neritic plaster

by Flashing The Floods

Violette gasps and falls on her butt out of sheer shock as two hands with dangerous looking claws grip the side of her boat and help hoist the stranger up enough just for the face to lean over and deposit the fish onto the deck. In this moment Violette sees her torso, scales covering the place where hips normally start. AU. Kimolette! Minor, implied Nathaniel/Lysander.

Author's Note: I didn't actually come up with this. Credit to the original idea of MarineBiologist!Violette/Mer!Kim goes to Astromeia of the mclheadcanons blog (got permission). With that said...I've run loose with said idea and strayed pretty far from what was there. And naturally, this is a disjointed, mediocre piece of crap. Very, highly disjointed. Very. It's all awkward and messy and mangled looking. Nothing is flowing here and it's pieced all weird and shit. So yeah, beware of extreme disjointedness. Someone who isn't me should take this awesome idea and write a better fic, cause really, this is a fantastic idea and I can't do it justice.

References to all sorts of shit. Whoever catches them wins forty points. Minor Nathaniel/Mer!Lysander applies. Warning for really stupid fish puns. Also, do not expect technical information to be entirely accurate. I did attempt to incorporate enough fact to present this crap in a way that it at least follows its own logic. But still, this is FictionLand and I unfortunately do not have enough time to do the level of research I would desire, as this has already been in my docs for over two years and all the time I can afford to spend on it has been spent on it. For this, I sincerely apologize.

---

Violette has always believed in merfolk. As a child she listened to the legends with awe, delighted in picture books of fish-tailed maidens, posed herself like Ariel on the rocks at the beach and swam with her legs pressed together in the hopes they would fuse. The way she approached her belief of merfolk over time naturally changed, but the belief itself?

No. If anything, becoming a marine biologist reinforced it. Her studies have taught her that the ocean is a vast, wonderful, and above all, mysterious place. All types of life thrive beneath the surface, spread as wide as the world and deeper than the most profound philosophy. The sea could hold thousands of species unknown to humankind. Part of the reason she wanted to become a marine biologist in the first place was to find those species.

However, as firm as her belief remains, never in her wildest dreams would she have been prepared for the smooth-skinned human face that pops up right over the side of her rowboat with a silver perch in its mouth.

Violette gasps and falls on her butt out of sheer shock as two brown hands with long, dangerous looking claws grip the side of her boat and help hoist the stranger up enough just for the face to lean over and delicately deposit the fish onto the deck. In this moment Violette sees her torso, scales covering the place where hips normally start.

"Holy mackerel," she exclaims in a hush.

"I'm not a mackerel," laughs the stranger as she lowers herself back down, only her hands and face visible.

"You talk!" Violette gapes and scrambles to the side of the boat, peering down in amazement. Black stripes intersect scales otherwise the color of turtle grass that begin under her navel and make up a magnificent tail. The tail is longer than legs would be, grows thinner like a snake's tail does and ends in a fanning caudal fin a slightly darker shade of green that lightens toward the seagrass-shaped ends. Her dorsal and pelvic fins are the same color and shaped similarly.

"Oh yeah," says the mermaid. "Yours isn't my native language but I've been practicing for awhile."

Violette meets the brilliant lime gaze of the mermaid and slowly shakes her head. "You...Are you real?"

"As real as you." The mermaid lets go of the boat and floats on her back, her short ebony tresses spreading out behind her head. From the waist up, she looks very human. She has sleek brown skin and ample breasts uncensored by the scallop seashells they use in cartoons. Violette can't help staring at them, and not at all because they're very attractive (though they are), but because her scientific mind is reeling.

This has to mean mermaids are mammals. How often do they come up for air? They must only give birth to one or two offspring at a time, right?

"Hey human, catfish got your tongue?" The mermaid chuckles and lifts a brow at her.

"S-Sorry," Violette stammers. "I'm just...Amazed! This is the first time I've taken the boat out in forever and the last thing I expected was to see a mermaid."

"I get it." The mermaid grins. "The last thing I expected to see today was a beautiful girl."

"Huh?" Violette flounders, heat flaring in her cheeks. Beautiful? This breathtaking, gorgeous mermaid thought she was beautiful!? "Ahh, th-thank you!" She bashfully curls a lock of her hair around her finger.

"So do you have a name, beautiful girl?" The mermaid flips back upright and grasps the side of the boat once more, her grinning face just a breath away from Violette's.

It takes her a moment before she can introduce herself in a steady voice. "I'm Violette."

"I'm Kim."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Well, actually, that isn't right. It's exhilarating to meet you!" A part of Violette thinks she's dreaming. She holds her hand out to shake.

Kim looks down at it uncertainly and Violette realizes shaking hands must not be something merfolk do. She mutters an apology and starts to take it back when Kim's fingers brush over hers. Her skin is soft, as smooth as cream and undeniably warm. Once again Violette decides that she must be a mammal, she certainly must be warm-blooded to have such warm fingers.

"A lot of humans shake hands when they meet," Violette explains as Kim glances at her in inquiry, her fingers still overtop Violette's as her eyes glint quizzically.

"Oh." Kim clasps her hand and shakes agreeably, letting go when Violette does.

"So how come you gave me a fish?" She asks, recalling the silver perch and wondering if that's what merfolk do instead of shaking hands.

"I thought you might be hungry," says Kim. "You've been out here almost all day."

"You've been watching me?" Violette blinks a few times.

"Yeah," Kim admits sheepishly. "I know that sounds creepy. You have to understand, it's nerve-racking trying to approach you guys. Humans throw us in tanks to be circus attractions, or try to cut our tails off to sell, and other stuff like that. But you were too pretty to resist, so I guess I had to take the risk."

Violette stops, stricken. Humans are a hazard to the sea. Oil spills, overfishing, pollution...And yet it never occurred to her that merpeople might be elusive due to fear. Not once.

"I'm sorry," she breathes slowly, knots tightening in her chest.

"Hm?" Kim blinks and tips her head. "Don't be sorry, Violette. Just promise me you're a good person."

"I'm a good person," Violette promises. She tries to be anyway. She'd never do anything to intentionally hurt anyone, especially not an inhabitant of the ocean.

With a satisfied grin, Kim dips back under the water.

"Wait," calls Violette, bewildered. She springs to her feet, leaning so far over the edge of the boat her nose almost skims the surface. "Don't go!"

She's about to panic. A mermaid! She just met a real live mermaid, she was talking to a real live mermaid and now—

Kim's face pops out of the water, another perch in her mouth. Her brows quirk when she sees Violette and Violette exhales in relief, feeling a bit silly as she sits back. Kim takes the perch out of her mouth.

"Do you want to have lunch together?"

"Um..." Violette glances down to the perch Kim brought her earlier, its shiny, vacant eye staring. The gesture was sweet and Violette is genuinely flattered, but she just can't eat raw fish. Especially not when said fish is looking at her. "I brought my lunch," she explains lightly, holding up the paper bag with her peanut butter and banana sandwich inside. "So, um...You can have this back." She picks up the silver perch and holds it out.

Thankfully, Kim doesn't look offended in the least. She takes it back with her teeth and devours it amiably, scales and all.

Violette is entranced. "You have to have a very strong bite pressure."

"Huh?" Kim tilts her head.

"Can I look in your mouth?" she asks before she can stop herself.

Kim's brows squiggle skeptically. "Is that another human thing? Like shaking hands?"

Violette hangs her head, flushed with embarrassment. "Uh, no, sorry. That was a weird thing to ask. Um...I...I'm kind of a scientist and your anatomy is really interesting."

Oh jeez, 'your anatomy is interesting?!' That sounded terrible! Violette cringes and fumbles for better wording, but the blithe roll of Kim's laughter cuts her self-consciousness short.

"Alright, you can look in my mouth." Kim takes a bite out of her second perch and waves her hand in a dismissive gesture so human. "It is kind of weird, but you're cute and it's no scale off my tail." She stretches her jaw open and tips her head back slightly.

Holding her breath, Violette scrutinizes to the best of her ability. Kim's teeth are razor-wire sharp, all ending in keen points except for two sets of moderately blunter ones at the very back of her mouth. Naturally suited to aquatic hunting.

Humming thoughtfully, she sits back a bit and takes her sandwich out of the bag.

Kim closes her mouth around another bite of perch and they spend the next few minutes quietly eating together, seagulls flying overhead in the expanse of cerulean and cawing to each other. Violette can't stop admiring Kim, from the whipcord, compact musculature of her arms to the glimpses of the tail she gets as Kim swims in a lazy circle.

Numerous questions spin through her mind, but she doesn't want to overwhelm Kim by firing them off one after the other. Kim surprises her by asking one first.

"Can you swim, Violette?"

"I can..."

"Good. Do you want to swim with me?"

A mermaid just asked if she'd swim with her. A mermaid. This is the most surreal moment of Violette's life. The skies themselves could turn to rainbows and glow, the clouds turn to cotton candy and that would all just be additional antimatter because a mermaid just asked her to swim. She tries to say yes, but her tongue numbly flops in her mouth, wonder washing through her in shock waves.

"Uh? Violette?" Kim's brow crinkles in bemusement.

The words still won't come so Violette just bobs her head up and down, lips dancing in pure bliss. She flings herself over the side of the boat and splashes into the water, adrenaline singing through her veins.

Kim swims back and Violette is a mere hairsbreadth from her tail. Without thinking, she reachers out and brushes her fingers over the caudal fin. It's cool, feathery, and strong.

"I'm sorry," she gasps. She shouldn't just touch Kim without permission. Kim isn't some specimen for her to probe.

Kim snickers and dips beneath the surface. The next thing Violette knows, there are fingers sliding over her ankle. They curiously tug off her boat shoe and then Kim emerges with her foot in hand and a playful spark in her eyes.

"Hey," Violette laughs as Kim toys with her toes, wiggling them one by one.

"Feet are weird," she declares merrily.

"Maybe so, but I need them. And I need my shoe too, so don't lose it!"

"What, this shoe?" Kim shimmies sideways and holds Violette's boat shoe high in the air.

"Yes, that shoe." Violette paddles forward and reaches for it.

Kim swings her arm back and throws the shoe. It goes flying through the air and splashes into the sea.

"Wanna race me to it?" Kim challenges. "If I win you have to do me a favor and if you win, I'll owe you one."

"Either way, I need my shoe back," Violette gives her a thumbs up and then springs into a rapid breaststroke. Although her scientific mind knows she can't out-swim a creature in her own biome who lives life swimming, she still puts her all into it.

She's a fast, strong swimmer. She swims for exercise and spends a lot of time in the water for her studies. She actually matches Kim's pace for about a third of the way, but then Kim overtakes her.

Kim is a streak of green and brown and then she disappears completely. She pops up like toast with Violette's shoe in a victorious fist.

"Wow," Violette exclaims as she catches up. "Wow!"

She has no other words. Her clothes are soaked in salt water and weighing down her limbs, the breeze flutters against her wet cheeks and presses her hair flat to her head. She's swimming with a mermaid and missing a shoe and her breath puffs from her lips in lively spurts. Everything is suddenly extraterrestrial.

"So," Kim continues. "You owe me a favor now."

"You took my shoe in the first place," Violette accuses lightly.

"Yeah. But you still agreed to the race." Kim waggles a finger.

"So what do you want?" asks Violette.

"You to come see me again."

Violette is again slack-jawed and stupefied. This mermaid, this majestic legend in physical form has not only appeared to her, not only called her beautiful, but actually wants to see her again!? Her plain, boring, shy self?

And then she realizes something. "No!"

"No?" The word comes out like a crack of glass and hurt curtains Kim's face.

"Oh, no!" Violette gasps and tosses up her hands. "I would love to see you again, but my boat! My boat is floating away!" She spins and points toward the boat being carried by the waves in the opposite direction.

Kim's shoulders fall in relief and then she whips her tail around, gently brushing Violette's leg. "I'll get it!"

With that, she plunges into the water and propels away. Violette loses sight of her instantly. She isn't sure if she's supposed to follow or not.

She waits a few minutes and then voilà, off in the distance Kim springs up and grips the stern. Her tail acts like the perfect rudder, practically gliding the boat over the water.

"Amazing," Violette whispers under her breath. She waves her arms in encouragement.

Kim presents her with her boat out of breath and simpering. "That was a lot of work. You're lucky you're so pretty."

Violette hides her face with her hands and timidly peeks out at Kim between her fingers. "Thank you."

"No problem."

"I should get back," Violette admits reluctantly. "I'm a consultant on an upcoming seahorse breeding project and there's a meeting this evening, so I have to get ready..." Though the last thing she feels like doing is saying goodbye to Kim.

"I gotcha." Kim nods, though she seems just as glum by the idea. "When will I see you again?"

"Is tomorrow okay?" Violette asks. "I could come see you before work."

