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This was it, the moment Raa had been waiting for. He had been so patient up until now, and finally it was his turn to pick out his iced treat! There were so many flavours to choose from! Vanilla, chocolate, tiramisu, lemon meringue, blueberry tart ... but the one Raa really wanted was the key lime pie.

The freshling before him parted ways with the line, suckling away on a bright red treat of their own. Raa stepped up, reaching out to grab for the last key lime pie ice cream stick when a deft hand from behind him snipped it.

Raa blinked, blindsided, and twisted around, now face to face with a rather smug looking Naiad.

Madeline gave a toothy, smug shark grin, waving the key lime deliciousness close to their face. "Mine now!" was all he said as he popped the tip of the treat in to his mouth and chomped on the end.

Raa blinked, completely taken aback. They looked up at the teacher who had been giving out the refreshments, but they seemed otherwise distracted, having a conversation with another teacher. They wouldn't be much help here.

"But ... I was next in line!" Raa puffed up a bit, looking offended, his fluff sticking on end a bit as he tried to look menacing, but instead just looked like a pudgy, floof of a baby bird.

"So?" The Naiad seemed disinterested in Raa, and unapologetic, taking another bite, letting the creamyness melt in his mouth before speaking again. "You weren't fast enough."

Raa's narrowed eyes drifted from the Naiad as his aqua eyes caught sight of the blueberry paleta that was being wagged at him. Raa's stance relaxed as he reached up with his small hand to take the vibrant blue pop in to his hand and nibbled gently on it, savouring its flavour before handing it back.

Madeline looked a bit cross at this, a little put off that the attention was being drawn away from him. "Hmmph!" the Naiad munched grumpily on his own paleta, eyes fixed on the new hybrid that had approached. He didn't seem at all impressed by their intervention, nor at their one-sentence lecture. Were the two related? They looked rather similar, yet still just different enough.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Madeline asked crassly, crossing his arms over his chest and slapping his large mermaid tail against the dirt, kicking up a small dust cloud.

"His name is Malikah. He's my brother ... " Raa was still trying to be polite, despite his bristled edges. "And I'm Raa."

"Raa? As in .. hoorah?" Maddie asked with a half snort. He paused then, surveying the two siblings with a sudden assessing look. "I'm Madeline. But people call me Mad Maddie."