The sun had climbed to the highest point overhead and was glaring down on the water. It made Luna glad she had gravitated outside as she imagined the cabin was full of heavy, sweltering air by now. Lewis was perched at the start of the dock, one leg bent at the knee and resting on the wood planks, the other hanging free to trail his bare toes through the shallow water below. Her mother and father had pulled themselves up onto the bank enough to beach their tails on the sand while gentle waves rolled over their scales. Luna had previously tucked herself up beside them and simply enjoyed their presence but had chosen to wiggle free to soak her skin and scales out of the sun a bit better. She was still pale and sickly from her time spent in the Lemuria laboratories, and she burned easily.

As she had drifted away, Lewis had leaned forward on the deck and was talking with her parents in hushed tones. By the way their expressions darkened, Luna suspected they were getting filled in on several of the details about her past, and it was making her gut squeeze. She shook her head and looked away. Riley was bobbing in the water not far off next to her brother and his mate.

They had yet to approach her, or her them since they arrived, and Luna suspected perhaps her brother was nervous about meeting her too. She appreciated that she had been given the space to get to know her parents, but now she yearned to meet her brother as well.

She slipped beneath the water and flicked her fin before emerging again beside them. Riley’s eyes twinkled as she turned and waggled her fingers at Luna. “Took you long enough to get over here,” she teased.

She leaned over and bumped Luna with her shoulder, and Luna’s soft smile widened. Then Luna refocused her gaze on her brother and shyly rubbed her opposite arm. “Hello,” she greeted softly.

Her brother dipped his head in response. “Hello, Kera,” he replied in a slightly broken English. “I do not suspect you remember very much, little sister, but it is still good to see you.”

“I do not,” Luna agreed quietly. “But I want to know everyone again.”

“You will,” he agreed.

Luna nodded and then chewed her lip. More so than around her parents, she was feeling very bashful around Nero. He was older than her by quite a bit, well into his adulthood and seeming to have a life of his own. She almost felt she was intruding on it.

Despite her shyness, Nero offered her a wide, toothy grin. “I would like for you to meet my mate, Karina,” he introduced. “But I am afraid her pod never learned human dialects, so she will not know what is being said unless we switch tongues.”

“Can you speak another tongue?” Riley inquired softly.

Luna shrugged. “I can understand it, but I do not know if I can speak it. I have spoken nothing but English for a very long time.”

“Try,” Riley prompted with a sharp click in her voice. She swapped tongues and made it look easy.

Luna decided it should not be overly complicated to do. Katie even had managed it a few times. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration and she willed her throat to produce the same click she had heard in Riley’s tone. “Like this?” she inquired.

Riley winced and brought a hand to one ear. “Almost,” she encouraged. “Just not so shrill.”

“Sorry,” Luna apologized.

“Much better,” Riley praised. “Good job.”

Nero hummed his approval. “Kera, this is Karina. She is my mate, and a sister to you by extension.”

“It is lovely to meet you,” Karina said. She smiled and her soft brown eyes gleamed. She reached up and brushed a lock of wet hair off one of the upturned scales crowning her head, and then skimmed her fingers over the water to brush Luna’s arm. “Nero has talked of you often, with nothing but fondness.”

Luna smiled softly. The young woman before her had a gentle demeanor and Luna liked her immediately. Her sunny orange scales and pale blonde hair made her seem to glow in the high afternoon sun, and Luna felt the colors suited what little of her personality Luna had already gotten to witness. “It is nice to meet you too,” she agreed.

Luna could not help her gaze drifting downwards as she noticed the Mer’s rounded middle. That explained the strange milky sweet scent rolling off Karina. Luna had wondered. She had never sensed anything quite like it.

Karina chuckled and Luna felt heat tingle in her cheeks as she ducked her head and looked away. The other Mer had noticed, and she did not want to come off as rude for staring.

Her reaction only seemed to make Karina giggle more. “It is okay,” she said. Luna felt her fingers under her chin and let Karina lift her gaze back up. “You do not need to be embarrassed, Kera. You are allowed to be curious. Give me your hand,” she instructed.

