"Hey Kiddo?" Patton asked. "How did you remember my little rhyme?"

Logan shrugged. "Like I said, I just picked it up. I have a very good memory." Logan tilted his head slightly. "Why? Does something not add up?"

"I mean, it's probably nothing but I just thought..." Patton trailed off and shrugged. "Like I said, probably nothing."

"It doesn't seem like nothing to you. What is it?"

Patton shook his head. "You'd probably laugh at me."

"As I am incapable of emotion, I promise you I won't." Logan promised. "What's on your mind?"

Patton smiled a little. "It's really something stupid but I just thought how similar you seem to my friend and I just made up the rhyme with them, that's all."

Logan nodded slowly. "So you hoped that there would be some connection?"

"Yeah. I know it's stupid but-"

"Well, logically, it isn't. I mean, it's still very unlikely but not stupid. Because, from what I can remember, Risuca's a very small island, compared, and there's only so many places you could live. And being that there's only so many places to live, we could've crossed paths at least once." Logan paused. "Maybe if you talked more about your friend, that might unlock some more memories."

"You think that'd work?" Patton asked, a little disbelieving. Logan shrugged.

"There's no sound way to tell but it's not a bad hypothesis."

"Hypoth-what?"

"Hypothesis. It's like a scientific theory." Patton nodded and grinned.

"Um, okay. Uh... we used to play hop-scotch a lot. They never understood it. Said they didn't get the reason for games. Or that could've just been one of their jokes. They made very odd jokes, it was sweet. We always used to play hide and seek as well. And we made up the little rhyme for if one of us was lost. We'd say the first little part of the rhyme and they'd say the other part."

"I don't understand."

"Oh, um," Patton pushed his glasses up his nose, "so they were lost, let's say, I would say 'one, two' and wait to see if they replied. If they didn't reply, I'd keep yelling the first part of the rhyme so I'd be able to find them."

"That doesn't sound like a very exact method."

Patton shrugged and grinned. "We were kids and Risuca's small, like you said. We'd find each other eventually." Patton's grin shrank and disappeared. "They disappeared, I remember."

"Disappeared?" Logan repeated.

"When we were eight. We were playing hide and seek and they disappeared. Official report said they'd drowned." Patton's brow furrowed a little. "I never believed that. Spent the next few years looking for them. Then I joined The Mermaid's Pride and yeah. That's about all I can remember."

Logan crossed his arms, thinking.

"Drowned, you say?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, the only thing left by the water was their shoe so it wasn't hard to guess. Why?"

Logan made a little 'hm' noise but made no indication that he'd heard Patton.

"Is it possible they could've become a mermaid?"

"I guess." Patton pushed his glasses up his nose. "I think there'd been mermaid sightings. Course, we were never told whether there were mermaids or not. It'd ruin our fun, apparently. Why?"

Logan shrugged. "I remember everyone I come across and I've met nearly everyone in the kingdom. I very well may know your mystery friend."

This took way longer to write than it should've. And I just sorta look at the chapter count and think 'that's not too high' and then remember we're not even close to the death yet.
Bye,
Blaize