Restless Waves

Chapter 17

Kaerius airdried once again, and found himself, once again, looking at a pair of human legs that attached to his body. Kaerius stared until his eyes stung. He couldn't move. The sight of the legs was so surreal, he froze with shock.

"Disgusting," he said, watching the toes wiggle.

After ten minutes, Kaerius touched his chest and his neck tightened from the pain his soul felt as it screamed for Rowan. Kaerius sighed, but then he saw his hands and flinched. They were no longer webbed, but his nails were black and still full of poison.

Kaerius breathed deeply to calm himself. He wanted to run back into his ocean because being in the sea was all he had ever known. He would never usually visit the air so often, but he had to if he wanted to be close to Rowan.

Kaerius bent his legs, and the bottom of his feet touched the rock. The skin was tender and hurt against the sharp parts. He wondered how Rowan was able to walk around so much with his feet bare.

The sea creature tried to stand, but his legs wobbled, and the muscles in his thighs felt too strange. Kaerius moved to rocks he could use as support and managed to haul himself up. He looked like a baby who was only just discovering how to walk.

Kaerius started with his left foot and dragged it in front of him. As he gripped the rock for dear life, he put pressure on that foot and pulled his right foot forward too. His heels hurt, and the manoeuvre was so bizarre, Kaerius almost convinced himself that he was dreaming.

Minutes passed until the Thalassic Mortal reached the end of the rock. His legs were not wobbling as much, and he was getting used to the action of putting one foot in front of the other. Kaerius's confidence was building until he stepped onto the sand and toppled over.

Kaerius got to his knees and stared at the skin that folded over his bent bones. He crawled for a few feet, but that used too much energy. He didn't understand how humans walked so fast without tripping over the other foot.

He tried to get to his feet, and only managed a few steps until he toppled over again. This happened twice more before Kaerius got to his feet and didn't fall until he reached the sand dune. He could crawl up it, and his arms were powerful and helped.

When Kaerius reached the grassy path, he found it much easier to walk because It was flat ground. The grass tickled his toes but felt lovely and soft on the bottom of his feet.

Rowan's house had been in front of Kaerius since he reached the top of the sand dune. There was a light on from the bottom window on the right. Kaerius stuck to the left to stay out of sight. He stumbled to the porch and almost jumped out of his skin when a woman coughed right in front of him.

Kaerius froze as if he tried to blend into the wooden beam. A human who kind of looked like Rowan sat on a bench by the front door. She stared into the darkness with the most emotionless face Kaerius had ever seen. He was only a few feet away from her, but she didn't see him.

She looked exhausted. Kaerius thanked the Goddess that she wasn't tired enough to see the naked sea creature who was trying to sneak through the front door.

The wood creaked underneath Kaerius feet, and he froze when the woman's eyes glanced around. She didn't react too much, and when Kaerius was out of her sight, he hurried his search and looked in every room, not stopping to comment on the weird stuff humans hoarded. His legs were getting used to moving now, but as he stopped by the stairs, Kaerius almost wailed with annoyance.

Just like on the rocks, he placed his left foot first, gripped the bannister, and dragged himself onto the first step. He couldn't do this action fast because he would get confused and trip. As he climbed the stairs, the scent of Rowan travelled to Kaerius in stronger fragrances. He was getting closer to the human, so his motivation to reach the first floor fuelled his legs.