Part of Your Pool

[raisingdad]

Who: Alexis Castle and YOU
What: She's a mermaid! The castle has given Alexis a loss and she's turned into a mermaid who lives in the pool for a day. As you can imagine, she's completely psyched about this.
When: May 15th
Where: The Pool
Rating: Probably PG at most.


Alexis had gone to bed on the night of the 14th feeling incredibly depressed. The unicorn was gone. She had been ecstatic when a tiny horse with a horn on its head had hatched out of her egg and had spent the last few days running around the castle playing with it and generally acting like a 10 year old.

How could she not? It was a unicorn. It was hers.

But she should have known that her fun wouldn't last forever and that it was silly to get attached to something like a unicorn. It wasn't her pet and she wasn't its mom. Basically, she felt like an idiot, especially because she had cried herself to sleep two nights in a row over it.

When she woke on the 15th, she wondered if she had literally drowned herself in tears because her whole body was wet. It took her a moment to realize that probably meant that something was wrong. Alexis found herself in the pool somehow, which made no sense whatsoever. She couldn't move her legs apart and thought they were bound, though when she kicked them a great rush sent her up to the surface.

Looking down, it all became horribly clear. She was a mermaid.

There was her big blue fish tail and seashell bra, like some awful real-life version of Ariel in The Little Mermaid. Alexis swam to the side of the pool, wondering if maybe this was a dream but knowing that it felt too real to be in her mind. She folded her arms on the edge of the pool and placed her head gently down on top of them.

"Seriously?"


[OOC: Come find her in the pool! She will be a mermaid for the 15th only because I am a merciful mun. Also I'm going to handwaive her making an announcement over the journals that she's a mermaid and wtf is going on. Her journal is laying off to the side of the pool so she can't really use it too much. If you want to come mock talk to the mermaid, she'll be in the pool all day, then will wake up in her bed again on the 16th.]

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[themuse]

Under any other circumstances, Kate wouldn't be anywhere near the pool. But this was Alexis, and Kate wanted to support her.

Even though her turning into a mermaid was, to be frank, really freaking weird.

Kate had even sucked it up and wished herself a tasteful one piece. She managed to talk Castle out of going with her this time, hoping to take advantage of the situation to have a heart to heart with Alexis. She mostly wanted to keep her calm, though, as well as try to figure out what had exactly happened. The thing with the dog hadn't lasted long - much to Kate's disappointment, although she would never admit it - and the spirals hadn't lasted forever, either. Kate's only comfort was that maybe this wouldn't last long either.

Her surprise was difficult to hide when she saw Alexis, though. Kate pressed her lips together and approached the edge of the pool, sitting down to let her legs dangle over the side into the water.

"Hey," she said, trying to keep her tone light and cheerful for Alexis' benefit. "How are you doing?"

[raisingdad]

Alexis had been under the water testing her ability to breathe. The sensation was strange: she didn't feel the need for oxygen like she normally would if she were underwater. She surfaced when she saw the legs enter the edge of the pool, relieved to see that it was Kate.

"Alright. Considering." She swam to where Kate was with surprising agility. Maybe this whole thing would have been cool if it hadn't been so sudden. Alexis wiped at her face, though she wasn't sure if it was tears or just water from the pool.

[themuse]

The water wasn't a giveaway, but the puffiness around Alexis' eyes was a dead giveaway. Kate felt for the young woman; this was a confusing situation, and she'd been plucked out of her life unexpectedly, thrown into all of this. Getting turned into a mermaid and having her pet unicorn taken away from her was the least of her concerns, but Kate could easily see how it was enough to drive someone over the edge.

She wasn't planning on pushing, though. Alexis would talk if she wanted to talk and until then, Kate had come to keep her company. Hopefully this mermaid phase wouldn't last long.

"Are you hungry? I can go find you something to eat."

[raisingdad]

Alexis shook her head. "I'm fine right now, thanks."

The shock of it all had stifled her appetite for the time being. She took a deep breath, tired of feeling like a kid whose toy had got taken away. It was time to start acting like an adult.

"Do you.. want to come in the water?"

She thought it might be easier for them to talk that way. It wouldn't make her feel like such a freak.

[themuse]

Kate raised her eyebrows and her first instinct was to decline, but there was something strange about the way she was towering over Alexis on the side of pool. She must feel so isolated and lonely in there, and it Kate's heart went out to the young woman, so she slid into the pool.

The water was a little cold but not unwelcoming and Kate got used to it fast, leaning up against the lip with her feet on the bottom. "It's a pretty pool, at least," Kate offered. She splashed a little water at Alexis playfully. "We'll figure out what happened and get you turned back, okay?"

[raisingdad]

"It is, yeah."

Alexis was glad to have her in the water with her, to be on the same level so to speak. It made her less self conscious. Once Kate had gotten herself wet, Alexis wrapped her around around her neck.

