Page 11 of The Noble's Merman

“You don’t want to be encouraged to do something you don’t wish to do,” Mo offered.

“Precisely.” Kent nodded. “I would not mind her as a friend, but I’m not looking for any more than that of her.”

Mo nodded back. The way humans courted each other was a topic he didn’t have a lot of knowledge on, but it didn’t sound much different from how merfolk went about it. However, something struck Mo as somewhat peculiar.

If he wasn’t interested in a lady, would his interests lie elsewhere? Is he like me, and prefers men?

It certainly seemed like a possibility. But while Mo had his suspicions, he didn’t wish to press the subject further. If it were true and Kent wanted to reveal that about himself, Mo figured he would, in due time.

“Anyway, I haven’t forgotten you owe me a song.” Kent smiled, dimples forming on his cheeks.

“Ah, yes! I haven’t forgotten either. All right, let’s see, what should I sing…”

Thankfully, Mo was well versed in knowing how to sing without the Siren’s Song. He’d sung that way for most of his life, anyway. Simply using his voice, not honing in on any magic, he sang a soft tune, a lullaby in mer-tongue that mothers used to soothe their younglings. Though, he’d heard it from other sources. He couldn’t ever remember his own mother singing it herself…

Kent placed a hand on his chest. “My goodness, that’s absolutely amazing! Mo, you said my voice is beautiful, but listen to yours…” His smile was so sweet as he spoke.

“Thank you very much.” Mo could feel his cheeks warm at the compliment.

“Your language sounds so fascinating, with all the clicks and chirps.”

“You can say that—however, I do like the language you speak quite a lot. It sounds more elegant, smoother.”

“If you say so…” Kent gave him a playful smirk. “What do the words mean?”

Mo went over the lyrics in his head again to translate. “Beautiful dreamer, under the sea, mermaids are chanting a sweet melody; fleeting and fraying currents are born, waiting to fade at the bright coming morn.”

Kent fluttered his long eyelashes, parting his lips slightly. “Oh my. That only adds to the song’s beauty. I absolutely love it.”

How could Mo deal with such wonderful words from such a gorgeous man? His heart was thudding, and he kept a smile on his face. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Now, about that book…”

“Ah yes, that! I wanted to show you this.” Kent patted the book on his lap. “Do you know how to read any human languages?”

Mo shook his head. “No, unfortunately. The magic only works with speech, I’m afraid. Merfolk do have our own written language, though.”

“Now that I think about it, I think there was an example of merfolk writing here in this book. Here, I’ll read parts aloud for you. Oh, oh Lord, this still is just so unbelievable.”

It warmed Mo’s heart to see how excited Kent was to the whole prospect of discovering merfolk. Mo had known about humans his entire life, and he used to think it was strange that the knowledge wasn’t shared the other way around. But over time, he’d learnt of how different human culture was, and that only made him interested in their kind more.

“The title of the book is: A Comprehensive History of Merfolk, as told by the sailor Michael Phillips, in part assisted by the mermaid Aen,” Kent said as he opened the book to the first page. “Have you heard of them before? The sailor or the mermaid? I mean, if you haven’t I don’t blame you; according to the date, this book was written over twenty years ago.”

“No, I haven’t.” Mo shook his head again.

“All right.” He turned to the next page, this time showing off an illustration. Here was something that Mo could understand, so he leant into the human a little bit closer, taking a gander at the book. “This drawing, here, you look just like one of them.”

“Wow, yes! The artist who made this was very skilled,” Mo chuckled.

“Yes, they were.” Kent trailed a finger on the artwork. “But, I—but I still think it’s so much more amazing to see a merman in person, like you right here. I’m sorry, I—still can’t get over that you’re here!”

Kent turned his head to face Mo, and now, with them sitting together like this, their faces were closer. While Kent had something covering his right eye, his left was visible, stunning and shimmering, a deep brown like the color of the ocean floor. Mo gulped, then moved his gaze down to Kent’s mouth. His smile was so sweet, so precious, Mo licked his own lips at the thought of what Kent’s would feel like?—

Oh, what am I doing? Mo had never kissed a human before. He had only met Kent a few days ago; he was getting ahead of himself just because he thought the human was incredibly beautiful. Just because Kent was so cheerful and happy talking to Mo did not necessarily mean he felt the same attraction back. Kent was just astounded to find out merfolk existed, that was all.

But even that was still absolutely endearing, and Mo wanted to keep seeing that gorgeous smile.

“Well, I am here,” he said. “Now, if you please, I wish to know what else might be in this book…”

“Ah, yes, yes, of course.” Kent bashfully turned his head back toward the book, and flipped to the next page.

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