Tal had no idea what to do. At first the human girl looked like she was going to help, but then she ran away. He wasn't really sure why though, because he had no idea what she screamed before running away. Merpeople did know the human tongue, but they never spoke it because it wasn't made for communicating underwater. Tal had mistakenly spoken in the merlanguage, which to the human it probably sounded like whistling. His father once compared it to how dolphins spoke, but way more complex.

He had never seen a female before, mermaid or human, so he was a bit stunned when she showed up out of the blue. Her hair was the most interesting color, like a sunset. He had never seen anyone with that hair. It was so bright against all the dull colors that surrounded her. Even her white clothing seemed to glow.

Tal wished he had concentrated more on her words so he could figure out what she was thinking. He looked in the direction she had gone worriedly. She was probably alerting her colony to his presence on their land. Tal needed to get back to the water but didn't really know how. Should he try to walk? Humans did it all the time, so it must be easy.

He pushed against the ground with his feet in an attempt to stand up. His legs had no strength and he toppled over on his side. Tal spat sand out of his mouth in frustration. He rolled over onto his stomach and tucked his legs under himself. He pushed up with his arms and found he was halfway there! Now on his hands and knees, Tal carefully balanced one foot on the ground then stood up. Tal nearly yelled in triumph.

Humans could swim, as clumsy as they were, so a merman could certainly walk.Sure, his legs were shaking (especially the hurt one) and his arms were moving about to keep his balance but it was working. Tal felt a surge of pride. He'd like nothing more than to rub it in Sebasou's haughty face right then and there. Tal felt a sickening feeling in his stomach. How was he going to get home? The ocean was right there, beckoning him, but he didn't know where to go. The storm had completely separated him from the familiar waters he grew up in.

"Hey kid!"

Tal spun around in shock to see a male human striding towards him with an angry look in his face. The sudden movement caused Tal to lose his balance and he tumbled to the ground. His fear of the human drove out any embarrassment he might have felt. He covered his head and closed his eyes, waiting for the end. There was a long silence.

"I can still see you."

Tal opened one eye to see the human standing over him with a bemused expression. He was older than Anyir but much younger than his father. Either way, Tal just wanted him to leave. He felt exposed and vulnerable on land. The wind was cold on his body and he was tired and sore. He wanted the sea to envelop him in its warmth and keep him safe like it always did. Tal began inching to the water's edge, hoping against all hope the human would be glad to see him go.

"I sure hope you're not trying to leave." Barnacles. The human crouched down next to him and waited for Tal to stop moving. "My niece told me a couple of things about you and one of them was that you are hurt," he said. "I didn't see much but that leg looks pretty bad from her description." He handed Tal a large piece of blue cloth. "Put this on. I think you exposed yourself enough for a lifetime."

Not sure else what to do, Tal took it. It was a soft material, nothing like he had ever felt before. Kind of like how he thought clouds would feel. He rubbed it between his fingers until he realized the human was waiting patiently for him to put it on. Merpeople didn't cover themselves up so Tal had no idea what to do with it. He opened his mouth and tried to think of the best way to tell him. "I...can't." Tal felt incredibly pathetic.

The human's eyes widened. "So you can talk. Now we're making progress. Come here, I'll help you."

Tal was amazed at how quickly the human was able to figure out how the cloth worked. It was a large piece of fabric with two long tubes, one on each side. He was told to stick his arms in and now it rested on his shoulders. Then the human wrapped the rest of it around his body and tied it with a long rope. He called it a "bathrobe." Tal had a tiny moment of panic when the human looked at his webbed fingers but then he said nothing. He probably didn't think it was important. The man introduced himself as Axel and Tal stammered out his name.

"Thank you," was all Tal could manage when they were finished. Standing up next to Axel, he saw that he looked a lot shorter as they were nearly the same height.

"No problem, Tal," Axel said. "Why don't you came with me and let's get you cleaned up." He held out his hand and waited.

Tal hesitated. Should he trust him? His father was shouting in his ears to run to the sea and get away before it was too late. But Tal couldn't run, heck, he hadn't even tried walkling yet. If Axel wanted to hurt him, he'd have done so already.

Suddenly, Tal realized something. He looked like a human. He didn't have a tail or scales or gills. Well, yes he had webs in between his fingers but he could keep that hidden. He could make up a story about being shipwrecked or something. They'd believe him. He reached forward and grabbed Axel's hand. Axel slowly led him up the path to his dwelling, away from the sea. They went over a small hill and the water vanished from view. Tal craned his neck to get another look, but he almost tripped so he decided facing forward was his best bet.

