So here is something you don't see too often. A marlin transformation. This was done with
genet1cks found him on my KiK group. He was a pleasure to work with
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The Ocean’s Game Warden
by born2beagator and genet1icks
The sun was shining on a beautiful scene off Tortuga in the Florida Keys. After fishing all day, finally I had gotten a bite. This fish was huge. Dragging on for a good hour, the fight was grueling. Suddenly the fish jumped, and I gasped.
“No way…” I exclaimed. It was a marlin. I’d been looking for one of these fish for my collection for ages. Add to it that this fish carried my name-Marlin, and it was the perfect trophy. Finally the fight ended, and I had the fish on deck. With a whoop of joy, I stuck him in the cooler and prepared for the trip home.
Little did he know that Naia was watching Marlin intently to determine his real intentions. Naia was a mermaid tasked with protecting the sea life of this area and wanted to make sure that the human treated his catch properly. When she saw that he put it in the cooler with the intent of keeping it instead of releasing it after a souvenir photograph she became irate and started thinking of a plan to make the poacher pay for his crime against nature. She dove back into the sea and started following the boat back to shore.
I pulled into the dock, proud of my catch, but furtive. I wasn’t supposed be doing this, but if I was careful, no one would catch me, and I’d have my namesake on my wall. A true prize. Lugging the cooler to my truck, I prepared to go, when I saw a hand on the truck bed. Looking up, I gasped. Standing there was a beautiful woman. Icy blue hair and eyes, and an enchanting, unblemished face. More shockingly, she was wearing a two piece bathing suit with shell prints on it, one that left little to the imagination. I stood there, mouth hanging slack jawed like a fish.
“How’s the catch today? Got anything good?” She asked, a curious look in her eyes.
“Uh...C-catch?” I stammer. This wasn’t good. If this beautiful young woman knew anything about fishing laws I’d be in serious trouble.
“You know, fishing, boats, the stuff in the sea? That cooler looks heavy. and you seem to have some serious gear on that boat” Despite her inquisitiveness, she was smiling at me. “I’m surprised you’re able to lift that huge box all by yourself, you must be pretty strong. Do you go alone on your boat?”
I straighten up. Could this day be any better? I catch a marlin, then meet a gorgeous young woman on the dock that is impressed with me. “Yeah. It’s very dangerous. But I live for the thrill of the catch” I say seriously.
“I’m sure it must be pretty exciting! It looks fun. I’m Naia by the way. I was wondering, after you’re done loading your truck, would you be willing to explain to me all the subtleties of fishing? We could go chat about it on the beach!” She asks, seeming a bit shy, not holding eye contact with me.
So my day could get better after all. “What do you know about fishing, and in particular, fishing laws?” I ask curiously.
“Well that seems oddly specific!” she replies, laughing. “I’m totally new to fishing, it’s not something i do naturally. I like all animals in the sea.”
I open the cooler revealing the dead marlin. “Well...here is my catch.”
“Wow, this is a huge fish! It’s so beautiful, it’s a shame you had to kill it! I hope you will at least use it in some useful way, so it didn’t die in vain?” She seems very sad at the sight of the dead marlin, a magnificent specimen. “Is it okay if we go to the beach together so you can explain how you caught it?”
“Of course! But I have to head home soon to have him mounted. My name is Marlin by the way.” I say with a smile. “Yep, same name as my catch!”
“We can go for a quick walk and then continue later!” She exclaims, visibly giddy. Both the charming girl and I make our way to the deserted beach for a short walk alongside each other. As I explain all about fishing, she suddenly picks up an interesting looking seashell and looks at it closely. When I ask about it, she offers it to me and says “This kind of seashell is used for perfumes, you should smell it, it’s really nice.” I take the seashell. When I smell it, a sudden strong smell of fish and kelp overpowers me and causes my head to spin a little. It is gone as fast as it came.
I put my hand to my forehead. “Whoa, that was strong. What was in that thing?”
“I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s very strong. I should have warned you!” she giggles, as she takes the seashell and throws it back into the sea. “It’s where it belongs now. We should head back, don’t you have a fish to mount?”
“Yeah I do. But what about you Naia? Do you...erm…” I blush. This was a stupid idea. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No, at least not yet!” She smiles and as we both make our way back to the truck, she hands me a small piece of paper. “Next time you’re around, call me, I know of a nice beach we could go to!”
I am visibly blushing now, but I finished loading my car, hugged Naia goodbye and made my way home. I’m taken by an urge to have some sushi, thankfully I know of a good place on the way home so I stop there and get big pieces of tuna to go and bring them with me. Once home I call my taxidermist and end up punching a wall.
“A month!?” I exclaim. “I have to wait a month until you even see it!?” I hang up the phone violently, disappointed that I can’t get the immediate satisfaction of seeing that fish on my wall. I put it in my enormous freezer for now, until I can find something to do with it. I knew this was a bad idea. Thankfully, I remember that I bought that delicious smelling fish so I take it out and decide to it eat it all, without any sauce. The rice part doesn’t seem appealing to me at all for some reason tonight. I just want to eat the meat.
