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Got it. See you soon.

["Soon" is more like half an hour. But eventually the newly-made kelpie manages to wade his way to the Hill House. He moves as quietly as he can through the entrance tunnel, pushing gently against the front door once he reaches it. If it doesn't give, he taps on it as gently as he can. Because an actual knock would presumably be a terrible idea.]

[Reira is waiting by the door when he arrives-she sees him coming, to an extent, when she peers through the peep hole. Opening it, she finds herself gasping a little.] ...Woahhhh.... [She blinks, all sleepiness worn off as she trots aside, holding the edge of her night gown up lest she trip on the ends.] ....You look like the bottom of Fors....

[Well that's a thing.]

Huh? [That is quite possibly one of the most bizarre greetings he's ever received. But alright then.] What, the lake?

[How does he look like a lake? Reira are you sure you're entirely awake right now? Nagisa is not so sure that you are.]

Mmmhn. Yeah. ...At the bottom, in the crack, it looks like another sea in there...except full of little lights, like stars.

I think the lake bottom is supposed to be like the sky...because there's a bunch of houses down there on each side of the crack, with the sun and moon.

So there's a city under the lake? [Neato! He wants to go look at the weird space crack underwater city-- wait that's not important right now..] Er...let's talk about that later though. Or just go look at it

[Since he can. You know. Swim underwater now.]

Because, either way, changing this-- [He gestures to his hips, to the point where boy meets foal. This is kind of a problem and a much bigger concern at the moment. Because he's pretty sure he was not supposed to default to centaur.] is more important right now. I need to get back home before Jataro starts worrying that I got attacked again. And I'd rather do that on two legs than four.

[A two-legged form is way more maneuverable than a horse butt. Even ignoring the number of legs for a second, most rooms are not made with horses in mind. They go in stables, not houses.]

[...and yet, that's exactly what he's about to do once Reira actually gives him the okay to come inside.]

Edited 2017-09-19 16:16 (UTC)

[Reira, surprisingly, almost instantly shakes her head as Nagisa voices that future plan.] Mmmh-!!! No way..! It's way too dangerous unless you can swim properly! There were giant sawblade fish just above it, that attack anyone who comes...

....that's how my wings got cut off... [She adds, chewing her lip anxiously.] If you go there... ....you have to really know how to get there.

[As it is. The leg thing. It's good that Reira has a house that more resembles a small field on the outside, as while she closes the door behind them, Nagisa will probably not have TOO much trouble finding space to stand. Once he's in, she studies the other a moment.] Hmmmm....

....the big thing I always used was what I did to turn into a deer as a wendigo...for that, I thought of being small, but for this...

[She shifts, the change practically fluid.] ...I would think of going faster. So...to go back, I think about wanting to take a rest.

...it might work that way because it's my normal form too though...so I would try thinking about being small too, just in case.

Oh. [Judging by the way those two particular kelp fronds droop a little, Nagisa acknowledges that this isn't going to be something he can do. Not in the time he has as a kelpie, there's no way he can become a good enough swimmer by then.]

[Darn. He would have liked to see it...]

[He follows Reira inside, thankful once again for the natural state of her house. Though that doesn't stop him from going completely stock-still once he finds somewhere to stand. He doesn't want to knock anything over...]

[He grimaces a little at the word "normal form" though. Yup, he was right. This is definitely not supposed to be the "default" kelpie form.]

So when you first turned into a kelpie...you were more like a faun then a centaur? You didn't have to learn how to take on a bipedal form? [He had hoped that maybe, just maybe this was actually normal. That kelpies were "born" more horse-like at first and the only reason he usually saw bipedal kelpies was because they'd been monsters for a while.]

[That would be kind of a long shot though, huh...]

I could probably bring you one day...! [she adds, catching the droop.] ...We just...really have to plan first.

...umm... But the way I looked when I became a kelpie was definitely two legs, not four. Four is more...an in between, I think..?

Most monsters that change shape just have an animal one, but we get the centaur one in between.

[And the fronds perk back up. Hooray for maybe one day having a plan and going to see the weird lake stars.]

Well that makes sense. In the folklore from my world, kelpies were true shapeshifters. The other animalistic monsters here...not so much. I've never heard of nagas being able to turn into actual snakes, for example. And werecreatures aren't supposed to have any control at all over their transformation. So it makes sense for kelpies to be a little more adept at it.

But okay... maybe since I got all my changes at once, instead of gradually, things got a little mixed up. [He inhales deeply and closes his eyes, frowning in concentration. Okay. Think about wanting to take a rest. About moving slowly...]

[Hooray! That's one success then. Reira ponders the other's theory while he focuses, taking a seat in the meantime.] Hmnnmn...I guess..? I sort of got mine all at once too though...

[Very strange indeed. Here's hoping he doesn't turn into a foal or something at least.]

[Good news!]

[He does not turn into a foal.]

[Bad news!]

[He doesn't take on a bipedal form either. Absolutely nothing happens as Nagisa stands there, calm and focused.]

Mmmnn...

[Maybe he needs to try it from a different angle. All monsters are different, even those that belong to the same species. His mind is not Reira's, so it stands to reason that his transformations have different triggers.]

