"So. You're telling me that the man who just punched Dream is the prince of the North Atlantic?", Wilbur squints his eyes in scrutiny.

They have finally made it to the classroom after successfully dragging Dream off of Philza and back to the nurse's office. To say that the blond didn't have questions of his own would be a lie. He asked and asked but none of them could give him a straight answer. Phil had excused himself by saying that he looked really similar to that one guy he hates the guts of -which was pretty much the truth. Dream did indeed look like the sickening king of the bottom of the ocean, only missing a fleet of his own. A 'doppelganger', as Wilbur named the phenomenon.

Philza left after all that, telling them that he would be waiting afterschool to have a chat and catch up on the kingdoms. Technoblade thought that that was a useless little idea but mermen have a sense of curiosity as well. He can't blame the man for being curious; especially one who was meant to become a king on the day of the massacres.

Tommy and Tubbo had tagged along after they passed the gate, curious to know what the two teens and the one adult had been talking about. Phil told him their talk was about 'political stuff', and he knew what that meant. It meant merfolk talk and gossip and he immediately knew that the pinkette and brunette were merfolk of some sort. Well, Technoblade did remind him of that prince he had met five years ago but he thought he was someone else -his ignorance was excusable with so many people dying their hair pink nowadays.

"So you two are merfolk too?", Tommy asks when Phil has left them to return home. He is sharing a look of astonishment with Tubbo, who stands beside him with open ears. Technoblade and Wilbur look back, shocked that the kid had revealed their secret to the brunette. "You are the prince I played with back in that pink palace!"

"Wait, prince?!", Tubbo shouts with surprise, looking back and forth. The two older share a look of unsureness. Tommy picks up on that a moment later.

"Tubbo here knows about merfolk and you don't have to worry about him spilling the beans to anyone about you two", Tommy says quickly, slinging an arm around his friend's shoulders. "He knows about Phil and I being mermen"

Because that will surely calm them! Instead, Wilbur shakes his head and splays out his arms in warning.

"Tommy, do you know what happens if you reveal to a human that you are a merman?", he asks and his voice is laced with worry. Tommy scoffs as if the matter is a joke.

"That old folktale about turning into seafoam? Bunch of lies if you ask me. I told Tubbo and I am still alive and breathing and getting women!"

"Yeah, he told me and we were both fine!", Tubbo reassures. WIlbur does not know what to make out of all that. His late uncle would beg to disagree -perhaps it is a kingdom thing, or a royal thing, since Tommy is a normal merman.

Technoblade checks the time on his totally-real wrist watch before speaking up.

"We should really head inside, class is about to start"

Δ

"You know, that emerald I gave Dream... It belongs to Phil"

Wilbur laughs a hearty laugh after a moment, sadistic as it may seem. He looks at Techno through mirth-filled eyes, who is holding his head in his hands, pink hair spilling from between his fingers.

"And?"

He knows what Techno is trying to say, he knows all too well but he wants to hear it too.

"And I have to get it back", Techno outright groans and lets his head fall and hit the desk with a loud thump. Thanks to the loud chatter of the class, the action goes unnoticed by all but Wilbur. The evil, evil WIlbur. Techno wants to cut out the man's tongue and make him eat it from how much he is laughing. Maybe he will choke on his laughter, he thinks with an annoyed hum, Yeah, maybe I won't have to get my hands dirty.

And on top of that, Niki would kill him if the school were to call the police for attempted murder. She wouldn't even let him explain, she would rush him with one of those flat kitchen knives... or a butcher knife, he remembers seeing one hanging above the counter. Strangely, it disappeared one night and maybe Niki had thrown it at Puffy for a wrong prediction but who can confirm that?

No one.

"How are you planning on doing that?", Wilbur asks once his laughter has dissipated into giggles.

Technoblade turns his head, one red eye piercing through Wilbur's soul and the brunette's face pales.

"No, I am not helping you, nah-ah!", he quickly shakes his head with an awkward laugh and turns to walk out of the room.

