.+*[the little sea monster]*+.

ch.8

"that voice . . ." alberto sighs, wondering on the beach in defeat. he'd been playing the tune to the song the boy had sung on his flute, but now that he'd figured it out perfectly, he found he couldn't hear it anyway. he groans, "i can't get it out of my head." he looks down at machiavelli hopelessly, the cats sitting on a rock licking his paw. he sighs, "i've looked everywhere, machiavelli! where could he be?"
the cat looks up at him, unamused and unconcerned, he licks his paw and twists it behind his head, whiskers twitching.

luca pants as he slumps onto the sand, having swum as fast as he could after his grandmother encouraged him to finally do the change, his only regret was that he'd rushed away without her, not saying a goodbye or a thank you.
but he knew she would just tell him to hurry off if he did stay behind. he sighed, crawling to lean back on a rock, before gasping as he looked down and watched himself transform, scales slipping into skin and tail swishing from existence.
he's amazed, the tail feels like it's still there. he shakes his head, switching his attention to the head of peddles- no hair on his head. he grabs at it, pulling it and stroking at it, laughing to himself at how it flopped and fell, like something below him was pulling it down.
"well!" he heard a call, and saw scuttle flying around and above him, laughing. "look what the catfish dragged in! look at ya, look at ya!" he settles down on lucas leg, which he's slung over his over, biting his lip in anticipation.
"ya'know," scuttle says as he leans in an inspects him, eyes screwed in concentration. "there's something different about you. don't tell me," he laughs, shaking his feathers wildly when luca goes to tell him. "i got it. it's your hairdo, right?" he asks, eyes crinkling as he clicks his tongue, pointing a finger gun at him. "why, you've been using the dinglehopper, haven't you?"
luca grins, that was sorta true, but that wasn't even the half of it. he shakes his head no, scuttles eyes widen, "no?" he scratches his chin, trying to think of what it could possibly be. "no, huh. well, let me see . . . new seaweed shorts?"
luca again, shakes his head no, eyes sparkling.
"no new seaweed shorts." he sighs, slapping his feet onto lucas leg as the boy shakes it coyly, "i gotta admit i can't quite put my foot onto it right now, but if i just stand here long enough i know that i'll—"
luca giggles giddily, his patience never running thin with scuttle, especially now. he leans in, whispering, "i'm a human."
"i knew that!" scuttle laughs, nudging him against his bare chest before jumping off his leg, watching as the boy attempts to stand like he saw humans do, not grabbing anything near him so he could do it all by himself.
"you did the change, eh?" scuttle asks, more to himself. "let me guess, you're gonna get fuzzy, spitty cats pet to fall in love with you, and he's gonna kiss you."
luca laughs, nodding vigorously as he tries to walk, winging his arms around before he trips and falls into the sand, shores eating up at his face and turning him into a sea monster from the neck up, granting him a gift- a reed.
it stuck to his hair as he pushed himself up, legs wobbling as he was still in awe that this was all happening. but then, he felt panic start to crawl up him like the million legs of a shrimp, and he gasps out in one breath "just look at me! on legs! on land monster legs! my nerves are shot. this is a catastrophe! what would my parents say? what would my mother say?" he laughs dryly, "oh, i know what she'd say," she mocks her voice, pointing an index finger, to engrossed in his tumble of word vomit to realise instead of four claws, he had five fingers.
"she'd say "i'm gonna kill myself a land monster", that's what she'd say! i gotta march myself straight home right now and tell her just like i should've done a minute—"
"woah!" scuttle flies in front of him, stopping him from crawling frantically back in the ocean, attempting to push him back on land, "and give up everything?"
but it's like luca didn't hear him, "maybe there's still time before they realise i'm gone, i'll go home and be with all the normal fish and just be . . ."
he trails off, stopping as he realises what he's doing. "just be . . . just be . . ."
he sighs, crawling back on land and slumping down like a frog, shaking himself off, "just be miserable for the rest of my entire life." he sighs, bringing his legs up to his chest and hugging himself, feeling his phantom tail curl around him as well. he lets himself breath.
"alright," he sucks in a breath, before grinning determinately, "alright! i'll try to find that boy. i will find that boy!"
"that's the spirit kid," coaxes scuttle, patting his back while luca looks down at him and grins. "now, luca, i'm telling you," he dusts sand off of lucas chest with his wing, "if you wanna be a human, the first thing you gotta do is dress like one." he turns around, "now, lemme see . . ." his eyes sparkle as he sees a sale from the boat as well as a rope.