Chapter 16
CHAPTER 16
I joined the small group that was going to see the crops. On the way, the Atlantean leading us, who told us his name was Wade, kept up a running commentary about everything that we saw. I learned a lot about the construction of the coral buildings, like that they took five years to construct their homes, and that the town itself was designed like the pattern inside shells.
It hadn’t occurred to me that seashells were spiral like our galaxy, but when Wade scooped up an unoccupied shell in demonstration, I could see that he was right. It was beautiful how patterns echoed each other. I was amazed that I had to go to the bottom of the ocean to discover that.
The crops, according to Wade, were spread out around the town in every direction. It took a lot of food to feed all the people in the town. They had hunters as well, which he was also in charge of, but he said that we wouldn’t get to meet them until that evening when they returned for the late meal. They traveled far afield to hunt, only going out every other day and going to a different sector each time to allow for the fish to repopulate.
One of my classmates asked if eating fish was cannibalism, prompting a disgusted expression on Wade’s face. “I not fish ,” he signed emphatically.
I agreed with him. The fish seemed to live in harmony with the Atlanteans, but they weren’t alike at all, other than their fins.
Wade explained that some types of fish were better suited as pets, like the tropical colored fish that lived on their homes, but others, like the sea bass, tuna, and trout, were for eating.
“Difference between cows and dogs,” I signed to my class.
Wade looked confused, not knowing either animal. “Sea cow not food,” he signed.
I nodded in agreement. “Land cow food,” I signed back, attempting to explain.
He signed an agreement and we swam on to the fields. “Here rest, North,” he explained, the sea floor visible as far as I could see. I liked that they included a rest period for the fields. He gestured to the east. “New growth,” he signed. Then to the South, “Almost ready.” And to the west, “Ready for food. Takes four moon cycles.”
“What if problem?” I asked. “Drought, sick, damage?”
“What drought?” Wade asked.
“No water,” I signed, and then laughed when I realized. “Not problem here.”
Everyone laughed with me. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten I was under water!
“Gather food, check damage. Always careful.” Wade shrugged gracefully. “Much space. Easy extra rest, if needed.”
He brought us closer to the ground, where we could easily see that the fields sloped down, toward the town. On land, we would have them slope away from the town to avoid flooding, but again, not a problem here. Wade showed us the little trenches dug into the ground, very similar to an irrigation field.
“Encourage water to flow here,” Wade explained. “Go out, find easy way, spread through field. Nutrient rich.”
So it is exactly like an irrigation field . They use currents to spread the plant food via the irrigation channels. Clever.
Wade showed us each section of the field, and we got to see the farmers in the new growth crops encouraging the currents through the irrigation fields. It looked a little like they were doing tai chi, the slow-moving arms and precise motions almost soothing.
When we returned to the town, Aiden and I switched groups to follow Breese, the Atlantean in charge of the youth in the town. He also kept up a running commentary as he led us through the streets, but he talked about the people, what they did for fun, and what a day generally looked like for them. It turned out he looked younger than he was, a couple years older than us instead of a teenager.
“Home for sleep, for alone time,” he signed. “Community important. Eat together, work together, learn together, play together.”
Every few homes, there was a larger building that was a gathering space for several families. Breese explained that they would share the chores of preparing food and cleaning amongst them. Anyone was welcome, especially if they helped clean up afterward. Courting couples were introduced to their families at mealtimes.
“What dates?” Aiden asked.
“Moon?” Breese asked, confused. “Any moon.”
“Courting activities?” Aiden tried again.
Breese brightened. “Learn new skill together, build home of friend together, gather food together.” He grinned. “Mate together. After many moons happy, build own home. Not happy, find new partner.”
“Like,” I signed. “Together good.” I took Aiden’s hand and squeezed it.
Breese grinned. “Courting?” he asked us.
I finger-spelled, “Soulmate,” since I didn’t know the sign for it.
Breese showed me the proper sign, a hand over the heart brought up to the lips. “Few soulmates. Congratulations. Look courting area?”
