Miaomiao chewed the apple in her mouth, tears brimming in her eyes like pearls about to fall.
All right, they really were pearls about to fall.
This had to be the most ridiculous thing he had encountered lately.
Miaomiao swallowed the apple and pointed at her throat, looking anxious and panicked.
"You can't talk?"
Miaomiao nodded frantically.
"Okay, okay, I get it." Jason reached out and held Miaomiao's head still to keep her from making herself dizzy. "I'll talk, you listen. Just nod or shake your head. Understand?"
Temporarily reduced to a little mute, Miaomiao obediently nodded.
"What you ate was chili pepper, a seasoning. You probably aren't used to it, which is why your throat hurts. It's temporary. You'll get better. Got it?"
She nodded.
"Since you can't turn your tail back into legs right now, you might need to stay here for a couple of days."
She nodded and nodded.
"Of course, I'd really prefer it if you went back to Wayne Manor. That would be better for both of us."
She nod-ah, no, shook her head, shook her head, shook it frantically!
"All right, stop!"
Jason held the little merfolk still before she could shake her brains into mush, already able to picture the dreadful days ahead.
"Since you've decided to stay, we're laying down three ground rules."
Jason looked sternly at the small, delicate girl, showing no inclination to go easy on her just because she looked pretty and fragile.
"First, the accommodations here are nowhere near as good as Wayne Manor's. No unreasonable demands, or you're going back."
Still upset with Bruce and the others and unwilling to go back just yet, Miaomiao naturally agreed.
"Of course, I get to decide what counts as unreasonable."
ʕ(ⓛ-ⓛ)ʔ???
*Well... okay? Eating and sleeping can't count as unreasonable