Sadly, that is the time the teacher decides to walk in, glaring at him through an old pair of glasses. He is forced to retreat back to his seat. Techno smirks beside him, muttering about how the gods are favouring him.

A hand claps him on the shoulder and Wilbur's eyes are locked with a pair of mischievous rubies right after.

"So, here's the plan..."

Δ

"Techno, I don't think your plan is going to work", Wilbur says as he shuffles behind the other.

"Nonsense", Techno simply says as he looks around a corner. He sees no teacher and he continues to the school entrance with Wilbur. "He will fall for it, humans are stupid -and I don't know if you've noticed but he is a human"

"And you are a merman", Wilbur whisper-yells the term, afraid that someone will hear, "And apparently hunted down for your heirloom! What if that water demon comes back?"

Technoblade doesn't even question how Wilbur knows about who he had encountered underwater.

"He won't come back", he simply says as if his word will erase the possibility of getting ambushed. "If he knows what is good for him anyways"

"That really isn't reassuring, Techno!"

The two walk down a couple more halls, twist more than once to get out of sight of a stray teacher but they make it to the student lockers. The once lawful Technoblade, afraid of breaking the rules and enraging the kind owner of the hotel, Niki, is about to skip school. And for what is he risking his life for? For the emerald he gave to Dream to keep safe, the very emerald that rightfully belongs to the prince of the North Atlantic.

Phil is so going to owe him for this.

He reaches his own locker and turns the knob a few times until there is a click. His sack is sliding off his shoulder when he notices someone sitting on the high shelf of it. That someone is Skeppy, his little guardian and advisor, who has crossed his shiny arms over his chest and puffed out his cheeks. To this day, Techno does not know how someone made of literal diamond, a solid material that is not supposed to bend, has so much flexibility.

"And where do you think you are going?", Skeppy inquires with a raised eyebrow. Techno can practically see the air bubbles coming out of his ears. Seems like he has been caught. The diamond man bends down to peek past the locker door and spots Wilbur, who tried to hide the moment he heard the other's high pitched voice. "And you? You two have school"

"Why am I under his supervision all of a sudden?", Wilbur asks and Techno and he receives a shrug as a response.

"Because I am here to make sure that prince Technoblade does not do anything stupid", Skeppy answers him and Techno suddenly understands.

"He wants to baby you as well", he stage-whispers to Wilbur and the two laugh when Skeppy goes to scold them. The short man does not get far with his words because Techno quickly shuts and locks his locker.

How Skeppy even got in there, they will never know. Probably some short height benefits that the two of them will never get their hands on. That's okay, they probably will never need to hide in a locker like toddlers anyways.

Techno ends up leaving his bag in Wilbur's locker instead before giving the brunet a word to be as careful with his wording as possible. Wilbur in turn grins and gives him a death glare for what the pinket has dragged him into but in the end, he has to comply. They are doing this so that Dream won't have to deal with another punch from Phil and if he doesn't have to escort the former to the nurse's office again. he will be happy.

"Be careful and stay close to shore!", Wilbur tells him and Techno waves him off as he runs through the gate.

The plan is pretty simple from an outsider's point of view. Really, it sounds simple and easy to pull off. Wilbur has to lure Dream to the beach somehow and Techno has to convince him to hand over the pendant right after he had given it to him -or gifted it to him, that's probably what the human thinks of the emerald around his neck. It is a rude gesture, something that they don't know if the human will take well or not but hey, he doesn't know that Technoblade is the pink-haired merman who has saved him twice now -even though Dream probably doesn't remember the encounter with the water demon.

Wilbur waits until the bell rings and it masks the bangs and shouts of Skeppy who is trying to break out of the locker. The two of them are so getting yelled at afterwards but that is a problem for future Wilbur and future Technoblade to deal with.

He spots the blond walking across the hallway, probably walking to his next class and he is quick to catch up with him. Dream turns to face him as soon as Wilbur's hand is on his shoulder with a surprised face.

