In the ocean, the common animals were fish, fish of every kind, along with starfish, seahorses, sea urchins, sea turtles, jellyfish, and the like. Most of those animals had little beyond survival instincts, with hardly any intelligence.
The more interesting marine creatures were dolphins, orcas, beluga whales, and the like. Cute, clever, and lively, they had their own languages and civilizations, and they rather enjoyed interacting with intelligent beings. Young merfolk loved playing with them.
Some older merfolk, however, were not particularly fond of them.
After all, perhaps precisely because they were so intelligent, these marine creatures really were cute, really were clever, and really did deserve a good smack.
Dolphins were the ocean's "street punks." They swam around wearing cute, innocent, harmless faces, and whenever they spotted a little cutie that met their standards, they would eagerly snuggle up, whether human or merfolk. They adored both. But dolphins were also the most shameless creatures in the ocean. Many young merfolk received courtship advances while playing with dolphins-only for the older merfolk accompanying them as guards to send the dolphins flying with a swipe of their tails.
Orcas were clever too. Like dolphins, they found both humans and merfolk attractive. They would follow human boats to play with them, much as humans teased kittens and puppies, and even bring tasty devil rays as gifts to people who had helped them. Yet these seemingly gentle, mild-mannered, honest creatures were actually the ocean's most foul-mouthed inhabitants! Not only did they swear with every breath, but they also loved treating other creatures as toys for their amusement. Tossing sea turtles and butting dolphins were staples of their repertoire.
And as for those beluga whales, white as jade...
Ah, what merfolk child had never been frightened by a beluga whale sneaking up and thrusting its wide-open mouth right into their face? They even enjoyed this pleasure built on the misery of frightened, crying children, happily somersaulting, laughing, and clapping whenever they succeeded!
When Miaomiao had been young and innocent, watching her friends get teased by these three great "street punks" of the ocean had once convinced her that all creatures were like that: either hopelessly dim or full of mischief.
Until she came ashore, arrived at Wayne Manor, and met Titus the Bat-Hound.
He was intelligent, strong, beautiful, composed, elegant, brave, and loyal, with smooth, silky fur that felt wonderful to touch! At night, he could put on a mask and a little cape to accompany Batman on patrol; during the day, he could help Butler Batman Alfred look after children. He was simply perfect!
Previously, Miaomiao had been unwilling to transform her tail into legs and had had little contact with Titus. That changed last night, when the little merfolk, who lifted her skirt at the slightest provocation, had been taken away by an unusually firm Butler Batman for an emergency "newborn child" training course. Its central themes were "common sense for life in human society" and "required lessons for human ladies-etiquette and self-protection."
Miaomiao, who had only just more or less resolved her language problems, nearly burst into wailing tears. Titus, who had been about to go to sleep, saw the little merfolk's reddened eyes and trembling tears. Silently, he walked over and offered his warm, sleek fur to her hands.
In an instant! Spring arrived, and flowers bloomed!
She declared it! Titus was the most handsome, most wonderful dog in the entire world!
While Miaomiao hugged the endlessly patient Titus and buried herself in his fur, Bruce and Damian were discussing the day's schedule.
It was the weekend, so Damian and Tim had no classes. But Tim, the unfortunate chosen workhorse, still had to use this time to handle company business and inspect subsidiaries. Bruce, meanwhile, needed to dress up for the various banquets and ribbon-cutting ceremonies he would attend later, dutifully playing his role as a "brainless playboy."
Unfortunately, Tim had been injured during his "little side job" the night before. Although his life was not in danger, the wound was substantial, and Butler Batman Alfred had ordered him to stay home and rest, forbidding him from working.
And so, Tim's share of the work fell back onto Bruce's shoulders.
Bruce: ᕮ◥▶‸◀◤ᕭ...
Tim: (❁´◡`❁)✲ﾟ
Alfred: (•‾̑⌣‾̑•)
Alfred remained utterly unmoved by Bruce's reproachful gaze.
"These were your responsibilities in the first place, Master Bruce." Alfred served him a cup of coffee, his tone stern and righteous. "You cannot keep making Master Tim handle so much of your work simply because he is capable. Occasionally, you must do what you ought to be doing yourself and give the boy room to breathe. Gotham will not explode if Batman steps away for a little while."
Bruce: unhappy, but unable to argue.
Thus, aside from the little merfolk Miaomiao, the only person with free time now was Damian, who had just turned eleven.
"Damian, have you finished all your homework?"
"Of course. Spending even one extra minute on something that simple would be an insult to my intelligence."
As the finest heir in his mother's and grandfather's eyes, Damian had received far more than assassin training in the League of Assassins. His academic and intellectual development had not been neglected in the slightest. Talia had even kidnapped a whole bunch of PhDs, scientists, and artists to serve as Damian's private tutors.
Although Damian might seem arrogant and impatient, his accumulated knowledge was actually enough to earn him doctoral and master's degrees in multiple disciplines, including psychology, economics, and mechanics. He had also studied chemistry, physics, medicine, and electronics, while pursuing music, painting, and other arts as well.
Homework for a bunch of elementary school children was something Damian had stopped bothering with at three.
"Seriously, Father, can I stop going to school? You know I learned all of that ages ago."
Damian once again tried to request permission to drop out. "With that much time, I could devote all of it to night patrols."
In Damian's opinion, the teachers who smiled as they taught were all exceedingly stupid, and the little brats attending class were even more pitifully dim. Going to school was nothing but a complete waste of time.
"Damian, we have already discussed this. It is not negotiable."
Faced with his father's unwavering gaze, Damian could only reluctantly give in.
"...All right, Father."
In truth, Bruce did not insist on sending Damian to school because he hoped for some academic breakthrough. With doctoral-level knowledge in multiple fields, Damian at ten had already surpassed what many people achieved in a lifetime.
But Bruce understood even better that the League of Assassins' forced, accelerated feeding of knowledge and its hellishly brutal training had made Damian a young genius while also depriving him of many more important things-
Such as his humanity.
Bruce did not want his child to become a genius monster who was human only on the outside, nor did he ever want to see his child in a place like Arkham.
Therefore, he had ordered Damian to attend school on time, respect his teachers, and complete his schoolwork like a normal child if he wanted to join night patrols as Batman's assistant, Robin-and he was not to entertain any ideas about threatening or bribing the principal, teachers, or classmates. Bruce would personally visit the school to check.
The little schemes in Damian's mind died before he could even put them into action.
And now, since Damian was free and Miaomiao had legs-
"Miaomiao, how much longer can your legs last?"
"They'll definitely last until tonight!"
In that case: "Damian, take Miaomiao downtown for a look around and some shopping."
Damian: ⊙ω⊙???
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