Ughhhh, why is it so early? I wanna sleeeepp, lemme sleeeeppp...

"Please raise your tail, dear. If you keep drooping it like that, I won't be able to put your swimsuit on." [Mira]

Ughhhhh...

.....

No nap time, sadly, but at least this swimsuit is cute. It's got lots of frills and a really nice light-blue color. It's also made of the same thing as my foxie so it keeps me nice and warm in deeper water. Pretty neat, isn't it? There's even a hole for my tail!

Oh, my wings? They just kinda hang out since the back is low enough.

You know, I might be cute and all, but none of that matters when you look at the two absolute babes next to me!

I mean, Kira's showing off all her sexy muscles with her red bikini that goes really nicely with her white hair and light skin. Like seriously, how is her skin that light when she's always outside?! And don't even get me started on her abs!!

Ahem...

Anyways, Mira's obviously looks great as well, I mean she always looks great but these last few days, she looked even better, and I just can't handle it...

Can you blame me? Her top may not be a bikini but a crop top instead, but she's still really pretty, I mean it's still really pretty! And then there's her bottom piece, which is technically a bikini but with one of those skirts where you wrap it around and tie it. She may be covering up more than Kira, but it's the elegance that matters most here!

Yeah, I'm really bored in case you couldn't tell. Mira's been distracted all morning after she woke me up, Kira's over there stretching or something, and Big Sis' are...somewhere out there. 

Haah, oh well. Guess I should find someone to bother. Hmm, how about Kira? I never get to bother her that much, so maybe that'll be fun?

OH! Is that a tail I see? That's a tail I see! You know what happens to tails I see? They belong to MEEEE!!!

*BONK*

Owieee, why is this tail so hard?! And why is it so bright?! MY EYES!!

"Hm? Your Highness? What're you doing here and why'd you just run into my tail?" [Kiralyne]

"Mine!" [Lucillia]

"No, mine. You have your own tail right there with the pretty scales...gah, why do all of you get such nice scales? *Sniff* Even Mira has nicer scales than me..." [Kiralyne]

Huh, now that you mention it, this tail does look kinda different from all the others I've seen. I can barely tell where one scale ends and the next one starts. It's kinda weird, buuuuut...I guess it's kinda nice? I mean, it feels really hard and not squishy like the others, and it has these rusty spots here and there. BUT, I feel like it'd be really fun to whack things with it, sooo...

"Wait, what did you just say? It's starting to rust already?! FUUUUUUU-uuuuuunnel cake with extra whipped cream..." [Kiralyne]

"?" [Lucillia]

"Don't worry about that. Haah, great, juuust great. Grumble grumble, two whole days, grumble gumble, seawater, grumble..." [Kiralyne]

"??" [Lucillia]

"Haah, whatever...hey, you're bored aren't you, Your Highness?" [Kiralyne]

"Yup." [Lucillia]

"Good, because that meeeeeans, YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!!" [Kiralyne]

"WAAAAAHHH?!!" [Lucillia]

HALLPP!!! I'M BEING DRAGON-NAPPED!!

.....

Awawawawa, everything just keeps spinning and spiiiinning...

"Ahem, uh, sorry about that, Your Highness. I got a little, uh, carried away there. But now that we're here, let's get-uhh, are you okay?" [Kiralyne]

Spiiiinning...

Some spinning later

"Are you alright now?" [Kiralyne]

"Maybe." [Lucillia]

"Good enough. You see that bottle right next to you? And the little green scrubby pads?" [Kiralyne]

"This?" [Lucillia]

"Mhm, those. Pass me the bottle and one of the scrubby pads. Once I put this cleaning agent on, start scrubbing everywhere that's starting to rust. Got that?" [Kiralyne]

"Yep." [Lucillia]

"Good. Tell me if you need more cleaning agent and I'll put some more." [Kiralyne]

Scrub scrub scrub, scrubby dubby dub~

Go away rust or I'll beat you with a club!~

"If anyone asks, I didn't teach you that." [Kiralyne]

"Teach me what?" [Lucillia]

"Nothing." [Kiralyne]

Hmm, that sounded kinda fishy but whatever. Back to scrubbing. 