"Hey Dream, you got a sec?", Wilbur asks with a friendly grin and he points with his thumb to the lockers towards the exit.

"Yeah, what's up?", the other responds as they make their way to the school entrance after the student lockers.

"First off, are you okay? That punch was pretty heavy", and that question is genuine because if Phil had aimed perfectly, Dream would have ended up with a bleeding and broken nose. Wilbur is frankly surprised that the other's teeth are still intact.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just a dull ache now", Dream shrugs and unconsciously rubs at his jaw. "That kid, Tommy, he came up to me and apologized on the asshole's behalf"

Wilbur has to resist the sigh of relief that wants to escape his nostrils.

"Good, good", he says and Dream chuckles at something.

"He said that I look exactly like a street bully that picked on him in Primary. Can you believe that?"

Wilbur can believe that actually (just not in the way the half-truth is put) but he acts like he doesn't. The two of them laugh for a second before the brunet's face solemns.

"Dream", his voice is demanding the other's attention. The laughter stops completely, leading to a quiet ambience as the other students clear out the halls to enter different classes. "Eyes on me, listen to me carefully"

The other tilts his head slightly, confused at the change of tone but a hand on his shoulder makes him straighten his back and pay full attention to Wilbur. It feels so long since Wilbur had the chance to use the hereditary ability of his kingdom. The sirens of the south Atlantic have been misleading ships and fishermen for years with songs of want and love. Wilbur had only done it once before the destruction of the merfolk kingdoms, practiced on stray fish boats and ships that passed through his kingdom's waters.

"You have to go to the beach", he says to Dream, voice as firm as the grip he has on the other's shoulder, "You will go to the secluded part behind the rocks, someone is waiting for you"

His voice is bittersweet lethe, it bleeds from his lips like deadly venom and he can see it swirling in green eyes, fogging over the thoughts in the human's mind. Without a word, the human is walking to the entrance and Wilbur follows suit.

Well, that was easy.

Their walk to the gate is interrupted only once by Tubbo, who runs to them and grabs hold of Dream's sleeve. Of course, he spoke too soon. Wilbur casts him a disapproving glance, hoping that the boy will let go of his brother.

"Hi Wilbur!", the boy continues instead, "Hey Dream!", obviously trying to get the attention of Dream.

Wilbur knows that the blond will not answer, not when he has given him a goal to complete -or rather, a command. Dream continues walking, Tubbo's words falling on deaf ears and a dull consciousness. Tubbo's lips pull in a thin line when he notices the way his brother looks off into the distance with no regard to his surroundings, not even flinching when the boy snaps his fingers in front of his face.

"...what did you do to him?", Tubbo asks, worry blending into his calm voice. For a moment, the merman forgets that the kid knows of his true nature; his secret of being a merfolk.

"Nothing that will harm him", Wilbur says as relaxed as he can let himself be. Tubbo nods and in less than a second, he has a mischievous grin on his face.

"Can you make him believe that he allowed me to go to Tommy's?", he asks. Wilbur is taken aback by Tubbo's perception. "I saw you talking to him back there all serious-like", the boy explains, "It doesn't take high IQ to understand that you can control minds!", and he says it with a display of wiggling fingers in the form of a puppeteer.

It takes a second before the older responds.

"Okay, I will, go back to class now"

Tubbo is more than happy to listen to him then.

Δ

Dream does not know how he ended up at the beach with his shoes drenched from small waves of saltwater and soles full of sand. The sun is high on the sky but still bright to show that it is late morning, nearing noon. He does not remember walking to the beach, nor passing over stones and rocks to get to the secluded part of it. He has memories of the place but they are few and far between.

He remembers the face of the pink-haired merman vividly but the image in his head is rippling like it was just a silly dream. The red eyes are dim and bright at the same time, dipping in and out of his focus, the clean face speckled with drops of sea water and a mouth with pointy teeth is blurry and moving too fast to recall its form properly. He knows it wasn't just a dream, though; not a vision; not merged memories either -and the ruby pendant that has been switched by an emerald proves it. Even though, he does not remember what he was doing lying in the sand, half conscious and half drowned; he had not the time to ponder on it either.

