Fantasy Treasures of the Sea

Name: Jeremiah Lukas Britton
Age: 29
History: Jeremiah fell into the wrong crowd, quite literally.
From a small age Jeremiah had always been fascinated by the sea. As a boy he used to dream about all the adventures he would make across the ocean. All the treasures he would fathom, all the many places he would explore. Though many young boys would dream of piracy, not many of them would dream to actually become one.
In his teens, Jeremiah had decided upon becoming a sailor. This being reluctantly approved by his uncle; his guardian and only relative still alive.
Though faith revealed to him a different path. A path that would lead to adventure, excitement and treasures. But also a path leading to violence, crime and evil doings. Therefore Jeremiah ended his days as a pirate at the age of 27.
Now he lives a quiet, uneventful life. Following in his uncles footsteps, he's studying to become a priest. Giving his life to God and him alone.

In the dead of night, it wasn’t strange for a man to feel lonely. When all in the land were sleeping, one man lie awake having a hard time doing just that; sleeping. The cabin he currently resided in made small creaking sounds here and there, the storm outside being harsh in its winds and it made it difficult to concentrate on anything else. Though Jeremiah was used to this constant noise, after all living as close to the sea as he did guaranteed strange sounds because of the rough weather that followed. Though this particular night, his already tired mind could not seem to find any rest. His ears caught hold of every sound that could be heard within close range, making it unbearable for his already fatigued body. What was different from any other night he could not tell but it was draining him, having been awake for hours. Somehow his body felt tired yet his mind was on high alert.

This would not do, he could not find his way to sleep, therefore it would perhaps be better to do something else than lie in bed with a wakeful mind. Jeremiah put his weight on his elbows on the bed and sighed loudly. Better to be awake then! He let his fingers run through his long raven dark hair before rising up from the bed. With an approaching headache, he rubbed his temples gently as he stood.
He fumbled in the dark for his glasses, taking a few seconds before finding them. With much effort he was also able to find his tinderbox and after a while he was able to light a candle. A strong puff of the wind rattled the house to its core and Jeremiah glanced out the window, finding the moon was up. It came and gone with the clouds masking it every now and then. When made free of the bothering clouds it became the bright beacon of the sky. Giving calm to those who should look upon it. No stars were up, the moon shined alone in the sky.

Jeremiah yawned and took a few steps into the other room, the study. With the candle in his hand he lifted it high enough to reach the bookshelf. "Let's see" he whispered out in to thin air. Perhaps he could read something if his tired eyes would allow it.
He read spine after spine, though nothing seemed to fit his mood. His eyes gazed outside for a moment and it was then he saw something. A bright light was moving outside on the beach... Up and down it went. "What in the world" he mumbled to himself. He moved closer to the window, his breath staining the glass as he tried to see better. Though he could not detect what it was.
As Jeremiah had a curious soul, he intended to find out what this strange light was even if he had to face the cold outside doing so. He rushed through the small cabin, into the hallway. He reached for his coat and put it on, wearing only his sleeping attire underneath. After putting on his brown boots he hurried outside.

While there out in the cold night air, Jeremiah spotted more lights. The entire beach seemed to be full of theses little lights hovering up and down. He began walking towards them and it became quite clear that these lights weren't hovering at all. They were lanterns, being held up by several men walking across the beach area. They all seemed to be looking for something. He heard them, heard their muffled voices but it was enough for Jeremiah to realise that they were pirates. He froze, as a shiver went down his spine. They must not find me he thought and panicked slightly.
He began to stumble back to the cabin, walking across the beach when he bumped into something and fell to the ground like a fool in a play.

Despite the seas being her natural territory, it seemed the tide was not in the favor of one particular siren. She had only been trying to get a meal, when it seemed she had become the prey instead. Pirates had surprised her - ambushed, in a way. She had approached a lone figure in a small row-boat, someone she thought had been either abandoned, or fled from somewhere, or something of the sorts. It wasn't an entirely uncommon thing at sea to happen, particularly with pirates involved. So it hadn't seemed suspicious at all, and the lone siren thought she would be getting a meal that night. Instead, the pirate ship arrived and within moments she realized it had been a trap.

It wasn't necessarily a surprise for sirens to be hunted - but it was a rarity, as not many humans dared to willingly confront the so-called witches of the sea. Many humans weren't fond of the creatures, as beautiful as they were said to be, they were equally as viscous and murderous. So it wasn't a surprise that one might hunt them down, for various reasons. Either simply to rid them, perhaps catch and put them on display - get a good payload from such a catch at sea, or the myths that surrounded around them and what they could do.

Yet still, the assault caught the siren by surprise, and against a rather large group of pirates and clearly outnumbered, it was difficult to hold her own, let alone, escape. In the end though, while she had managed to escape some how, it wasn't without cost, as she was left with a gashing wound in the side of her abdomen. It left her unable to swim through the stronger currents of the night very far, without being entirely drained of energy and strength.

Despite her best efforts, she ended up loosing consciousness due to the injuries and exhaustion, and thus the tides carried her body to shore. She washed up on the shore of the nearby island, laid out unconscious on the damp sand. And if the fact that a siren was unconscious on the shore wasn't sign enough she was unwell in some way, the bloody injuries were. The fins at the end of her tail continued to be lapped at by the tide running up the shore.

