Fantasy Skin and Scales

[StoneWolf18]

Curiosity is a dangerous thing, yet Sky unfortunately let it get the best of her. She had began working alongside a woman named Yara not too long ago, and while they weren't particularly close they weren't complete strangers. She hadn't done anything of note, until a certain disappearance began a certain theme. Once a month, disappearing for a few days before returning with a fatigued apology. Sky assumed she had been visiting family or maybe be in a relationship. But every time she tried to bringing it up in a casual conversation, the question was dodged or avoided. Normally, things as such weren't her business and she let them slide but it became more and more noticeable each month is passed…

And so, she decided to find out for herself.

Sky had felt bad for doing something as such, but regardless of her feelings she would've waited for the woman to leave, following behind her just enough to not be noticed. Everything looked until she got into a boat, heading towards an island in the distance. That was odd… the island was known for being desolate. What was there for her to go to? Unable to stop here, she continued to follow in a boat she partially owned (as it was a friend's) and began to follow. She kept telling herself that it was most likely nothing… until it wasn't.

The island was much larger than she had assumed, coated in large rocky outcroppings. While trying to pick her way inland, voices would've filled her ears, a distressed sounding Yara and someone else, but she couldn't quite make out the words… whether she was speaking another language entirely or she was simply too far away, she wasn't sure. So the only answer to that was to get closer.

Finally locating a cavern entrance, she crept around before pausing in a corner, trying to see if she could listen in now when an odd sensation engulfed her. It felt pleasant at first… like being swaddled in a warm cloth. Then it turned into something awful, Sky’s skin crawling, vision wavering as she struggled to breath, the cave overwhelmingly hot.

Standing, she stumbled out the entrance, trying to take in a breath as she tried to make her wha back to her boat, but ended up tripping instead, managing to hear her name called as she did a unceremonious face-plant in the sand, losing consciousness due to the odd stress that was being placed upon her body.

Karma’s a bitch, ain't it.

Gemma Nye

 

[Gemma Nye]

Yara could do nothing for the girl but wait it out. And who knew how long that could take? In Yara's travels on land, she'd happened upon a pod (and was refused acceptance into the pretentiously tight knit community) that was dealing with a young man who had decided to convert to be with his mer love. Yara had always thought the general ingrained rule of keeping only mer that know you're a mer because they've got the same secret, too. If a mer fell for a land dweller, it's the safest, and only option for their love. Love is all fine and dandy, but a human will always carry the threat of exposing a mer and their pod. It's an implicit danger that the human, themselves, are either unaffected by or profit from.

But she remembered those gloomy days. The town Yara was staying in was having a bad patch of fog, so when she sensed mer on land, it suddenly all made sense to her. The fog only encompassed the period the mer visited the town, preceding and following couple of days around that time. It's possible due to the location of the town that some fog would have been naturally present, but Yara recalled the fog being eerily serene, a common quality of fog in areas it actually could get that way in. The town didn't possess enough moisture naturally to ever have fog that thick. And such serenity in places where it doesn't belong can be a telltale sign of a sea spell. The fog had made Yara suspicious enough, but she was glad it was mer creeping in and not the sea witch trying to track the mermaid down.

The pod clan leaders refused to offer Yara any information as to the male they were visiting. But a lovely mermaid named Hestia that happened to be visiting the same cafe a few days later recognized Yara as the mer who'd approached that lived close to the male. It's there Yara learned they'd come to collect a mermaid's dearest to take him back to the sea so they could be together. Yara, while never having been particularly social in her lifetime, was intrigued by the notion. She'd never heard of being born human and getting turned into a mer later in life. Hestia could only describe the process as an extremely high level sea spell. Any mer that wished to get close to a human and divulge their secret very well could, but it isn’t wise if there wasn’t a creature strong enough to cast a sea spell of such nature. If one’s pod found out, and it was in a mer’s best interest to tell their pod in such times, sometimes they could be lenient enough to just be wary. Otherwise, the options were exile for the mer, kill the human, or cast the spell. The pod’s safety came first. A mer’s desires had to comply with their safety.

