15. Ask Me About My Sifon

15

ASK ME ABOUT MY SIFON

TERESA

" W hat are you?" I whisper.

"Like I said. Yacunayi . The need in water. A creature of the depths who finds power and pleasure in the desires and wants of humans. We are shapeshifters so that we may walk amongst humankind and reap their magic."

"Our magic…" I repeat.

I've always felt like everyone has their own magic within them. Or something. I'm agnostic, but I believe there's something connecting all living things. Magic or spirit or whatever people want to call it. I've had too many strange experiences not to feel the interconnectedness of life.

"You're… Does that mean you're like a vampire? Except you suck out sex magic—whatever that is—an d memory? Actually, I guess the memory thing makes you a lot more like a vampire."

He pauses. "That is one way to put it, I suppose."

"Why are your hands like that?" I ask.

"Water changes us."

"But… You were in the water when you brought me to the sex cave."

"It's not a sex cave."

"But I saw you—I think. You were human."

"My upper body, yes. Where the water didn't touch. And once we were inside, you couldn't see that my lower half was still yacunayi . It's why I could only use my mouth and hands on you."

My eyes go wide as I realize—

"So I really did see…"

I take his hands and splash them towards his crotch.

"Excuse you?" he grumbles.

His body shifts, his skin glitters green in the faint light of the moon. His cock expands in thickness and length. And from below it grows a long, dark, tentacle-like appendage that shifts around, almost anxiously. Pacari covers himself uncomfortably. From beneath his hands I can almost see both appendages sliding inward—as if he's able to keep it inside? What?

"Oh my god, that was so rude, I'm sorry," I realize. "Shit, I should have asked. I just—I'm sorry, I remembered you having… and then… That was so screwed up. Is it okay if I look?"

My eyes meet his as I try very hard to look away from the monster below. I have so many questions, most of them I want to ask with my hands and mouth and vagina. Though, I have to admit, there is a level of fear to being able to take all that. I mean. It's enormous. And yes—it does absolutely remind me of a geoduck, especially because of the skin around it, almost like a shell.

"Perhaps I can answer your questions about my sifon later," Pacari grunts, removing his hands once the appendages have fully retracted within him.

I try really hard not to stare at his now empty crotch. I was already so rude once, the least I can do is keep my eyes off his junk—or wherever his junk went. Stop it, Teresa! Don't be rude! He's just a guy and even guys have feelings about being objectified. Even if he is a sea creature, that doesn't mean I should demean him.

Okay. I can be calm. I can be controlled.

"Right. So. You gave me a necklace so I could breathe underwater?"

I pull the necklace up so I can make out what it is. There's a really fancy swirly shell that has a sort of iridescent quality to it in the moonlight, and a string of green beads holding it together .

"You're not gonna steal my voice or anything?" I ask.

I'm a nineties kid. Swirly shell necklaces only mean one thing.

"No, I don't think so. The Lantern Witch said it would help—uh, that it would help breathe underwater."

"Putting a pin in the Lantern Witch thing. Your pause there is really encouraging."

"It's not because of that. We can test it before we go deep."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he assures.

"Can I take you to the hole?"

"Aw, you're gonna take me to your sex hole?"

"Why is everything a sex thing for you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not the one going around fucking everyone in town."

He bristles, pulls away from me.

"Hey wait, I'm sorry. I forgot—I'm not—that was shitty."

"I was worried you would hate me when you found out," he says. "But the reason I seduced all those people was for their magic."

"Do you just… Did you make this necklace with it?" I ask.

He shakes his head, takes my hand, and pulls me to the back of the cave cautiously .

"No, though I can collect some magic for myself, I can't use it the way I need. If this necklace works… maybe I can share with you why, but I collect the magic to give to the Lantern Witch. And in turn, she keeps my friends alive."

"That's kind of fucked up she doesn't do that of her own volition."

He lets out a chuckle. "I've often felt the same way. But to her, there is an order to life and death. That the circle of life needs its victims."

He presses me into place, making sure I don't move. Once again, I hear that plop as he sinks into the water hole.

"Your friends, though? Who wouldn't do anything to keep their friends alive?"

I gasp as his skin seems to glow in the dark at the comment. And also at what I can see of his body as it transforms from human skin to whatever kind of skin a yacunayi has.

"I'm sorry, you glow, too?" I shriek.

"Oh, ah, only when… Only when I'm happy," he mumbles.

"Nngh, that's so cute," I squeal. "I make you happy!"

Now that he's glowing, I can see his smile in the light. And the teeth. Sharp, sharp teeth. I guess I'm starting to understand why his kind need to shapeshift when they're out of the water, but I also can't deny I'm a little turned on by the fear.

"Yes," he agrees. "And you'll make me happier if you test out that necklace for me."