I sigh as I see the time. 9 pm already, and I have to be up at 5 to go to work. I head to the shower, giddy at the prospect of getting wet. I shrug it off as having been in salty air all day. I undress, and jump in the shower immediately. As soon as I turn it on, everything feels great, but it feels way too hot. Curious, since it’s set at my usual temperature. I turn it down all the way, which normally would be freezing but for some reason today feels just right.
As I leave the shower, refreshed, I look at myself in the mirror to make sure I didn’t burn too much under the Florida sun. Everything looks mostly fine, except for some dry patches of skin flaking off on top of my hands, and it seems like the webbing between my fingers goes higher than I remember. As I wipe my face down, I notice that my nose feels a little different, as if it was a little longer and pointier.
Suddenly I’m hit with a massive bout of weariness. For lack of a better word, I felt like a fish out of water. Everything felt so dry. So hot. I go to take my temperature and gasp when it reads 110! That is not good. Loathe to call the hospital I instead strip off my clothes and head to bed after taking some medicine for fever.
I keep tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep as I feel way too hot despite the AC. I’ve read that they use cold baths to cool people who have high fever so I decide to try that out. I draw a bath, as cold as possible, and strip once again to lie in it. As soon as my feet touch the water, I quickly submerge the rest of my body until only my head sticks out. Everything suddenly feels much better, as if my fever is subsiding. I decide to stay there for a bit longer. I can see my toes at the back of the bathtub, and they too seem to have some extra webbing that definitely should not be there. But the cool water caressing my skin pushes the worry away, and before I know it I fall asleep.
I yawn loudly, waking up to find myself still in the tub. The water had done wonders for me. I get out of the bathtub, and am immediately hit with the heat again. Sighing, I call work and tell them I’m too sick to come in today. But I need some company. Only one person to call. With a smile on my face I give Naia a call and then sink back into the cold bathwater.Surprisingly, she accepted to come over. It’s a good thing I left the front door unlocked, I told her to come straight up. As I’m waiting for her, I suddenly am taken with a strong pain along my spine, but when I flip over to lie in the water on my belly everything is fine again. I try looking on my back, but the only thing I can see is a raised ridge along my spine.
“Whoa. Ok, yeah, definitely glad I stayed home from work today. Although…” I examine the ridge, and for some reason a sense of pride, not panic, wells up within me. This will be impressive to females. I blink, then burst out laughing. “Sure Marlin, let’s tell a girl, hey wanna see my back ridge?” As a fun coincidence, that’s exactly when I hear a loud knock on the door. With a strange hoarse voice, I yell “Come in! I’m upstairs!” and hear the door open and Naia climbing up the stairs almost silently. She knocks on the bathroom door. I tell her to come in. She stands next to the bathtub.
“Hi Marlin! Are you okay? What are you doing in your bath tub?”.
“Uh, soaking.” I answer. “I got sick last night, felt really dry. I’ve been in here all night.”
“Oh, right. Don’t worry, that’s perfectly expected.” She replies, with a slight smirk. “You are starting to look much nicer”. She admires my shortening legs terminated by feet that look more like fins, covered in thin webbing, my body that has become hairless and glistening without my notice, and my decidedly pointier nose.
I blush deeply. “You really think so?” I ask breathlessly. For some reason I’m enamored with this blue haired girl. “Well. I called off work today, so we have all day that we can spend together. I’ll do whatever you want.”
“ Did you get the fish mounted? I didn’t see it.”
“The fish. Oh...that fish. Uh.” I look down, a hint of shame on my face.
“Well, what did you do with it?” Her look is changing, being more negative, judging.
“I’ve made a horrible mistake.” I bite out, a tear sliding down my cheek. “That was a magnificent fish. A hunter, like me. But I denied him another hunt for my own selfish desires. In truth, all I was going to do was mount him on my wall. A trophy.”
“Well I’m glad you feel bad about it, but it’s too late to be sorry now. I think we should go to the beach soon, in your current state you might not be able to walk much longer.” Naia replied.
I look at her in shock. “W-what!?”
“I think the natural sea breeze can do you good, it will cool you down and make you feel better. It will clear your sinuses in a way” she adds, while chuckling, but I fail to notice the chuckle.
“But what was that about not being able to walk much longer?” I say, eyes going wide.
“I just meant that I need to show you something on the beach and we can’t wait for too long before it happens.” Naia replied in a reassuring tone.
I nod. Then realize something. “Whoa. Uh Naia...can you turn around? I’m sorta...naked.”
“Sure. Here are some clothes. Let me know when you’re ready.” she helpfully leaves clothes near the tub and turns away.
I pick up the jeans and T-shirt and slip them on, wobbling a bit. The clothes seem to stick to me in places and slip in others. I take a step and wobble again. “Whoa...I think I’m gonna need help Naia.”
She puts my slick arm around her shoulders and supports me on the way down to exit the house. I manage to hobble along with her help. “It’s okay, we don’t have to go far, the thing I want to show you is at the closest beach from here. We can walk there.”