As she looked at Sky, her expression had become drawn out and tired. Yara had nothing to do with that male and Hestia didn’t offer much more information in their short conversation at the cafe. All Yara knew is that they were there for days, as Hestia had gone to the cafe after watching over him for two days straight waiting for his fever to break and needed a breather. Yara could only assume a break in temperature was what she was looking for. She hesitantly leans over for what felt like the umpteenth time and observes the female’s forehead. There was a light sheen of sweat so she grabs a soft hand towel to dab the moisture from the skin before pressing her palm to it. She was still a bit warm, but not so much feverish, anymore. Yara carefully peels the covers off of Sky to observe the exposed skin, giving an exhausted sigh.

Why couldn’t she have been a healer? Like why when she was on her own did her magic not know there was no one to teach her it so at least she could at least do something with it! Hestia was a healer mer that didn’t display a talent for water magic as generations are oft to spit out an anomaly so that there was someone to tend to the wounded. But Yara had no talent whatsoever. All she could do was give her best guess. And since she brought Sky home a day ago, she’d been checking her like when Yara caught the sea flu foraging through this disgusting wreck one time. But Sky wasn’t feverish anymore… when should she wake up? Yara had absolutely no clue. Nor did she know what that rebounded spell had done to her co-worker. Yara would have to tell this woman her secret. A talented enough caster might be able to wipe the human’s mind to forget they ever saw anything, or to influence them to believe whatever you told them to replace the memory of any event occurring. And Yara wasn’t that, either. All she could do was hope for the best, try and figure this out, and try not to have to kill this human.

Maybe she could flee again? Yara huffed, sitting back in her chair by Sky’s bed to await the female’s awakening. All she could do is let the girl sweat it out...

 

[StoneWolf18]

Sky had been drifting in and out of a lucid consciousness for the past day, unable to bring herself to fully wake. She felt awful, shivering even though her skin was coated in a sheen of sweat, her mind replaying what she had felt right after she entered that cavern... that cavern. It felt like a dream, there not being any possibly way for what she saw to exist. The woman took a slight comfort in this, alright it still didn't explain how ill she felt.

Eventually, she would slowly coax her eyes to open, examining the room half-lidded. She didn't recognize the place even with the haze clouding her mind, but she slowly put the pieces together as she felt a set of eyes watching. Shifting slightly and immediately regretting it afterward, her unstable vision was filled with the sight of Yara. Her expression was mixed, concerned, annoyed, angered possibly? She couldn't tell... but with eve being here she might have an answer or two.

"Yara?" Sky asked in a quiet mumble, having half a mind to try and bombard the woman with questions but instead held back, knowing that it could wait.

Gemma Nye

 

[Gemma Nye]

Yara glances up quickly at the sound of Sky's voice, gently coaxing the femme back into a relaxed position. "Don't push it," she warns, holding her hands out to stop Sky from rising again if she tried to get right back up. She took a deep breath, knowing it'd be a long road ahead for the both of them if she didn't get this sorted out as soon as possible.

"I know you have a lot of questions. And I don't have a lot of answers. I don't know what happened to you. Nor can I fix it if there's anything wrong with you. I have a huge question as to why you were there in the first place and eavesdropping, but I don't see the point in arguing over that matter because that still leaves you the way you are, regardless of why you followed me." Yara released a weighted sigh as she took a moment to collect her thoughts. "I don't deal with a lot of humans, so unfortunately for you, I offer no tact in this situation. But please don't think it's me trying to be inordinately mean, I've just got nothing on this.... You were victim of a rebound spell. I'm not the most talented caster there is and only narrowly protected myself, as I was the intended target. I guess my own spell couldn't absorb the magic as it should, rather kind of just deflected it... You must have been close enough to be affected.. You'll be even more displeased to hear that I can't fix you. I countered a spell meant to...um...hmm.. coax a resistant me-.. manner out of someone. Such a specific spell has the strength to force the target to assume those qualities if they are hit by it, regardless if they naturally had them or not..."