"Alright," Kim agrees. "I'll watch for you."

"Can I ask you something before I go?"

"Sure."

"How often do you have to come up for air?" Violette enjoys Kim's company through and through, but that doesn't stifle her scientific curiosity.

"Every six hours."

"Is that how it is for every merperson? Does it vary by subpopulation? Are there even subpopulations?" Violette really should be getting back but she's never been so thirsty for answers before. This is her biggest discovery yet.

"Whoa, there." Kim laughs and lightly punches Violette's shoulder. "I didn't agree to an interview. How about this; you can ask me another question when you see me tomorrow. I'll answer one a day so that way you'll keep coming back. And I can ask a question about humans every day. Is that fair?"

Violette contemplates this as she gracelessly clambers over the port. Even if Kim never told her anything at all, she'd keep coming back. That said, she doesn't know if one answer a day will still the storm of questions in her mind. But she also has to respect Kim's comfortability. Kim is a sentient being with her own agency and feelings. She isn't an experiment.

"Okay," Violette says warmly. "It sounds fun."

ჭ

Kim always sees Violette before Violette sees her.

It's a relatively vacant beach, especially in the mornings, so usually Violette simply waits on the dock for Kim to poke her head up and wave. On her days off where she gets to spend the whole day with Kim, she takes the boat out and meets her somewhere when the shore has almost disappeared from sight, so far it exists only as a blurry line of sand if she squints and tilts her head right.

Those days are the best days because she brings her scuba gear and Kim leads her deep, deep down and shows her the shades of the world beneath the oceans depths.

She tours Violette through coral reefs flourishing with biodiversity from the patch reefs to the ribbon reefs. Fish flit through the crowns and bursts of the polyps and Violette captures them all on her waterproof camera (though she's careful never to catch Kim in the frame).

Kim ushers her into kelp forests so dense Violette would get lost in them if she didn't hold her hand, deep green swirling and sweeping her away in a whirlwind of spiky stalks.

Every day with Kim takes the breath from her lungs in grins full of glitter. Meeting her was nothing less than a miracle.

"What are you thinking about?"

Violette jumps, startled from her thoughts as she turns to see Kim on the side of the dock, hugging around the pole.

"H-How did you do that!? I didn't hear you at all!"

Kim laughs and reaches out, patting Violette on the head. Her hand is wet and droplets slip from her fingertips, sprinkling Violette's hair. "I'm a hunter. I can do stealth."

"Well you better stealthily get down," Violette says softly with a smile pulling at her lips. "If there was someone around they could see you, tail and all."

"Will do." Kim lets go and flops back into the water.

Violette lays on her stomach and peers over the edge of the dock, watching as Kim resurfaces.

"Well, good morning," she murmurs.

"Morning." Kim smiles. "What's today's question?"

"Humans have different languages. Do mermaids have different languages too?"

"Nope," Kim confirms. "It's all the same one."

Violette tucks this information in the files of her brain and nods. "Okay. What's your question?"

"What's your favorite color?"

"That's not a question about humans," Violette points out. "That's just a question about me."

"You are a human, so it counts." Kim playfully splashes her face.

"Alright." The droplets slip down her chin. "All of them. I'm...I don't want to call myself an artist, but drawing is one of my hobbies. So I really appreciate all colors."

Kim hums a soft note. "You should show me some of your pictures sometime."

"Really?" Violette sheepishly scratches her cheek. "They're not really all that interesting..."

"They are to me," Kim insists. "I've seen artists on the beach but I've never seen any pictures up close before."

"Mm." Violette pushes herself up. "It's just about time for me to go. I'll show you a couple of my better ones tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," Kim agrees, then she dips under the water and she is gone.

"Bye," Violette whispers after her.

ჭ

"What's the gestation period of a mermaid?"

"Seven months. What's your favorite time of day?"

Violette presses her hand over her lips as her face reddens. "The time I get to see you, of course."

ჭ

"Do mermaids have any other predators aside from humans?"

"Rarely desperate sharks, but generally no. What's your favorite season?"

"Spring."

ჭ

"How long do mermaids live?"

"About a hundred years."

"A hundred years," Violette murmurs. "That's amazing."

Kim grins. "Will you keep come seeing me even when I'm old?"

"If I'm here," Violette promises.

ჭ

"I have something really cool to show you today," Kim declares, her eyes alight with excitement as she swims alongside Violette's boat.

"What is it?" Violette asks, adjusting her buoyancy compensator.

"You'll see when we get there."

Violette's heart skips with anticipation. She pulls her hood down and snaps her diving mask on, flashing Kim a thumbs up. Kim beckons to her with a whisk of her tail and plunges. Violette leaps right after her, the shock of cold water embracing her. Kim takes her by the hand and begins swimming down.

Violette kicks her feet, her excitement building inside bit by bit. It's like hearing the grinding of metal tracks as they slowly pull the rollercoaster up, up, up, the ground falling far away as the zenith grows closer.

She squeezes Kim's hand and Kim looks back to wink at her. They're almost there. Violette puzzles over what it could possibly be.

Another reef?

A sandbar?

Kim's home, maybe?

They arrive at the jagged, abyssal mouth of an underwater cave. Violette shudders with both trepidation and excitement. However, to her surprise, Kim doesn't take her inside. Kim keeps going, winding around the cave with Violette in tow.

Then she sees it and practically chokes on the next breath she takes from her tank.

A sunken ship.

Barnacles ripple down the enormous bow, algae coating the dilapidated structure in a thick, slimy blanket. A collapsed mast spears through the gaping aperture in the hull and shadows lurk within. It's almost broken in half, but still not quite, still mostly whole somehow despite how long it's been here. Violette can tell it's been here for decades, with how much of it the algae has claimed.

Kim turns to her with her mouth spread in a giddy crescent. Violette bobs her head eagerly and Kim leads her into the wreckage.

The inside is just as slick and fuzzy and fascinating. The ship's wheel is amazingly still intact and it's the first thing Violette takes a picture of. The flash reminds her just how dark it is in here. Pale blue light filters in through the many spaces in the splintered wood, but without those blips darkness would be absolute. Shade swallows the derelict walls and eats up the majority of the interior.

Kim gestures for Violette to follow and takes her down to the most heavily damaged part of the ship, the lower level. The first thing Violette sees would make her scream if she had the ability, a skeleton turned sickly green by the film of cyanobacteria. Then she sees what the skeleton is hunched beside and this makes her forget all about being startled.

It's a treasure chest. A literal chest of treasure right before her eyes, straight out of the storybook pages. It's opened and filled to the top with riches from an era long past, gold coins and goblets and noble necklaces. Some of the treasure even spills out and sits on the floor, one such gem-lined bowl home to a trio of sea snails.

They need to be cleaned up but they're beautiful pieces. Likely priceless. Violette reaches out to touch a jeweled necklace, when a snowy blur streaks past. The next thing Violette knows, she's staring dimly at the place where it's vanished. Kim to her left makes a sharp clicking sound Violette has never heard her make before.

Violette jerks her head up, awed as the clicking receives a response. She rapidly draws a gasp from her tank. Across from them is another mermaid, necklace grasped in her webbed hands.

She is remarkably different than Kim in appearance. Violette takes stock of her closely, brimming with wonder. This mermaid's ichthyoid features are akin to a lionfish's on a larger scale. Dorsal spines protrude from her back like painted swords with anal spines to match, a contrast to the floral bloom of her fanning pectoral fins. Curving bands of reddish brown pattern her ivory tail, its shape blunter than Kim's.

From the waist up she has flesh the shade of sun warmed beach sand. Her hair is much longer than Kim's, curtaining her naked breasts and so white it nearly glows in the darkness. Her amber eyes dart between Violette and Kim as she continues clicking with the latter.

Violette is nominally mesmerized to bear witness to their conversation. Even if it's not on par with a mermaid climbing right over the side of her boat, there's something novel, something special, about being able to observe communication between mermaids.

And not only is Violette observing, but as they carry on she realizes she's the topic of their conversation. What they're saying exactly she hasn't the faintest clue, of course, but the lionfish mermaid keeps motioning to her. At one point Kim puts an arm around her shoulders and sweeps her tail back, stroking it lightly over Violette's legs. As she does this, she utters a series of particularly quick clicks to the lionfish mermaid.

The lionfish mermaid lines her lips as she fixes Kim with an austere stare. Kim tones a decisive sonority in her throat and suddenly presses her lips to Violette's temple. Violette feels herself blush under her wetsuit.

The lionfish mermaid doesn't seem impressed at all. She rolls her eyes and takes a bowl from the treasure chest, depositing the necklace into it. With a final tart click to Kim she departs through a cavity in the wood.

Kim loosens her arms around Violette and swivels her body around her so that she's just about underneath her. Her caudal fin skims past Violette's ankles and Kim threads her fingers over the nape of Violette's neck. Violette tips her head quizzically and the softest smile enfolds Kim's mouth. Although she doesn't quite understand, the affection flows through Violette like honey.

She moves her hands to cup Kim's pelvic region. She shyly brushes them over the black ring just before her pelvic fins sprout. Kim doesn't exactly have hips, but this is similar. Violette watches closely to make sure the response is positive. It is, Kim's smile still shines.

When the mermaid does pull from the embrace, she pulls slow and nods back to the treasure chest. Violette swims up to it once more and hesitates. She's not entirely sure what it is Kim is offering to her. An item to take, like the lionfish mermaid did? An opportunity to snap a good picture? Not possibly the whole thing?

Violette turns to Kim and holds up her camera. Kim bobs her head and gestures with her palms up. Violette raises her camera and swims up a bit to find an angle she thinks looks cooler. She snaps the picture and then bows forward, carefully combing through the chest. Kim makes no attempt to dissuade her. It must be okay.

After a few minutes of sifting, she takes out a brooch with an interesting shape and what she thinks is a gem of some sort in the center. With all the algae, she can't be sure. Kim gives her a thumb's up, approving of the choice.

With this Violette is almost out of air and communicates as much to Kim by stretching her arms up toward the surface. Kim slips an arm around her waist and soars upward, her tail threshing through the water.

When they burst through the surface Violette readjusts her compensator. Kim retrieves the boat and helps her up into it. Violette takes her mask off, shaking her hair out.

"Whoa," she tells Kim as today's adventure sparkles as its own treasure in her chest.

"Have fun?" Kim beams.

"That was amazing! I don't even know where to start, I mean—! Well, who— Who was that other mermaid? Did you know her?"

"Oh, yeah," says Kim. "That's Rosalya. She's normally pretty cool but she's not too big on humans. And she collects the spoils from ships, so she wasn't too happy I beat her to the prize on that one."

"She didn't seem happy when you two...spoke," Violette breathes, unsure if 'speaking' is exactly how to properly refer to the communicative clicking that took place.

"Not happy at all." Kim scrunches her mouth. "She wanted to sting you. I told her I was courting you to get her to back off."

"C-Co-Courting me?" Violette stutters.

Kim pauses and then casts soft eyes to the waves, shyly reaching back for the nape of her neck. "Mhm. See, if I'm courting you and she tries to hurt you, we have to fight. Merfolk rules, Vi. Like our culture, I guess. Rosalya's tough but I could rip her head off if I had to. She won't touch you."

"You're just protecting me. You're not actually courting me?" Violette curls a lock of hair around her finger and shifts on her knees.

"There's something humans do when they're courting that merfolk do too," Kim murmurs. "I think you know what it is."

"I do?" Violette questions quietly, tilting her head.

"Yeah," Kim whispers as she reaches for the side of the boat.

She grasps the wood and pulls herself up, sliding warm, wet lips over Violette's. Violette closes her eyes and moves her hands to Kim's shoulders, holding tight as she kisses her back. Kim tastes of seawater and Violette tastes like the rubber of her mouthpiece. The sun shines a bit too brightly and the air is humid enough to be uncomfortable. Their kiss is slow, soft, and imperfectly exceptional.

ჭ

"You seem like you're in a good mood lately."

Violette jumps, startled out of her concentration by the voice. Her sketchbook bounces off her knees and tumbles down her porch steps.

"Sorry." Nathaniel flashes her an apologetic smile and bends down to pick it up. He admires it before handing it back to her, imbued with an appreciation for her latest work. "You don't normally draw fantasy pictures but this mermaid looks great. I like the way you designed the tail."

Violette lets out a giggle. Fantasy, right.

"Thanks, Nathaniel." She takes the sketchbook back when he holds it out and winces sympathetically as she glances over the butterfly-taped slit in his eyebrow. "Ouch."

"You should see the other guy," he says with a shrug as he plops down next to her.

"Did you win?" Violette peeks at him curiously.

"That round. The guy after him knocked me out," sighs Nathaniel. "I have to step up my game."