But by the time we get to the door, I’m in pain. “Arghh...Naia...don’t walk, take my car. Walking hurts. Something is wrong with me.”
“Oh, it’s quicker than expected”, she mutters, but you don’t hear it. “Sure, let’s take your car. I’ll help you climb in”. She grabs the keys and helps me to my vehicle.
I yelp in pain as I put pressure on my feet and practically fall into the passenger seat, some tears in my eyes. She walks around, gets into the driver seat, and we head for the beach. The pressure on my feet having eased, I bend over and and try taking off my shoes to lessen the pain. As I bend down, and take them off, I see that you have no more nails on my toes, and the distinction between individual toes is more difficult to make among the increasing webbing and size.
Groaning, I try to put the strange sickness out of my mind. “Naia. I really hope what you are showing me is going to make me feel better. I feel so strange...just...out of my element right now.”
“Don’t worry dear, you’ll feel much better in a little bit when we get to the beach.”
I look at myself in the car’s mirror, and I notice that my eyes are much bigger, rounder, and the iris has a much more metallic sheen to it. It doesn’t seem to make me see things differently so far. For some reason the thought of that marlin comes up again. I start sobbing quietly in my seat.
“It’s okay, I know you feel bad, I’m sure we’ll find a way to make up for that loss. Don’t worry about it.” You feel some slight straining in the back of your pants, and your strange dorsal ridge is pushing into the car seat as well.
My sobbing continues. “You don’t understand...the fish...she was female! And young!!! She hadn’t mated yet! That’s possibly a generation of marlins that won’t happen!”
“I know. I will show you how you can make up for it. As a matter of fact, it has already started.Oh here we are” she says, as we reach the beach entrance. She parks the car close to the shore, and goes around it to open the door to help me out.
I step out, and have to catch myself on the door. “Naia...I can’t put weight on my feet!” Once again she supports me and takes me toward the water, my changed feet barely dragging on the sand. I don’t realize how strong she must be to be able to do that. I can definitely feel a big bulge in the back of my pants, now that the seat isn’t pressing on it.
Looking at the ocean longingly, I realize how dry I feel. “Naia...I need water…” I say, surprised at my gurgling voice, almost sounding out of breath. I look down at my hairless legs and see they are blue! Not just blue, but cracking, a little blood showing. “Naia! My legs!!! They are so dry!!!” I feel them, and it feels like sandpaper.
Naia drags me to a small quiet tidepool, where the water isn’t too deep and the waves don’t come crashing every few seconds. She sets me down, sitting in the water. The contact of cold seawater seems to trigger a huge relief in my body, and my skin looks much better. My legs have shrunk and shortened even more so the only thing I can do is feebly move them. I can feel something stretching and growing above my buttcheeks, and it’s twitching.
“Na-grllrb” I choke out a gurgling voice. Suddenly a searing pain shoots through my neck. My hand shoots to it, and I find a slit on either side of my neck, flapping in the wind. “Naia! It...hurts...so much” I bite out. I start gasping for air. “Breathe! Can’t!!!!” I start to panic
Naia lowers me on my belly until my mouth and neck are submerged, and suddenly I feel refreshed, regaining my thoughts and panicking less. I can feel the water flowing through my neck, providing me with valuable oxygen. Am I breathing underwater?
“Naia.” I say, stopping at the sound of the strange voice. It sounds like someone trying to talk through water. On top of that, words are hard to form, as if there is a block in my brain. “Naia, what’s happening???” I ask, not panicking anymore. The water has done wonders for my skin and my neck.
“Well I think it’s time to tell you the truth.” Saying that, her legs fuse into a single appendage that looks just like a fish tail. She also comes resting in the water next to me. “I am not really a human, I am a mermaid who saw you kill that innocent and magnificent marlin. I am tasked with maintaining the balance in the sea, and so to make up for your kill I have to change you into a marlin. That’s what is happening to you right now. You’re male but will more than make up for the female you killed, don’t worry. You are shaping up to be a very handsome specimen. The tide is coming up, we’ll be in the ocean soon.”
“I’m...changing into a fish?” I ask in awe. “How...this isn’t possible! Mermaids aren’t real. People don’t turn into fish. This must be some elaborate hoax.” I look around. “Ok Mark. Very funny, you can come out now!”
“Well, you are breathing underwater, and your legs really do look like fins, wouldn’t you say? And your tail is coming in very nicely as well. You can choose to believe me or not, that doesn’t change your acts and your fate.“
I reach back and feel the huge tent in my jeans. “...This is really happening! You can’t do this! I have a life, a purpose!!!” I say desperately. I gesticulate in protest but my arms are fast shortening in order to become pectoral fins, dense webbing appearing to link my fingers together.
“Yes, your life and purpose is now to replace that which you have senselessly killed. A proud marlin female who was about to discover the joy of spawning, and perpetuate their fabulous species. Because of you, she’ll never be able to do that. By turning you into a marlin I am preserving and perpetuating some of that purpose.”