Speaking of which, either this cleaner is REALLY effective or the scrubby pads are REALLY scrubby, but this rust just goes away like nothing!

At least, I think it is. It's kinda hard to tell when everything's mixing together and all I see is a bunch of black, brown, and white bubbles. 

"We're almost there, so keep on scrubbing." [Kiralyne]

"'Kayy." [Lucillia]

Some scrubbing later

"Alright, that should be enough. Just toss the scrubby pad in the bucket. And wash your hands while you're at it." [Kiralyne]

"Yeet!" [Lucillia]

"You just say the weirdest things, don't you?" [Kiralyne]

"I'm not weird, you're just too normal!" [Lucillia]

"Sure, sure. Anyways, go get some towels before I rinse this stuff off." [Kiralyne]

"'Kayy." [Lucillia]

"And be quick about it!" [Kiralyne]

Let's see, if I was a towel, where would I be hiding? Apparently not in that drawer. Nope, not that one either. Hmm, I guess I'd be a world champion at hiding if I was a towel. 

"Ahem." [Mira]

"Miraaaa, where da towel at?" [Lucillia]

"They are in the basket right next to you. More importantly, why are you in the laundry room? I believe I told you to wait outside." [Mira]

"I got bored so I bothered Kira." [Lucillia]

"And? What happened with Miss Kira that you had to come to the laundry room?" [Mira]

"Uhh, we're cleaning her tail?" [Lucillia]

"Why was that a question?" [Mira]

"I dunno." [Lucillia]

"Well since you don't know, can you take me to her then? I think I need to have a word with her." [Mira]

"This way!" [Lucillia]

Door, door, more doors, aaaaand we're outside!

...Uhh, where was I supposed to go again?

"Perhaps you should try the outdoor workshop over there with the fuming dragon in it?" [Mira]

Nahhh, that couldn't possibly be the place, could it? That'd be way too obvious!

*creak*

...Okay well, sometimes the obvious answer is the correct one, you know?

"Miss Kira, what exactly are you doing here?" [Mira]

"Oh hey Mira. I'm just, you know, cleaning my tail. Speaking of which, did you bring any towels? I had a little helper earlier, but she probably got lost at some point and hasn't come back." [Kiralyne]

"HEY! I wasn't lost! I just couldn't find the towels that were right next to me!" [Lucillia]

"Oh look, she came back." [Kiralyne]

"Moving past that, would you like to explain why this little one was running an errand for you?" [Mira]

"Uhh, she ran into me? Like, literally. I was just stretching my legs over there when our little princess ran headfirst into my tail." [Kiralyne]

"...I see." [Mira]

Uh oh, she's turning around to look at me. Time to escape!

"Lucillia, dear." [Mira]

Dang it.

"What have I told you about touching other people's tails?" [Mira]

"Uhh, consent with a 'K'?" [Lucillia]

"And did you ask Miss Kira about touching her tail?" [Mira]

"Nnnnn-maybe..." [Lucillia]

"Hey uh, I know you two are in the middle of your bit and all, but I could use some help with my tail before it starts rusting again." [Kiralyne]

"Would you like me to rinse you off then? I imagine that bucket of water would not be very effective. Or perhaps you wish to practice your water magic? Last I recall, it went splendidly." [Mira]

"Hey! Water just isn't compatible with me, okay? Now hurry up and give me the high pressure stuff." [Kiralyne]

"Lucillia, dear, you may want to stand back a bit." [Mira]

"Kay." [Lucillia]

*insert pressure washer asmr here*

"So shiny!" [Lucillia]

"Almost. There's just one more step that'll make it even more shiny. But first, let me dry off." [Kiralyne]

