Day ten of MerMay prompt month.

I'm trying to keep Ferb's British-ness at least to his words when he speaks and in his pov, such as the last chapters "spelled" by Isabella/"spelt" by Ferb. If you guys catch something that I missed, please let me know.

I also just realized that I didn't completely clarify that Ferb DOES NOT have a tail when transformed. Instead, his fingers and toes grow longer and gain webbing between the digits. You can probably easily visualize his hands, but if you need help with the feet do a quick search for Michael Phelps swim fins.

(and it's not just Ferb who transforms like this, but all môr are this way. Perhaps some of the other sea people are different, but I didn't think that far...)

Dolphin - Isabella

Watching Ferb walk away, his duffle bag hanging from his shoulder, reminded Isabella of the figure she had seen the night before walking the cliffside path. But that was ridiculous. If Ferb had arrived yesterday, he would have called his family somehow. Isabella stopped in thought as she unlocked her bike. Did they even have payphones anymore? She shook her head. Either way, he could have stopped at the library and sent them an email, since that's how they communicated, or asked someone to use their phone.

There was no way that figure was Ferb. Why would he go to the beach directly after arriving?

Her mind caught on that thought as she started pedaling away towards her family's restaurant. Why was Ferb at the beach this morning? she thought. Then she pushed it away. What did it matter to her? The answer could very well be that he just missed the warm beach after spending so long in England. He seemed very happy to be home; a little more than she thought anyone would be if they were missing the place they had just left.

It didn't take too long for her to bike to the restaurant and she had to focus instead on her job. But that was alright. She would see more of Ferb the next day.

She donned her apron, grabbed an order pad, and stepped up to her first table. "Hello, my name is Isabella. What can I get for you?"

Her mom walked up to her as Isabella hung her apron up at the end of her day and gave her a tight hug. "Thank you for coming in early today, Isa," she said as she pulled back. "I feel bad that I'm taking so much time from your summer."

Isabella smiled, her eyes twinkling. "It's not a problem, Mom. I enjoy it." Vivian raised a skeptic eyebrow and Isabella chuckled. "Okay, so sometimes the customers are rude," she relented. "But more often than not, it's a fun job."

"Alright, alright. I will believe you." Her mom walked to the table and grabbed her purse. "Do you want to ride home with me?"

Isabella looked out at the still bright sky. "Actually Mom, if you don't mind, I think I'm going to go back to the beach for a bit."

"Really?" Vivian asked, turning around to look at her in wonderment. "You spent a long time there this morning, I thought you would want to get some rest."

Isabella laughed. "Actually! I didn't even get to the dock!" She leaned forward, as if planning to spill an important secret. "Guess who I ran into on the boardwalk?"

Her mom was always up for the latest gossip, so she looked at her eagerly. "Who?"

Isabella couldn't get the image of Pinky begging for a treat out of her mind, but she did her best. "Ferb Fletcher," she answered.

Vivian's jaw dropped. "What?!" she gasped. "But… Linda didn't say anything!"

Isabella straightened her glasses as she moved back. "Yeah! He just arrived and apparently no one knew he was coming home. He went to surprise his dad at the antique shop."

She danced in place. "Oh! I must call Linda!" She gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek. "Go on to the beach, mija. Just be careful."

Isabella nudged her shoulder. "I always am Mom."

It wasn't until she was locking up her bike and she saw the restaurant they had breakfast in that she realized she had dodged a major bullet with her mom! If Vivian Garcia-Shapiro had known her daughter had spent hours that morning with a boy, the entire town would be under the impression she had a boyfriend by nightfall.

Isabella was glad that her mother would likely focus enough on the fact that Ferb was back—and that no one in his family even knew he was coming—that she might just forget to ask about Isabella's morning. Swinging her messenger bag over her shoulder, she practically skipped up the dock. Hopping the gap from a couple of missing boards, she settled down on the last board on the dock. She hung her bag on a nail she had put in place for exactly that purpose and pulled out her sketchbook and the headlamp she typically used when the sun went down.

She glanced out at the water just in time to see a ship a ways off drop anchor. She immediately thought about the tale Ferb had told her about the mermaid in Zennor and she started sketching a vague figure on her pad in the rapidly diminishing sunlight. Using what she could remember from the image of the bench, she added a roughly drawn mirror and comb in the figure's hands, just so she could remember what to put there later.

A splash from a few yards out, different sounding that the usual waves crashing, caught her attention and she glanced up. Her eyes widened and she nearly dropped her pencil at the sight of two finned feet disappearing into the water. She was too far away to see what they were attached to, but they had been actual feet.

