Nate tried to swim on his own, but without his tail he had no idea how. Mark rushed over to him, giving Ursel a glare before grabbing Nate to take him back out of the Serpentine's mouth. Nate could hear Ursel and the moray eels laughing hysterically as he gripped his throat tightly. His lungs were burning and every fiber of his being wanted to breathe. Nate had never seen Mark swim harder or faster in his life. Even for not being able to swim well, Mark was pushing himself to his limits for him. Outside the Serpentine's mouth, Mark started pushing harder to swim straight up. Nate tried to help, but it was weird to move two legs when there used to be just one tail. He saw dark spots lining the sides of his vision and they hadn't even reached the sandy fog above yet. By the time they broke through the fog to the colder waters, Nate was feeling weak and couldn't keep his eyes open. Mark was exhausted, but he stopped to cup Nate's face and kissed him. Nate felt like it was to be his last kiss before he died, until air filled his lungs. Mark was converting the water into air.

The air felt amazing in his lungs, but his lungs refused to hold it for long. Either Mark was too winded to give him the amount his body needed, or the spell was draining it because it wasn't fresh air. Nate weakly grabbed Mark's shoulders, trying to tell him to keep swimming for the surface. Instead, Mark continued to feed him bursts of air. While in the times he stopped to take deep breaths, he started making distressed whistling calls. Nate grew so weak that he couldn't move and just wanted to sleep. Mark held Nate in his arms, when in the distance a large form drew closer. The creature let out familiar excited whinnies and Nate smiled. A hippocampus was coming. Mark was a genius. The large black and blue sea horse with long from legs that unfurled into vibrant blue fins galloped through the water. Mark draped Nate over the back of the Hippocampus and shoved it toward the surface. Straddling the Hippocampus, Nate hung on with as much strength as he had left as the Horse of the sea shot off toward the surface.

Nate started to jerk as his body started to protest the lack of air. Just as his lungs were going to force him to breathe, the Hippocampus burst up through the surface. Nate gasped loudly as his lungs took in the fresh salty sea air. He'd never treasured air so much in his life. Falling limply across the back of the Hippocampus, he continued to gasp for air until his body was happy. The Hippocampus floated on the surface, snorting its lungs full of water in order to breathe the air. After a few minutes, Mark finally broke the surface and panted out in a panic. "Nate?! Are you alright?!" Nate waved to him, causing Mark to relax and swim over to them more calmly. Reaching the Hippocampus, Mark wrapped his arms around the sea horse's long narrow nose, panting to it sweetly. "Extra shrimp for you tonight, my friend." The Hippocampus whinnied happily, snuggling against Mark who hugged his neck. Sitting up slowly on the horse, Nate looked around to get his bearings. Patting his leg, Mark told him seriously. "We can't stay here. And we can't go to mermaid island... So, let's go find your prince. My mother used to tell stories of a castle in that direction. Maybe your prince is there."

Nate nodded happily, steering the Hippocampus in that direction by stroking its neck on the side he wanted it to turn. Mark pulled himself up onto the hippocampus to sit sideways behind him. As they traveled, Mark grumbled out behind him. "I can't believe this. Look at you. Look what he's done to you." Nate shifted to sit sideways on the sea horse. The water ran over his legs and up to his knees as the hippocampus swam calmly through the bright morning waves. Lifting his legs, he splashed his feet in the water to try and get the hang of how they worked. Beside him, Mark put a hand on Nate's leg to stop him, asking him in a concerned voice. "Why did you do it? I told you that Ursel was a liar! You didn't even try to bargain with him! You can't make the prince fall in love with you in three days. Especially, without your voice. Even Ursel knows that!" Nate raised his hands and started to do hand gestures that was universal to all the tribes. Since most picked up different languages from around the world, it was hard to understand those that no longer spoke or wrote things in Seaspeak. So, Seaspeak signing was taught universally to help keep everyone together.