His mind feels like it had short-circuited and fried, a silent headache approaching his temples but he has no time for that.

Out in the distance, he hears a splash and he looks up just in time to see a tail of pink and gold disappear beneath the surface. Without intending to, he gasps -he can not believe his eyes. He rushes to the water, caring not for his jeans getting wet and his shoes becoming too soft for use because his savior is here and either approaching or leaving. Dream makes it only a couple steps ahead when the surface ripples again, near a flat rock in the deeper end that pokes out of the water.

He holds his breath for a minute, standing still as if a single flinch will send the other swimming the other way. There is a hand, an arm, and then two, soon followed by the familiar pink hair and unreadable face, a smooth chest and a scaly tail decorated with gold trinkets and jewelry. Dream catches the pendant hanging from the other's neck; the very ruby he had wrongly considered his for so many years, finally returned to its rightful owner. There is a pang of something in his chest and he wants to raise a hand and get closer but an inner instinct is telling him not to. His feet stay rooted in place and he worries his bottom lip.

The merman manages to pull himself on the rock before red eyes lock with Dream's and then the bloody gaze falls lower to his neck. Dream reluctantly follows it and his own gaze lands on the emerald lying lazily on his clothed chest above a beige button of his dress shirt. He gulps when his mind lists all the possible outcomes of this meeting. Quickly, he scrumbles for things to say, words to thank the other for saving his life twice (even though the events that transpired on his second fall in the sea are a mystery), something to keep the merman on that rock for just a minute longer.

"What's your name?", he asks nervously, still thinking that he is walking on thin ice. He thinks that he shouldn't have asked that question when the other raises an eyebrow. Yet, the merman chuckles. Actually laughs at how nervous he is. Dream bets he looks like a teenager asking their crush out for a date.

The merman shakes his head fondly at him and he is beckoned to come closer with a finger. He obliges and walks until the water has reached his thighs, when the merman raises a palm to tell him to stop. Dream wonders if the man is mute for a second but he can recall a voice that does not belong to his friends, nor to his family, asking if he is okay.

"My name is Dream", he continues and reaches out a hand, aiming for a handshake. Instead, he receives a devilish grin and a splash of cold water from an agile tail. He yaps and covers his head when another wave engulfs him. It feels like waves, actual waves and he feels the ghost impressions of water currents on his skin, making his nerves prickle. He ignores it. "Stop that!", he hisses, sea salt getting in his already-stinging eyes and he furiously dabs at them with his not-so-dry hands.

He thinks he hears a laugh over his own pained groans.

"Hello, Dream", the merman responds and when Dream looks up, he finds the other half-lying on the rock, chin resting in the palm of his hand and eyes staring at him, long strands of hair slipping off broad shoulders. The voice is monotone and slow, amusedly testing the name. It is simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar in the blond's ears. "I'm glad you made it in one piece"

Dream takes a moment to register the words.

"You planned this?"

The merman shrugs, nonchalant and playful.

"I will neither confirm nor deny that statement"

The merman casts a narrow-eyed glance behind the human and Dream turns to look as well, fearing that someone had snuck into their little, private meeting in the water. He finds nothing. Suddenly, he hears clinks and clanks on a hard surface but before he can turn his head, he is tugged to his knees, arms flailing wildly to stay afloat.

He feels cold hands cradling his cheeks, holding his head above the surface as he calms down and retracts his limbs, instead finding purchase on strong forearms. Hesitantly, he opens his eyes, fearing the salt that he feels around his eyelids but once he sees what is in front of him -though it was not all that hard to guess.

The merman's face is impossibly close, so close that Dream can see his reflection on ruby mirrors. His breath hitches immediately and if it weren't for the hands that keep him over the water, he is pretty sure he would have sunk to the depths with how his arms begin to feel like noodles at the proximity.

