Chapter Text
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Finding herself in the underwater tunnel again, the mirror had disappeared. However, the tunnel was slightly brighter, illuminated by algae on the walls and little iridescent fish swimming around her. They all swam forward, so she did too. It was nice, comforting underwater, yet she still ached. These little fish were not companions to her, in these depths she was all alone.
Still, what good would mourning on the seabed do her? All she could do was keep swimming, on and on, and maybe she’d find a companion one day. Until then, she kept picking up little trinkets off the ground. A top hat, a bow, and a little mechanical gear. A red gem glinted further down the tunnel, but when she tried to grab it it sank into the sand, and she woke up with it still in her mind's eye.
~~~
When Navia woke up, she spent some time looking around the room. It was a nice room, not too big or small and kept well cleaned. There was a window, but the room was away from the ground and it had large blackout curtains, so privacy wasn’t a concern. She put on her cloak and peeked out of the room. In the hallway was Freminet, quietly checking on Pers.
“Ah, hello Freminet! Could you please tell me where the bathroom is?”
“It’s the first door on the left side of the hall, facing this direction.”
The voice did not come from the boy in front of her, but from directly behind her head. Navia nearly screamed, and although she stifled the noise she did still jump and knock her head into the door.
Lyney, who had spoken up from behind her in the hallway, laughed. “Sorry, sorry! The carpet makes it harder to hear footsteps, doesn’t it? I really wasn’t trying to sneak up on you.”
“Lyney, you always do that to guests, and you even roped Freminet into it this time. Lumine punched you in the gut when you did it to her, you really should stop before someone else does worse to you.” Lynette walked up next to him, carrying a plate with a simple breakfast on it.
Navia rubbed her head and looked at them. They were in casual house wear, unlike what they wore to their shows. Although there was a significantly bigger change than their clothing, being that Lyney had feline ears and a tail. So, this was what Arlecchino meant by hiding appearances, huh?
“I’m not surprised that Lumine reacted like that, you were completely silent!” Navia laughed, walking out of the room fully.
“Aha, well I think the joke was worth it~”
“You didn’t think that when you were kneeling on the ground. In fact, I think I remember you crying.”
Lynette’s effortless comeback made Lyney’s smile stiffen, and he kicked her in the back of the leg. Navia didn’t have siblings herself, but Lyney and Lynette’s relationship felt like the epitome of what it would be like to her.
“You can go ahead and get ready, Navia. There’s breakfast in the living room. Oh, and you don’t need to worry about hiding, it’s just us three in the house today.” Lynette spoke to her, while stepping on Lyney’s foot.
For a moment Navia stiffened, but then sighed. “Right, you two are going to be teaching me, so of course you’d know. Well, thank you, I’ll be out there soon.”
Lynette nodded and smiled at her, while Lyney waved her down the hallway. Freminet had already gone to the living room, seemingly embarrassed that Lyney had convinced him to distract her for him.
In the bathroom, Navia examined her mutations again. The discoloring on her limbs had extended above her elbows and knees, while the fins on her hips and ears had almost fully formed. Her horns were a little bit taller, but didn’t seem like they were going to grow any more, while her tail was now about the length of her arm. The fact that they had progressed so fast scared her, but the more she looked at them the more it seemed that they weren’t going to grow more. Thinking about it, these past two nights have been the only nights she’s gotten real sleep. Maybe this had been stalled because she hadn’t been resting well?
It didn’t matter now, considering it’d already happened. Besides, never letting herself sleep was hardly a solution. So, she pushed the thought away and finished tidying up, heading to the living room without her cloak.
Lyney was trying to apologize to Freminet, who was ignoring him while he ate a piece of toast and performed maintenance on Pers. Lynette meanwhile was eating a slice of bacon while she watched her brother’s nonsense. When Navia walked in, Lyney and Lynette both looked over at her, while Freminet was still too focused on Pers to look away. Navia noticed that neither of them bristled upon seeing her, as if she was completely normal again.
“Hm, you’re like a sea hare.” Lynette spoke first, without hesitation. Lyney panicked the moment she spoke, and started waving in panic.
“Don’t listen to her, she was just speaking whatever her mind said aha!”
Lynette glared at him for his implication that she had done something wrong, but Navia just laughed.
“Calm down, it’s alright. It’s not like pretending nothing's happened will help me. I don’t mind her saying that, really.” She walked over and sat down while she talked. Her plate had already been set down on the table, so she sat in front of it.
“Sorry, we may have some shared experience, but Lynette and I were born like this…It’s hard to know what would be sensitive for someone whose body changed when they were already an adult. Oh, and we’re sorry for how we reacted to you last night. Your scent was different from before, so you felt more unfamiliar. We realize that was our mistake.” Lyney bowed his head a little, his tone apologetic.
“Oh, it’s alright! I think it was reasonable, honestly…but what do you mean by my scent?” Navia spoke in between bites of breakfast.
“We can recognize people based on their scent. Everyone has a unique one.” Lynette spoke up, “Before, you smelled like…a sunny beach. Bright and fun. Now, you’re like the ocean, and…” Lynette frowned, going quiet.
