~ Holy disposable lackeys, Batman, ~ I mentally muttered once the door was opened and the group of people entered. At first, I couldn’t even see Pierce behind the wall of plus-sized goons in security jumpsuits who had preceded him. What the hell? Was he genetically engineering these guys? Actually, since I was human a few days ago, I probably shouldn’t put it past him.

There were eight of them, and they were all built like linebackers and had tranquilizer guns and cattle prods hanging from their belts. My assessment was interrupted as Kieshala asked in confusion, ~ What is a ‘Batman’? Is it some form of God that humans worship? ~

~ No? Not really. I mean, maybe some of those really intense comic book geeks. That’s not really important right now though. Let’s just say that there are certain cultural phrases and ideas that probably won’t translate well to Naethari, ~ I replied. ~ I was just sarcastically pointing out his small army of disposable meat shields. ~

Kieshala’s anger and disdain were evident in her mind voice as she told us, ~ He is an arrogant fool, but one who knows that I would kill him if given the opportunity. He stinks of fear and with four of us now he is smart to hide behind others. I would happily see that man dead. ~

~ Take a deep breath, Kieshala. Focus on us and the plan, not on him, ~ Kara said soothingly.

~ I shall attempt to quell my fury, for now. Not that I can do much, restrained as I am, ~ she replied mentally as she physically took deep breaths to calm herself.

~ Showtime, girls, ~ I mentally muttered. ~Kara and Kieshala, stick together. Jenny, act scared and hide behind them until Dr. Emerson calls us. ~

~ I don’t need to act, ~ Jenny responded as she darted behind the others, her mind-voice tainted with fear and anger.

I pretended to be curious and started to swim closer to the edge of the pool, and that was when I got my first look at Pierce. He was a middle-aged man who time had not been kind to; he looked to be of average height, a bit overweight, and his blond hair was turning silver and starting to recede. He had cold grey eyes and scowled as he looked over us as if we were cuts of meat on display in a butcher shop that wasn’t quite what he was hungry for. The men with him watched us intently and I was suddenly very aware of my nakedness.

Kieshala let out a series of whistles and clicks in Porpoise as if warning me. I paused, looking from the group to back to where Kieshala was placing herself protectively in front of the others, suddenly wishing that I hadn’t chosen to be the curious and friendly one. My warring thoughts were interrupted as Dr. Emerson reached the side of the pool and said, “Good afternoon, Mr. Pierce.”

“Well, have them do something. Show me that you can control them, I have a meeting in fifteen minutes,” Pierce snapped impatiently.

“Sir, with all due respect, they’re scared,” Dr. Emerson replied with a glance toward us. “You can’t expect to come in here with a large group of men displaying aggressive posture and expect them to suddenly obey you. You need to gain their trust and establish a bond if you want their cooperation.”

Pierce’s eyes seemed to grow even colder. “I don’t require their trust, that’s your job. I require them to be able to follow instructions and turn a profit. If you can’t get them to do that then I will find someone who can.”

Dr. Emerson sighed and got up to sit on the edge of the pool and called out, “Melody!” At her call, I let out a quiet sigh of my own and swam over to her. She immediately began to stroke my hair and said, “There’s a good girl. They’re quite intelligent and are already starting to recognize their names, Mr. Pierce. Let’s go join the others, Melody.”

For my part, I tried to smile like I was happy and then followed her as she walked along the edge of the pool and grabbed a bucket that, from the smell, probably contained some shrimp in ice water to keep it fresh. It sloshed slightly as she grabbed it and moved over toward where Jenny and Kara were sticking close to Kieshala in her corner. Once she had gotten there, Dr. Emerson once again sat on the edge of the pool offering me one of the shrimp.

I took it gently from her hand, careful of my claws, and then popped it into my mouth with a smile. “Good girl, Melody,” she told me as she briefly stroked my hair and ear. At least that felt nice, so my smile and happy humming were somewhat genuine. Then she turned to look at Kieshala and said soothingly, “It’s alright, I won’t let anyone hurt you or the other girls, Lorelei. Here, I have a treat for you. Take it gently, please.”