"Look", the merman starts with an awkward tilt to his head, "As fun as this is, I kinda need the emerald back"

Dream had guessed as much from before yet his brows still furrow with concern and confusion.

"Huh?"

The merman falters just a bit before opening his mouth again.

"It's not mine -nor is it yours and it has to be returned to its rightful owner"

It sounds like an excuse but he can't argue. The pendant is not his and apparently not the merman's either. At his silence, the other sighs.

"You had kept my ruby safe for five years and I thought that you'd do the same with the emerald...", he trails off and Dream catches on.

"And then its owner appeared from wherever he had gone off to?"

"Precisely"

Dream smiles but it is an anxious, saddened smile. He lets go of the arms he had been holding onto carefully and surprisingly, the cold hands still cradle his head gently, even as the merman looks on in wonder. He clips off the pendant from his neck and holds it out to the pinket, reaches out and puts it around his neck where it falls above the gilded chain of the ruby. The merman smiles in return and his hands switch from his cheeks to his shoulders as he is being pushed towards shore.

"Thank you, now don't go drowning again, 'kay?"

It sounds awfully like a goodbye. Dream doesn't want to say goodbye yet.

"Will I see you again?", he blurts out quickly, desperately.

The pushing stops.

"Perhaps", and that word gives him a little bit of hope.

"Can I have your name?", he courageously continues.

The other grins.

"Nah"

A particularly strong wave sends Dream tumbling to shore, where his fingers fumble for purchase on the sand and his shoes and socks almost slip off his feet. When he looks up, the merman is gone and so is the emerald around his neck; the missing pendant is the only indicator of their little encounter.

Δ

Man, that was awkward, is the thought that plagues Techno's mind as he swims off into the deeper parts of the sea, in a valley of moss and seaweed. He is glad he has the emerald, even if the way he received it was way too intimate for his liking but hey, he can't really blame the guy -Techno had saved him from near-death a couple of times. He was his 'white knight', as humans liked to say, and the damsel in distress always falls for their herp and savior in the end, do they not?

He shakes his head. If Wilbur hadn't appeared behind that rock, maybe he would have stayed a bit longer with Dream but alas, he had told the brunet to remain nearby. He doesn't know how he managed to drag Dream all the way to the beach, let alone the one place they met without the other suspecting something.

He can always ask later. For now, he has to return to the school -he can't wait to see Dream return drenched from head to toe in sea water at school, that would be hilarious honestly.

He notices something moving out of the corner of his eye and fearing it was that water demon, he turns to look. Thankfully, he does not see a coral mushroom cap nor the pattern of red and white on waterproof fabric. It's Wilbur, who is swimming to his side with a stupid grin on his face, cackling and Technoblade fears what is on the other's mind.

It's the first time Techno has seen Wilbur as a merman, he realizes suddenly, and he stops dead in his tracks to let the other catch up. Wilbur's tail is blue but that was to be expected. It's not just blue, though -the scales are iridescent, shining turquoise and green under the thin rays of sunlight. His ears are not as human looking as Techno's, instead they are fins with sharp fishbones and dark, wrinkly membrane that flare open and close at any ambience sound of the deep.

"Good job back there!", Wilbur tells him, stopping before him.

"I have many questions", Techno responds and the other waves him off.

"You can ask the-"

"Well, well, well", a voice booms from the distance. They both freeze, press their backs together and instinctively, Techno grabs onto his heirloom. "Not one, not two but three gems! And two princes this time!"

It isn't the demon from yesterday, the voice is not the same. And they can't see the owner of the voice, they are either hiding or invisible and Techno doesn't know which is worse; to have someone looking at you from behind a rock, or to have someone right in front of you and not be able to see them.

His tail is snatched from beneath all of a sudden, same for his hands and neck and he feels the disgusting feeling of seaweed against his skin. The hold is so strong, he can not move as much as he tried and his struggle proves useless. The seaweed is enchanted, he realizes, and all of a sudden, the skin beneath his restraints is burning.

