Nala was dead. Or...at least she thought she was but if so then how could she still feel the water in her lungs? It spread out reaching up to her throat getting into her bloodstream. As soon as the water touched her blood it turned into an inferno, she was burning alive from the inside and couldn't help but wonder if this was what her mother had gone through. Perhaps this was her fate for always being so rude to grandfather and Ula, this would be her eternity.
"...not much to look at."
Who's there?
The words were at the tip of Nala's tongue and would have come out if the fire had not spread to her head. Something was pulling at her hair, her scalp maybe trying to rip her head off and screams echoed inside her. Her fingernails were being ripped off, her mouth unhinged, her teeth being pulled one by one, her arms were being cut off she was sure.
Help me! Somebody help me, please!
Nothing. Had she imagined it?
"...transformation...longer than usual."
"Will she...pretty....no scales?"
"Weak."
More and more whispers assaulted her and Nala felt that old rage building up inside her once again, not even death could kill this anger and she felt relieved that it was still there. Nala was not weak and she would open her mouth and yell it at the strange voices and then demand they help her! She wasn't even able to open her mouth before the fire reached her legs and the worst pain of her existence seized her. Nala convulsed and the screams that were being held down finally erupted. Her legs were melting. They had to be melting. Strong arms held her down as she thrashed and begged them to put an end to this. They ignored her.
Nala's screaming didn't let up until the numbness began to take over and she couldn't feel her body at all although it was much better than having to endure the pain of death not once but twice. Once again the darkness pulled her under.
*
Nala was slow to wake up, eyelids barely fluttering before closing again. It took five tries just to open her eyes and minutes of blinking for the blurriness in front of her to go away only to see...spikes headed right for her? Instinct alone made her body jerk up and she gasped and rolled to the right side. She tried landing on her feet but fell to her bottom with her tail flopping useless in front of her.
...
...tail?
Where her legs should have been a large tail and fin took their place. At the top of Nala's waist where her soft skin dissolved into scales, it was a almost a copper color like the copper brass knobs old man Freddicks would sell in town. Further down it turned a dark reddish and lightened to orange, the color in the sky after a rainstorm when the sun would be just setting and would the skyline would be ablaze with orange colors. It was the color of fire. The appendage ended in a flimsy almost see through fin with orange tints, like a fish.
She had a tail.
A sort of choking sound started up in Nala's throat which turned into laughter. The kind where your body bends over and you hold a hand over your stomach in fear of rupturing something from laughing so hard. It wasn't long before the hysterical laughing turned into gut wrenching sobs that had her noise clogging up and her eyes stinging. Those turned into screams. Horrified screams for her father's disappearance, for her mother's death, for Ula, for her grandfather being alone now, for her own death that she was nowhere near ready for, and for this tail which mean't it wasn't over yet. There would be no rest for her.
Nala didn't even notice when someone walked into the room and clamped their hand on her mouth forcing her to be quiet. She looked at the slender hand covering her mouth and followed it all the way up until she came to perhaps the most beautiful female Nala had ever seen. The girl had brown skin that seemed to glow and pale blonde hair that flowed around her face in a short cut, almost like a boy but slightly messier. It wasn't just her coloring and face that was impressive but the amor that covered her breasts, torso, and tail. It was covered in scales and a blue so dark it could easily pass for black, knives and daggers were all over her person. It was a miracle she could swim under all that weight. What really caught Nala's attention were the girl's eyes. They were so blue they were practically glowing, Nala imagined in the dark those eyes would be just like the moon, lighting up the darkness in a peaceful and memorizing way.
The girl or perhaps creature took away her hand and gave Nala a cocky smirk. I already don't like her.
"Are you done?" the question had a mocking tone to it. Nala tried surging to her feet but forgot about the tail and just ended up flipping to her stomach. The girl sighed and wrapped her arms around Nala's forearms dragging her over to the bed and setting her down rather roughly. It was now that Nala actually took in her surroundings. The black spikes on the ceiling were not falling down as she imagined but suspended there. It almost looked like the sea caves in the town in a darker shade. The bed she was laying on seemed made of kelp or maybe seaweed and the strands reached up to her arms and tail holding it down so she wouldn't float up. Float because the last thing Nala noticed was that she was underwater, underwater and yet breathing normally as if inhaling air.
"What happened?" Nala asked quietly. She didn't like the strange woman but if she didn't get answers soon the screaming might start up again. Nala felt strange herself and it wasn't just the tail but inside it felt like she cracking with each new development.
"Well where to start? Your village threw you into the ocean, you drowned, and now you are one of us. Congratulations." Nala stayed silent waiting for the woman to say more but she didn't. Frustrated she growled out, "That tells me nothing! Why did you save me? Who are you? What do you mean I am one of you? And why do I have a tail?"
