After a night with little sleep, thanks to Coco's antics and Kade keeping his promise, they return to the cove the following morning, well after dawn. "So what's the plan this time?" Kade sets their cooler down upon the hut's porch. "Am I going chest deep again?"

"Noh, ye'd be more comfortable in ta shallows." Truly digs out the pearl she stuck in the board shorts yesterday. "I didn't want ye breathin' sandy water in yestaday. I'll have ye jist get deep enough ta submerge yer lower half when layin' down."

"This sounds like some ploy ta get me on me back than in the water." He flashes her a playful grin.

"Like I need a ploy for t'at." Truly snorts. "I jist have ta say I want ta feck ye in ta water and ye'd be bare arse naked in ta surf before I finished me sentence."

"We, ye mean," he throws her a roguish look. "I'm not fool enough to go without you, only to have you change yer mind. And," his eyes turn to the surf, still not used to how much stronger the smell of salt is in the air. "Are you sure waist deep is far enough? If I change, I wouldn't have to crawl my way out? You were sitting far more out than that when you were sitting switched."

"For your first time, aye. We still don't know exactly what'll happen." Truly's look turns unease. "I want yer head about water and ye breathin' t'rough ye lungs. Ye naturally know how ta do t'at, plus I don't have ta worry about ye stirin' up sand. I'm probably not goin' ta switch taday. Whether ye like it, we're goin' ta take t'ings slow." When she glances at him so he can see how serious she is about this. "Yer goin' ta be using ye muscle very differently, and it might take a bit ta get it down."

"I thought you'd want to demonstrate?" He tilts his head at her, patting Navi's head as he briefly joins him in the water.

"I think it'd be easier ta stand next ta ye and show ye what ta do. T'at and I want ta push on ta muscle to show ye how ta engage yer fins." Truly grabs his water and joins him out in the water.

Kade's shoulders lightly sag. "Yer gonna trap me in the cove all day, aren't you?"

"Like ye said yesterday, omen." Truly holds out the pearl and water to him. "One step at a time."

That's not what I bloody meant. His eyes narrow. "I meant we go through the phrases first, not that." As he takes the pearl and water from her, Kade walks further out and reluctantly sits where it barely hits his waist.

Navi comes barreling up behind him, sending a small wave showering Kade, who throws the dog a dark look and splashes him with a kick of his legs. Truly snickers as she comes up beside him and takes a seat.

"So is this the last one for sure?" Kade eyes the pearl between his fingers as he looks at it in the sun before his gaze flicks to her.

"T'at's up ta ye. It's at least workin', so if ye want ta keep goin' we can, if ye want ta stop, we can." Truly's gaze drops to the pearl. "Are ye sure ya want ta take it farther t'an t'is?"

"From a half-breed like Dour and Merrik were. That's what I am now, right?" It seems that way to him. His smell and taste is definitely different, but not to the level she says she has. He can't taste the air, that's for sure. How do ye even taste the air?

"Aye, it's too late ta stay human, but ye don't have ta keep goin' if ye changed yer mind."

"I can't say a part of me isn't interested in discovering exactly what the bridge between our species is like. You already knew I'd be able to breathe underwater, yet not change. My change in sense of taste and smell though wasn't known, or at least recorded." He rolls the pearl in his fingers. Which means my life expectancy could be up too but by how much? Enough to make a difference?

"Ta others were born t'at way. It's hard to know t'at t'ere is a difference when ye don't know there is a difference."

"It'd have been realizing Orison and Drake didn't taste or smell something the same. Simple things I doubt they'd think to mention. If they even realized there was one." His attention shifts to her. "I didn't. Ye didn't seem to realize it either." He gives a small shrug.

"The slight changes in my senses I've noticed don't mean my life expectancy has gone up." There's just too much unknown. Too many variables. I could live just a few years while another decade because of a roll of the genetic dice. His eyes flick to Truly as he tries to imagine the plausible scenarios, but they'd all likely end with her crying over him still. I'm not gonna let that happen if I can help it. In one fluid movement, he pops the small pink pearl into his mouth and swallows, not bothering with the water this time.

