«Look, it's him!» Aliana shouted, leaping forward, kneeling on the sand. Her outstretched hand pointed to something in the waves.

Seraphin narrowed his gaze: fiery red hair and skin so pale it looked like silver, Sangreal's bare shoulders, barely visible, emerging from the water.

«At least he's alive» Marti said, then took a deep breath «What do we do? Should we get up? Should we talk to him?»

«Let's try at least to understand why he did this. He's still our contact» Seraphin replied «Or at least... at least I think so...».

Marti sighed, then stood up and helped her sisters do the same. Seraphin crouched on his heels, rolled up his pants around his ankles and took off his shoes, then waded into the water.

«Mr... Mr. Sangreal!» He exclaimed, waving a hand in greeting.

Sangreal bent down, his mouth and the tip of his nose under the water.

«When you talk to him, he drowns himself» Aliana joked

«You laugh, but he will really kill himself, like this» Seraphin muttered, but he once again armed himself with a pleasant smile as he turned toward the sea «I just want to talk to you about a project, Sangreal!»

«NO»

«I... I haven't told you what the project is yet»

«No, talk, no».

Sangreal's voice sounded strange, as if he were shouting but couldn't get it very loud. Seraphin had to strain his ears to understand exactly what he was saying, even if it was only a handful of syllables.

«No... talk... about what?» The biologist asked, leaning forward a little, his arms outstretched

«Talk»

«About what?»

«Talk in general»

«You don't want to... talk?»

«No».

Seraphin straightened his back and put his hands on his hips.

«Are you seriously trying to convince a naked man to talk to you?» The woman with purple hair asked

«He doesn't talk, just undress» his brother joked in a low voice, then raised his voice and immediately replied to Sangreal «Write, then» He waved a hand in midair, writing on an imaginary sheet of paper «If you don't feel like talking right now, that's fine, we can write»

«Write...?»

«Yes, by email. Can I have your email address?»

«E-e?…»

«Email, yes. Electronic mail»

«My address…».

Seraphin cocked his head slightly to the side, surprised. He was beginning to harbor a strong suspicion that the gentleman he was conversing with wasn’t entirely sober.

His beautiful blue eyes were open in the darkness in an expression difficult to decipher, but to the biologist, he gave the impression of being struggling to remember the details of what he’d been asked, or worse, what an email address was.

Sangreal confirmed his impression almost immediately.

«I don’t remember what it is right now»

«Oh»

«Are you sure you want to write to my address? Send the letters… to me?»

«Of course»

«Not to someone else and then I read them?».

Seraphin smiled genuinely at this uncertainty; he thought it had something tender about it.

Although Sangreal's French was impeccable, it was always possible it wasn't his first language: perhaps he was trying to convey to him as best he could that he had a secretary, someone who took care of receiving his mail.

Or perhaps he wasn't sober.

«If possible, I'd like to send it to you. Would you like to come over? As I mentioned, President Alkahest asked me to talk to you about our project» Seraphin articulated as he explained, maintaining a friendly tone. He raised his palms and swifted them to the side, a gesture meant to indicate himself and his sisters. «She told me you like the ocean, that you're interested in the deep sea. Is that so?»

«Yes».

Now that the president had said she wanted to contact him in person, the effort to convince Sangreal of the soundness of their idea had become an optional step.

Yet Seraphin was pleased when he saw Sangreal starting to approach the shore, whether for the sheer satisfaction of a resolved conflict or because having his support would give them even greater confidence.

He was moving strangely, his body neither rising nor falling, as if he weren't using his legs to push himself forward. Was he swimming? It seemed unlikely, because his arms weren't splashing, they weren't moving the water around him. It was as if... as if something were pushing him forward, from underwater.

«Now he will flash us» Nana said confidently, crossing her arms and nodding «We're about to see his dickey»

«Um... do you want to... move away, close your eyes, something?» her brother asked «I can talk to him, I don't mind the nudity»

«No, no, I'm staying. Then if the others want to leave, they can».

But none of them left.

Sangreal didn't fully emerge from the water. He must have stopped somewhere where the water was curiously deep, though he wasn't too far from them, and his torso was only visible up to his second row of abs.

«CONGRATULATIONS!» Marti shouted at him, giving him both thumbs up «Your personal trainer must be proud of you!».

