Chapter 97 - Ocean - So What Am I Really? Part 4

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Ocean

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Makai held my hand all the way to the pool. He didn't even let go of it when we were once again in front of his parents. I just stood there, shaking with fear, as they looked at me with their intense eyes.

"Alright, Ocean, you can get into the water now. Let the change come to you and don't fight it." Mrs. Rivers was instructing me and telling me what to do.

"You don't have to get all the way into the water if you don't want to." Makai added as he gripped my hand tighter. "You can just sit at the edge and put your feet into the water. That should be enough for you to change."

"O..O..O..OK." 

I nodded at Makai and went to sit at the edge of the pool. He came with me of course and sat down next to me, still holding my hand. With Makai's encouraging look, and the feel of his hand in my own, I let the magic wash over me when the water touched my skin. I didn't fight it like I had been.

The magic started to tingle in my toes first, the part of me that was submerged first. The itchy, tingling sensation crawled up my body. It wasn't quite like a bug crawling along my skin, but it wasn't that far off either. It was like something large yet soft was rolling up every part of my body in a slow and steady motion.

Before I knew it, my entire body was tingling and trembling slightly. It was almost time for that explosive change that would burst from within me. Makai said that there was a way to stop the explosion, but it would take a while and a lot of concentration.

I let go of Makai's hand just before the magic in me burst. I didn't want it to push him away like it has in the past. If I wasn't touching him, then it didn't affect him at all when I changed.

The next second I was sitting there next to Makai in my other form, dress and all. I saw the look of joy on Makai's face when he saw me, not at all put off by my other appearance. However, when I turned to look at his parents I saw a different sort of expression.

I saw shock, surprise, and even a little bit of fear in their eyes when they saw me. I didn't know what was wrong, but apparently I had done something that they hadn't expected.

"Oh my word." Mrs. Rivers put her hand over her mouth as she looked at me.

"I never thought I would see this." Mr. Rivers added as he put a hand to his head and ran his fingers through his hair nervously.

"What's wrong?" Makai stood up and walked over to his parents. "What is wrong with this form of his? Why are you acting like this?" He was defensive and angry at his parents on my behalf.

"Makai, don't get angry. Whatever is happening is clearly my fault." I stood up to walk over to him and grab his hand again.

"Nothing is wrong, Son." Mr. Rivers said and I don't know if he was talking to me or Makai since he had called me son before as well.

"Reef is right, there is nothing wrong, per se. It's just that this is the last thing that we expected to see. We thought you would be a Selkie or Sea Serpent, we didn't think you would be a Siren."

"A Siren?" I asked them, not sure what they were getting at. "Are you referring to the ancient legends of the beautiful women that lured sailors to their deaths?" I tilted my head as I thought about this. "You didn't mention Sirens earlier."

"That's because we thought that it was physically impossible for you to be one." Mrs. Rivers' voice was a little higher pitched than usual when she spoke.

"You see, Ocean, the Sirens are women, they always have been. The sailors they lured to their death weren't actually meant to be killed. They were luring human men to mate with them, but they left them stranded, and they would then die as a result. The Siren genetics win out every time. For thousands of years, the Sirens have existed the way they are. Luring men to father a new daughter."

"So they're still killing people?" I gasped as I thought about it.

"No! Not any more." Mr. Rivers hurriedly corrected my thought process. "They were told by the other Sea Folk that they needed to leave the men in a safe place after they used them so no more of them would die."

"That still doesn't explain why you're so surprised and shocked about Ocean." Makai's angry voice brought them back to him so he could try to work this out.

"Yes, it does." Mr. Rivers spoke firmly. "Didn't you hear, all Sirens are women. There has never been a male, until now that is."

"Ocean, I think we just discovered why you were abandoned as a baby. Chances are your mother wanted to hide you so that no one would see that you were born a boy."

I felt the sting of pain and rejection in my heart.

"So, she was angry that she had a son?" I heard the words come from my mouth, but i didn't remember saying them.