"No more raw eggs," Violette urges with a stern grimace, vividly recalling the last time the boxer had thought he needed to improve. Pure protein, he'd decided was the answer, coming over to use her blender since the blades on his were dull and cracking five eggs directly into it. He'd added nothing but pepper and the venture ended in the most violent case of salmonella she'd ever witnessed.

"No," Nathaniel agrees, abashed pink creeping into his face. "I'll figure something out. You want to go to the gym with me later?"

"Not this time," Violette refuses apologetically. She goes with him sometimes and hops on a treadmill or a bike while he benches what must be her own weight doubled. Or she holds the punching bag steady, but tonight she promised she'd go see Kim. "I have plans."

Nathaniel peers at her closely and rests his chin in his hand. "Are you seeing someone?"

Violette sputters like a broken sprinkler and Nathaniel chuckles.

"That's a yes."

"No! It's not exactly that at all, I'm just..." Violette claps her hands to her burning cheeks. There's no way she can tell him about Kim. And she and Kim aren't really dating, exactly, right? They're just involved, so to speak...Which she has to admit, isn't terribly different. "I have a friend..."

"Alright then," says Nathaniel. "You have a friend. Who's put you in a very good mood lately."

"Yeah. I, um...I met her through work." Violette picks up her pencil.

"Ah. Is she a marine biologist too?"

"Not exactly," Violette says. "But she's certainly very, uh, close to the field."

"Oh." Nathaniel blinks and gives her a small smile. "Well that's nice."

"So are you ever going to fill your pool?" Violette points in the vague direction of his backyard, her own backyard right next door.

"It's on my to-do list." He combs his hand back through his hair.

"And returning my book?"

"Also on my to-do list."

Violette hums and slips her pencil through the spirals of her sketchbook. "What happened? You used to be so organized."

"I've been distracted." Nathaniel gives himself a little shake. "I'll work it out. I have to, you know I can't stand clutter."

Violette slips her pencil free and draws him a smiley face.

ჭ

"There's been a lot of boats out lately," Kim mutters as she languidly swims around Violette's raft. "It's getting harder to come see you."

"I know," says Violette, hugging her arms tight around her knees as she fumes with a familiar, helpless anger. "People get really competitive about shark hunting this time of year. They aren't even supposed to in these waters but the city council shoots my associates down whenever our lab tries to do something about it! Always something about technicalities and how we don't have proof, even though everyone knows what's going on. They just don't care."

Water plashes softly as Kim rolls and uprights her body. She folds her arms on Violette's raft and nuzzles her face into Violette's side.

"I'll see you as often as I can but if I have to miss a day, that's why."

Violette hums in understanding. Kim stretches up and kisses her shoulder, continuing to kiss up to her neck as Violette's arms loosen. She has to kiss her while she can and Violette feels her anger pushed further away with every press of the mermaid's lips to her skin. She lies back on the raft and pulls Kim over her, tenderly moving her mouth to the harbor of Kim's.

Kim smiles beneath the kiss and then rests her head on Violette's chest, her tail mostly in the water but the rest of her in Violette's arms.

"I'd like to see where you live," Violette tells her. "You've shown me so many wonderful places but I've never seen your home."

Kim replies after a moment of hesitation. "It's nothing special."

"But I'm really curious about it," hums Violette. "Based on your physique and traits, I'm guessing you reside in some kind of seagrass."

"Well, you're right," Kim says crisply. "Your mental picture is probably good enough so there's no reason to take you there."

Violette pauses, looking at the mermaid for a long moment. "You don't want me to see it?"

"Remember that we're matriarchal? If I bring you home and my mother's there..." Kim trails off, her hair tickling Violette's chest as she shakes her head.

"I'd love to meet her though," Violette murmurs. "Your father too. I know they'd think I'm dangerous, but you know I'm not. There has to be some way you could convince them."

Kim is silent for a moment, idly playing with Violette's fingers.

"I don't know about my parents, okay? I have to think about how to warm them up. But if you want to meet some other merfolk, I could introduce you to a few friends."

Violette slips her fingers through Kim's and squeezes with a sad smile. She's somewhat crestfallen she can't see Kim's home or receive her parents' approval, truth be told, but she's nonetheless head-over-heels at the prospect of meeting other merfolk.

"What are your friends like?"

"Well, I'd love to introduce you to Priya if I can find her. She travels a lot so she tells really good stories about all the things she's seen. She knows your language and actually helped teach me. Iris likes everybody so I'm sure she's not gonna care that you're a human. We play with the dolphins together. And there's Lysander," she continues. "We're not close but he's pretty interesting so I talk to him when I need inspiration for my crafts. He likes humans a lot too, he always gets crazy close to the boats just to watch you guys. He'll be happy to meet you."

"Do they reside in the same habitat as you?" Violette puzzles. She's highly curious to see if Kim's friends resemble her any more than Rosalya had. She's still mentally webbing together all the possibilities regarding the latter's distinct and remarkably different traits.

"Nope," Kim says. Her nose wrinkles as she gently taps her knuckles to Violette's forehead. "You know, sometimes it's weird how you switch from casual to science-talk."

"Sorry." Violette gives a sheepish wince. "I don't really notice when I do that."

"You're forgiven," Kim decides. "This time, anyway."

"You won't forgive me next time?" Violette arches her brow.

"Give me a reason to," Kim demands with a challenging look, pulling herself upright. Water spills onto the raft and covers her hands.

Violette sits and presses her palms to Kim's cheeks. She leans into the mermaid and swipes her tongue across the warm seam of her lips. Kim purrs a pleased sound that vibrates against Violette's skin and deepens the kiss. Violette moves her arms down and inclines into Kim's space, nearly flush with her. The raft dips under the uneven weight and the next thing they know, they're both falling into the sea.

Saltwater spurts right up Violette's noise. They break apart as she wiggles up to the surface, sneezing her wet hair right out of her face. Kim gets a good laugh out of it.

ჭ

Violette misses Kim so much she can't stand it. The congestion of all those stupid shark hunters have made the waters incredibly dangerous for Kim. Their last visit was fleeting and they barely had time to talk. Kim's had to skip the two visits they were supposed to have since then. The absence probes Violette's heart like a toothache, this blunt, pounding throb.

She tries to distract herself from it by throwing herself into work. She has to polish up a piece she wrote about basket stars for an echinoderm study and go over the progress of the seahorse breeding project she helped launch, brush up on the data regarding similar projects and send it over.

But when the person you're missing is a mermaid it's sincerely difficult to distract yourself from missing them by reading and writing all about marine life.

Halfway through editing her basket star article, she pushes back from the computer and stares up at the ceiling. She swivels the chair with her toes and spins around until the ceiling tiles blur together.

She doesn't just miss Kim. She's worried about her too. What if Kim gets caught in a net? Or snagged by a hook? Or even harpooned?

Thankfully she's probably overthinking it. After all, navigating the water was Kim's specialty. Kim knew where to go to stay out of harm's way and she steered clear of boats. Even so, dating a mermaid wasn't like dating a fellow land-dwelling human. Violette couldn't text her, or call her, or knock on her door to check up on her.

She would just have to keep going back to their meeting place and wait until Kim felt safe enough to show up. Violette is not a terribly impatient person but this really isn't easy.

Sighing, she rolls back up to the computer and saves the changes. She exits and pushes herself up, stretching out. Her back gives a soft series of pops as it arches and she feels nominally better. Time to find another distraction.

Violette shuffles to her window and pulls back the curtain, peeking next door. Is Nathaniel home?

Yes. There's a light on. She doesn't bother to change out of her wrinkled bed shirt and too-big sweatpants. She might have cared to before the salmonella incident but after seeing him at his most pitiful and frankly disturbingly gross, she couldn't really feel embarrassed about lounge clothes in front of him. She steps into her sandals and walks next door.

She rings the bell and hears a scuffling on the other side before the door swings open. Nathaniel stands before her in all his glory, new split in his lip and a cat perched contentedly on his bare shoulders. She recognizes it as Salsa, the former stray with reddish patches.

"Uh-oh," he greets, reading her face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm pining," she laments with a sigh.

"Come on in." He allows her entrance.

Violette steps inside and kicks her sandals off. Nathaniel's one of those weird people who goes into a creepy inferno of gelid rage when shoes are worn in the house. A smaller cat trots right up to her and bumps her ankles.

"Who is this again?" she glances to Nathaniel as she scratches the little tabby under her chin.

"Mici," he chirrups. "One of Feather's litter."

"That's right." Violette gives the cat one last good scratch and then winds around the couch.

She dramatically flops down on the floor and groans into the carpet.

"Sounds like she's not just a friend after all." Nathaniel lifts a brow. "Did she dump you?

"No. I just can't see her right now." Violette moans miserably and feels another cat hop onto her back. It begins kneading its paws into her shirt.

"How come?"

"Well...She has to travel. For work." Violette winces. She knows she's a poor liar. "And I'm pissed about the shark hunting. Again. And the city council refuses to listen to me and my colleagues. Again."

The cat kneading her back lets out a soft mew as though offering its sympathies. After a beat Violette asks, "Is that Pumpkin?"

"That's Pumpkin," Nathaniel confirms.

"I knew it. Pumpkin always understands me."

"When is your mystery girl gonna be back?" Nathaniel sits on the couch and rests his elbows on his knees.

"I don't know," Violette hums sadly. "She doesn't know either."

"Can I get you anything?"

"No thanks. Just let me wallow on your floor and drown in my longing."

Nathaniel sits back and Salsa hops to the arm of the couch. "That sounds extreme. Is this worse than I thought?"

"I've never ever met anyone like her." The words pour from Violette's lips like rose water. "You haven't either, trust me. She's truly amazing and she's protective of me, and she thinks I'm great even though I'm as interesting as cardboard next to her. I'm lonely without her, Nat."

He gets up to sit down on the floor next to her. He gently pats her head and Pumpkin keeps kneading.

"Should I order pizza?"

"That's a good idea." Violette deflates. "With pineapple and onion. Sorry for whining."

Nathaniel shakes his head. "No, I get it. She's special to you and you really miss her."

Violette nods. "How have you been?"

"Tired." Nathaniel sits back. "You're right, I have to fill my pool soon."

"I'll help," offers Violette.

"I know. By the way, are you ever going to tell me this mystery girl's name?"

Violette can feel it when Pumpkin curls into a ball on her back. There shouldn't be any harm in telling him that much, right?

"Kim. Her name is Kim."

ჭ

It's another full week before Kim shows up. Violette embraces her so tight she practically pins Kim to her chest. Making a suffering but endeared sound, Kim hugs Violette back so hard Violette thinks she might snap like a celery stick.

"I was worried," Violette gasps. "I know it's probably silly but I was always scared something happened to you."

Kim chuckles and lightly bats the back of her head. "You're right, that's silly. You don't need to get worked up worrying about me, Vi. I can take care of myself."

Violette nuzzles into the wet crook of Kim's neck and melts like ice cream in the summer sun. They're all alone tonight, not meeting on the dock but in the shallows off the shore of the vacant beach. The sand is blue under the glow of the moon and all is silent aside from their reunion murmurs and the gentle lapping of waves on the shore. Kim is okay to be in water this shallow. She can maneuver herself back to deeper waters, it just takes her awhile so it isn't safe to do during daylight hours at all, even if the beach seems empty.

They share a warm kiss and let each other go, sighing relief against each others' lips.

"How have things been underwater?" Violette asks.

"Bad," Kim grunts flatly. "It's harder to hunt with all those boats in the water. Sometimes I don't catch anything at all."

Violette holds Kim's shoulders, studying her severely. "Are you hungry?"

Kim nods tiredly.

Violette jumps up. "I'll go get you something! Up the road there's a gas station, I'm sure I—"

"Don't." Kim grabs Violette's wrist and gently tugs her back. "Please stay. I'll be okay. I'll hunt when I leave you but right now I just want to see you."

"Are you okay, though? When was the last time you ate?"

"Earlier today," answers Kim. "It just wasn't too filling. Stay though, Violette. I don't know when I'm going to be able to see you after this and I'm not sure how good human food is for me anyway."

Violette hesitates for a moment longer and then sits back down on the sand.

"How have things been on land?" Kim asks. She lifts her tail and then flops it back down into the water, a restless movement.

"Lonely." Violette digs her fingers into the sand. "I've just been working. Have you seen basket stars?"

"Creepy fuckers," Kim hisses sharply, her features twisting.

Violette giggles. "I think they're positively fascinating. Anyway, I finally submitted the article I wrote about them. And I helped my neighbor when one of his cats got stuck in a tree."

"Neighbor?" Kim tips her head with a look of mild confusion.

"It's like someone who shares your vicinity," Violette describes. "My home is next to his."

"Ah." Kim nods. "What's your home like anyway, Violette?"

"Pretty normal," Violette starts. "I guess it's kind of hard to describe since you don't really have a context for comparison. Think of it as like a boat on land. But squarer. The walls are gray. I have a front yard and a back yard. And yards are like big patches of grass that come with the house."