Yara had an inkling as to what she could possibly be plagued with. She assumed the sea witch was trying to make a more obedient mer out of her... but Yara wasn't adept enough at spell analysis to know if the intent was for an obedient mer or some other ambiguous sea creature... Of course, Yara hoped that she was just experiencing some symptoms from being exposed to such a strong rebound. Sky appeared normal enough. No scaling, no gills, no gasping for air, no unusually dry skin. Sky looked to be human. Which brought Yara to consider the possibility that maybe the witch had cast a spell specific for a mer, and if Sky got caught up in it and it affected her, she was human and the spell called for a mer. She could very well be a mermaid right now.

What is happening?!? Yara just wanted to live her life in peace and now this happens. She took a moment to calm herself, knowing the human female was even more confused than Yara is. By default. And Yara was already clueless. There was one sure-fire test Yara could run right now, but she didn't want to shock the girl. But she'd have to be shocked at some point. Yara figured she should allow Sky to come into it more so on her own human terms than Yara's mer terms.

She grabbed the side of the coaster a cup of water was sitting on and slowly edged it toward the other side of the nightstand to see if she could tempt Sky with a drink. She purposefully doesn't include a straw. Best case, nothing happens, and that means Sky is either fine or acquired some less obvious characteristics. All Sky had to do was take a drink and the moisture on the skin of her lips would give all the information Yara needed.

"How are you feeling? Your fever has broken. You've been out around a day, so it'll be normal to feel a little out of sorts since you've slept so long. I have dinner going, but I'd prefer you keep down just a bit of water before I feed you. In case you've got a stomach bug. I don't want to irritate your stomach if you've developed an illness." Of course she'd leave the ultimate decision up to Sky, but it was an unavoidable experiment that would be more comfortable for her in bed than catching a mer surprise in the shower where she has nowhere to land if she loses her legs...

 

[StoneWolf18]

Sky didn't protest when she forced her back down onto the bed, listening to her speak. Yara wasn't making any sense... didn't deal with humans that often? Rebound spell? Her confusion was more than clear on her face although one thing did make sense, the accusation of her eavesdropping. Averting her gaze she didn't really have a response, or one that would suffice anyway.

Soon, she would've been offered a drink, Sky more than eager to accept the glass, taking an eager sip before passing it back. "I'm sorry..." she croaked. "I don-" however she was cut off with an intense sensation tearing down her legs. Eye wide she couldn't help but sit up, the feeling fading although everything below her waist felt numb. With a frown she would toss the blankets off, jaw slack at what she saw. It was a blue fish tail, the appendage now in place of her legs. She slowly laid back down, running both hands down her flushed face. "This is happening..." she mumbled, although based on what Yara had been saying... it was more than obvious that this was reality.

Gemma Nye (I can edit with more if you would like?)

 

[Gemma Nye]

"I wish I could say I know how you feel, but I don't. And what's worse is I can't really fix you, so you're doing great, just stay calm. You aren't dying. You aren't ill. It's just a curse" Yara sighed heavily, glancing down at Sky's tail. Her worst fears had been realized. Though, she was honestly a bit relieved she wasn't enchanted with crab claws. Or a squid head. Yara shuddered slightly, remembering a time she'd seen the sea witch bewitch a mer servant she once had for messing up her order.

It would be best to just tell Sky the truth. Yara couldn't weave an intricate story. And she couldn't cast a spell to get Sky to believe her or to hinder the memory altogether. And when it's all said and done, the girl still had a tail.

"I'm a mermaid. That's why I've been so evasive. I have learned that relations between mer and humans aren't exactly taboo, but require sacrifice in order to maintain the safety of the pod... I haven't a pod, so now that I think about it, I really don't know why I've been pushing people away. I guess for my own safety?..." She'd hopped of on a tangent of thoughts for a moment, but shook her head to clear them. "A long time ago, I sort of fell into the service of a sea witch. Dealing with her is enough to turn any relationship tumultuous and you just happened to be a victim of friendly fire. You aren't sick. If anything, remaining like this you'll live longer."

