A Wave Of Desire

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Ocean

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I was still scared and nervous as I followed Makai out of his room. Actually, scared and nervous weren't the right words for it. What I was feeling was intense confusion. How the hell was this happening to me? What the hell was going on with me? And was what he was saying true? Could I be something that wasn't exactly human?

When we got down to the kitchen I sat on a stool at the island while Makai pulled out lots of different kinds of food. It was already getting late, I guess we had spent a long time upstairs after we had been in the pool. Now even though it was time for dinner, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to eat. I was too nervous for that.

I just watched silently as Makai cooked the food. He was like a pro, even though he was only making hamburgers and a few simple side dishes. It looked and smelled so good that my appetite was coming back.

When he was done cooking, Makai set a plate with several burgers on the table with bowls of the other food around it. He sat at the seat on the end and called me over to him.

"Come on, sit down and try to eat something. I want to explain all of this to you, but we need to eat. I know you've experienced what it's like when we don't eat properly."

"You mean when I ended up in the hospital?" I asked as I walked over to him. "That was because I wasn't eating or sleeping."

"Well, that's worse. Now eat, please." He wasn't making it a command. He was just trying to take care of me, like he usually did.

"Fine." I sat down and started to pile food onto my plate.

We ate in silence for a few moments before the quiet got the better of Makai. After a few he set aside his plate and started to talk.

"Where do you want me to start with the explanation?" He was going to let me guide this? Really?

"I don't fucking know." I said as I wiped my mouth as I set my plate aside as well. "How about you start with just what types of creatures there are in the world that aren't human. Because this is all news to me. I thought Mermen and other shit like that were fairy tales."

"Fairies are real too, you know. Only we call them Fae." He laughed as he told me that little bombshell.

"Great, now I know the answer to that burning question." I glared at him. "What else is there?"

"Well, there are various types of non-human creatures in the world. There are the magic wielding creatures such as the Fae, Witches and Warlocks, Djinn, Genies, Gypsies, and I think there are a few more, but I don't truly remember them all. Then there are the shifters, which is what we fall under. Merfolk are the main type that come from the sea, but there are others as well. Then there are shifters of almost all predator animals from hawks and eagles to wolves, bears, and wild cats. The non-human population makes up at least a third of the world's population."

"There are that many non-human people in the world?" I felt like my head was going to explode. "How do they all hide in plain sight?"

"Well, a lot of them will be concentrated into their packs, clans, covens, or other groups. Some of them do not interact with humans at all, unless they have to. There are a lot of secrets in this world that even I don't know."

"So, you've been a uh, a uhm, a m..m..mer..mer..merman your entire life?" I could barely get the question out.

"Yes, and you've been what you are your whole life. But if you're asking if I had the scales and other parts that come with it my entire life, then the answer is no. Since I wasn't raised in the water, I didn't become a 'full' merman until I turned eighteen."

"How does that work?" This was actually kind of interesting. And I was learning a lot about Makai in the process.

"Well, when merfolk decide to live primarily on land, they have to live by a certain set of rules. We don't get our abilities until we're adults. There are differences with us that people can tell if they were to pay attention. Like our appetite - all shifters, no matter the species, eat way more than a human."

"Why? I mean I eat enough for several people, and I guess it's because of what I am, but why?"

"It's because we have higher metabolisms. You will hardly ever find an overweight shifter. There are other things about us that are different from humans, like the way we heal. Your head wound closed quickly, but not as quickly as it could have. Had you not been so starved and exhausted, you might have healed it before the ambulance had even arrived. Then again, you wouldn't have needed the ambulance anyway."

"That would have been so much more convenient." I just shook my head at his explanation. If only I hadn't fallen into the pool that day. Then again, then I wouldn't have known all the stuff that I do now. "Wait a minute, why didn't they notice that I wasn't human when I was in the hospital?" Panic was setting in again.

"Unless they did a full body and genetic work up, then they wouldn't have seen it. The differences in us aren't supposed to be that easy to see. And I doubt that they sent your blood work to a geneticist."

"Yeah, but what if they did?" I was worried now; was some government agent going to come and dissect me?

"It shouldn't be an issue since your abilities weren't activated yet. You would have looked like a normal human to them."

I let that sink in for a moment. OK, so I probably wouldn't be chased down by the men in black and treated like an alien; that's good. Still, what the hell was I going to do? What was going to happen to me?

"Makai?" I wanted to ask something, but I was nervous.

"Yes, Ocean?"

"What made the scales appear today? Why were they there?"

"The water." His answer was quick and simple and exactly what I thought he was going to say.

"Does this mean that I can never go into the water again? What about swimming? Why don't you have the scales like I did?" More fear, more anxiety, seriously, was it ever going to go away?

"I've learned to control it, and you will too. That's what we all have to do. It's the way that life is for us. My parents taught me, I thought one of your parents would have been a Merfolk too. I don't know why your clan would have let you be adopted by someone that wasn't one of them." He was shaking his head like he was flabbergasted.

"I don't know about a clan, but I was found on a beach the day that I was born. They said that my umbilical cord was still bleeding and everything."

"Wait, are you serious?!" His voice came out louder than I thought it would, for some reason that shocked him a lot.

"Is that bad?"

"It means that you were adopted out like any normal human. Where the hell did your parents go? And what about your clan?"

"Is that what a group of Merfolk is called? A clan? I don't know anything about that. My parents didn't either; I am sure about that. I am the third kid they adopted. Mom was in an accident and couldn't have any more kids after my brother was born so they adopted three, and I am the youngest."

"I had suspected that you were either adopted or had a step parent when I met your parents, but I didn't think that you were adopted outside of the clan. This changes a lot of things. Your parents can't help you with any of this. I mean, I know you said that you thought they were just human, but if they really are, damn."

I watched as he shook his head some more. It was like he was trying to make all of this not real.

"I think the best thing to do is for me to call my parents home so they can talk to you. They know more about this than I do, obviously. I am only four and a half months older than you after all." Well, I guess I just learned that his birthday was in mid June; that was something that I didn't know already.

"Aren't they away on business?" I was confused.

"Yes, and no. You see, my parents do own their company and travel a lot for work. But they also have to go back home for a bunch of meetings and things. They are diplomats for our clan. They're pretty close to the top, since the leader of our clan is in a way related to us. My parents have been working on peace missions for the last year."

"Peace missions? Is there a war or something?" I was just learning about being part of this world, and now I find out that it's not even at peace. Oh, yay.

"There are tensions at the moment between two of the clans, but there is no actual war just yet."

"That doesn't actually sound very comforting." I sighed and put my head down on the table. "I have another question, how long does it take to learn to control the scales? And is that all that happens?"

"No, Merfolk get a tail like the legends. There are actually a lot of similarities with the stories to be honest."

"Oh great, so I am going to get a tail everytime I get in the pool." My words were nothing but a long groan.

"Only until you learn to control it." His voice was so calm that I had to look up at him. "We can practice together, until you get the hang of it."

"Yeah, but I can't go to practice. And I can't go to school and not go to practice. Plus, we have a meet this weekend." 

"Yeah, you might need to skip that one."

I knew he was right, but that didn't make me feel any better. Actually, it just made me feel worse.

"This is going to be hell, isn't it?"

"Not all of it." He was grinning at me now.

"Oh yeah, what part isn't going to be hell?" I just had to hear his answer.

"Until you can control it, I suggest you stay here with me." The smirk that he wore was enough to light me on fire. Dammit, that wasn't fair of him.