"Could you imagine the ridicule that the two of you would have suffered if you stayed in your clan? There is only one Siren clan in the entire world. They are closed off to the rest of the world except for when they need to mate. They think that they are better than any other species in existence and therefore any 'birth defects' are not tolerated. I have heard of them killing ugly babies or babies that were born with too much of their father's appearance. They only wish to preserve the Siren beauty and genetics that they think are perfect. You would have been seen as an abomination, and your mother would have as well. If they knew that she gave birth to a baby boy and not a girl, they would have cast her out."

Mr. River's words were ringing inside my head, and my heart felt like it had stopped altogether. What the hell had happened? How was I even born then, if all Sirens are female. How was I even here?

"Why didn't she just kill me then? Why am I even alive? How am I even here?" I felt like I was spiraling out of control right now. I felt like I was underwater, and I couldn't breathe. Only that wouldn't be an issue for me anymore, I had gills.

"In my opinion." Mr. Rivers looked at me. "I think she didn't want any evidence to come back and haunt her. If she killed you and left you in the water then it was possible that you would have been found by the others. In my opinion, she swam far from where the clan was and left you on a beach that she thought you would never be found on. I am betting you that she thinks you are dead already."

I swayed on my feet then, unable to bear what I was hearing any longer. Was he right? Had my mother really expected me to die when she left me on the beach? That fucking bitch.

As I swayed, Makai caught me in his arms. He held me close to him, but didn't say a word. He was just offering me his support.

After a few minutes, there was another throat clearing.

"Ahem." I wondered why Mrs. Rivers was clearing her throat now. "I am glad that we figured this out somewhat, but perhaps we can do something about the appearance of this other form of yours, huh Ocean?"

"What?" I was confused.

"It's a little bit 'revealing' isn't it?" She was only looking at my eyes as she spoke.

"I don't think the boy has noticed." Mr. Rivers added.

"What are you talking about?" I was so confused.

"It's a little bit see through." Mrs. Rivers explained.

"More than a little bit." Mr. Rivers laughed. "It's completely see through and leaves nothing to the imagination."

"What?"

I looked down then, never having truly looked closely at it.

"OH MY GOD!" I screamed. "MAKAI! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS!?" I had been standing here in front of his parents with my junk in full view because of this fucking see through dress.

"What? I never noticed anything wrong with it." Makai grinned at me.

"OF COURSE YOU DIDN'T, YOU ASS HAT!"

"Haha, ass hat. That is hilarious."

"Is there something I can do about this? A way to change what I am wearing?" I asked Makai's parents as I hid my body behind that ass hat of mine.

"Now that you know what your Siren form looks like you should be able to consciously alter it. The initial form would have been what nature intended for all Sirens to wear, but you're a male Siren so that look doesn't suit you. Try thinking about something else being on your body in that form. Imagine that look every time, that new outfit whenever you take on your Siren form."

"OK, I just need to picture something else then. Hmm."

I closed my eyes and thought about something else. First, I just thought about a pair of shorts, something that was much like swim trunks. They were green like the dress but a lot darker and not see through. I did my best to picture my body in this new form with the white scales and the green shorts.

After a few moments, I heard Makai's gasp of surprise, and then his words reached me.

"You did it." My eyes popped open, and I looked down at myself. Indeed I had. I was now wearing a pair of dark green shorts instead of that stupid dress.

"Oh thank God. I don't have to wear that infernal dress anymore."

"And it's much easier on us." Mr. Rivers laughed.

"Oh God, I can't believe that I was basically naked in front of you guys. I'm so sorry." I buried my burning face in my hands.

"HAHA! Don't worry Ocean. At least we know what you're working with now. I guess it's no wonder Makai likes you."

"DAD!?"

"Oh, don't give me that. It was funny as hell. And it was a great way to break the ice. There will never be anything worse than that so the boy should have no reason to be embarrassed in front of us ever again." I was mortified at Mr. Rivers' words.

"Actually, I think I will just be embarrassed for the rest of my life. Excuse me while I melt." That only made Makai's dad laugh even harder. OH GOD!