Even if the pirates after her didn't think she had washed up on shore, and weren't actively searching through the middle of the dark night for her, it was still a dangerous circumstance for her, especially if it were during the day where the sun was up and shining down hotly on her body to dry her out - yet where she wouldn't entirely due to the tide running up against her tail and the fins slightly.
As she lay unconscious and helpless on the sandy wet shore of the island, her brightly colored tail fin and the scales that covered it glimmered almost mystically under the moonlight whenever a cloud would move past it and expose it's light.

Jeremiah fumbled in the wet sand to find his glasses. Every now and again a wave of ice cold water would hit him, abrupting him in his search. It had taken him a short while to gather himself after his very embarrassing (should anyone have seen him) fall. Now he was crawling around in the sand, hardly seeing a thing. Unlucky as he was the bright beacon of the sky was temperarily hidded by the clouds, making it even more difficult to detect anything in the darkness.

After a short while of searching, he finally found them. Luckily they hadn't been thrusted away by the power of the sea, yet remained on shore. In fact he found them only a few footsteps from where he had fallen. He put them on gently after having cleaned them with his undergarment. In that moment as if being in tune with his needs, the bright moon appeared yet again in the sky. The strong light revealed everything to be seen, be it the sand on the ground or the trees that grew on the outskirts of the beach. Needless to say, he needed that light.

Jeremiah winced at the sight he saw in front of him. A young woman lay exposed in the sand, almost entirely bare she lay half upon the beach and half in the dark and dim water. Jeremiah knelt down beside her, blood was pumping out from her abdomen - staining the water in its path. He was no physician but it looked to be a grave matter. Though of course he'd seen worse in his days as a pirate. She appeared to be only semi-conscious, her eyelids flickering.
Jermiah almost jumped back in terror though his gaze had wandered downwards and instead of seeing a pair of legs he saw a tail and a fin. The scales were glimmering like diamonds in the moonlight.
He became entirely flabbergasted by it all and for a moment he simply just stared at the creature in front of him.

Jeremiah as much as any other pirate, or in his case ex-pirate, knew of the beautiful yet vicious creatures that ruled the sea. The sirens showed little mercy for its prey, their main agenda consisted of murdering unlucky sailors or pirates - dragging them down to a most unpleasant death beneath the surface. He also knew that they were sought after for their many rejuvenating and other positive properties. This must be what them pirates are searching for, he thought. Moving his head to look behind him, Jeremiah could see the light from the lanterns were getting closer. A few minutes and the men would be at their location. He rose up quickly to leave, not wanting a rendezvous with the approaching pirates.

After having taken a few steps, Jeremiah sighed and stopped. Something strange and unwanted was making his conscience ache. He could help that young girl or he could leave her for her death. Which was a certainty for sure, should the pirates find her. Which for certain they would. Though this was a beast, a creature that devoured men on a daily basis. This was not a creature of god but an evil being of hell. He glanced behind him and sighed once more. That awful being of hell looked so innocent and pure and most important in pain. Was it not his duty as a man of god to help someone who was hurting? Would that not be seen as a good deed?

Jeremiah turned around and lifted the creature into his arms before heading back to the cabin. He would have to hurry so that the pirates would not find them.
They seemed to be in luck, for he reached the cabin unnoticed. He kicked the door opened and walked straight to his sleeping quarters. Gently he lay the creature on the bed and lit another candle. The creature lay silent, her eyelids did not flicker once, she was completely unconscious.
He ripped one of his old shirts and used it to bind her wound. When he was done he simply left the room. Sleep had finally caught up with him and he collapsed in the armchair in the study, some moments later.

Unconscious and exposed on the open, wet sand of the shore, the siren was in a situation that otherwise would finalize her certain death. Had any other man stumbled upon her - quite literally in this case - she likely would have been left for dead. Or the man possibly would have caught her for himself to either use her rumored abilities for himself - or sell her off for money. Or, he might just kill her himself. Had it been any other man, whether he'd kill her or damned her life himself, or simply left her there, her death would have already been decided then either by the figure or, if left, the pirates would have eventually found her.

Thankfully, by whatever likely undeserved miracle the siren was given, it wasn't just any greedy or selfish man that stumbled upon her. He seemed to take pity on her and save her from being found by the pirates, and likewise didn't appear to have any ill-intent towards her either. Whether it was out of pity he saved her, or simply moral obligation he felt bound by his religion, it was because of him she would survive capture and death, at least for the time being anyways.

Despite being picked up and carried back to an unknown place on land, and bandaged up, she remained unconscious the entire time, her body instinctively trying to do it's best to rest and heal itself up from the injuries. Thankfully, unlike humans, she healed at a much faster rate - like the rest of her kind. Just one of the many reasons sirens were desired. While the wound would still take at least a day or two to be entirely healed and gone without a scar, by the next morning with the sun rise, it would certainly be at least half the size of the unsightly gash it was, if not even less, and the bleeding would have stopped within an hour or two since she was brought to the cabin and bandaged up.

While the injury would be otherwise possibly life threatening for a human simply due to the high chance of infection and concern for loss of blood, a siren healed much faster and while the wound was just as ugly to begin with, it wasn't too much of a concern for a siren. The only concern it could bring wouldn't be the physically wound itself, but rather, the state of vulnerability it would leave the siren in while it healed. Such as if she was in the sea, and attacked by other predator animals, or even further hunted by humans such as the pirates. Thankfully, she was safely hidden and able to rest for now in the cabin.

When the next morning came around, the siren didn't wake until sunlight peered in through the crack between the curtains of the window, hitting her face. She shifted uncomfortable as she stirred in her sleep, not used to waking up to such brightness, since she slept beneath the surface of the sea where, sure, light did filter in, but it wasn't nearly as bright as above land. As she consciousness started to stir and wake, the first thing she noticed aside from the brightness stirring her from her sleep, was the air. It was different, and lighter and - it was air. Another thing she didn't typically wake to.

