Among the Blue [Critical]

Although he was not a regular officer on the force, Lelei still received an invitation to a charity dinner being held by a local businessman. Apparently his frequent independent contract work had done enough good in and around the city that they included him in their invitation list. He was surprised, and surprisingly honored, by the inclusion. Some of the other officers at the station had even asked about his appearance at the charity, or were personally recommending his attendance. Lelei had to partially turn them down.

The unfortunate truth of the matter was that Lelei would not be around for the actual dinner part of the charity, much to chagrin of the officers. He would be there afterward, but not when food was being served. Lelei knew as well as anyone else that, while it may have been amusing to watch a giant shark man chomp on literally everything they served, the amusement would be dulled by the faux paux of watching him eat. Without any flat teeth, virtually no cheeks, and only pseudo-lips, Lelei was not the cleanest nor prettiest eater. If he ate, he swallowed everything in one or two chomps, or he made a mess gnashing down with his powerful jaws. It was not a pleasant experience for anyone sitting adjacent to him.

When the dinner ended, and when most of the other officers would be showing up, Lelei arrived. Even as a giant shark man, he was able to dress up nicely for the party. His suit was a custom-tailored, navy blue number that complemented his natural colorings. Strangely enough, the tailor seemed oddly familiar with making suits for giant, not-quite-human men.

Lelei was greeted by his fellow officers and he returned eagerly. Seeing them off duty and out of uniform was a treat for him. He would have been fine just conversing with them, but then something his caught his eye.

Above the heads of everyone else, Lelei could see another lone head peeking above all the smaller humans. It was deja vu, right down to Ignatius being surrounded by other people. But this time he was not being hounded by women, instead it was formally-dressed officers. Lelei soon joined them.

"Good evening, sir! Are you the Ignatius gentleman that is holding his charity get-together?"

He held out his sizeable hand for a firm shake, and his many teeth were shown in a wide smile. He added, more quietly.

"Although... I think we've seen each other before, at a previous gathering..."

Lelei had experienced a much different barbecue than Ignatius. Where Ignatius had seen frivolity and way too much skin, Lelei had seen a flesh buffet that he could indulge himself in. He remembered the moment there eyes had met over the heads over everyone else, just like at the current party. The moment had only been just that, but there had been a connection. The two Alphas of the island had found each other, they had crossed each other's paths and now they knew that their territories had met. For Lelei, the thrill of meeting another Alpha played into the "fun" he had later at the party with a soft deer boy.

Now at the police gathering, Lelei was feeling the remnants of that rush. As their hands and eyes met in mutual greeting, an aura seemed to project from the two of them. Dominance. It was almost a physical force pushing the other people around them away.

"Depends. Do you consider offshore sea bed to be part of the island? If so, I'm as local as the island itself."

Though he meant no antagonism, or very little of it, Lelei's handshake was still a demonstration of silent strength to Ignatius. He gripped hard and shook hard. All without breaking eye contact. In truth, he wanted to get to know Ignatius and possibly make a friend. But his Alpha instincts were quietly driving him to competition.

"What about you? You seem like old money. A man who has already staked his claim here, as if he is part of my isl--er--the island itself.

"A self-mde business man, huh? I can always respect that."

The handshake had shown Lelei that Ignatius was up to acknowledging his fellow Alpha, and nothing more. There was no retaliatory squeeze, and no push-back. So Ignatius was holding himself back, or uninterested in playing the predatory game that even Lelei was not entirely aware of. It was probably for the best. Regular men often made messes of their surroundings in their endeavors to establish masculine dominance. A T-Rex and Shark going at it would have been disastrous.

But Ignatius was not above establishing rules of his own. The line had been drawn between the Alphas. The land was his, and the sea was Lelei's. Lelei could honor that boundary. He was not foolish enough to think that he had any advantage over a man meant for the land, as opposed to a man meant for the sea.

"It's almost another world down there. For you. Up here it's very different for me. But I think we have our common grounds."

Of all the things to find common between the two, the black sclera of both their eyes was the most rare and unique. Fate seemed to bring together the only two men with those eyes together.

"For example, I get the sense that we have similar tastes in entertainment. Why else would you have been at the barbecue from before? And, y'know, you could've come on over and joined me at any time. I like to share."

Even now Lelei seemed oblivious to how he appeared to other people at the stripper barbecue, wearing nothing except a tiny modesty strip and piercings.

Lelei had to joking hit himself upside the head for not giving his name yet. He had been so caught up in the attraction with another large Alpha, that he had let his etiquette slip. Feeling it necessary, Lelei took a step back and gave an apologetic bow of the head before getting back close to Ignatius.

"Oh! How impolite me! I am Lelei 'A'amakualenalena, independent contractor for the Manta Carlos Police Department. But you can just call me Lelei."

He was always the first to offer anyone the opportunity to not say his last name. After many years on the surface, among humans and other land peoples, Lelei had become keenly aware of how difficult his peoples' names were.

His eyes drifted over to the bar. There was little doubt that it was probably stocked with top shelf liquor and drinks, and Lelei could never pass up that kind of stuff.

"Now that we got that out of the way, can I request to share a drink or two with you? I would love to sit down and get know the man that's putting on this fine charity, and perhaps get to know the man I saw at the barbecue too..."

Lelei had to joking hit himself upside the head for not giving his name yet. He had been so caught up in the attraction with another large Alpha, that he had let his etiquette slip. Feeling it necessary, Lelei took a step back and gave an apologetic bow of the head before getting back close to Ignatius.

"Oh! How impolite me! I am Lelei 'A'amakualenalena, independent contractor for the Manta Carlos Police Department. But you can just call me Lelei."

He was always the first to offer anyone the opportunity to not say his last name. After many years on the surface, among humans and other land peoples, Lelei had become keenly aware of how difficult his peoples' names were.

His eyes drifted over to the bar. There was little doubt that it was probably stocked with top shelf liquor and drinks, and Lelei could never pass up that kind of stuff.

"Now that we got that out of the way, can I request to share a drink or two with you? I would love to sit down and get know the man that's putting on this fine charity, and perhaps get to know the man I saw at the barbecue too..."