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Puffer hopped off his bike, glaring at the trail behind him that he totally didn't almost crash on multiple times. In his defense, there were way too many roots in the path.
He took off his shirt and shoes, dipping his toes into the lake. He had been looking forward to this. A day at the lake that basically no one knew existed. Just him.
He waded deeper in, feeling the sand and mud squishing between his toes. It was perfect. Once he was far enough in, he pushed off the bottom, swimming around for a bit.
It was barely a few minutes before he felt a pinch on his legs, looking down and expecting to find a curious fish nibbling at him. He found nothing, but when he tried to go back to swimming, he heard a wet tear, quickly followed by an excruciating pain along his legs.
He scrambled in the water, panicking at the blood pooling around him. The pain in his legs only grew, and he screamed, thrashing as he tried to stay above water.
Then everything went black.
-----
Puffer came to with a pressure surrounding him on all sides, feather light touches tracing his skin. He turned, and the touches vanished, leaving him alone with the weight.
He opened his eyes, immediately flailing once he realized he was underwater. What the fuck!? He tried to swim to the surface, but his legs were stuck together, and when he looked down, all he saw was a large fish tail.
He scrambled back along the sand, thrashing his legs turned tail around in panic. What happened to him!? What the hell!?
He was eventually able to drag himself to the shore, clinging desperately to the sand. Standing next to his bike was a man, who jumped upon noticing Puffer crawling out of the water.
Puffer stared up at the man, digging his fingers deep into the sand. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Face this man, or go back in the water. Which was better? Which was worse?...
Puffer tried to speak, but instead let out a choked, strangled gasp, quickly realizing his lack of oxygen. He coughed, leaning forward, trying to take a deep breath, but nothing was happening. He felt lightheaded and on the verge of passing out, barely able to process the man now crouched in front of him.
"You need to get back in the water," the man said, pushing him toward the lake. He shook his head, trying fruitlessly to take in another gulp of air.
Suddenly, he was rolled over, and he fell on his back in the shallow end, waves lapping over him. He gasped as he felt air start rushing into his lungs, coughing as he inhaled a bit of water in his mouth.
"There you go. You're okay," the man soothed, running his hand along Puffer's arm. Puffer looked up at the man, shrinking back further into the water. He made up his mind, the water was better.
"Who are you?" Puffer rasped, his tail--holy fuck, his tail--slapping against the surface as it flopped in agitation.
"My name is Kryoz. I think... I think you're like me," the man said, sitting down on the shore. Puffer was stuck laying on his back in the shallow water, so just flopped his tail again in thought. It felt so natural to him...
"What, are you a fish... Thing!? Too?" Puffer asked, sputtering again as another wave rushed over his face.
"No... No, I... Here, just-" Kryoz said, brushing his hair away from his face, revealing his ears that looked a deathly blue, coming to a point at the ends.
"That could just be paint," Puffer argued, shifting further into the water. If he got far enough, he could swim away.
The man sighed, reaching down and pulling off his jacket, revealing two small, ice blue wings on his back, water dripping off the tips. "Is that enough for you?"
"What the?" Puffer whispered, staring at the wings with wide eyes. They seemed unbelievably frail, and mimicked bat wings, or even some depictions Puffer had seen of dragons. They had thinner false webbing between sharp blades that rounded at the edges, water collecting at the tips and dripping to the ground.
"Is that enough?" Kryoz repeated, pointing at the wings. He was clearly not happy with having to have them exposed. Whether that be from the sun or some other reason, Puffer wasn't sure.
"What... What are you?" Puffer asked, holding his hand out as if he could touch them. Kryoz quickly put his jacket back on, crossing his arms.
"Dunno. But I thought I was the only one," Kryoz said. Puffer hummed in thought, quickly taking the last few scoots before he was deep enough in the water to swim off.
Kryoz watched him go as Puffer situated himself in a deeper part of the lake, looking at Kryoz from under the surface. He knew Kryoz could see him, the water of the lake being almost crystal clear and undisturbed. But surprisingly, he didn't mind that much.
He swam around a bit, surprised how natural it felt to him now that he wasn't thrashing about in a blind panic. His tail cut through the water like butter, leaving faint ripples in its wake.
He swam to the surface, peering out and looking around to reorient himself, spotting Kryoz still sat on the shore, having watched him the whole time. He ducked back under and swam over, almost ramming into the sand from how quickly he got there.
He popped back up a few feet from the shore, looking up at Kryoz. He held onto the sand on the bottom to keep himself steady, his tail settling on the sand underwater.
