Toxic Merman (JonDami Fic)

The Selection

I crouched down and slowly reach to pet his head. The cat stood up when he noticed my hand. He got curious and approached closer to my hand and started sniffing. Shortly after a few more cats from behind and next to me started approaching closer.
               "Raven......" I called her who was floating in the air to avoid the cats from touching her. "Are you sure the fishy smell is off me???"
               "Very sure." She said. "I think they just want to know if you're friend or foe."
               The chubby cat stopped smelling my hand and moves his head underneath my palm. I froze but calmed down when I heard his purring. Then the other cats started rubbing themselves on me... also purring.
               Honestly,  in a way, they're... cute. I stroke the chubby cat's forehead and gently scratch under his neck to which his eyes closed. I assumed he likes it? "Hey there," I said softly.
               "Wish I had my camera," Raven mumbled above me.
               "I heard that," I said.
               "You were meant to." She replied.
               For a thief who steals gems worth millions of dollars, she displays her home or shoebox as if she's homeless. The leather sofa has holes in it, the rugs on the floor have lost their colors, the walls are painted cotton candy pink but it had stains of God knows what. Heck, even the ceilings are stained.
               But aside from that, she has many essential items such as 50inch tv, kitchen with proper utensils, washing machine, bed and so on.
               "Sorry about the mess." Selina came walking out of her room dressed in blue jeans, and a simple white t-shirt with spectacles on. She had a file in her hand. "I wasn't expecting company."
               "I see you and Henry have been acquainted. Cute isn't he?"
               "Wow Selina, has father ever seen you dressed like this before?" I insulted her fashion as I stand up. "Bet he'll toss you out like expired milk if he does."
               She scoffs. "Oh please." She said. "He's gotten a much unpleasant view than what you're getting right now... and I mean much worse."
               "And guess what, he still loves me."
               "That's just wrong, Selina," I said.
               "That's my business for which you shall not interfere." She said. "Speaking of business, here's a file containing the list of material I use to create jewelry."
               "Take a look and tell me which suits Superman junior the best... and I'll tell you the price."
               She held out the file and I took it. I opened it to see pictures of Selina's work and beneath them are the materials used to create those jewelry.
               "Would you like a drink?" Selina asked as she was walking towards the fridge. "I have coke, sprite, soda, green tea, and water."
               Normally I would avoid drinking anything in somebody else's home -- aside from Jon's -- but right now, I'm feeling really thirsty for some good old coke. It's been so long since I had it.
               "Coke for me," I said while scanning through the file.
               "No thanks," Raven said as she floated next to me, seeing the file with me.
               Selina has made diamond rings, gold earrings, topaz necklaces, silver teeth jewelry, white gold eyebrow jewelry, and many more. The file was heavy containing a lot of pages with all her past works... and I have to admit that they all looked impressive.
              Towards the end of the file, a page with a title that says "Customize Your Own Accessories" had a long list of materials she used before... and their prices as well. There's gold with 24 carats and above, silver, bronze, sterling silver, plastic, silicon, and many more. Apparently, the most expensive piece was gold. 24-carat gold cost 2K. The higher the carat, the higher the price.
              I could afford gold but I never liked the idea of people using gold accessories because it'll cause them to be the center of attention in public areas, especially when thieves and robberies are around. That's something I do not want Jon to become... as if he's already a bully victim. I can't imagine what will happen if he wears gold in public.
             Not being paranoid -- or maybe I am -- I'm just looking out for him.
              "What do you think?" I turn to my side to ask Raven's opinion.
              "If you ask me, I'd say go for what you think is best." She said. "It's a gift from you... after all. Take your time and think which suits him best."
              If I were to take my time, we'd be here all day because I can't decide which suits him the best. Silver is nice but it's too common. Bronze has a slight value to it but no... it's like giving him a third-place trophy.
              I glance through the list for a while more, thinking out of the box if my choice will put him in any sort of danger or not, or will it fit his personality and many more.
              In the end, I made up my mind and chose gold... but white gold because it has almost the same value of normal gold and from a distance, it looks like silver which people aren't that much interested in. So white gold and maybe even rose gold is safer to use than original gold.
              "So, have you made up your mind?" Selina came walking in with a can of cola and a wine glass filled with ice on her other hand. "Or do you still need more time to decide?"
              She walked towards the sofa area and placed the beverages on the coffee table as she sat on one side of the sofa. "Don't just stand there, have a seat." She said. "Don't worry about the appearance of the sofas, a rock may be ugly, but it doesn't mean it's not valuable."
              "In other words, I polish my furniture daily."
              "Alright," I said as I walked over to the sofa area and sat on the opposite side of the coffee table, facing Selina. Raven landed and sat next to me. "I would like the white gold."
              "Ahh, the second most popular choice." She said. "Sure. Now how about the size of the gem?"
              "How big do you want the pendant to be?"
              Jon is a boy and it's not a problem for boys to wear a crystal pendant. But the size of it makes a lot of difference. Big pendant is mostly for females but even males do wear them but rarely. Medium size suits males as well but if the pendant is not a gem but materials such as animal teeth, cross, and many more. Apparently, Jon's compass pendant is a medium size... slightly bigger than a beer bottle cap. Small? A pendant the size of earring stud is way too small.
              "Could you do a medium?" I ask. "Roughly 7 over 8 inches or 20 millimeters?"
              "Sure, that's easy." She said. "But honey, are you forgetting that the ruby you got is almost the size of your palms."

