((It's a short chapter today, but it's the first chapter that actually sets up a plot for future chapters!! So look forward to the mini adventure these two little guys are going to go on :D))

Lance curled into his warm blanket that afternoon. From the window next to the bed he laid he could see the sun starting to set. He sighed in contentment as he rolled over and curled up into his pillow. A sharp pain made his jolt as the fabric of the cloth surrounding him rubbed against his tail. He checked for the cause and was horrified to see his beautiful blue scales have gone dull and sensitive. He thought he had more time before he dried out, but he had underestimated the amount of water he actually needed.

He sighed and rolled off the bed with a thump, alarming the boy in the other room. The avian came rushing in, seeing Lance perfectly fine on the floor. "Would you happen to have those land buckets that people bathe in?" Keith gave him a look, "A bathtub?" Lance snapped his fingers, "A bathtub! Yes, do you have that?" Lance waited as the avian stared suspiciously. "No, I don't, but I guess I have a shower, do you need water?" Lance was surprised he caught on, as he nodded his head.

Keith showed him to the bathroom, the shower displayed within three glass walls, one of them supporting a handle. Lance could tell it was meant for standing as he sat in the glass confinement with his tail sticking out the door. "You might need to tuck your tail into your chest to fit," the avian suggested, so Lance did so, finding himself in a tight fit. Keith tested the door, and it closed and opened without problem, so he reached over lance to a silver handle on the wall.

"Do you like cold or hot water?" Lance looked at the color labels the other was pointing to. "Could you make it warm, I don't do well with hot," heated pools of water were always a problem for him. The handle turned and Lance felt cold water stream down his back. "Call if you need anything" Keith then shut the glass door and exited the room, making sure to keep the bathroom door wide open.

Lance sat patiently as he felt the water start to warm. He smiled and laid back so that the water could stream down his chest instead. He watched as the water pooled at the base of his curled up tail. He made fun splashing the water occasionally and moving his head to let water wet his hair. The water felt like heaven on earth, and his tail became slick and shiny once more. A shower everyday would be best for his health.

Lance now could only wait for Keith to come get him. He could call for him, but he much rather not bother him, after all he had not been in the water source for that long. He passed time admiring the room around him. From where he sat, he could see his way to the kitchen through the open door. The table was empty with no chairs sat in, this place could really pass as an abandoned ship if Lance didn't know the other lived here.

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Keith took a short nap in ways to pass the time, and woke up less than an hour later. Through the walls he could hear the water rushing through the shower. He groaned knowing Shiro was going to complain about this month's water bill, he would really need to get a job soon, his brother shouldn't be the one paying his bills.

The bathroom door was still left ajar, so the mermaid must have stayed under the water for the past hour. His face lit up through the glass when Keith walked in. He opened the glass door for him, and the other turned off the water. Keith grabbed a towel and handed it to the mermaid, "You don't have to dry yourself completely, just enough not to damage the floorboards." Lance nodded and wiped himself down gently, before climbing out of the shower.

"This would be so much easier if I had legs" Keith couldn't agree more. But a mermaid with legs? It's just a human with gills. Keith paused. A mermaid with legs? He's heard that before. He let Lance wander off into his room as he sat at the table. Staring at the kitchen counter, he tried to jog his memory.

..Mermaid with legs

..Mermaid legs.

Mermaid legs! Patas de sirenas. Curtis had told him about that potion when he found out Keith lived near mermaid beach. Keith exhaled loudly, letting his head roll back. Curtis. He was going to have to talk to him about it wasn't he? He glanced at the phone on the wall, rolling his eyes.

He took his time to grab the talking device, as he did to dial the number as well. The phone started to ring, one, two, three times. For a second he was hoping he wasn't going to pick up but then the line clicked. "Hey Keith." He already wished he could hang up.

...

The plastic foldable chair in the store's back room wasn't the most comfortable, but Keith just had to suck it up and deal with it. Curtis sat across from him, Adam and Shiro insisted they talked alone, Shiro heavily implying that they were 'finally bonding'. Keith thought otherwise.

"It was like you were just here wasn't it?" Curtis smiled. Not funny, but Keith smiled back. "Can you just tell me about the potion so we can move on?" Keith tried his best to not make it sound like he was pissed, but his voice came out somewhat strained. Curtis visibly tensed, as his smile faded. He adverted to look away from Keith as he sighed.

"Patas de sirenas; Mermaid Legs. It's a potion performed in a ritual by a powerful being of magic blood for a mermaid, so they can have legs. The potion is permanent, but due to the culture of mermaids, it has been recently modified so that the mermaid can change back to the tail by eating a special fruit, eating the same fruit again can also change the tail back to legs. Side effects of the potion can include–"

"Just tell me the instructions to make it." Keith cut him off, not bothering to cover his glare towards him. He thankfully had a paper and pen so he could write it down. If he was really going to make it, he was still considering going through the effort just to do it.

Curtis gave him no reaction to the impolite cut off and moved on, "To make the potion you would need three sets of toad eyes, poison ivy, two oxalis deppei seeds, moon water, and the blood of the mermaid who wishes to have legs. Every ingredient is boiled in moon water for an hour, then drunk during the ritual under a half moon." Curtis looked at the calendar on the wall nearby, "Tonight's a full moon so i suggest you go make the moon water." He smiled at Keith, but the other didn't.

"Thank you." Keith got up and left the room, heading toward Shiro. "I hate your boyfriend." Shiro smiled and ruffled his brother's hair, "I know you do." Keith glanced towards Adam who was restocking the tuna cans. "Shiro?" he said. "Mm?" "How do you make moon water?"