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Sleeping arrangements that night were supposed to consist of Dorian sleeping in the guest bedroom and Steph sleeping on the floor in Marie’s room. However, life doesn’t’ always work that way. The merman had dozed off on Marie’s bed while she and Stephanie were working. Stephanie and Marie then shared the floor only to be awakened by moans and whimpering. Dorian was having difficulty keeping in a peaceful sleep. Swallowing down the peeve-ness she felt from the late hour, Marie crawled out of the sleeping bag and stumbled to the side of the bed. A gentle touch on his shoulder jerked him awake, shooting up to a sitting position gasping for breath. Words were not needed; Marie knew what had troubled him, as she gently brought Dorian into an embrace. His body shivered in her grasp like a trapped animal. “Another nightmare?” Marie implied.

“They won’t go away,” he whispered. “Why won’t they go away?”

“I don’t know,” she said, resting her cheek upon his head. “I just don’t know.”

“What’s wrong?” Stephanie muttered, rubbing the sleep out of one of her eyes.

“Dorian was having a nightmare.”

“So? Everyone gets nightmares. Go back to sleep.”

“Merfolk don’t,” Marie said in all seriousness. “Dorian never had them as a merman and ever since I wished him to be human, he’s had them.”

“Really?” Steph’s eyes grew wide and then looked at the trembling former merman. “Poor guy, he looks scared to death.” Removing herself from her sleeping bag, she also sat on the bed and rubbed his back. “Don’t be afraid, little merman, everything’s okay now. We’re here for ya.”

“I don’t… I don’t want to be… I don’t want to be a human anymore,” Dorian lamented. “I want to go home… I just… want my tail back…”

Both girls could feel the broken pieces of their hearts crumbling down to their stomachs. This was unnatural for someone like Dorian, completely different and frightening to the inexperienced merman. Stephanie’s back rubbing changed quickly into a hug around the young man that was so close to tears. No, Marie thought as she stroked his soft locks of wavy hair. Don’t cry, Dorian, please don’t cry. If you do… then I’ll join you. You’re not supposed to cry like this. Please don’t.

They held this position for long moments, until something strange occurred rather suddenly. Dorian’s head lifted from Marie’s shoulder, looking past her with wide silver/violet eyes on a tear stained face. “Dorian?” Stephanie said in confusion.

“What is it?” Marie wondered.

“Shh… listen,” Dorian hushed them, keeping his gaze at Marie’s window.

Both girls tuned their senses entirely on listening for any sound that was different, anything at all. “What are we listening for?” Steph whispered eventually.

“Don’t you hear it?” Dorian questioned, turning to Marie. “You can hear it, can’t you?”

Marie closed her eyes, putting all concentration on listening, blocking off all outside noise around her. There was only her and whatever strange sound she was searching for. No one else. It wasn’t long until out of the depths of silence, she heard something; a sweet melody riding with the waves of the ocean. Someone was singing outside; it was soft but once everything else was ignored, Marie could hear it clearly.

Come return child of the sea

Back to the bosom of thy birth waters

Your people mourn the loss of thee

Calling you home, home, home to the sea

“I hear… singing…” Marie whispered. “It sounds so… sad… I wonder who it is.”

Dorian removed himself from the loosened grasp of the two girls and got off the bed only to trip and fall in his haste to the door. It was too dark in the room to see anything, but it was a small hindrance to the young man. When Marie and Stephanie had arrived at either side, he asked that they help him get outside. Even though they questioned his motives, the merman insisted that they just do as was requested of them. Not wishing to argue with him, the two friends obliged. Leading Dorian downstairs was not an easy task with the lights off and the former merman so unsteady on his feet. Yet, somehow they did make it to the bottom and were out of the house. “Dorian, where are we going?” Stephanie demanded.

The young man was silent, standing in the evening moonlight, searching about the not so familiar area. Slowly, Marie reached out to touch him lightly on the shoulder, “Dorian…”

“It’s coming from the beach… the song… how do I get there from here?” Dorian insisted, his mind obviously on nothing else but finding the source. Turning to look at her face, those eyes of his pleaded with her to help. Melting almost instantly because of them, Marie sighed and took hold of his arm, pulling him forward towards the path she used to get down to the beach. Stephanie wasn’t far behind them as they trodden carefully down the small slope until their feet felt grainy sand. Without warning, Dorian ran ahead, stumbling, but still fleeing from the grasp of the two girls.

“What is he, crazy?” Stephanie exclaimed, running after the merman alongside Marie. “Where does he think he’s going?”

“I don’t know,” Marie confessed. “But… I think I might have an idea, and if it’s what I think it is, then we’re going to have to hold him back.”