Yara continues on to give a short, but assuring, spiel about Sky's newfound tail and the general whatnots of being a mer. She kept it sweet and simple, as being a mermaid was simple. Magic is the tricky part and to Sky's luck, Yara couldn't offer much on that dizzying aspect. Which overall, will play to Sky's detriment because the girl is more likely to develop magical abilities than not. But hopefully, Sky takes a need-to-know approach to all of this and Yara can focus on how to change her back. For a moment, Yara considered the sheer amount of treasure she'd have to dig up just to even possibly get the sea witch to change Sky back.

"I have some fish baking. Rice and fresh vegetables. I cook fairly organically. I know this is a lot to take in. I also know we haven't exactly been all that close, and believe me, I've noticed you trying. I've just already explained that to you, I guess. Was for my safety and yours.. But now we are in a position where I can be more open with you about it. I can keep as much to myself about being a mer, as you'd like. I'm no model mermaid, but I'll try and get you fixed." The entire past twenty-four hours that had transpired did a number on Yara. She'd hardly slept but an hour or two total throughout the entire day since she was trying to make sure Sky's fever remained manageable.

Dinner had begun to permeate the small home with its scent. Yara lived in an economical townhome that was two floors. Upstairs was a bathroom and two bedrooms, but she mostly used the second for a study or storage since it was a bit smaller. She stood up, sticking her hands in the pockets of her blue jeans, giving Sky a small smile. "Take your time getting up." Her head motioned to the girl's tail. "In a couple of minutes, your legs will be back. Just.... don't get anymore wet..." She didn't know why she felt the need to add on that last little warning. But she followed it up with a warm smile.

"I'm going to go check on dinner. It should be done. So whenever you're ready, come on down. I'll be more than happy to take you home myself, tonight, if you'd like. You're also welcome to my bed if you just want to rest for the night. Whatever is easiest for you. You've got a lot to take in. But, if you're interested, it's a beautiful night so I usually sit out on my patio and eat. It overlooks the ocean. You're absolutely welcome to ask me any questions and I'll offer any answer to you that I can." Yara was glad she decided to just be supportive and do what she could. Of course, it couldn't possibly be her fault as it's not like she dragged Sky to the island or even knew she was there. But it is due to her magical inexperience she can't fix what she's become...

Yara wore a very light sweater that was just slightly too big for her and drooped off her smooth shoulder a bit. She gave Sky a smile before retreating to the door way and standing at it with her hand on the doorknob. "The bathroom is across the hall. Your clothes are on the dresser. They got a little wet since I had to carry you back to the shore and then get you up into the boat. They're cleaned and dried, though. The stairs are at the end of the hallway and the apartment only goes back from there. You should find me easily." Yara closes the door behind her and makes her way down the stairs, making minimal noise as he did so. Her bare feet and hands were cold, she'd been so nervous for Sky's awakening. But the lure of food changed her mind. It was the first full meal she'd cooked since bringing Sky home to watch over her.

Toward the back of the apartment opened into the living room, then the kitchen with a small connecting dining/breakfast room with a double panel sliding glass door along the back wall. There were columns that sat on the outer corners of the patio and Yara had acquired enough vines and plants to obscure the entire area, leaving it open out facing the ocean as opposing to the sides being open where the neighbors could see. The intricately woven foliage provided not only privacy, but insulation from the notoriously cool night breeze. At night, she'd light candles or a lantern to gently illuminate the area. She always enjoyed dinner when she could on the patio. It was relaxing.

 

[StoneWolf18]

Her expression was twisted into an odd mixture of multiple emotions as Yara continued to speak. Sky had gotten herself cursed, and while she wasn’t dying, she wasn’t sure which was the better alternative. But even if this wasn’t strange enough, the woman almost appeared relieved, what about she wasn’t sure, however.

Regardless, Yara began to explain.

So she was a mermaid. A creature that was said to only exist in fiction and the imaginations of children. While listening, Sky slowly began to understand why her behavior had been as such. It made sense, wanting to remain evasive and not have humans learn of her true nature which was potentially dangerous... for the human at least. The sea witch was also something she brought up, which she assumed wasn’t someone she was working for willingly. It caused her to feel even worse for intruding on her personal business.

