Message in a Bottle.

4.

Bo and Dolly hung out a bit after their initial exchange.

Dolly wandered through the cabin, poking at Bo's things and seeming quite interested.

She was smitten by a pair of dice. Bo wasn't sure how long Dolly had sat on the floor, shaking the dice in her hands and rolling them.

It was adorable.

"You like those?" Bo asked after a while and Dolly looked up, nodding happily.

"You can have em then doll" Bo said, Dolly seemed stunned,

"But they're yours!"

"I know...it's a gift" Bo said, smiling softly at Dolly who gave him a small smile in return and snatched the dice up to roll them again.

After a bit, Dolly needed to go. Nuzzling at Bo's neck again before she slipped off back over the side of the boat.

~!~!~!~

Dolly hummed as her tail formed again, looking at Bo's vessel for a moment then the dice in her hand which made a smile cross her face before she swam back off to her friends.

They all lived in a cave. It was cozy and Dolly quite enjoyed sharing the space with her friends.

Lily was chattering away to Rosalie and Raphael. All conversation stopping however once Dolly swam into the cave.

Lily looked at Dolly's closed fist, tilting her head and Dolly shyly showed her the dice which made Lily shriek excitedly, Rosalie to bitch face and Raphael to groan.

"You're still seeing him?!" Raphael exclaimed and Dolly huffed,

"He hasn't hurt me!"

"Yet" Rosalie said cooly and Dolly's cheeks went pink,

"He saved me"

"Years ago" Rosalie said, staring at Dolly, "what if he has resentment for saving you? I mean, a tarnished reputation combined with a physical injury that never fully went away"

"Oh shush" Lily said to Rosalie, "He's had plenty of opportunities to hurt Dolly yet she's come back each time perfectly fine"

"If a little lovesick" Raphael huffed. Dolly twisted her lips,

"He wouldn't hurt me!" She protested, eyes lighting up afterwards, "maybe you all could meet him!"

"Look, if you want to wind up on a plate? That's fine, don't drag me into this" Rosalie said and Lily just went bright eyed again,

"I wanna meet him!!"

"I'd rather be impaled" Raphael grumbled and Dolly huffed,

"How can you all hate him but you don't know him? That's like the humans hating us!"

Rosalie made a face like she'd just eaten some rotten kelp. Raphael sighed,

"If you and Lily go and meet him and you both come back fine, we'll meet him"

Dolly perked up, "Thanks Raph!!" She said happily and swam off to the little section where she slept, curling on the bed of sea plants and staring at the dice in her hands.

She felt a fond smile cross her face as she thought of Bo, wondering if he thought of her the same way she thought of him.