*Thwap thwap thwap*

"Woahhh, so fast! But what about the towels?" [Lucillia]

"Those are for the final step that I mentioned. All you need is a little secret ingredient which is in that bottle behind you." [Kiralyne]

"This one?" [Lucillia]

"Yup. Pour some of that on the towels and start rubbing. Pass me one, too." [Kiralyne]

"Kayyy." [Lucillia]

*squeak squeak squeak, squeak squeak squeak, squeak*

"SO, SHINYYY!!!" [Lucillia]

"Fufu, don't you know? Wax makes everything better." [Kiralyne]

"You know, Miss Kira, none of this would be a problem if you would simply eat your broccoli.¹Google-sensei makes the bold claim that broccoli is a good source of chromium in food. I've noticed that every time Gus serves it, you always push it to the side." [Mira]

"I'm, uh, allergic...yeah." [Kiralyne]

"Well then, perhaps I should inform the other two? If I recall, they brought back several baskets of vegetables last night, and some of them were broccoli. " [Mira] 

"Haha, ahahaha, s-shouldn't we all get going soon? Y-you know, before it gets dark?" [Kiralyne]

"Isn't it still morning?" [Lucillia]

"Barely, and since noon is coming up, we should indeed depart soon if you wish to have lunch with Alex and them." [Mira]

"FOOODDD!!" [Lucillia]

"Phew..." [Kiralyne]

.....

Blub blub blub, look at me, I'm a fishie!

<Lucillia! Please do not wander away when we are approaching the gates.> [Mira]

What's that? I can't hear you cuz I'm soooo interested in where these fishies are going.

Fufufu~, you know what they: the sea is wild and free, just...like...MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-

*MEGA BONK*

ACK, WHO PUT THIS TURTLE HERE?!!

*SNAP*

Hey! Don't snap at me, you were the one who swam in the way! Wait, hold on a second, those barnacles look familiar...mmmm, no don't tell me, I got this.

...

AHA! It's Mr. Turtle! At least, I think it is. 

*SNAP, SNAPPY, SNAP SNAP!*

GYAAA!!! BACK! BACK, BEAST!! FROM WHENCE YOU CAME!!!

Haah, haah, yup, that's the same turtle alright. I don't know anyone else that has such a snappy attitude.

Anyways, why the heck are you all the way out here? 

"*Blubby blubby blub blub*?" [Lucillia]

"...*point*" [Scutos]

Hm? Why are you pointing over there-OH DEAR, that's an angry looking axololol lady. Oh great, an angry looking fish lady just joined her. 

Hey! Where do you think you're going, huh?! We're in this together now, whether you like it or not!

"...*blub*" [Scutos]

Good enough, I guess. As for how we're going to get out of this, there's only ever one solution in these situations: RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!

Come on, Mr. Turtle! Faster, faster, FASTER!! THEY'RE GAINING ON US!!

Gah, why can't my tail spin faster?!

This isn't working out...so it's time for the secret technique! Mr. Turtle, get in the sand!

"*Ploof!*" [Scutos]

spinfasterspinfasterspinfasterspinfasterspinfasterspinfaster-GYAA, NOT THAT FAST!!

*WHOOOSH!*

Alrighty, that should be good enough...

The axolotl and the fish raced through the sea, nearly boiling the surrounding water as they went. For a time, they were able to keep track of the pair of troublemakers, for the dragon's rotor tail left a visible trail in the water.

However, that trail soon ended at a very impromptu sandstorm that, due to the presence of water, took far longer to dissipate than usual. Eventually, the sandstorm did clear up, but neither of the troublemakers were in sight. 

Fish and axolotl searched far and wide, pondering just where the two could have gone. Seconds, minutes, and some more minutes passed before one of them spotted a clue. That is, the fish found displaced sand in the, well, sand, that seemed to have been due to a fast moving object near the sandbank. 

With that being their only clue, they had no other choice but to follow it. So they did. 

After that, 'twas all quiet on the ocean floor.