Fortunately for them, Dorian could only go so far in his exhausted state as he had soon slowed down and stood, his chest heaving for air. The others were soon able to catch up to the escaped merman. He didn’t seem to notice their presence any more, staring ahead intently at a figure on a rock. Marie squinted in the darkness at the shadow in the distance. A magenta glitter reflected off the moonlight, which also highlighted long locks of curly blonde hair. “What is she doing here?” Marie whispered harshly.

Charlene finished the last note of her song and opened long eyelashes, staring her perfect silvery blue eyes at the merman. Pink lips parted to reveal perfect, white teeth in a large smile. “Dorian my love, you have come back to me at last,” she breathed. A slender arm rose up, reaching out, beckoning for his hand to meet her’s. “Take my hand; as soon as you touch the water, your tail will grow back. I’ll take you home,” she beckoned in a haunting, seductive voice.

Dorian took a step towards the sea.

“No!” Marie screamed, running to take hold of one of his arms again. “Steph, help me!”

Stephanie didn’t need to be told twice, having already grabbed his opposite limb when Marie had screamed. Together they pulled against his stride, moving the merman further away from the water. Dorian yelped at their touch and struggled against his own friends, “Let me go! I want to go back! Let go!”

“It’s too soon! You’re not well enough yet!” Marie insisted, still holding steadfast to him.

“I don’t care!” the desperate merman cried.

Meanwhile, Charlene’s arm dropped to her side as her expression twisted into one full of malice towards the two human girls. “How dare you! You’ve had him long enough!” the mermaid shrieked.

Marie winced at the harshness of the voice hitting her sensitive ears. Doing her best to ignore the angered mermaid, she continued to push and pull Dorian backwards, despite his objections. With Stephanie’s help, they managed to back him away from the ocean far enough where it couldn’t reach him easily. To add to their advantage, the young man was still very weary and couldn’t put up much of a fight. In the end, the struggle was won when Dorian fell back, landing on his seat in a puff of sand.

There he sat, teeth clenched and hands balled up tightly, clutching the sand. Concerned that they had hurt him, Marie got down to his level, inquiring if he was all right. “Marie…” Dorian whispered, his eyes looking up at her in betrayal. “How could you be so cruel?”

She sighed, not truly blaming him for feeling that way; even so it didn’t help their situation much. “Is it cruel, Dorian… to make sure you are fully recovered before you return to the sea again?”

“Yes!” he exclaimed. “The sea is my home!”

“I know it’s your home, but it’s still too early for you to return,” Marie argued, growing rather tired of the merman being so difficult. The young woman took hold of his T-shirt and pulled it upward, exposing his wounded torso. Dorian grunted in pain. “Look at yourself, Dorian! You don’t have just some small scratches; you had to get sewn back together at the hospital. If you go into the water now and change back, you’re only going to further weaken your body. Heal first and then you can go home, understand?”

Dorian glared at her, a sight that was not at all common for the young merman. The stare could almost penetrate through her soul to feel sorry for him and give in. No, she would not allow it; Marie had to stand firm if Dorian expected to recover and help his father. It was going to be difficult, but not impossible. His head eventually bowed down as he stared at the sand in surrender.

“How dare you!” Charlene screamed from her perch. “Let him come home to me! You horrible humans, you damaged him more! How is that supposed to help him?” She pointed at the stitching where the wounds were deep.

“Girl, shut up!” Stephanie snapped at the mermaid. “You leave Dorian alone and let him heal, got it!”

“I won’t take orders from a human!” the mermaid spat.

“You’ll take orders from this human!” Stephanie began to stomp her way towards the ocean, fists clenched and ready to do some damage.

The mermaid was about to dive off the rock, a plan to drown Steph evident by the hatred in her eyes. It wasn’t until Dorian spoke when both girls stopped their plans, “Charlene, go home.”

“What? Go home… but… Dorian…” she blinked.

“Just go home!” Dorian insisted. “Fighting against my friends isn’t going to do any good and I’m already not pleased with you as it is. I know you had tried to drown Marie and I want you to stop. Now go home!”

“Dorian… I…”

“Go!”

Charlene didn’t hesitate after that to dive into the sea and didn’t surface again after that. Meanwhile, the two human girls looked at the merman, shocked that he had raised his voice, and waiting to see if he would try to jump into the water again. He rubbed the back of his hand against his eyes, taking a few deep breaths. Swallowing, Marie gently took his arm and urged him up again. “Let’s get you back to bed. You need to sleep,” she whispered.

Together, Steph and Marie anchored Dorian as they walked back up the slope to return to Marie’s home. This time when they reached the upstairs bedrooms, the quiet merman was dressed for bed and tucked in the guest room as was originally planned. He was still angry with her, Marie could tell, but she didn’t care at the moment. She was tired, it had been a long, late night and there was school in the morning. He would get over it.