"I just want to go home... I miss Pi, I miss Gram, I miss New York, I miss Columbia."

[themuse]

Kate was surprised for a moment when Alexis wrapped her arms around her, but she quickly raised her arms and held the girl close. She shushed her gently, brushing her hand over her wet hair as she held her.

Sometimes, Kate took for granted that Alexis was an adult. But she remembered being that age. Her mom had died not long around then, and while Kate had wanted to feel like an adult, losing her mom had made her feel like a lost child again. It was hard to see the life you had known fall into shambles; to end up in a free fall and want nothing more than someone to hold you like a child and tell you it was all going to be okay. Kate's father had chosen the bottle instead, and she'd just buried herself so deep into her grief she had lost herself for a while.

"It's going to be okay," Kate said gently, closing her eyes and sighing. "I know what it's like to lose everything, Alexis. I promise, we'll figure it out. We'll make it okay again."

[raisingdad]

Most nineteen-year-olds think that they're adults when they actually aren't. In Alexis's case, she knew that she was mature, but it didn't mean that she couldn't break down every now and then. She was young, and Kate was someone that she trusted here.

"At least I still have my dad," she sniffed. "And even though we're here, we're.. sort of safe. You lost so much more than me."

[themuse]

"It's not a competition," Kate assured her. "You have every right to be mad, and angry, and scared. But you have me and your father and I promise I'll do everything I can to keep you safe."

And Kate meant it. Mermaid aside - at least her life wasn't in any immediate danger. But if she ever was, Kate would protect her as if the girl was her own flesh and blood. She would rather die than have to watch what Castle went through with Paris again, or watch him mourn his only child. Alexis deserved better than the life Kate had been given, and Kate didn't want to see her lose that youthful exuberance or allow her fear to control her.

[raisingdad]

Being held felt good. It had been a while since she'd been held by a mother figure. Her own mom didn't have much time to be one and she wasn't here anyway.

Alexis tried to keep her tail back away from Kate's legs. She imagined it must feel creepy against her, like a giant fish pressing up to her.

"I know you will. And I believe you because I've seen how you get when someone messes with someone you like."

[themuse]

Kate didn't even mind the fish tail. It felt weird, but she tried not to think about it. Alexis was the one this was happening to, and Kate was still trying to push it down far enough to be something she didn't have to think too much about.

"You can count on it," Kate said, her mouth curving into a smile. "You're dad isn't someone to mess with either, you know."

[raisingdad]

That produced a tiny smile. "Yeah. Not many dads will go to France to chase down their kidnapped daughters." She leaned back and gazed up at Kate. "Thanks."

Alexis moved out of her embrace, feeling a bit more like herself again, despite the tail.

"So," she said. "I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I can swim like Michael Phelps with this thing."

[themuse]

"Your dad is a special guy," Kate said with a smile, letting herself drift away for just a moment as she thought about him. She moved back to the present, finally looking down at Alexis' tail since she had finally acknowledged it.

"Did you have to practice or did you just... Know what to do?"

[raisingdad]

"It was weirdly innate. Watch."

Alexis disappeared under the water and made a quick lap of the pool. She made it back to Kate in about 30 seconds and wasn't breathing hard when she popped her head back up.

That was kind of neat, she had to admit.

[themuse]

Kate watched in wonder, not speaking even once Alexis broke the water and was looking at her once again.

"Wow," she finally said, settling back against the wall of the pool and staring at her. "Has you dad seen this yet?"

[raisingdad]

"I think he might still be asleep? He hasn't stopped by yet and I figure he will once he hears."

He won't let her be a poor mermaid alone in the pool. Alexis wished he'd get around to reading the journal already though.

[themuse]

"If he doesn't show up in the next fifteen minutes, I'll go get him," Kate assured, pursing her lips. He probably was asleep or ran to work without checking the journal but it was only a matter of time before he got down there. There was no way Castle would leave Alexis alone long once he found out what happened.

[raisingdad]

"Thanks. Did you have plans for the day?"

No one here really had plans because what was there to do except explore the castle and surrounding areas? It should be relaxing, but for people like Alexis and Kate, who enjoy working, it's a bit constricting.

[themuse]

"None that matter," Kate replied truthfully. Even if she had anything pressing, she would have put it off to be there for Alexis as long as the girl might need her.

"To be honest? This place isn't really keeping me that busy." Besides exploring and looking for a way out, Kate didn't have anything to do. She wasn't planning on getting a job and she sure as hell wasn't settling in, so her days were mostly spend exploring rooms and learning about as much of the castle as she could.

[raisingdad]

"You're right. There's only so much to do." Alexis floated on her back and looked up at the ceiling. "I can't even read because the castle took that away from me too."

[themuse]

Kate wrinkled her forehead, moving forward so she could still see Alexis' face.

"What do you mean? Like..." She frowned. "Castle told me he wrote some books back home but I don't... I don't know what he's talking about."