"Jack…? Where do mermaid babies come from?"

Jack dropped his coconut and Tooth nearly fell out of her floatie.

Jack laughed nervously as Baby Tooth looked on confused. Tooth floated closer to them until she felt ground beneath her feet, then grabbed onto one of the rocks to keep her by them. Jack looked up thoughtfully before turning to Tooth.

"I-I remember that Jack told me about it once…um, something about pearls and clams?" Tooth looked back hopefully. Jack nodded with a smile.

"Uh…yeah!"

Baby Tooth raised an eyebrow and Tooth mimicked her expression. Jack nodded and fiddled with his thumbs.

"Um…if a woman and a man really want a kid…they go into the depths of the oceans and find calm shells." Jack started. Tooth bit her nail and pulled herself onto the rock next to Jack. She sure hoped Jack could make a good excuse or else she would have to start a water fight or something to stray away from the conversation.

"They cut their thumbs and rub the blood on the clam-"

"EW!" Baby Tooth screeched. Jack and Tooth winced, pulling back from the 7-year-old. They shared a glance before returning their attention to the little girl.

"Well, yeah it is pretty gross…but anyways…they take the clam home and for about 9 months they treat it with great care-"

"Do they put any more blood on it?" Baby Tooth wrinkled her face in disgust. Jack shrugged and nodded.

"Every month, or else the pearl inside will die out." Jack told her simply. Baby Tooth crossed her arms and leaned in.

"The pearl?"

"The Pearl is the little baby mermaid or merboy that will be born after 9 months." Jack said. Tooth nodded. The idea that…that is how merpeople are born sounded ridiculous! But if Witchdoctors, huge Pookas, and merpeople were real…it wasn't really crazy as it seemed.

"Well how can a pearl go from being a…pearl to a baby?" Baby Tooth questioned. Before Jack could speak again, Tooth jumped it.

"Every month the clam gets bigger and bigger, and the pearl grows into a baby."

Baby Tooth nodded and stared at Jack's tail. Tooth and Jack looked at each other and nearly sighed of relief.

"Is it possible to have a baby with a human?"

Tooth and Jack's eyes went wide eyed, unable to answer. Baby Tooth looked at them expectantly, but neither the human nor merman could answer. Jack ran a hand through his hair before muttering something under his breath and flushed a light blue.

"Um…I-I wouldn't know. Humans and merpeople are forbidden to speak together." Jack stuttered a bit. Tooth furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head.

"Why do you ask?" Tooth questioned.

This time, Baby Tooth went wide-eyed and clamped her lips shut. She played with the colorful ends of her hair and stared at the ground. She then looked between Jack and Tooth before shrugging.

"Just wonderin'."

Tooth knew that look. The last time Baby Tooth used it, it was last year when she brought a boy home for a school project and she later yelled 'TOOTH'S GOT A BOYFRIEND!'

She looked hard at her little sister and flushed a fierce scarlet. Baby Tooth sent a look her way that clearly read as 'Don't know what you're talking about Toothie, I'm innocent.'

'Oh, she is so getting it when we get home!' Tooth screeched in her head.

I HAD WAY TOO MUCH FUN WRITING THIS.

So, it's not chapter length or whatever, but a short little drabble for a chapter that I JUST HAD TO WRITE OKAY? The question was gonna come up at some point. Plus, I've been experimenting with this idea since I started writing the basic plot for this mini-series.

OH HEY AND LOOK YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO WAIT THREE WEEKS FOR A NEW CHAPTER WHOOPIE! I'm so proud of myself. [but omg why does Baby Tooth feel ooc? Maybe it's just me because SERIOUSLY SHE THINKS THEY'RE-*faints*]

SO I hoped you liked this new chapter in Unexpected Encounters and I hope to see you around next chapter!

P.S.-I'm probably only going to post the chapters on tumblr for only about 3-6 more chapters. Kay?

*zooms off*