Derek and Sonya crawled up onto the beach. It was hard work when you could essentially only use half of your body. They could easily flip their new tails, but it was little help moving along the beach. They had to drag and pull themselves along the sand using just their arms.
Sonya was outpacing Derek. He wasn't as strong as he used to be. Dereck had lost a lot of upper body strength when he changed into a beautiful female mermaid. But eventually they were both able to reach a dry area on the shore away just at the edge of the tip of the lapping waves.
Derek maneuvered himself next to Sonya and then flipped onto his back, stretching his long tail out in front of him. They both sat there silently, staring at their tails for several minutes. Nothing happened.
"So..... what now?" asked Sonya, finally breaking the silence.
"Maybe we have to be completely dry. Let's give it a little longer, " said Derek.
Sonya let out an exasperated sigh. It was clear that she didn't want to waste any more time on the sandy shore of the beach. She wanted to swim and enjoy her new tail. But she patiently waited on the beach to satisfy her boyfriend. She did love him after all.
Well, I guess I love her now, thought Sonya with a chuckle.
They waited over an hour and still saw no sign of change. Their tails were now completely dry and the scales looked a little dull and sickly. It matched how Derek felt. He was a little nauseous, light headed ..... and incredibly thirsty. Derek had once spent too long in the sun and suffered a heat stroke. The feeling was eerily familiar.
"I feel sick. I think we need to get back to the water, " said Derek.
"You don't need to tell me twice, " said Sonya as she rolled over onto her belly and began to pull herself towards the water.
Derek hadn't thought they had moved that far away from the water. But it seemed like it was miles away, tantalizing close but just out of reach. It required much more effort to return to the water. Derek suspected that it was because they were weaker and suffering from exposure.
Sonya perked up as soon as she reached the shallows. Although the waves were small, barely rising a few inches above the ocean floor, she felt reinvigorated. She rolled in the water and playfully splashed some water on the still struggling Derek. Just the little bit of water that landed on his dry body was enough to rejuvenate Derek. He crawled towards the water with renewed energy.
But Derek didn't stop in the shallow water next to Sonya. He continued crawling until the water was waist deep. He sighed with satisfaction as he completely submerged his tail and soaked it in the water. He felt more refreshed, like after drinking a cool glass of lemonade on a sunny day.
Sonya waded out beside him. The deeper she got, the more quickly she moved. As she neared him Derek noticed a glow about her. Sonya really was an attractive woman. He was mesmerized by her beauty. Derek could have spent all day just staring at her, watching her lovely body gracefully move through the water, studying the many different expressions passing across her angelic face....
Derek shook his head, clearing his mind and breaking free of Sonya's hypnotic beauty. They still had a big problem to fix.
"So that didn't work. What now?" asked Derek nervously.