Locking eyes with Mark, Nate signed as clearly as he could to him. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I was mad." Mark rolled his eyes, looking away as he started spewing out in a voice torn between fear, betrayal, and panic. "This is a catastrophe! Your father is going to kill me! How am I supposed to explain this to him?! Did you even consider what kind of implication this is going to have on me? I put my ass on the line for you and in the end, you didn't even think about me! I thought I was your friend and yet you're willing to throw your life away for this guy you only briefly saw?! How do you think that makes me feel?! I could get banished for this! I can't survive on my own like this, Nathan!" Nate's shoulders fell, he'd been so caught up in his own anger and pain that he hadn't thought of that. Looking over Mark's body, Nate winced. Mark's torso was covered in thick red lines. The moray eels had zapped him a lot more than he had thought. Reaching out, he very lightly brushed his fingertips over the burned skin. Mark flinched, then told him hopefully. "Maybe if I leave right now and tell your father, we can find a way to work this out. I should have trusted my gut and told him the minute that you-"

Nate shifted more on the sea horse to grab Mark's waist firmly to try and keep him from sliding off the Hippocampus. Shaking his head vigorously, he tried to use his facial expression to plead with Mark not to do that. Mark pointed a stern finger at him, snapping out a bit heatedly. "Don't you shake your head at me! We are both well over our heads with this! Your father is the only one that can convince that Sea Witch to give you back your voice before it is too late!" Nate pointed to both of them but wasn't able to sign anything without his other hand that was holding Mark on the sea horse. Mark shook his head, blurting out. "No! We can't do this on our own! Our only hope is to have King Triton help us. He'll deal with the Sea Witch. You'll get your voice back and then with any hope. We'll be able to go home with all the normal fish and just be..." Mark stopped talking as Nate gestured with his hand to sign the word for unhappy as he stared only in Mark's eyes with his fragile ones. Bowing his head, Mark finished off in a low defeated voice. "Just be miserable for the rest of your long life..."

Nate wrapped his arms around Mark in a hug, trying to convey how much he meant to him. He hadn't meant to hurt him. He just wanted a chance to try something new. Ursel had made it sound so perfect that even if it was a bad deal, he was confident that he could pull this off. Everyone always underestimated him. At the end of the day, he had made this choice on his own. He didn't want Mark thinking it was his fault for not stopping him. Pulling away from Mark, Nate signed out to him. "I wanted this. Please? I know we can do this. Together." Nate patted his hand on his chest to sign the meaning for friend and family. Mark exhaled heavily, shaking his head a little with a serious expression, but reluctantly told him. "Alright. I'll help you win the heart of this prince... but if we make no progress by tomorrow, I'm going to your father. Agreed?" Nate stiffened with reluctance but nodded genuinely in return. Mark then lightly tapped Nate's jaw with his fist, grumbling out. "Not like I can drag you home anyway... I'll just have to watch your back like always." Nate leaned in to kiss his cheek making Mark blush.

Nate rested his head on Mark's shoulder, sitting closer to him to stay warm. His body had never been cold before, but he was starting to feel an unbearable chill as the wind rushed over his wet body. Yet, Mark was so warm and unaffected by the drop in temperature. Merfolk bodies adapted to the temperature changes in the water. However, it seemed like his human body was not so adaptable. Mark wrapped his arms around him, telling him softly. "You're shaking?" Nate nodded, huddling up against Mark more to adsorb his warm body heat. Mark looked him over, before commenting softly. "Humans don't adapt, do they?" Nate shook his head, his teeth starting to chatter. Hugging him against him chest more, Mark told him comfortingly. "Hang in there. I think I see land ahead. We'll stop there." The hippocampus approached a sandy shore that was unfamiliar to them. Sliding off the sea horse, Mark helped Nate swim the short distance to the shallows of the beach. Allowing the sea horse to retreat into deeper water before someone saw it.

Sitting in the shallows, Mark informed Nate casually. "If you're going to try being human... You have to learn to stand up." Nate planted his hands firmly in the shallow water's sand, struggling against the waves pulling and pushing him as he wobbly positioned his feet. Straightening up, he got his footing for a few seconds before the wave pulled him off balance and he fell back into the water with a loud 'splash.' Mark chuckled, flipping his tail in the water to move clusters of seaweed and vessel debris away from him as he told him. "Try again." They were in an obscure spot that had a nice reef with a high wall of land behind them. All around the reef had broken bits of vessels. Some that Nate swore he had seen recently during the storm, but they looked to be in rough shape now as the tide washed the bits to shore. Getting tangled up in seaweed, Nate finally managed to find his balance and stayed up for more than a minute. Mark clapped in approval, looking him over before saying curiously to himself. "Weird... I didn't know humans looked like that. I thought... Oh... I wonder if they wear loose skin?"