"Grass is my house." Kim grins, the moonlight twinkling off of her teeth. "I want to see where you live. Could you take me?"

Violette sputters in surprise. "What, really?"

"Yeah. Really." Kim scrapes the sand with her claws. "You always come to see me but I've never come to see you. I'm curious about land, where you live and stuff. There's got to be a way, right?"

Violette rubs her lips together in thought. "But wouldn't that be too dangerous for you?"

"You could take me at night like this," Kim suggests hopefully. "When no one is around."

Violette scoots a bit closer and dubiously grazes her fingers over the beginning of Kim's scales. "Won't you dry out?"

"You could wrap me up in beach towels," Kim says. "I know humans on the beach use them to dry off but you could dunk them in here, right?" Kim slaps the water with her hand. "We'd just have to keep them wet."

Violette mulls this idea over. She could fill a bucket of seawater to re-wet the towels if they got too dry. But what the heck would she transport Kim in? Kim can't exactly walk. She wouldn't fit in a wheelchair even if Violette could manage to borrow one from the O-Mart, nor would it work on sand. A beach wheelchair might fit her a bit better, not to mention work on the sand, but those were only available to rent during the day. If Violette was strong enough to carry Kim at all, it would only be for a short distance. It would be impossible to carry her all the way to her house.

"Vi?"

"I'd like to take you home," Violette tells her. "I just have to think of something to put you in. Something to roll you on or something I could push you in...like a...wheelbarrow!" Violette snaps her fingers.

"A what?" Kim tilts her head.

"Okay, it's like a cart with a wheel," Violette explains, unsure if she's being too vague. "Like, here."

She uses her finger to draw an outline of a wheelbarrow in the dirt and Kim bobs her head.

"I have a good sized one in my garage," Violette continues. "You can fit in it and I'll push you home."

"Sounds good to me," Kim declares, her eyes sparkling. "I can't wait to see what your home looks like. There's so much strange stuff on land."

"It isn't anywhere near as beautiful as underwater," Violette tells her sheepishly. "But I'm sure there's some stuff you'll like."

"You have art." As Kim speaks she plunges her hands into the sand and begins to mold a mound. "I like art."

Violette smiles and pushes some more sand into the mound. "Are we making a sand castle?"

"Yep," says Kim. "You do the curtain wall if I do the keep?"

"Mission accepted." Violette gathers up some more sand and begins to shape it. "You dig the moat too. Your claws are good for that."

"Agreed," Kim chirps. "Hey Violette, what else do you think I'll like on land?"

Violette ruminates as the damp sand squishes between her fingers. She morphs upright, connecting the start of a wall to Kim's keep.

"Movies," she decides. "I think you'll like movies. They're an art form too. Like a story you watch happen with music and enhanced effects."

"A story you watch?" Kim repeats, a dark brow crooked and eyes bright. "That sounds really interesting."

"Some more than others," says Violette. "But don't worry. I'll pick out a really good one for you."

ჭ

Violette thinks a lot more about what bringing Kim into the house will be like. She mops the floors until they shine and vacuums the carpets three times over. She tidies up her clutter and readjusts the paintings on her walls. She debates whether or not to remove the stuffed sea turtles from her couch. She has four of them and they take the place of throw pillows that'd been too lumpy to bother with keeping.

One thing Violette will always be embarrassed of is her love of stuffed animals. She's never grown out of it. She still sleeps with the worn, frayed lamb she's had since she was an infant. She still orders toy store catalogs just so she can browse through the stuffed animal collection. Then she has to guiltily talk herself out of buying them like any responsible adult should do. Usually. Sometimes she falters to her weakness and orders one or two anyway.

The sea turtle plushes she can feel somewhat less guilty having. They're highly detailed and as accurate as stuffed animals can get in design, one a leatherback, one a loggerhead, one a green sea turtle, and the fourth a hawksbill. They have little tags on their fins that briefly describe each species's more notable traits. These stuffed animals are distributed by the GWF and a portion of the purchase went to the cause of saving them, so she can feel a little more like an apt supporter of their cause rather than an adult woman with silly interests.

Of course, there's no way for Kim to know that stuffed animals are supposed to be a kids' thing, so Violette keeps them on the couch and continues sprucing up. She dusts the cobwebs from her ceiling but keeps one spiderweb closest to the window intact. It's inhabited by a spider she has (un)cleverly dubbed Charlotte, who has done a fine job feeding on the mosquitoes that make their way in. She gets her desk space as neat as it's ever going to be...Which is not neat at all, so to speak, but an improvement nonetheless.

Violette evens dusts off the television so it will be perfect for Kim when the mermaid experiences her first movie. She straightens her bookshelf and wipes the pots of her potted plants off. She's done just about everything she can think to do, yet something feels...off. Unfinished. Violette walks to the center of her living room and stares searchingly from wall to wall.

Her eyes fall to the couch and it dawns on her. It should've dawned on her a hell of a lot sooner and the fact that it didn't would be embarrassing even if she weren't a marine biologist: Kim can't exactly sit on the couch. Violette needs a couch accessible to mermaids.

Now to Violette's knowledge, mermaid couches aren't a thing. She can't just go to O-mart and pick one up. What she can pick up, is a kiddie pool.

So Violette finds herself at the store, weaving her way past pool noodles and super water with EXTREME packaging. She doesn't want a plastic one. Kim would be far too cramped and uncomfortable in one of those. An inflatable one is the way to go. Rectangular, not circular. Violette crouches to thumb through the biggest available on the bottom shelf.

What color would Kim like?

That stomach medicine pink is no good. The orange is so bright it hurts to look at. The blue isn't bad but Violette is sure she can do better if she just keeps digging...

Aha! She triumphantly raises the last box at the back of the selection. The three inflatable tubes of pool are dark red with stars patterned on them. Fun, bright. Maybe a little too childish like her stuffed animal passion but the best of the bunch nonetheless. She purchases it and heads home, the easiest step done.

Step Two is blowing it up. Violette takes it out of the box and plants herself on the living room floor, getting right to that. She has strong lungs so this isn't a difficult task for her. It's not fun but she can handle it without needing to break into Nathaniel's garage to borrow the bike pump. She blows air into it tube by tube, a time-consuming process. But not unrewarding.

Now for Step Three, to acquire enough saltwater to fill it. Violette has several buckets from work that can hold six liters each. It's going to take hours to fill the kiddie pool like that though, filling the buckets and going back and fourth from her home to the beach. There has to be a more effective way to go about it.

She isn't about to borrow any saltwater mixes from the lab. She supposes she could buy some from the pet store but they're really overpriced. Violette sits in the empty pool and contemplates. She doesn't have to make a decision right now anyway. For now she stretches out in the empty pool and stares up at the ceiling.

She wonders if Kim will like her decor. The idea of bringing Kim home is thrilling. Still...Violette feels some nervousness nibbling at her gut.

What if someone notices them? What if the wheelbarrow gets a flat tire? What if Kim doesn't like her house?

Sighing, Violette rolls over onto her belly. She's just being hyper sensitive again. Or neurotic, as her father liked to call it. Her father would like Kim, Violette knew. He liked lively people. He would appreciate her daring spirit and determined presence. Not to mention her courage. Violette's father thought courage was a staple of character and Kim certainly was courageous, approaching Violette on a whim despite how utterly detrimental humans were to her existence.

Violette feels a pang of regret knowing she'll never get to introduce the two...Or will she?

Kim was going to introduce Violette to other merfolk. Perhaps Violette could talk Kim into meeting her dad. The man was the furthest thing from dangerous. He picked up house spiders in tissue paper and released them outside. At any rate, Violette supposes there will be time to ask.

ჭ

Violette is out in the boat again and so far from the docks they can't be seen. She props her sketchpad on her knees and guides the pencil over the paper. She applies the slightest pressure to doodle an outline, graphite gently brushing parchment over in thin, gray shapes. For awhile she isn't sure herself what she's drawing.

Her hand knows though, fingers pinching and adjusting their grip as the messy draft gains more and more detail until an albatross spreads its wings against the margins of her page. She flips it over and begins another sketch, when there's a rhythm of knocks against the hull. Violette scrambles to the starboard and grins when she spies those dazzling lime eyes.

"Kim!"

"Hey!" Kim grabs the edge and hefts herself up enough to give Violette a greeting kiss.

Violette reciprocates lovingly and then Kim drops back down.

"I brought a couple of my friends," Kim tells her. "If you're ready to meet them."

Violette blinks rapid. "What? Really!?"

"Yep." Kim grins widely.

"I'm ready!" Violette chortles excitedly. "Oh! Do you want me to come in the water?"

"In a sec." Kim winks at her and disappears beneath the surface. Shortly later she resurfaces with two new faces in tow. Two sets of eyes curiously bore into Violette's face, one heterochromia and the other turquoise.

"This is Iris," Kim introduces the mermaid to her right. She has orange hair braided with a strand of seaweed and an eel like tail. It's a dark, plum purple striped with black. The sleek tape of her fin is a deep mossy green. Her tail is somewhat smaller than Kim's and her human frame is rounder, soft with a layer of fat.

"Nice to meet you," Violette chirps, a thousand questions about the possible indications Iris's physique offer. She offers her hand and Iris shakes pleasantly, apparently having learned the concept from Kim.

Kim clicks something to Iris and her lips part to showcase a friendly smile. Violette automatically notes that her teeth are smaller than Kim's but appear to be sharper and more numerous.

"And this is Lysander," Kim gestures to the merman at her left. "Neither of them can understand you but I'll translate. I'm sure Priya would've helped but she's traveling again."

"I'll talk slow," Violette promises as she extends her hand to the merman. He's bigger than she would think. He's of the leaner variety as far as his human physique. Sinewy. His unevenly cut silver hair falls on the longer side to tickle shoulders only moderately broader than Kim's. But he has a whole lot of length. His blunt tail stretches at least a meter longer than Kim's and ends in a heterocercal caudal fin, with pectoral and dorsal fins similarly shark like. Its dominant color is smokey gray, patched with splotches of paler gray.

"Its nice to meet you too." Violette warmly offers him her left hand, as Iris continues to shake her right. Lysander clicks something soft to Iris before he also accepts the handshake. He seems almost as intrigued as Violette feels.

Kim swims back, rolling her eyes as she clicks something audibly playful to her friends. They release Violette's hands in unison. Iris clicks directly to Violette, eyes bright. Violette apologetically shakes her head. Kim replies to Iris decisively and Iris tries another tactic, tugging gently on Violette's wrist. The meaning of that is more obvious.

Violette happily plunges into the water. It refreshes her with a cool jolt. She whips her hair out of her face as she kicks back up to the surface and peers at the merfolk in her midst. Kim circles around and rolls a softer noise in her throat as she brings her hands to a rest on Violette's hips. Iris slithers through the water and takes notice of the smaller braids Violette threaded on either side of her head. She beams at them and then lifts her own thicker braid from her shoulder to emphasize their stylistic similarity.

Violette happily wiggles her own braids in agreement. Lysander briefly ducks underwater and then clicks questioningly to Kim when he resurfaces. Kim's reply is short, Violette almost thinks gruff. Disappointment flashes over his face and Kim wraps her arms around Violette's waist to bring Violette flush against her.

"What was that exchange?" Violette asks.

"He wanted to know if he could touch your legs. I said no." Kim rests her chin atop Violette's head. Violette is no longer treading water, Kim's tail is working for her.

"I'm fine with it if he's curious," says Violette. "You didn't even ask when we met. You just stole my shoe."

"I've courted you," Kim replies, sounding almost petulant. "I don't want anyone else touching on your legs."

Violette rolls her eyes and puffs a lukewarm reprimand. Privately she's warmed by Kim's almost overprotective form of affection. It flatters her as much as it confuses her. Violette still can't comprehend why Kim picked her, how Kim could have possibly thought she was the beautiful one. But here she is, tucked into Kim's arms, the pads of her bare feet skimming over Kim's scales. They're nearly as warm as her flesh.

Iris clicks something that sounds sunny to Violette, bouncing off her lips as she waves a webbed hand. Lysander clucks back to her, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well that's a good idea," Kim declares before Violette can ask. "You want to play a game? It's basically equivalent to your 'tag.'"

"You guys are going to be so much faster than me." Violette playfully groans. "But yeah, that sounds fun!"

Kim releases Violette's waist and then taps her in the shoulder. "You're it!"

With that the mermaid jets off and Violette has to tread water again. Kim clicks something to the other two (hopefully telling them to go easy on Violette and her un-finned, tail-less body) and then they split into different directions. Violette huffs through her nose and gives chase as fast as she can, churning through the water. She notes the different swimming patterns of the three of them. The way Kim swims is closer to that of a porpoise, while Iris ribbons through the water like the eel her tail resembles. Lysander has the side-to-side propulsion of the selachii his tail would suggest.

