“Well, I’m not sure.” Samantha said. “I mean, how do we keep this a secret? What if we get wet and our tails appear? How do we go on with our lives knowing that…” Samantha’s words were cut off by a handful of water splashing her in the face. She saw that it came from Ruby. “What do you think you’re doing!?” Samantha shouted before flinging a handful of water back at Ruby.
“Calm, down! I was just testing to see what it takes to turn us back into mermaids. So far, simply getting wet doesn’t seem to be enough.” The girls looked at each other for several seconds before being reassured that Ruby was right.
“Well, okay; but warn me next time.” Samantha said. “Let me try something.” Samantha closed her eyes and concentrated. She tried pleading in her mind to become a mermaid; she tried imagining herself as one; and tried tensing herself up in her legs to try to force them to change; nothing happened. “We can’t seem to do it at will either.”
“Hmm.” Ruby thought for a moment. “Let’s try this. I’ll dip my feet into the water and you slowly wade into it. We’ll see how far up it takes you to change and see if I change, too. That way, we’ll see if it’s depth or exposure time that triggers our change.”
“Okay.” Samantha headed to the incline into the pool as Ruby held her feet over the water. As Samantha stepped into the water, Ruby dipped her feet in. Ankle deep had no result, so Samantha waded halfway up her shin, nothing. Knee deep, nothing; halfway up her thigh, still nothing.
It wasn’t until the water reached her waist that Samantha felt a familiar energy in her lower half. Her legs shrank way as her tailbone extended. Her feet flared into her pelvic fins as her legs fully retreated and her thickening tail developed its silvery blue scales and large caudal fin. Meanwhile, Ruby was still sporting her legs. “Well, it looks like we have to be waist-deep in water before our tails appear.” Ruby said.
“That does put my mind at ease.” Samantha said in as calm a voice as she’s had since this whole thing started. “So Ruby, care to join me?” She said in a playful tone.