Chapter 27: Dehydrated

Talori's emotions had been all over the place since Zale found out about Brennan and sent her away for her own safety. Guilt for deceiving him. Relief that he wasn't about to let the merking marry her off. Sadness for their separation. Excitement about finally seeing the surface. Worry about burdening Brennan.

At least the last one was taken care of because of the water fairy's reassurances. Excitement ended up taking over by the time the long and boring swim tailing the boat ended and she was finally able to meet the much-talked-of Harmony.

She and her boyfriend looked very human, much like Brennan when he had his glamour on, until they made it to the witch coven and all removed them once inside. Elf ears were less pointy than fairy ones but their hair was very long. The only thing that looked different with witches was their glowing eyes. And, as usual, Brennan didn't show his wings.

Talori felt vaguely honored that she had seen them if he wouldn't even show them to these fae he had known longer. But that passed quickly because she was focused on trying to make her own glamour work.

She was relieved that it did. Now she would be able to go out and about like anyone else and experience everything while she was here!

Excitement flooded through her, especially when Harmony seemed equally excited to have the opportunity to talk to her later. She wished they could talk now but she and Brennan were taken back to his apartment before the witch and elf left them there.

"I was hoping to talk to Harmony more," Talori admitted.

Brennan sighed and flopped down on the couch. "You can do it tomorrow. I didn't realize she was on a date. That's so embarrassing."

"A date?"

"Yeah. That's what you do with your boyfriend. You go on dates. I didn't even know she had one! It's not like she ever talks about him or anything. I think he works at the bank though; I've seen him around."

Talori tilted her head, confused. "Do you go on dates with a boyfriend too?"

"…no. I've had girlfriends before—which is what you call a woman you're dating—but not in a long time."

She wasn't entirely sure she understood. Those terms didn't exist in Mermish. Merfolk didn't go on dates as far as she was aware. Though, to be fair, she had spent her whole life in the coral palace and didn't know much about the relationships between others.

"Are boyfriends and girlfriends like regular friends?" Talori asked.

Brennan shook his head. "No, they're romantic partners."

Oh! That made more sense. She didn't know much about that either but obviously there were such relationships out there. She had nearly been forced into one and sent into the dark because her father happened to be the merking.

Things seemed different up here though. As if a romantic partner was something one chose for themselves.

"I see," Talori said before changing the subject. "So this is your dwelling? There is a lot of stuff in here! You will have to tell me what all of it is."

"Later," Brennan said with a yawn. "I'm exhausted. I want to get into some more comfortable clothes and go to bed. All that swimming took a lot out of me."

"Right. Sorry."

"Don't be. I'm just not used to using my arms and legs that much because I fly everywhere."

"You are not flying now," Talori pointed out.

"Yeah I am. I'm hovering. Wings bear up my weight better than feet do. There's about half an inch of space between my feet and the ground. Most fairies do this because it's easier to imitate walking than walk for real," Brennan explained.

"We were able to fly freely in the old days but now that humans are everywhere we have to act human as much as possible. There are a lot of things fae in general have to do to act more human but I'm sure you'll pick them up the more time you spend up here."

He went into another room to get changed into softer-looking clothes and when he came back he warned her that he would be picking her up and moving her to the couch so she could sleep too. He staggered slightly after doing so and flew over to the couch as quickly as possible before gently dropping her there.

Next he flew over to a door and opened it to pull out a blanket. He draped it over her and asked her if she needed anything before turning off the light.

Talori was fine for a few hours until she suddenly felt terrible. She couldn't explain this awful feeling but she needed some serious help. She croaked out Brennan's name as loud as she could over and over until he responded.

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He rushed out of his room looking somehow tired yet alert at the same time, a look of panic on his face. He let off what seemed to be a curse and rushed into another part of the room to get a glass of water and dumped something white into it, stirring it a bit before handing it to her and telling her to drink it.

She did as she was told as he flew into yet another room. She heard the sound of water and wondered what he was doing as he went back to get more of the container of white stuff. By the time she had finished her drink he came back and picked her up again before sticking her in a small room inside a much larger container of water.

Talori sighed in relief as it soaked into her skin and tail. She couldn't fully submerge herself but did her best to rub it all over her.

"I think you were dehydrated," Brennan said apologetically. "I should have accounted for that before. You might be able to breathe up here but you still dry out if you go too many hours without water."

"That makes sense. What is that white stuff you put in it?"

"Salt. The ocean is made of saltwater so I didn't think freshwater would help you much."

Talori frowned as something occurred to her. "Do you not drink saltwater then? What did you do when you were staying with me?"

"My magic is freshwater so I made a bunch of tiny bubbles and drank those. It took a lot of them but I got by. I'm going to have to go out tomorrow and buy a lot more salt. Maybe I can get you some sort of pool too for Harmony's office. I'll text her and see if she has the space."

Come to think of it, she had seen tiny bubbles inside Brennan's bigger one before but she never made the connection. He was smart, figuring out how to take care of himself without needing prompting. Unlike her.

Here she was, finally on the surface, and she had to rely completely on someone else taking care of her. She wanted to be more useful to her host but supposed information was all she had going for her.

"Forgive me for the inconvenience," Talori sighed.

Brennan shook his head vehemently. "It's not an inconvenience! It's just a learning curve, that's all. We'll figure things out so you can stay up here comfortably. Don't worry about it."

"If you insist. You can go back to bed now. I'll just stay here for a while."

"Alright. Goodnight, Talori."

"Goodnight."

Talori sunk into the container as low as she could, trying to rehydrate herself to the best of her ability. This was too small to be effective but she didn't think he had any better options.

She didn't want to complain since she was the one putting him out by being here. Zale had really asked too much of him by demanding he take her on indefinitely without knowing what all that would entail.

Zale. Was he doing alright back home? Did he miss her already?

Talori sure missed him. She had never gone this long without seeing her brother before. They normally saw each other multiple times a day. Now several days had gone by without being able to talk to him at all.

She sighed and closed her eyes. She shouldn't be thinking like this right now. She should be grateful that she got away and had the opportunity to learn more about life on the surface.

Tomorrow would be fun! There were so many things she had wanted to ask witches and now she was finally getting the chance. She shouldn't be moping.

Talori forced herself to get some sleep. She felt much better physically and emotionally in the morning. She was looking forward to having some surface food for breakfast. She called out to Brennan, who came into the small room she was in a moment later.

Slight anxiousness shone on his face. "Are you feeling better?"

"Much, thank you. What is there to eat?"

"Uh, there's a lot of stuff. Cereal might be kind of hard for you since you've never used a spoon so the options are Pop-Tarts or toaster strudel."

"I do not know what either of those are so you pick. I trust your judgment," Talori said eagerly.

"Toaster strudel it is then," Brennan replied with a slight smile.

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