Nala was breathing hard by now and trying to remember not to hold her breathe but breath in the water, which surprisingly wasn't hard. The water felt soothing and different in a way air wasn't. In the town you breathed in and could taste everything, the smell of flowers and pastries but also the smell of alcohol on someone's breathe and the blood from the meat shop.
"So many questions," the girl said, "didn't you hear the stories? You would think you would have learned something from them."
"What stories? I don't know what you're —" Nala stopped because of course she knew what stories the girl was referring to. Hadn't she asked her grandfather for one the other day. The Deep Ones, rulers of the sea...and the ones who took Ula.
Nala jerked up in bed, her tail a dead weight under her but she didn't care as she grabbed the girl's arms and shook, "Where is she? Is she here? I need to see her!"
She didn't even blink, "Is who here?"
"My sister!" Nala practically yelled, "she's my twin, looks exactly like me but more pretty."
The other girl raised her brow as if doubting that though Nala didn't understand why she would. "You are our newest recruit in a while. Your sister isn't here."
It took a minute for the news to sink in because it didn't make sense. Ula was hearing a call from the sea and disappeared. The town's people did not take her so who else but the Deep Ones? Unless Samuel had lied when he said he didn't have her but why? To play with her? None of it made sense but Nala wasn't about to explain it to this person she had just met.
"We don't have time for this, you need to get ready." The girl said looking towards an opening in the rock wall that Nala failed to notice.
"Where are we going?"
"To meet our leader." This was all she offered before dragging Nala off the bed. Not sure how to use this tail it slimy fell to the sandy floor with a thump. The girl growled in annoyance. "Could you at least try to move your fin?"
Nala was about to bite out a retort but held it in. She would need to know how to move this thing at some point so she gathered her strength and imagined trying to take a step if she had legs. Nothing happened. She tried again. Still nothing.
"I don't know what I'm doing."
The girl once again sighed and let go of Nala before expertly moving her tail with a swish and backing up a few inches. Nala fell to the floor and glared at the girl above her.
"This isn't like having legs. You have one tail it is a part of you like your arms so just feel the muscles under there and pull." Nala did as instructed moving her hand to touch the fiery tale for the very first time. It was hard with scales but also smooth in a way and...powerful. She did as instructed and focused on the muscles suddenly her tail swung up and her body went flying back smacking against the rough wall. Nala groaned as she fell to the floor again.
"Good. Again. Try going straight up this time." The girl tracked every move Nala made.
She watched as the girl's tail, a light blue color some shades darker than her eyes, made ever so slightly swishing movements back and forth to stay up straight. Nala looked down at her own tail and willed it to move slowly until Nala was standing up, she wobbled a little to one side but forced her body still.
"About time, alright lets get some clothing on you." The girl turned to small compartments embedded in the walls with things in them but Nala was stuck on the reflection. When the girl had moved Nala saw the smooth circular crystal plate in a corner of the room and moved slowly forward. Suddenly the tail wasn't the strangest thing about her because Nala was beautiful. Her brown hair was fuller and shone, the dark color didn't look how of place here but made the color of her tail more noticeable. Her eyes no longer looked a dull brown but black and full of mysteries. Her mouth was a deep red and looked almost dangerous. The blackness around them made her pale skin shine and she looked gorgeous. Like the girls in the town, like her sister.
I hate it.
What good was beauty? A beautiful woman's hand will be sold to the most powerful man so that she could stand by his arm and be ogled until the beauty disappeared. Her sister was only ever liked more because she put effort into how she looked, because she was pretty unlike Nala so everyone liked her. Those stupid girls from town with their rich families needn't worry about their looks as long as they were beautiful and making beautiful babies they would want for nothing in this world. And now Nala looked like them. She wanted to tear this new skin off until she reached the real her that was hiding underneath.
"Put this on." Something smacked against Nala's arm and she quickly grabbed it. It was a mesh fabric almost sticky and Nala looked up at the girl unsure what to do with it. With a grunt the girl grabbed the fabric and started to criss cross it over Nala's chest. It was only now that she realized she was bare from the waist up but she didn't care as the girl finished. The material stuck to her skin, it wasn't unpleasant but strange and hid her breasts from view so for this Nala was grateful.
"Not that you asked, which is rude, but my name is Cari."
Nala stared at Cari for a moment before quietly she said, "My name is Nala."
"Great, now that we are introduced we can start our incredible journey from enemy strangers to experienced enemies. First, the meeting." With that weird introduction Cari turned and swan towards the opening. Nala paused before following, not only because she wasn't sure she could move her tail like that yet, but also because walking, or rather swimming, out that door was a step towards a future she wasn't sure she wanted. But...what was the alternative? She didn't have anyone else. Most importantly Nala was sure that Cari wouldn't hesitate to drag her out the door by her hair or fin, maybe both, so she looked down at her new tail then back at the door before moving forward with a slight flick of a fin.