For some reason, the way he says that has me a little more turned on. Maybe it's because I'm thinking about him giving me another kind of pearl necklace. Oh god, I need to stop making everything horny. He's right. I turn everything sexual. I just can't help it around him. I wonder if that's a yacunayi thing or if it's a me-thing.

Using him as a nightlight, I step to the edge and sit down, hanging my feet over the edge of the hole.

"It's a little scary, slipping down into water that looks like an abyss," I say, realizing that I can't see anything except for him. There's no telling how deep this goes—although it has to go somewhere if he said it will lead us out.

"Do you want me to hold you?" he asks, putting out his hands.

Don't have to ask me twice. "Yes."

His hands settle on my sides, and already I feel the strange texture of his skin. Like scales, but not. A little bumpy. I can't help myself as I feel his arms, how different they are from the roughness of his hands. His arms feel more like scales, so I make sure to only stroke them in one direction. When I trace my fingers along his fins, he lets out a low hum that does things to my insides. He clears his throat suddenly.

"C'mon," he nudges, tugging lightly at my waist.

I take a big breath and put my hands to the edge of the hole. "Here goes."

With one push off, I'm in. I feel him lightly treading water underneath as my thighs brush against his. The texture of his skin is much more pleasant underwater. I want to run my hands all over him to feel what it's like in every place. He's all sorts of interesting textures. And still, my mouth hasn't gotten to feel any of it. I want to run my lips across him too. My tongue. My—

"Teresa," he says sternly. "I need to warn you… Yacunayi release a… A pheromone that lures you in."

"Does it now?" I ask, pressing my lips to his chin, to his neck, along his ear—oh, there's fins here too.

"But we have to get out of this cave. You can take advantage of it later, but I need you to be firm for me."

"Mmm… but I want you firm for me," I say back, sliding my hand down his chest.

Along the outer edges of his abdomen there are—fins? Gills? I need light to really make sense of him. He makes another irresistible noise as I touch them, whatever they are. His breath hitches. My hand sneaks lower so I can feel whatever that is he has at his crotch until he grabs my wrist tightly.

"Concentrate, Teresa. I'm sorry I can't control it. I wish I could. There's so many things I wish I could do for you, but this is not the time."

I take slow, slow breaths and try to center myself. I'm being ridiculous. Pacari just does this to me—although now I see why. But his actions now make me like him more, knowing what he is and why he's done all that he has. Instead of being mad at him, now I'm rooting for him. I want to help him keep his friends alive, though I haven't met them yet. All I can hope for is he'll trust me enough to introduce us. Huh. Speaking of friends…

"Why did you get a dog? Is it that helpful for seducing people?" I ask.

"What? No. He's one of my friends. A nudibranch."

"A nude branch?"

"No, a… a sea slug."

"No, that's a dog. Unless you're telling me sea slugs also have shapeshifter magic."

"No, but the Lantern Witch—"

"Okay, you're really going to have to explain about this Lantern Witch pretty soon because this is twice now and I really don't want to imagine some giant octopus lady is in charge of all the magic, because that's a little too close to fiction for me, thanks."

"What? I mean, there are kraken ladies, though they hang out in the depths. Cirro is the only kraken who comes closer to the surface."

"One of your friends? "

"Yes, but not the ones in the garden."

"The garden."

"Please, Teresa. The necklace. We can get to this later."

I squint my eyes at him, then take a big breath and push off of him until I'm underwater. Very quickly, I decide I don't like not being able to see, so I open my eyes. They sting a little, but it's mostly because I'm not used to having them open underwater. It's not as bad as chlorine. He's kind of blurry, but I can make out Pacari's eyes as they watch me. He taps his hand on my cheeks until I release the air there. Right. We're trying to see if I can breathe, anyway.

So what do I do? Just take a breath? Oh boy. This is scary.

Figuring it'll be easier to take a breath if I just breathe everything else out first, I expel everything. My nose gets tickled by the bubbles. When I've run out of breath, it's hard to convince myself I can breathe in again.

I'm about to fucking drown myself.

I can tell Pacari sees the panic in my eyes. His expression shifts to one of worry, until his eyes shift downwards. I don't know what he's looking at, but in the next second we're kissing.

Underwater.

I'm kissing a sea monster underwater. His teeth scrape along my lips, coaxing me to open wide. When I do, his tongue slides into my mouth and I'm filled with that impossible fullness again. Maybe his tongue is as long as whatever he had between his legs. It tickles my cheeks and tongue and lips. I suck in a breath as he slides his hand along my body, delighted by the feeling of slickness from the water. A moan escapes me, and then—I suck in another breath, a gasp.

I'm breathing.

I'm breathing .

I'm breathing underwater .