It's Lysander Violette's finally able to catch up to simply because he's so long. She slaps his caudal fin and he gives a good-natured chirp, shifting his course and speeding after Kim. Violette paddles off in the opposite direction, laughing breathlessly. Who would've ever thought she'd get to play tag with merpeople? Kim escapes and effectively leads him right to Iris. Iris bellows a sound of defeat and then snakes back into the zone, headed for Violette. Violette kicks as hard as she can but Iris catches up.

Their game goes on for a little while longer but gets cut short. Another boat becomes visible in the distance, its shape growing more distinct the closer it comes. Another shark hunter, Violette has no doubt. It stokes the fires of a hoary anger and Violette finds herself fuming. Lysander and Iris make their goodbyes and disappear beneath the waves. Kim takes Violette back to her boat.

"I've been getting my house ready for you," Violette murmurs. "I'll come to the shore at night for the next week or so. If you can, meet me. I'll bring you over."

"I will," Kim promises. "I can't wait."

Violette nods, brushes a quick kiss over the corner of Kim's mouth. "Thanks for introducing me to your friends."

"They liked you," Kim hums. "Whenever Priya comes back, I'm sure she'll like you too."

"Be safe," Violette whispers against her cheek.

"I will," says Kim.

She helps Violette into her boat and dips down past the surface. The only sign that she was there at all are a few small bubbles bobbing on the current.

ჭ

Violette breaks down and buys the bags of saltwater mix from the pet store. She fills her shopping cart so full she can barely push it and makes out with last week's paycheck spent. She mixes it directly into the kiddie pool. For aquariums, the mix is meant to be blended with water separately and then poured into the tank when it's suitable, but the kiddie pool isn't going to be Kim's living environment. It's just going to be a place for her to relax when she visits Violette.

She doesn't use all of the bags at once. She specifically bought in bulk so she has them on hand when she needs to change the water. She's in the middle of unloading the unused bags from the back of her truck to store when her neighbor pokes his head around the fence.

"Do you want help?"

"Sure," Violette says before she can really think about it.

Each bag weighs a little over 20 kilos. She's been taking them in one by one, over her shoulder. Nathaniel picks up the remaining three in one go and elbows the tailgate closed.

"Thanks." Violette beams at him, trotting ahead to hold the door open. "You're my knight in shining...err, knight in that cute Grumpy Cat shirt."

Nathaniel scoffs and carries the mixes into the house. "Where do you want— Okay, Violette. Why is there a pool in your living room?"

Violette freezes behind the door. Right, the pool! She resists the urge to slap herself. She definitely should have thought about that before she let him into the house.

"Uh..." Violette follows him inside and taps her fingers together. "A project."

"A project?" He repeats dubiously.

"Yes. Follow me, you can put those in the pantry." With the abrupt change in subject, Violette quickly leads him to her kitchen and opens the pantry door. Nathaniel stacks the mixes.

"What kind of project calls for a pool in the living room?" He asks as he straightens up, hand on his hip.

"Um...Well...A secret one," she settles on lamely.

"Uh-huh...?" Nathaniel's face screws up in bafflement and Violette can only offer an apologetic smile as she shrugs.

"How was your last match?" She steers the conversation away from her secret. "You look like a winner."

One of his eyes is tinged in purple but there isn't any swelling. There is also a strip of tape along his earlobe and that's the end of the visible damage.

"I gave him a concussion in the second round." Nathaniel flexes his fingers and leans back against her kitchen table. "I'm really more interested in the living room pool."

"It's for work," she says to appease him. "I have to study the way coralline algae respond to a latex environment for the purpose of pursuing coral conservation in captivity." This hopefully doesn't smell like the bullshit it is. It probably does. She knows she's a terrible liar.

Nathaniel still looks skeptical but he shrugs, keeping any doubt private. "Alright. I'll leave you to your algae then."

"You got plans?" she asks him. She doesn't want to shoo him out of her house or have him leave on the awkward note of the nonexistent algae project.

"Kinda. Armin's supposed to come over and fix my computer. But I have a feeling he's just going to conveniently forget about that and bring over some new video game, so he can use my big screen. Again."

"Does he still have his peppermint shrimp?" Violette tilts her head.

"Yep. Lara, Dante, and now a third one. Garret."

"That's cute," Violette chimes. "Tell him I said hi, okay?"

"You could come over," Nathaniel tells her.

"Nah." Violette waves her hand. "Maybe if Alexy was tagging along but I don't want to get roped into any argument if you yell at him about the computer."

"I don't yell." Nathaniel frowns.

"You yell without raising your voice and trust me, that's scarier." Violette slips her hands into the pockets of her skirt.

Nathaniel tilts his head, considering. "Must've gotten that from my mother."

Violette blinks in surprise at the offhand comment. He doesn't mention his family much, most of those ties cut with his scissors. Except for his sister. Violette's pretty familiar with Amber, though personally she wishes she weren't. Luckily, Amber doesn't come around much on account of all the traveling she does.

"Hopefully Armin won't forget about your computer this time," Violette says with a small smile.

"Hopefully. But I'm not counting on it." Nathaniel pushes himself from the table with a light sigh. "I'll see you later, Violette."

She walks him out and shuts the door behind him, relieved that he makes no more inquiry about the highly conspicuous kiddie pool right in the middle of her living room.

ჭ

Violette feels a lot like a loon, pushing a wheelbarrow down the street in the dead of night. She also feels excitement like an explosion in her chest, veins on high voltage. She walks like she's bouncing on springs and even so, the shadow of apprehension darkens behind every step. She can't squelch out the worry that someone is going to see. That some mermaid hunter is hiding in the bushes just waiting to leap out and steal Kim away.

Which is irrational. And illogical. Violette hasn't even picked Kim up yet. She might not even be at the beach when Violette gets there. She wasn't there the previous two nights.

Violette's always had a nervous soul and she can't snuff out the fear, however silly it seems even in her own head. She feels a lot better when she finally arrives at the beach and spots Kim down below. Kim waves to her from the shallows, her human torso the only part of her visible as the starlight paints her in a silvery varnish. Seeing Kim calms her. Kim kindles a sense of security inside her. Violette tightens her grip on the handles and plows down the sandy hill at top speed.

Kim gives this up-and-down flop in the shallows which is the closest the mermaid could probably get to a jump. Part of her tail emerges and splashes heavily in the water, the droplets smattering Violette's ankles.

"I'm so glad you're here." Violette laughs with joy when she drops beside Kim, getting soaked and sandy as she wraps her up in a hug. Kim clutches her close and practically devours her lips in a loving kiss. Violette dissolves like sea foam, tangling their tongues. She's missed her too. When the fervor of the kiss disperses between them like the receding tide, they inhale the relief of shared breath and nuzzle foreheads.

"I tried to come yesterday but hunting took too long and some evening boats stuck around." Kim's claws charily glide over the back of Violette's damp shirt.

"You're here today," Violette murmurs. "We have tonight."

"Yeah." Kim's grin is a flare in the dark. "The anticipation is killing me."

Violette chuckles and twirls a lock of hair around her finger. "Don't have your expectations too high. My house is pretty boring."

"I've never been on land before, Vi. Trust me when I say I'm not going to be bored." Kim playfully slaps her behind.

Violette lets out a little sound and then bats at Kim's shoulders. "Good. So would you like me to pick you up, or do you want me to tip the wheelbarrow over so you can climb in?"

"You? Pick me up?" Kim cocks her head with a skeptical look.

"I can do it," Violette insists. "Just long enough to put you in the wheelbarrow."

It's glaringly obvious that Violette is the smaller of the two. She is petite and short, tiny even compared to other humans. Kim is compact with dense musculature and has a long fishtail to boot. But Violette is sure she can pick her up for the ten seconds it's going to take to plop her into the wheelbarrow.

"Well, okay." Kim shifts back and rolls over, propped on her elbows.

Violette moves to a crouching position and slides one arm under Kim's tail. She slips her other arm under Kim's armpits and attempts to hoist her up princess style. Her legs quiver. Kim is like lead in her arms. Inhaling a deep breath, Violette surges upward. With a pitchy squeak, she tips backwards like a capsizing ship. She lands right on her bum in the water. Her arms tremble under Kim's heavier-than-anticipated weight as the mermaid laughs heartily.

"Don't laugh," Violette scolds. "I was trying to be romantic."

"You're as skinny as a sardine!" Kim tosses her head back, just about cackling. Her fin flips up and down in amusement.

"Stop it! You're being mean!" But Violette finds herself laughing along.

"I'm sorry," Kim says even though her smile says that she's anything but. "I shouldn't have let you try."

Violette hangs her head in mock shame and Kim rolls off of her. Kim crawls on her palms to shore, tail dragging behind her. Violette tips the wheelbarrow onto its side so she can crawl in, a wet towel already smoothed across the bottom. Violette uprights the wheelbarrow with a grunt of effort when Kim gets into position. The end of Kim's tail hangs over the wheelbarrow, but only just when she leans back. Her caudal fin isn't low enough to catch the wheel. Violette then takes her shirt off, plunging it into the water. She doesn't bother to wring it out and helps Kim put it on. Her sports bra is all the modesty she needs when no one is around to see anyway, and the wet shirt will help keep Kim hydrated.

"You ready?" She asks.

"Oh yeah," says Kim. "Let's go."

Violette smiles and begins pushing Kim up to the cement. It's no easy task but she didn't expect to be, especially after her botched attempt to lift the mermaid. Kim is interested in everything as they make their way down the street. She stretches up and turns her head around like an owl, eyes just as wide as she takes in the scenery. Violette hums affectionately, endeared to see her so curious about everything. Logically she should be more worried that someone will spot them now that she actually has Kim with her...But the feeling just never comes.

"Those are houses, right?" Kim points as Violette turns them down a suburban street.

"Mhm. Those dividers between them are called fences."

"What's with those tubes on the sticks? In the yards?"

"Mailboxes," Violette informs. "They're not always in the yards though. Some are attached to the houses next to the front door. Like mine."

"Mailboxes," Kim repeats with a nebulous mystification. "What do they do?"

"They're where the mail goes. Mail is like information or gifts that get sent to you from other places."

"Oh! We kind of have that. The transport system anyway, not the mailboxes."

"Really?" Violette inquires.

"Yep," Kim says. "Some of us make our rounds delivering information or items. Either gifts or requested items. They get rewards for it, like pearls or rocks."

"That's a lot like us. We have people who deliver the mail too," Violette says. "They get paid in money."

"I know about money." Kim glances back to her. "Priya's told me about that."

"Then you already know the main driving force behind humans." Violette grimaces. "Half the time it seems like that, anyway."

"You're not like that," Kim says immediately. "You're driven by passion. I see it when I take you underwater and you look at everything like it's too amazing for you to believe. I hear it when you ask me all those bizarre questions about every little thing just because you're so enthralled with the bones of it all."

"The bones?" Violette echoes softly.

"The bones," Kim repeats. "Mostly everybody's just interested in things as they are presented, the parts they see. But they wouldn't see what they do if it wasn't for the bones beneath. You know that and it inspires you. You always want to know about the bones."

Violette's faces flushes hot. She tries to speak but her voice splinters on the edge of her lips and all that comes out is a crooked, emotional note.

"And you still think that you're boring somehow." Kim's hand comes up to rest against Violette's cheek.

Violette bows her head into the touch and wets her lips with her tongue. "I don't know what to say..."

"Say you're not going to talk like that anymore. Like you're less or something."

"I won't." And Violette moves her chin to press a smile of promise into Kim's palm.

"Good."

Another few blocks and they're there. Violette's arms feel about ready to pop out of their sockets when she pushes Kim up the wood board of the makeshift ramp she'd placed over her porch steps. As soon as she's over the threshold, Kim exhales a gasp of awe. Violette parks the wheelbarrow next to the kiddie pool and steps back, rolling her shoulders. Kim plants her hands on the side and straightens up tall, peering all around. She reminds Violette of a python raised on its coils.

"This is it," Violette tells her with a humble gesture around. "My habitat."

"It's weird!" Kim laughs. "I like it! Did you do all of that art?"

"Not all of it. Most of the fish though."

"What's with the fake turtles on that err, well, what is that?"

"That's a couch. It's just a comfortable place to relax on." Violette demonstrates by weaving around the pool and reclining to the cushions. She hesitates a moment before describing her stuffed animals. "The fake turtles are for comfort too, I guess. They're soft and cute."

"I see." Kim points to the doorway that leads into the kitchen. "What's in there?"

"I'll show you." Violette smiles and gets up.

