not beaten down just yet

"Lelei. Manta Carlos police department. I also conduct classes occasionally for the Academy. So I guess we're both semi-co=workers."

His introduction as part of the police was simply the best way for him to describe what he did. Technically he was more like an independent contractor for the police, whom was called in whenever anything beyond normal happened around the island. Or if they really needed some muscle and presence for normal cases. But he spent so much time working for them that he allowed him to be introduced as part of the force, and the police let him since he did such a good job whenever he was called in.

Unlike Haleth, Lelei sported no blush of any kind, even if his blush would have been more noticeable because it tinted all the white parts of his body and the tip of his head fin. Again, he found nothing to blush at.

"That's very kind of you Miss Haleth! But I'll take the extras instead. My size tends to push people out of place a bit much. Plus..."

He turned sideways so she could see his tail.

"This tends to cause a lot of problems. But, uh, where would... you have those? Did you put them in the tress too?"

Curious as to why Haleth needed to turn around to access her blankets, Lelei tried to use some of his height on her to see over her shoulder without actuall getting closer to her. When it looked like she was pulling it from nowhere, he tried getting on his toes for a slightly better angle. Unfortunately, it did not yield a clearer explanation and Haleth had turned back around.

He did take notice of her momentary fixation on the positioning of her own breasts. That could have been part of the answer, but it also could have just been normal fixing of the breasts. They did look quite large and cumbersome.

"Oh, well, thank you still. I surmise that it's also a secret place too?"

When Haleth had momentary looked away to settle down, he brought the blanket up for a quick sniff. It was slightly warm too. Strange. But a blanket was a blanket and he rolled it out next to her.

His tail made it almost impossible for him to just lay out on his back, so the most he could for the moment was sit upright on it, supporting himself on his arms and spreading his legs out in front and tail out back. The sun hit him straight on his front, and he liked it.

"For the police? I'm a contractor specializing in supernatural incidents. They call me in whenever there's a case involving a person who is more than Human. Sometimes I'm muscle, other times I'm like a negotiator. Sometimes the supernaturally-inclined don't take well to being confronted by just normal officers. Makes them feel like outcasts.

That's where I come in."

He nodded respectfully when she made it clear that her... storage space was private. If nothing else, Lelei was respectful of other people's private matters. His curiosity sometimes got him to ask lots of questions of people, but the moment they told him stop he would stop.

"Don't put yourself down too much. What you do is important for these young people."

Her follow up question had Lelei actually putting some thought into his answer. The question was simple to most people. Yes or no. Lelei had to think through what she meant by "liking" it. He hunched forward slightly and let his tail wave back and forth slowly across the ground behind him.

When it seemed like he had a good enough answer, he changed position on the blanket. Lelei moved from a seated position to laying on his side facing Haleth, in an almost model-esque post with his head propped on his hand and one of his knees bent upward. The look on his face said that he was not entirely sure of his answer, but it was the best he could do at the moment. It also showed that he was still not considering that he was basically putting himself on full display for Haleth still.

"I suppose I do... It's like what I did before I came to the land. Keeping the peace and establishing order. But I don't like it when I have to put away a young person who was just on the wrong track or made a mistake. Sure, sometimes it feels good to take down a real bad perp. But that's not always the case."

It seemed that, even though the two of them were not exactly in the same boat, they were in same... boat convoy. The point being that they both had similar experiences in their respective fields when it came to handling the people they were generally charged with. For Haleth, she had her doubts about actually educating the kids, and Lelei had his doubts that rehabilitating some of his perps was even worth attempting. They were both trying to make a difference in the world, and they both wondered if it was even working.

He could only sigh along with Haleth, and nod.

"The best we can do is continue to try. Try and hope that we can touch at least one life. That will have everything worth it."

With Haleth looking towards the sky and her back flat on the ground, Lelei took the opportunity to try and work out the location of the special storage space again. Her bikini was tiny enough that she could not hide much of anything, but all that left was just... her body. No special contraption or even pockets to hide that kind of thing. He was starting to think she literally pulled the blanket from nowhere.

"Mentoring programs... Hm. I never thought about that. It makes sense though. Taking the kids out of the disruptive environment and into a good one. However, I don't know if they would be up to spending time with someone like me. I mean, look at me. I'm under no illusions as to what I look like. These teeth will never stop being monstrous to some people."

He tapped one of his many many teeth for emphasis, which caused it to wiggle and fall out onto the blanket.

"Go ahead. Take it. I got plenty."

Like all sharks, Lelei had multiple rows of teeth and they were constantly falling out/being replaced on a nearly weekly basis. It was not uncommon for a student to ask if they could have one of his teeth like Haleth did because, for some reason, humans liked making jewelry out of it. It would have been disturbing to have his teeth hanging around other people's necks had Lelei been any kind of concerned about the teeth he lost. As long as they were not pulling them out of his head, they could do whatever.

"Just be careful. They're pretty damn sharp."

He listened carefully to Haleth's advice, considering her ambition to touch more than just one person and that Lelei's appearance should not be an obstacle for him. The latter seemed like a misinterpretation of his feelings towards his appearance. Lelei was perfectly fine with how he looked, even though he looked scary to some people. He knew full well that talking and acting civil was enough to convince most people.

He waved off her concern about the speech.

"No offense taken. And I do hope to touch more than one person. But I suppose it's not my nature to overextend my expectations, especially if it means neglecting something I definitely could help."

Lelei stood up and stretched, then looked down at Haleth.

"You think you're up for a swim with me? Or are you just going to lounge in the sun all day?"