Meeting Kieran
There was still a lot for you to take in, but a talking crayfish has promptly jumped to the top of your list. Taking in its words, you look around. The open water stretches on in all directions as far as the eye can see. “What do you mean ‘aquarium’? This place is huge; there’s no way.”
“Trust me,” Kieran assures you, “if the tank can turn you into a fish, what makes you think that it’s not capable of having all this space?” His antennae often twitch when he talks. “I saw you were having trouble swimming, so I came over and figured that you could use some help.”
His words leave you speechless. A fish‽ You didn’t think the mansion would transform you so soon. It’s no wonder you thought you had lost your arms -- your pectoral fins were simply out of your line of sight. As you come to accept the facts, the urgency to get to the surface leaves as quickly as it had come. Your logic catches up, so you decide to test a theory.
“Can… can you help me?” you thought.
“Of course!” Kieran throws his claws up. “It took me a while to get used to this body. You’ll get used to yours too.”
“I was right,” you think, “that’s why he was able to answer me. He can probably hear me through my thoughts.”
He interrupts your inner voice. “I absolutely can, but you gotta control how loud you think, or else you’ll end up shouting your thoughts out to everyone around you.”
You get a glimpse of his swimmerets and are briefly repulsed at the sheer number of them wriggling, but quickly remember to suppress this thought.
“Here,” he says, “imagine you still have your legs. Pretend that you’re swimming sideways with a mermaid tail. It sounds dumb, but just try it out.”
You take Kieran’s advice and attempt to swim accordingly. You try moving forward, but it leads to you swimming in circles.
“Keep trying for a bit, it feels strange at first. Once you get the hang of it, you can try using your pectoral fins to direct yourself.”
His kind patience alone is enough to fuel your perseverance. As you practice swimming, Kieran settles down on the rock and makes himself comfortable.
“I became a crayfish almost a week ago after spending some time as a fox -- figured that I could use a change of pace, and breathing underwater sounded appealing.” He stretches two of his legs. “I gotta admit though, I was more looking forward to being an animal with no feet; now I have eight.” He slowly opens and closes his claws. “These are always fun, though!” Kieran cackles at his own appearance.
By the time his laughter subsides, you’re finally able to control your body comfortably. Kieran recognizes this and turns away from you. He makes a motion with his claw.
“Looks like you’ve got it down for the most part. Follow me. We’re goin’ into Myrio Ridge.”
Written by iAteTheRamen on 12 June 2019