She wheels Kim into the kitchen and proceeds to describe everything. Kim is practically astounded by the blender. She acclaims the entire concept of the refrigerator. She's so enthusiastic that Violette takes her over to open the door and study how it works for herself. She's sorely disappointed to find Violette's diet mainly consists of leafy and citrus things, pawing through them with disapproval on her face. Violette gives her the tour of the pantry and indulges her curiosity in the microwave.

When she's seen it all, Violette takes Kim back to the living room. She'd like to show Kim her room but there's no way to take her up the stairs. Parallel to the kiddie pool, she tips the wheelbarrow to make it easier for Kim to climb out and into it. Kim drops her hands down first and uses her arms to pull herself into it. An easy sigh slides from her lips in tune with a quiet splash. She rolls onto her back, scooting up to stretch her arms along the tube. The tips of her caudal fin skim the opposite end of the pool.

"Is it comfortable enough?" Violette asks, fretful.

"Yeah, it's great." Kim meets her eye, a mild curve to her mouth. "Thanks for thinking of me."

"Always." Violette kisses the top of her head and then meanders to the television set. She turns it on and slips a DVD into the player. "This is the box that the watchable stories play on. The one I picked out is about space and galactic war. So there's aliens and lasers and spaceships. Pretty much everybody likes it and I'm sure you will too."

"It sounds really interesting," Kim says, her eyes owlish.

Violette settles down on the couch, crossing her legs on the middle cushion. Her position gives her easy access to Kim's head, which she affectionately pets as the narration rolls onto the screen over a starry background. Kim is entirely entranced by the whole thing. She's hushed silent, transfixed by the screen. Violette has seen the movie a thousand times over. She could recite it line-for-line. As it goes on, she finds herself watching Kim more than the screen. Kim lets out loud, vehement clicks and gasps of awe as laser battles and technicolor explosions dominate the screen.

Her favorite character is the queen of the slug planet, propelled by warrior culture and clad in neon, sequined armor. She hasn't said as much (or anything during the duration of the film that Violette can understand) but she doesn't have to. Violette catches it in the little shimmy Kim gives up against the vinyl when the queen enters the scene. Kim marvels at the feature until it's over, left on a cliffhanger.

"What the hell!?" Kim tosses her tail so hard Violette fears for the kiddie pool's safety. "That can't be how it ends! That isn't an ending at all!"

"Calm down, Kim!" Violette rolls off the couch. "There's a sequel!"

Kim pauses. "Sequel?"

"Yes," Violette giggles. "There's more. Another movie. We can watch it the next time you come over."

"Good." Kim sags with relief. "Wow. That was awesome. Are all movies awesome?"

"Unfortunately no," Violette tsks as she re-wets the towel and spreads it along the seat of the wheelbarrow. "But a lot of them are." She then tips the wheelbarrow for Kim.

Kim climbs into the wheelbarrow and scoots back until her dorsal fin is comfortably splayed over the lip of durable plastic. "Can you meet me tomorrow night? If I can make it?"

Violette shakes her head. "Not tomorrow. I have to get up early the next day. Some associates and I have a meeting with some researchers from the other side of the coast. They may have pinpointed the spawning habitats of the trumpetfish."

Kim scrunches up her face. "That's what you have to get up early for? Jeez, Violette. I could tell you that."

"Huh? Really!?" Violette blinks rapidly.

"Yup." Kim grins and then motions her over. "Come here and I'll divulge the secret."

Violette leans over and Kim whispers the obscure location in her ear.

"Oh." Violette straightens up. "That actually makes a lot of sense! I still have to go to the meeting though. That's not the only thing we're talking about and I can't let anyone know I know that, anyway. They'd ask how."

"Come for me the night after tomorrow then."

"That I can do."

Violette opens the door and then wheels Kim out, down the ramp. She turns onto the sidewalk and ice arrests her heart. Nathaniel is right there. Taking out his garbage. At three in the morning for some ungodly reason. He dumps it on the curb and twists around. Panicky, Violette rushes out to body-block the wheelbarrow. Her arms pinwheel wildly, breath stuttering in her throat.

"Violette?" He glances over. "You forget to take your trash out too?"

"No! Um, I mean, n-not exactly." She stills her arms and claps her hands together so hard they sting. "I'm go-going for a walk!"

Nathaniel stops, frowning at her. To her complete horror he begins to walk over. "Are you okay?"

"Yes! I mean, no, no! I'm sick and contagious so don't come over here! Don't—"

It's too late. Nathaniel stops right in front of Violette's outstretched arms, eyes widening as he stares over her shoulder at the mermaid in the wheelbarrow. Kim stares back at him, bold but wary. Violette's thoughts sprint around the dome of her skull.

Should she try to pass Kim off as a friend in costume? No, it's far too obvious that Kim is the real deal.

Should she try to hypnotize him and convince him he's dreaming? No, she doesn't trust herself to harness the power of suggestion.

Should she just hit him in the head and blame this encounter on a concussed hallucination? No, she can't see herself being violent like that even if she did have something available to hit him with.

Violette sighs deeply and steps back. "Nathaniel, this is Kim. Kim, this is Nathaniel."

"Kim is...a fish..." Nathaniel nearly whispers, sounding like he's far away.

"Mermaid," Kim corrects, chewing at her lip. "Violette, I have to kill him. He's seen too much."

"No!" Violette darts between them again. "Ah, no. He's not dangerous, Kim! I swear." She quickly spins around to Nathaniel, singeing him with a stern look. "Shake her hand and promise her you're not going to tell anyone about this."

Nathaniel's mouth opens and Violette immediately holds up her hand.

"Promise me too. You absolutely can't tell anyone about her, Nat. You'll put her and all her kind in danger."

Nathaniel steps back and runs a hand through his hair. "Uh, alright. This is definitely the weirdest thing that's happened to me in...possibly ever. But okay, it's a secret. I promise."

Violette scrutinizes him. Nathaniel looks earnest. More surprised than anything. She's always found him trustworthy but she has to be extra careful and particularly protective when it concerns Kim.

"Okay," Violette decides, stepping back. "Thank you."

Nathaniel bends and slowly stretches out his hand. Kim takes it and gives it a stiff shake.

"Hello," she greets, a fleeting glance at Violette.

"Hi." Nathaniel offers a tired version of this polite, 'student council' smile he's had since high school. "It's nice to finally meet you. Violette talks a lot about you, though very, very vaguely and now I finally see why."

Kim smirks and lightly bumps him with the end of her tail. "She's mentioned you too. You're the neighbor with the cats."

"Yeah, that's me." Nathaniel keeps staring at her tail, like he can hardly believe it's there. "Your tail is pretty," he compliments awkwardly.

"Thanks," says Kim. "Hey, can I see one of your cats? I only ever get to see them from a distance."

"Ooh, go get her Pumpkin," Violette chirps. "Pumpkin is my favorite."

"Okay, sure." Nathaniel shuffles back. "She stays up late anyway."

He still seems supremely weirded out by this rare encounter, eyes wide and fingers tugging at his neckline. Of course, that's normal. It would've been outright bizarre if he wasn't fazed by any of this. He plods into the house, scratching at the back of his neck. Violette turns to Kim.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." The answer is hesitant, pulled slowly from the mermaid's lips. "I'm a little shocked. I guess I thought this was going to be completely safe as long as we did it this time of night. I really didn't think there was a chance we're see other humans."

"It's not normal," Violette reassures her. "I didn't think we'd see anybody else either. But Nathaniel's not a threat. I've known him a long time. You can trust that he won't say anything to anyone."

Kim nods. "I believe you. He doesn't seem like the dangerous type anyway."

Violette reaches down and gives Kim's hand a squeeze. "He's not. Next time we do this, I'll put a wet blanket over your tail. It'll help keep you hydrated and hide your fins somewhat, just in case we come across someone again."

"We probably won't though, right?" Kim lifts a brow. "This is an unusual occurrence?"

"It is," Violette tells her. "Definitely. I'm sure we won't see anyone next time. Most people don't put their garbage out this early in the morning. Or late at night, depending on how you look at it. Either way, most people are asleep right now."

"I thought so." Kim relaxes.

Nathaniel emerges a few moments later, the big orange fuzz ball that is Pumpkin in his arms. He gently hands her off to Kim. Pumpkin is a friendly, sociable cat. She warms up to Kim immediately, bunting her chin with her head. Kim trills pleasantly and strokes down her back.

"Wow. Cats look nothing like catfish. Except for this part." She brushes Pumpkin's whiskers with her fingertips, giving a little giggle of amusement.

It occurs to Violette in the recesses of her mind, that this very well might be the oddest moment of her life. She's standing outside in the wee hours of the morning, watching her mermaid girlfriend in a wheelbarrow pet a cat for the first time with a shirtless neighbor who swallowed all of this quite agreeably only because he remembered to take out the trash while the rest of the world snored. She muses over this privately and scratches under Pumpkin's chin.

"So where are you guys off to, anyway?" Nathaniel asks. "If that's not a secret. If it is, I understand. I guess."

"I was just taking Kim home," replies Violette.

"Oh." He looks uncertainly between the wheelbarrow and Violette. "Well I'm going to go in now, try to sleep. Goodnight, girls. Be careful."

"Night, Nat."

"Goodnight." Kim puts Pumpkin back in his waiting arms.

Bemusement still lingering on his features, Nathaniel takes his cat and meanders back inside. Violette takes the handles and resumes pushing Kim down the sidewalk. Just like that.

"I think I like cats," Kim says thoughtfully. "Even if they're funny looking."

Violette chuckles. "Pumpkin probably thought you were funny looking."

"Touché."

"Overall, how did you like your first visit on land?"

"I loved it," Kim breathes. "Even if I was a little worried about your friend for a second there."

"I'm happy." Violette releases a content sigh. "We can't hang out at my house all the time though. You still have to take me exploring through the deep blue."

"Of course," pledges Kim. "I know how much you love the water. And I love showing you the best spots."

ჭ

Kim enjoys the sequel as much as, if not more than the first feature. Sci-fi and post-apocalyptic flicks seem to be her favorites. The noir films Violette enjoys (and Nathaniel practically feasts on) she finds too dreary. The romantic movies Violette cheers for are either boring to Kim, or enjoyable only for laughs because they're so bad it's entertaining. So Violette stocks up on the sci-fi and post-apocalyptic movies.

She rents one of each from the library, one of the former about multidimensional pod people and the latter about a brain melting plague. She hasn't seen either, so she'll let Kim pick which one they'll watch for tonight. She's hoping Kim picks the pod people because that sounds less gory than Violette can only imagine a brain melting virus is going to be. In any case, she'll go along with either. It's Kim's choice tonight, last time Violette made her sit through a romantic classic.

If Kim shows up tonight, that is. Violette will find out soon. She's almost to the beach. She whistles softly along the walk, under her breath just to keep herself calm in the dark. She's still nervous doing this, never mind that she's been doing it for several weeks now. Fortunately, she's nearly there.

Another five minutes of nighttime strolling and Violette can see Kim's silhouette in the shallows. She releases a breath of relief and jogs the rest of the way down to the water, wheelbarrow creaking and sand spraying behind her swift steps. She parks the wheelbarrow and flings herself at Kim, peppering her with kisses. Kim reciprocates but slowly, her hands subdued rather than enthusiastic as they slide along Violette's back. Something is wrong.

Violette pulls back from the uncomfortably tepid kiss to look her girlfriend in the face. Grimness grips her expression, lips taught and eyes dim.

"Did something happen?" Violette demands, voice shaking with worry.

"Not to me." Kim deflates. "You remember Lysander?"

"Of course." Violette's teeth press her lip. "Is he okay?"

Kim shakes her head. "He's probably dying. He got harpooned by one of those shark boats."

"Oh my god!" Violette's hands fly to her mouth.

"Yeah. He's hurt really bad," Kim sighs. "He's too weak to swim and he's beached. His family could probably move him but they don't want to make his wound worse."

"Beached?" Violette echoes. "Where?"

"Luckily where humans don't go too much. Where the shore is rocky and there's a bunch of trees further up the hill. But it's not going to matter how much humans hang around or not if he just...expires there."

Violette wrings her hands. "Can you take me to him? Maybe I can help. I'm not an expert on his biology, true, I'm still trying to understand that. But maybe I could still do something for him."

"He likes you, Violette," Kim starts slowly. "But his family's with him and I'm not sure how much they will. Especially when they're all really scared right now and it was a human who hurt him to begin with. Rosa's there, she doesn't like you. Castiel's there, I know he wouldn't like you. I don't know if I could protect you outnumbered like that."

Violette gulps. She recalls Rosalya vividly, every spine of her strikingly beautiful but most certainly dangerous spines. She also recalls the angry clicking. She is in no hurry to encounter that kind of hostility again, especially from someone who could easily flay her. And this time there is a group of those that could easily flay her. And possibly eat her, Violette can't help thinking with some horror, for all merpeople she's met this far are obviously carnivorous.