              "I'll just need to break a small piece from it to make the medium size pendant. What are you going to do with the balance?"
              "I don't know." I scratch my head. "I'll think of something."
              "Okay?" She said. "Now, one last thing. How many centimeters of the white gold necklace would you like?"
              She got up and made her way towards a room. I heard items being scattered everywhere just before she started walking out of the room. She was holding a spool of chains and a handheld mirror on the other.
              "Here, white gold chain." She said as she approached in front of me and gave me the mirror. She then unrolls a couple of centimeters of the chain and circles it on my neck. "I got four choices of necklace length. This is 18cm, just before your collar bones."
              "No, this is too short," I said, looking at the length in the mirror.
              "Okay?" She said as she increases the length. "This is 20cm, which is under your collarbone's and above your chest."
              "Nope, this length suits females more," I said.
              "You're not wrong there..." She chuckles as she increases the length even more. "How about 24cm, which is the same length as the necklace you're wearing."
              Jon's necklace is 24cm... and actually, that's not so bad. Maybe this is the length he's used to as well.
              "No?" She asks. "It could go longer."
              "No... 24cm works," I said looking in the mirror. "Yes, 24cm."
              "Alright then." She said as she pulled out a tool from her pocket to cut the chain. She held the 24cm white gold necklace in front of me. The necklace looked like a string and nothing like white gold. I don't know how she's gonna do it but I hope it's not disappointing. "This is the right length yes?"
              "Yes," I said.
              "Okay, now would you like any additional diamonds surrounding the ruby?" She asks. "I got jades stones, swarovski crystals, amethyst--
              "Neither." I stopped her. "Just the ruby would do. Too many diamonds around it could make it too girly."
              "I see your point." She said. "Alright, tell you what."
              "You guys wait here while I prepare the necklace. It'll only take an hour or two because the gem needed is small so it's easier."
              "When I'm done, and you're satisfied with it, then we'll discuss the price. Okay?"
              "Sure," I said.
              "Purr-fect." She said. "Now, make yourselves home... if you're hungry for some junk food, there's plenty in the shelf and fridge to which you can help yourselves with."
              "Thanks, Selina," Raven said with a friendly tone. "For your generous hospitality."
              "Of course." She said. "Excuse me. I'll let you know when it's ready."
              With that, Selina took the materials and the file and head towards a room located at the back of the apartment.
              Now I'm left with Raven and a whole lot of cats surrounding us. I lean back onto the sofa and released a relieved sigh.
              "What was it like down there?" Raven asks out of the blue. "In the sea I mean."
              And it starts a long conversation about my siren experience.