"For gold or glory, I see." Truly nervously laughs as she tentatively watches him.

"Aye." A small grin crosses his face as he takes her hand and intertwines their fingers.

Truly lets out a sigh, trying to calm her anxiety, and leans into him.

"I'll be fine if yer thinking something will go wrong. There's been no mention of that before."

Truly glances up at him. "Te test pool was small for one, and t'ey went from half breeds ta siren, not as diluted as ye were. I may not act as scientifically minded as ye, but even I realize this is basically untested waters."

"It is, aye." The boys might have been turned for a reason at such a young age, too. He might be too old, making his muscles too inflexible to shift into the needed positions. Defects happen within a species all the time. It'd be foolish to think some wouldn't be possible. I know the risks. I just wasn't intending on telling you, though. Yer scared enough as it is.

Kade's brows lightly furrow as it suddenly feels like he accidentally grabbed Brycen's jeans and not his own, and they're hugging too tight, but he hasn't. He's not even wearing bloody jeans. "I feel odd, like my jeans just shrank, but I'm not wearing any."

"T'at's normal." Truly lets go of his hand and rolls up to her knees. "Let's jist take t'is slow. First let's get ye shorts off." She helps Kade out of his shorts, knowing his muscles feel stiff and uncomfortable since that's how she feels right now, but she's so used to it, it doesn't bother her anymore. "I want ye ta roll onta ye belly, omen. I promise it'll be easier t'at way."

"At least I don't have ta worry about the Sea Witch or the Crazy Irishmen sailing by," he grumbles as he flips over, giving her a splendid view of his firm ass.

"Oh, ye didn't know? I called ta tell them ta watch te show. T'ey'll be here any minute." Truly teases as she sits down in front of him.

Tilting his head towards her, a look of unamusement crosses his face. "Yer not the only one with a crazy fleet around their islands. Mine's just half mad and likely to seize their ships just ta sail them, themselves." He smirks.

"But I apparently am ta only on with a sense of humor. Now, flex ye legs like you're pushin' against ta tightness." Truly tucks his shorts under her leg and offers her hands for him to hold if he wants.

Not wanting to hurt her, he softly shakes his head. "Last thing I need is ta hurt you, omen." Like he hasn't moved in forever, Kade fights the severe stiffness in his legs and pushes the heel of his foot down. Suddenly feeling like every muscle and nerve from his belly button down is misfiring and raw, his head bows as his shoulders tense and arch. A hiss escapes his lips as his legs snap together, far closer than he'd ever keep them. Fuck... Fuck... oh fuck... Kade's fingers tense, digging trenches into the sand as fire burns through his legs. A deep cry of agony briefly rips from his throat as his legs melt together only to, but it quickly cuts off as he clenches his jaw and bites his lip.

"Don't hurt, yeself. Ye'll bite t'rough ye lip, it's betta ta cry out, omen." Truly's brow furrows out of concern for him.

Unable to respond, a hint of copper fills the air as Kade's legs elongate as the lower half of his skin darkens to a deep ebony. As his long fluke fans out, vibrant shades of orange, red, and yellow flare to life between his unexpectedly prominent black spines. As his tail snaps up, dangerous poisonous bars burst menacingly free from the tips of his black spines, curving briefly towards them before his whole tail flicks and violently slaps against the water's surface.

A large spray of water showers them both as a set of black, and red pectoral fins unfurl at his hips. Beneath them, a row of long, vibrant pelvic fins, just like his tail, break loose and fan out, pulling another cry from Kade. As his scales fully form, an iridescent tone shimmers, giving it a rainbow hue when the sun hits it in certain ways.

Exhausted, Kade's arms give way, and he barely catches himself before he submerges his face beneath the water with her help.

