Status Updates From Our Bloody Pearl

“‘Might never again.’ A rush of emotion clenches at my heart, like a subtle acceptance of my tail all over again…Dejean won’t be the same. But the inability to do all that you once could isn’t the same as uselessness. It’s a change, a painful one, but still just a change. Dejean won’t be fine, but he’s here. As long as he lives, I can accept him as he is.”

“‘All intelligent creatures are bound by honor to stay out of our territories, unless given permission. We kill those who refuse…Whales and octopuses respect this…But never humans.’ ‘Of course we don’t’ His voice rises and he blurs his signs. ‘We have no idea where your territories are!’…’What?’….My stomach turns. Perhaps I some ways it makes sense. Humans are not of the sea.”

“I yearn to create that melody, but with the chamber hidden beneath locked gills, I can do nothing but growl and click and whine… ‘Naybe we can get them working again, once you trust me enough.’ He can’t know what he’s offering me. Simone appears… ‘Excuse me saying it, Captain, but you’re as dumb as they come…That creature will be at you the moment they can sing again.’ She’s not wrong.”

“I’m not a boy or a girl. I’m a siren.”