Daryl rushed down the stairs, his recently combed hair in a flutter of locks. With his tie flapping to and fro with much similarities to a Anisoptera, he muttered irrational nonsense down the stairs. With each step came a blunt, unexpected heart pulse. …Ngh, it was so very unlike him to raise his stress levels to this extent. But this was Leia after all; as exceedingly determined as she was, her persistence attracted too much trouble for even Daryl’s tastes. And this was Daryl, of all people, we were talking about!
“Leia…! H-Hold on!” His rough voice scattered down the steps, like all those darn piles of paper work stacked on his desk. His steps were awkward as he teetered back and forth like an unbalanced pendulum of some sort. If anything, time seemed to be slowing down as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Curse Einstein and his theory of relativity, he had a mermaid to protect.
“Protecting” was the least of his worries. Eyes jolting wide open, he scanned the chaos that seemed to have thusly unfolded. Pendants and sea-themed accessories were askew across the concrete floor, their florescent colors distinctly standing out against the gray. Amidst the artificial color assortment, he caught sight of a fish out of water.
Although…. He wouldn’t consider Leia as a fish…. Hmmm, her origins leaned more into the Sirenia order on the species scale--- What in the world was he blathering on about, now!? Rushing to her side, he was rather smooth with his approach. As smooth as he could possibly be after slipping on a few of her soaked trinkets that is… Shaking his head, he muttered, “…Don’t you worry Leia, things will be fine.”
Now, he wasn’t one for empty promises, but when have situations ever been just fine with the pair of them? Quickly, he gathered himself up and scuttered to her. All this for a ridiculous auction date! Honestly, he was probably not going to get any research out of this on—The sheer proximity between Leia and himself had revealed certain details he had failed to notice before… Why in the world had she dressed up so strangely for such an event like this!?
“Come on, back into the water with you,” he huffed as he lifted her up nervously. Or at least… attempted to. Her flailing really packed a punch for the poor, confuzzled scientist who was already getting too many strange thoughts and theories as to why Leia would be looking this way. Before he knew it, they were both on the floor again, floundering like hopeless goldfish. What was the Goddess going to do with them both…?
Once Daryl established stable footing again, he leaned in once more to get this right this time. A scientist must always know that though they might not succeed (the first thousand times) it is not a failure, only a way that wasn’t success just yet. Before he could get to her, however, a giant burst of light burned through his retinas.
“Leia!!” What in the world was going on?! Right before his very eyes, Leia was engulfed in an uncategorized type of light. Each strand of her locks floated on their own, as though she was submerged in water. The light gleamed off the seashells attached to her hair, leaving rays of light bouncing off the walls. Stepping closer, he realized that her head was tilted skyward as though she was entranced by something that clearly wasn’t there.
“Don’t you worry, Leia!” Reaching towards her, he shut his eyelids closed and kept the image seared straight into his mind. Lifting her up, he expected her to disappear from his grasp… He had been too late to save her—
Strangely enough, he could still feel her in his arms. To top it off, this wasn’t a mermaid tail hanging off his grasp, was it. His eyes flew open to capture something he wasn’t so sure himself. Scientifically impossible! She had replaced her tail with two human legs, as a tattered skirt replaced the scales down her tail. In his eyes, she still shone quite strangely.. but perhaps that was become he was completely dazzled by this turn of events.
“I can’t possibly have one normal day with you, can I?”