I nodded eagerly. “Look good.” I wanted to see some of the young couples as they got to know each other.
“Skill area, or mate area?” Breese asked, grin turning mischievous.
I blushed and looked up at Aiden.
“We participate?” he asked.
“If you like.”
“How?”
“Look. Learn.” Breese nodded. “Come.” He led us down several streets into one near the center of town. He paused outside the building, turning to face us. “All welcome. Touch if consent.”
The students nodded soberly and made the sign of respect.
Breese smiled and led the way inside the building.
I was expecting it to be dark, with people tucked away in the corners. Something illicit.
This was anything but. It was as spacious as other meeting rooms we’d been in, and there were a few other young mer floating around, some coupled together, others alone. A few older mer were also present; one couple and a single female checking in on everyone. When she spotted us, she swam over, greeting Breese with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Breese explained who we were, although I suspected she already knew, and introduced her to us as Rhea.
“Want to learn mate,” he signed, pointing at Aiden and I.
Rhea smiled and gestured to us to come forward. “Mate land?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“Lots,” Aiden added, making Rhea laugh.
“Same idea,” she said. “Arousal most important.”
Aiden looked confused and ran a hand over his tail, where his cock would be if he had legs.
Rhea noticed and nodded. “Arousal important,” she signed again. “Kiss land?”
“Yes,” I signed.
She made little shooing motions with her hands, as if telling us to get on with it.
Aiden looked back at our classmates, who were watching us with barely disguised amusement, and flushed. “Public?” he asked.
“Always.” Rhea nodded emphatically. “Community important.”
“Pretend invisibility,” I signed to him. “Focus me.” I ran my fingertips up his arm, feeling his tension in his muscles.
“Ready?” he asked, uncertainty written on his features. His gaze flicked over to our classmates again.
“Different bodies. Not naked,” I finger-spelled the last word. “No sound. Ready.”
Aiden’s chest heaved as if he took a deep breath, and then he cupped my head in his hands, tugging on my ponytail in question.
“Take out,” I signed, and then wrapped my arms around his neck, fusing our lips together.
He felt the same, his strong body supporting mine, his soft hair beneath my palms, his plush lips coaxing my passions higher. But there was no gravity, no weight pinning me against a bed, no thigh thick between my legs to grind upon.
He released my hair from the prison of the elastic and buried his fingers in it, tipping my head to the side and delving his tongue into my mouth as he took the kiss from innocent to dirty.
My hips stuttered and my tail followed, flipping us through the water until I felt strong, firm hands supporting us. I backed away from the kiss to see Rhea pull her hands from my waist.
“Good. Continue,” she signed. “Tail later.”
Confused, but too turned on to care, I found Aiden’s lips with mine again. I ran my hands down his chest, feeling the unfamiliar texture that his wetsuit had become on his torso. His tail blended in visually, so I allowed my fingers to map out the differences in his muscles. The oblique muscles on the sides of his hips had become more pronounced, the muscles that had formed his ass now melded seamlessly across the back.
As I made my way back around to the front, reaching as if grabbing for his cock, my fingers met a different sort of pattern on the front of his tail. I felt around it, enjoying the spongy texture, until my fingers slipped inside and Aiden groaned.
The sound was muffled by water, but unmistakable. My nerves responded, singing with pleasure. Something brushed against my fingers, and I pulled back from the kiss again, curious about the source.
A long, thick cock was emerging from a slit in the front of Aiden’s tail. I gripped it, and his head tipped back, overwhelmed.
“Good instinct,” Rhea signed beside us. “He prepare you, too.”
Me too?
I was confused for a moment until Rhea pointed at her own tail. I switched my attention from his cock to my tail, and I spotted a slightly softer spot where the apex of my thighs would be if I had legs. I took Aiden’s hand and put it against me.
He prodded at it, and my back arched, sensations overwhelming me.
“Good?” he signed with one hand.
I nodded vehemently, the motion pulling my hair around my face in an auburn cloud.