Morning had arrived all too soon for Marie’s tastes and she couldn’t sleep in like Steph and Dorian. However, as soon as she was ready for the day, Steph had to be awaken for instructions about the merman. They were simple, just to make sure he was hydrated by having him stand in the shower for a while or sit in the bath tub. Of course, Stephanie would have to keep a close watch on the young man after what had happened last night. Admittedly, Marie did feel a bit guilty for unintentionally awakening a new emotion in the merman. Anger was very much unlike him, but he would forgive her, right?

As her thoughts lingered on this, she almost passed by the guest room door; it was quiet from the other side. Taking a deep breath, she gathered what courage she had and quietly let herself in. She could see a form in the covers that did not move to respond to her entrance. With a soft stride, Marie made her way to the head of the bed, getting a full view of Dorian’s head. He was lost, deeply in his slumber as his breathing was steady and calm. A smile grew on her lips in relief, he was just fine. With a gentle hand, Marie caressed his bangs away from his face and tucked the locks of hair behind his ear. “I’ll see you later this afternoon,” she whispered. Leaving him with a kiss on the forehead, Marie left, not wishing to be late for school. Hopefully everything would be all right while she was away. One can only hope anyways.

From a dreamless sleep, the young man struggled to open his eyes again to face another day as a human. As he had since waking up in the hospital, Dorian felt awful, as though half of him was gone forever and he would never be the same. With a moan, he rotated onto his back and held his aching head; a result from those bothersome nightmares. He stared up at the textured ceiling, waiting for the throbbing to go away. At least the nightmares hadn’t returned for another round when he had retired again. A heavy sigh escaped him, moving some more hair away from his face as hunger began to set in to replace the headache. Now, it was a good time to attempt getting up.

Pushing himself upward to a sitting position, he looked down at the two forms hidden by the blankets that were becoming all too familiar to him. He was beginning to understand more 

fully how his newest human parts work when it comes to traveling. Still, he preferred his tail, more graceful and beautiful than legs by far. Dreading it, Dorian removed the blankets from his lower half, exposing it to his sight as a awful reminder as to what he wasn’t. Swinging his legs around off the mattress, the merman attempted to stand up on his own. Dorian could feel him losing the fight against gravity as his weary body couldn’t support him; sending him falling backwards back onto the bed. Blowing more hair off his face, he stared up sourly. “If only I could wish to be a merman again,” he remarked to himself.

A knock on the door, startled him back up into a sitting position only to find that it was only Stephanie. That’s right, he had been left alone to be watched by her today; he recalled. A frown creased his lips; not caring much for Steph. She was strange to him with her mannerisms and blunt attitude, which led him to wonder how she and Marie ever became friends. Humans were strange, especially the females, that much he had figured out so far in answer to his question. “Good you’re awake, Fish boy,” the dark skinned human remarked. “It’s about time, its half past noon.” Dorian blinked, not understanding what that meant. Time was different to the merfolk due to them not having clocks or anything of the sort. If they were to judge time at all, it would be by the position of the sun and moon. The young woman smiled at him, she was trying to make an effort to be friends. “You hungry? I’ve got lunch ready,” she offered.

Dorian nodded quietly and reached out to her for aid getting to his unsteady feet. Last night’s events had left him still feeling rather drained of energy. He was led downstairs to the kitchen for the afternoon meal, but didn’t truly feel like eating. Yes, he was hungry, but food did not satisfy him entirely as his gaze was upon the ocean outside. Stephanie, meanwhile, was very laid back about everything, eating her meal happily. To the merman, it seemed that she didn’t truly care about anything and wasn’t much of a conversational companion. Such a strange human girl who would shrug off everyone else’s existence so easily, Dorian thought. Did she not care about him at all? Perhaps the late hour from the night before had also left her drained as well? No matter, he determined; after all, he had other ideas.

It didn’t take long for the opportunity to present itself after lunch was cleaned up. Stephanie stated, “Marie told me that you’ll need to either soak in the shower or the bath tub for a while to help you feel better. Would you like that right now?”

“That would be wonderful,” Dorian replied with a small smile. Whatever it took to get her away for a few moments; it was all he would need.

The young woman grinned, “Great, I’ll get a bath ready, then. Don’t mess with anything while I’m gone, okay?” She left the room, her hips swaying back and forth in a motion that baffled Dorian. Marie certainly didn’t walk like that… how strange.

The young man was now alone and could see his home from where he sat; the water glistening from the sunlight above. Beckoning to him, teasing, and tempting the former merman the longer he stared. His heart ached greatly in the feeling of separation from home, but there 

was a way to return; Dorian knew it. Touch the salt water and his tail would grow back; that was all that was required. Easy enough and with Stephanie upstairs, she wouldn’t notice until it would be too late. Perfect timing could not have come to him sooner as the sound of rushing water reached his senses. Now was the moment to act and Dorian didn’t hesitate to take it.