"So... I'm stuck like this now?" Puffer asked, much calmer now that he had some time to adjust.
"I haven't found a way to change back, so... Yeah, I think so," Kryoz said. Puffer frowned, looking down at his tail.
"How did you know I needed to go back underwater?"
"The gills-"
"The what!?" Puffer exclaimed, bringing a hand along his side, finding nothing, then his neck, where he felt a collection of small slits. He quickly pulled his hand away and winced as he accidentally pulled against them, the new additions being highly sensitive.
"Yeah. Those," Kryoz said, running a finger through the sand as he tried not to look at Puffer. "I'm sorry, really-"
"What are you apologizing for? Did you cause this!?"
"I mean, no, but still. I feel... Bad."
Puffer shrugged, submerging a bit more so his chin was underwater, his mouth barely exposed. "Then you have no need to apologize."
Kryoz nodded, and Puffer laid down sideways, only half of his face exposed above water. He wasn't... Okay with this. But it was probably better to accept it than constantly be upset about it.
Puffer rolled back to his belly as his stomach grumbled, pointing to his bike and the quaint basket in the front. "Kryoz?"
"Hmm?" Kryoz responded, looking toward where Puffer had pointed.
"All of my stuff is in there. Could you maybe get me the sandwich I packed? I dunno what time it is, but I haven't eaten in a while."
Kryoz nodded and stood, walking over to the bike and opening the lid of the basket, digging around in it for a moment before pulling out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich jammed in a ziplock bag.
He tossed it to Puffer, and Puffer scrambled to catch it, glaring at Kryoz, who only shrugged with a smug smile. Puffer rolled his eyes, opening the bag and using it as a barrier between the sandwich and his hands, which were still wet.
Once he finished, he still felt hungry, but ignored that as he handed the bag back to Kryoz, who shoved it back into Puffer's bike's basket.
"Since I'm... Stuck here... I probably can't go back to my apartment, can I?" Puffer thought aloud, crossing his arms on the sand and resting his cheek on them.
"I could go," Kryoz offered, running a finger along Puffer's bike's handles in thought, once more refusing to look at Puffer.
"Yeah... Yeah. If you wouldn't mind. You probably don't need to worry about clothes or anything, but some things in there... It would just suck to lose, y'know?"
"I get that... I'll go now, then. You got the key in here?"
"Yup," Puffer said. Kryoz searched for the key, which was jammed in the bottom of the basket, as Puffer gave him directions. Kryoz waved goodbye, opting to walk instead of take Puffer's bike.
-----
While waiting, Puffer had found a house on the shoreline, the land dropping off suddenly in what was basically a miniature underwater cliff. The lawn was overgrown, and the house looked abandoned, but Puffer didn't want to take any chances.
Eventually, Kryoz returned, lugging a suitcase behind him. Puffer swam over to the beach to greet him. Kryoz had already sat down and was unzipping the bag to show Puffer the contents.
"Hey, Puffer. I tried to get anything I thought might be important. Hopefully I didn't miss anything," Kryoz said, showing the bag stuffed with random things: Pokemon cards, figurines, stuffed animals, decorative blankets, and a bunch of other things.
"I can't think of anything... Though what am I supposed to do with all this? Can't really keep it underwater with me," Puffer said, looking at all the items.
"I can keep it at my place," Kryoz said, pointing across the lake, "I live over there."
"The house I saw? You live there?" Puffer asked, looking toward it.
"Uh... Yeah?"
"You need to clean that place up, man!" Puffer said, glaring at Kryoz in a way that definitely gave off disappointed parent. Kryoz nervously fidgeted, flicking the zipper back and forth.
"Yeah... I know."
"How long have you been staying there?"
"Uh... Almost four years now?-"
"Four years!? And it still looks like that!? Come on!" Puffer exclaimed, crossing his arms as he hardened the glare he had.
"It- it's hard! I can't be outside much with... These!" Kryoz argued, pointing at his hidden wings. "I can only be out during winter, pretty much, and then the lawn doesn't need to be mowed cause there's fucking snow covering the ground!"
"Oh," Puffer said, deflating, "that sucks."
"Yeah. Even being out right now is pushing it," Kryoz admitted.
"Then go! Get inside! And take my bike, I don't just wanna abandon it," Puffer urged, reaching out to push Kryoz's leg.
Kryoz got the hint, zipping the suitcase back up before standing, grabbing the bike and walking it along the trail, dragging the suitcase on his other side.