Then Yara began to give her a small rundown of the basics of being a mermaid. It was somewhat of what she expected, water and most substances that were mostly water triggering a transformation in a few moments, like had been demonstrated with the glass of water not too long ago. That was slightly worrisome when bathing and, well, being able to drink water came into question but she decided to let her continue with her explanation. It was simple and covered as much as she needed to know at the moment… hopefully anyway, but sure was sure there could potentially be surprises to come.

Finally, food was mentioned. Seeing as she had been told she had been out for almost a day straight, this was welcome news. But along with that it was her acknowledging that she knew she was trying to know her a little more than she should’ve, but now with the obvious obstacle now unfortunately lowers, things were going to get a bit more open and different, for better or for worse.

Yara would then stand, Sky unable to hide a sarcastically jealous glance before she mentioned that her tail would revert back in a few minutes as long as she didn’t get went anymore. “I don’t plan on it…” She chuckled softly, tearing her gaze away from the new appendage and matching the other woman’s smile with one of her own. With the initial shock passed, it was now replaced with a morbid curiosity of sorts, which she had to hold back when she made the offer to answer any questions that she had. Later… she’d do that later.

Sky’s expression fell slightly as she said that she had to carry her back to the shore and the into the boat, only causing her previous guilt to fester even more. She had caused Yara so much trouble only to get herself in a giant, unfathomable mess. How wonderful.

Not able to say anything before she left the room, Sky sighed and simply let her eyes drift back down to her newfound tail, studying it with a curious gleam in her eye. Slowly she would lift a hand, run a hand down its surface, hesitantly however, somewhat expecting it to disappear into thin air upon her touch. Her face contorted into a grimace of sorts, it being… slimy? The, or, well- her scales were finer than she expected… if she had an expectation about any of this. It was white along the center with a light blue gradient quickly stemming off of it, wrapping around to the back which she didn’t have a clear view of at the moment. With a bit of a frown, Sky still only felt dead weight below her waist, unable to move or feel the tail at all. A side effect from the curse that maybe she was going to have to give it some time? She didn’t know but also didn’t have much more time to dwell on the subject as the strange sensation that had gathered in her legs earlier was now centered in her tail, she watching the rather odd sight of her tail splitting and legs reforming.

With the process complete, it took her a few tries to actually get out of the bed, her legs feeling like pins and needles were being stuck in all over them. Using the bed for support, Sky was eventually able to haul herself into a standing position, thankful for how cramped the room was as there were quite a few things she could grap onto for support. Taking a breath, she then forced herself to move, it being difficult due to how her stiff and sore lower body protested.

Eventually she located and entered the bathroom Yara had mentioned, flipping on the light and spotting her clothing. More than happy to dress, she had been about to leave when a vibrating in her jean’s pocket stopped her. Her cell phone? But she swore she had left that at home… Tugging it out while sitting on the closed lid of the toilet, she checked the caller ID. It was Derek, her and Yara’s coworker. With a sigh she answered the call, bringing the device up to her ear. “Sky! Where’ve you been? You didn’t come in yesterday. I was afraid whatever latches onto Yara each month got a hold of you too.” She responded with a dry laugh, her closing her eyes with a muted groan. “Yeah wouldn’t that be something…” She mumbled, knowing her and the true mermaid were now in the same boat. “You alright? Sound a little off.” “Oh? I’m fine, just wasn’t feeling well yesterday, forgot to call in sick as I slept through the entire day.” Sky could practically hear the man nodding through the phone. “Aight, no worries. It was slow anyway so no rush. Don’t wanna catch whatever it is that’s goin’ around, you know?” “I’d be surprised if you caught what I had.”

After another minute or two, she disconnected the call, slipping her phone in her pocket and managing to stand without any support. Glade that the sensation had faded, Sky shut off the light and began to try and find Yara.

It wasn’t too difficult as the apartment wasn’t too big, like she had said. Slowly nearing the other woman, Sky remained near the door of the patio, clearing her throat a bit awkwardly being beginning to speak. “I’m sorry for following you last night, I was just… worried as it was frequent and around the same time each month…” Trailing off, she’d consider her next words. “And… thanks for this… seeing as this… situation is my fault you really don’t need to be kind. Especially since I sort of intruded in on your private life.”

