{Video; UN: scraps}

[disgracedprince]

Ah...help! {Xie Lian now resembles a merman. Or, rather, a Koi merman. He flaps uselessly in his garden and covers his face with his hands, his finned ears fluttering in embarrassment.}

I think...I need...a pool? A...um...bathtub? Something!

What happens if I dry out?

Comments

[Voice]

[disgracedprince]

{...that's helpful and yet...horrifying too.}

I will probably dry out, but I won't die. I might feel like I'm choking for a long time.

{Because he will.}

I just need...some water.

[ideel]

It takes a regular koi thirty minutes, perhaps an hour to die on land. Merfolk being more advanced, can last longer- but too much raw air is indeed lethal.

[And despite having far too much fun being entirely doom and gloom, he will at least offer a tiny itsy bitsy shred of advice.]

Cup your hands over your gills. The longer those remain moist, the better off you will be. All else will be survivable. If you are able to acquire even a small amount of water, prioritize your gills.

And make sure anyone that seeks to move you comes prepared. Merfolk are generally heavier than the average human, and difficult to move on land.

[disgracedprince]

How do you know this? {He is imagining someone just...watching fish die. How awful! Xie Lian rolls onto his side, his fin ears perking. Using his watering can, he drips it over the gills on his sides.}

Got it. Thank you. That does feel better. {Puffing out his cheeks, he sits up.} San Lang... My husband... He can lift me. I'm lucky.

[ideel]

[He COULD be honest and admit to being one himself... but nah, where's the fun in that?]

Merfolk are not so uncommon where I'm from that such information is hard to come by. There's a potion they can drink that allows them to take human form.

I count one merman as a friend back home, so it only makes sense that I would know how to help him should something go wrong.

[Well, technically none of what he said is a lie.]

[disgracedprince]

{SUSPICIOUS, SIR.}

Really? How wonderful. I've never met a mer-person. {He plucks a flower and tucks it into his hair.} I guess that does make sense. Your friend is very lucky to have someone so devoted to them.