"I'll head out in a minute," Primrose said. "I kind of want to let them know things are going to change."

The director nodded and went back to his phone calls.

Allyn was still near the surface and made his way over to Primrose to figure out what was going on.

Primrose sat on the edge of the platform.

"I managed to get him to agree to let one of you go," she said quietly.

Allyn's eyebrows shot up. "I see," he said quietly. He already knew Bryn was going, because he wouldn't have it any other way. "Brave of you."

"I'll be taking his place in the tank," Primrose continued. She was quiet for a moment. "It was the best I could do. I tried to get you both out, but the director wouldn't have it."

"I'm surprised you even got him out," Allyn said with a little shrug. "I can manage here well enough for a little while."

"Like I said, I offered myself in trade," Primrose said. "I'm not as... extravagant, but still."

Allyn shrugged. "It is better that he return home," he said. "When will he be returned?"

"It'll take a couple of days to finalize things," Primrose replied. "I'll make sure Lilac is in charge of it, to make sure he's taken straight to the shore."

"Good." Allyn nodded. That was good enough for the moment. "I assume your friend is like us?" It would make sense, since Primrose trusted her to get Bryn back into the water.

Primrose hesitated.

"The same caste I am," she finally said. "We've known each other our whole lives."

"Good. She'll know how to ensure his safety as well as ours, then." That was satisfactory, and Allyn was pleased that someone would still be on the outside.

Primrose nodded, and then got up.

"I should go," she said. "I have to set some things in order before I effectively fall off the face of the planet, as far as humans are concerned."

Allyn nodded and watched her go before he headed down to tell Bryn what was going on.

A few days later, Primrose was there early, getting ready to join the tank. She was wearing a simple orange band around her chest for modesty's sake (she didn't care either way if she wore it or not, since there was no real need for clothing underwater, but she knew humans had these notions about being covered up) and she had a towel wrapped around her hips. Sitting at the edge of the tank, she dipped her feet into the water. She knew the director was watching, so she let herself shift smoothly into her natural form, feeling her legs bind together and lengthen into her tail and her gills form along her ribs. With one more look at Lilac and the director, she slipped into the tank.

Lilac knew very well what Primrose looked like, so she ignored the director's startled sound. After Prim got settled in, the king was scheduled to be moved, so she was mostly waiting for that now.

Allyn watched her slip into the tank. She was about as non-frilly as he expected, but her colors were nicer than he was expecting.

As soon as Primrose was in the tank, she gestured for the king to go.

"May as well go now," she said. Bryn nodded and made his way to the surface.

Lilac supervised him being lifted into the transport vessel and then got in the back of the truck to make sure the trip wasn't bumpy or anything.

Allyn watched until they were out of sight, and then he sank farther down into the tank, stretching out a bit.

Primrose settled amongst the coral, letting her pink and orange scales camouflage her a bit.

Bryn allowed himself to be loaded onto the transport truck without struggle. He hated being manhandled, but if it meant he got to go back to the ocean, he would put up with it.

Lilac glanced at Bryn a few times, a little nervous. "We'll be there in about ten minutes," she told him.

Bryn nodded.

"I appreciate the trouble that you and your friend are going to for me," he said.

"We couldn't just leave you there," Lilac said after a moment. "If I were braver, like Prim, I'd have spoken up and you both would have been able to go home."

"I don't blame you," Bryn said. "And I doubt Allyn does, either. I'm sure another solution will surface."

"Hopefully." Lilac was quiet for a few moments. "About five more minutes. Would you prefer if we let you off at the shore? Or I could wade out a ways, make it easier for you to get out."

"The waterline should be fine," Bryn replied. He looked at her. "If you ever decide to come back home, please let me know if there is anything at all I can do for you. I owe you and your friend both a debt."