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It was a really good thng Les didn't know what was going on inside Mel's head.

Or maybe it wasn't.. Cause he would have put a stop to those doubts right that second cause he could just program the car to drive itself and through her up against the dash and-

"Oh right.." The cars could drive themselves. Duh. Lips pursed, slightly embarrassed, Les punched in their destination and sat back in his seat, hands now folded on his lap, very carefully not looking at anyone.

And Antonio? Your tour guide does not appreciate your lip.

As the car moved along at a more sedate, well controlled pace, the view from their windows began to show sparkling water, white sandy beaches, and beautiful sunshine. It stopped just before the beach, and Les got out, stood on the path, and waited to usher them all straight into the Underwater visitor's center.

They could come back up and visit the monsters in a few minutes..

[Exit to curiosity coast!]

When they arrived, Summer relaxed visibly and was one of the first to slip out of the car. She beamed, taking in the trees and sand and water. Out of all of the areas, she supposed the coast would have to be her favorite to visit. The handler took a few moments to breathe in the salty air before she reluctantly headed into the tunnels. At least the view behind the glass walls were just as pretty. Lips pursed, she twisted around and spoke clearly and surprisingly loud, “So, these tunnels lead to the underwater visitor center. In the middle is an open pool where you can view and interact with the creatures here. You’re free to look around the facility, but try not to do anything you shouldn’t.” She hoped common sense would tell them what they should and shouldn’t do.

Sighing and hoping for the best, Summer scurried over to the mermaid behind the glass. “Hey there, beautiful,” she cooed quietly as she waved.

Mel climbed out of that car real slow, and lagged behind to keep the group together. But in truth, she was just being a fussy sullen party pooper. At least when she heard Summer kick in with some information, it made her smile a little. It was nice to see the girl open up, and do her part.

Especially since Mel wasn't even slightly in the mood to play tour guide after that reaming.

She was, however, prepared to keep her group from getting injured. "The uh, mermaids I think are recommended as see - don't - touch, which means they probably bite. But otherwise, they're real tame." They always seemed like big fish, to her. Skitterish, but pretty.

But Cordelia was being anything but skitterish. Her face was plastered against the glass as Summer paid her attention, and she flickered her glance curiously from her, to everyone else. Her features smushed as she pushed against it. {Fish, please come to me fishhhh..}

After making sure everyone had left the vehicle and followed Summer down the tunnel, Les fell into step beside Melanie, features having fallen into an expression of concern. She'd been very quiet for the remainder of the car ride over, save for that cryptic warning that she still didn't fully understand... And he had to imagine it had something to do with the lot of them being thoroughly chewed out by Zuckerman. "Hey," he offered, voice low, head turning even if his eyes remained on the group as a whole as the walked in front of them. "At least we're not fired." Ok, so that wasn't the most comforting.

With a frown he reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder as they walked. He was used to a much more animated Melanie, so this quiet, sulky version was foreign and confusing. Granted, her usual self was also confusing.. But now he was completely out of his depth.

Grasping at straws, he used his hand on her shoulder to pull her to a stop, then turned her so he could give her a reassuring hug and murmur close to her ear, "I'm not going anywhere, okay? I promised I'd stick around, and I will." It wasn't as if he thought she was worried he'd ditch the group, but more a reminder that he was there for her. "Bring that pretty smile back," followed in a slightly sell sober tone. "I'll buy you a snack."

Summer giggled as Cordelia pressed her face against the glass. She waved toward the open pool in hopes of feeding the mermaid some fish. “Come on.” Her ears perked up when she heard Antonio and she angled her head slightly toward the guest. Shoulders relaxed when she realized he had found himself a new shirt. “Just as Mel said, it’s better to not touch the mermaids. Although beautiful, the stories say they also have a tendency to ah, drown people.” The brunette coughed. “However, we also have more than mermaids here. We have…ah.” Her eyes lit up when she noticed Shen-Lao in the distance.