She also felt a lot lighter physically, as by the time the morning had come she had dried off entirely and at some point in the night her body had changed into a more human looking form of a female human. Something she was not yet aware of as she was still waking up. She only noticed the lightness she felt in her body, due to the fact that the tail-fin of sirens was incredibly heavy and held a lot of muscle in them, for obvious reasons as being not only half of their body, but the most important part for survival in the sea, which allowed her to swim fast and effortlessly in the sea. The next thing she noticed was the different and unfamiliar smell of wherever she was, and the feeling of something soft under her hands. There were soft things in the sea, but this was something different, and dry...

It was then she was fully conscious, her eyes snapping open wise as she realized she was somewhere on land and dry. She cursed silently to herself as she quickly moved to get up, now awake and on high alert as she looked around her surroundings once she sat up. Where was she? Was this a type of land home? It seemed to resemble something that might be considered that, and she quickly moved to get up, however, entirely forgetting that she now had legs, and she wasn't used to being on land. Despite the obvious fact she was well aware she was on land, her instincts of fight or flight - in this case being flight - kicking in.

The second she moved to put weight on her feet to stand, she gasped out in shock at the heaviness she felt in her body, stumbling forward as her knees buckled beneath the unfamiliar weight of having to carry her own body in such as way. After all, being in the sea wither gravity wasn't really as much of an issue as it was on land, was something entirely different, going from swimming and 'floating' to having to carry her own weight. It felt incredibly heavy and her newfound legs were unfamiliar to such pressure and use.

As she stumbled forward and her legs instantly buckled and gave way beneath her, she found herself tumbling forward and to the ground, ending up knocking over the nightstand beside the bed, that went loudly crashing to the ground with her, along with the candle that had been burning hours ago when Jeremiah had lit it - now no longer lit of course - and any other small items that may have been resting on top of it. She grunted and winced a bit in pain as she had falling to her hands and knee, more so sitting with her legs bent to her side rather than on her knees. She hissed lightly in pain as she rubbed her head, which the candle knocked into on it's fall down to the ground, and she sighed heavily. Another thing to be noted in her current state of appearance was the more than obvious face she was entirely naked - aside from the ripped shirt cloth that Jeremiah had previously wrapped around her torso where her injury had been, which, was healed enough she didn't even need the bandage anymore. Her long blond hair draped over her body and pooled around her on the floor, but it still didn't due much to hide the fact she wasn't wearing clothes - since, obviously she didn't wear such things in the sea as a siren.

The morning sun had made its way up in the sky, brightening the land with its might. Jeremiah grunted somewhat when the rays of the sun reached his face with its warmth. They were annoying him, tickling him with their bright little fingers. He raised his arm, trying to make it so that it worked as shield, protecting himself from the rays of the sun. Though nothing seemed to stop the brightness no matter what shield he had against it, or how many times he turned and tossed trying to escape.
Why did the rays of the sun reach him he wondered as he grunted for a second time. Usually the sun wouldn't bother him as much since he had the protection of the curtains, which he had to acknowledge usually served their master very well with concealing his bedroom with complete darkness during the early hours of the day. So why was it then that this particular morning the sun would annoy him so very much? Where had his heroes the curtains gone?

Jeremiah was about go back asleep again, his thoughts withering away into oblivious dreams, when a loud noise startled him and he woke sitting straight in the armchair. That was when it all caught up to him, the lights, the cold water and above everything else; the creature. The vision of her was strong and vivid in his brain still. An image imprinted forever in his otherwise calm mind. He had heard of such creatures yet he had never seen one with his own two eyes. During all the many years he had spent at sea, he had been lucky enough not to come across a single siren. He had never heard their beautiful but haunting songs, he had not seen their renowned and most beautiful sparkling scales and because of it he could walk away with his life intact. Had he met with this siren at sea he would probably have died. His remains would have been left at the bottom of the ocean, forgotten for all eternity.

Now it seemed that this creature that all men of the sea feared were in his house, in his bedroom to be precise. If she was unconscious, asleep, awake or perhaps even dead, he did not know. If he was to be frank, either way he didn't know quite how to handle the situation. What was he to do with her? Though perhaps it would be best if he should try to think a little less far ahead and remain in the present a bit more. Even though this was a man eating creature, how dangerous could it be on land? Out of its element and vulnerable as it surely would be. Alone and without others of its kind she would probably be quite harmless?

Another loud banging sound occurred and Jeremiah was abruptly drawned out of his thoughts. His mind and his eyes wandering off towards the door. The cause of the commotion came from his bedroom, of that he was obviously sure of. This would mean the siren had awakened.
He rose slowly from the armchair and began to walk, with his mind set on exploring his bedroom and its newly aquired tenant, he moved with determined steps. He only stopped halfway to put on his glasses, then began his journey to the bedroom.

Jeremiah turned the handle and opened the wooden door slowly to peak inside. He had no idea what awaited him in there.
The scene in front of him shocked him to his core. On the floor the siren lay, naked with her long hair delicately covering her private parts. Though what shocked him the most was the fact of her no longer possessing a tail and a fin, but instead a pair of legs could be found.
Had he simply dreamed it all? Was she simply a regular girl? No, what was he thinking! He had seen it with his own eyes, there was to be no doubt; she was a siren.
Jeremiah moved a bit further inside to grab hold of one of his shirts, he held it out to the siren hoping she would accept it. Perhaps see it as a kind gesture. He felt embarrassed watching her so exposed, hopefully she would take it and cover herself. His gaze moved to the floor as he asked:
"Do you speak Miss?"