Dorian was pleased to find that the sliding glass door that led to the outside was unlocked. This was becoming almost too easy for him though he did hesitate, recalling Marie. She wouldn’t be happy with him if he returned to the ocean so soon, but he felt all right. Yes there was some discomfort now and then, but for the most part he felt completely fine. He shook his head to get the image of Marie’s disappointed face out of his mind. Why should it really matter how she would feel about his decision? Mysar was in need of his son’s help and who was Marie to hold Dorian back? No, Dorian will go back, find the ruins and rescue his father. Quietly, he slipped out the door and made his way out into the heat of the afternoon.

If Dorian had to describe the weather in California, he would use one word; unbearable. The sun seemed intent on cooking him alive before even making it near the ocean. At least on the days as a merman, when he would watch humans on the beach, he was still in the cool water. He remembered it was about a year ago when he first surfaced all on a dare from a fellow merman. Humans, admittedly, are very interesting to observe in play, but living as one was the last thing Dorian could ever want. His step was unsteady and somewhat slow going down the slope, perspiration already forming on his forehead and running down his face. Now, the ocean couldn’t look better to the dehydrated merman.

However, a he came across a hindrance in the form of a chain link fence. He looked it up and down to get an idea of what he was dealing with. It was a strange thing indeed; that much Dorian managed to decipher. Staring at the top of it, he wondered if there was some way to use his human body to go over it. The merman took hold of the links in the chains and tested it to see if he could fit part of his foot in one of the holes. Success, it seemed that he could possibly be able to climb with this body. Slowly, Dorian began to pull himself upward towards the top of the fence. What he would do upon reaching it was another question entirely.

“Dorian! Dude what do you think you’re doing? Get down!”

Dorian gasped when one of his worse fears was confirmed, Stephanie had found the door left open. He looked at the waters that were waiting for his return and panic filled his mind. With desperation and adrenaline fueling his body, Dorian scaled the fence with Stephanie running towards him. Her shouts for him to stop did not register, caring only to return home again. Finally, the top was reached and he tried going over it to climb down on the other side. Upon pulling himself upward, Dorian leaned too far forward and could feel something tear in his side. Crying out in agony, Dorian lost his balance and fell down on the opposite side, knocking the wind out of him upon landing.

Stephanie made it to the fence to find a writhing Dorian on the ground, curling into a fetal position and holding his side. “Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man!” the young woman in turn scaled the fence, but landed with much more grace. “Let me see, Dorian.” The merman didn’t move his hand away, the pain taking any and all comprehension of the world around him. Steph had to pry his hand away to get a look at what he had done to himself. Crimson blood stained the T-shirt as a result of a tear in the stitches on his abdomen. “Crap, this isn’t good,” she muttered.

Dorian released another wail as he suffered from pain that was much worse than he could remember. Quickly, he was forced up to his feet with his weight brought upon Stephanie’s shoulder, “I’m going to get you to the hospital, Dorian. I think you tore yourself up pretty bad.” Without waiting for a response, the young woman led the merman around and up the slope to her parked car.

The drive to the hospital would have been frightening if Dorian was paying attention to Stephanie’s skills. However, his focus was more on keeping pressure upon his wound and trying not to further stress himself at the sight of his own blood. It was difficult to remember that there were no sharks on land that would smell his blood and hunt him down. He would be safe from predators, but the bleeding would not stop and the moistness against his palm was making him nauseous. With a loud screech, Steph pulled in front of the medical building and rushed to free Dorian from the passenger side. Becoming his support again, Stephanie helped him get inside where they were able to receive aid almost immediately.

With a furrowed brow, the middle aged doctor examined the damage upon cleaning it. “It seems you’ve torn your stitches, Dorian. They’ll have to be redone.”

Dorian lay on his other side, trembling greatly and in a near state of complete panic. He had to be given an injection to calm him before the doctor was able to work. The gash was numbed a bit before the sewing process could commence. Threading a rather long needle, the doctor pulled the flesh together, working calmly but quickly to slow the bleeding. Meanwhile, Dorian had been watching, which began a rather bad idea as his panic began to return again. When he had begun to breathe too quickly at the sight, Stephanie came to his side and covered his eyes while the stitching took place. Even so, the merman whimpered, knowing what was being done to him. It was more than obvious to him now that he was not well, going home would have been worse and he just lengthened his stay as a human. “Stupid,” he gasped, scolding himself. “How could I have been so stupid?”

As he could feel tears threatening to make another appearance, Stephanie’s hand had found his and grasped it tightly; encouraging him to endure.

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