Seraphin almost burst out laughing, clutching his jaw with one hand.

Sangreal looked only slightly confused. His body, perfectly shaved and pale, was smooth and shiny, his pectorals ample, the physique of a skilled swimmer with broad shoulders, lean, sculpted, like a model in an expensive perfume commercial. He had a dark, almost black ("They look blue" Seraphin thought) dusting of freckles on his upper torso, across his chest, on his collarbones, on his upper arms. He held his hands underwater, looking like an action figure cut perfectly in half, roughly at the waist.

«Tell me about your project» Sangreal said. His voice, though deep, was very low in volume.

«The idea is to study and protect the oarfish, magnificent deep-sea fish that have been very little studied by modern science»

«I know them» Sangreal nodded, concentrating.

Seraphin also had to concentrate to continue talking about his project: he couldn't stop looking at the other's eyes, which seemed almost too strange, too bright, as if they were made of metal. They were beautiful. And for some reason, constantly wide.

«Um, good... I'm glad you're familiar with these creatures»

«I can help you study them»
"Finally, some good news!" «I'm really happy about that. After all, Seras referred us to you for a reason»

«Referred to tou?» Sangreal slowly moved his head to look at the girls «You and your men?»

«My men...» Seraphin gave a small, strained laugh this time, the sound of an engine that won't start «...My men? Where?»

«There» Sangreal didn't move his hands to point to anyone, he just said "there," but judging by his look, he must have been pointing at the scientists 

«They're my sisters, not men» Seraphin explained

«Excuse me» Sangreal lowered his head slightly, a few drops falling from his beard «I didn't notice, unfortunately. Please forgive me»

«Hm... of course»

«It's a little difficult for me to distinguish the males from the females of your kind».

Seraphin wondered what he'd meant... "his kind"? Did he mean people who do the same job as him? Or those of his own race? It didn't make much sense, but he was almost certain the man wasn't sober.

«Don't look at me» Nana whispered «I don't know what he's done»

«I wasn't looking at you... I mean... I was looking at you but I didn't see you» Seraphin explained, realizing he had actually started staring at his sister.

Sangreal stepped back a little. His silver hands appeared from the waves. They were large, with red tips, and there was something strange about them... as if he were wearing transparent gloves made of film.

«I'm sorry» He said «You probably don't really want to talk to me».

His tone was trying to be completely expressionless, almost regal in its dignity, but the bitterness he was hiding was so strong that it showed through.

Seraphin felt a little sick: it was true that he found him immensely strange, and that he was only talking to him because he had to (and it was his duty to secure that funding; his and his sisters' fate depended on it), but he was also noticing that they'd found him all alone, eating shrimp at the buffet. No one spoke to him. Everyone probably knew he'd taken some hallucinogen, some drug, but people who took these substances didn't do it just for "fun." There was always a reason, probably a deep loneliness, and no one who cared enough to stop him.

«Actually, we're looking for you, Sangreal. We want to talk to you»

«It's because you don't know me well enough»

«No, that's right, no... we don't know you well enough» Seraphin swallowed.

Sangreal was taking drugs, probably quite hard ones, and he felt that stripping in front of a group of strangers wasn't "enough" to know him, implying that he usually did even worse.

How much worse, exactly? Was it really worth doing business with him, or would continuing to insist mean starting a working relationship with someone unpredictable and potentially dangerous?

Sangreal's hands dipped back into the water. Seraphin wondered if the intense redness on his fingertips was the drug he'd taken.

«I know a lot about oarfish» Sangreal said «Many, many things. They're like brothers to me... to us. But I'm not the ideal person to study with; I don't know how to study»

«You said that... you said you know a lot about oarfish. What do you mean you don't know...»

«I don't know how to study» Sangreal repeated, looking him straight in the face, his eyes round as saucers

«Oh, okay... so... um... do you think you'll approve the funding?» Seraphin tried, putting a hand behind his head

«How do you plan to study oarfish?»

«Oh... yes... we'll make some observations, maybe a census if we can, because you know they're very elusive fish... we need funding for the equipment, to be able to record information at great depths, and therefore an investment...»

«An investment?»

