Room 518/520, Wednesday Afternoon

[demonbelthazor]

With no workshops that day, Bel busied himself researching mermaids. Most of what he found on the web was just fluff. Reading a few demomic sites he still had access to, however, gave him the information he was looking for. The Sea Hag. Allegedly she was a demon with the power to transform mermaids into humans, but she would only do so for a price. Fine. He'd find her and pay it.

The only question was how to find her.

[open if anyone cares to console Bel about his girlfriend being sushi (or any other reason)]

Comments

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

Veronica had listened to Archie's radio broadcast the night before.

She wondered if her boyfriend had imbibed more alcohol than she thought at Caritas.

But just in case, she decided to knock on Bel & Phoebe's door in the afternoon.

[demonbelthazor]

Bel opened up the door. "Hey," he said, bracing himself for a verbal assault.

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"Please tell me that my boyfriend drank too much last night or one of the radio sources is on crack and that your girlfriend isn't really a mermaid," Veronica said.

[demonbelthazor]

Bel sighed. "She's a mermaid," he said.

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"What happened?"

[demonbelthazor]

"She cast a spell," Bel explained. "Personal gain. It backfired on her."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"What did she cast that had that kind of backlash? A Doctor Doolittle spell?" Veronica shook her head.

[demonbelthazor]

"It was...a spell to open my mind to hers," Bel mumbled.

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

Veronica groaned. "She still thinks you're hiding things from her," she said. "I still don't get how that made her a mermaid, but... do you think telling her the truth would turn her back?"

[demonbelthazor]

"She wanted to open my mind, and instead it closed her heart," Bel said. "Mermaids don't feel love. Their hearts are as cold as the ocean." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I don't know if telling her the truth will change her back. It may just make her want to stop the pain even more."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"I'm sorry," Veronica said, tentatively patting his arm. "I assume Piper is checking the book?"

[demonbelthazor]

"Yeah," Bel said. "I gotta check in with her and see if she had any luck finding a reversal spell."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"Let me know if I can do anything to help," Veronica offered.

[demonbelthazor]

"Thanks, I will," Bel said. "I'm working on a few leads. Hopefully I can get this taken care of."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"Well, I'm around if you need me," Veronica reiterated. "I can do research or I can try talking to her or... whatever."

[demonbelthazor]

"If you think you can talk any sense into her, go for it," Bel said wearily. "Before her heart turns so cold she won't listen at all."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"I'll try to head down to the beach tonight," Veronica promised. "Um, how will I find her?"

[demonbelthazor]

Bel shrugged. "Try calling her name. She hasn't gone out to sea yet, which is a good sign. If she does, we may lose her."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"Why can't you just grab her and shimmer her back here?" Veronica wondered.

[demonbelthazor]

"Believe me, I'm going to try," Bel said. "I'll stuff her in the bathtub."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"Or you could put her in the pool," Veronica suggested. "At least then she'd have a little more room to move."

[demonbelthazor]

"So long as she can't get back into the ocean," Bel said. "The pool may work."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"I'll try to get down to the beach to talk to her tonight," Veronica said. "I'll let you know if I have any luck. And let me know if there's anything I can do."

[demonbelthazor]

"I will," Bel said. "Thanks. Really."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

Veronica patted his arm again and managed a half smile. "We'll figure it out. We always do."