behind the sea

Emilio tilted his head, his heart panging painfully at Leo's words. He had hurt him quite a lot tonight, hadn't he? He didn't like Leo's tone at all — it sounded pitiful and weak, and it made him even guiltier. This whole mermaid thing was a bad idea. Even with the incredible payout, it was painful and he hated it. Why had he chosen to become a smuggler of all things? It would have been easier to become a lawyer man, someone who could sit in an office and pretend they're doing the right thing. At least a smuggler knew they were doing wrong. "Sim. Sim, sim sim."

His mouth pressed together, hearing his full name come from the tiny merman. That's right, they had shared their full names, hadn't they? For a moment, he faltered, drumming his fingertips against his mouth. Nodding, Emilio accepted a new idea. "Lutar e eu vou te machucar. Don't move." Coming back to the side of the bed, Emiliano carefully looped one string of rope through a middle post, making it long enough for Leo to roll around a little bit without being pinned down like a bug under a microscope. Untying one wrist carefully, Emilio secured it to the centre rope at the end, knotting it thrice just in case. Doing the same to the other wrist, Emilio tugged at his knots carefully, grunting happily when he saw how secure. It wasn't long enough to bring down to his mouth and gnaw at, but hopefully it would be enough. "Boa noite." Patting Leo's head gently, Emilio grabbed a bundle of blankets from the tiny closet, heaping them on the floor into some kind of strange nest. Taking a pillow from the opposite side of Leo, Emiliano threw himself on the ground, praying that he didn't wake up with teeth in his throat. But then, Leo would be trapped on this godforsaken ship forever-- he couldn't get anywhere, not without the hidden keys.

Curled up on the floor, Emilio thought it funny now that he had wondered earlier if he could manage to sleep with the boy. In hindsight, he probably should have kept up that nice front until the next morning. It was far too late to undo all that, though, and Emilio cursed himself for not thinking ahead.

A faint creaking noise was coming from the bed, and Emilio sat and listened to the constant sound, his eyebrows coming down as he tried to figure out what it was. Sitting up in his nest, Emiliano stared towards the bed, rummaging in his pockets for a match to light the small gas lamps that lined his cabin. "Now what." Leo seemed to be trying to gnaw at the rope, and Emiliano sighed. So much for trying to do him a bit of kindness. Leaving the lamps lit, Emilio grabbed his nest from the floor, dropping it on the bed. Crawling up next to Leo, Emiliano hovered over him with an upset expression. "No." Scolding the boy like one might a dog, Emilio shook his head and slapped Leo's hands gently. "Agora eu vou ter que dormir com você." His voice a seductive purr now, Emilio grinned as he patted Leo's stomach. He wouldn't try anything creepy on the boy, not today. But it certainly amused him to put a little fear into his heart.

Leo certainly didn't seem to be too into the idea of Emiliano joining him on the bed, but that didn't make anything change. The last thing he needed right now was for the boy to escape, murder him, and take his boat. He had built too great of a smuggling empire to have it all ripped away like this. "No. I'm staying. You can't be trusted." Not that Emilio had really trusted the boy in the first place, but now Leo proved that he would do anything to escape. "You're broken right now, I can't leave you too long anyway."

Sitting up, Emilio propped himself up against the headboard of the bed, rubbing his stubble again. The longer it grew, the more of a habit it became to touch it. He had naturally clear skin, and didn't get pimples very easily, but he was still a bit paranoid of a few cropping up on his chin. Crossing his legs at the ankle, Emilio poked his fingers into the pocket of his shirt, finding a cigarette and lighting it. Taking a long drag on it, he flicked some of the loose ashes into an ashtray next to the bed, putting one arm behind his head. "De onde você vem?" Curious as to how a little merman ended up in the freezing waters of the island, Emilio dropped his cigarette into one of the little dips on the side of the ashtray, letting it burn alone.

Emilio shot a piteous glance at Leo. He knew it probably hurt quite a bit right now, but he wouldn't be able to do anything until the morning. Would he need a vet or a regular doctor? Hmm. Probably regular. He thought he could find a healer of some sort to at least set the ribs back where they were supposed to sit. "Ah? Amazon?" That made more sense. "I'm Portuguese."
Dabbing out the cigarette, Emilio waved away the left over smoke in the air. "I asked earlier if you needed water, estúpido."

Rolling out of bed, Emilio nodded. He would go prepare that holding tank now. The good part about it was it's flexibility. He could transport it anywhere with a couple men. It was already all set up, and thankfully he had transported a host of freshwater fish before coming here. It was around 400 gallons or so, meant more for holding baby sharks and squid, and Leo wouldn't be able to swim very freely, but he could at least bob around a little bit in the water. It came with a couple of those dumb fake coloured pebbles one could buy at a pet store, and a couple sprigs of the plastic seaweed. It unfortunately, did not have heating, but Emilio figured it would be okay for a short time. The holding tank was situated in one of the storage rooms that connected to the bedroom, and Emilio thought it would give Leo a nice view of what was happening before he was moved to the shop front. Untying Leonardo from his bed, Emilio hoisted him up in his arms, keeping his wrists bound. Standing on a ladder next to his shark tank, he struggled for a moment before dropping him in, keeping hold of his wrists to untie them. "Take that muzzle off yourself. You'll bite me."

Leo seemed to be happy in there, and Emilio ducked his head, pleased that he could give Leo a little more happiness. Now that he was back in the water, Emiliano wondered if he would eat at all. He was more or less contained, and didn't have to be tied up to his bed anymore. With a faint hm, Emilio trotted back to his kitchenette, retrieving a bit of the cooked fish. Returning to Leo's new tank, he got back onto the step stool, dropping bits of fish into the top. "Faminto?"

Looking hopefully at Leo through the glass of the tank, Emilio hoped he would eat a little bit soon. He was more worried about Leo's own personal health rather than his marketablility. He wouldn't be able to sell him for a while, and it would be an awful waste to watch the poor boy pine and wilt away. In some strange way, he wanted to please the boy, and make up for what he had done earlier. Asking again, Emilio dropped the rest of the bits of fish in the top, watching them bob around. "O que você come" He probably could go find shrimps and lobsters, if Leo at those types of things. He didn't think Leo would appreciate regular fish food being sprinkled in, being more or less human. "Lagosta?"