“Shen-Lao…!” It was useless to call out from behind the glass, but she did so anyways. She stood on the tips of her toes and attempted to grab the koi’s attention by waving one of her arms.

"Ah." She looked at Tooly. "Cordelia. Her name is Cordelia," she answered with a smile.

Melanie heard the compliment for the mermaid, and nodded in agreement. "They all are, actually. I think that's kind of the point, with them." She let the group have their way with Cordelia, who seemed so desperate for everyone's attention at once that she darted left and right, trying to catch everyone's eye.

{Hey. Hey fishie. Fishie look how pretty Cordelia is, fishie. Cordelia has fins and they are the prettiest fins, not like the no no on the rocks he is not pretty like Cordelia. Come into the water, fishies, come with Cordelia.} Her little hands made grabby motions, trying to scratch through the glass. She was as entranced by them as they were with her.

{FYNN, CORDELIA CANNOT GET TO THE DELICIOUS FISHIES!!}

Mel felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned just in time to get enveloped by Les' hug. She blinked, her mouth opening in surprise, but his words threw her off into a world of confusion. They were nice to hear, but really didn't make sense. "Well, uh, good. You'd better." Her lips pursed slyly. "You're the best tour guide out of the three of us. You're probably the only reason we're not fired right now." The sly smirk turned into a hopeful grin the moment he mentioned snacks, though.

"Damn, Les. You really know the way to a woman's heart." She leaned in and whispered softly. "It's a real shame you're gay. You're probably my type."

The glass shuddered as Cordelia slammed her tail into it, trying to get to the humans within, and Mel turned away, startled by the sound.

Smiling a lot warmer this time to Summer he nodded his head already knowing some of what she was talking about. “So I've read in research...” Tonio had a book out with darker mermaids, ones that lured people in to not just drown but eat. So needless to say he had an intense fascination with Cordelia.

Moving closer to the glass he watches the mermaid, pulling his own pad out to sketch her features in the best way he could before making a few notes on appearance and other things. Hearing Tooly he chuckled softly and turned to wave his pad at her. Glancing back to Cordelia he cooed gently to the creature behind the glass, "Cordelia fitting name..." Antonio couldn't help but chance closer, the thrill of a beautiful creature too much for him to ignore.

He knew how dangerous mermaids were rumored to be.. but all women were dangerous creatures or not.

Grinning at his own thoughts he turned to Cora and moved closer to her. Once at her side he put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a casual hug to whisper an apology. Though the moment with his best friend didn't last long as his attention was pulled to the thump on the glass. Said thump getting his blood pressure to raise greatly.

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Tiiiime for bed

And of course, his attempts to comfort and simultaneously show some obvious interest were misconstrue. Because of course, with the luck they were having, why did he even assume that would have worked in the first place. He blinked down at her, looked as if he might have said something, but seemed to think better of it as she smiled slyly up at him and chalked their continued employment up to his skills as a tour guide.

Ok, so it hadn't be a total lose. Mel could smile at him like that all day.

That easy, charming grin was back at the mention of winning hearts, and he turned his head a little, ready to give her a kiss on the cheek as she moved in to whisper to him, when her words made him stiffen.

"Wait, what now?" Someone please tell him he'd heard that wrong. "What did you say?" Gay? Him? How did that idea even.. With all the flirting and all.. It just did not compute.

It did, however, explain her comment in the car...

"Melanie," he started, before the mermaid thumped on the glass with her tail, jerking everyone's attention towards her. He stammered, fumbled with his fords for a moment as he slowly tore his eyes from Cordelia and the group, and back to Mel. "I'm not gay.." Did he sound a little defensive? Maybe. Or kicked-puppyish. Frowning unhappily, he shook his head, forced his fingers through his hair to clear it from his face, and slipped past the lovely handler to head towards the vending machines.

Had he been aware of Cora snapping pictures of them, he wasn't entirely sure how he would of felt about it right that moment.


[Exit to curiosity coast!]