Nate raised an eyebrow, looking down at himself. He did seem less colorful than the prince's skin had been. Part of him wondered if that would be a problem. If humans were like Merfolk, then color meant everything to mates. Mark crawled around the shallows of beach, gathering bits of stuff as he said. "This looks to be made of the same stuff, right? We're in luck! Poseidon be praised!" Nate wasn't looking at Mark though. He was distracted by the changes his body had went through. Particularly, his groin. Merman genitals were always hidden beneath a layer of skin and scales along the front of the tail. It protected it when not in use because it was extremely sensitive. Humans didn't appear to have that kind of protection. Which made him really nervous. Was it normal for them to show like this? Should he be worried about the size of it? He started to reach down to touch himself but stopped as Mark came back. Forcing him to hug his arm awkwardly. Mark held up a shredded white thing, telling him excitedly. "Here. Wrap this around yourself. Then you'll blend right in."

Nate took the shredded thing and draped it over his arm and around his body like a toga. He'd seen drawings that the merfolk had with Poseidon in something similar. Mark used the rough lines to tie the thing in place around him. Then leaning back, Mark told him honestly. "Looks good to me." Nate ran his hands down the smooth shredded thing around his torso, then lifted the front to point at his genitals with a nervous shrug. Mark quickly averted his eyes, giving him a nervous shrug in return as he rushed out. "Don't look at me. I don't have any answers for that. My mother didn't tell me about human anatomy other than their lungs and need for air. Just keep it hidden behind that thing and figure it out by watching someone else use it." Nate covered himself, then started to sign something when the sound of a dog barking came from around the other side of the beach. Mark tensed, huddling down in the water as he said uneasily. "Oh, shit! It's that thing from the vessel! It's hunting!" Nate waved for Mark to retreat into the ocean, and he did.

Unable to join him, Nate forced himself to start walking toward a rock that he saw on the shore. Taking his first step, Nate felt a sharp pain shoot up his leg that caused him to limp and stumble down on all fours in the shallows. He glanced at his leg but saw no wounds that would have caused it. Forcing himself back up as the barking drew closer, Nate tried again to flee to the rock. This time the pain shot up from both his legs. Falling across the sandy beach, Nate silently groaned and writhed in pain. Was he still sore from transforming? Did it always hurt when humans walked? The waves crashed over him, forcing him to crawl to get out of the cold water. That's when the creature scrambled around the corner, sniffing every rock and piece of sand. Gasping when he saw it, the animal jerked its head up to look at him with perked up ears in shock. From farther behind, a familiar voice called out. "Sam! Don't wonder off too far! Get back here!" Nate stilled in place; his pain momentarily forgotten. Was this the same animal from the vessel? Had he managed to find his prince so soon?

Sam barked loudly in the direction of the voice that called out to it, then dashed after Nate. Forcing himself to his feet, Nate limped and silently cried out through the pain as he tried to keep himself from being eaten as the animal chased after him. He didn't know how to fight this thing. His claws and sharp teeth were gone! Just as he was trying to climb up the rock, the animal bit the shredded thing he was wearing and yanked him back. Falling onto his side, Nate covered his face and neck with his arms. He was bracing to get bitten. Only to feel a long wet tongue start licking his arms and hands. Shaking, Nate lowered his hands very slowly and flinched as the animal surprised him with a quick lick to the face. Nate tensed, thinking he might have been poisoned by the animal. When from around the corner, the prince jogged into view. Upon seeing his animal, the prince ran forward to grab Sam, yelling out. "Sam! Come here!" The prince grabbed Sam by something around its neck, pulling it away as he asked a little terrified. "I'm so sorry! Are you alright, Sir? Sam is harmless. Really. He just gets a little too excited around new people."

Slowly sitting up, Nate curled his legs around as if he still had a tail. He couldn't believe he had found the prince. His heart was beating wildly, and he felt strangely warm for the first time as he stared into the prince's ocean blue eyes. The Prince looked him over, then asked gently. "Whoa... Did you wash in from a shipwreck? What's your name?" Nate answered, but there was no sound. The Prince pushed the animal aside, extending out a hand as he nicely asked him. "Here. Let me help you up. You must have been through a lot. There is a physician at my castle. He can help you out and we can find a way to get you back home." Smiling, Nate reached out to take his hand. His heart skipping as he felt the warmth of the Prince's smooth hand. Helping him up to his feet, Nate tried to take a step and winced as his leg buckled under his weight. The Prince gasped, grabbing ahold of him as he said curtly. "Whoa! Easy. You must be exhausted... Here. I can help you."

The Prince pulled Nate closer, wrapping an arm around his waist, before guiding Nate's hand to drape his arm across his shoulders. Leaning into the Prince, Nate let him lead him off along the beach. To Be Continued...