A last ditch thought hits me. “What about other fisherman that catch and eat fish. Aren’t they equally as guilty as me? Why aren’t you going after them?”
“How do you know we aren’t?” She replied. “Also, these fishermen catch fish to eat them, not mounting them above their fireplace as a meaningless trophy. Some of these fishes’ purpose is to serve as nourishment, just like as a marlin you’ll eat other fish.”
I get ready to retort, but an intense feeling of guilt hits me. “You...you are right. I deserve this. She had a life and purpose too. I took it from her, and not to feed myself...just for my greed.” I start to cry. “You are right. I will never make up for that crime.” With a sense of finality, I turn towards you. “But I will do my best.”
“I’m glad to see that you’ve come to reason. I will make sure that harm does not come to you, be it from orcas or other fishermen. I will guide you in the sea, and you can be my companion, my familiar.”
“I’m going to lose my human mind aren’t I?” I ask, a little nervously.
“Not completely. You will have all the fish instincts you need to successfully hunt, and mate but you’ll still be a little bit aware of who you were.“
I nod. “I guess that makes sense.” Finally a smile tugs at me lips and I nod. “I guess there are worse fates you could have inflicted on me. This will be a new life. I bet I’ll see things no human ever will.”
Naia smiles back. “You will marvel at the beauty of the ocean and the creatures that inhabit it. I’ll make sure to find you many mates. Now we need to finish what we started.”
I nod. “I will help however you need. I want to atone for my crime, even if it means becoming a fish.”
“I am glad to hear that. I see that your tail is really growing, your legs are almost all gone, with only the anal fins left!”
“What do you need me to do. I want to help.”
“You need to start focusing on moving your tail. The more you move it, the more it grows, and unfortunately I forgot to remove your pants when we arrived… It’s too late now for that.”
I concentrate on the short, slippery appendage in my pants, trying to move it as I would a leg. I look at Naia. “Anything?”
“Try to feel the sensations, how the fabric of your pants is rubbing on it and how you want to get it free. You need to push against them to really let your tail grow to its fullest.”
I nod and try to concentrate on the feeling of the slippery tail sliding against my pants. I grunt as I strain against my pants. Suddenly my eyes go wide as I feel two prongs shoot out of it, then I wince in pain. “Need...it...out!!!” I yelp in pain.
I have trouble seeing what happens, but as I push I can hear a ripping noise coming from the failing wet fabric.
“Just push a little bit more, I can see the edge of your caudal fin through it!” As she says that, the fabric slowly tears and the fin pierces through it, covered in a multitude of shiny scales. Human skin is nowhere to be seen, what came out of the tattered pants is fully fish now.
I move it experimentally behind me and find it slicing through the shallow water. I try to talk but find it’s getting harder to do so. “Fast. I going to be fast.” I struggle out between gurgles.
The scales are slowly spreading along the former human’s skin from his tail. They are working their way back up his body, currently at the middle of his torso. He is a full fish all the way up to where the scales are. The ridge on his back has extended and is now a fully formed marlin’s dorsal fin. “You look so beautiful Marlin. Let the change wash over you like the tide that’s coming up to us.”
I try to speak but find my vocal cords gone. Furthermore, complex thinking is starting to become impossible. All that matters to me is getting rid of the odd parts of my body so I can go home to the ocean. I try to turn towards Naia, but find myself still not used to my new muscles. I gurgle helplessly.
“You won’t be able to speak anymore, your human lungs are closing and shutting down as you won’t need them in your new life.” She comforts Marlin as his face is settling into that of a marlin, his nose lengthening and merging with his face to form a perfectly hydrodynamic shape that will glide through the water effortlessly. His eyes are slowly moving to the side of his head, and growing even more in size to gather what little light at the depths he’ll be swimming in. The scales have kept their progression upwards, the arms being not much more than very short stubs ending in large pectoral fins, fingers gone and indistinguishable.
I feel a fog settle over my mind. My last thought is of how excited I am. I look to Naia as if to try and speak....the marlin suddenly seems to go still. Then it starts struggling against the strange things clinging to its slimy body.
The marlin struggles a little to wriggle out of the clothes, and as the scales finish covering its whole body it becomes easier to just slip out. As the wave comes in, he wriggles and is liberated from the symbol of his former humanity. Naia follows him as he starts to make his way to the deeper end, and as every fin and muscle falls into place he swims faster and faster. Finally the new marlin dives deep, and explodes through the water joyfully.
Naia, satisfied with the new creature she helped bring into the ocean, dives down and follows it in search of a mate and food, and gently guides him towards his future. She has a promise to keep, to ensure that he’ll be happy. In addition, she was hit with sudden inspiration. She’d keep a close eye on the humans along the coast here. She’d lost a female marlin, but made a new one. Why could she not use that power to liven up her patch of ocean? Surely there might be some volunteers. She watched humans. She’d seen the way some of them stood at the peers, watching a pod of dolphins jealously, or admiring the power of a shark as it hunted. Perhaps she would grant some wishes. Who said magic was just for punishment? With a flourish of her tail she darted after her new marlin.
genet1cks found him on my KiK group. He was a pleasure to work with___________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Ocean’s Game Warden
by born2beagator and genet1icks
The sun was shining on a beautiful scene off Tortuga in the Florida Keys. After fishing all day, finally I had gotten a bite. This fish was huge. Dragging on for a good hour, the fight was grueling. Suddenly the fish jumped, and I gasped.