“The primordial sea.” Lyney continued for her. “There’s the normal smell of saltwater, but also the cold, consuming smell of the primordial sea. We hadn’t noticed a scent like that ever since the flood ended, so when we smelled it on you it brought back the memories of what we all went through.”
“I see…no wonder it caused such a reaction. I suppose that confirms it then, that whatever this is in my body really is primordial seawater…”
“Whatever the case is, it’s not like you’ve done anything wrong. Although, we can never guarantee that the public reaction will be kind…”
“It’s easier to guarantee the opposite.” Lynette spoke after Lyney finished. “That’s why we’re here to help you, to show you how to get through human society when it isn’t accommodating.”
“Thank you so much for helping me, I know I’m causing you all trouble…”
“Oh, don’t start with that! You’re a friend of ours, we’re glad to be able to help.” Lyney sat down on the couch to eat his own breakfast, smiling at Navia, and Lynette nodded at what he said. “Now, let’s finish eating first!”
After they finished breakfast (except for Freminet, who was eating very slowly due to working on Pers at the same time, and had to be continuously poked with his breakfast by Lynette to be reminded to eat at all) Lyney and Lynette had Navia stand up and walk around in circles in the living room.
“So, why do I need to do this?” Navia asked as she walked.
“Your legs have changed, and you have a tail now. It could potentially change how you walk, since your balancing is different from a normal human now.” Lyney spoke while he watched how she walked.
“Hm…” Navia focused more on her movement after that, trying to notice the differences.
“I see.” Lynette spoke up after a minute, “Your legs and tail are made for faster swimming, but that probably makes them a little more ineffective on land. Right now, doesn’t your tail just feel heavy?”
“You’re right, it’s really weighing on my waist…so, it’s not supposed to?” Navia twisted her hips as she spoke, turning her head back to look at what felt like a deadweight of a tail.
“Lynette’s right, tails aren’t supposed to weigh you down. They’re supposed to make you feel more balanced and stable while you walk. If you suddenly made me and Lynette walk without our tails, we’d be a lot more unsteady for it! But since yours is made to function underwater, on land it’s only function is weighing you down. Is there anything you notice with your feet?”
“Actually, it’s my feet that are worrying me more than my tail. They’re so smooth now! It’s making me worried I’ll slip and fall…”
“Lyney, I think we should take a trip to the beach. On the left outside the court, no one goes over there. That fishing lady is always on the right beach, so we can’t go there.”
“I agree, Lynette.”
“Wait, we’re going outside? Ah, are we sure I won’t be seen…? And shouldn’t we work on other things before swimming? I’m not particularly worried about that, so…”
“The point isn’t that you need to work on swimming, it’s the opposite actually. It should come naturally to you, and you’ll get a feel for how your body is supposed to work. Right now, this isn’t your ‘natural habitat’, so everything is going to feel at least a little awkward. But the most crucial part in understanding your body is listening to it, and swimming will help you do exactly that!” Lyney talked louder as he went through the house, grabbing what they’d need for this outing.
“I guess that makes sense…I’m still a little worried about being seen though.”
“It’s okay, we have plenty of clothing for concealing your identity, and it’s less conspicuous than what you wore last night.” Lynette spoke as she walked over to Freminet and poked his nose, making him jump a little and look up at her. While they talked, Lyney helped Navia adjust the cloak he grabbed for her, making sure she was sufficiently covered.
“Huh…? Lynette, what is it?”
“We’re going to the beach. You should come with us.”
Lyney turned around and smiled at him. “You’re our marine expert after all! Pers will be alright, remember? You don’t have to drop everything until every old gear is replaced, he’ll function for more than long enough for you to take a break.”
“Mhm…” Freminet was clearly hesitant, glancing down at Pers. Still, he ended up carefully putting Pers back together and turning him back on, holding him close and nodding. Navia smiled at the sight. He really was a sweet boy, and she was glad he had Lyney and Lynette to remind him to take care of himself.
“Alright, off we go!” Lyney cheered as they set off for the beach.
The siblings clearly had experience sneaking through the city, so getting out to the beach without being spotted was actually really easy. They were far more effective at it than when Navia had tried on her own, at least. It was a nice, sunny day, and Navia took a moment just breathing in the fresh air before she took off her cloak.
“Alright, you should go see how it feels-” Lyney began to speak, but stopped, as did Navia herself as she stared at Freminet.
The quiet boy had his eyes locked on Navia, staring at her so intensely that for a moment she was intimidated by him. Still, this wasn’t a look of fear or hatred. Instead…this was the most excited she’d ever seen him. He was practically sparkling, looking at her fins.
Lyney chuckled seeing him like this. “Freminet, don’t forget it’s rude to stare.”
“H-Huh? O-Oh, right, I-I’m sorry Miss Navia…”
“No, no, it’s alright. What got you so excited though?” She couldn’t help but giggle a little herself, seeing how quickly he became shy again.
