Raephier felt many things the next morning, but the predominant emotion was shame. Not only had he cried like a baby, but he'd also flung himself at his new Master. Just thinking about it made him want to scratch his own skin off.
Another strong emotion Raephier was feeling was confusion. He'd never considered himself emotional. In the years since his curse, he'd only ever cried twice. The first being the day he was cast out by his family, and the second was his first night in captivity. Throughout his time with a Master, he had been beaten, starved, tortured and ridiculed, but never once had he cried in front of them.
But then along came Captain Jacob Riley and changed all that. Captain Jacob Riley with his kind eyes and dimpled smile.
Raephier preferred to pretend that he didn't understand why he'd broken down yesterday, but all the pieces of the puzzle were there if he'd just put them together.
Jacob was unlike any other Master he'd ever had. He was kind and generous, and had treated Raephier with respect. And despite the fact Jacob was still eating the Muntle seaweed, he'd also shown Raephier a level of trust. After just one day he'd let him out of the cage, and even let him sleep untethered in the same room as him.
So it was unsurprising that Raephier's emotions were all over the place. He liked being here. He liked Jacob. Which made everything so much worse.
Raephier mentally shook himself. He needed to get a grip on his emotions. He was not weak. He'd never been weak. And he was going to have to be stronger than he ever had been before to get through what lay ahead.
Raephier looked down at his body and shook his head. Maybe this was part of the problem. Whenever he had a new Master he took on the part of a meek, unthreatening boy. Maybe this time he'd settled into that role too well, blurring the lines between fact and fiction.
With a new level of determination, Raephier made a decision. He closed his eyes and concentrated.
"What the hell!"
Raephier's eyes snapped open to see Jacob sat up in bed staring at him with a mixture of confusion and anger on his face.
Raephier knew that he needed to fix this and quickly.
"Y-You said that you don't like lies, and I realised that my image was a lie. I didn't mean to trick you. It's what I was taught to do to minimise the amount of ill-treatment I would receive. Only in this case, I know that it wouldn't have made any difference if I'd revealed my true self. You'd have treated me with kindness anyway."
Jacob was still looking just as shocked as before, but some of the anger seemed to disappear from his face.
But Jacob's shock was not unexpected. Afterall, Raephier had just aged about 6 years in 6 seconds. His body was now about 5 inches longer, his shoulders considerably broader, and his face more angled. His hair had also changed from blonde to a honey colour. The only thing that stayed the same were his big blue eyes.
"So how old are you?" Jacob asked.
"I was honest when I said I wasn't sure. But if I were to guess I would say somewhere between 23 and 25."
Jacob nodded, looking deep in thought.
"I guess it makes sense to look as unthreatening as possible," Jacob mumbled, getting up off the bed. "Stand up, and let me take a look at you."
Raephier did as requested and kept as still as he could while Jacob paced in a circle around him. Raephier felt the Captain's gaze on his body as one would a flaming torch. He almost felt sure that there would be scorch marks left in its wake.
"I hate to break it to you," Jacob said, "but you're hardly more intimidating as your true self than you were before."
Raephier wasn't sure if the Captain was being cruel, but the moment he saw the slight twitch of Jacob's mouth and the glint in his eyes, he bit back a smile. Raephier had always been slight in build, and even with his instant growth spurt, he was still around 4 inches shorter than the Captain
"I'm stronger than I look," Raephier said, firmly holding the Captain's gaze.
This time Jacob looked away first, trying to hold back a smile, and Raephier couldn't help but grin at his victory.
"So can you shapeshift into anything?" Jacob asked.
Raephier tipped his head slightly in thought.
"Yes, I probably could, but it takes a lot of energy to shapeshift, so the more I change my original form, the less time I can hold that shape. If you asked me to be a 15 foot ogre or a tiny mouse, I could only hold that shape for a few seconds. I think if I practised I would be able to hold it for longer, but I don't really like doing it."
Jacob hummed in thought then started to get his clothes out of the wardrobe to get dressed for the day.
Raephier thought that the conversation was over, but once Jacob was dressed he turned to face Raephier again.
"So does the shapeshifting have anything to do with how you kill people?"
Raephier's stomach felt like someone had plopped a lead weight into it.
He had no idea what expression was on his face, but Jacob was quick to say more before Raephier had a chance to reply.
"I-I didn't mean it like that. I mean.... I guess I don't know.....I just thought....."
Jacob sighed, clearly frustrated with trying to say whatever it was that was on his mind.
"I'm sorry Raephier, I honestly don't know much about Sirens. You're going to have to teach me. Do you think you can do that?"