~ Remember the plan, you need to smile and look like you’re bonding with her. Ignore Pierce and the goons and focus on her, ~ Kara advised.

~ Yes, I know, ~ Kieshala replied with an impatient tone at odds with the smile on her face as she delicately took the shrimp from Dr. Emerson’s hand and then submitted to her reward for being a good girl.

“How did you… That beast attacks anyone who gets too close!” Pierce sputtered in confusion and anger. Anger? Where was that coming from? Because Dr. Emerson had tamed the beast that he couldn’t?

Dr. Emerson’s voice was carefully controlled as she replied, “I’ve been letting them get to know me and building a relationship of trust. It takes patience and a gentle hand. Like with any animal, if you just rush in and start manhandling them and expecting them to listen to you, you’re going to get bitten. Animals don’t care how much money you have, if you mistreat them or scare them, their instincts are going to make them see you as a threat. If they trust you and you treat them well, then they will generally treat you well in return.”

Pierce snorted derisively. “I don’t care how it’s done. Just make sure that these creatures are ready to perform and interact with people before my marine park opens in two months. I have an animal trainer from Australia coming in to work with them in a few days. Give her the keys, Joe.” With that, Pierce spun on his heel and left the room followed by his platoon of guards. One of those guards, wary of getting too close to us, tossed a set of keys toward Dr. Emerson before turning and following the others and his boss out of the room.

Our caretaker snorted and reached over to snatch up the keys, waiting until the doors were closed again to grumble, “God, what an asshole. I probably should have listened to Danica and not gotten involved with him but getting to work with you girls was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I mean, a species that comes right out of myth and legend, and you’re so similar to us. There’s so much that we could learn. Anyway, let’s get you out of those chains, Lorelei.”

There were two keys on the keyring, one for the padlock securing the chain to the metal ring at the corner of the pool and another for the one securing the chain to Kieshala’s metal bracers and keeping her handcuffed. Dr. Emerson opened the one on the cuffs first and once Kieshala was freed she unlocked the one at the corner of the pool as well before tossing the chains as far away as she could in distaste. “There, now you can go for a swim while I go and sort out some dinner.”

Kieshala didn’t need to be told, even if she could have fully understood what Dr. Emerson was saying. She dove under the water and took off for the other end of the pool, enjoying what little freedom she had with those chains removed. The rest of us quickly joined her, and as soon as I was under the water I breathed a sigh of relief. ~ Well, part one was a success. Now we just need to keep playing nice with Dr. Emerson and whoever this trainer is that’s coming. Are you feeling better now that your arms are freed, Kieshala? ~

~ Much better, Naiya. Come, I can teach you all to use those tails and fins of yours properly now that I can move around with you. ~ Kieshala said both mentally and in Porpoise. Well, I assumed that’s what she was saying in Porpoise since we were still beginners with the language. For all that I knew she could have been saying, “So long, and thanks for all the fish.”

Still, she was serious about teaching us. From what she said, she wanted to teach us as much as she could while we had the time. She wasn’t really familiar with the oceans of Earth and wanted us to be able to survive out there together until she could find a place where she could draw on some ambient mana and then find a place where we could pass between worlds to get to Totha.

Usually, Naethari don’t stray too far from their clans and the four of us were going to have to be able to count on one another in the likely event that we had to cross a lot of ocean. Not only would we have to be wary of the dangers of the depths and ready to defend ourselves but Kara pointed out that we would probably have to avoid fishing boats and other human traffic on the oceans as well. Learning to speak Porpoise would not only help us look like we were communicating in our own language to the humans but it would also let us communicate with some of the smarter ocean denizens.

Swimming though would be important for our survival. We needed to build up stamina and learn to swim as fast and maneuver as well as a native Naethari. It would give us an edge against any other deep-sea predators. Kieshala was much faster and more agile in the water than the rest of us since we were still getting used to our new bodies. With that in mind, she darted around us as we swam, correcting our tail movements, fin positions, and even our posture while she assessed us.

