The first three sat on the beach, in attire suited for a warm day and snacked on various fruits for lunch. They were to meet up with their newest member today.

"You think we can trust this guy?" Pandora asked.

"If he's kept the secret for this long and it runs in his family, yes" Aries replied.

"Speak of the devil" Icarus said, pointing out Zag approaching them.

"Afternoon fellow fish" he joked, sitting at the blanket they'd laid out on the sand.

"Hello newest member of the pod, so... you in?" Aries asked.

"To get back my families land? Absolutely. A rebellion sounds fun" he replied.

Pleased with the answer, the three held out hands for high fives and the newly formed group high fived each other in victory of getting one step closer to solving the whole mess.

"So, aside from mermaid stuff and your previous kite boarding career what have you done with your life since primary school?" Pandora asked.

"Graduated high school last year... had the worst summer job ever at the corner store, ended up quitting and helping my mum at the plant nursery, got attached to the stray cat there and convinced my mum to let it say as the shop pet... that's about it really. Honestly I haven't done much outside merfolk stuff" Zag replied.

"Honestly apart from school all we do is merfolk stuff. Finding the pod is a full time job" Icarus added.

Slowly picking away at the fruits as they talked, the group became more and more caught up with each other.

"So, Aries" zag began.

"Yeah?" They replied.

"You the only one?"

They exchanged knowing looks, a look of queer solidarity.

"Icarus is the only cishet here" Aries snickered.

Icarus playfully rolled her eyes and gently slapped Aries.

"It's an honour to be adopted into the group as a cishet" she joked.

"You too huh?" Pandora asked zag.

"Yeah, honestly I should have known sooner I had the biggest crush on Jack Frost when I was a kid" he replied.

"Oh same I should have known earlier, like I was obsessed with merliah for a reason" she joked.

Seems like Zagreus has more in common with the group than just the tail, the group was clearly meant to be.

"How informed of Izroulia are you? You were born here right?" Aries asked.

"Yeah I was. My mum has informed me of pretty much everything, aside from small details that she didn't see the need to tell me. I know about the war, I know about traditions and seapeople magic and stuff" Zagreus replied.

"That saves a lot of explaining. Our goal here is to find the missing pod members and take back Izroulia"

"Definitely on board with that. I wanna move into Izroulia, you know live how I was always meant to"

The group could definitely agree on that, all of them wanted their land and culture back. So much was lost in the war and they were all dead set on preserving as much of their history as they could.

"The thing I want the most though, is to go to a proper changing of the tides ceremony. Mum has told me all kinds of stories about them, I'd kill to be part of one" Zagreus sighed.

"Oh man, me too. I've only been to one and I was a literal baby so I don't remember it, but I've heard all the stories and I'd kill to be part of one too" Aries replied.

"Oh that's the big festival at the start of summer with the traditional clothes and spell ceremonies right?" Icarus asked.

"That's the one"

"Yooo I so want an excuse to wear traditional mermaid grab"

Icarus was always one for fashion, and when she found out about the shell tops, shell crowns and fishnet belts, she was eager to have a set of her own.

There was so much to experience and learn in izroulia, all of it being ripped away when Agnemetra took over. The group were dying to get everything back, they needed to bring their culture back to their land, even if it killed them.

The group sat on the beach, snacking and chatting for hours. Getting to know Zagreus more and more. His mother was a mermaid, his father trusted with the secret, and his mother was very serious about keeping magic and Izroulian culture alive in the family. Zagreus did fairly well in school, not straight As but good enough to pass. He was a massive environmentalist, believed in saving the planet and preserving nature. Gardening, was a pastime of his and he knew a lot about plants and the environment. If he was ever stuck on an island he could totally survive on the land thanks to his extensive knowledge.

His powers being linked to earth, allowed him to shake the ground, grow plant matter and purify dirty water for consumption. His powers worked best with ocean life since he was merman of course.

As the afternoon dragged on, and the food ended up all eaten, the group packed up and decided on a swim to end the day. Heading to one of the docks no one was around, they dove off the end and swam through the reef on the usual route to the spirit pool. Having a full pod with each element felt fulfilling, like the missing piece of the puzzle was finally found. Like they could finally get the next clue to the missing pods whereabouts.

Popping up in the pool and sitting on the edge, the group continued their long conversations as if they'd known each other their whole lives.

"We meet up every weekend to look for clues, and just hang out really. Also after the girls finish school we meet up some days. We don't really have a plan other than finding the next lead" Aries explained.

"Just rolling with the punches? I can vibe with that" Zagreus replied.

"We've marked off everywhere we've searched so far on a map, I'll text you a copy. But we've covered a good chunk of the coast already" Pandora added.

"In all the time I've been a merman I haven't seen anything until you guys showed up. Although I haven't really been looking, I never noticed anything anyway. I can join you guys most days unless I'm at work" he said.

None of them could explain it, but something just felt... right. The four of them together in the pool, one of each element. It was a satisfying feeling, a feeling of wholeness.

"I suppose we've finally got our fourth member then" Icarus smiled.

"We do, welcome to the pod Zag" Aries replied.

Zagreus smiled, a little exited to finally have merfolk friends. He wasn't alone anymore with only his mum to relate to.

"I'll do everything I can to help, promise" he said.