“Taste,” he signed.
I grinned. “Yes.”
Aiden carefully flipped me around in the water until I was facing his cock, and he had my—pussy? Slit?—in front of him. While he explored me, petting the sides and dipping his fingers within, I gripped his cock and stroked it.
This fishy version and his human one were as different as his beast compared to his human one. It was still quite thick, and longer than any but his primary beast cock, not that I knew how much room I’d have in this body. And it was almost prehensile, moving in my hand against the flow of water around us. The lack of testicles was a little confusing, and I wondered where they had gone. It was also smoother, no thick vein on the top, and no frenulum at the tip, just a cylindrical shape.
I licked the tip, and his tail jerked. I wasn’t sure if the extra salty flavor was from the surrounding sea water, or if his taste had also changed.
Aiden switched from his fingers to his mouth, licking into me, and I cried out, the sound coming out of me like a burble.
My hands slid over his scales, trying to find somewhere to grip and slipping off. I gave up and grabbed his cock, intent on returning the pleasure.
I took his cock in my mouth, sliding over it, noting the subtle ridging in texture that my fingers hadn’t been able to pick up.
Aiden’s arms banded around my waist, keeping my body pressed against him, and I copied him.
A gentle hand on the small of my back brought me out of my pleasure-induced haze, and I looked over at Rhea.
“Time,” she signed. “Ready.”
Ready for what?
My confused mind wondered what she was talking about before I realized with a start that she meant penetration.
Aiden turned me around again and pushed my hair off my face with gentle hands. He drew me into another fin-curling kiss, tongues and lips clashing, before letting me go. He reached between us for his cock, guiding it toward me. I was surprised to see that the spongy area on myself was bigger than I had initially thought.
I wondered briefly if lube was necessary, and then Aiden breached me, his cock sliding into me like we were made for each other in any form. My chest was heaving with the intensity of the moment.
Aiden’s gaze flicked between his cock penetrating me and my face, checking in non-verbally. I could feel how much he loved me, how much this moment meant to him, that I was willing to explore our love in any form we took.
Once he was embedded fully within me, he tried to rock his hips, but the motion didn’t quite work without the aid of gravity and friction.
Rhea’s eyes sparkled with amusement as she signed, “Stay together. Use tails. Kiss.”
Use tails?
I wondered what she meant by that.
Aiden twined his tail around mine, our fins overlapping, and ran his fingers up my body to my head. He buried them in my hair, pulling me into a kiss. I let myself get swept away by our connection, him buried deep within me, our bodies rocking slightly with the motion of the water.
After a few moments, I noticed that his cock was feeling thicker, putting more pressure around the opening. Once I felt it, it was hard to ignore. The expansion got bigger and bigger until I couldn’t focus on the kiss anymore.
We broke apart, foreheads pressed together, both of us panting for non-existent air.
“What happen?” Aiden signed, looking to Rhea for explanation.
“Knot. Keep together. Humans have?” She looked confused.
Understanding broke across Aiden’s face. “No. I do. Beast form.”
“Much much much,” I signed repeatedly. God, Aiden, I mouthed at him, feeling overwhelmed.
“How pleasure her?” Aiden signed frantically. He finger-spelled the word “clit”, but Rhea didn’t understand. His fingers slipped between our bodies, rubbing over where we were joined.
His instincts seemed to be good, because the pain-pressure faded, overtaken by pleasure. “More,” I whimpered, but all that came out was a burble.
Aiden seemed to understand, because his other hand tweaked where my nipple would be, sending shockwaves through my system.
I pressed my lips back to his, desperately trying to reach the peak of my ecstasy without my usual methods available to me. “Come for me,” I moaned into Aiden’s mouth, not that he could understand the words. He could, however, hear the desperation in my non-verbal sounds.
After a few more breathless moments, he grunted and I could feel heat within me, sending me over my own peak.
We sank slowly to the floor of the building, still entwined.
“Beautiful,” Rhea signed, smiling happily. “Together.”
“Together,” I signed back weakly.