44. Neptune? Is that you? #2
“It’s supposed to bring out your true essence so the water can accept you or not. Think of it as a purity test. And the dew, according to the reading I did, is a reference to the magic inside of us,” Levi tries to explain another way.
‘If that’s the case, most of us are going to die because that Harpy is pure evil, so that water and this place are a toxic wasteland. I don’t want to go swimming in sludge. How the hell did Serafin live here so long?’ Rez mutters to herself.
‘The water must have been purified where she lives.’ I wink when Rez looks at me with a sly smile.
“I think I’ll just pick my own creature and call it a day,” I snort, turning my back on them and walking to the edge of the water.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Lynx. Even as an aquatic being, it’s up to the water if it will accept you, and this is the only way to be sure it won’t reject you,” Levi calls after me, and he has me momentarily second-guessing my plan.
‘Lynx, come here,’ Rez calls me over to the other side of the group, and when I get close enough, she grabs my hand. ‘I didn’t want to scare anyone, but look.’
She kicks her boot against the sand and uncovers some bones. They're not big enough to be human bones, but fish bones and small aquatic species by the look of it.
‘What are you thinking?’ I ask her, but we don’t have to guess as a creature we’ve never seen before is spat up from the water and thrown onto the sand by our boots.
It’s the size of my forearm and looks like a small Selkie, but it’s covered in blood.
It takes two gasping breaths before it stops moving, and my jaw drops.
‘I’m thinking I wouldn’t take a chance of the ocean rejecting you while we’re in the middle of it somewhere.’
‘Yep. I’ll eat the damn berries,’ I concede.
We walk back to the group and find everyone by the edge of the water. I can feel the tension in the air as we face the unknown.
“Relax, guys, we’re just taking a group bath. Did anyone bring bath salts?” I ask, looking around.
“Sorry, it’s in my beauty bag, and I left that on the kitchen counter,” JP clucks his tongue, smiling.
“Speaking of bags, what’s going to happen to mine when we change?” Rez asks, looking a little worried.
“Here, I’ll bind it to you, so if you lose it, we’ll be able to track it. Or if you ever gain a S.I.N. box, your items will transfer to that,” Levi reassures her.
“Oh, thank you so much.” She quickly kisses him on the cheek before permitting herself to take in a deep breath and letting her shoulders drop.
“A reminder, guys. We have no friends or connections in this world,” Levi says, handing out the fruit to everyone.
“We didn’t have connections in the other worlds either, but we found allies there,” I point out, cocking an eyebrow at our leader.
“Yeah, but we have King Desmond that rules this world, Serafin’s father,” Ryker states. “And knowing her, she’s paid people to take us out, or those of us she doesn’t want around,” he says, looking directly at Rez, the threat clear.
She’s a dead woman in this world, if we’re not careful.
“Before I forget, telepathic communication is normal here. So, at least depending on what kind of creature we change into, we should be able to communicate in that form,” Levi adds.
That’s helpful.
“Well, we don’t have all day,” Rez says, biting into the fruit and chewing.
Not waiting for her reaction, I bite into mine and groan at the sweetness of the pulp.
The black spikes are soft as I chew, and the pulp inside has a pink sweetness like watermelon with an aftertaste of strawberry and kiwi.
I’m so mesmerized by the taste that I don’t notice my body going limp until I fall to the sand and start to spasm.
Shit. What’s happening!?
It happens within seconds. I hear it, instead of feeling it, a wave of water encases me off the beach and pulls me back as if it’s accepting me back home.
Whatever creature I have turned into, I immediately can tell the water currents, how deep I am, where I’m at, who’s around me, and if they are friend, foe, or the unknown.
‘Is everyone here?’ Moni asks, her mental voice high-pitched, easily showing her panic.
‘We’re all here. Open your eyes, Moni,’ Chester coaxes with a soft chuckle, and she’s not the only one who takes his advice.
It turns out, I had my eyes closed as well, so when I open them, my jaw drops as I take in the rest of my team. Holy Shit! I think it’s my team at least. I’m surrounded by fish, coral, and, well, water. Talk about the Essence of the Dew, the ocean really did bring out everyone’s inner core.
There’s a multi-colored sea horse that is zipping around while quickly changing sizes in front of me.
‘Moni?’ I ask, as the horse starts having a seizure of different colors as it pops in and out of its two-inch and four-foot form.
‘Yes! It’s me.’ She moves in a circle and suddenly stops when a leopard seal immediately rushes over and rubs its nose up against her.
‘And I’m assuming the seal is Chester?’ I call out. It’s verified as they cuddle in their forms. Of course, he would be a fucking leopard seal. He’s the hero-type of guy, with a fiery passion for protecting Moni; hopefully, he can actually see with this form.
Off to the side of our group, you can’t miss Reaper, as he’s circling himself trying to catch his long ass tail as a thresher shark.
It is weird seeing fins made out of flames, though.
Whose sick idea was it to give a Hell Hound puppy more teeth and a flame whip that can slice through bodies and kill by unleashing a water whip?
Even I know that's irresponsible. That’s probably why there are no creatures close to him; they don’t want to be punted into the next realm by that weapon or roasted to a crispy nugget.
‘Who’s who?’ I ask, wanting to make this quick and easy rather than guessing. Better yet, what the fuck am I? I try to look down, but I realize I can’t see anything or even move. Well, this isn’t going to work. Do I have hands? Flippers? A dick?
‘Knox here.’ A great white shark swims around us quickly, pulling my attention to him, and we call out his creature. ‘I think the ocean picked accordingly, don’t you?’ He chuckles, his teeth glistening in the light.
A blue humanoid figure turns around and faces me. Long blue hair floats around his shoulders, drawing attention to his spiky ears, bright brown eyes, and ripped abs. Seriously, am I bi? I know there’s nothing wrong with it, and I know Rez wouldn’t care, but damn, what a way to find out.
‘Neptune, is that you?’ I swear, he reminds me of a picture I once saw in a book about the Roman God of the Sea. I would lick my lips if I had any. Seriously, what the hell am I?
‘Nice to know that my Nix form is still sexy, thanks Lynx.’ He blows me a kiss, and it becomes painfully obvious that it’s JP.
I watch him for a few moments as he tries moving his body.
He rolls around and moves as if he’s water itself, and morphs his lower body into fins, easily propelling himself through the water, like propellers.
Now that’s kinda cool.
‘Is that a monster?’ Moni cries, darting behind Chester, as a large dark serpent coils itself next to us and blinks with hazel eyes. Even though he’s made himself smaller, his mass is enough to sink multiple ships if he were back on Earth.
‘Levi? Is that you?’ Rez’s voice calls out, and Levi’s head turns to the left, where a Harpy floats.