Isabella intently watched the water, looking for any sign at all for the creature with the feet. Was it a person in a costume? Was it really a fish that just looked like feet? No, definitely not. She may have only seen it for an instant, but there were two of them, a right and a left foot.

She snuck a quick look down at the drawing she had been working on.

Could it be…?

She shook her head. The legend of the mermaid Ferb had told her about was getting to her.

Glancing back out at the water, she bit her lip and flipped to a new page. Carefully, trying to recall it to the best of her ability, she began with the shape...

When her alarm went off the next morning by her bed, Isabella was positive that it had been a dream.

Until she saw her sketchbook open to the most recently used page. There it was, in grey and white and in near perfect detail. She gazed at it, tense, as if expecting the drawn toes to wiggle at her in greeting. Shutting her eyes, she quickly closed the book. Her hands shook slightly as she put it away in her bag, leaving it hanging on the hook as she left her room.

Vivian greeted her daughter with a kiss on her head and a plate of breakfast. "You got in late," she commented.

Isabella nodded and stifled a yawn. "Yeah, sorry Mom. I… I saw something in the water I wanted to draw. I guess I got really into it."

"Ooh, what was it?" the older woman asked, sitting down in her seat for her own breakfast. This was their bonding time, since the restaurant was open only for lunch and dinner.

Isabella stabbed at the hashbrowns. "Uh… I'm not exactly sure…?" She scooped up some potatoes. "It's a little hard to explain," she said before taking a bite.

That was a lie, of course. But Isabella wasn't sure if she wanted to share it with her parents or not. How would they even react?

Vivian nodded, taking her own bite of her breakfast. "Well, when you are ready, you can show me the picture." She grinned. "Maybe I'll frame it too!"

Isabella rolled her eyes playfully. "I think you have framed enough of my sketches. Where would you even put it?"

Her mom gave her a wink. "That depends on what it is, doesn't it? Maybe I'll put it right here in the kitchen!" she said, pointing at a picture of her and her husband's wedding day.

Isabella laughed. "Please Mom, you would never replace that picture."

"Replace what picture?" Michael Shapiro asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Mom wants to get rid of your wedding photos!" Isabella said in a tone that reminded all of them of a teenaged Candace Flynn.

Michael raised a hand to his heart, gasping dramatically as he stared at his wife in dismay. "How could you do this to me?" he playfully sobbed.

The girl watched her parents banter back and forth with a bright smile. They were so silly, and so obviously in love. She loved watching them just play with each other. Isabella blinked as a completely unrelated topic came to mind.

"Oh Mom! Do you mind if I come in late today? Ferb invited me over to see him and Phineas this morning." Vivian's eyes lit up and she looked at her daughter excitedly. "Not like that," Isabella told her with a stern look.

She sighed as her hopes were dashed before they could even grow. "You know what, mija. You came in early yesterday, and Tuesdays are usually very slow. Just have today off—go see your friends. I'll let you know if I need some help." She smiled at her daughter, who beamed.

"Thanks Mom!" Isabella bounced out of her seat, kissing her mom then her dad on their cheeks. Taking her empty plate to the sink, she hurried upstairs to shower and get ready.

A couple of hours went by before Isabella headed across the street, time spent washing and then drying her thick hair, getting some household tasks done, and possibly studying the feet she'd sketched for far too long. Noticing some activity in the backyard, she forewent ringing the doorbell and went around to the gate. "Hey Phineas," she called, stepping into the backyard.

Phineas looked up at her voice and grinned. "Perfect timing as always Isabella!" he called to her, happily bouncing around the yard. Isabella couldn't help the giggle—she hadn't seen that behavior from Phineas in years!

"Perfect timing for what?" she asked.

"The party!" Phineas cheered, his smile not correlating with the dark bags under his eyes. He looked like he hadn't slept a wink the night before.

Isabella tilted her head. "What party?"

He stilled and looked at her for a moment. "Didn't you get the message? I sent it to everyone."

Isabella raised an eyebrow. This feels familiar… she thought with a sigh. "No, I haven't received any texts this morning at all."

The redhead blinked. "Oh… I must have missed you…" he muttered more to himself than to her. He shook his head and looked at her questioningly. "Well either way I'm so glad you're here… but whatcha doing here this morning then?"

Isabella rolled her eyes, partially to hide the hurt that she felt knowing she had been overlooked yet again. "I met with Ferb yesterday when he was in—"

"Ferb?!" Phineas yelled in her face, startling her as a look of panic appearing in his eyes and he looked around the yard frantically.

"I'm right here, Phin," the prodigal brother said, walking into sight from around the house.