Groaning a bit in pain as she pushed herself up to sit on the ground more rather than lay crumbled on it how she had fallen, the siren rubbed her head in a dull throb of a pain as she came back to her senses. Sighing heavily, she opened her eyes as she looked down at her body in confusion, wondering why she couldn't move and why everything was so different - aside from the obvious fact she wasn't in the sea. She looked down at her lap, only for her eyes to widen a bit seeing she had legs. It wasn't like she was surprised she could have them, she of course was aware of this biological factor about sirens when dried out on land and such. However, she was confused as to how she came about being on land long enough for her tail to change into them.

What had last happened to her? She tried to recall the events leading up to where she was....which...speaking of....where actually was she? It appeared to be the equivalent of what she would consider a home in the sea, but, for a human and on land. She noted she was alone in the room, and tried to think back to the previous night to see if she could recall coming here, or how she got here in the first place.

Thinking back to last night, the first thing she definitely remembered was that ship she encountered, and how the pirates ended up managing to injure her. This memory caused her to look down at her torso where she'd been injured, undoing the bandage that was there and pulling it off, seeing it was mostly entirely healed by now due to her heightened healing ability being a siren and all. She then continued to recall how she thought she had gotten away from them. Hadn't she? It was after escaping the capture of the pirates that her memory started to become foggy. Though she felt vaguely aware that the current had last been pulling her towards shore. Is that was happened? As she considered this possibility, her eyes widened a bit in slight fear. Did that mean she passed out, and the pirates caught her on shore? Is that where she was right now, being held by them?

The more she considered this thought though, she didn't feel like she was being locked up or something like that. Someone had bandaged the wound she had, and wherever she was seemed more hospitable than a place for pirates, especially if they were trying to lock someone up. Her eyes continued to scan around the room as she tried to figure out just what kind of situation she was in.

It was then that the door opened to the bedroom, causing her to jump a bit ins surprise, looking up quickly towards the door to see who it was; if they appeared threatening, or harmless. As her eyes fell upon the man, she remained quite at first. Had he found her on shore and taken her here? Was this his home? Had he seen her when she was still in her other form or did he know what she was? Or did he just think she was a human? So many questions ran through her head, trying to gain some sort of knowledge and control over her situation, when, in reality she was pretty much at this stranger's mercy. Especially since even if she looked like a human, spending some time with her would prove clear she wasn't. She could hardly use her legs, for one of the most obvious of reasons. And she also wasn't as ashamed to be seen naked as a human woman would be to a stranger, considering the siren was still technically always naked in her other form, so it made no difference to her just because she had legs now.

So when the man just awkwardly held a shirt out to her while avoiding eye contact, or looking at her anywhere for that matter, she just looked to him confused, glancing between him and the shirt before she ended up taking it. It seemed he was offering it to her for some reason, though she wasn't entirely sure why as she just inspected the shirt in confusion. She understood humans enough to be familiar with their clothes - on them, not herself. So she knew what it was, though, what to do with it or how to put it on, she had no idea. She may be a viscous killer in the sea, with razor sharp teeth and talon-like claws, often rumored to be 'witches of the sea', yet, when it came to buttons and sleeves, she was clueless. Hearing his question distracting her from her clear look of confusion as she studied the shirt, she lifted her gaze back to the male, before almost scoffing a bit "Of course I can speak" she responded, eyeing him a moment longer before deciding to start asking some of her many questions "Who are you?"

Jeremiah cleared his throat, finding himself in a situation he most definitely never thought he would be in. He moved about where he stood, shifting his weight from one leg to the other, never having felt as uncomfortable as he did now. His gaze did not wander, but remained determinedly on the floor. Nor did it waver for a single moment, he did not wish to make the young siren feel exposed or embarrassed. Though did mermaids feel embarrassed? Technically, he did not know if they did. In fact he did not know much about them more than the obvious facts. What he had heard they were viscous creatures with no compassion in their hearts, no remorse about ruining young men’s lives. To them, taking a life made no difference. It was as easy as breathing.
As well they were supposedly gifted with an unforgiving beauty that would fool the smartest of men.
Jeremiah did not know exactly how much of it was truth, or what was false but he did know that the creature he had stumbled upon the previous night, did not seem harmful at all. On the contrary she had been in pain and had seemed completely vulnerable. It had been his duty as a man of god to help someone in need no matter who or what they were.

Jeremiah waited silently for the siren to accept his shirt. When she didn’t take it, he glanced up slightly in confusion. Wondering why the creature of the sea had not taken to heart his offering of kindness.
He let his gaze focus on her face, watching her bewildered expression he almost smiled a little, both at his own stupidity and the fact of her charming behavior. She clearly did not know the customs of human clothing or manners. He had been a fool to think that she would. How could she? He imagined that human fashion wasn't a high priority subject among her kind.
When she so passionately proved him wrong by speaking and with strong conviction too, his facial features changed from smiling to grave. He was about to talk he himself but closed his mouth quickly when she asked him a question. It was then he truly realised how little she knew and it wasn't strange considering what she was and what she had been through.
"I apolgise, where are my manners... My name is Jeremiah Lukas Britton, you may call me Jeremiah if you'd like." It felt odd letting go of regular human etiquette, though Jeremiah suspected the siren knew little of it, judging by her behavior. Therefore it would be difficult trying to establish a good explanation of what it was to someone who had never experienced it during their entire lifetime.

