Lori asks you
“I said, uh …” Lori starts up, her hands reaching out to grip at Daniel’s shoulder. One arm closing around an oddly angled needle while the other arm holds the fur down. She mumbles the rest.
“Lady, you’re going to have to speak up.” The lioness huffs.
“H-hey, I’m not a lady alright! This is just what I turned into.” A sharp tug. The slight pain, and then intense relief as the equivalent of a metal splinter was removed.
“Sure, and those things on your chest are total lies.” A sphinx was rather good at rolling it’s eyes. But then something sounded off …
“Again, what is with everyone not believing me? You’d think some magical mystical creature would know something about magic.” The mermaid grumbled. “I asked how old you are, okay? I’ve only been a mermaid for a little over a week. So I’m hoping you have centuries of experience being mythical, or some pointers you can tell me.”
Daniel blinks. There was something very familiar with that story.
“I’m not a sphinx alright, I already told you I’m a human who was transformed into this. You just choose to think I’m lying for some reason.” Daniel puffs out, her cheeks bulging.
“A likely story.”
The winged lioness narrows her eyes. Why were they repeating themselves?
“For your information.” Another wince, that cold and slimy coy fish stretching herself all the way up to Daniel’s wingtip and plucking a dart free from the ends. “I’ve barely been a sphinx for even a full day. Only just learned how to fly, was trying to make it back home before anything weird happens, and I’ve got friends who were taken by those armed ninja guys.”
“Ninjas? Really.” Lori looked incredulous, siding down to the hint legs and plucking free not one, but two sharp needles.
“It’s what they looked like. What, you have a better name for them?”
“The fish catchers, duh.” She moves up underneath Daniel’s chin, her chest against the lion’s shoulder while stretching out to grab a needle.
“I’m not a fish.” The lioness huffed.
“And you’ll notice they didn’t catch you, it all works out. Hold still here …” another pluck. Daniel closing her eyes at the sudden yet inevitable sting.
“They were obviously coming here to catch you, I guess. Looks like those dart guns would be a lot more effective against you.” The lioness shrugs. Most of her aches gone, and Lori swimming over to the riverbank to drop all of the darts collected into a clattering pile of feathers and metal and glass.
“Gosh that’s intimidating. How did you manage to escape them by the way?” The coy mermaid pokes at the remaining darts. Musing over the shinyness more than anything else.
“In all honesty I just flew. Over the ocean, crashed into a boat, then when I couldn’t fly anymore through the woods I go.” The lioness shrugs, spreading her wings in a wide flap while testing over her newly freed body. No more stab wounds? Well the holes were still there, it’s just the irritants were gone. And everything was numb.
“So that means they’re still chasing me. They saw you and decided to take an opportunistic shot. And based on what I’m seeing here these things are designed to travel deep into water easy, and I think just one would probably take me down. Maybe two or three if that tail of mine slows it down or something.”
“I guess.” The sphinx agrees. She thought about standing up, but decides against it. This water was too comfortable.
“And if they adjusted their weapons to try and take me down after their first attempt failed. That means the next time they see you, they’ll probably have come up with some anti-sphinx tactic. You should watch out.”
“Y-yeah. I really should. Hoping to get to Longport before then … speaking of, uh. How do you plan on escaping if they find you here?”
Lori looks sad.
The mermaid points to Daniel’s entrance, a drooping arm motioning at a mostly tried up, inch deep riverbank.
“Oh …” The lioness frowns.
“It was a wide river when I came in, alright? Shallow I guess, but not so much I couldn’t swim through it. Must have been lucky and teleported here after heavy rain or something, because rested on this lake to take a nap. And when I woke up all the waters were lower, and I couldn’t drag myself that whole distance back to the lake.” The mermaid shrugged hopelessly. Picking up one of the darts and toying with it in her hands.
“And even if you could, it’d be really slow. If anyone found you then that’d be it, no way to hide or escape. I guess you’re just waiting for rain then?” Daniel looked around a bit nervously, now ever more mindful of the fact her taking up space in the pool meant even less for the actual aquatic creature present. Talk about rude much.
“The most I can hope for really, that or burry myself in mud and hope whoever walks by doesn’t see me. Best thing that could happen is this voodoo stuff wears off and I turn back to human.”
“Right. Change back. What were you doing just before you shapeshifted, anyway. Working at an aquarium? Drawing fish women in your spare time?” The lioness sticks her tongue out with a smirk.
“I was doing my homework, gosh. Don’t be such a jerk. Well, actually right before that I was in a game of truth or dare with some kids from school. Invited me over to a party, but the place was pretty lame.” Lori explained casually. Using the dart to poke at the dirt next to her, stabbing it all the way in so that the pointed tips were safely covered up.
“You were … playing truth or dare.” Daniel balked.
“That’s right, yeah.” Lori splished her tail about wildly, turning back to forlorn eyes. “Oh come on, still not going to believe me?”
Daniel had no idea what exactly was running through her head at that moment, but she knew that Lori and her own plight had to be related somehow. It just had to be.
Written by Arbon on 02 May 2017
The end (for now)