“No way…” I exclaimed. It was a marlin. I’d been looking for one of these fish for my collection for ages. Add to it that this fish carried my name-Marlin, and it was the perfect trophy. Finally the fight ended, and I had the fish on deck. With a whoop of joy, I stuck him in the cooler and prepared for the trip home.
Little did he know that Naia was watching Marlin intently to determine his real intentions. Naia was a mermaid tasked with protecting the sea life of this area and wanted to make sure that the human treated his catch properly. When she saw that he put it in the cooler with the intent of keeping it instead of releasing it after a souvenir photograph she became irate and started thinking of a plan to make the poacher pay for his crime against nature. She dove back into the sea and started following the boat back to shore.
I pulled into the dock, proud of my catch, but furtive. I wasn’t supposed be doing this, but if I was careful, no one would catch me, and I’d have my namesake on my wall. A true prize. Lugging the cooler to my truck, I prepared to go, when I saw a hand on the truck bed. Looking up, I gasped. Standing there was a beautiful woman. Icy blue hair and eyes, and an enchanting, unblemished face. More shockingly, she was wearing a two piece bathing suit with shell prints on it, one that left little to the imagination. I stood there, mouth hanging slack jawed like a fish.
“How’s the catch today? Got anything good?” She asked, a curious look in her eyes.
“Uh...C-catch?” I stammer. This wasn’t good. If this beautiful young woman knew anything about fishing laws I’d be in serious trouble.
“You know, fishing, boats, the stuff in the sea? That cooler looks heavy. and you seem to have some serious gear on that boat” Despite her inquisitiveness, she was smiling at me. “I’m surprised you’re able to lift that huge box all by yourself, you must be pretty strong. Do you go alone on your boat?”
I straighten up. Could this day be any better? I catch a marlin, then meet a gorgeous young woman on the dock that is impressed with me. “Yeah. It’s very dangerous. But I live for the thrill of the catch” I say seriously.
“I’m sure it must be pretty exciting! It looks fun. I’m Naia by the way. I was wondering, after you’re done loading your truck, would you be willing to explain to me all the subtleties of fishing? We could go chat about it on the beach!” She asks, seeming a bit shy, not holding eye contact with me.
So my day could get better after all. “What do you know about fishing, and in particular, fishing laws?” I ask curiously.
“Well that seems oddly specific!” she replies, laughing. “I’m totally new to fishing, it’s not something i do naturally. I like all animals in the sea.”
I open the cooler revealing the dead marlin. “Well...here is my catch.”
“Wow, this is a huge fish! It’s so beautiful, it’s a shame you had to kill it! I hope you will at least use it in some useful way, so it didn’t die in vain?” She seems very sad at the sight of the dead marlin, a magnificent specimen. “Is it okay if we go to the beach together so you can explain how you caught it?”
“Of course! But I have to head home soon to have him mounted. My name is Marlin by the way.” I say with a smile. “Yep, same name as my catch!”
“We can go for a quick walk and then continue later!” She exclaims, visibly giddy. Both the charming girl and I make our way to the deserted beach for a short walk alongside each other. As I explain all about fishing, she suddenly picks up an interesting looking seashell and looks at it closely. When I ask about it, she offers it to me and says “This kind of seashell is used for perfumes, you should smell it, it’s really nice.” I take the seashell. When I smell it, a sudden strong smell of fish and kelp overpowers me and causes my head to spin a little. It is gone as fast as it came.
I put my hand to my forehead. “Whoa, that was strong. What was in that thing?”
“I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s very strong. I should have warned you!” she giggles, as she takes the seashell and throws it back into the sea. “It’s where it belongs now. We should head back, don’t you have a fish to mount?”
“Yeah I do. But what about you Naia? Do you...erm…” I blush. This was a stupid idea. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No, at least not yet!” She smiles and as we both make our way back to the truck, she hands me a small piece of paper. “Next time you’re around, call me, I know of a nice beach we could go to!”
I am visibly blushing now, but I finished loading my car, hugged Naia goodbye and made my way home. I’m taken by an urge to have some sushi, thankfully I know of a good place on the way home so I stop there and get big pieces of tuna to go and bring them with me. Once home I call my taxidermist and end up punching a wall.
“A month!?” I exclaim. “I have to wait a month until you even see it!?” I hang up the phone violently, disappointed that I can’t get the immediate satisfaction of seeing that fish on my wall. I put it in my enormous freezer for now, until I can find something to do with it. I knew this was a bad idea. Thankfully, I remember that I bought that delicious smelling fish so I take it out and decide to it eat it all, without any sauce. The rice part doesn’t seem appealing to me at all for some reason tonight. I just want to eat the meat.