"Jist relax, omen. Ye did well." Truly runs her fingers gently through his hair and starts quietly singing to him.

"That's not like breaking me collar bone." He huffs out as the muscles of his upper body tremble.

"So this wasn't as bad?" Relief fills her face. "Well, t'at's good, cause t'is was ta easy part."

Angling his head because it's too hard to lift it right now, Kade glares at her. "I'd take repeatedly breaking it in one game ta this."

"Oh." Truly grows uneasy. "Well, maybe ye won't find ta other as bad." The white lie fills her face, though.

"Ye couldn't lie ta a babe." Kade's deep baritone tone rumbles, sounding more like a growl at the end as he reaches up to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. Uncomfortable being on his stomach because it now makes him feel oddly vulnerable, Kade attempts to flip over like he normally would with just his arms, but his lower half fights him, and the damn things at his side pinch. Several Russian words she knows are curses by now slip from his lips as he turns and glares at his tail. "How the bloody hell do you flip over so easily?"

"First, tuck ye pectoral and pelvic fins in. T'en turn with ye shoulders. Yer body will naturally follow, but make ye turns dramatic."

"Right...." His eyes shift to where his hips would naturally be. "And I do that how?"

Truly moves away from him and stands up. "It'll be easier ta show ye." Stepping over him, she straddles his waist. "T'ese, me marine biologist, is ye pectoral fins. She points to the top two fins.

"I know what they are. My problem is how ta control them, omen."

"Are ye goin' ta listen or not?" She glares up at him. Truly bends over with her backside facing him and presses against the muscles that control those fins. "Do ye feel t'ose muscles?"

At her unexpected touch, his pectoral flare out, revealing vibrant red and black fins three different sizes tightly grouped like a fan. "Aye," his voice slightly hitches, not used to the feeling of something touching him in this form.

"Now try contractin' t'ose." Truly watches the fins relax back to his side. "Brill, luv." Truly's hands move down to his pelvic fins. "T'ese are yer pelvic fin muscles." She pushes on them, making them flare as well, and then shows him how to control his dorsal fin.

Now aware of which muscles to use, Kade tenses them and twists his shoulders, causing the bottom of his tail to curl in as he flips over so that he can rest back on his elbows in the water.

"Now, I'm not goin' ta push hard, but touch some muscle. I don't want ye flexing." Truly's hand drifts to where his thigh would have been and lightly presses, causing his eyes to heat as they snap to her ass, which is nearly in his face with her position.

"Keep doing that, Treasure," his voice drops a bit, "and I'm pretty sure I'll want ta for other reasons."

Ignoring his comment, she continues her explanation. "T'is is ye... well... ye manhood. It's hidden behind a scale flap, and ye flex t'ose in front of ta wrong people and ye'll be given' t'em a show. It looks a bit different now."

"How different?" He softly clears his throat, trying to focus on her words and not her ass.

Truly lets out a sigh, "I've only seen drawin's but, it's goin' ta be... bigga and just different, alright. Ye can check yeself out later." She flushes bright red and stands up to move down his tail. When she gets to the base of his caudal peduncle, Truly presses down, making the venomous barbs unsheathe. "T'at yer venom in spines, and what ye flex ta use t'em. If ye flex t'ose muscle more, ye'll squeeze ta venom sack inside, and it'll travel down ta hollow tubes. "Ta control ye caudal fin it'll be like wigglin' ye toes, but jist not as much control since it's mostly for thrust."

Truly steps away from him. "T'at's it for fins, course, t'ere's more to swimmin' t'en flarin' fins, but I'll need ye ta get inta deeper water for t'at."

As his eyes fall to his new tail, Kade tries to move it as he would his legs only to have it shift side to side and slap the water hard, instantly drenching Truly. A small grimace crosses his lips. "I was trying ta shift meself towards the water."

"Ye muscle have shifted, omen, it's not going ta be ta same." Truly's gaze runs over him before she lets out a sigh. "Ye are goin' ta give me a tongue lashin' for t'is." She walks up behind him, tucks her arms under his torso, and begins dragging him out to where the water hits her chest.

