Niylah had never given much thought to how a mermaid might transform once on land. Sure, she'd seen The Little Mermaid plenty of times as a child, but Ariel had gotten her legs via sea witch. Joy looked as if she didn't need one.

The mermaid had pulled herself onto the rocks next to Niylah. This was as close as she had gotten while still conscious and aware. Joy's ebony hair hung in drenched strands, water droplets dotted her skin, some slipped down to absorb into the rock beneath her. Her teal tail lay flesh against the rock. Niylah found it difficult to pry her eyes away from the gorgeous fin. She leaned forward, eagerly. They shimmered beneath the bright summer day. Her breath caught in her chest as she inspected the scales closely. The scales looked like they were moving! Each individual scale looked like the sun reflecting over water.

Joy cleared .

“Oh, sorry.” Niylah could feel her ears growing hot with embarrassment. She untucked her hair to hide her reddening ears. “I didn't mean to stare.”

“It is okay. You are halfling. Humans are curious.”

“How does it work?” Niylah nodded towards her tail. “I mean, to get on land?”

“It dries, it disappears,” Joy explained.

Just like that? That seemed so simple.

“Does it hurt?”

“I do not know. Elders that go on land say it is uncomfortable. I do not go on land.” Joy looked down at her fin, lifting it slightly before flopping it down against the rock.

“Never?”

“Never.”

Just as Joy had said, her scales dried up. Although, it wasn't as she pictured. She envisioned her scales slowly fading into her skin to reveal a pair of human legs. That wasn't the case.

It took a while for Joy to completely dry out. The sun helped, but it was just getting warm as it rose higher in the sky. Joy grimaced as she pulled apart a pair of legs through her tail. Her tail split in half with the effort. She shook her legs free, brushing off her beautiful scales. The tail crumpled into a fine sand-like substance. The more Joy touched it, the more it disintegrated.

Niylah couldn't hide her astonishment. This made sense as to how mermaids ventured on land undetected. No evidence was left behind.

“Did it hurt?” There was a hint of concern in Niylah's tone.

“Little bit.”

Niylah wasn't sure how to respond. How does one console a mermaid? She didn't have to dwell on it long as Joy attempted to stand on her newly formed legs. Given the foreign limbs and the unsteady surface, Joy teetered on the rock. Niylah leaped to her feet and grabbed Joy by the waist, helping to stable her. Joy braced herself on Niylah's shoulders, grasping onto her tightly – a little too tight, but Niylah didn't complain. Fear had flashed in the siren's eyes, but as she grew steady, she relaxed. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Niylah offered with a small smile. Now that she was up close and personal with her, she noticed that Joy was taller than her. Joy was standing lower on the rock but she was still slightly taller than her. At this height, Niylah was looking at her straight on. She found herself lost in Joy's viridian gaze. It was like being lost at sea.

“Halfling okay?” Joy asked.

“I'm okay,” she reassured. She realized she knew Joy's name, but Joy didn't know her name. “By the way, my name is Niylah.”

“Niylah,” Joy repeated to herself. “Hm. Pretty.”

Niylah smiled at the praise.

“We go stop fishermen now?”

“First,” Niylah said as she began shrugging off her jacket. Joy was completely . The last thing they needed to do was wander around town with a freshly humanized mermaid in her birthday suit. Niylah wrapped her jacket around Joy's shoulders. Much to her surprise, the mermaid began to look at it suspiciously, trying to move away from the gesture.

“Trap!” Joy hissed.

“No, no trap.” She steadied her again before resting the jacket on her shoulders. “Humans wear clothes. If we're going to stop these fishermen, we're going to have to teach you to blend in first. We're gonna need more clothes.”