I sigh as I see the time. 9 pm already, and I have to be up at 5 to go to work. I head to the shower, giddy at the prospect of getting wet. I shrug it off as having been in salty air all day. I undress, and jump in the shower immediately. As soon as I turn it on, everything feels great, but it feels way too hot. Curious, since it’s set at my usual temperature. I turn it down all the way, which normally would be freezing but for some reason today feels just right.
As I leave the shower, refreshed, I look at myself in the mirror to make sure I didn’t burn too much under the Florida sun. Everything looks mostly fine, except for some dry patches of skin flaking off on top of my hands, and it seems like the webbing between my fingers goes higher than I remember. As I wipe my face down, I notice that my nose feels a little different, as if it was a little longer and pointier.
Suddenly I’m hit with a massive bout of weariness. For lack of a better word, I felt like a fish out of water. Everything felt so dry. So hot. I go to take my temperature and gasp when it reads 110! That is not good. Loathe to call the hospital I instead strip off my clothes and head to bed after taking some medicine for fever.
I keep tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep as I feel way too hot despite the AC. I’ve read that they use cold baths to cool people who have high fever so I decide to try that out. I draw a bath, as cold as possible, and strip once again to lie in it. As soon as my feet touch the water, I quickly submerge the rest of my body until only my head sticks out. Everything suddenly feels much better, as if my fever is subsiding. I decide to stay there for a bit longer. I can see my toes at the back of the bathtub, and they too seem to have some extra webbing that definitely should not be there. But the cool water caressing my skin pushes the worry away, and before I know it I fall asleep.
I yawn loudly, waking up to find myself still in the tub. The water had done wonders for me. I get out of the bathtub, and am immediately hit with the heat again. Sighing, I call work and tell them I’m too sick to come in today. But I need some company. Only one person to call. With a smile on my face I give Naia a call and then sink back into the cold bathwater.Surprisingly, she accepted to come over. It’s a good thing I left the front door unlocked, I told her to come straight up. As I’m waiting for her, I suddenly am taken with a strong pain along my spine, but when I flip over to lie in the water on my belly everything is fine again. I try looking on my back, but the only thing I can see is a raised ridge along my spine.
“Whoa. Ok, yeah, definitely glad I stayed home from work today. Although…” I examine the ridge, and for some reason a sense of pride, not panic, wells up within me. This will be impressive to females. I blink, then burst out laughing. “Sure Marlin, let’s tell a girl, hey wanna see my back ridge?” As a fun coincidence, that’s exactly when I hear a loud knock on the door. With a strange hoarse voice, I yell “Come in! I’m upstairs!” and hear the door open and Naia climbing up the stairs almost silently. She knocks on the bathroom door. I tell her to come in. She stands next to the bathtub.
“Hi Marlin! Are you okay? What are you doing in your bath tub?”.
“Uh, soaking.” I answer. “I got sick last night, felt really dry. I’ve been in here all night.”
“Oh, right. Don’t worry, that’s perfectly expected.” She replies, with a slight smirk. “You are starting to look much nicer”. She admires my shortening legs terminated by feet that look more like fins, covered in thin webbing, my body that has become hairless and glistening without my notice, and my decidedly pointier nose.
I blush deeply. “You really think so?” I ask breathlessly. For some reason I’m enamored with this blue haired girl. “Well. I called off work today, so we have all day that we can spend together. I’ll do whatever you want.”
“ Did you get the fish mounted? I didn’t see it.”
“The fish. Oh...that fish. Uh.” I look down, a hint of shame on my face.
“Well, what did you do with it?” Her look is changing, being more negative, judging.
“I’ve made a horrible mistake.” I bite out, a tear sliding down my cheek. “That was a magnificent fish. A hunter, like me. But I denied him another hunt for my own selfish desires. In truth, all I was going to do was mount him on my wall. A trophy.”
“Well I’m glad you feel bad about it, but it’s too late to be sorry now. I think we should go to the beach soon, in your current state you might not be able to walk much longer.” Naia replied.
I look at her in shock. “W-what!?”
“I think the natural sea breeze can do you good, it will cool you down and make you feel better. It will clear your sinuses in a way” she adds, while chuckling, but I fail to notice the chuckle.
“But what was that about not being able to walk much longer?” I say, eyes going wide.
“I just meant that I need to show you something on the beach and we can’t wait for too long before it happens.” Naia replied in a reassuring tone.
I nod. Then realize something. “Whoa. Uh Naia...can you turn around? I’m sorta...naked.”
“Sure. Here are some clothes. Let me know when you’re ready.” she helpfully leaves clothes near the tub and turns away.
I pick up the jeans and T-shirt and slip them on, wobbling a bit. The clothes seem to stick to me in places and slip in others. I take a step and wobble again. “Whoa...I think I’m gonna need help Naia.”
She puts my slick arm around her shoulders and supports me on the way down to exit the house. I manage to hobble along with her help. “It’s okay, we don’t have to go far, the thing I want to show you is at the closest beach from here. We can walk there.”
