Day seven of MerMay prompt month.

Since no one knows where the Tri-State Area is supposed to be (and none of the hints make any sense), I'm using Buckroe Beach in Hampton Virginia as the baseline for any Danville research I had to do.

Also, Ferb seems to bash England a bit here in the beginning, but he's not actually bitter. He's just extremely happy to be back in Danville.

One last thing... ahem...

Happy Birthday to meeeeee!!!!

Shore - Ferb

(Five years after the events of the first chapter)

Stepping out of the airport into the bright light reminded Ferb of surfacing on a sunny day. He had missed the near-constant sunshine that Danville had. England, in general, had more overcast days than sunny ones, but it wasn't too bad… Granted, on average they got about a thousand hours less sunshine annually than the Tri-State area did, but who's counting?

(Ferb. Ferb was counting.)

He shouldered his duffle bag and waved down a cab to take him to the beach in Danville. It would be a good twenty minute drive, but that wasn't too concerning for the now eighteen-year-old. After giving the cabbie his destination, he stuck his headphones back into his ears and gazed longingly out the window.

A part of him regretted not telling his family he was flying in today, but he also knew he would have to go straight to the water after that eleven hour trip—not counting the swim to Bristol or the drive into London where he'd had to spend a night at the aquatic hotel in the Thames (which, while cleaner than you would expect from the river, Ferb still would not recommend). But it was either that or spend nearly a full twenty hours out of the water, which no môr could do. Everything had to be planned carefully, and thank fae for Dorian and Rainie for plotting out this excursion for him as he confronted Meris about his leaving.

He had told his mother about his new 'assignment', which she could understand… kind of. However, when he mentioned he had always planned on going home… Well, let's just say Ferb had a better understanding on what the separation was like between Meris and his father.

She just couldn't wrap her mind around it. "No. This is how it works. You leave for some time, find a spouse, and then you come back here to raise your family. You're not to move away forever. That's now how it works." Even as he explained it over and over again, she was set in 'the plan' and that's how things would go.

As he swam out her door for the last time, she barely bothered saying goodbye. He told her straight out he wasn't going to be coming back and she nodded blandly, certain that he was kidding or something. She focused more on her newest potted plant than her own blood swimming away as soon as he had been free to do so.

Ferb shook his head—he would never understand her, but he could at the very least be grateful to her. For without her, he wouldn't have ever been born, and he really did love his life. He loved his friends, his family, his home.

His sunny, bright home.

As they drove into the city limits of Danville, Ferb felt himself smile. He was finally home! Comparing Danville to Cornwall was a no brainer. Because as nice as Cornwall was, and even though England was where he had been born and was where he spent his earliest years, it would never win over Danville. Not to him.

Honestly, the only things he would miss from Cornwall would be some of the people and the cream.

Seriously, the scones and cream from The Moomaid of Zennor was to die for.

Ferb could feel his stomach growling just thinking about it.

And as for the people he would miss, the list was rather short. Taron and Deema were at the top of the list. Without those two, Ferb would have lost his sanity and his patience years ago. And also, without those two, he wouldn't even have the rest of his list.

After their kidnapping of him on the second anniversary of his arrival in Zennor, his classmates at school started including him a bit more. A lot of them were still unnerved by his quietness (it was a lot harder to be quiet when your direct thoughts were what traveled between people, but comparatively Ferb was still quieter than most), but he did finally start to make friends.

Dorian, Cora, Rainie, and Murray all kind of adopted him and taught him a few common things that even Deema had missed. Without them, he would have stayed latched to his cousin and Taron for his entire stay, which would have been depressing and awkward—especially after they broke up. Eventually they were able to regrow their friendship, but between the split and the befriending, Ferb felt more than caught in the middle and he had not liked it.

Again, thank fae for the rest of them. He was going to miss them so much, but they had all promised to come see his new abode once he was finalizing his plans.

The taxi stopped along the boardwalk and Ferb handed over the fee along with a decent tip. He barely paid attention to the car pulling away, so focused on the crash of the waves against the dock posts. It sounded like music. Casually strolling up the walkway, he grinned at some of the people who vaguely noticed him and his odd colored hair.

It was common enough now for people to have fun colored hair, thanks to the spread of the different beings through humanity. You could never know anymore if the girl across the street with a blue ponytail or that boy at the cafe with the bright pink mohawk had another part to their genetics, or if they just really liked those colors. And that just made it easier to blend in.