Still...it's her job to protect the ocean and its inhabitants. Battle the ongoing loss of biodiversity. Also, Lysander was sweet and friendly to her. She'll feel guilty if she just lets him die without even trying to do something.

"Please?" Violette tugs on Kim's arm. "I know it's dangerous. You can talk to his family before I get close to him or anything. If I can't help, fine. I won't know that until I try."

"They might not want to listen to me," Kim cautions.

"He's your friend, right? And he could be dying?"

Kim closes her eyes for a long moment. "Alright. I'll take you to him but it's going to be a pretty long swim. I know the water is cold for you this time of night. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I won't die," Violette says. And she won't, though she anticipates an immense discomfort.

Violette steps into the water and walks while Kim maneuvers herself backwards. When it's deep enough for Kim to swim, Violette wraps her arms around the mermaid's waist. Kim jets, the water parting with her fluid propulsion. She's so fast the wind roars in Violette's ears and Violette knows this is only half the speed she could go were it not for supporting her weight. Normally Violette swims with her but it's too cold and too dark. She doesn't know the way and her skin tingles with numbness as the iciness spreads through her veins like a venom.

She bites her lip so her teeth don't chatter. She doesn't want to worry Kim.

Violette can't feel her toes by the time she sees the moonlit shapes on this rocky, brambly part of shore. One of the shapes moves and distinctly clicks to Kim. Kim clicks back. More moving, more clicking. An uneasy shuffle among five of the six shapes. Kim clicks what Violette is certain is a warning and it receives something sharp and possibly even aggressive in response. Violette holds her breath.

Kim slows in her swim, although she doesn't stop. Their approach is careful the rest of the way and she shakes Violette off when they've arrived. She puts herself in front of Violette with her hands held up, defensive. Violette stands and looks over Kim's shoulder to gauge the scene. Lysander is recognizable, limply splayed on the pebbles, half of his tail in the water. Mermaids don't have laps really, but the way is head is positioned on an upright mermaid's tail is reminiscent of one with their head in another's lap.

The mermaid is older, elderly Violette would think, going off of the valley of wrinkles visible in the moonlight. She flashes Violette a cautious glance but her attention is primarily focused on Lysander. He doesn't appear to be conscious. An older merman flanks the older mermaid, stroking Lysander's shoulder. Both the older merfolk and one of the two mermen Violette doesn't know have tails shaped similarly to Lysander's, but Violette can't tell if they're identical or get any grasp on palette in the dark.

That similarly shaped merman hovers close, pressing what Violette thinks is a large sea sponge against Lysander's side. When he sees Violette looking, he bears his teeth but it seems more like a skittish show to keep her away than a display of aggression. Aggression is the response of the other younger merman present though, his tail entirely different. His tail appears to have a forked caudal fin and a ridge of finlets along the top. Violette can see glimpses of it as he lashes irritably, clicking fiercely in Kim's face and practically snarling harsh decibels.

Kim clicks right back at him, her volume just as heated. The lionfish mermaid, Rosalya, is there, lingering beside the merman with the sponge and frowning at Violette, but not as abrasive as she was during their first encounter. Violette remains where she is, not daring to get any closer until Kim tells her it's okay.

Forked Caudal Fin and Kim continue going at it for a few minutes. Forked snaps at her and Kim snaps back, and this is when Old Mermaid interrupts. She barks out one firm, authoritative cluck. Forked and Kim stop, turning their attention to her. She clicks an inquiry to Kim, a wary tip of the head in Violette's direction. Kim clicks something direct. Old Mermaid returns it with another softer, questioning click. Kim nods. Old Mermaid cards her fingers through Lysander's hair and tells her something else that Forked must not like. He bristles. Old Merman clicks out a stern note to him.

To Violette's surprise, Lysander feebly picks his head up. He starts to click something, then breaks off with short whine that pierces Violette's chest. Sponge Presser shushes him gently. He lays his head back down and Old Mermaid strokes her knuckles over his cheek. She clicks to Kim and Kim takes Violette's arm, tugging her along.

"You can see him," she says.

"Okay." Violette swallows. She respectfully dips her head to the older merpeople, gives a hesitant wave to Sponge and Rosalya. They both tense, trading glances. Nonetheless, they allow her access.

She carefully shifts the sea sponge back to get a look at the damage. It's nasty. She's frustrated with the darkness because she can't get a full picture in this limited light, but he was speared just at the juncture of his torso and his tail. It went all the way through, a deep messy maw of meat from two distinctly different fleshes. His tail is rubbery more so than the roughness Violette would have anticipated at first glance, but its texture is unlike that of his torso all the same. She could probably shove her first through the puncture it's so wide.

Straight though but not cleanly. She doesn't know what happened to the harpoon, if the hunters yanked it out of him or if he rid of it through other means, but the flesh surrounding the cut is ragged, irregular. It must've been jostled. He isn't gushing blood thankfully, but he is bleeding. Stripes of it run down to the dip of his navel. She doesn't know how much blood he's lost prior to this but he feels cooler than he did when they first met and she doesn't know why. Okay, so some scabbing has taken place but not enough...Probably. It's too damn dark!

"Your face doesn't say anything good," Kim mumbles quietly.

"I need to go home. I have to get supplies. I don't...I mean, I'm not a doctor," Violette splutters. "And I'm still not too sure how his body even works exactly, but I could apply an alginate dressing. And I don't think his friends would go for it but I'd like to put him in isolation."

"What?" Kim gawks at her.

"He's vulnerable like this." Violette gestures. "When a fish is injured we—"

"We're not fish," Kim exclaims urgently. "He is not a fish!"

"I know," Violette breathes, exasperated. "But he's hurt bad. You said yourself, he's too weak to swim. If I could put him in an isolation tank, I could treat the water with antibiotic solution and keep him safe until he's better."

"You did not just say you want to put him in a tank," Kim hisses. "Everyone here is going to be beyond pissed if you suggest that."

"No, it wouldn't— I mean, I don't know, Kim! The pool you hang out in when you come over? It'd be something like that. I would never hurt him, you know that."

"But they don't," Kim murmurs, gesturing to the other present merfolk. Forked is still glaring at her.

"Ask Lysander himself for me." Violette chews her lip. "If it'd be okay with him."

Kim gives her a look of disbelief but just sighs, scooting around to touch the injured merman's chin. He stirs, peering at her with pain bright eyes. Kim clicks what Violette can assume is the question, the surrounding merfolk making noises of dissent and shock. Forked snarls again. Rosalya straightens as much as she can half on land, her spines fanning dangerously. Sponge moves to snatch Lysander's hand, pinning Violette with a startled stare.

Lysander glances from one to the next, finally clicking something up to Old Mermaid. Old Mermaid shakes her head, nervously batting at the air. He shudders with what must be great pain and clicks again, the anxiety dripping in his voice unmistakable no matter how foreign the language is to Violette's ears. Old Mermaid quickly cups his face and rolls her thumbs, Old Merman clicking something she's sure is meant to soothe as he squeezes his shoulder.

"What's happening?" she asks Kim.

"He knows he's a goner if he's stuck here," Kim sighs bleakly. "But he can barely move. He wants to go with you."

"What does she say?" Violette nods to Old Mermaid. She has not forgotten that they are matriarchal.

"His mom is scared. Of you and of what's going to happen to him whether you take him away or not."

"That's his mother?" Violette murmurs, staring closely at Old Mermaid's tenderness with him.

"Yeah. That's his father." Kim points to Old Merman. "His brother, Leigh." Then to Sponge. "And that chum-mussel is Castiel." She snorts at Forked, who immediately clicks something to her so sharp it's like a knife to Violette's ears.

"What can I do to convince them I want to help?"

"Nothing." Kim shakes her head. "You said you had to get supplies, right? Can you go back on land? I'll stay here and try to warm them up to you."

"Okay," Violette agrees. "I can do that."

She stands and walks back through the shallows, Kim flanking her against a glowering Castiel as she steps onto the shore far enough away to hopefully not agitate the family. She begins the climb up the hill, sodden socks squishing inside her shoes. With each step she becomes more and more aware of how cold she is. The sensation had sort of slipped away from her in the commotion but now the wind sends shivers up her back.

She stumbles through uneven, shrubby ground. It's hellishly dark now that the canopy of trees diminishes the moon and stars above. She can barely see right in front of her and she nearly trips every other step. She can almost feel her lips turn blue as the cold cocoons her bones. Somewhere an owl hoots and shortly after that, Violette nearly sprawls onto the footpath.

It is a long, long walk home. Along the way, questions emerge in her mind one after the other, popping popcorn kernels.

What is she going to put Lysander in? He's too big for the wheelbarrow and she left that at the beach, anyway.

Her truck? Okay, how is she going to get him in there? She can't even lift Kim!

What about that isolation tank? The kiddie pool will make do for a night but he needs space.

What if he dies under her care anyway? Will she ever be able to see Kim safely again?

Violette is still void of answers when she reaches her door. She rifles through her blessedly overstocked first aid kit. She'd bolstered the supplies and their variety for Nathaniel's sake actually, considering the assortment of injuries his profession— Hey! There's an idea! Violette throws the supplies in a canvas bag and dries herself off in the bathroom. She jogs to her room and tosses dry clothes on, dumping a flashlight in the bag before she jogs next door. She bangs her fist heavily against the door and rings the bell for good measure.

A light turns on. A few moments later the door swings open and a tired blonde with a cat draped over his broad shoulders stands in the gap. The cat yawns and he squints at her blearily.

"Violette? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"I need your muscles. It's an emergency."

Nathaniel blinks, waking a bit more at her obvious urgency. "What's going on?"

"One of Kim's friends got hurt. I can't pick him up by myself."

"Kim's friends?" Nathaniel repeats, blinking some more sleep from his eyes. "Okay. This is going to be interesting."

He reaches back and gently picks the cat up from his shoulders, putting it down. It mews and walks off, tail switching behind it.

"Is there anything I should grab?" He starts to fix his hair.

"Mm...yeah. Get a blanket," she decides, a lightbulb lit above her head. "A comforter preferably. Please. We'll spray it with the hose and put it in the truck bed."

There is a pause. "Well, alright," he agrees. "This is rather weird but alright."

"Thanks."

Nathaniel heads back inside and returns a minute later with the requested comforter. Violette gets his hose and sprays it until it's thoroughly soaked through. They spread it on the bed of her truck without any trouble, it's actually a decent fit. Nathaniel is quiet on the ride, still likely half-asleep.

"Thanks again," Violette tells him. "There's nobody else I could go to for this."

A playful smile dances on Nathaniel's lips. "Sure, anytime. The dream I was having wasn't so great anyway."

"Nightmare?" Violette asks, concerned.

"Not exactly. It just wasn't comfortable. There were a lot of walls." He shrugs.

"Oh." Violette bobs her head.

"What are you doing?" He practically squawks, the subject flipped entirely as Violette pulls onto the footpath. "Violette, this isn't a road!"

"I know. We have to go this way to get to the merman."

"Violette! This isn't legal!"

"No one is out here," Violette says. "No one is going to get hurt, no one is going to know."

"This still isn't okay!"

"He contributes to the biodiversity in the ocean. Don't you want to save the ocean, Nathaniel?"

Nathaniel folds his arms and leans back, still evidently displeased with this route but resigned. Violette parks where she thinks she remembers emerging. She can't be sure it's the exact same spot. It's too dark. Nathaniel raises an eyebrow and sighs as he follows her out of the truck.

"This isn't going to be easy, is it?"

"Easier for us than for the poor merman," Violette says, tightening her grip on the canvas bag. "He's too hurt to swim."

She turns the flashlight on and leads the way through the trees and shrubs. Sure enough, when they reach the rocky shoreline, it isn't where Lysander is. It's too far down but not by much. Nathaniel gasps at the sight. The merpeople also gasp at the sight of Nathaniel, hissing and clicking rapidly. Kim tries to calm them, visibly frustrated.

"Whoa," Nathaniel whispers loudly, voice reverberating with awe.

Violette approaches in slow strides. She motions for Nathaniel to wait behind her, trying to be as non-threatening as possible and measuring the way the group responds to her. None of them look very happy to see her or the additional human she's brought along. Fork— Castiel glares with unveiled hostility. Rosalya huffs as Kim tries to pacify her suspicious clicks. Violette can see Leigh is alert in his posture but his focus is on Lysander. Lysander's parents look between her and Nathaniel, cautious but tolerant.

Violette waves Nathaniel closer and passes him the flashlight.

"Shine that down and hold it steady so I can see while I work, okay?"

Nathaniel nods and shines the light down, breath hitching as he flinches. "Damn, that looks bad."

"Told you it was an emergency." Violette kneels before Lysander in a spot that gives her easy access to the damage, her pants instantly soaked. The shallows are close enough to lap at her but the only alternative is to make his parents move. She wouldn't do that even if she could. His wound looks even worse illuminated by the flashlight, this hideous, bloody monster of a tear.