But by the time we get to the door, I’m in pain. “Arghh...Naia...don’t walk, take my car. Walking hurts. Something is wrong with me.”
“Oh, it’s quicker than expected”, she mutters, but you don’t hear it. “Sure, let’s take your car. I’ll help you climb in”. She grabs the keys and helps me to my vehicle.
I yelp in pain as I put pressure on my feet and practically fall into the passenger seat, some tears in my eyes. She walks around, gets into the driver seat, and we head for the beach. The pressure on my feet having eased, I bend over and and try taking off my shoes to lessen the pain. As I bend down, and take them off, I see that you have no more nails on my toes, and the distinction between individual toes is more difficult to make among the increasing webbing and size.
Groaning, I try to put the strange sickness out of my mind. “Naia. I really hope what you are showing me is going to make me feel better. I feel so strange...just...out of my element right now.”
“Don’t worry dear, you’ll feel much better in a little bit when we get to the beach.”
I look at myself in the car’s mirror, and I notice that my eyes are much bigger, rounder, and the iris has a much more metallic sheen to it. It doesn’t seem to make me see things differently so far. For some reason the thought of that marlin comes up again. I start sobbing quietly in my seat.
“It’s okay, I know you feel bad, I’m sure we’ll find a way to make up for that loss. Don’t worry about it.” You feel some slight straining in the back of your pants, and your strange dorsal ridge is pushing into the car seat as well.
My sobbing continues. “You don’t understand...the fish...she was female! And young!!! She hadn’t mated yet! That’s possibly a generation of marlins that won’t happen!”
“I know. I will show you how you can make up for it. As a matter of fact, it has already started.Oh here we are” she says, as we reach the beach entrance. She parks the car close to the shore, and goes around it to open the door to help me out.
I step out, and have to catch myself on the door. “Naia...I can’t put weight on my feet!” Once again she supports me and takes me toward the water, my changed feet barely dragging on the sand. I don’t realize how strong she must be to be able to do that. I can definitely feel a big bulge in the back of my pants, now that the seat isn’t pressing on it.
Looking at the ocean longingly, I realize how dry I feel. “Naia...I need water…” I say, surprised at my gurgling voice, almost sounding out of breath. I look down at my hairless legs and see they are blue! Not just blue, but cracking, a little blood showing. “Naia! My legs!!! They are so dry!!!” I feel them, and it feels like sandpaper.
Naia drags me to a small quiet tidepool, where the water isn’t too deep and the waves don’t come crashing every few seconds. She sets me down, sitting in the water. The contact of cold seawater seems to trigger a huge relief in my body, and my skin looks much better. My legs have shrunk and shortened even more so the only thing I can do is feebly move them. I can feel something stretching and growing above my buttcheeks, and it’s twitching.
“Na-grllrb” I choke out a gurgling voice. Suddenly a searing pain shoots through my neck. My hand shoots to it, and I find a slit on either side of my neck, flapping in the wind. “Naia! It...hurts...so much” I bite out. I start gasping for air. “Breathe! Can’t!!!!” I start to panic
Naia lowers me on my belly until my mouth and neck are submerged, and suddenly I feel refreshed, regaining my thoughts and panicking less. I can feel the water flowing through my neck, providing me with valuable oxygen. Am I breathing underwater?
“Naia.” I say, stopping at the sound of the strange voice. It sounds like someone trying to talk through water. On top of that, words are hard to form, as if there is a block in my brain. “Naia, what’s happening???” I ask, not panicking anymore. The water has done wonders for my skin and my neck.
“Well I think it’s time to tell you the truth.” Saying that, her legs fuse into a single appendage that looks just like a fish tail. She also comes resting in the water next to me. “I am not really a human, I am a mermaid who saw you kill that innocent and magnificent marlin. I am tasked with maintaining the balance in the sea, and so to make up for your kill I have to change you into a marlin. That’s what is happening to you right now. You’re male but will more than make up for the female you killed, don’t worry. You are shaping up to be a very handsome specimen. The tide is coming up, we’ll be in the ocean soon.”
“I’m...changing into a fish?” I ask in awe. “How...this isn’t possible! Mermaids aren’t real. People don’t turn into fish. This must be some elaborate hoax.” I look around. “Ok Mark. Very funny, you can come out now!”
“Well, you are breathing underwater, and your legs really do look like fins, wouldn’t you say? And your tail is coming in very nicely as well. You can choose to believe me or not, that doesn’t change your acts and your fate.“
I reach back and feel the huge tent in my jeans. “...This is really happening! You can’t do this! I have a life, a purpose!!!” I say desperately. I gesticulate in protest but my arms are fast shortening in order to become pectoral fins, dense webbing appearing to link my fingers together.
“Yes, your life and purpose is now to replace that which you have senselessly killed. A proud marlin female who was about to discover the joy of spawning, and perpetuate their fabulous species. Because of you, she’ll never be able to do that. By turning you into a marlin I am preserving and perpetuating some of that purpose.”
A last ditch thought hits me. “What about other fisherman that catch and eat fish. Aren’t they equally as guilty as me? Why aren’t you going after them?”