Puffer swam over to the house to wait for him, settling under the water and curling his tail around like a snake. Fish swam around, keeping their distance, though a few curiously drifted closer, darting off every time he moved.
After a while, he swam back to the surface, watching as Kryoz pushed through the brush and walked toward the house, vanishing inside. A little bit later, Kryoz pushed his way through the tall grass to the waters edge, jumping at Puffer already being there.
"Hi!" Kryoz exclaimed, before quickly going back to his calm demeanor, "so, what's the plan now?"
"Well, you can't really give me a tour, now, can you?" Puffer joked, running a finger along the dirt of the drop off. "Thank you... For helping me, getting my stuff and holding onto it, all that."
"Of course," Kryoz said, nodding.
"I... I'll probably just explore the lake more... So-"
"See ya," Kryoz said, waving goodbye. Puffer reciprocated the action before flipping away into the water, swimming around to see if he could find anything interesting.
-----
Puffer was jolted awake by a pain on his side, letting out an involuntary hiss. He flailed, watching as a collection of fish swam off, blood following behind one of them.
He looked down at his side, immediately pressing his hand to the injury there. It wasn't anything major, but was deep enough to draw blood, which was swirling up into the water.
He shot up, swimming to the surface and looking around. The full moon highlighted the lake, a distant owl calling into the night. Fireflies lined the edges of the lake, and crickets filled the open area.
Puffer swam to Kryoz's house, clinging to the dirt wall. Curious fish surrounded him, focused on the blood that was being carried away by the current. They kept their distance, but were obviously waiting for their chance to strike.
"Kryoz!? Kryoz!" Puffer called, grabbing at a section of the long grass to try to ground himself. He was almost eaten alive. Fuck. Holy fuck! "Kryoz!" Puffer screamed, struggling to keep himself calm much longer.
A light shone from a room on the second floor, fading and growing as it went throughout the house. After a bit, Kryoz came stumbling out of the house holding a flashlight, pushing his way through the grass until he was at the water's edge.
"Puffer!? What!? What's wrong!?" Kryoz exclaimed, looking around the area for any possible dangers.
"A fish almost- I was almost fucking eaten alive!" Puffer screeched, swiping his tail to try to scare off the fish still surrounding him.
"What?- Oh... Oh, fuck," Kryoz said, hissing a breath in through his teeth.
"Yeah, oh fuck!" Puffer screamed. He was very quickly loosing his composure. He was already a fish-thing! He didn't need this, too!
"Okay... Okay. I'll figure something out, just... Give me a minute," Kryoz said, standing. Puffer watched as he went back inside, coming back out a moment later carrying something in his open hand.
Kryoz signaled for Puffer to come closer, so he pulled himself up, laying down on the grass. Kryoz kneeled next to him, putting a square bandaid on the bite.
"There, that should stop the bleeding. I'll try to get something set up for you in the morning," Kryoz said. Puffer nodded, rolling back into the water, sending more fish scattering.
"I... I should be fine for the rest of the night... I slept a bit earlier," Puffer said, remembering how he had passed out when he first changed.
"I'm sorry, man. I know this sucks," Kryoz suddenly said, sitting criss cross on the ground.
"Why are you apologizing?" Puffer asked, tilting his head.
"I... I dunno, I feel bad. Guilty. Like maybe there's some more I could do for you, but I don't know what that... Is."
"Don't beat yourself up over it. You're already doing so much for me."
"Yeah..."
-----
Puffer blinked his eyes open, weaseling his way out of the small tent made of scrap metal Kryoz had gotten for him. He had settled against the side opposite of the beach where he had turned, finding a comfortable, soft spot where he could hunker down.
He shot up from the ground, heading over to Kryoz's house. The sun was just rising over the horizon, and the long grass rustled as a gust of wind blew over the area.
Kryoz walked out of the house, barely visible through the tall grass. Puffer shot up, waving the man over.
"Kryoz!" Kryoz quickly redirected, shuffling his way to Puffer. "Where are you headed off to so early in the morning?"
"I... I have a job, man," Kryoz said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh. Right. Yeah, should have come to that conclusion sooner, now that I think about it."
"Speaking of, I gotta go before I'm late. You'll be fine by yourself, right?"
Puffer scoffed, dipping slightly further into the water. "I could take anything in this dumb lake. Hell, I think I'm ten feet long now, what would want to try me!?"
Kryoz rolled his eyes, turning and walking away, vanishing down a path Puffer couldn't see. Puffer vanished back underwater, swimming around.
