by Roan Hart
Slowly, she blew out a breath and tried to gather herself. "Okay. Okay so I'm not human. What does that have to do with… whatever just happened."
Looking sheepish suddenly, Seibal tucked an errant strand of hair behind their ear, though it was such a mess they really shouldn't have bothered. "So you know that spell I was trying to do?" they said.
Faith felt the realization dawn slow and inevitable across her face, mouth dropping open. "You didn't—"
"Whatever you are, you have a lot of magic in you. And kisses can be really powerful…" They shrugged their shoulders and slowly pulled themselves out of the water. Where their powerful tail had once been were two long, dark legs: thighs thick, ankles slender, feet large and awkward looking when Seibal sat and pulled one into their lap.
"Woah," they said, then wriggled their toes and laughed.
Faith couldn't help but stare. Well, her question about whether she was just attracted to the impossibility of Seibal had been questioned because hot damn.
"You used me, my magic I mean, to complete the spell?" And didn't that feel weird tumbling from her mouth. My magic.
Seibal looked up from where they had been playing with one knee, bending and unbending it, running curious fingers over the new joint. They still looked rather sheepish when they said, "Yeah. I didn't mean to though, I swear! I was so exhausted, and then I felt all that power being offered to me and I just… well, I should have asked first. I would have if I had been in my right mind, but still. I'm sorry."
Despite how scary being dragged under the water had been, and her own new-found exhaustion, Faith couldn't hold a grudge. Especially not with Seibal looking delighted about getting to explore their new body.
"It's okay," she told them, and they smiled bright and sunshiney at her. Then went right back to running their hands up and down their legs with an adorable, determined sort of curiosity.
"There's… hair," they said after a moment, and Faith couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah, a lot of humans shave it off but we still grow it. You can shave it too, if you like."
They shrugged their broad shoulders, apparently unconcerned with the specifics, and moved their hands up to their thighs. Even as Faith watched, they spread those wonderfully thick thighs, fingers dipping between them, and she suddenly had to look away or risk saying or doing something really stupid.
She cleared her throat. "Wanna try walking?"
Seibal glanced up from their exploration, eyes shining. "Oh my god, yes! That's totally something I can do now!"
Laughing again, Faith climbed to her own feet and then offered a hand down to Seibal. "Easy there, it takes humans a while to learn how to walk, you know. You're not going to get it right away."
"It can't be that hard!" Seibal argued, gripping her hand with fingers no longer adorned with claws. They pulled themselves up, nearly knocking Faith over in the process, and then stood there swaying, one arm out for balance, the other holding onto Faith.
She knew they'd be tall, but damn. They towered over her own five feet, at the very least six if not more. And it left Faith with her nose practically pressed to their chest, pectorals slightly rounded, definitely delicious no matter if they were small breasts or just the products of extra fat (she couldn't tell which, honestly, but didn't mind either way).
If anything, them turning human was only making her more attracted. Christ, she needed to get a hold of herself.
"Are you steady?" she asked, trying to back away from Seibal's wobbly form. They released her but reluctantly, and stood with both arms raised trying to get their balance. Their face was drawn in concentration, tongue stuck between their teeth.
"Okay, so maybe this is pretty hard after all," they admitted, then promptly fell on their face when they tried to take a step forward.
Faith rushed to help them up again, but couldn't help her snicker or her smirk. Damn she was tired though, she didn't think she'd be able to help them up too many more times if they kept falling. Her whole body felt sore.
Thankfully, after a few more tumbles, Seibal finally seemed to get the hang of it. They spent a couple minutes just walking in circles before turning back to Faith, their face shining and bright and gleeful. "What else can I do!?"
"Hmm. Run, skip, jump. Lots of things, I guess."
Seibal made an adorable, high pitched noise, then demanded Faith show them how to do all of the above and then some. Faith complied despite how tired she was, because they were just that cute, running around in butt-naked excitement like a young child.
Eventually they had to sit down though, because Faith was starting to get a headache, and Seibal's new found legs weren't as strong as they could be.
"These are… weird," Seibal said when Faith gave them the cold fish sandwiches. "Not bad, just weird. I've never had cooked meat before. Or bread, for that matter."
Faith just shrugged. "Gotta start eating like a human eventually."
"You know I'm not completely human, right?"
"You're not?" Faith asked, a little stunned. They looked pretty damn human to her.
In response, they bared their teeth and Faith realized they were still predator-sharp. "More like a mermaid-human cross. If I get back in the water my tail will grow again, but I can shift when I want to now."
"Well that sounds useful."
"Yup. I've got no intentions of getting back in the water though. I want to live as a human," they said, sounding wistful. "Maybe I'll go back when things have calmed down but…" they shrugged, "I'm not rushing."
"Well, I live with my parents, but you're welcome to come stay with me. At least until you can get on your feet," Faith offered, feeling a little anxious.
She should have known Seibal would gladly accept the invitation though, with a smile and a quiet, "I'd like that."
They were on the way to car, ready to leave the beach for good, when Seibal said, "You know, you haven't actually told me what kind of creatures you and your family are."
Huh, so she hadn't. They'd both been too distracted by the spell having been completed. "I'm a dragon," she told them. "At least that's what my parents said. Apparently we're pretty rare? Also we live a long time, and I'm really young by dragon standards. Or something. I won't even be able to shift for another couple of decades."
Seibal bumped their shoulder into her, nearly sending Faith tumbling down the sand dune they were climbing. They just laughed, the bastard, and then told her about how they were young by mermaid standards too.
The car turned out to be an interesting experience, beyond just showing Seibal how to operate the door and seatbelt. They jumped when the engine started, one hand going for Faith's arm and squeezing tightly, the other splayed against the window.
"What—" they started, and then squeaked when Faith put the car in reverse and backed out of her spot.
She just laughed.
They'd have to stop somewhere in town so Faith could buy clothes for Seibal, and she'd definitely have to spend some time convincing her parents to let Seibal stay with them. There were also all kinds of little things she'd have to teach Seibal just so they could live a normal life. But Faith was hopeful, and despite some initial fear Seibal seemed optimistic, and they both soon discovered that not all their kisses had such drastic, exhausting effects.
FIN
About the Author
Roan Hart is a young, aspiring LGBTQ+ author who somehow manages to write original fiction in between work and college. What little free time they do have is spent reading and writing in online communities, cooking, or bugging their two house cats. Hart has lived all over the state of Texas, but is currently trying to make Austin feel like home.
For more, check out their blog:
scribespirare.tumblr.com