Raephier tried to answer but his voice cracked that much he ended up coughing to clear his throat first.
"Y-yes, I can do that."
"Good. Thank you." Jacob said, before putting on his coat. "I'll be back with breakfast shortly."
And then he walked out.
Raephier was left, once again, feeling like an emotional wreck. Why was this so hard?
Raephier had hated the curse and his newfound 'powers' the moment he'd discovered them. But the way that Jacob had so casually asked him about killing people made him feel sick inside. Is that really all Jacob viewed him as? Something to kill his enemies with?
Or course, logically that made perfect sense. Raephier knew he'd been sold as a weapon and Jacob had already explained that he bought him so that he could assist in getting them home.
Raephier was still turning these thoughts over in his mind when Jacob reappeared with a plate and a bucket.
"Here," Jacob said, handing the plate over.
Raephier smiled at the sight of scrambled eggs and bread.
"You like eggs?" Jacob said, clearly noticing Raephier's smile.
"Yes, thank you," he said.
"Oh, and I've brought you this," Jacob said, holding out a small bar of something white towards Raephier.
"What is it?" he asked, taking hold of it tentatively.
Raephier brought it to his nose and gave it a sniff, which made the Captain chuckle quietly.
"Do I eat it?" Raephier asked. It had a nice smell to it, but he wasn't sure it smelt like food.
"No, no!" Jacob said laughing. "You wash with it."
Raphier just stared at Jacob in confusion.
"It's called soap. Here, let me show you," Jacob said, holding out his hand for the white bar.
Raephier gave it back to him and then Jacob put his hands in the bucket of water, then lifted them out and rubbed the soap between them. Raephier watched in fascination when the soap left a white layer of bubbles on his hands. He then put down the soap and plunged his hands into the bucket again.
"See," Jacob said showing Raephier his clean hands. He passed the bar of soap back to Raephier who immediately dropped it into the bucket.
Reaphier panicked, and immediately plunged his hand in to try to retrieve it. Only every time he tried to grab hold of it, it seemed to slip through his grasp.
"Is it some kind of fish?" he asked, feeling sure that it was actually alive and moving.
Jacob chuckled, then plunged his hand into the bucket. He grabbed hold of it with relative ease, making Raephier blush slightly. Although, the slight pinking of his cheeks could also be attributed to the fact that Jacob's hand had brushed his as he drew it out.
"I don't think you'll need anymore of this now," Jacob said, pointing at the bucket. The water which was crystal clear, was now slightly foggy.
Jacob went to the drawers next to his bed and pulled out a cloth and put it next to the bucket.
"Eat your breakfast," Jacob ordered, "and then afterwards I want you to wash yourself with the cloth using that water."
Raephier nodded, then carried his plate of eggs back to his blanket to eat them. He was so engrossed in his plate of food, that he didn't notice what the Captain was doing until he spoke again.
"I've put some clean clothes on the bed for you to wear when you've had a wash. They belong to me, but I'm afraid they're a bit worn and aged, which is why they've been sitting at the back of my closet."
"N-No, that's fine. Thank you," Raephier said, hardly able to believe that he was being given some of the Captain's clothes. Even if they were old and worn.
"Ok then, I'll see you later," Jacob said, striding over to the door. He opened it, then turned back to Raephier. "And remember what I said about food. If anyone leaves food in here, it's for you and I expect it to be eaten by the time I return."
"Yes Master," Raephier said instinctively.
He noted the slight flinch in Jacob's posture, and berated himself for using the term when he knew it made him uncomfortable. Before he could offer an apology, Jacob was gone and Raephier heard the turning of the key in the lock.
Reaphier began to think that disappointing the Captain was something that he would always do. But despite that thought rattling around in his mind all day, he did his absolute best to do everything that Jacob had told him to. He meticulously washed his body, making sure to get the dirt out of even the most hard to reach places. He only wished he had the courage to ask the man who brought him some food, for another bucket of water, as even half way through his wash the water was embarrassingly murky.
Lunch was unidentifiable mush, but surprisingly tasty. Even if it wasn't Raephier would have made sure to scrape his plate clean. He was determined not to have a repeat of yesterday.
The clothes Jacob had left him consisted of a long-sleeved baggy white(ish) shirt, some undergarments and a pair of worn trousers, which had a hole in one knee. All were slightly too big, but not to the point of looking ridiculous.
By the time the sun was setting, Raephier was almost excited for Jacob to come back. He hoped that this time, he would be pleased with him.
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