"Who was... the girl?" he asked Axel. He shuddered at how frail his voice sounded. Tal was used to being confident in his words and he felt like a shy guppy in the presence of someone who was so comfortable walking and talking normally.

"That was my niece, Elle. She's inside and you two can get properly introduced."

"We met," Tal said, a bit confused.

Axel laughed loudly, making him jump. "I don't think she liked it very much so let's try again okay?"

"Okay."

Axel helped him up the wooden steps that led to his house. At the door, he could see the ocean and it comforted him, knowing it was there. If things turned bad, he could escape easily. When the two walked into the house, the girl was waiting for them. She still looked very pretty, though she had changed out of her white garments into clothing that more resembled what Axel wore.

Her eyes widened when she saw Tal. "Uncle Axel, why did you bring him here? What was he doing on the beach?" She sounded a little scared and Tal couldn't blame her. He was a bit freaked out himself.

"Elle, this is Tal." Axel put his hand on his shoulders as if to comfort him. "I'm going to patch up his leg and you can get some clothes out of my closet for him, okay?"

It was apparently not okay with Elle. "Uncle Axel, what are you thinking? He's a total stranger we found naked on the beach! Don't you think the logical thing to do would be to call the police?"

"I never think logically," Axel answered, beginning to lead Tal away. Elle wasn't satisfied as she followed them to a room with a large white tub on the floor. "And I think you are being rude to our guest, Elle, " he added and looked at her sternly. "Apologize."

"What?"

"You heard me."

The two of them stood quietly, waiting to see what would happen next. The girl turned as red as her hair, probably ashamed of being scolded in front of him. But Tal understood, as his father had done the same thing to him several times before. Elle raised her head and looked at Tal would just stood there awkwardly. "Sorry," she mumbled. Then she turned and ran off. She seemed to do that a lot.

As Axel pulled out supplies, most likely for healing, Tal felt he had to say something to help Elle. "Don't be mad at her. Its not her fault." He was guilty he got her in trouble.

"There is no excuse for rudeness," Axel replied, motioning for Tal to sit on the ground. He grabbed a rag, wet it and pressed it on the wound. Tal gasped in pain and grabbed his leg. "Sorry," Axel said sheepishly. "I need to get the dirt out. So as I was saying, Elle shouldn't have acted the way she did. Its all about treating each other equally as we're all human."

Not exactly, Tal thought as Axel dabbed ointment into his leg. The man was being so nice, but what would he do if he found out Tal was a merman?

He was relieved when Axel put some water in the tub and left him alone to bathe. He told Tal to keep his injured leg out of the water or the bandages would get wet. He gave him a bottle with stuff inside called shampoo to wash his hair in and then Tal was alone. Tal struggled getting out of the bathrobe a bit but eagerly stepped over to the tub. It wasn't seawater, he could tell, but he was anxious to feel the water again. Tal climbed in and sat down, forgetting to keep his leg out. He sighed in relief, laying in the water so he was almost completely submerged.

The result was instantaneous. Tal felt a tingling sensation in his lower half. He sat up, splashing water to see his tail reforming. "Oh no!" he gasped. He tried to climb back out but it was too late. His legs fused together and green scales began popping out of his skin, traveling down his legs like a carpet. His feet stretched and thinned at his ankles, becoming fins. The bandages slipped off, revealing the wound. He was a fully recognizable as a merman.

In a panic, Tal looked at the door as if expecting to see Axel strolling in. The door was closed and would remain so. Was it locked? Tal wasn't sure. He felt sure the man wouldn't walk in unless Tal told him to, so he was safe for now. With only one sure thing to do, Tal squirted some shampoo out of the bottle and rubbed it into his hair. It was cool and smelled nice, kind of like coconuts. He felt completely ridiculous, washing his hair like a normal human would. Only humans didn't sprout tails.

Dunking his head back into the water, he washed the shampoo out. Now what? Tal needed to get out and dry off. Using his arms, he pulled himself out of the tub, slipping and falling to the ground like a wet fish. Face burning, Tal crawled to the towel Axel had brought out and began rubbing it all over his tail like a maniac.

A loud knock on the door made him jump. "How's it going?" Axel asked.

"F-fine!" Tal squawked. "Drying myself off now!" Just to be sure, he dried the rest of his body and hair. "Please work!" he quietly begged. His tail tingled and began to disappear. His feet reformed as his legs lost their scales and separated back to the way they were. Tal almost sobbed with relief. He secret was safe. But for how long?