Chapter 2

Warmth

Blaine went on until he reached a long row of white, two-story, wooden houses, each of them looking exactly like the next one, and gleaming under the pale light of the moon. Not a soul was awake at that ungodly hour, yet he rushed to the porch and made a swift entrance to his building, just in case.

The trip upstairs was clumsy, and more than once Blaine feared he'd trip and drop the merman down the staircase. Still, he managed to reach the top floor and take the creature to the guest room. He placed him gently on the bed and ran towards the restroom to fetch a towel and a first aid kit.

He caught a glance of his reflection in the looking glass and realized his shirt was stained with blood, and part of it must have been his, since the fabric was ragged on his right shoulder where the rock had prodded his skin, leaving a long cut that could be seen through the torn material.

I'll take care of that later.

He jogged back towards the guest room and found the stranger sleeping soundly in the same spot he had left him. Blaine placed the kit on the bedside table and watched his guest, wondering if it would be proper to touch him, or if he would alarm him and make him violent. After all, humans didn't enjoy being touched by complete strangers, and the figure resting on the bed was definitely not human.

Blaine placed a hand just above the merman's shoulder and hesitated for a moment before touching him softly. He moved under his caress, but didn't wake, and Blaine could feel on his fingers the warmth of his body. If he stays like this he'll soon be running a fever.

Taking the towel in his hands, he proceeded to soak up as much water as he could by gently pressing the fabric against the merman's body. It was not enough, but it would help. Then, Blaine covered the sleeping shape with a thick blanket, yet his eyes stopped on his shoulders and chest, where the skin was swollen and marked by numerous incisions.

Blaine bit his lip and took the first aid kit from the table, pulling alcohol, cicatrizer, gauze, and copious amounts of cotton. He soaked one of the cotton balls with alcohol and looked at the stranger. Foolish Blaine! If you touch his wounds with alcohol he'll wake up in pain! And who knows what will become of you with an enraged mermaid in your house! He shook his head at the improbability of the situation.

He looked around and his eyes fell upon a brand new bottle of water. He took it, and pulled a handkerchief from the kit. At least with these I can clean the wounds until he wakes up.

But as soon as the damp cloth touched the merman's skin, his eyes opened and he rouse violently to a sitting position, making Blaine jolt from the bed in surprise. The creature stared at Blaine, gasping, and moved as far away from him as possible, pushing his feet against the blanket and the mattress, until his back hit the wall and he was scrunched there, silent and trembling.

They looked at each other, both of their hearts thumping wildly in the quiet room. The merman was trying to move towards the other side of the bed, yet a hasty movement awoke the pain of his wounds and he cringed with a gasp.

"Careful!", Blaine said, and took a step forward. Instantly, the creature flinched, and another wave of pain shook him. "No, no, don't!"

The stranger looked up at Blaine with eyes full of curiosity and fear, and the latter tried to manage a smile as he took a sit by the end of the bed.

"It's alright! It's going to be fine!" Blaine continued. "I was trying to clean your wounds, see?". He held up the cloth and the water, and pointed at his injuries. The merman frowned, his eyes wide and full of apprehension. Blaine sighed, dejected. "Can you...Can you understand me?"

The stranger seemed to waver for an instant, but ultimately he nodded. Blaine smiled happily.

"Oh! I thought...! Well...". He blushed and lowered his head shyly. "For a moment there I thought you didn't. I thought your kind would have a special fish-like language or something like that!". He looked up, expecting to see his guest smile, but was instead greeted with unbridled dread. The stranger's blue eyes were shining, and his lips had parted as his body quivered.

Oh! He doesn't know I...!

"I... I know what you -" Blaine said, and pointed at his legs. The merman looked down at his own body and hugged his human legs with a gloomy frown. They stayed silent for a long moment, as Blaine wondered what to say. It seemed like the creature wouldn't or couldn't speak, so it was up to him to make small talk.

"I never thought I'd be rescuing a mermaid", Blaine muttered finally in an attempt to lighten the mood.

The stranger looked up at him and blinked. The smallest of smiles graced his features, and he shook his head timidly.

"What? Am I wrong? Isn't that the name for your...kin or...race? 'Mermaid'?" Blaine said curiously.

The stranger blushed and he pointed at a vague place around the other man's waist. Blaine examined himself, wondering if it was the blood that caught the stranger's eyes. But what would blood have to do with it? They're not vampires, are they? What else could he be...? And then he realized...

"Oh! Right! A man! You're a man" he said, smiling triumphantly, as the stranger looked away in embarrassment. "A man. So...merman?"

The creature looked up, smiled cordially at his host, and nodded. Blaine was delighted and intrigued. He beamed happily and dared to sit a little closer. This time the creature didn't shy away, although his eyes and a nervous swallow betrayed his apprehension.

"So", continued Blaine, "You're a merman! That's amazing! I didn't think mermaids and mermen even existed! Are there more?"

His guest's smile disappeared, and once again he looked away, evidently uncomfortable with the unpleasant turn of the conversation.

"I'm sorry", Blaine said, and moved his head, trying to catch his guest's eyes. "I'm just curious, I promise. I won't try to hurt you, okay?" The merman turned to look at him. "I don't want to harm you. I couldn't leave you there like this" He gestured towards his injuries. "Look, I promise as soon as I tend to your wounds you'll be free to go wherever you please. You won't owe me a thing, alright?"

The creature stared at him, and in his eyes Blaine saw many different emotions flickering rapidly: fear, confusion, doubt, hurt, anticipation, excitement... After a long moment, the stranger blinked, as if forcing himself to wake from a dream, and gave Blaine the shortest of nods.

Elated, Blaine smiled at him and slowly moved towards the center of the bed as the stranger watched him closely. There was still space between the two of them, which he'd deliberately set so his guest would have to move closer in order to be attended. Trust was a two way street, after all. He busied himself taking the contents he'd selected from the first aid kit and placing them on the bed, and soon he felt the dip of the mattress as the merman slowly and carefully crawled closer to where he was.

When Blaine looked up, he found the stranger's glance piercing through him with a mixture of bewilderment and fascination. Blaine gave him a small, wavering smile, and looked down at his implements, blushing, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He damped some cotton with alcohol and looked at one of the largest incisions in the merman's skin, right above his heart. It had stopped bleeding, but the wound looked tender and livid.

He looked up at his guest, who now seemed uneasy and marvelously childlike as he bit his lower lip and stared wide-eyed at the ball of cotton.

"This is going to sting a little, okay?" Blaine said. The merman gulped and after a moment of doubt he bobbed his head, granting him permission to proceed.

As soon as the fiber touched the tender skin, the merman recoiled and hissed. Blaine started, but as he saw his guest's expression -his narrowed eyes and his lips taking on an angry shade of red where he'd bitten hard- he understood the reaction had been involuntary and the product of pain, not vengeance or violence.

"It's okay, it's okay!", Blaine lulled him sympathetically as he resumed tapping the wound. The stranger looked at him, and when Blaine gave him a kind smile he responded with a little timid grin of his own. Blaine took the cicatrizer and a cotton bud and began applying it to the skin.

"My name is Blaine, by the way", he said amiably and stopped to look up at his guest. "It's really quite a pleasure to meet you". Then Blaine smiled and turned his gaze upon the wounds as he continued.

The merman said nothing, and instead watched him silently and intently as he worked, and although it was against his reason and duty, he allowed himself to smile and feel comfortable around his benevolent savior.