"The shirt" he pointed at the piece of clothing in her hands. "It's meant for you to cover yourself with, so that you are not naked. In human society we wear clothes and it is not proper for a gentleman to see a lady so bare. I would feel more comfortable if you would put it on."
Jeremiah did not have a clue of how much she knew about their customs, he was not sure how much he needed to explain. Though it was better to be safe than sorry.
"I better explain to you how you came to stay in my cottage. Late last night I took a walk on the beach and found you unconscious. I recognised the sounds of pirates and decided to aid you when you needed it, I brought you here and tended to your wound."
Jeremiah stopped shifting and stood a bit straighter when he said:
"It was the christian thing to do."

"Now, you might explain to me how you've manged to acquire legs over night?"

Once asking the man who he was, she waited patiently, though a bit skeptically of the male as she kept an eye on him. He was human after all, and from her experience, no human was to be trusted. Especially if he knew what she was. Which was still yet to be determined for her knowledge - she'd woken up with her legs, and she didn't know when exactly this man had found her or how she met him, if it had been before or after she'd gotten her legs. If he didn't know what she was though, she wasn't about to tell him and give herself away, therefore, she was being careful in not saying too much, and anything she did speak she was careful about her word selection. Though, not that she was aware, but, even without telling him what she was and if he knew or not already, it was probably a bit obvious that she wasn't human - or certainly, not familiar with human and societal norms and such, as was the case with the piece of cloth in her hand.

She listened as he answered her question, introducing himself, though it didn't ease her skepticism regarding him, not entirely sure if she could trust him or anything. She was already in a vulnerable situation to begin with, she didn't want to make it worse for herself since she didn't know who this man was or what he wanted with her, if anything. And by vulnerable she didn't mean the fact she was naked in front of this man, no, that wasn't a concern of hers, since, her kind didn't really have the same views and norms when it came to the body. But rather she meant vulnerable as in she was in his home, he likely knew more about her and their situation than she knew of him, and she was on unknown land. Oh yes, and the fact she was on land in itself was a vulnerability, since she didn't really know how to use her legs and being human now - or in a human body anyways - she didn't have her claws, teeth, strength, or anything like that to protect herself as easily. She was pretty much defenseless at this point.

Thankfully this man, Jeremiah as he called himself, explained a bit further about the situation and first started to talk about the shirt at first. She looked back to the fabric in her hands curiously, before back up at him as he explained it was normal in human society and he'd be more comfortable if she put it on. Intentionally or not, she now knew more information already about her situation. "So, you know I'm not human than?" she asked, figuring as much by the way he spoke of human society as something he didn't expect her to be familiar with, like she herself wasn't human.

She looked at the shirt as if pondering it's existence and how to put it on as he so wanted her to, all the while listening to him go on to explain how she came to be here and he was here with her. She listened to him explain how he simply found her wounded and unconscious, pirates, and taking her here to his home to care for her. "My wound?" she asked curiously, having not even noticed she was injured. She shifted a bit, looking down at her torso by her hip where the injury had previously been. She saw a cloth there from what she supposed he used to bandage her, and undoing it, her skin revealed the injury entirely gone and healed, not even leaving trace of a scar. She wasn't phased by this though - and despite there being no evidence of a wound, she believed him since she knew how quickly her body healed, and figured it must have been able to recover and heal entirely while she was still in her siren form before her legs appeared, since, when she had this more human appearance in her body, she physically was more human as well, meaning she didn't heal as fast nor was as dangerous as she was in the sea.

It seemed this man was harmless enough, so far anyways. She still wasn't going to let her guard down around him, but she figured he wasn't a pirate, so that in itself was a better sign than any. Shifting a bit as she flipped the shirt around in her arms, she struggled to put it on as she really didn't know how to. She saw him wearing one, and she'd seen human men before at sea too of course, so it's not like she hadn't seen one worn before. She understood the concept...but having never used one before she hadn't a clue how to get it on. Taking the shirt, she pulled it on over her head. It was a loose fitted shirt to begin with, and it being Jeremiah's, it was already certainly very big on her, so she was able to pull it on over her head without trouble. The trouble was getting it on right. While her head found it's place through the collar opening, she struggled with the rest. In the end, she had the shirt on backwards, with one arm through a sleeve and the other stuck inside the shirt with her body, as she just huffed slightly "Honestly, I don't understand why you humans bother with such uncomfortable things..." she muttered, half stuck in the shirt. She certainly didn't look like some monstrous killing machine right now, that was for sure.

Looking back over to the male when he added after his explanation how it was the christian thing to do, she raised an eyebrow in confusion as she looked at him, before smiling a bit in amusement "Christian...ah, that's right. That's some human religion thing or other, is it not? Believing in some sort of higher power? What's it called....a God, right?" she commented with an amused smile, shaking her head lightly before hearing him ask about her legs, causing her to glance down at her own legs, where in that moment she shifted a bit more comfortable moving her legs from where they were bend knelt at her sides, and so now she sat directly on her rear, with both legs outstretched straight in front of her on the ground.

She simply gave a light shrug in response to his question as she spoke up "It's an ability my kind has. Obviously, as you can clearly see for yourself now. A sort of defense mechanism of sorts, if you will, should we end in a situation deprived entirely of water, we won't dry out and suffocate like a shriveled up fish of sorts" she explained, not knowing what much else there was to it to explain about. "Oh, and my name is Naida, by the way, since you gave me yours. I suppose I owe you mine, as well as a thank you for the shelter you've provided me from those pirates."