“W-Well, your fins…they look a lot like old fossils I’ve been studying…after the flood, um, a lot of old ruins and fossils ended up being unearthed, since the water levels rose so high that they brought the debris with them…there’s these fossils that I’ve been really interested in…t-they’re almost like, like an ancient ancestor of the fontemer aberrants…I’ve been thinking maybe it’s their common ancestor that they devolved from…b-but there’s only a couple fossils, and they’re really eroded…a-and Father told me I couldn’t keep seeking them out, cause some of them still had traces of primordial seawater on them…but I really wanted to know more…s-so, I just got excited to see something similar, I-I’m sorry…”
“Huh? Freminet, that’s amazing!” Lyney exclaimed, hugging his little brother. “That’s really helpful to know, hehe, that’s why you’re our marine expert!”
“W-What? L-Lyney, um, I-I’m not that impressive…I-I just found it interesting, s-so…”
“No, Freminet, that really is helpful!” Navia smiled at him. “Knowing that is a huge lead on figuring out what’s going on with my body, your little interest just made things a whole lot easier for me!”
“O-Oh, r-really? I’m glad t-that I could help…” He blushed, sinking into his collar. He would’ve rather hidden in his helmet, but Lyney hugging him made it to where he couldn’t put it on.
Navia giggled at the sight, before stretching out her body. “Alright, I guess it’s time for me to go test this out, right?”
“Yep! Try to have fun, and pay attention to how your body feels while you swim!” Lyney shouted to her as she walked towards the water, still smothering poor Freminet in attention. Lynette had already laid down on a towel, enjoying the sun, but she gave Navia a thumbs up.
The water felt cool and refreshing on her skin, and once she fully submerged herself underwater she felt so much lighter and ‘in place’ than she had on the ground. She stayed floating still for a moment, simply flexing her body and paying attention to how it felt. She could move much easier underwater, able to twist almost her entire body around. She’d never been this flexible before. Along with that, her fins and tail weren’t weighing uncomfortably on her body, instead stabilizing her as she floated. She hadn’t even started swimming yet, and she could tell exactly what Lyney and Lynette had been saying about tails balancing you. Finally, she started to swim–and promptly stopped as she slammed into the shore.
“Are you alright?” Lyney called out to her from the beach.
“Yeah, I am! I just didn’t expect to move that fast!” She yelled back to him.
She really had been taken by surprise. What she thought would be a normal swimming speed had her zooming under the water. She clearly had to be more careful, so she swam out further and paid more attention to how she moved.
At first she tried swimming how she used to, but it felt awkward and unnatural. Her arm movements felt way too extended, and her body told her it wasn’t right. So, she floated around a bit more, thinking of other swimming techniques. She thought back to when she’d dive underwater and watch the blubberbeasts, and tried to direct her body movement similar to theirs. It didn’t take very long for her to get the hang of it, and she could tell it was how her body was most comfortable. She could glide through the water effortlessly and fast, her body carving through it like a bolt. The way the water rushed across her body as she swam made her feel at home, and she began to zone out, feeling as if she was right where she was meant to be.
Suddenly, she was pulled out of the water, with Lyney and Lynette crouching over her. Freminet stood nearby, watching her with worry as well.
“Navia! Hey, Navia!”
“Wh…Lyney, what happened, what’s going on?” She pushed herself to sit up, rubbing her eyes.
“Oh thank the archons, you’re back…” Lyney wiped his brow and sighed. Lynette looked relieved as well.
“I don’t understand, what happened? I was fine a moment ago…”
“You got too in tune. Since you’ve never done that before, we were worried you wouldn’t be able to get out of it.” Lynette’s voice was concerned.
“In tune? What does that mean?”
Lyney sighed, sitting down fully. He was drenched, and clearly exhausted. “For us, it’s like we have two sets of instincts in our heads. The human side, and the feline side. When we were really young, if we got too scared, the feline instincts would take the lead, and we’d essentially go unconscious while our bodies functioned purely on animal survival instincts. It’d happen sometimes if we got too relaxed as well. We learned to tune it out over time, to stay connected to our feline side without ever letting it take over completely. It hasn’t happened in years at this point, because we worked hard to make sure it wouldn’t.”
“We didn’t think it’d be a problem for you.” Lynette continued for him. “We assumed that the mutations were purely from the primordial seawater, and had no relation to any species, so they wouldn’t bring any instincts with them. But, when you were out in the water for longer, we thought about what Freminet said and realized that we could’ve been wrong…When we found you, your human mind was completely blacked out. Lyney had to drag you back above water to wake you up. We’re sorry, we didn’t think that it’d happen to you, so we thought there’d be no issue having you focus on your body like this…”
Navia looked at her hands, fear creeping over her as she listened to them talk. There were traces of blood on her claws, and it wasn’t her own. She curled into herself, her hands clutching her mouth as her breathing sped up. She felt like she was going to throw up, she was terrified of herself. What had she done? Had she hurt Lyney when he was saving her? Or something else? Was it just fish? What if someone had been diving underwater and she’d come across them? She was spiraling, her intrusive thoughts and fears getting worse and worse, while Lyney and Lynette tried to comfort her.
She didn’t remember much after that. The siblings brought her back to the Hearth, made her some warm food and did their best to help her calm down. She couldn’t focus on anything they told her, all that her mind could see was the blood on her nails, and the blurry memory of her tearing something apart. She didn’t end up sleeping that night.