"Damn it, Treasure," he growls as his tail unhappily slaps and his flook twists in the water.

"Kade, stop." Truly struggles to push against him. She shoots him a glare. "T'is is going ta take ten times longer if ye keep lettin' ye feckin' pride get in ta way. If ye want ta get good at basic swimmin' t'ere yer goin' ta have ta listen ta me and stop movin' until I tell ye to."

Reluctantly, his tail stops moving. "Ye could have let me try for more than a minute."

"Ye can practice unbeachin' yeself later. I'd like ta get ta basics down so t'at I can change too. I need ta run over this with ye above water t'ough cause ye know broken Atlantean. I don't want ye confused." Truly helps support his upper body as she moves to the side. "Now, when yer swimmin' don't think of ye body as yer torsa and ye tail. Ye swim with yer whole body." Her hand moves to his stomach. "Start by rolling ye tummy like a belly dancer and let t'at motion roll all ta way down to ye caudal. T'at will give ye a forward thrust."

A single brow raises at her. "I leave that kind of dancing ta the lasses." Even as he tightens his stomach muscles and rolls them.

"Brill, but start with lifting ye ribcage and rolling it down along ye spine, all the way down. Ye got ta get ye tail movin'." Truly watches him as he does as she stays put, thrusting himself through the water. A smile spreads across her face. "Brill! Now, turnin' when ye turn in ta water, it's like flipper. Yer goin' ta lead with ye head. If ye want ta go right tilt ye head and shoulders ta te right, and let the rest of yer body naturally follow." She glances up at him. "T'ink ye want ta try on ye own?"

"Aye. I know what ye mean. I used to swim like that as a kid. I used one of my toy diving rings to keep me ankles together."

Truly raises a questioning brow at him.

"I was six and wanted ta be a dolphin. Don't start," he mutters, using his tale to keep himself in place.

A giggle escapes her lips. "If ye t'ink ye got it, Mr. Dolphin, I'll change meself and join ye ta show ye how ta get sharper turns with ye fins."

With a nod, Kade dips beneath the water, taking a moment to switch the way he breathes before he uses his upper body to guide the rest of him.

As he does, Truly walks back up to the shore and tosses his trunks up on the beach before stripping out of her own. When she goes back to the water and gets deep enough that she's comfortable to change, she dips under the water. Once she switches to her gills, she changes. The pain rips through her, but it isn't until the pearls of her tail grind their way to the surface, feeling like bullets ripping through her core, that she cries out in pain. The pearls she can't seem to get used to.

At the sound of her distress, Kade tenses as his eyes swiftly scan for the threat that caused his mate to cry out. Confident there isn't an exterior one, he swims to her where she lies on the bottom.

She stays curled up on the ocean floor for a few minutes, letting her nerves and muscles settle.

Concerned, Kade slowly moves closer, not wanting to unintentionally smack her with his new tail. When he's finally in range, he reaches out and caresses the back of her head. "Leha," he breathes out, not used to the idea of trying to speak beneath the surface, even if it's just to say her name in Atlantean.

Truly gives him the signal that she's okay, knowing if she answers back, he won't be able to understand yet. She slowly starts moving, letting herself float up next to him.

Swimming carefully around her, Kade drops his head closer to hers and grins, flashing her a second row of canines he didn't have before when she meets his eyes.

Truly swims parallel with the surface and points to herself for him to watch her. Over the few hours, she gives him a rundown of how to make sharper turns and zip through the water like he was born a siren.

To his irritation, Kade's far clumsier in this form than his human, and it shows in his swimming and turns. The inability to communicate doesn't help since diving signs aren't designed for this. He's determined to be just as graceful as her, though, even if the constant sounds of the water are giving him a headache, especially the deep clicking, which he mimics.