«Um, yes, an investment»

«Invest the people of the sea»

«No, you mean... investing like, running over? We don't run over the people of the sea... what... what do you mean? The fishermen? Should we run over the old men with the fishing rods?» Seraphin laughed nervously

«No» Sangreal shook his head slowly, almost mechanically «The people of the sea, you call them... merfolks. Mermaids?»

«Should we run over mermaids? Or invest mermaids?»

«Yes»

«I mean, do you want us to research mermaids too?»

«I want you to run over them».

Marti gave a small, raucous laugh, patting her brother on the back. He looked at her for a moment with puzzlement and a sardonic smile on his face, before turning back to Sangreal.

«Run over mermaids? And how exactly do you think we should do that?»

«With a truck»

«With a... truck? How?»

«You take the sirens, put them on a road, and drive a truck over them»

«By a truck, you mean...»

«It has four wheels. It runs on the road. Very heavy, very strong, it moves large quantities of cheese slices».

Seraphin had to press a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. Sangreal, on the other hand, looked completely serious.

«Tell him we'll do it» Marti whispered «What difference does it make anyway?»

«No» Seraphin replied, his voice even lower «What if he actually asks us to do something? To divert some of the funds to try to... find some sirens or something? And then run over them? What do we do?»

«We'll do something!»

«Do you think he's at risk of hypothermia, naked in the water at night?»

«Nah... the water's warm. If he pulls himself out in a couple of hours, he'll survive» Marti reached out to pinch her brother's cheek affectionately «You're too nice to everyone, even crazy people»

«No one deserves to freeze to death, not even if they're crazy».

Sangreal began to walk away, backing away. His skin, especially on his shoulders, seemed to shine a little too much under the dim moonlight... for some reason, Seraphin thought, he must have been dusting himself with glitter.

«Mr. Sangreal... don't go away, wait...»

«I'm not going away» his voice was barely audible now

«Okay. Um... we should first learn more about the habits of these 'mermaids', see if they're invasive, and then maybe we can run them over. What do you think?»

«I think it might be a good idea. You just need to get to know the people of the sea better to understand how evil they are, and then you'll know they're the ones you want to run over»

«Yes, okay. Sounds like a good idea».

Sangreal approached again. Seraphin felt a shiver run down his spine: there was something wrong and unreal about the silver torso of that gigantic man emerging from the water, about his hair that, in the semi-darkness, seemed soaked with blood. It was like seeing a supernatural creature, it instilled that same fear, that of unpredictability... and wonder.

«I'll tell Seras to fund your project» Sangreal continued, his voice calm and professional «It will be a pleasure to work with you in the near future»

«I'm honored... delighted. I'm delighted»

«I have to go now»

«Do you want us to turn away, or move away, while you climb out of the water? To give you some privacy?»

«I won't climb out of the water»

«I don't know if it's good for you, staying in the sea at night, and after eating all those shrimp...».

Sangreal laughed, this time. He didn't do it brazenly, but with a naturalness that almost didn't befit such a supernatural-looking creature: he lowered his head to his chest, a look of amusement on his face, and let out a few quick, low-volume laughs.

«What's so funny?» Seraphin asked, feigning resentment.

«I've never had a problem staying in the sea at night, or while eating shrimp» Sangreal explained, with a genuine, almost contagious smile «In fact, I'd dare say it's been my whole life».

Seraphin remembered the president's phrase again, that "with gills." The Alkahest laboratories were at the forefront of scientific research, with their winning team composition: a mix of scientists and magicians. A new prototype that would allow a human to breathe underwater, with artificial gills, was a possibility that was anything but unrealistic for them.

«Oh. Night diving! And that's how you were able to observe elusive creatures like oarfish. How wonderful, it must be an incredible feeling to encounter them in the wild! And I imagine these dives were at night because that's when the krill rises to the surface, and it's easier to encounter fish that feed on them, right?»

«Yes and no. I don't follow the oarfish, but we often cross paths, since we're looking for the same thing»

«Krill?»

«I'm quite an expert on that. What was your name?»

«Seraphin Panorme»

«Goodnight, Seraphin Panorme»

«Goodnight, Mr. Sangreal» Seraphin wished, watching the man dive. Once again, he felt like there was something strange, unnatural, in the way he moved.

The conversation was over, and Seraphin felt as if a mischievous hand had, right at the most exciting moment, turned the page of a book he was enjoying reading.

He was certainly memorable, this glittery krill expert.