A/N: Just a silly idea I had. XD Not an element in any of my other stories. Enjoy!
Ant shot out of the water, shouting triumphantly.
"Hah! I-"
"Lose!" Fontaine, already holding the edge of the Moon Pool, laughed. "I win again!"
Ant splashed back into the water, then surfaced with a pout. Fontaine ignored him and hauled herself onto the deck. She turned to watch Ant paddling moodily around the pool.
"Fontaine?" Ant asked rather abruptly a few minutes later.
"Yeah?"
"Why's my hair spiky?"
Fontaine blinked. "Uh… what?"
"Did you know," Ant began, in the tone of someone superior, "That most people's hair gets flat when it's wet?"
"You're a genius," Fontaine drawled.
"No, really!" Ant lifted his head and pointed at his still-in-place hair. "This isn't normal."
"I know. What tipped you off?"
"Well, last time Jess was here-"
Fontaine snorted.
"I noticed her hair looked funny when she got out of the water, so I asked her. Turns out, I'm the one with the weird hair."
"We all knew that one."
Ant splashed Fontaine, then went on, "Why do you think that is?"
"It's the Lemurian blood," Fontaine said.
Ant stared at her. "Say again?"
"Dad asked Nereus once, and Nereus actually gave a straight answer. Turns out, our drip-dry hair is a Lemurian thing. Our hair isn't like most people's, because our hair actually has two layers: the guard hairs and under hairs."
Ant felt his hair. He'd always thought everyone had stiffer hair on top, with a fluffier layer near his skin.
"Mum's always telling us to comb our hair because the hairs have tiny barbs that hold them tightly together," Fontaine went on. "And I guess our hair has more oils than most people, so the water runs off instead of soaking in. Kind of like otters."
"And not everyone's hair is like this?" Ant asked, awed.
"Nope. In fact, the Guardians test for Lemurian bloodlines by checking the hair. It never fails, according to Nereus."
"That. Is. Amazing!" Ant exclaimed, then dove.
Fontaine chuckled at Ant's enthusiasm, then stood and left.
An hour later…
"Fontaine!"
Fontaine jumped at Ant's horrified yell. She rushed from her room as Ant appeared in the hall. He ran to Fontaine and grabbed her shoulders, staring at her with huge eyes.
"What? What's wrong, Ant?!" Fontaine asked.
"You said only Lemurians have the otter fur hair, right?!" Ant demanded.
"Uh…"
Ant shook her. "Right?!"
"Ye-yes, Ant, yes!"
"And nobody else does?!"
Fontaine jerked herself free. "Nobody but Lemurians, Ant! Just chill, would you?"
"I can't!" Ant yelled, grabbing his hair. "This is a disaster!"
"...why?"
"Because you know who else has otter fur hair?!"
Fontaine didn't know if she should be amused or annoyed. "Ant, what are you babbling about?"
"Mad Madeline!"
Fontaine blinked. "What?"
"She's always in the water, but it never gets flat or anything! I didn't think it was strange before, but now I know!"
Fontaine's brain was having a bit of a hard time catching up. Of course Madeline's hair… no, actually, it always stayed poofy, no matter how much she'd been diving. Come to think of it, Finn never lost his big spike of hair, despite getting shoved into the water many times.
Fontaine's eyes widened. "You mean to tell me… Madeline and Finn are…?"
"Lemurian!" Ant wailed.