It was several hour later when Danny was woken up by a soft vibration in the water. Groggily opening his eyes, he was met with the smiling face of his mother, distorted through the glass. Smiling back, he pushed himself to the surface.
"Hey, mom. What's up?"
"Just checking on you, sweetie. How are you feeling?"
"Alright." This, of course, was his go-to response. But thinking back on it, he really did feel alright Especially when he remembered what happened the night before.
"Why don't you come up and eat some breakfast? I made pancakes." Oh. This cannot be good then. Whenever something bad happens, Maddie always resorts to pancakes. Gulping nervously, he made his way out of the tank, cringing at the mess he made. A look at his mother, however, showed that while the was worried about something, it was not about the mess on the floor. Making his way upstairs, he can't help but feel a sense of impending doom. It wasn't until just him, Jack and Maddie, he noticed, were seated at the table that Maddie proceeded with her doomsday news.
"So, Danny. We figured we'd let you chose what you wanted to do."
"Ok...?"
"As I'm sure you already know, you're not going to be able to stay on land that much longer." His head frills dripped with the reminder, but otherwise made no reaction. "Well, there are two options available that we could see. If you already have something in mind, please tell us."
"Actually, yeah." He figured now was a good time to tell them about his new friends. "So, last night, I went for a walk on the beach".
"What?! Danny!"
"THAT'S DANGEROUS, DANN-O".
Putting his hands up in a placating manner, "I know that. Just listen. While I was out there, I made a couple of new friends that said they would be willing to teach me the ropes." Granted, Tucker never agreed, but he never denied either. Good enough for him.
"Who-"
"They were mers."
"What?!"
"MERS?!"
Rushing over as fast as her feet could carry her, Maddie began to look over her child with all the tenacity of a mother hen.
"Omg you poor boy! Are you alright?"
"Mom! Stop!" She did. Taking a calming breath, "Listen. They were really nice. They offered to, for lack of a better term, take care of me." He couldn't help but notice, with some dread, that his parents looked unsure. "You wanted to know if I already had something in mind? Well this is it. And I'm not an idiot, I know what those other options are. This is much better."
"We know that, sweetie. We're just worried is all."
With as much venom as he could muster, and probably more than was needed, he spat, "Why? Because all mers are the devil reincarnate, unable to so much as feel emotions, let alone care about another being other than themselves?"
looking heartbroken, "Danny..."
Without another word, he stormed off back down to the lab. But not before calling back, "If you need me, I'll be down here busy being the very thing you hate and distrust." With that, he all-but slammed the door to the lab. As soon as the door was closed, Danny broke out into tears, sliding down the door to sit on the floor. He should have expected their reactions. Afterall, the only real mer encounter they've had was with the very one who cursed him to the way that he is now. Curling in on himself, he continued to cry.
_LINE BREAK_
After hearing the lab door slam shut, Jazz went to make sure everything was ok. The scene Jazz walked into was not a happy one. Both of her parents were sitting at the kitchen table, pancakes all-but forgotten, looking devastated. Steeling herself, she walked into the warzone.
"Ok, what happened?"
"We said some things we shouldn't have..."
"Such as...?" They didn't give much of a response other than the lowering of their heads. "Oh, for the love of-. I'll take care of it, you guys stay up here and reflect." With that, she made her way to the basement. Quietly, she descended the stairs to the lab. As soon as she reached the bottom, her angry scowl was replaced with a worried frown. Laying in his tank, facing the opposite direction, was her little brother who's body would occasionally shake from silent sobs. Without a second thought, she walked over to the tank and gently rapped on the glass. He gave no indication that he heard her, however, other than the flick of his head frills. Deciding she needed to be more direct, she ascended the stairs to the opening of the large tank. Without thinking twice, she lowered herself into the room-temperature water, and made her way over to her trembling brother. Taking a deep breath, she dunked her head under the water. Using the wall of the tank, she pushed herself down to prevent herself from rising to the surface and tapped her brother on the arm.
The face that turned to meet her, broke her heart. His blue eyes were red from crying, and tears still continued to make their way down his face; not to mention the heart-broken frown. A second later, she was knocked back by the force of her brother rushing into her open arms. As she was still underwater and running out of air, she made her way up towards the surface, crying brother in tow. As soon as both of their heads breached the surface, Danny immediately broke out into sobs, hiccups and sniffles which were, before, all-but muted by the water. Without knowing what else to do, she awkwardly rubbed his back, being careful not to touch his protruding fin, unsure of how that would feel. It wasn't until several minutes later, when Danny finally calmed himself, and pulled apart from his sister, looking ashamed. Using her finger to gently force Danny's head up,
"There's nothing to be ashamed of, little brother." Looking into her brother's eyes, she could have sworn that they turned green for a second. Thinking it to be a trick of the light, she was about to continue when she was cut off by a startled gasp from her brother. "Danny...?"
With his eyes wide, Danny slowly angled his head downward and looked at his feet, inhaling sharply when he got a good view. Worried for her little brother, Jazz looked down for herself, and her eyes widened at the black scales that now completely engulfed his feet, along with the also black webbing binding his toes together. When she looked back up, she was met with the terrified eyes of her little brother. Without saying a word, she grabbed him in a warm embrace and continued to rock him as he cried. All while whispering comforts. They stayed like that for hours.