Wilbur had swam away from the forest of moss and seaweed the moment he saw it dart to Techno. He can't get closer, unless they both want to be captured and left at the mercy of whomever is holding Techno, tame and immobile. It scares him, it scares them both, and Wilbur catches his sapphire between his fingertips.

"My king will be very pleased with this catch", this time, there is a laugh, manic and sadistic that makes Wilbur's heart drop to his already-twisting stomach. He knows who he is talking about, his parents had locked him in the palace because of him. Is this their fate? To end up in the hands of the king who has single handedly destroyed two whole kingdoms?

"Wilbur, get out of here!", Techno shouts, frantically looking around for their captor.

Wilbur does not know how to fight, isolation had made sure that he remained helpless in such situations. Yet, he shakes his head because he is prideful and protective to let Techno be taken like this, along with Phil's own gem in his possession.

So, he closes his hand around the sapphire and tips it off his neck with a loud snap. It is something he did out of instinct, something that an inner voice assured him that it will work, just do it.

The gem starts to shine, low at first but then it is blindingly bright. A moment later, the ocean is as dark and light as before and he hears Technoblade shout in surprise. There is a person, a raven-haired merfolk, right next to the pinket, a human enough face with the tail of a shark and a white cape hanging of one shoulder. And even if they weren't in this situation, Wilbur would still dub him dangerous.

"What in the hell was that?!", the shark-tailed hisses, onyx eyes darting around until they land on Wilbur. "Oh, you little shit"

In Wilbur's hands is a musical instrument -a guitar to be more specific. It is made of coral, stone and arapaima scales, frets of sapphire and pegs of clear blue diamond. In his room in the palace, he could only listen to the orchestra playing music in the main ballroom and on land, he had only touched the strings of a street performer's violin. He does not know how to play the guitar by any means, so why do the strings feel so familiar? His fingers settle over the six of them easily, with eerie familiarity, whilst he holds the neck in his other hand. He strums once and it feels right.

Was that how Techno had felt when he held his own heirloom as a weapon?

He can't help but wonder. Then again, how can a guitar be a weapon? Unless he can smack it across the other's head, there is no other way to use it as a weapon. The problem is that he can't get close because of the seaweed.

"Wilbur, get away, you hear?!", Techno shouts but then a cutlass is threatening his neck, preventing him from uttering another warning.

Plants darted from beneath, trying to reach a sparkling blue tail and Wilbur recoiled instantly. The water demon grinned.

"So, what will it be, prince?", the demon asks mockingly, pushing the sword closer to Techno's neck and almost cutting the skin, "You can either come with me and pinkie over here, peacefully or come with us without your tail. My orders are to keep you alive, I'm sure my king won't mind only having half of you", he shrugs and black eyes swirl with malicious intent.

Wilbur has done many stupid things in his life, the most stupid out of all being the prank he had pulled on his father with that lionfish he had set on the throne. What he is about to do will surely surpass that, he thinks and frankly, he doesn't think he will regret it as severely.

"How about I play you a song?", he offers, "And if you like it, you let us go"

The other gawks at him and then throws his head back, laughter bubbling out of his throat at the childish attempt at trading. Wilbur just hopes that he can buy Techno time to figure something out.

"So, is that a yes?"

"You can play a song to the king when we get there"

Before he can think of a witty response, strands of thick seaweed are darting up at him. The enchantment feels stronger, as if the demon had been working on it while the two of them were talking. He can barely hear Techno's yells over the loud whooshing of the plants and the screams. Wait... screams? Wilbur has to do a double take as he avoids each and every strand, avoiding most but not all. When his tail fin is caught, it feels like a thousand hands are holding onto him, ghosting over his scales and dragging him down to the seabed. It feels like souls are trying to get revenge, blaming him for their demise and for a second he wonders if they are sailors who his people have drowned.