Luna hesitantly placed her hand in Karina’s outstretched one. The woman grabbed her by the wrist and pulled Luna’s hand down close to her body. Luna started and tried to jerk her hand away. She had no ill intent, but she knew that a pregnancy was probably very delicate, and she did not want to risk harming Karina or her baby.

“It is alright,” Karina soothed. “You will not hurt me, I promise.” She pulled Luna’s hand again until the girl’s fingers were splayed across her belly.

Luna’s breath caught in her throat for a moment. It felt just like regular skin, but it was warmer, and Luna could feel it shift with every breath Karina took. After a moment, something bumped against her hand and she pulled away with a soft squeak of surprise.

Her face flamed up as Riley, Nero, and Karina began to laugh. “It moved!” she protested lightly. This only made the others laugh harder. Luna’s blush deepened and she hesitantly replaced her hand. She watched Karina as she did, just to make sure the woman was still alright with it. Now that she knew what to expect, she wanted to see if the unborn Mer would move again.

Karina’s smile was soft and welcoming as Luna marveled. She could not help it; it was so unique an experience.

After a moment, without really thinking about what she was doing, Luna sunk lower in the water and practically hugged Karina so she could press her ear to the Mer’s middle. Karina responded by placing a hand on her head and stroking gently.

“I can hear a heartbeat,” Luna whispered. Her eyes slid shut and she listened. Karina’s heartbeat was deeper, steadier, but in between the drumming thuds, she could hear a much softer, quicker flutter of beats.

Despite herself, Luna hummed deeply, the vibration rumbling through her scales and chest alike. Karina hummed too, and then buckled a little as she winced. With her cheek still pressed to the other Mer’s belly, Luna felt a much more powerful bump against the side of her face and she moved her head away in surprise.

Karina’s arms came to hug under her belly and her breath whistled out between clenched teeth. “Oof, that was a strong one,” she grimaced. “Be still, little one, I am not a wrestle partner,” she protested softly as she spread one hand over the bulge and rubbed softly.

“I am sorry,” Luna pressed. “I did not mean to-”

“Oh, no, no. Kera, you did nothing wrong. Nothing at all. I am alright; little Mer can get a little rowdy sometimes, that is hardly something you caused. But I am sure you will make a very good aunt come the time,” Karina assured her. “Because the baby certainly seems to like you. They have never been this active before.”

The comment gave Luna pause and her heart sunk. She pulled her arms to her chest and hugged herself. She shook her head. She had not considered what having a brother who was expecting a child would mean. “No,” she whispered. “I-I barely know how to be a Mer at all. I know a little about being a friend and maybe a cousin? But I do not really know how to be a daughter or a proper sister…I do not think I could be an aunt either.”

She started when Nero dropped a hand down on her shoulder. He dragged her close and wrapped her in a hug from behind. “You will be fine as a sister and a daughter, Kera. There are no expectations of you. And it is not so difficult for you to be an aunt. We just would like for you to have a role in our child’s life.”

“I…I think I can do that,” Luna agreed. She sniffled and wiped at the starting of tears that had welled in her eyes. It felt so nice to have them around her, to feel wanted by them. Many of her former fears just melted away.

She snuck a glance at Riley, who was hovering and smiling brightly. But despite her smile, there was a knowing, urging look in her eyes and Luna blushed. She knew what Riley was thinking about. While Luna had worked up the courage earlier to correct her mother about her mistrust of Lewis; Luna had not yet found the nerve to tell them about her name. That meant rejecting her former identity, and likely their perception of her. She was not brave enough. Not yet.

Riley knew it, and she was thankful her cousin had not said anything and had refrained from addressing her by any name so far. But she also knew she could not hide from the truth forever.

She carefully extracted herself from her brother’s hug – not because she disliked the embrace, but more to feel a bit more a part of the group instead of a small, coddled child. As she moved, Luna gazed at her brother. He resembled their father a lot, but sitting next to him, she did not feel very much like his sister. She was pale compared to his deep gray-brown skin and dark hair and tail. Thick red stripes curled down the sides of his tail, three on either side, and she was fascinated by his scales. They were not like hers or any others she had seen, but rather were stretched and rough to the touch, but felt just as sturdy an armor plating the rippling muscles beneath.