Jeremiah kept his gaze in a proper direction, it was still remaining on the floor. Though after a while he gave up seeing as it would be pointless to talk to the young woman or in this case; siren, whilst looking down. He preferred to look at the person he was talking to, seeing as this was the far more polite thing to do. Therefore he carefully glanced her way and when she did not react or wince at his intruding gaze he let his eyes rest completely on her. This time staying indefinately her way.
"I of course know you are not human, I discovered you laying on the beach half naked with scales and a fin. I have never ever encountered such a human. I immediately understood what you were..."
He walked the short steps to the window, pushing away the curtains to let the morning sun shine in. Letting the room bathe in light, the brightness covered every space of the room, making its features stand out.
"I possess some knowledge of your kind, not a lot though more than most people. That knowledge I came to acquire long ago in my past." He sighed deeply and carefully retraced his steps and came to stand once again in the doorway.
"To be truthful you don't have the best of reputation among humans. You are known to drag humans to their death. Taking a life is seen as a big sin in our world." His dark brown eyes searched hers as he said:
"Though I am not to judge what I do not know, I suppose. I'm sure you have similar experiences with the likes of us."

Jermiah, now that he could let his gaze wander more freely, began to study the creature in front of him both cautiously as well as curiously. He had never encountered such a creature before, though he knew well enough to keep his guard up. Even though technically it was he who was in advantage, seeing as they were on land and in his cabin. Whereas had they been at sea, he would have been in trouble. He still needed to be careful and not to be fooled by her harmless appearance and mannerism.
The fact of her newly acquired legs, made her definately look more human. Though her long fair hair that reached beyond her waist had an inhumane glow about it, making her seem more immortal. Were sirens even immortal? There was a rumour saying they were, though Jeremiah was not certain. Though at least they seemed to live longer lives than humans, that he had heard from an old friend of his a long time ago. All of this, he decided, was a clear indication of her sea-life heritage. No ordinary woman would ever walk out in public, showing such hair.
Also he had read long ago of these creatures having claws and fangs, none of which he could see on this woman.
"Is it true that you have red eyes, normally I mean? I hope you don't find my question to be too blunt, though I've always wondered if that was a rumour that was a sincere one."

Jeremiah listened as the woman asked about her wound. He nodded and then said:
"It is true. When I found you I noticed you were bleeding quite a lot and discovered a wound at your side. I tried to bandage it to the best of my ability. I hope it is not bothering you too much I..."
Jeremiah went silent as he in astonishment watched the siren undo her bandage to reveal her flesh wound to be completely gone, not even a scar remaining.
"That is quite an extraordinary ability you have, it was a deep cut. Never could I have thought it would heal that fast..."

The young woman it seemed had taken to heart his offering of a piece of clothing, as he watched the siren take his shirt and try with all her might to put it on correctly. When she was finished, he watched with an amused expression, grinning slightly at the very end result. He could not help but to laugh at her comment.
"It might seem useless to you and uncomfortable, though that is one of my finest shirts. We carry clothing for many uses. Part for protection, though as well as a statement. What one wears can tell a lot of things about a person. For example where you belong in society, how well paid you are. What sort of fashion you follow and so forth..."

"I understand it might seem as a nonsensical notion for you, to believe in a god. Though I would be careful not to mock the good lord if I were you. If you wish to reside in his kingdom one day after death." He let his eyes linger a bit longer in hers, before determindly looking away through the window, outside and the beyond. His gaze remained there for a while before he let his hazel eyes meet hers again.

"I suppose I should offer you some breakfast, though I don't know what you eat besides human flesh." There was an annoyance in his voice that did not get unnoticed. In all honesty he felt slightly irritated about her view on god. Though perhaps there were things about her nature that would feel silly to him. The both of them lived in two very different worlds.

"I apologies for my bluntness, where are my manners..." Jeremiah sighed deeply.

"Perhaps you need some assistance to get up from the floor?" He gave her a small smile.
"You're welcome Naida, I am glad I could help."

As he only confirmed to her how he knew that she was human with the way he had found her, she nodded her head lightly in understanding as she watched him cross the room to open the curtains while explaining how while he didn't know a whole lot of her kind, he knew more than the average human likely. It wasn't a surprise really, sirens made it a point to be as elusive as possible, only appearing to those they killed. Many humans believed them only a myth, as her kind intended. Many who braved the seas and lived such a life often on water though were far wiser than that. Yet it still didn't keep the sirens from being as mysterious and elusive as ever from the human kind.

She listened as he went on about how her kind weren't really viewed positively or well-liked, due to how they were rumored to kill men at see, dragging them to their deaths. She shrugged her shoulders lightly, not finding any offense to his accusations. After all, they were true causing her to respond as such. "Well, It's true. So it's only natural. We don't expect humans to like us. They never have, and I highly doubt they ever will. But I agree it's not as if we give them any reasons to try and like us" she commented casually with a shrug of her shoulders. There were a lot of reasons as to why sirens were the way they were in their relationship to humans, luring them to their deaths and such. All reasons being such a mystery to humans only leaving them to think they were just animalistic slaughterers. But none such deeper facts ever made it to humans - and Naida had no intention of delving into it unless asked. But it wasn't like a human ever had cared enough to really know or ask.