Some very long seconds passed before the sand began furiously shaking,

Clams, shells, and other fish remains spewed out from the newly formed fish-cano!

Well, not that it lasted very long, anyways, because a large turtle and slightly less large dragon soon emerged. 

Lucillia

Left. Right. Left. Right. Straight ahead! BEHIND!!

Nope, no one's there. It's just me, Mr. Turtle, and the other fishies. 

Fufufu, kufufufu, kwahahahaha, KWAAAAA-HA-HA-ACK!! Cough cough cough, ack, algaeball...

Ahem, let's just pretend that never happened.

So anyways, I'm finally free!

Yup, juuust like that, freedom at last. Sure feels great. Uhuh. 

...

Alright, I think that's enough freedom, time to go back.

What? Freedom just got boring really quickly since I don't have anything to do. It's not like I miss anyone or anything...sh-shaddup!

I just-hey, where do you think you're going, buddy? Trying to sneak away while I'm enjoying myself, huh? Is that it? Well too bad for you, Mr. Turtle, cuz I'M the better one at sneaking away!

"!? *snap snappity snappity snappity snappity snappity snappity, snap snap, sna-*²I will give you many cookies if you can identify this reference." [Scutos]

Ah shut it, you snappy turtle. We're going back whether you like it or not, cuz I'm getting hungry!

So the dragon said as she dragged the turtle along the ocean floor, clamping his beak shut with only one of her tiny little hands. There was, of course, some resistance from the turtle at the beginning, but the dragon got tired of that and flipped him over. 

The turtle continued to struggle the rest of the way, but his back problems that hindered his ability to do anything significant. 

Thus, the journey back to the city continued in relative peace aside from the upside down turtle and the shocked faces of just about everyone else that ran into them before, during, and after they arrived at the gates. 

Nothing special really, just another ordinary day in the life of a dragon...at least, this particular dragon anyways. 

The dragon was promptly let in with a pat on the head for catching the rambunctious turtle and headed to the restaurant. That is, she circled the streets several times until one of the guards found her and took her to the right place. 

In other words, she was lost. However, it did make for quite the spectacle since she was dragging a large turtle throughout the journey. 

Many minutes passed until the dragon and turtle finally arrived at their destination. There, they found another dragon, a tired fish, and a tired axolotl.

"Oh look, she came back." [Kiralyne]

"Hi." [Lucillia]

"Watcha got there?" [Kiralyne]

"Tutel." [Lucillia]

"Ahem, would you like to explain yourself, young lady?" [Mira]

"I'm hungry." [Lucillia]

"Hey, before you two do your thing, could you throw the turtle over here? Uh, not literally though, that would break the counter...and everything else." [Alex]

"'Kay. Hup!" [Lucillia]

The little dragon hupped two and three through the tables and dropped the turtle by the axolotl's feet, still upside down. 

Now that his beak was finally free, however, the turtle proceeded to vent all his complaints from the past day. 

"*sna-*" [Scutos]

"Shut up and listen to me. How many times have I told you NOT to sneak into the storeroom in the middle of the night and eat EVERY. FUCKING. LAST. JELLY?!?!?!" [Alex]

"Waahh, so loud." [Lucillia]

The axolotl's shouting was loud enough to shake just about every corner of the restaurant, causing the tiny dragon to cover her ears. Incidentally, Gus was in the middle of leveling a tablespoon of seasoning and ended up flinging the whole thing into the batter he was preparing. 

"Dang it, not again." [Gus]

A truly unshakeable one, he is...mentally, not physically.

