himagsikan | she spreads her wings and takes to the skies.

[Kay's expression is serious. Her tail switches back and forth, reminiscent of an impatient cat's as she nods.]

I know the singing part is useful and can save people sometimes, but you gotta be careful with it. Don't make me have to shake you again...or worse!

[Extremely justified seriousness at that. That is definitely one thing Edgeworth respects about Kay: as prone to mischief as she may be, she can still be serious when it matters most.]

Apparently so. Is it normal to feel such an urge to sing, or to lose oneself in one's own power?

While wearing the choker, or...among merpeople, normally?

[She tilts her head slightly, a finger on her chin.]

Either may someday prove to be relevant. (Though given that she encouraged me to give in to the urge at first, I suspect this took her by surprise, suggesting in turn that this... compulsion is abnormal in her experience.)

Um, sometimes...like when you're feeling super happy or really, really sad, or very angry. [Kay assumes a sitting position while floating in the water, gesturing as she talks.] If you feel very strongly about something, or if you're passionate, you'll get that feeling a lot unless you learn how to control it.

Since this is your first time turning into a merman, it probably took you by surprise. ["Probably", Kay?]

Verily.

[It's a partial relief for Edgeworth to hear this. It's still troubling that he feels like his song gives him to right to rule and he ought to exercise it, but at least it's not completely abnormal given who he is. But still...]

That feeling... hasn't actually stopped. I can merely keep it in check now that I'm no longer caught up in it.

[Kay nods thoughtfully.]

You should probably start doing...uh, whatever it is you wanted to do while you're a merman, that has nothing to do with singing. Take your mind off that.

[Edgeworth swims to the bottom of the lagoon and examines its floor simply to get a better sense of whether his vision under such circumstances is any different than what he remembers human vision being like at the same light level. And speaking of senses...]

Singing did involve some noteworthy sensations aside from the impulse to make use of it, however. I could somehow sense the power I could draw upon to make it... persuasive. I'm at a loss to describe it.

[Well, he's not going to find anything on the floor per se, but close by is something that looks like a chunk taken from a coral reef...except that upon closer inspection, it isn't, and is rather fake. Not only that, there is a very fine groove running around it, near the top, and if anyone were to dig his or her fingernails into it, he or she would be able to open it.

Kay follows him down, watching him with interest, the video on her phone still rolling.]

It's hard for me to describe it, too.

I suppose it only makes sense. Human languages would, by nature, tend only to accommodate those senses which humans possess. It would be useful to learn more about it, however.

[After he speaks, Edgeworth notices the "coral" and begins to inspect it. Upon noticing that it's fake...]

Is this another of your belongings?

[Kay nods, leaning against the top of the fake coral, folding her arms over the lid.]

Yup. I did say I kept stuff under the lagoon too, didn't I?

Indeed.

(I wouldn't put it past her to place some sort of trap on a disguised container such as this...)

Is it... safe to open?

[She grins mischievously up at him.]

That depends on who's opening it.

[Edgeworth swims backward a bit — a surprisingly easy maneuver for him in this form.]

I'll take that as a "no" with regard to myself, then. Are the contents relevant?

Relevant to your firsthand study of what it's like being a merman? Not really.

[Kay rests her chin on her folded arms.]

Relevant to your study of everything I keep here? Maybe. I set a few traps here in case someone found my secret lair.

If its only function is as a trap and it would provide no insight into undersea society, then I see no need to dwell upon it.

[Edgeworth swims to a point between the trap and Kay.]

This lagoon seems brighter in its depths than I expected. I presume it's normal for our kind to be able to see well in what by human standards would be dim light, given that deep water diffuses light?

[Kay swims away from the fake coral and forward, stopping to glance over her shoulder at him. Boy, he's really taking this merman thing seriously - no, that's just the choker messing with his brain right now.]

Yeah, you could say that. I hope you're keeping track of your minutes, by the way.

[It hasn't been THAT long, Kay.]

[Given that it's potentially a matter of life and death for him to own up to this one...]

Unfortunately, I neglected to check the time before putting the choker on. Furthermore, my sense of how long I was singing is... hazy.

[Fortunately, it hasn't been longer than five minutes so far in total so far.]

[Kay thinks for a moment, and remembers one way to gauge the time. Of course.

She checks her phone. The video is still running. As much as it's tempting to make a joke that 29 minutes and 30 seconds have already passed...nope, not a good idea. Kay will cut him some slack.]

Don't worry, I started up a video on my phone at about the same time you dropped into the water. It's only been a few minutes.

Might be useful to go over this entire thing all over again when you're back to being human.

Gkk — you've been recording this?! (So that's why she's wearing her cellphone around her neck!)

[Apparently, Edgeworth is unused enough to the idea of cellphones having cameras ~~as of years ago~~ that it didn't occur to him that that's what Kay was doing.]

[She nods vigorously.]

It's for a good cause! Don't you think it'd help to look at this when the choker isn't messing with your head?

Now are you just gonna stand there, or are we gonna have some fun?

Point taken. I merely insist that you don't distribute the video. It will only confuse matters except in very specific circumstances.

I'm hardly "standing", Kay, and "fun" has little to do with it, but if you have any ideas concerning how I can grow to understand my current form better, I'm willing to listen.

Aw, okay, okay. [Kay lets go of the phone with an exaggerated sigh, letting it hang around her neck again.]

Try swimming a much longer distance and see how much faster you can go. Compare it with how you swim as a human.

[Without comment, the prosecutor takes Kay's advice, swimming out to the far end of the lagoon at a speed faster than his current default but not taxing — a speed that's still faster than his human swimming speed by a hair. He then puts effort into "sprinting" from one end of the lagoon to the other. As he accelerates for the latter portion of the test, Edgeworth presses his arms to his sides, streamlining himself and allowing his tail to do most of the work rather than supplementing it with upper-body strokes like at slower speeds. Once he reaches the far end, he makes a wide U-turn, lets himself glide to a slower speed, then paddles to a stop while catching his breath.]

[She remains floating where she is, watching him intently, occasionally cheering him on in between strokes and egging him to go faster. Kay follows him with her gaze as he paddles to a stop, then approaches him.]

Cool, huh? Didn't swimming suddenly become so much easier? And you were already pretty good to begin with!

...Now you can try jumping out and showing off some more!

Open Post: The Kay Faraday Edition
This is my permanent Kay Faraday open post. Spam me with prompts, picture prompts, AUs, and the like. Indicate canon point or universe when necessary. Please note that I don't do slash, smut, anything sexual or anything overly and excessively violent.
Canon	Future AU
Choose a canon point, any canon point! Even from AAI2, why not.	7-8 years later, AJ/DD era. Prosecutor who studied under Miles Edgeworth. Still hyper and makes thief jokes. Still the Yatagarasu.
Somarium	Mask or Menace
Lived with Edgeworth and Stitch. Recruited Ema, Trucy and Maya into the Yatagarasu. 19 years old. Had college plans.	Can command and talk to crows, replicate voices and sounds perfectly, and use Charter Magic. Juror for Teen Court.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject