50

You focus on electrical activity, searching for one of the two people in the party whose signals would indicate kicking two separate legs. It doesn't take long to find Tamru. He's positioned himself near the center of the party. It's a good spot to hang around if you're worried about being accidentally left alone. You notice him wearing an unusually pleasant grin. He waves his food at you as you approach: a seaweed-stuffed fish fillet.

He grins at your approach. "So, you come to a party of merfolk, yet I'm the one you seek out?" he says. "What does that say about your preferences?" You smile. He might be right.

Tamru gives a genuine laugh of surprise. "All my complaining must be finally sinking in," he says. "I'm glad that you see it too." He shakes his head. "You're the one who makes this all feel tolerable—fun, even. You make me feel…normal. Not like I'm anything less. Like I'm just a person. It's nice."

Tamru looks off into the hazy distance as he gently pulls you away from the crowd. "I've been thinking about that a lot, actually. How people have treated me as the only human until now. Sometimes something happens that makes me hopeful that things might change for me. Like, for example, Flynn showing up."

He sighs. "I worry. I worry about going through all this alone. I've just been here for so long and seeing another human for the first time since…well, since a long time, I just worry that it won't last, that I'll end up alone, and I'm tired of feeling alone. Tired of feeling like every time there's a chance for progress, things just end up reverting, regressing. The progress never sticks."

He shakes his head. "I'm sorry," he says. "I swear this is going somewhere. You see, the whales, they've offered me a deal. Technically, they offered it a long time ago, and it's always been open to me. I always felt like I could live here without it, improve the place without it, but then, seeing all the…regressions over the years, I'm starting to think things will never change. Or like maybe I'd have an easier time changing things from the inside. Maybe I'd be in a better position if I took the deal. Maybe it's time I finally did."

Tamru tips his head toward all the other merfolk. "I can't tell you here," he says. "Let's just say that…I've tried to bring it up before, but I've never been able to, just like the whales told me." His eyes dart around. "I can't really say much more than that, or else…."

"Or else what?" you say. "Someone might hurt you?"

"Oh, no, nothing like that. Nothing violent. I just can't talk about it. It doesn't work. I'm sorry." He reaches out and takes you by the arm. "Say, hypothetically, you were given a solution that would fix your problem, but you'd lose part of who you were in the process. Would you take that offer? Or would you stick to your principles?"

But before you can reply, you notice a commotion and turn to look.

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