Nia walked back into the room after twenty minutes. She was sporting a mischievous smile, as if she knew something she wasn’t supposed to.

“What’s with that face?” Porter questioned her as she sat down at the end of Jessy’s bed. She didn’t stop smiling.

“I have super hearing.” She told them, as if she had explained everything. She continued when they didn’t get it, “I heard that whole conversation. But to be honest, I knew before you said anything.” She turned towards Jessy.

Jessy’s cheeks lit up. She didn’t make eye contact with anybody.

After a few seconds, Nia started to explain the rebellion to her, in hope that it would make her feel better. Porter listened intently. He tried to commit it all to memory, which he hadn’t done when Kyte told him.

“That’s why the werewolf was after Porter. Because he’s not straight.” Jessy summed up.

“Yep, they’ll probably be after you if they find out.” Nia said solemnly. “Which is why I think it is safest for you to stay here until you learn how to control your powers.”

“Yeah, I understand that.” Jessy sighed. “I wish I could see my aunt though.” She frowned.

“You will soon.” Nia promised. Her eyes wondered over Jessy. “You’re looking a lot better.” She seemed surprised.

“Is that a good thing?” It was clear that Jessy was worried.

“Maybe. The transition usually lasts a few days.” She got up to check on Jessy’s vitals. She was surprised to see that everything was running smoothly. Apart from her temperature, werewolves ran hot, everything was normal.

“I hate to tell you, but you are officially a werewolf.” Nia smiled wearily.

“Dang.” She frowned. “What exactly is a werewolf?” she asked. She looked about ready to cry. Porter wished he hadn’t gone to see his boss earlier that day, harder than he had been before.

“Well, most people know that they transform into wolves on the full moon, that is true. Once you get more used to it, you will be able to transform whenever you want. You will have super strength and hearing. Your healing will be quicker than any human.” Nia informed her. “It’ll be a bit rocky after your first transformation. You’ll want to hide in a dark, warm place for a while and you won’t be able to control your powers very well until at least your third full moon as a werewolf.” She handed both of them a glass of cold water.

Porter hadn’t noticed how hot it was in there until he took a sip of water.

“It’ll cold down soon. I just turned the aircons on.” She said as if it was normal to have aircon in a cave.

Jessy gave Porter a look that accurately portrayed what he was thinking.

“This is the weirdest place I have ever been.” She explained the expression on her face the Nia.

Several days later, Jessy and Porter were walking down the hallway. They headed towards the pool of saltwater that Kyte had told Porter about earlier that week. Kyte had given him directions earlier that day.

“Where are we going?” Jessy asked. “I had to borrow clothes from Kylie for this.” she gestured towards the old pink princess shirt and old school pants Kylie had given to her. “It’s not exactly my style.” She crossed her arms.

“Well, everyone else was busy and I didn’t want to go alone.” Porter told her as they entered the room.

“Woah. This is amazing!” Jessy said as she walked into the room. She dipped her feet into the water. “It’s so cool and nice! How is there a room like this in here?”

“Apparently I made it.” He looked around the room.

At the start of the room, a dark wood deck covered the first metre. After the deck, some white marble steps led into the pool, where the bottom was made of the same material. Blue lights from the bottom of the pool casted reflections on the dark ceiling, they were the only source of light in the room.

“You created this with your magic? I thought it was water magic or something like that?” Jessy said as she went deeper into the water.

“I guess I just put the water in there.” He said as he took off his shirt and got in as well.

“Look at this!” she gasped. As she waved her hands through the water, small bubbles filled with light followed. Some were green, some where blue, and some where white. “Your magic looks so cool!”

Porter was glad that Jessy was enjoying herself. Most of her week was spent trying to control her powers. She needed to forget about everything for a little while.

As Porter stepped deeper into the pool he looked down into the water. “That’s different.” he said as he noticed the weird patterns on his arm. Small white dots wrapped around his left arm, forming one long spiral that branched out to his left hand, making five lines of dots along his fingers that separated from a small spiral of dots in the middle of his palm.

He took his arm out of the water. He could only see the pattern where there were still drops of water left on his arm.

“You have a tattoo! I’ve always wanted a tattoo.” She watched his arm as he put it back in the water.

Porter dived straight into the water. Light bubbles trailed behind as he travelled further, until he was at the end of the large pool.

Jessy watched him in wonderment. She hadn’t believed Merpeople were real until now, despite being told that Porter was one.

She watched him as he swam around underwater. As soon as he was fully submerged, his hair turned from light brown to light blue with white streaks running through it. The tattoo continued from the back of his shoulder in a curve to the nape of his neck. The only thing she didn’t understand was why he didn’t have a tail.