Her gaze drifted towards the large dorsal jutted from his spine. It was a unique feature too, but she could not quite figure out what was attracting her to it so much. After a moment of hesitation, she gave in to an unexpected urge. She flicked her fin and left the water a ways, grabbing ahold of it as she did.

Luna wrapped her fingers firmly around the thick cartilage and held on tightly. Her weight seemed to catch Nero off guard for he careened backwards and plunged them both into the water.

Realizing what she had done, Luna released her brother and squirmed out from underneath him to surface with a sheepish blush. Nero came back up sputtering a moment later. His eyes were wide as he stared at her.

Around her, the other Mer all began to laugh, including her parents who were not far enough away to have missed the display. The heat returned to Luna’s cheeks and she sunk low in the water until it brushed her chin. She did not understand what was so amusing.

“You are the only one who could ever get away with that,” Nero chuckled.

“He really means the only one,” Riley agreed. “Trust me, I tried. I tried for years. He’d buck anyone who tried. Slapped me hard enough my back was almost as dark as his tail for a moon the one time.”

“And yet you never learned your lesson,” Nero growled.

“She never does,” Luna’s mother teased as she swam up. She placed a hand on Luna’s shoulder and beamed brightly. “When you were little, you were very small. Smaller than you should have been. You were born too early and none of us were entirely certain you would survive. You were a fighter back then, with a strong and kindred heart. But while you had a surplus of spirit, it could not always make up for your body’s weakness. You struggled to swim and when you did, it tended to be awkward and clumsy. You have certainly grown into yourself now, but back then it made things difficult for you,” Rebecca began as she tucked some hair behind Luna’s ear.

“But you rarely liked to be held or carried. You enjoyed cuddling just fine, but seeing the other young Mer racing around always made you desperate to join them. When you would get tired, instead of letting me or your father carry you, you would grab ahold of Nero for a ride.”

“We used to call you his remora,” Riley added. “Always following him around, hanging on and getting towed.”

“His remora?” Luna inquired. It seemed so silly and yet, part of her still wanted to hold on to his dorsal. She shook her head. It was a silly notion.

“Yes well, you were certainly lighter back then,” Nero teased. He grabbed her around her waist and Luna squealed as he began to tickle her. She squirmed from his grasp and huffed. Her gaze drifted back to his fin. It had felt right somewhere in the back of her mind, and she wanted to do it again, even though it struck her as far too childish and burdening.

Nero regarded her with a knowing look in his eyes and sighed. “Alright,” he agreed. “Just one more time, for memory’s sake.”

Luna blushed again, but she could not keep the smile off her face as she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. After a moment, she let go and reclaimed her grasp on his fin. He seemed ready for her this time, for he did not stumble backwards under her weight again.

Instead, he surged forward and under the water at a startling speed. Luna whooped in delight and tightened her grip. She moved her tail in time with his, but they were moving primarily under his power. Her hair streamed out behind her and bubbles were lost in the current as they streaked towards the shore. It was as if Nero had forgotten how close they were, for he had to pull to an abrupt halt. Even still, his belly brushed the sand and the momentum flung Luna from his back. She yelped in surprise as she broke through the water and landed bodily in the sand with the surf crashing against her.

For a moment, Luna just lay there feeling stunned. Her side stung a bit from the sand rash of sliding across the shore, but she was otherwise unharmed, just startled.

“Kera! Are you alright?” The sharp concern in Nero’s voice prompted Luna to open her eyes.

The rest of her family was hurrying over as well, and she could hear Lewis’ footfalls pounding on the sand as he raced towards her too. Her body shook and her eyes closed as she began to laugh. It started as a soft giggle, then turned into a whirlwind of breathless cackling until she was gasping for air.

Her father was pulling himself up into the surf beside her at the same time Lewis hit his knees and sprayed sand over her shoulder.

She waved a hand at both of them. “I am fine,” she wheezed. She bit her tongue as she tried to stifle her chortling. “I am fine.” She pushed herself upright and stared at Nero. “That was fun!”