“How do you know we aren’t?” She replied. “Also, these fishermen catch fish to eat them, not mounting them above their fireplace as a meaningless trophy. Some of these fishes’ purpose is to serve as nourishment, just like as a marlin you’ll eat other fish.”
I get ready to retort, but an intense feeling of guilt hits me. “You...you are right. I deserve this. She had a life and purpose too. I took it from her, and not to feed myself...just for my greed.” I start to cry. “You are right. I will never make up for that crime.” With a sense of finality, I turn towards you. “But I will do my best.”
“I’m glad to see that you’ve come to reason. I will make sure that harm does not come to you, be it from orcas or other fishermen. I will guide you in the sea, and you can be my companion, my familiar.”
“I’m going to lose my human mind aren’t I?” I ask, a little nervously.
“Not completely. You will have all the fish instincts you need to successfully hunt, and mate but you’ll still be a little bit aware of who you were.“
I nod. “I guess that makes sense.” Finally a smile tugs at me lips and I nod. “I guess there are worse fates you could have inflicted on me. This will be a new life. I bet I’ll see things no human ever will.”
Naia smiles back. “You will marvel at the beauty of the ocean and the creatures that inhabit it. I’ll make sure to find you many mates. Now we need to finish what we started.”
I nod. “I will help however you need. I want to atone for my crime, even if it means becoming a fish.”
“I am glad to hear that. I see that your tail is really growing, your legs are almost all gone, with only the anal fins left!”
“What do you need me to do. I want to help.”
“You need to start focusing on moving your tail. The more you move it, the more it grows, and unfortunately I forgot to remove your pants when we arrived… It’s too late now for that.”
I concentrate on the short, slippery appendage in my pants, trying to move it as I would a leg. I look at Naia. “Anything?”
“Try to feel the sensations, how the fabric of your pants is rubbing on it and how you want to get it free. You need to push against them to really let your tail grow to its fullest.”
I nod and try to concentrate on the feeling of the slippery tail sliding against my pants. I grunt as I strain against my pants. Suddenly my eyes go wide as I feel two prongs shoot out of it, then I wince in pain. “Need...it...out!!!” I yelp in pain.
I have trouble seeing what happens, but as I push I can hear a ripping noise coming from the failing wet fabric.
“Just push a little bit more, I can see the edge of your caudal fin through it!” As she says that, the fabric slowly tears and the fin pierces through it, covered in a multitude of shiny scales. Human skin is nowhere to be seen, what came out of the tattered pants is fully fish now.
I move it experimentally behind me and find it slicing through the shallow water. I try to talk but find it’s getting harder to do so. “Fast. I going to be fast.” I struggle out between gurgles.
The scales are slowly spreading along the former human’s skin from his tail. They are working their way back up his body, currently at the middle of his torso. He is a full fish all the way up to where the scales are. The ridge on his back has extended and is now a fully formed marlin’s dorsal fin. “You look so beautiful Marlin. Let the change wash over you like the tide that’s coming up to us.”
I try to speak but find my vocal cords gone. Furthermore, complex thinking is starting to become impossible. All that matters to me is getting rid of the odd parts of my body so I can go home to the ocean. I try to turn towards Naia, but find myself still not used to my new muscles. I gurgle helplessly.
“You won’t be able to speak anymore, your human lungs are closing and shutting down as you won’t need them in your new life.” She comforts Marlin as his face is settling into that of a marlin, his nose lengthening and merging with his face to form a perfectly hydrodynamic shape that will glide through the water effortlessly. His eyes are slowly moving to the side of his head, and growing even more in size to gather what little light at the depths he’ll be swimming in. The scales have kept their progression upwards, the arms being not much more than very short stubs ending in large pectoral fins, fingers gone and indistinguishable.
I feel a fog settle over my mind. My last thought is of how excited I am. I look to Naia as if to try and speak....the marlin suddenly seems to go still. Then it starts struggling against the strange things clinging to its slimy body.
The marlin struggles a little to wriggle out of the clothes, and as the scales finish covering its whole body it becomes easier to just slip out. As the wave comes in, he wriggles and is liberated from the symbol of his former humanity. Naia follows him as he starts to make his way to the deeper end, and as every fin and muscle falls into place he swims faster and faster. Finally the new marlin dives deep, and explodes through the water joyfully.
Naia, satisfied with the new creature she helped bring into the ocean, dives down and follows it in search of a mate and food, and gently guides him towards his future. She has a promise to keep, to ensure that he’ll be happy. In addition, she was hit with sudden inspiration. She’d keep a close eye on the humans along the coast here. She’d lost a female marlin, but made a new one. Why could she not use that power to liven up her patch of ocean? Surely there might be some volunteers. She watched humans. She’d seen the way some of them stood at the peers, watching a pod of dolphins jealously, or admiring the power of a shark as it hunted. Perhaps she would grant some wishes. Who said magic was just for punishment? With a flourish of her tail she darted after her new marlin.
Category Story / Transformation
Species Fish
Size 120 x 67px
File Size 216.4 kB
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