Ocean Kisses

Zed?

Tango pov

The sight of Zed curled up in the dry bathtub, sound asleep in his landform, was both confusing and a little concerning. The water was completely gone, but the plug was still in place, so it hadn't drained. I crouched next to the tub, frowning as I gently reached in to touch his hair. It was dry—bone dry.

"That doesn't make any sense," I muttered, glancing over my shoulder at Impulse and Skizz, who stood nearby. "He was fully submerged when I checked on him earlier."

"Do you think he's sick?" Skizz asked, concern etched on his face.

"I don’t know." I hesitated before shaking my head. "I can’t tell if he’s running a fever or not—blazeborn and all. Impulse, can you check?"

Impulse stepped forward, his brow furrowed as he knelt by the tub. He placed a careful hand against Zed's forehead and waited a moment before shaking his head. "No fever. He’s just... asleep. Really deeply asleep."

"But how?" Skizz asked, glancing from Zed to the empty tub. "Where’d the water go? And why is he so dry?"

I shrugged, baffled. "I’ve got no clue. Maybe it’s something to do with his landform? Like, his body just absorbed the water somehow?"

Impulse tilted his head thoughtfully. "That would make sense, actually. He’s part fish, right? Maybe this is how he retains hydration when he’s out of the water for too long. Kind of like a survival mechanism."

"That’s... kind of cool, but also a little creepy," Skizz admitted.

I looked back at Zed, who was still peacefully asleep despite all the talking. "Cool or not, we should wake him up. He’s been sleeping for hours, and I’m worried about him being out of the water for too long—even if he’s in this form."

Impulse nodded. "Let’s do it gently, though. He’s probably still tired."

I leaned in a bit closer and gently shook his shoulder. "Zed? Hey, wake up, buddy."

The growing panic in the room was palpable as we tried everything we could think of to wake Zed. He just wouldn’t stir, no matter what we did. I gently shook his shoulder again, but nothing. Skizz even tried lifting him slightly and giving him a firmer shake, but Zed remained unresponsive.

Impulse paced back and forth near the door, running a hand through his hair. "What do we do? Call an ambulance? Or maybe a marine biologist? Do those even make house calls?"

"Marine biologist?" Skizz shot him a look, though his usual humor was dulled by worry. "I don’t think they handle... whatever this is."

"Well, I don’t know!" Impulse snapped, though the fear in his tone made it clear he wasn’t angry. "I’ve never dealt with a... fish-person... whatever Zed is!"

I crouched next to the tub again, my hands shaking as I reached out to feel his forehead once more. "Zedaph," I said softly at first, then louder. "Come on, man. Wake up. You’re scaring us."

The tremor in my voice startled even me. It didn’t sound like me—too shaky, too desperate. I swallowed hard, trying to push down the lump forming in my throat. His horns, usually firm and sturdy, had softened from the prolonged submersion, and his hooves were showing signs of hardening as they dried.

"Guys," Skizz said quietly, breaking the silence. "We need to make a decision. If he’s not waking up, we can’t just sit here."

I nodded, my heart pounding. "But who do we call? What if they don’t know what to do? What if they... take him away?"

Impulse stopped pacing, his expression hardening with determination. "We’re not letting anyone take him away. But we can’t help him if we don’t know what’s wrong. Maybe... maybe we just need to rehydrate him? He was in water before, right? What if he needs it again?"