"Is he still doing that? I thought he would have grown out of it by now. Though I suppose he is still quite young." [Mira]

"Ahh, youth~" [Lucillia]

"Really, you're saying that, Miss Not-Even-A-Season-Old? You gotta be at least a thousand years old before those kinds of words should start coming out of your mouth." [Kiralyne]

"What about Mira?" [Lucillia]

"She's a fish. I was talking about us dragons." [Kiralyne]

"What about Kira?" [Lucillia]

"You're literally talking to me...hah whatever. Of course I qualify for that. Why else would I even bring it up?" [Kiralyne]

"So you're old?" [Lucillia]

"I'm only 4000! I'm not old!" [Kiralyne]

"But you're 20 Miras old." [Lucillia]

"That's...you...listen here little lady, if there's anyone that's old, it's your freaking sisters! Literally all of them are older than me, you know!" [Kiralyne]

"But you're the oldest one here." [Lucillia]

"Gah, why are you so good at this?!" [Kiralyne]

"Fufu~" [Mira]

While the two dragons hashed out their differences in age, the fishy not-mother enjoyed herself while watching the children, including the furious axolotl and turtle that retreated into his shell.

"Hey, Lady Mira? You wanna help me with this? You know, just like old times?" [Alex]

"Hm? That was when you children were this small. Back then, you used to come to me allll the time whenever Scutos or any of your other siblings acted up like this." [Mira]

"Okay, okay, okay, that's enough of that. I didn't ask you to embarrass me. Go embarrass this idiot brother of mine instead so I can knock some sense into him." [Alex]

"Oh I doubt that would have any effect on him. I have tried many times in the past, but he never changed one bit. Unfortunately, the only one who could ever control him like that was his actual sister, but she was always the more independent type." [Mira]

"You mean Scutla? She was pretty cool unlike SOMEONE over here, huh?! You hear that, you scaredy-turtle?! *Bonk* What would you do if she could see you now?! HUH?! *Bonk*" [Alex]

With each blow, the turtle only retreated further into his shell. The mention of his sister did, however, cause him to shake in his very scutes. Unfortunately for him, his present sister did not care about any of that and continued bashing him in both body and spirit.

Meanwhile, the two dragons had finished their in-depth discussion and somehow ended up with a territorial dispute instead.

"MINE!" [Lucillia]

"No, it's MINE!" [Kiralyne]

The little one once again found herself attached to the larger one's tail and attempted to claim it for her own. The larger one of course retaliated by doing some furious tail swings.

She held on for dear life for a grand total of 10 seconds before the tail swings were too much, and the little dragon flew off toward the door. 

Fortunately for her, the door just happened to open at that moment, and she gracefully landed in the embrace of another tail.

"Hi." [Lucillia]

"Hey there, cutie. Practicing your flying already? It's a little too early, don't you think?" [Caelenia]

"But it's fun!" [Lucillia]

"Sure is, but I don't think you want to learn how to fly from Kira. She used to have trouble even getting out of bed, let alone off the ground." [Caelenia]

"Hey! I was young and impressionable back then!" [Kiralyne]

"Honey, you still are young and impressionable. Lucky for you, that means you get along real well with this little gremlin." [Caelenia]

The biggest dragon gently plucked her sister from her tail and gave some long overdue snuggles. She also did not forget to move out of the way to let the others in.

That is, another dragon, a large turtle, and several other adolescent merfolk.

""MIRA!!"" [Adolescent Merfolk]

"*THUNK*" [Other Turtle]

"Oh my, it has been a while, hasn't it? Are you all doing well?" [Mira]

It would seem that they were also children that Mira once raised back then. In other words, Alex and co's other siblings came to visit for once.

"Oh, hey, what a coincidence. Could you lubbers bring Scutla over here? I need her to get her brother out of his shell." [Alex]

""'Kayyy. HUP!"" [Adolescent Merfolk]

As if they practiced it before, the youngsters formed up, heaved, and hoed to bring the large turtle to her destination. After that, the fishy family took their sweet time to catch up.

Meanwhile, the dragons also continued their conversation.

"So uh, what's going on here?" [Silvania]

"Kira called you old." [Lucillia]

At that moment, the little dragon was released from her big sister's arms and transferred to her other big sister's arms. At the same time, the metallic dragon froze and started sweating so much, her scales started to oxidize again.