Our main problem seemed to be that our movements were still awkward, which wasn’t surprising since we still had trouble properly controlling our tails and fins. We had only had them for a day from our perspective after all. Kieshala had to correct our movements a lot and, by the time Dr. Emerson returned with dinner, she finally decided to just have us start exercising our fins and tails without actually swimming to familiarize ourselves with them and how it felt to use them. She figured that our swimming wasn’t going to start improving until we were used to our new bodies and could control them without having to consciously think about it all of the time.

We had the usual raw seafood and some peaches for our dinner while Dr. Emerson had a few take-out boxes that smelled deliciously familiar. I didn’t need to see the chopsticks to tell what she was eating; beef fried rice, sweet and sour chicken balls, and wonton soup. I barely paid attention to my own dinner once she settled down in her deck chair to eat and watch something on her tablet. As quietly as I could I used my arms to pull myself along the floor until I managed to pull myself up so that I was sitting on my tail beside her. Our tails were actually fairly long, roughly twice the length of human legs from hips to fins, and really flexible below the hips. One of the exercises that Kieshala had us doing was coiling them like a snake’s.

She was intently watching the video on her tablet, what looked like someone training dolphins. She had just picked up a sweet and sour chicken ball with her chopsticks and was about to pop it in her mouth when she noticed me beside her and jumped with a yelp. “Melody! You scared me.”

I wasn’t really listening though because I was busy snatching that falling chicken ball out of the air before it could hit the ground and popping it in my mouth. ~ Mmmm, sooo good, ~ I thought toward the others with a smile as I licked the sauce off of my hand.

~ You’re a brat, Naiya, ~ Kara said with a mental giggle.

~ What? I was curious, ~ I shot back playfully. ~ And it smelled delicious. ~

Meanwhile, Dr. Emerson was trying to both chastise me and not laugh. “Melody, we can’t be sure if that’s even safe for you to eat. I suppose it’s my own fault for not paying attention though, especially with such a curious and mischievous girl around. Now back to the water with you and eat your own dinner.” The last was added as she tried to stop smiling, put a stern expression on her face, and pointed to the others eating out of the buckets.

I gave her my very best sad face and looked pointedly down at her wonton soup causing her to sigh. “Oh, fine. One, and then you go eat your own dinner. It’s a good thing that you’re a mermaid because you’re too damn cute. Between that and your voice, if you were human, I imagine that you’d have me wrapped around your little finger in no time.” She picked up a wonton with her chopsticks and held it out, telling me, “Take it gently, Melody.”

I gingerly took the wonton from her chopsticks between my thumb and forefinger and popped it into my mouth before nomming on it, swallowing the tasty treat, and then giving her a big smile. I liked Dr. Emerson, she seemed like a good egg. I think that she had to remind herself that we weren’t human sometimes because she was starting to talk to us rather than around us like others did, especially after choosing our names. It was like on some unconscious level she thought that we would understand her. Or maybe she was just like that with all of the marine animals that she cared for.

“Go eat now,” she told me sternly, though I could see her still trying to hold back a smile as she pointed to the others. “If that didn’t make you sick, maybe I’ll bring all of you a treat later this week.” I held back my smile and pretended to be chastised as I made my way back to the others to eat my dinner.

~ I call being ‘curious’ if she ever brings in chocolate, ~ Jenny said with a giggle as I settled in to eat with the others.

~ I’ll distract her for you, ~ I promised with a grin. Jenny deserved some sweets, they were a good kid and had been through more shit than any child should. ~ I’m a brat after all. ~

~ And a terrible influence on my sis… sibling, ~ Kara agreed.

~ You don’t need to dance around pronouns and stuff with me, ~ Kara’s younger sibling said, her mind-voice carrying her determination as she looked at the three of us in turn. ~ I’m a girl inside, I’ve always been a girl, and I don’t want to be anything else. ~

Kieshala reached out to put a hand gently on Jenny’s shoulder and smiled at her. ~Then that is how we will refer to you, Jenny. Many of our kind are drawn strongly to their chosen gender even before the second metamorphosis, it is why we encourage self-discovery. It just would not have been proper of me to address you as either male or female until you made your feelings on the subject known to us. Now you had all best eat as much as you can, you will need your energy because after the human leaves I will begin training you to use your aetral. ~