Truly zips up to him and quickly covers his mouth, and shakes her head. Her eyes dart out to the deep as she stills as if she's waiting for something.

Unsure why he can't make the noise, Kade's eyes follow hers out to the deep, aware it emanates out there, but he's not sure why he knows that. Danger, he signs to her and points outwards to the open sea as he cocks his head, hoping to make it clear he's asking.

Truly holds her hand up, listening, before she finally shakes her head and gives him a thumbs-up, telling him to rise to the surface.

Great, now I'm getting scolded because she thinks I nearly brought something down upon us. Reluctantly he swims up and breaks the surface, remembering to shift back to his lungs cause air sucks on gills.

When Truly surfaces, an unamused look sits upon her face. "Don't mimic animal noises."

"It's just parrot fish out in the reef and shrimp. They're loud bastards, but they won't hunt me down for mocking them."

"Noh, it wasn't. And even if yer imitating someti'in', t'ey're prey, you'll draw in predators."

Kade rolls his eyes. "I'll keep to the predators then." If they made bloody sounds, I could. When he realizes she's serious, he lightly sighs. "It wasn't intentional. It's just been getting on me nerves. It all is." He gestures around them, no longer finding the cove as quiet as he did when he was human. "I'll be more mindful of mocking things that irritate me."

"We aren't top of ta food chain, Kade." Truly warns him. "Out here we barely got ta bloody dolphins beat on intelligence."

"Giant squid, great whites, killer whales, tiger sharks, among others. I know, I've studied the apex predators of the sea, especially the isles. It'd take a large one with aggressive tendencies ta go after something of our size, and they're not all known for coming here. Giant squids can't survive this shallow and they're the only ones I can think of that might click, but they live in the twilight zone. Grant it, I've never heard of a shark communicating before."

Truly's lips thin in irritation. "Humans have discovered "Twenty percent of the ocean, Kade. Which mean eighty percent of what's down t'ere ye don't know about. So try ta wrap ye mind around ta fact t'at t'ere might be t'ings in t'at eighty percent ye don't know about. And jist because ye study predators, doesn't me ye can mock t'em and not expect repercussions. I've studied tigers, but I'm not about ta go up ta one bearin' me teeth and actin' like I'm goin' ta challenge t'em." Truly takes a deep, calming breath. "I'm trying ta show ye how ta survive here. We're away from our pod, so ta dangers are higher. Besides, ye mimic ta wrong noises, and you could tell a sperm whale yer feeling frisky."

Yer pod, you mean. You're assuming they'll want me, or I'll want ta bow me head ta Davy bloody Jones. His lips turn down, his dislike for the man now stronger than it was before. "I know there are things out there we've yet ta discover. It's every marine biologist's dream to be the one to find something new. And I was merely teasing. I said I'd stop." His eyes drift to the shore and the world he knows. "I'm not foolish enough ta try to mimic whale song, or even Atlantean, but I didn't think a damn fish would be a problem." I'll just keep me bloody mouth shut if it makes her happy. It's not like I can communicate like this, anyway. "Is there anything else I need ta correct?" He reaches up and rubs the bridge of his nose, trying to ease the pounding in his head.

"Noh." Truly softly replies before she dives back under the water.

After several days of practicing to swim and learning what to watch and listen for has Truly's confidence in him grows. The change to the inner lagoon's harbor also helps lessen his headaches, which helps his mood since he can't hear the other siren's songs or the reef's wildlife. Each day Kade's skills within the water improve, as does his confidence beneath the waves. He seems to be turning more serious and reserved, though, and she can't help but fear he's lost the love he once had for the ocean. His love for exploration and thrills at least hasn't vanished. As soon as he could explore the Devil's Key's, he was off trying to get onto the Heaving Isle and Kraken's teeth, though she fought him at first over the distance of the latter.

Unable to stay longer even though she loves it on the island, while Kade isn't sure how being so close to others will affect his senses, they head half-heartedly head back to the Barkholm Chain.

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