With the conversation momentarily paused, Naida ignored his curious gaze at her while she went back to fiddling around with the shirt she had half on, and incorrectly. Eventually, she managed to at least get her other arm through the other armhole. Though the shirt itself was still on backwards, with the buttons that clasped the front of the shirt together actually on her back, and not her front as they should be. But she hardly knew, and it was the closest to successful it clueless mind was going to get the shirt on to. The shirt was loose and big enough that it hung slightly off of one of her shoulders from the open collar area, though also long enough in it's oversized comparison to her body that it fell to about her mid thighs covering any more essential intimate parts of the human body. Granted, no female would dare even show an ankle outside her bedroom, but for the siren this was a lot more decent and covered than she was ever used to. She had just finished getting it on the best she could when she heard his next question, regarding one of many rumors surfacing about her kind.

"Red eyes?" she questioned, unable to stop the giggle from bubbling out of her throat, the sound itself almost unlike any human laugh, and sounding melodic in a way. "No no" she shook her head pointing to her still unnaturally golden-colored irises which, even without looking in the mirror and despite transforming into a more human appearance, she knew were the same as they always were. "This is the same they'll always be" she commented, before humming out in thought "I think that myth of our red eyes comes from the tales of men who might manage to survive from afar any siren attacks, recounting tales of red eyes which really is just the red flames of burning and sinking ships reflected in our eyes. Or something like that" she commented lightly in thought.

As the conversation drifted on, landing onto the human ideology many of their kind carried, especially Christianity, she raised a brow as he defended his God and spoke true to his belief in deep committal. "I don't intend to mock your 'God'" she started, though she still believed in no such thing "Rather, I simply mock the human's need to believe in a high being to put their faith and hope into. I honestly don't see the point, though I suppose you can believe in whatever you desire. True or not as it may be" she shrugged her shoulders casually before he was commenting on food and making some other bitter remark to her. Rather than being offended by his comment of her eating human flesh, she found it amusing, and smirked a bit "Hmmm, well if you're offering me breakfast, does that mean I get to eat you~?" she taunted out slowly with a small smirk, looking for his reaction and expression curiously before waving it off "I only joke. Honestly, I have no desire to eat you. Perhaps you and your kind see us sirens as 'sinners' or whatever for feeding off your kind, but whether you chose to believe me or not, we don't just kill everyone human we meet. Well...unless they're trying to kill us first" she commented, since it wasn't uncommon for many sailors to try and kill or capture a siren - as such the situation that lead to her current circumstances.

Hearing his offer to help her stand, she hesitated a moment, really preferring not to show her current and obviously vulnerability and weakness at her lack of ability to really stand, let alone walk. But the man so far didn't seem to appear to be a threat, so she slowly nodded her head "....that would be appreciated. Thank you" she finally decided, before adding "And I suppose I can eat whatever a human eats, since I have the body of one now."

Jeremiah was taken aback slightly by the creatures lack of remorse, or willness to try to understand what a conscience was. She had simply just shrugged at his words about her kind killing innocent people, destroying not only their lives but also the lives of their loved ones. In one way he understood that it was natural to them, to kill. Though in one way he did not understand it at all. Maybe it was his belief that was in the way, he just simply could not understand it. Yet, he himself had done some questionable things during his days as a pirate. He was not one to judge, he tried to get a grip on what it must be like to be a siren. See it from her point of view. He knew that many of his own kind hunted down and killed the likes of Naida and her fellow sirens. And not in a merciful way, if there ever was such a thing as a "merciful kill". He did not believe there was and there never would be. Taking a life was always and always would be horrible and against the law of the lord. Causing death was nothing to be proud of, if only something that should be regretted.

Jeremiah watched as the creature, now turned into a woman, try with all her might to put on his shirt correctly. He could not help but to smile somewhat again at her very determined attempts to make it fit her in the proper way. In the exact moment, she had managed to put both arms in the sleeves but the shirt sat on backwards, the buttons joining on her back instead of the front.
"I think me not to have seen someone struggle as much with a shirt as you do" he said as he watched her endless struggle. "Though I completely understand why, it being the first time you try on human clothing."

He watched her giggle, as he mentioned the rumor of sirens possessing red eyes.
"Oh, come now" he said and winked at her. "Do not tell me it's a strange question, one never knows..." He laughed slightly but became serious when she mentioned the reason to why the rumor had appeared.
"That was a very poetic way of describing it" he said and silence greeted the both of them for a moment.
"I suppose you have seen a lot of that, death I mean. You appear young, yet I do not know if you are. May I be so bold as to ask your age?" Jeremiah was curious as to know and he wondered if sirens truly lived longer than humans.
"Is it correct to call your kind immortal, or is that simply a rumor as well?"

The both of them fell silent once more, until Naida broke it upon replying to Jeremiah's comment about the good lord.
"Why do you mock peoples need for belief then, I wonder? How come you look down upon that?" Jeremiah realised his questions were rather direct and questioning in itself yet, he could not stop himself.
"Do you not believe in anything yourself? Why is it so hard to understand that we humans need to believe. We need guidance, someone to help us, should we loose our way. When we need help, we turn to him. When we need comfort, we turn to him. He's always there, one just have to see it, or rather want to see it. The light is there, you just have to look hard enough." Jeremiah sighed deeply once more. It occured to him how he defended his master the lord with much heated statements. Perhaps he had momentarily lost his way and become uncivilised in his way of speaking. His usual politeness, vanishing into thin air. It was just that his belief in god was what had once saved him. Saved him from an awful way of living, commiting horrible acts not ever thinking about the consequences it had on him and those around him.