He settled on the bottom, suddenly feeling drained. He hadn't had anything to eat in a little while, too busy getting used to being a fucking fish!
He ran his finger along the mud, any marks he made quickly being brushed away by the water. He looked up, spotting a small school of fish swimming about, and his mouth started watering.
Before he could think twice, he shot up, grabbing one of the fish and tearing into it, quickly finishing it. He looked down at the large bones in his hands, dropping them in shock. What the fuck did he just do!? He just... He just caught and ate a fish. Raw!?
Puffer swam back to his metal fort, too distraught over what he had just done to realize the hunger that had been scratching at the back of his mind since he changed was now gone. He curled up under the metal sheets, wrapping his tail tight around his body as he reflected on what he just did.
It wasn't... It wasn't that bad. He just ate a fish. A commonly eaten fish, at that. He was never really one for fish, but it didn't taste bad. Maybe he could get Kryoz to buy him some fish... Or would that be weird?
He stayed there for the rest of the day, eventually passing out. When he woke up and swam back to the surface, he found the sun to be low in the sky, almost replaced by the moon.
He swam over to see if Kryoz was back, finding the man sitting on the edge of the lake, his pants rolled up as he dipped his bare feet in the water. Puffer swam close, popping up.
Kryoz smiled down at him, before reaching behind himself to offer Puffer a metal box. "I didn't get you breakfast this morning," Kryoz said.
Puffer took the box, opening it and being careful to avoid getting water in it. Inside was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the crust cut off, apple slices, grapes, and a Capri Sun.
Puffer gave Kryoz a look, immediately hesitant at the clear show of being treated like a child. Kryoz looked at his own lap, nervously running his hands up and down his thighs.
"I... I dunno, I wanted to do... Something? Now that I'm thinking about it, it does look pretty childish, huh?"
"Yeah, it really fucking does," Puffer agreed, grabbing a grape and popping it in his mouth. "The thought's appreciated though."
Kryoz nodded, standing and grabbing a pair of sandals that had been sitting next to him. "Well, I'm gonna head to bed. Got work again, tomorrow. Night, Puffer."
"Good night, Kryoz," Puffer said, focusing on the food. Kryoz put on his shoes before walking to the house, vanishing inside. Puffer watched him go, settling himself on the dirt wall as he ate his meal. The thought was really appreciated.
-----
Puffer felt so... Weak. He had recently developed a pair of sharp claws, which he now used to dig into the rocky surface under him as a spark of pain alighted along his spine.
He let out a screech of pain, curling in on himself more. Kryoz was off at work, so he was left suffering alone. He let out another shriek as another wave of pain stabbed along his back.
-----
Puffer lay against the dirt wall, clinging to the grass to keep him afloat. He was shaking, and his whole body was weak. He was waiting for Kryoz to come back, which should have been a while ago, the moon now high in the sky.
Just as he was feeling himself loosing patience, he heard the sound of steps coming closer, shooting his head up. Kryoz pushed through the grass a moment later, freezing at the sight of Puffer clinging to the bank.
"Puffer!?" Kryoz exclaimed, rushing forward and grabbing Puffer's arm. Puffer groaned, letting himself go and trusting Kryoz to keep him up. Kryoz held tight to his arm, looking the man over.
"Hi... Kryoz," Puffer mumbled.
"Be quiet. Don't want you wasting your energy," Kryoz hushed, subconsciously running his finger up and down Puffer's arm.
Puffer obeyed, silently watching with only his eyes as Kryoz looked him over, the man occasionally humming in sympathy but saying no more than that.
"Why don't you go get some rest?" Kryoz eventually said, his hold on Puffer's arm slightly loosening. Puffer hummed in acknowledgement, lazily swimming away and slipping into his metal tent, laying down and immediately drifting off into a fitful sleep.
-----
Puffer blinked his eyes open, still incredibly exhausted but no longer in pain. He looked himself over, freezing at the presence of spikes laying flat against his back. They rose slowly as his panic only grew, and he swam out of his tent, spinning in circles to try to see them better.
He swam back over to Kryoz's house, finding the man sitting in the grass, a book in his hands. He looked up at Puffer's appearance, dog-earring the page he was on before closing and setting the book down.
"Feeling better?" Kryoz asked.
"I... What happened to me?" Puffer asked, gesturing to the spikes still raised high along his back.
