The lack of merfolk around did not go unnoticed by Johnny. He had known his kind usually kept to themselves, as the depths of the ocean was far safer for them than spending time in the shallows. In fact, stories of being captured, slain, made into stew (for those with exotic tastes), and other horrible fates that befell merfolk at the hands of two legs were common amongst his people. Hell, after being captured pretty recently, he even knew for a fact that those stories were true.
More important than those stories were the grand adventures that two legs had. Fighting wars, slaying dragons, rescuing princesses. Johnny had liked those stories. He wanted to be those stories. He just... had to figure out how. There was little he could do from the water. The main difference from he and the two legs was obvious, of course.
He didn't have two legs, of course!
So today with the morning sun shining brightly above, within the shallows of one of Torchline's beaches, struggled the chubby merman. Water splashed every which way, his long, serpentine tail loudly thwacking on the surface of the water. Johnny concentrated with all of his might, he imagined himself with legs, he imagined himself getting up and walking.
An orb of light emitted from his mouth, small and dim in the brightness of day, and floated above him to join many stars above that night.
Johnny opened his eyes and in the shallows, tried to stand. He rose from the water, using his tail to hold the upper half of his body out of the water. Looking more like a blue man standing in the shallows, he tried to keep that position for as long as he could. Just a few moments and his gills ached, his insides hurt. He tried to take a breath of air from his mouth, just liked he'd seen many people do. The merman's sides trembled in pain before, unable to hold his breath any longer, he fell back into the water and breathed the normal, human-like way. The pain subsided immediately.
Clearly, having legs was going to be more difficult than he'd thought.
More important than those stories were the grand adventures that two legs had. Fighting wars, slaying dragons, rescuing princesses. Johnny had liked those stories. He wanted to be those stories. He just... had to figure out how. There was little he could do from the water. The main difference from he and the two legs was obvious, of course.
He didn't have two legs, of course!
So today with the morning sun shining brightly above, within the shallows of one of Torchline's beaches, struggled the chubby merman. Water splashed every which way, his long, serpentine tail loudly thwacking on the surface of the water. Johnny concentrated with all of his might, he imagined himself with legs, he imagined himself getting up and walking.
An orb of light emitted from his mouth, small and dim in the brightness of day, and floated above him to join many stars above that night.
Johnny opened his eyes and in the shallows, tried to stand. He rose from the water, using his tail to hold the upper half of his body out of the water. Looking more like a blue man standing in the shallows, he tried to keep that position for as long as he could. Just a few moments and his gills ached, his insides hurt. He tried to take a breath of air from his mouth, just liked he'd seen many people do. The merman's sides trembled in pain before, unable to hold his breath any longer, he fell back into the water and breathed the normal, human-like way. The pain subsided immediately.
Clearly, having legs was going to be more difficult than he'd thought.