Nero chuckled and shook his head. “Sorry about the flight at the end. I do not normally have the shore to contend with.”

“It was exhilarating,” Luna said. “Thank you.” She found she meant the words wholeheartedly. She had been so stressed and riddled with anxiety over Katie and Lemuria and meeting her family in general, that it felt liberating to have a little fun. Those few seconds moving faster than she ever could, then flying through the air briefly, had sparked more life back into her than she had felt in moons. She dragged herself forward and hugged him tightly. “Thank you.”

Nero chuckled again and embraced her. “Of course. Anytime, little remora, any time at all.”

Luna hummed happily in the back of her throat. She did not remember much about her brother, but she was happy he was here and she was going to get the chance to know him properly now.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Luna?” Lewis pressed, drawing her attention away. “You got some air and that looked like a rough hit.”

Luna shook her head. “I promise I am fine, Lewis, honest,” she assured him. She did not want him to fret over her.

Behind them, Luna’s mother cleared her throat. Luna glanced over to see her mother and father pulling themselves up onto the shore as well. Karina had hung back reluctantly with one arm curled around her belly. She was watching Lewis with a nervous gaze. It saddened her, but Luna could understand why Karina was intimidated. None of her family were very familiar or trusting of the land, and Karina was pregnant and vulnerable.

Rebecca was also staring firmly at Lewis. “I appreciate all that you have done for my daughter, especially in light of what you have told me. You have my thanks, Lewis of the land. But what she needs most now is to return to the ocean and heal; learn to live as she was meant to.”

“I have no desire to interfere with that,” Lewis assured her. “I want Luna to be free and safe to live her life as well.”

Luna’s mother pursed her lips and flicked her fin in a display of irritation. Her father laid a hand on her shoulder. “What Rebecca means to say, is that we are hoping to help our daughter rehabilitate back into the water and regain what memories she can. We are aware there is a lot of trauma to overcome.”

Rebecca nodded. “Yes, and while it will always mean so much that you have helped her, it is hard to appreciate confusing her now. I understand that because she forgot so much, she may have needed to be called something, but her name is Kera and you should respect that now that you know it.”

Luna sighed as Lewis opened his mouth and faltered on a reply. He cast her a look and she knew it was time, however reluctant she was to have this particular conversation.

“Actually,” she whispered. “I am not confused, and Lewis continues to call me Luna because I asked him to.” She ducked her head and pulled at the roots of her hair for a moment as she wrestled with the stress and fear.

“What do you mean, Kera?” While her mother’s tone was gentle, Luna could not help the tears that swam in her eyes.

“My name is Luna,” she said. “You have to understand, when I was…No one called me by my name, no one called me anything or treated me like I was anything more than a brainless beast to be poked and prodded with sharp sticks. It was like that for so many cycles. I forgot so much, including my name. I lived with no purpose and no identity for so long.” Luna sniffled and wiped at her eyes. “Luna is not a temporary nickname in passing so that I would have something to go by. It was so much more to me. It was an identity, a sense of self. It was, and still is me. I want to be your daughter, I want to get to know my family again, and desperately want to find acceptance among you,” Luna pleaded. “But Kera means nothing more to me than a shadow label of a past I cannot recall. It is not who I am, and no matter how I may wish otherwise, it is not who I can be, either. I cannot fill a role I do not know or understand. I just want to be Luna, be me, and live as I am now with the family I want to know and love.”

The widened gazes of her family made Luna whimper. None of them responded. Then, finally, her father nodded. The sharp dip of his head showed acceptance, and Luna felt a glimmer of hope spark in her chest. Her mother was next, opening her arms to offer an embrace that Luna eagerly accepted.

“Luna,” her mother breathed as she folded Luna into a hug and began to pet her hair. “I am so sorry for everything you have endured. I wish I could convince you otherwise, take you home and help you remember who you were and can be again. But time has a way of eroding the edges of what has been broken until it cannot be mended again, only smoothed into something new. I love you, my daughter, not the name given to you at birth. If that girl has perished in her time away from home, then I mourn her loss all over again, but I will not allow that grief to shadow the gift I have been given,” she decided. “I would know you, as you are now…Luna.”