Phineas rushed over and latched into Ferb's arm. "Where were you?" Phineas asked, though it sounded more like a demand.

Ferb caught Isabella's eye and she saw a sadness there—he already knew Phineas wasn't completely alright… She gave him a small understanding smile as he reassured Phineas that he was "around the house, helping Dad with the smoker."

Phineas relaxed, though he still didn't let Ferb go. He glanced back to where he was working before and saw Isabella still standing there. He perked up, as if he had forgotten she was there in his panic (which was likely) and dragged Ferb over to her.

"Ferb! Do you remember Isabella? She came by for the party!" Phineas announced.

Ferb bit his lip to hide a chuckle when he saw her shake her head, exasperated at the redhead. "I saw her yesterday in town," Ferb told his brother.

Isabella couldn't stop the sarcasm as she responded. "Yeah, I'm glad I did and that Ferb asked me to come by today, or I wouldn't have even known about this party."

She refused to wince, like Phineas did at the reminder of the forgotten text, and she didn't acknowledge Ferb's curious look. She simply gave them both a bright smile that maybe had a bit of bite to it. "I'll go see if Linda needs any help with whatever she's doing."

"Isabella," Phineas said cautiously as he walked closer to her—alone this time. Considering he had been practically hanging off of Ferb all afternoon, it was quite the accomplishment. "I wanted to apologize. I didn't mean to leave you off of the message…"

Isabella sighed, her hurt and anger having been long forgotten. She couldn't leave him feeling guilty. "I know it wasn't intentional. I'm sorry for taking my hurt feelings out on you."

Phineas instantly smiled at her, happy that they were back on good terms. "That's okay. I'm glad you came by anyway. And now that Ferb's back, everything can go back to how it was before!"

Isabella's smile became a bit more forced, but Phineas didn't notice. She very much doubted everything would be like it once was, but there was no point in bursting his bubble right now. "I hope so," she responded instead.

She took a sip of her soda before a thought struck her. I should tell them about the feet in the water! "Actually, there was something I wanted to share with you. Maybe we could go check it out as a group." Maybe we could get at least a little of what we used to be back…

Phineas's eyes held excitement and he practically bounced in place. "Yeah? What is it?"

Isabella felt a little giddy herself. "Well, I was walking along the beach yesterday and I saw something in the water. No idea what it was, but it looked like it had feet! Isn't that weird?" she gushed.

Phineas's face froze. "Oh?" he squeaked.

Isabella's smile fell as she looked at him. "Well, I don't mean that it was really weird. But I thought it'd be cool to look for…" her voice became quiet and she trailed off.

Phineas didn't look at all interested… In fact, he looked horrified at the idea. She hurried to reassure him. "You don't have to go with me. I'm not going to make you."

Phineas blinked a few times and forced what he probably thought was a reassuring smile onto his face, though he looked more constipated than anything. "Oh, I wouldn't think too much on that. Probably just a dolphin or something—nothing to get so excited about."

Isabella lurched back, staring at him. Whatever she saw was definitely not a dolphin, but… "What?" she asked, her voice faint.

Phineas nodded, picking up steam. "Yeah I mean, of course it wasn't something weird. And there's nothing that lives in the ocean that has feet. What a ridiculous notion." He laughed harshly. His smile again looked more like a grimace and he patted Isabella on the shoulder. "You really should just forget about it. Definitely something from your imagination, that's all."

Isabella felt cold, but she made herself nod and Phineas moved away. She mechanically walked around the house, stopping out of sight and she sat on the ground.

She didn't know how long she sat there, but before too long a shadow fell over her.

"Isabella?" an accented voice called her name.

She looked up to see a blurry figure (did she lose her glasses?) standing near her. The green hair identified it as Ferb, who gazed down at her with what she thought was curiosity and compassion on his face. For the first time in years, tears threatened to well up and run over.

Because of something Phineas said…

Because of her heart breaking (at least it wasn't in a romantic sense this time).

Because this British boy was there offering her comfort.

It reminded her of an island in the middle of the Atlantic ocean on the longest day of the year and she involuntarily smiled. "Hey Ferb," she whispered hoarsely, patting the ground next to her.

Iara

Iara is a figure from Brazilian mythology, meaning "lady of the lake" (no relation) or "water queen). Depending on the tale, she can be seens as either a water nymph or a beautiful mermaid that lives in the rivers of the Amazon Basin.

She is described as having green hair, light brown or copper skin, and brown eyes; with a tail similar to a freshwater dolphin. She would lure men to her by singing gently in hopes of the man leaving everything behind to live with her under the water.