Violette sprays it out with highly watered down alcohol. Lysander twitches, makes a soft noise. It's almost reassuring to see him move even though Violette knows it's in response to pain. She attentively applies an alginate flat form as the primary dressing, blood smearing into the little swirls of her fingerprints and the lines of her palm. She applies a foam dressing as the secondary dressing. Concern floats like a ghost in the recesses of her mind; this may not be the best course of action. His flesh is similar to what she understands but likely more obscure than she realizes given the sheer unfamiliarity of his kind.

She's only learned the basics that Kim has taught her, not the Care and Keeping Of. But the alginate material is the least likely to agitate his flesh, the foam is closest in texture to sea sponge his brother was applying, and both are conductive to the blood and drainage she expects of a wound like this. Lysander is a good patient, he doesn't fight any of it. She presses the dressings smooth with chary fingers, ascertains secure placement. He watches, quiet and pliable.

"Kim?" Violette glances to her girlfriend. "Can you ask how he feels?"

Kim nods and wiggles her way up to Lysander, clicking in low tones. His response is short. To Violette, it sounds fatigued. Kim puffs something at him and Rosalya adds a note.

"He says he's okay," Kim relays. "Just trying to be tough, probably."

Violette exhales slowly. "Okay. Can you ask his parents just to um, shift over a little? So Nat can pick him up from his uninjured side?"

"Uh, hi," Nathaniel adds, sparing a glance to Kim with bewilderment still washed over his features.

Kim gives an amused snort. "Hi. And sure."

Kim explains in a few swift clicks and a gesture at Nathaniel. The older merpeople trade looks and his mother answers her softly. They click to their son and give him a few last pats and strokes, moving aside. Castiel clicks something that Rosalya curls her lip at. Lysander returns it with a pained laugh. Leigh pats his hand and slides back into the shallows, blinking uncertainly.

"You can go ahead," Kim tells Nathaniel. "You've got permission."

"Be gentle with him," Violette warns.

"Got it." Nathaniel sets the flashlight down and nervously swipes his tongue over his lips. "Okay."

Carefully, he gets down and wraps an arm around the merman's shoulders. He then tentatively slides one under his dorsal fin and lifts from his legs. He's as ginger as possible but the movement still jerks a little yelp of a sound out of Lysander. He grabs at Nathaniel's shirt and balls it up in a tight grasp. Still, he doesn't struggle.

"Sorry," Nathaniel murmurs to him, then casting a glance to Violette. "Uh, your friend here is pretty long. Do you think you could grab the end of his tail?" Lysander's caudal fin droops to the ground and will no doubt drag if she doesn't.

Violette looks to Kim. "Is it okay if we go now? Do they need any more reassurance?"

Kim bites her lip, sighs out. "It's not going to get any more okay than this. Keep looking for me the next few days. I'll come see you if I can."

Violette kisses Kim on top of her head in farewell and pulls the canvas bag up to her shoulder, picking up Lysander's tail. It's a long, awkward shuffle back to the truck. They have to amble along in an agonizingly slow, wayward, diagonal pace. It's definitely not comfortable for Lysander, the poor thing quakes in pain whenever Violette or Nathaniel stumbles on a root or treads over a particularly bumpy spot.

"Is it okay to medicate him?" Nathaniel asks at one point, when Lysander's latched tight on his shirt again and trembling like a naked baby chick. "Ibuprofen or something?"

"I have no idea," Violette blurts honestly.

Nathaniel sighs. When they at last reach the vehicle, getting Lysander up is awkward. Sudden movement hurts him and he's heavy even for Nathaniel. Nathaniel ends up adjusting his hold, lifting the merman from under the arms while Violette takes more of his tail. He parks his behind on the tailgate and just scoots back, grimacing as the wet blanket seeps water past the fabric of his pants. Violette helps push Lysander's tail up and has to bend his caudal fin inside to close the tailgate. The whole ordeal would almost be amusing if it weren't for the gut-wrenching suffering twisted on the merman's features.

"I'll stay back here with the merman," offers Nathaniel. "He's probably scared."

"That's not exactly legal," Violette reminds him, pale humor tweaking her lips. "His name's Lysander, by the way. There wasn't really a chance to introduce you..."

"Lysander," Nathaniel repeats. "Okay, I'll remember that."

Violette drives back slowly, far enough below the speed limit that she'd be getting honked at and heckled if there were any traffic this time of night. She doesn't want to jostle Lysander any more than she has to. She practically crawls into the driveway. Nathaniel's got him heft up in his arms by the time she gets out, ready to go. Violette jogs over to open the front door and get it propped with a stopper. She loops back to pick up Lysander's tail again and transporting him into the house goes much smoother than hauling him up the hill did.

It's not a very graceful deposit into the kiddie pool though. His tail hangs over the end, too much of it to push into the pool at an angle without causing him discomfort. Violette wets a soft beach towel and wraps it around the exposed part to ensure his flesh won't dry out. Lysander is still submissive to any and all manipulations, not putting up any kind of protest whatsoever.

"I don't know if he's a really well-behaved patient or if he's just docile because he isn't feeling up to wiggling around."

"I think he'd fight you if he wanted to," Nathaniel murmurs thoughtfully. "He stretched my shirt out when he pulled on it."

"Sorry about your shirt, but I think that's good." Violette relaxes somewhat. She's still nervous Lysander might just up and drop dead. There's a good sized hole in him after all...

"I have other shirts." Nathaniel shrugs and sits next to the pool. "I think he likes it when I pet his hair too." Nathaniel lifts his hand and gently scratches at Lysander's scalp, then strokes down the longer part of his hair. Lethargic as he is, the merman does incline his head into the touch.

"His mom was doing that so it's probably good," Violette hums. "Still, remember that Lysander's a person. You can't treat him like he's one of your cats, he's just a person with fins."

"You don't have to tell me that." Nathaniel scalds her a scowl. "Just because I didn't major in mermaid science doesn't mean I don't know a person when I see one."

Lysander comments on the noise of a discussion he can't understand or something else entirely, Violette has no clue. It's a slurry couple of clicks, a weary glance around the room.

"I'm sorry," Violette sighs. She flops back into her couch. "I'm just tired."

"I am too." Nathaniel continues smoothing his fingers through the merman's hair.

"You're going to hate me," Violette tells him, wincing. "I'm going to ask you for another favor."

"Is this my punishment for not returning your book?"

"Let's go with that." She gives up a laugh that's bruised around the edges. "Can you watch Lysander for me tomorrow? I have an assignment I have to do at the lab and I don't want to leave him alone."

"Sure. I can sacrifice a day of my iron regimen to take care of a person with fins." Nathaniel blinks flatly. "What does he eat?"

"Definitely fish." Violette stretches along the couch and promptly conks out.

ჭ

Violette's work day is long and grating and unproductive. She's too tired and anxious to get anything done and she can't really focus. Lysander seemed okay when she left. He was alert with a decent complexion. He had also communicated something at her, although she unfortunately couldn't figure it out. She wet the towel for his tail and squirted a generous amount of antibiotic solution into the water. Nathaniel had gone home to feed his cats but promised he'd be back.

But just because the morning had looked promising didn't mean things stayed that way. Violette couldn't feel comfortable remote from the situation.

What if Lysander's wound got worse?

What if the temperature in that dinky pool was so unsuited for him it make him sick?

What if Nathaniel did something that accidentally agitated him?

She leaves as early as she can get away with and rushes home. She hurries into the house and stops dead in the living room, staring openly at what she sees. Nathaniel's sitting next to the kiddie pool and holding up a magazine for Lysander. The merman looks over the page and flips to the next one, ripping it down the middle.

"Hey," Nathaniel greets her, nodding. Lysander looks up from the magazine and gives one of his own that Violette recognizes from Kim.

"Hi...How is everything?"

"Good," Nathaniel hums easily, pausing to put the magazine down when Lysander pokes his shoulder. He replaces it with an old holiday catalog and turns back to Violette. "When you said he ate fish, I know you meant fresh fish, but sushi and popcorn shrimp went over very well."

"So he ate, that's great!" Violette sighs in relief. "I was worried about that. If this environment was stressing him out too much, or if he was in too much pain to have an appetite, or..." She breaks off as the merman in question once again tears a page. This time it's just the corner. He reaches back to drop it on the couch in a pile of other shreds."Ah, what exactly is he doing?"

"You don't know either?" Nathaniel chuckles. "I was going to ask you that. I showed him the menu for the sushi place trying to communicate. It didn't really work but ripping it seemed to please him. I hope you don't mind I gave him these from your stack. I made sure I only took the outdated ones."

Violette watches for a moment as Lysander flips through a couple of pages before deciding on one to rip. He again deposits the shred in a pile and does indeed seem content to do so, engaged in whatever kind of project this is.

"Anything to make him comfortable," says Violette, curiously eyeing the pile. She'll have to ask Kim about this.

"Speaking of that," Nathaniel starts. "Lysander barely fits in this kiddie pool. Can we move him to mine?"

"You want to fill your pool with saltwater and antibiotics?" Violette gives him a skeptical stare. It's a great idea really, but she can't see him going through with it.

"Well, yeah." Nathaniel shrugs, distinctive blush dusting his cheeks as he shifts his gaze to a picture on the wall. "It's more important for him to have a place to heal than me to have a place to swim, right? Besides, I haven't filled it yet anyway and he can't stay in this thing. My pool is right next door so it just makes sense."

"Getting it ready is going to be a lot of long work," warns Violette.

"It won't be harder than carrying him through the woods in the dark," Nathaniel insists.

Lysander pokes him again, apparently finished with the catalog. Nathaniel holds up an unfortunately expired coupon book. The merman is immediately impressed, ripping off the cover page.

"That's true," she agrees.

ჭ

"And they get along," Violette relays to Kim of her neighbor and the merman recovering in his pool. It's been about a week and this only the second time she's seen her since the night they dragged Lysander up the hill. "Very well, actually."

"How well?" Kim raises a brow.

"Better than I expected," Violette admits. "Almost like..."

"You and I?" Kim guesses.

"I might be overthinking it," says Violette. Still, she notices things. Nathaniel's never been big on physical affection and yet every time she checks up on Lysander, they're touching. They'll be holding hands poolside or Nathaniel will be petting him again, or Lysander will be partly in his lap while the rest of his long body rests in the water. There had also been that suspicious mouth-sized bruise on Nathaniel's neck that Violette highly doubted came out of a boxing match.

"Lysander's always been interested in humans," Kim says. "I wouldn't put it past him to be that interested."

"He's doing well, in any case," Violette tells her.

She holds both of Kim's hands, their fingers tightly interlinked as she slowly kicks her legs back and fourth. The sun begins its descent to the west, dimming rays bidding farewell in faint glints along the bob of tranquil waves.

"His parents will be glad to hear that." Kim's tail sweeps in and out. "Speaking of parents, mine know about you now. What happened with Lysander couldn't stay a secret."

Violette tenses. Worry climbs her spine. "What does that mean? For you? For us?"

"They want to meet you," murmurs Kim. Her brows pinch in uncertainty. "That could either go very well or very bad. For now they're more upset that I lied than that we're together. It's weird, I expected them to be angry with our relationship. They're worried, shocked, skeptical...But I don't think there's any anger at all."

"That's good," Violette assures her. She rubs her fingertips over Kim's knuckles. "I don't think I could convince them if they were angry. But I think I can handle everything else. I love you. I'm not afraid to show anyone how much. Love can win over just about any reasonable emotion."

"Pfft." Kim snickers and winds her tail to slap Violette on the ass. "You're so sappy."

"Only for you!" Violette gives Kim a little kick of reprimand. "I'm being serious here. I want to dazzle your parents with my love for you."

"Keep saying mushy stuff like that and I actually think you'll manage." The teasing melts to reveal affection and Kim moves her lips to Violette's. "I suppose when you're done with that, it'll be my turn to meet your dad."

"You mean that?" whispers Violette.

Kim nods and seals the promise with another, deeper kiss.

---

Oh my goooooooosh. This is so fugly. It looks like decrepit balls. It reads like toilet water in text form. I hate the fuck out of this crap. Where was this going? What's with such a jerky, malformed conclusion? There was not even a lick of direction. This crap even managed to out-crap my other craps by being so spectacularly crappy.

I write better when I'm three sheets to the wind and sleepless. This is not my automatic shameful distaste but rather a distinct hatred. I apologize, anyone who's read through this foulness. However even in my hate I have to say, this has been in my docs for over two years. It is time for it to leave, even if it's leaving shambled and disfigured. I don't even believe the blog where I originally asked to use the idea even exists anymore.

This crap must be put to pasture even if its sky-high mediocrity singes my soul. Typo correction pending. Adieu, bonne nuit.