt a soft tug on my hair.

I stayed still as Rinus messed with my shoulder length, silver hair. I watched fish swim around in the tank for a while and didn’t even notice when he stopped playing with my hair. I reached up and carefully ran my fingers over my head, becoming confused when I felt the seaweed in my hair. I felt Rinus press himself against my back and I had to lean back into him so he wouldn’t push me over the edge, and into the tank. “My mother taught me how to weave seaweed for a bag, and she also showed me how to weave it in hair. She said it helps keep our hair out of our face when we swim, so we can see better. Do you like it?”

I chuckled. “Well I can’t really see it. Do you mind if I go look?” I felt Rinus move and he flopped awkwardly to my side before smiling and pointing to the tank wall. “You can see yourself in the wall! I saw myself in the wall.”

I laughed. “Yes you can, but I’m going to go look as myself in something else. I’ll be right back, okay?” Rinus nodded and I stood so I could walk down the stairs. I felt Rinus’s green eyes on me the whole time until I slipped into the bathroom. I looked into the mirror and gasped slightly. The seaweed was indeed woven into my hair, or more like braided into it. Either way, it looked like a work of art. I smiled at myself, my thin lips curving to show off my white teeth. I had a few small wrinkles around my green eyes, but otherwise, I didn’t look that old. My skin still had a nice tan to it, even though I hadn’t been outside for almost four years now. I was in desperate need of some fresh air. I sighed and was about to leave the bathroom, when I heard the click of an unlocking door. I paused a moment before I heard a door swing open and guards step in. I rolled my eyes and stepped out of the bathroom.

There were two of them; one holding a tray of food, while the other was trying to balance a flooded cot and two bags in his arms. I rolled my eyes again and stepped forward to take the bags. One was a bit heavier than the other, but not by much. The two guards seemed a bit surprised to see that I had seaweed in my hair; but they didn’t say anything. Instead, they started walking up the stairs and I fallowed. Once we reached the platform, I saw that Rinus had dived back into the tank. I watched the two guards carefully as the one set my tray of food down and the other set up my cot. I set the bags down and took out the stuff.

I pulled out a thin blanket and a small pillow. Under that was two pairs of cloths; one was a pair of sleep ware and the other was an outfit for tomorrow. It wasn’t any different then what I wore now; a simple pair of jeans with a white t-shirt. The other bag held swimming gear: a pair of swimming goggles, flippers, and a pair of red swimming trunks. I laid the pillow and blanket on the bed along with my cloths before I set the bag with the swimming stuff aside and looked at the guards. They were both peering down into the tank with wonder and I grabbed their shoulders. They jumped and glared at me. I noticed they both looked the same. Twins huh?

“I can tell your new here.” I told them.

“Hands off, elf.” One of the twins hissed and I rolled my eyes.