Ferb made it to the end of the boardwalk and followed the stoney path. He vaguely glanced over the figure sitting on an old abandoned docking post, feet dangling in the water, but he didn't bother looking closely. He was simply too tired to care and he really just wanted to drift and let the water recharge him.

He found the place he was looking for just off the path. It was a corner with one side dropping down into the water, the other rising towards a parking lot. No one was around or looking his way, so he just stepped into the air away from the lot, dropping into the water like a stone.

The feeling that came over him as soon as he dropped his control over his 'transformation' was a comfort at this point. It felt similar to goose-pimples growing up your arms and legs. Webbing extended between his fingers and along his feet and he shot off, his waterproof duffle bag pressing into his side as he sped through the water.

Considering how close to the shoreline it was, it didn't take Ferb long to remember where to find Atlantis; though he did have to backtrack twice. As he wandered through the sunken city, he pondered what all he could do with it as he looked for a, at least temporary, home. He would also have to find a place along the coast to surface and change into some dry clothing, but that could wait until he'd had a nice loooooong nap.

It was very early the next morning when Ferb climbed out of the water. He pulled a dry shirt out of his waterproof bag, but decided against changing out of his swimming shorts. They'd dry just fine on their own. He could change into something nicer before heading to his parents home for that reunion.

He wandered onto the pier, looking over the little shops as they prepared for opening for both breakfast and a possible location for him to regularly surface and dress in. He needed a simple shop, but a dressing room could work for a little while.

"Wait, is that…" a voice behind him trailed off for a second, but he didn't react. What were the chances they even knew him?

"Ferb?"

Oh, pretty good then.

He turned around and blinked a few times before a smile of greeting grew on his face. Isabella!

The girl smiled brightly back at him, her glasses glinting in the sunlight (I wonder when she started wearing glasses? he thought), but there seemed to be something missing in her eyes. "How are you?! Did you just get back?" she asked him, her voice cheerful.

Ferb nodded. Yes, I arrived last night.

"Great! It is so good to see you!" She squinted up at him. "New hair color?"

He grinned, tilting his head to let his darker hair glimmer in the sunshine. And in that moment he realized, she can't hear me! You need to actually speak with your mouth, koi! His voice was still rough from the little that he had used it. "Yes, well. It didn't get as much sun as it used to."

There was a spark in Isabella's eyes; not quite replacing what had been missing—whatever that was—but it added something to their depths. Her smile grew mischievous. "I'm surprised to see just you—I didn't think Phineas would let you out of his sight for months when you came home."

He grinned back. "Well, that might still be the case. They don't yet know I'm here," he explained, a little sheepishly.

Her jaw dropped. "They don't know?!" She laughed lightly. "Oh, you better brace yourself then!"

Ferb chuckled softly. You think so, huh? he mentally quipped back. When she didn't respond, he realized he had done it again. With a mental kick, he asked her, "How have you been these last few years?"

Isabella's eyes dimmed slightly, but her smile didn't fade. "Oh, there's so much I wouldn't know where to start," she teased. "I do have a question for you though."

Ferb playfully raised his eyebrows in anticipation. Isabella had to hide a smirk before forcing her face into a solemn expression. He followed suit.

"Why didn't you ever email me?" she asked him while nudging her glasses up her nose, seeming genuinely curious.

Ferb hesitated—what was he supposed to say? That he couldn't? That there was no wifi under the Celtic Sea? What was his excuse for when he had returned to land? "Why didn't you?" he asked, turning it back on her.

She made a face at him for doing that, but then her shoulders slumped, guilt obvious on her face. She looked away from him and apparently decided that the subject didn't need to be addressed by either of them.

"Want some breakfast?" She indicated to a restaurant nearby.

Ferb smiled and nodded. Breakfast sounded good.

Finfolk

Originally an Orkney folktale, Finfolk are said to be sorcerous shapeshifters of the sea. They wade or swim (or sometimes row) upon the Orkney shores in the spring and summer months, looking for humans to steal. The humans that are kidnapped are forced into lifelong servitude as a spouse to a Finman or Finwife.

According to the lore, Finfolk reside in an underwater dwelling they call Finfolkaheem (literally "Finfolk's home"). It is known as the place of origin for the Finfolk, and it is their ancestral home where they return with their abducted spouse.

(They are not said to be friendly, instead regarded as territorial and greedy.)

[Are reviews working? We are seven chapters in and I haven't received a single review. This is a new record for me, but it's not normal...]

[Oh well. Enjoy this story anyway. XD]