"Let go!", he demands and the plants recoil at his words. It seems like the voice of a siren works on the dead. He grins. Looking up, he sees the water demon charging at him, black tail swishing left and right, cutlass at the ready. With a yelp, Wilbur dodges to the right and he smacks the other on the back with the stoney guitar.

"Leave me alone, fishface!", the demon is stunned for only a moment, back arched from the hit and mind fogged over by the command. It is enough for Techno's bindings to loosen and for Wilbur to help him out of them.

"Move!", Techno shouts to him but before Wilbur ask why, he is roughly pushed back by the other. A light flashes one moment and swords are clashing the next.

It is a well rehearsed dance of blades and snarky remarks, the only difference between the two fighters being the speed and agility of each. Techno has the maneuverability of a dolphin, dodging attacks and circling around the enemy, looking for weak spots to deliver the next blow. The water demon has the strength and ferociousness of a shark, always on the offensive and pushing Techno back.

Wilbur wants to help, he wants to help so badly because it is a matter of time until the demon tries to cuff them with seaweed again. He breathes in deep. The souls are still there, holding onto the small vessels they have been given, dormant but he knows that won't be the case for long if he doesn't do something about it.

"You!", he speaks, aiming a finger at the weeds. They flicker with life, something akin to curiosity buzzing off them. "Trap the demon!"

And they do just that. The demon is suddenly yanked back from Techno, who looks on in bewilderment as the strands wrap around the other's body and drag him to the bottom. It is safe once the yells and angry swears are muffled by moss and plant life.

Techno turns to him.

"You're a siren?", he asks and Wilbur can only smile sheepishly.

"Yeah", he confirms, then takes a second to add, "I swear, I was going to tell you!"

Suddenly, the mystery of how Dream came to the beach puzzled and with no questions was solved. The pinket sighs as his sword returns to its simple, ruby form.

"Let's get out of here before he gets free"

Δ

"You know, Tommy, I don't think I have mentioned this to you before but I had met a merman a long time ago", Tubbo says out of the blue as he walks beside his taller friend.

They are walking along the seaside road to Tommy's home, chatting about video games (Tommy has no idea what those are), school and the teachers who are a pain in the ass. How the conversation had switched to merfolk, Tommy has no idea and no recollection of switching the topic. Well, that's Tubbo, talking about something and somehow blending in something else seamlessly.

"Oh? No you didn't. Where was he from?", Tommy asks curiously. If Tubbo didn't have that solemn, nostalgic look in his eyes, he would have laughed and pointed out that he was lying. "I might know them"

Tubbo shakes his head with a disapproving hum.

"You wouldn't, you've told me that you've only ever roamed the Pacific", he says, "He was from the Indian, pretty isolated that one. I met him a couple of years back, when my family went on holiday in India"

Tommy hums and thinks about the time he had spent in the Pacific kingdoms. He tries to recall if there had been any mermen from that part of the sea in either of them. None of the kingdoms had close relationships with the Indian kingdom, the place had been kept isolated thanks to its hostile rulers. Tommy didn't know the details of it but Phil might. He opts to ask him once they reach the beach house.

"Yeah, I was told that the rulers are shitheads"

Tubbo chuckles at that and nods, clearly amused by the way that human words have started to merge with Tommy's merfolk vocabulary.

"So, do you still see him?", Tommy asks. The brunet shakes his head with a sad frown on his face.

"He lives in the Indian Ocean, dude", he sighs and shrugs, "We aren't near there"

Tommy was sure that the other was keeping something from him; something that had to do with the way-too-sad expression on his face and the ache in his eyes. His curiosity begs him to ask more, to dig more but he doesn't listen; he doesn't want to pry into Tubbo's personal life when he isn't ready to speak about it himself.

"What's his name?", he decides to ask and Tubbo smiles a sad smile.

"Ranboo, the prince of the Indian Ocean"

And Tommy can only gawk.

=================
Sapnap sushi anyone?