[He tries thinking about becoming shorter. He thinks about swimming, about having two legs that he can kick out through the water like a frog. He tries thinking about the fauns and satyrs of Greco-Roman myth. None of these things have any effect whatsoever.]

[He cracks an eye open, turning his head just a little to look over his shoulder. Maybe there's some kind of visible sign that he can't feel. Like some kind of magical transformation glow. There's not, but it was worth a check. So he closes his eye and faces foreward again.]

[This time, he tries the simplest, most straightforward answer he can think of. He envisions himself in a bipedal form. He can clearly see himself in his mind's eye...]

[It does absolutely nothing. He's going to stand there for like five minutes and absolutely nothing is going to happen. But god is he trying. He's trying so hard.]

[Well. Bugger. This isn't doing anything at all. Reira practically has to keep herself from dozing off, head bobbing and snapping back to awareness at least once through the whole deal. ...Eventually, she has to wonder-]

....do you think it's actually like my fog form..?

...I couldn't change to any form except four legs, whenever I took it...

[With a soft nicker of frustration, Nagisa's eyes open once more. Wait what? Did that noise seriously just come out of him?]

[He's just...going to hope Reira didn't hear that. Or at least won't comment on it. He clears his throat.]

I mean...it's just a temporary spell so I supposed it's possible I'm an "incomplete" kelpie, so to speak. I followed her instructions perfectly though, so it can't be anything I did. [He stifles a yawn.] I'm going to go back home and get some sleep. Maybe I just need more practice with a well-rested mind. Either way, it's not the end of the world...as long as I can breathe underwater, that's all that matters.

[If he's stuck with an inconvenient horse butt the whole time, so be it. Totally worth it to make Jataro happy.]

Thanks, Reira-chan. Sorry again for waking you up, but you and Ron are the only two kelpies I know.

I don't think it means you're incomplete..! [She protests, though it's a rather weak one given she can't really...back it up with anything. She sighs, and shakes her head.] ..Mnh...it's okay, I can still get some sleep tonight...

...Do you have to go really far to go home though?

[Nagisa chuckles softly at the protest.] I didn't mean it as a bad thing. It's just that I'm not really a true kelpie like this. And Mana's spells don't always work exactly as requested, right? I only gave her 20 coins, so maybe that's not enough for the full kelpie experience.

[He's really not bothered, Reira, it's okay.]

Not too far though, no.

["Home" is Dyster, so...really he just has to walk out the front door, turn around, and use his key. Because using it on an inside door would be weird, because then he'd just show up in her living room or something the next time he left Dyster.]

[And that could be potentially weird since other people live here.]

It was only 20? [Wow. Somehow she thought being a whole new monster would cost a little more but.... ...Apparently not. Well. Reira just nods then, sighing with apparent relief.] Okay...

...I hope that you figure out what it is about the shapeshifting problem though...

[He nods.]

It's only going to last for about a month, so it didn't cost very much. If I wanted it to last longer, I could have paid more but a month is more than enough time for my purposes. And I love being a nymph...

[Because in his heart, he is a tree.]

One way or another, I'll figure it out. Nobody immediately knows how to make their monster powers work, after all. It always takes a little time to get the hang of everything.

It feels like a lot of people that are nymphs like being nymphs most... [Though, if it took a while to master powers-] ...I just hope you make it then...

...Did it take a long time to learn plant talking?

Not really. There wasn't really much to learn, actually. One day I could hear and understand the plants, as though a switch had been flipped in my brain.

[That day had been the first day of the conduit incident, so...not the best day to get it because it meant hearing a shitton of dying plants.]

I didn't realize what it was at first, and it took me a while to learn how to combine it with my magic, but as far as simply learning the language...it's just something nymphs instinctively know.

So it was something that was just there... [Hmm. Well. Nothing much to talk about now-she yawns a little, and after rubbing her eyes, nods.] Mnnh. I guess we should go back to our places now.... ...I'll see you later, Nagisa.

[Good luck on the way back to...wherever (what do you mean her front door is the answer).]

Mmm. [He nods.] Not from the start, but...not very long after I'd started changing either.

[There's a faint, fond sort of smile on his face as he says this. Because this is the thing that he truly loves most about being a nymph. That connection is something he can't bear to give up, now that he's had it.]

Sleep well, Reira-chan.

[He waves and then takes a few wobbly steps towards the door. He's been standing completely still with his knees locked for just a liiiiittle too long now. Note to self: don't ever do that again, no matter how worried you are about potentially breaking something in a friend's house. Locking your knees is completely unnecessary, lesson learned. But he reaches the door safely, and offers one final farewell before closing the door behind him:]

I'll see you later, and thank you again.

[And with that, he is gone. Out the door and off back to Dyster so he can show Jataro what happened to him and lie about how it happened so that Jataro will remain unaware of the fact that Nagisa totally read his forbidden Tanabata wishes. He's so good at this wishing tree thing. The best.]

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WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, CCC-REDHORSE. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 134.64.202.69 * CCC-REDHORSE has joined 134.64.202.69 <CCC-REDHORSE> This is Reira Akaba! <CCC-REDHORSE>**I'll try to answer you but sometimes I'm busy or sleeping, so I don't think about the message right away.