62 - Pranks and Potions

Destiny and Caspian became even closer friends now that they were both children, and one of the ways they bonded was by continuously pranking one another.

And although their little practical jokes were only meant for one another, sometimes Maia wound up on the receiving end of their shenanigans!

After having her hair turn yet another lurid color because of dye mixed in the shampoo, Maia decided the kids had too much time on their hands, so she set them to learning some skills that seemed appropriate for their age and interests.

Since Destiny was a both a genius and a witch who looked forward to making alchemy potions once she reached her teen years, Maia started her off making potions on the chemistry table. The skills learned with one would likely be somewhat transferable to the other, and would be a good blend of both Maia’s witchitude and Destiny’s father’s aptitude for science, both abilities which Destiny had inherited.

And knowing Caspian enjoyed being outdoors and was a mermaid, Maia thought it a good idea for him to learn fishing.  Once he started getting the hang of it, he never wanted to stop.

Maia was quite happy to have somewhat fewer pranks to deal with, and her mood improved even further when she found herself pregnant once again.

Soon after Maia’s pregnancy was confirmed, Ryder aged up into a toddler.

Figuring there was no time like the present; Maia began teaching him his toddler skills.

Ryder also began to bond with his IF, Hobby.

Once Ryder was skilled up, Maia decided to spend some time on the computer, but ended up getting quite a surprise. Actually, two surprises.

The first was finding another one of the kids’ traps.

The second surprise was an email from Finley and Dylan. They let her know that they were safe and living on one of the Isla Paradiso islands, where merfolk were nothing out of the ordinary. Finley asked her how Destiny was and how Maia’s pregnancy by Dylan had gone, and also wondered if she’d had a mermaid child. If she had, and was worried about keeping it a secret from the lab, he said that she was free to move to their island with them.

Maia wrote a long email message back, describing what had all happened due to Finley’s statement to the reporter—how there was an investigation where law enforcement discovered the scientists had made a clone of Dylan to experiment on after he’d gone missing, and she told them about the public outcry that resulted. She explained that what had been done to Dylan and what had been planned for his clone baby had helped get Area-52 shut down until new regulations were imposed. Maia told them she’d adopted baby Caspian, and that her pregnancy with Dylan had resulted in their twins Kai and Marina. While Kai was a witch like her, Marina was a mermaid, but Maia let them know that she wasn’t concerned about raising the kids in Lucky Palms now that the secret had been made public, but welcomed any advice about raising her mer-children. So far they seemed much the same as human kids, but she wanted to make sure she met any particular needs they might have. Otherwise, she told them, Dylan’s children were doing very well, as was Destiny.

Not long after, Maia received a response from the Ichtaca’s, detailing the specifics about young merfolk, such as that when their tails formed when they reached adolescence, they’d need lots of fresh fish and kelp for it to grow properly. Maia decided she’d special order some kelp from the local grocer's, and she knew they’d always have a large number of fish on hand since Caspian was rapidly improving his angler skill. Finley and Dylan also suggested that Maia consider bringing the kids for a vacation visit to their island once they were older, both so that they could meet their children, as well as showing Maia what a great place for mermaids Isla Paradiso truly was. Maia agreed and wrote back that it sounded like a wonderful plan, and that she was looking forward to it, even if it meant a slight delay in her challenge. And she knew her dear friend Isak would be happy to stay at her home to watch her children who would still be too young to travel.

As the thought of Isak and young children came to her mind, Maia went into labor.

Welcome Tesla!

And welcome Pascal!

Isak was right there to help Maia take care of their new babies.

Before long, it was time for Destiny to become a teen.

Happy birthday Destiny!

And Caspian followed shortly after.

Happy birthday Caspian!

Both of them used potions to bring their IFs, Angel and Drizzle, to life.

Angel loved music and practiced her singing on the karaoke machine.

Drizzle joined Caspian at the oasis and started learning the fishing skill.

And Destiny began learning alchemy. 

Destiny sometimes pestered the boys to share their fish for her alchemy elixirs, but Caspian often ate most of the catch as his appetite was now enormous.

Maia also managed to give them all their driving lessons before her maternity leave was over and it was time for her to return to work.

It was also time for Kai and Marina to age up.

Happy birthday Kai!

Happy birthday Marina!

Now that they were older, Kai and Marina spent a great deal of time playing in the pool. Even though Kai wasn’t a mer-kid, he loved the water as much as his sister.

Caspian was naturally fond of the water as well, and took to splashing and playing with his younger siblings in the pool.

Marina couldn’t wait for her mermaid tail to form like Caspian’s had, but she really wanted her tail to be her favorite color, which was NOT pink! So one day while Maia was at work, Marina bugged Destiny until she agreed to mix her up a potion that would change the colors of her leg scales.

When Destiny and Caspian weren’t entertaining their younger siblings, they spent time hanging out together and became BFF’s. They were also still bonded by their love of pranking, which now extended to the neighborhood.

In the meantime, Maia had progressed rapidly in her fortunetelling career and had gained several more promotions.

While Maia was at work one day, making a few extra batches of fortune cookies, she got to thinking that now that she was further in her career, she should probably consider becoming pregnant again, especially since Tesla and Pascal would become toddlers soon.

But suddenly, her boss Shravan appeared out of nowhere and gleefully cast a pranking spell that made Maia’s clothes disappear, leaving her wearing only her underwear.

It seemed even at work Maia couldn’t escape pranksters!

But interestingly, the last fortune cookie she’d made had read, “Pay attention, because a window of opportunity will soon open.” So since her trickster boss had unexpectedly appeared and pranked her, Maia decided to take advantage of the opportunity that presented itself, seeing as how she was already mostly undressed anyway!

And as they say, fortune favors the bold!