"Well... Okay, I didn't tell you this because I thought you were done, but... When I shifted, the ears happened first. They were easy enough to hide, so I didn't question it. Then almost a whole month later, the wings started... Developing.
"And so... The same thing is happening to you. It started with the tail, and then the claws, and now the spikes. I don't know what else will happen, or if anything else will happen, but... Yeah."
Puffer nodded, relaxing slightly. "This is... This is normal," he said aloud, trying to reassure himself.
"Yes, it's normal."
Puffer took a deep breath, leaning against the dirt wall. Kryoz silently watched him, allowing him a moment to collect himself, all the while watching the spikes.
"Thanks... For helping me through this, and everything," Puffer said, "it means a lot."
"Of course. It was... It sucked when I went through it alone, so I'm glad I was able to help someone else."
Puffer smiled up at the man, allowing himself to relax, closing his eyes and tossing his arm up, blindly grabbing for Kryoz. Kryoz linked their hands, giving Puffer's a couple squeezes.
-----
Puffer lay curled up underwater near Kryoz's house. His stomach hurt. He was so hungry...
Puffer let out a gutteral groan that vanished in the water. Every fish that passed him left his mouth watering, but he was too exhausted to try to chase after them. But he was so hungry...
"Puffer?" Kryoz's muffled voice called out from above him. Kryoz had been trying to be consistent with meals ever since that first time he had forgotten to give Puffer breakfast.
Puffer swam up, tilting side to side and using the wall to guide himself. He poked his head out of the water, just enough so Kryoz could see his eyes.
"Hey, Puffer. Got you dinner," Kryoz said, holding out the usual lunch tin that he used to give Puffer his food.
Puffer eyed it, rising out of the water a bit more, before shaking his head. Despite how hungry he was, the thought of whatever could be in there made his stomach churn.
"Uh, okay?... Are you alright, man?" Kryoz asked, closing the metal box. Puffer let out another gutteral groan, leaning against the dirt wall.
"Hungry," Puffer whispered, curling in on himself slightly.
"Then why don't you want?-"
"No!" Puffer screamed, his tail thrashing under him, but really just lazily drifting back and forth, too exhausted to enact such an aggressive action.
"No?" Kryoz asked, unaffected by Puffer's outburst.
"Whatever that is... Makes me feel sick... Need... Need," Puffer whispered, hesitating, his anxiety catching up to him. It felt so weird to admit...
"What do you need? Whatever it is. I don't want you suffering anymore, Puffer," Kryoz practically begged, leaning forward.
"Fish," Puffer answered, ducking under the water a bit more.
"Okay," Kryoz said, standing. "I think I have some tuna somewhere, then I can get you something better later."
Before Puffer could say anything, Kryoz went back to the house, soon returning with an open can of tuna in his hand. He sat back down, giving it to Puffer, who quickly devoured the fish, his stomach settling slightly.
"Better?" Kryoz asked as he took the can back.
"Yeah... Uhm... I actually can take care of food for myself," Puffer admitted, his spines rising slightly now that he had the energy to do so.
"Oh?"
"I... I can catch fish for myself. I did it about a week ago, but it... It felt wrong. But it's better than... I dunno, fucking slowly dying."
Kryoz was quiet for a while, until he eventually nodded, finally setting the can down next to his book and Puffer's food tin. "I'll try to get more fish for you, but that's good to know."
Puffer nodded, sinking into the water awkwardly. Kryoz let him go, picking up all the stuff laying around himself and heading inside.
-----
Puffer startled at the sound of something hitting the water, turning and swimming to the surface to check it out. Kryoz sat at the edge of the bank, frozen with his one foot halfway in the water, looking at Puffer halfway across the lake.
Puffer swam over, his ear fins flicking in curiosity. "Hey, Kryoz. What're you doing?"
"I... Was going to try to relax and read a bit. Using the lake to keep me cool," Kryoz said, pointing to the book next to him. He finally settled, focusing on Puffer.
"Okay," Puffer said, looking across the yard. Kryoz had finally been able to cut down the grass to a half reasonable level, enough so Puffer could actually see when Kryoz got back after his work rather than just hearing him.
Puffer leaned against the dirt wall, rubbing against it slightly to try to alleviate the itchiness there. Kryoz had mentioned the scales on his cheeks a few days ago, and he was still getting used to them, along with a few other patches he had found scattered along his body.
Kryoz picked up his book, opening it to the page he had bookmarked and starting to read. Puffer relaxed, feeling that calm sense between awake and asleep, his tail lazily swaying beneath him to keep himself afloat.