The sun rose as it did the previous day, but Dawn woke up to the sound of someone humming a tune he’d never heard before. It took the mafia boss control not to reach for the gun he’d hidden in the front of his hoodie on instinct.Unaware of the death flag she had just avoided, Aqua continued humming a familiar tune. Watching her tail transform into legs at the crack of dawn for the first time, the mermaid wondered if she would ever get used to it. She took the chance while Dawn was asleep to study her new body parts. Legs were very different from tails. Their bone structures felt more rigid and were not covered in protective scales. Instead, she had a layer of very fine hair on them. More importantly, her anatomy in the lower half was slightly different. Dawn did tell her that if she needed to relieve herself in the middle of the night, she should do it outside. However, Aqua had no idea how to walk. She watched humans do it all the time, but i

The sky grew darker, and Dawn cussed when the radio reported a risk of a tornado arising in the area. He could already see the highway police putting up barricades at some exits. There was no way he could pull off a heist in this state now, a bummer.Although it was a shame to miss such a good location for easy cash, Dawn played it smart and left the state. He drove for much longer than he intended and was running low on fuel when he finally was forced to stop at a different town in the late afternoon.Not everything in life went smoothly according to his plans. His father taught him that early in life, and it was a harsh lesson to learn. However, Dawn was great at improvising. He might not be in the best place to pull off a heist, but he might be able to pick a few pockets in the area.If he were alone, the mafia boss would go straight to a small shop with his gun to demand cash from a register. However, he was with Aqua. The mermaid couldn’t be put at risk bec

One. Two. Dawn sighed in relief.Aqua’s tail was intact, and her tail fins twitched under his attention. It was weird to see a fishtail wearing a slipper, but this was probably better than Aqua screaming in agony at the pain of having her fused tail mutilated or worse, becoming a slipper abomination. The same could not be said about trousers, and Dawn refused to put the theory to the test.Unsure about Dawn’s unusual behaviour, Aqua remained silent and tried not to squirm when the human touched her tail fin. She had no idea what Dawn was trying to do, but nobody usually touched her tail fin. Even when her mother was still alive, she never touched Aqua’s tail fin. Aqua didn’t touch her own tail fins either. It tickled and sent strange sensations over her entire body.When Dawn saw the missing slipper, he was finally relieved. The mermaid paused. They must be really important to this human. She made a mental note to take good care of these shoes

“Finally…” Dawn stretched and groaned. They arrived at last.Although there were many changes in this city, this one district remained almost unchanged since the last time he was here.Aqua was finally awake, and she looked better than she did in the morning. Dawn did not know how the mermaid recovered so quickly, but nothing was surprising anymore. It must be mermaid magic.“Let’s stop to get some dinner first,” he told her. “You can eat in the car while I visit an old friend. It shouldn’t take long. What do you want to eat?”Without hesitation, Aqua reminded Dawn about her hot sauce taco request.Blinking uncomfortably, the mafia boss rejected her demands. He also rejected her request for more sweets and sandwiches. Confused, the mermaid rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, thumping her tail impatiently with a pout.“Why are you asking me if you’re just going to say no? I’m not

The night was young, and Jericho Jadwin was bored. None of his regular customers was causing problems, there was nobody to blackmail, and Dawn did not contact him apart from that one message from a few days ago using some random person’s phone. He did some digging and learned how Ricardo finally pulled off the coup d'etat. Some said that Dawn died, but no bodies matched his best friend’s description for obvious reasons.Drumming his fingers on the bar counter with acrylic nails clacking rhythmically, the gay man sighed. He polished all the glass that needed polishing, and there weren’t many customers that needed serving. None of these new faces was his type either, and the bar mama felt restless. Why hasn’t Dawn contacted him yet? Was he still in danger?Ever since they were young, Jericho had always been the more cautious of the two. They grew up together but lived apart when Dawn was determined to take over his family business. The stupid mafia bo