A/N: Last chapter was hella short! Dayum!
Also, I know it doesn't really lead off from next chapter. Just go with it; all shall be revealed in later chapters.
"We should head back to Iselia. The others probably headed over there, back to Dad's," Lloyd said the next morning, yawning.
"Iselia? You were raised there?" asked Regal.
"Yup. It's no wonder he's such a country bumpkin," Zelos snorted.
"You can't talk," Lloyd replied, grinning at Zelos' fake-mortified expression.
"I'm from a prestigious family! You can't call me a country bumpkin," he said indignantly.
"Station has nothing to do with knowledge of the world. In fact, Lloyd likely would have more experience than you," Regal said.
The two of them considered, then shook their heads. "Probably not. Let's be honest; Lloyd's not the brightest book on the shelf," Zelos pointed out.
"I should be insulted, but you're probably right," Lloyd sighed, before looking over at Regal. "Hey, you seem pretty smart. I bet you'd get on well with Professor," he grinned.
"Professor?"
"A beautiful elf lady called Raine," Zelos reiterated.
"An elf, hmm? I've never actually had business with an elf before. I suppose it would be an interesting experience," Regal mused.
Lloyd nodded, then stood up. "Anyway, we better get going. Regal, do you know where Iselia is from here?"
"Yes. On my boat, it would take us four days, but swimming, it will likely take less."
"Alright, then lead the way," Zelos said, gesturing extravagently before leaping into the water. Lloyd gave a grin and dived after him, attempting to cannonball on top of him, while Regal gave a sigh before going in as well.
As Regal had thought, it only took them two days to reach Iselia. The three of them got along well, Lloyd thought to himself; they weren't a group you would expect to get along, especially with how much older Regal was than both of them, but Zelos and Lloyd were so much like bickering kids that Regal ended up acting like the peacekeeper, which made him seem younger than he actually was.
On the second day, they finally reached the beach, Lloyd making sure they came up at an angle which meant no one from the village could see them. It was already getting dark as the three of them slipped onto the beach, Zelos groaning as he turned on to his back.
"I've never had to swim so much so fast in my life," he muttered.
"You're the mermaid, Zelos. We're not even that tired; shouldn't you be more suited to it than us?" Lloyd pointed out.
Zelos pushed himself up, glancing at their tails with an annoyed frown. "You guys have weird tails," he replied by way of explanation.
"How so?" asked Regal, curious.
Zelos gave a sigh, motioning to them. "Alright, look here. You guys both had the secondary dorsal fin - which Lloyd shouldn't even have yet. I've only had mine for a year, and he's younger than me. Plus, if you look at the length, you guys have waaay longer tails. I mean, Lloyd's is even longer than yours, Regal, but yours is longer than a normal adult tail." He lay back, rubbing sand off his hands. "So you guys have weird tails."
"Is it because we're only half?" wondered Lloyd, gently splashing it in the water.
"Eh, who knows. Nobody's ever really been around a half-mermaid long enough to figure it out while knowing they're half."
The two of them nodded slowly, Regal pulling his tail back and letting it curl behind him slightly. Lloyd blinked before turning just as someone barrelled into him, sending them both crashing into the water. There was a brief confusion as Lloyd righted himself, looking at the person in surprise, before swimming to the surface.
They quickly broke it, and Lloyd briefly noticed Zelos and Regal ready for some sort of attack before his attention was diverted by Colette practically crushing him in a hug.
"Lloyd! You're alright!" she said happily.
Lloyd blinked then smiled, lightly curling his tail around her legs. "Of course I am. I was more worried about you. Were you okay?" he asked.
She nodded, looking at him. "Mr Kratos protected me. He said he wanted to go after you, but figured you'd want him to look after me."
"And you made it back alright?"
"Yep! We saw a few Desians about a day later, but they were travelling away from us, so Mr Kratos avoided them."
'Those were probably the ones who attacked us...' Lloyd mused, before directing his attention back to Colette. "Well, I'm glad you're safe. Who else is here?" he asked.
"Raine and Genis came back together yesterday, but Noishe kept an eye on the city and Yggdrasil has caught Sheena and Presea. We need to help them," she replied seriously.
Lloyd frowned. "That's not good...We'll have to rest a few days, recover our strength before we attack him again. And figure out a way past the Desians without attracting attention.."
Colette smiled. "Well, we'll figure it out. You should come in, everyone was worried about you and Zelos."
Lloyd nodded, swimming back to shore and pulling himself up. Without really thinking, his tail instantly faded, and he pushed himself onto his legs.
Regal and Zelos looked surprised. "Hey...How did you do that?" asked Zelos.
Lloyd glanced at them. "Huh? Oh...I dunno. It just happens sometimes."
"Mr Kratos did that once," Colette remembered.
"Really? When?"
"When we were going to the unicorn."
Lloyd blanched a bit. "Right. Well, maybe I'll ask him about it later. Colette, why don't you go ahead and tell the others we're here? We'll come up once these two have dried off."
"Alright. Don't take too long," Colette called before skipping back up the beach to the house. There was a muffled yelp as she tripped, followed by a quick, "I'm fine!" before she continued on her merry way.
When they walked into the house, Lloyd was quickly barrelled into once again, though this time by Genis. The young half-elf hugged him happily, before looking up at him.
"We were really worried! You should have said you were fine," he scolded.
Lloyd grinned. "I'll remember that for next time," he promised, walking in once Genis had detached himself.
"Oh? You seem to have gained a friend," Raine noted, eyeing Regal.
"Oh, right. Guys, this is Regal. He's part mermaid, like me, though he's just a quater. He helped me and Zelos when we hit his ship."
"Zelos and I, Lloyd," Kratos corrected mildly as he looked him over for any injuries.
Lloyd waved it off. "Anyway, he said he'll help us to fight Yggdrasil."
"And how do ye plan ta do that? Sounds like he was pre'y tough," Dirk noted, having walked in half-way through.
"What if Lloyd did that weird thing again?" suggested Genis.
"What weird thing?" asked Lloyd as Kratos looked up sharply.
"Y'know...You sort of controlled the water, or something, and then it broke the barrier."
"Oh yeah...I forgot about that," Zelos said, looking thoughtful.
Lloyd shrugged. "I don't know how I did that. I just got really angry, and it responded."
"I must admit, I've never read anything about mermaids actually being able to control the water," Raine murmured, frowning.
"Maybe Lloyd's just special?" Colette suggested.
"That doesn't really help us though," Genis pointed out.
Kratos gazed at him a moment, then closed his eyes. "The ocean is temperamental. It can be calm and gentle, or raging and angry. If you can come to understand that, you may be able to use these abilities."
Lloyd looked at him in surprise, then considered this before rubbing his head. "It's too late for me to think...How about we just call it a night and get some sleep?" he said.
"Ya can take the spare beds," Dirk said to the others, who nodded before Colette and Genis led them to the spare rooms. Lloyd watched them go, waving briefly to Colette before saying a quick goodbye to Dirk and wandering upstairs to his room. He went over to his bed and fell onto the covers, drifting off quickly.
A/N: Special tails. Sorry, I'm tired, I don't know what to say.
Review?