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I sat with my legs dangling in Rafayel’s pool, watching as he expertly painted the view of the sky from where he sat. “Hey, Raf?”
“Yeah, cutie?” he asked.
I hesitated. “I hope I’m not overstepping any boundaries, but… could I… see you?”
He paused, abandoning his painting with a pink tint to his cheeks. “...See me? How so?”
“In your Lemurian form.”
He blinked again. “Oh. Yes, that’s what you meant.”
“Hm?” I was confused. “Yes? That’s what I meant. So…?”
He cleared his throat. “I was wondering when you would ask, since you’re so obsessed with fish. Yes, I will show you.”
Setting down his paintbrush on his stool, he shedded his coat and shoes. His cheeks and ears were dusted a light pink. “Will you, ah… turn around for this part?”
I blinked. “Oh! Yeah, sure.” I did a full 180, pulling my legs out of the pool and sitting criss-cross on the edge, with my back to Rafayel. There was silence, and then a splash as he jumped in. I felt a droplet of water hit my back and flinched from the cold.
There was some more silence, then Rafayel said, “Okay. You can look now.”
He looked just as ethereal as he did in the game, with long hair, iridescent blue scales decorating his cheeks and arms, and a shiny purple tail- except there were some differences. For one, there were visible gills on his neck. On his back was a dorsal fin, making his tail more fishlike instead of eel-like. His fingers were webbed, and he had fins on the back of his arms as well. His teeth were sharp as he gave a tentative, almost shy grin as he gripped the edge of the pool. “So? What do you think?”
I was silent for a moment before I jumped up. “You’re so cool! Look at you, oh my god, you’re gorgeous, dude! Look at that tail, and your hair, oh my- wow!”
He blushed, turning his head away. “You sure are enthusiastic, cutie….”
A thought occurred to me. “Hey, Raf… you’re great at swimming, aren’t you?”
He raised an eyebrow, arcing his tail out of the water. Droplets fell down from his caudal fin onto his head. “No, not at all. Why?”
“Well, I’m not. As a matter of fact, I have no clue how to swim. Can you teach me?”
“You-?” He frowned. “You swam. I saw you. Back when I showed you that coral reef?”
“No, you dragged me through the water the whole time. That’s not swimming.”
He gave a thoughtful hum. “Yeah, I guess not.” He waved an arm. “Well, hop in, cutie. You can’t learn to swim on land.”
I gave an excited squeak and shedded my jacket and skirt. My shirt was long enough to cover my underwear, but I was so comfortable with Rafayel at this point that I didn’t care if he saw, anyway.
“Okay, the way you moved back then was definitely a strong start.” He swam backwards into the deep end. “Try swimming to me.”
“Huh? Aren’t you gonna… y’know… teach me how to do that?”
“The best way to learn is from experience,” he said. “Now, come. I won’t let you drown.”
I believed him. I walked until the floor dipped, and I kicked off and did my best doggy paddle to Rafayel. I only made it halfway before my head went underwater. I gasped, intaking water, and I began to flail. Suddenly, strong arms caught me and held me above water.
“See, Bodhi? I got you. Nothing to be scared of.”
I gasped and sputtered. “The water tastes like shit,” I eventually spat, rubbing my stinging eyes. “Did you put salt in here?”
“Imported water, straight from the ocean,” he grinned, flashing me those razor-sharp teeth. “Now, swim back to the edge of the pool. Go.”
He released me, giving me a light shove. I begin to sink immediately. Before I could begin to panic, Rafayel placed a hand under me and swam me to the edge.
“Okay,” he said, “you need to learn how to float before you can get anywhere.”
“How do I become buoyant?”
He grinned, giving a puff of laughter at my verbiage. “Like this. Grip the edge.”
I gripped the edge of the pool for dear life as Rafayel grabbed my ankles, allowing me to lay in the water on my stomach.
“Just kick your feet- not that much!- yes, like that, now just stay like that. Tuck your chin a little. Yes, perfect.”
I gave a small gasp of shock as I actually floated above the water. “I’m doing it,” I found myself laughing in disbelief.
“I see you,” Rafayel said from behind me. “Don’t get distracted. Keep doing that.” I continued my little swim-float for about five more minutes. Then, Rafayel continued his instruction; “Now let go.”
“Let go?” I turned my head, glancing back at him. “Like, now? Like, let go let go?”
“Let go,” he nodded. “You can’t expect to be able to swim while gripping onto the pool wall like a snail. You have the whole ocean to explore and you want to stay there?”
“Okay, don’t let me drown.” I let go and began my pathetic doggy paddling once more. Except this time, I was able to make it much farther than I had before, before I started to sink.
Rafayel grabbed me and held me above the water. “Good, good. You did better than before. Now, swim back to the pool wall.”
He gave me a light push, and I swam all the way back to the pool wall without sinking.
“Good!” he praised. “See, you could do it.”
I grinned at his words, immensely proud of myself.
We continued that way, him instructing where to go and what to do, and an hour later I could swim halfway across the pool without sinking.
“Wow, you’re a great swim coach,” I commented. “Better than any other swim coach, I bet.”
“Well, I grew up in the sea,” he said. “I bet you could teach a Lemurian to walk in the same amount of time.”
I huffed a laugh and slapped the water, splashing him. He responded by splashing me with his tail. I shrieked, flinching away from the spray of water.
“Hey! That’s not fair!” I giggled, my previously semi-dry hair now completely drenched.
“It’s plenty fair.”
Rafayel instructed me to do a few more laps before we called it a day. The sun hung low in the sky, painting a pink hue against the bottom of the clouds. I turned, allowing Rafayel privacy to shift back to his human form, and we began our trek to the studio together.
“You know, you did good for your first time,” he said, bumping my shoulder.
My cheeks heated from the praise. “Yeah, well…. You’re a good teacher.”
“You’re a good student.”
He tilted his head down, gazing into my eyes. I couldn’t help but glance at his lips, plump and pink and probably so soft…
I was leaning in before I knew what I was doing, and Rafayel connected our lips in a kiss that made my face redder than his coral paints. His lips lingered on mine for a few long seconds before he broke the kiss.
“You’re all red,” he teased. “Are you coming down with a fever or something?”
“S-shut up,” I swatted him, hiding my face in his shoulder.
“Alright, cutie,” he laughed. “C’mon, let’s go back inside.”