...they were bored... a murmuring's in the crowd going "Ugh, just a flying mermaid and she just sings the elf to sleep?", others going "it's not even going to get past 10 views I'd guess."
"The hecks going on?" I asked, "This was an active shooter, taken down with magic, and everyone acts like this is just something mundane!?!"
Courtney walked up trying to shield her face from any cameras that were still recording "Umm... It's not that this is common, it's just that magical demonstrations happen enough and are shared on social media... and this was incredibly tame." I just floated there for a bit as there was a bit of a roaring in my ears... Was I really THAT isolated from society!?! That a magical mermaid who swims through the water air and sang a shooter to sleep was not worth a little ATTENTION?!?! "Err, are you trying to put on a spectacle or something? This is getting kinda cringe." I looked to see my friend was a little more buoyant as my aura of air water had enlarged unconsciously.
"No... it's just..." I took a deep breath and slowly drifted to the floor as I focused on retrieving my human form. I tried taking in deep breaths like Kriash told me, but that was hard considering those deep breathes were with gills and not lungs! Just so much irritation! Then the police came and I had to give statements, and while they were letting me off with a warning... It was time to go home. After the scare a lot of people were leaving, and so was my little brother, and the same with Courtney. However she was fine doing a sleepover and I could tell that my little brother also thought my magical presentation was lacking.
"Seriously sis, just singing? Sure the flying-like swimming was alright but where's turning an entire mudslide into a mudslide icecream cake? or making a gun shoot monsterizing baby bullets?" My brother asked
"Pff... the ecological hazards of the mudslide turning into sugar and cream would be a catastrophe in it's own way, and those baby bullets are too inefficient if they cause monsterization."
Courtney asked "What do you mean? Didn't you monsterize after just nearly drowning in ordinary water?"
"Extreme magical energies infusing dormant DNA, or an extreme stress in the right way in the right person causes monsterization." I explained annoyed at how little people knew about magic despite being enamored by people who just put on spectacle... Then we got back home, and it was time to unwind and enter my room for the first time in awhile. I opened the door and saw the old room hadn't changed much.
Courtney walked in after me and said "Wow, hasn't changed much besides maybe some dusting. A bit clean-" and then there was just water. I hated this room. For the longest part of my life it had been my own little sanctuary, but right after monsterizing it had turned into my prison cell of sorts. Some of the worst moments of my life was just me drying up in this little cramped storage container. So my mind decided to turn this into an actual sanctuary of sorts. All the furniture had melted into salt water... lots of lots of saltwater as the space in side expanded, the rug turned into lots of soft velvety sand, and sealife entered as I gave many an invitation... It mentally had taken awhile to get this place feeling right for the time being... and then I remembered that Courtney had been in the room... How long had I been thinking again? How long did it take humans to drown again?... Did I forget to make a barrier at the door keeping the water in, or did I accidentally drown my whole family as well?