"Hmmmm~? Old, you sayyy~? Is that all you have to say to meeee~? After everything I've done for you~?" [Caelenia]

"I-I-" [Kiralyne]

"I was there when you hatched, you knowww~. You were such a little cutie back then~. Your big brother and I would always feed you, play with you, bathe you, to the point where a little hatchling once called me-" [Caelenia]

"S-STOP IT! DON'T SAY IT!!!" [Kiralyne]

"-'Mama'. Now wasn't that just so sweet of you~?" [Caelenia]

"GAAHHHH!! LALALALALALA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!" [Kiralyne]

"Ara~, that won't do now, will it? Bad girls like you need to get PUNISHED! For you, that means, 1000 tail slaps!" [Calenia]

"NOOO!! P-Please don't...I'll be a good girl, I swear!!" [Kiralyne]

"..." [Lucillia]

"..." [Silvania]

"Uhh, what's happening?" [Lucillia]

"...You'll understand when you're older...I think...I still don't understand it myself, actually." [Silvania]

Seeing as the restaurant was already chaotic enough, the two sisters went into the kitchen. It was only then that the little one noticed the ridiculously large cage on her sister's back. 

And within that cage was-

"SHRIMPIES!" [Lucillia]

"Mhm, that's right. These guys are pretty hard to get, you know. They don't have many natural predators, but a while back, there was this really bad disease that spread through them and killed off a lot of them. Nowadays, the underwater cities have really strict laws around them." [Silvania]

"Uhuuuh..." [Lucillia]

"Right, I guess you wouldn't care about that stuff, huh? Anyways, let's go and help make the food now, shall we?" [Silvania]

"Wooo!" [Lucillia]

So the two walked past all the chaos, including the tail-spanking, turtle scolding, and others, through the doors, and into the kitchen.

What they found was-

"Hmmm, don't tell me...AHA! It's a tall-rus!" [Lucillia]

-a fairly large, 1.9 meters tall, 3 meters long, hulking figure with two large tusks and several whiskers at its mouth. It was also wearing a large apron and chef's hat. 

"Oh, hello there, I'm Gus. You can just think of me as one of Alex's little brothers. Oh and uh, I'm a walrus, not a tall-rus." [Gus]

"Pleased to meet you, Gus. My name is Silvania and this little one is Lucillia. Would you mind if we gave you a hand?" [Silvania]

"Of course not, a few extra hands always helps a lot." [Gus]

"Question!" [Lucillia]

"Go ahead, little lady." [Gus]

"How do you cook without hands?" [Lucillia]

"Oh that? I was born with opposable flippers, you see. It's sort of what made me stick out from all the other walruses." [Gus]

"Cool...I'm hungry." [Lucillia]

"Hehe~, we'd better get started then." [Silvania]

The food preparations proceeded smoothly after that, with the walrus and bigger dragon manning different stations while the small dragon served as the taste tester/quality control. 

Eventually, all the food was finally finished, and the crew joined the others out in the dining area. 

Somehow, though, the meal ended up with two groups: the dragons who were feeding their little sister while the other one rubbed her tail and received an extra large portion of broccoli, and the fishy family which had the mother fish feeding her children once more for old time's sake. 

Regardless of their behavior, everyone enjoyed the meal a lot, especially the young ones. 

And for once, the walrus finally got to see his former caretaker. 

Hurray!

Fishcat

Hello there, everyone, I am in fact not dead and still very much alive. As you might imagine, finals were quite painful, and even though the last one was a week ago, I needed that time to find a new brain. Luckily, I found one at the clearance aisle for pretty cheap, so we're back in business! I most likely won't be able to get another chapter out before the end of the year, BUT I do intend on starting another series. That one will be from a more adult perspective/theme, which will be a nice change of pace from writing this story. This means that chapters in general may take longer to write, but it will be better for my brain, so you'll have to deal with it. Aside from that, happy holidays everyone, stay warm, and take care!