<div style="background-color:#6c9cb8; border:1px solid black; margin:10px 10px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: #000000"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">She had never seen Dimitri angry. Other negative emotions, like loss and hopelessness and desperation, sure, but never anger. The contrast was jarring, as if a mountain had suddenly and inexplicably split in half. She made half a movement towards them with the futile intention to stop whatever was going on, but Dan's cold fingers wrapping around her wrist stopped her. Even if she knew that trying to prevent any kind of fight was the right thing to do, Dan was right - it definitely wasn't the <span style="font-style: italic">smart</span> thing to do.<br/><br/>Alannah's free hand flew up to her mouth as Nereus threw his son into the filthy slush that had been originally been snow. Dan stared, just as transfixed. "What an asshole," he mumbled. Alannah felt his breath wash over her hair as he rested his chin on the top of her head. It was comforting to know that even with everything that had happened, she still had her surrogate brother. Today had come a little too close, and she did not want him to find out about her 'anomalies'. She couldn't deal with another Lucy.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"Yeah,"</span> she replied.<br/><div style="text-align: center;"><a class="postlink" href="http://i.imgur.com/HIaYY7L.png">[ img ]</a></div><br/>More than anything, Alannah hated her dependence on a weekly bath. It had created the need for her to work overtime practically any other day of the week so as to make up for her total absence on Fridays. Her manager was okay with that, because she was a nice and understanding person. Alannah was not okay with that, because her free time could never be spent reading, or watching something on Netflix, or hanging out with Dan. No, the sea demanded all her attention and threatened to kill her if she didn't obey, like some sort of insane, spoiled cartoon villain.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Wish I had a tub,</span> she thought as she kicked a rock with her bare feet and immediately regretted it. She yelped, staring at the innocent gray stone as if it had deliberately gotten in her way, even though she knew it was the ocean that had washed it up who knew how long ago. <span style="font-style: italic">The fuckin' ocean. Always comes back to you, doesn't it? What, you think you're special? Just because you cover 70% of the Earth's surface? Get over yourself.</span> Her bitter thoughts kept her company as she walked as quickly as she could over the treacherous rocky beach. A shrill shriek escaped her as her bare feet made contact with the cold water, and, like she always did during the winter, she was almost certain that she was going to freeze to death.<br/><br/>The feeling never lasted long, though. As soon as her head dipped under, she felt the transformation begin. Her legs snapped together. Her feet grew long and flat, turning into her caudal fin instead. Gills cut themselves open on the side of her throat, and the water was just pleasantly cool, not icy anymore. Even if she bitched about it sometimes, she had to admit to herself that she never got over the feeling of being turned into a shark. It was just <span style="font-style: italic">fun</span>.<br/><br/>She swam further out, aimlessly searching for nothing. It was dark already and would be dark for a long time, so there would be no sunrise to see. Even watching the ships would be boring, because no human in their right mind would go out tonight without a purpose. The wind bit and the waves were choppy, not that Alannah felt much of it under the surface. A fish swam carelessly past her, and she snatched it before it could react. She clamped her teeth down and bit, spitting out the worst of the scales before continuing with her dinner. Being a mermaid was weird, and she hoped she never had to see a doctor. She could only imagine the mystification her body would cause if examined.<br/><br/>Deeper and deeper she went. It got colder and darker with every foot, which wasn't unusual, but there was something else, too. She couldn't hear it, and she couldn't feel it, but she knew it was there: the agonized moan of something so large it should not exist. It made her uneasy to be in the water by herself, something she had never experienced before. Not for the first time, she wished she had someone's hand to hold.</span></div></span></div>