With that Sky cast her apologetic gaze away from Yara, focusing on the ocean past her, it being a spectacular view.

 

[Gemma Nye]

She would let Sky just have her space. Let her get up in her own time and make her way downstairs if she wanted.

At least, that's what Yara was trying to tell herself. In her anxiety while awaiting to see just how mad Sky would be over the whole situation, while it couldn't possibly be Yara's fault, she'd finished cooking all of the food and plated some after cleaning up the kitchen a bit from her mess. When the countertops were pristine and the pots were stored, she removed the plates from the idle remaining heat from the oven and set them on the counter. She took the time to fold a couple of napkins and grab the necessary silverware, taking the items out to the patio to set the table.

After taking the food outside, Yara glanced around the patio for a quick moment. Where had she...? Aha! She'd woven a string of light bulbs along the interior of her secluded patio to provide lighting at night. To conserve energy, she merely unplugged them when not in use. Once she found the proper ends she needed, her legs crossed the space so that her hands could grab hold of the cords in order to plug them together, the light immediately flooding the space with its soft and luminescent glow. Before even finishing the food, Yara covered the table with a cloth and brought out another chair so that if Sky decided to join her for dinner, there was a place to sit.

The apartment building was located close to the ocean in perspective of just looking directly forward out to it. But the town was settled up on top of the cliffs and Yara had deemed it mostly unsafe to dive from them into the waters. She'd scouted the area when she first moved here and saw that the rocks would require a fair running start in order to perform a jump large enough to clear them. She determined that she'd only use that route to the ocean in times of danger, but if it was just business as usual or she wanted to go for a leisurely swim, she'd opt for a much more secluded entry point where her risk of exposure was low. Jumping off the cliffs could be possibly viewed by anyone in the building looking out the back windows or anyone else residing on the same strip. Yara didn't think it smart to really use that way as her usual way because no human should be making that jump, anyways, and to do so would cause suspicion.

Yara affixed the silverware and napkin next to the plates before returning to the kitchen to grab some lemonade. She poured it into a couple of green cups procured from a cabinet above the counter with a smile and took them out to the patio to place them, as well. She heard a voice from behind her and turned, seeing Sky had gotten up and downstairs okay. Yara was also relieved to see that Sky didn't appear to be sickly and seemed in fair enough health. She listened to Sky's words carefully, eventually submitting to the frown playing at the corners of her lips.

"I wouldn't say that... You were curious. I'm really just glad your life was spared. And to be honest, I've seen the sea witch transfigure a victim into much less appealing creatures. I couldn't imagine myself not helping you out. I can't fix you, so until we can get you turned back, -- if you want to be turned back --, the safest thing for you to do would be to continue your life as is. It's the most secure thing for you to keep going as scheduled. No reason for anyone to suspect anything has changed. Keeps them off your back. And that's important, now, too. Until we can get your legs back permanently, you'll have to play it safe with who you're around. You could get sold to science just because of this situation and that's not something I wish for myself, so I can't allow you to be in blatant danger of it. It's really not so bad. A pain in the ass because of moisture, and rain and a drink of water without a straw are enough to expose you publicly. But you eventually just develop new habits." Yara offered Sky a warm smile as she walked through the open patio doors to go into the kitchen and grab a couple of wedges of lemon she'd sliced.

"Are you staying for dinner? I've just finished. The fish is still nice and hot," Yara was squeezing the fresh lemon juice over the fish for added flavor, the delectable trout having been freshly caught that morning. On her way back from the pier when she was done fishing, Yara bought some vegetables from the open air market and she always kept things like rice and pasta in the apartment. "I don't know if it'll ever hit you, but I definitely get a hankering for seafood."

By this time, Yara had finished preparing the table for dinner and took a seat. "Please, eat to your heart's content. There's more, so don't be shy. Though, I'd go ahead and ask whatever questions are just about to burn a hole through your curiosity because I'd rather answer them before you try and assume one and you get caught face down, tail up in the middle of the city center."