Jeremiah simply stared in slight shock at the young siren, efter her rather taunting remark about him becoming a meal.
"I think I'd rather avoid becoming breakfast if you don't mind. Besides you wouldn't want to taste me, I promise there's not much flavour to have." He managed to say and then moved on to a slightly new subject.
"Though I wouldn't mind some breakfast myself and I of course will share it with you." He walked a few steps moving nearer to her.
"Here, let me help you stand." Bending down, he gently took hold of her as he helped her to stand up.
"Let me lead you to the table, so you can sit down." Together, the both of them walked the short distance, Jeremiah releasing his grip on her waist, letting her slip down into the chair. His eyes went to hers as he spoke:
"Wait here, I will go and prepare some breakfast."

It wasn't hard to see that the male was having a hard time with her nonchalant sort of response regarding human life - or life in general for that matter. She supposed it didn't surprise her all that much - hearing anyone, or any creature, having a sort of unconcerned perspective on your own species life was rather disconcerting she supposed. She felt the same way whenever herself or any of her kind were threatened for that matter. It was a pretty natural reaction, all things considered. It regarded personal safety, and ones own lifespan, so it made sense to be concerned about it. Even if it was another life and not your own, it could bring into perspective ones own mortality.

"I don't blame you for disliking me for killing your race. But as I said before, most of my kind don't do it as sport, like many humans seems to suggest. Usually it's in order to either protect ourselves or to feed. Can you not say you do the same thing? Humans eat meat, do they not? Perhaps it seems like an unfair comparison, humans, to another animal to be eaten. But it's essentially the same concept as when you hunt fish to eat" she pointed out, before he was then soon commented on her struggle with the shirt, causing her to just pout a bit at his clear amusement in her own struggle, though she didn't comment on it.

When he had asked about red eyes, she couldn't help but laugh a little in amusement at the rumor, before offering up a possible explanation as to what she'd believed may be the cause of such rumors regarding siren's having red eyes, though smiled a bit as he joked back about how one could never know and she couldn't say that it was a strange question or anything like that. She couldn't quite agree though, she knew there were many rumors of her kind, some true some not, and some funny and absurd in her mind. But then again she knew some of the truths about her kind were absurd to humans in themselves. "Well, I can't say it's not a funny question. However, I'd imagined I've already done or said some strange things myself in your perspective, and if not yet likely will" she countered. Many humans didn't really consider it, since they mostly thought of sirens as just monstrous beasts, creatures of the sea, but with how many unknowns and uncertainties the humans had about sirens, siren's actually equally had about humans. After all, humans and sirens didn't just sit down and talk casually with one another - typically on encounter one of the two species was already attacking the other first. However, in reality many sirens, like Naida herself, really didn't know a whole lot about humans, specifically on and about land, since their encounters with humans typically took place at sea.

"Calling us immortal wouldn't be entirely inaccurate, I suppose. But it wouldn't quite be accurate either. It's true we live far longer than humans on a normal, natural and healthy live, however, we can be killed. There isn't an exact average lifespan as it varies, but most sirens will live several hundred years. Our lifespan increases with amount of humans we eat. Not only is it a source of food for us physically, but it also feed our lifespan, which is why it varies so much per siren. We age far slower than humans, which is part of lengthens our lifespan as well. And as you've witnessed, we heal incredibly faster too. I myself am twenty six years old. Might I ask how old you are?" she asked in return, simply out of curiosity.

When their topic of conversation fell back onto religion and his beliefs, she could tell it seemed to be something he felt strongly about. Which she had nothing against really, she herself just couldn't understand it. "It's not that I find it hard for humans to believe in something. Its this unknown entity you speak about that I don't understand is the source in which humans put their faith and belief into. If you need to belief in something, why not yourself? Do humans not consider themselves strong enough for themselves? I don't understand the need to put your faith in someone, or, perhaps rather something else. You say you turn to him when you need help, when you need comfort and guidance. If you need help, then you're the one that can actually, physically help yourself. When you need comfort, why don't humans comfort each other?" She wasn't sure this sort of belief in what didn't prove to exist - in Naida's perspective - would ever make much sense to her. "I guess I can understand the matter that to some people, like yourself I would presume, this belief is strong enough for them in the way they need it to be. But I don't think I personally will ever be able to understand it, or how" she said with a shrug of her shoulder. To Naida, it sounded like the same thing as believing in a ghost.

When the topic moved to breakfast and food, she smiled a bit in amusement finding her own joke rather funny, and while he didn't seem to laugh per say and looked a bit uncomfortable at the joked of a suggestion for him to become her meal, she was glad he didn't seem to take too much offense or sense of threat from it and way able to respond lightheartedly in turn. As he helped her up, she grabbed onto him as she carefully tried to make her way to her feet. As she stood up - with a lot of help from Jeremiah and weight leaned on to him, she felt the full force of her new legs trembling beneath her at the unfamiliar sensation of having to hold her own body weight up - gravity was a lot heavy when fully on land. It took a lot of work for her just to stand, let alone when they attempted to move forward and walk she would have certainly tumbled over on herself and to the ground had Jeremiah not been there holding her up and helping her to the table. She sighed a bit with relief when she felt her weight sit into the chair. She simply nodded her head in response to his comment of telling her to wait there, while her eyes fell to her legs, as if cursing them in her head with a slight childish glare at their inability to walk very well. Well, it's not like he had to worry about her going anywhere even though he told her to stay there. She clearly wasn't getting anywhere by herself very fast, or soon.