Chapter 3 – Legs!
AN: just wanted to say a big thank you to Cutie-Shayla, who told me what Paul's last name was, anyway on with the story…
Pearl giggled to herself in anticipation, today was the day that she would have her very own legs, she glanced nervously at the sun from the waves outside of her cavern. Mermaids could tell the time by the position of the time as underwater clocks were not available to them, she frowned and swam back into her uncompleted room. "Only 8… another hour to wait" she wanted it to be 9am now, so she could go and meet Paul and get the clothes off him. She had always wondered how legs worked, and how humans could get around on them without toppling over.
She was a bit unhappy with her room, it was unfinished and not very grand, if her parents ever came to visit they would think she was living in a pig's sty. She groaned and decided to go out in search of the last needed coral pole. She glided through the kelp, brushing it out of her way, and out into the open water. The fish life was very bright today and a vast array of colours hit her senses as lots of fish, little and large, swam around like traffic, dodging out of eachother's ways and minding their own business.
She flowed through the mass of fish and swept her gaze over the reefs looking for the last coral pole, needed to make legs for her vanity desk. There was nothing, not a single bit that was suitable. Pearl sighed in defeat and swam further out, in hope of hitting the jackpot. The sand bank lowered as the water became deeper beneath her, there was less fish out here and the ones that were, were bigger and commoner than the rest. In the distance a school of cod were swarming around.
Pearl ignored the flailing fish, and concentrated on the scarce coral reefs. She searched each one for items of interest, but found none worth carrying around, that was until about 3 miles out from shore, when a large coral appeared around 50 feet under the surface. She grinned and sighed in relief when large coral poles sprouted out of the rocks, she swam down and tugged but it wasn't budging. "Damn it" she cursed and spun, batting the pole with her tail, knocking it off the rock. It tumbled towards the sea bed and she followed grasping onto the heavy object.
When the object was securely in her arms, she swam up to the surface and checked the sun, it was around 8:35am. She decided that it was definitely time to head back and meet Paul at the bay, she dived again and powered back through the 3 mile gap between her home and the large coral reef. When she had returned home she placed the pole in the correct place and looked at the makeshift desk legs she had gathered.
She let out a long breath and settled herself on her bed, resting against the wall, she had tired herself out carrying the large object over 3 miles. She had about 25 minutes to recover before she would meet Paul and change. Her stomach flipped and she rubbed her tail, she was nervous to say the least, she had never been on land, nevermind with legs. "Maybe this isn't a good idea…" she was suddenly very tempted to not turn up and blame it on bad kelp, but she couldn't stand Paul up, he was too nice a guy.
Deciding to go and sit on the lone rock, she swam out and slowly glided out towards the rock, watching as the plants flowed around in the current. She clambered onto the rock, lying stomach down on it, so her fin remained floating under the surface. The sun was warm against her back, and she sighed in content. She closed her eyes and before she knew it she had drifted off into a light slumber atop the rock.
Paul was running towards Sam's house, it was about 8am when he had set off, his paws padding against the soft dirt beneath him. Paul felt the breeze swirling through his silver fur, as he panted and picked up the pace, a small cottage soon coming into sight along the narrow driveway. The only thought plaguing his mind, was images of Pearl, his imprint. Sam had known since they first met, he said 'the look in your eye was one I know of well'. Pearl was now his everything, dammit he was in love with a mermaid.
He smiled internally, in his mind he was the luckiest man alive. He soon reached the cottage and phased back before slipping his khaki short on so that they hung rather loosely around his tanned hips, it was no surprise to him to find Sam and Emily cuddling on the large couch, Sam gazing lovingly at Emily and Emily smiling shyly back up at him.
"Yo, lovebirds, the clothes?" Paul just wanted to get out of there and back to Pearl as soon as his limbs would allow him. Sam turned his gaze to Paul and motioned towards the kitchen table, where a small pile of clothes lay, neatly folded. He reached over and picked up the bundle before bidding his goodbyes and darting back out of the door, before attaching his shorts and the other clothes to his leg and phasing. He shook his fur, and pushed himself into a strong run, he had about 15 minutes to get to the beach, he would be there with plenty of time to spare.
The mass of overgrowth flew past him as he darted the many trees and bushes in the forest to the east of the small bay. The smell of fresh dew and the upcoming salt water hit his senses, Paul had always loved running even before he had first became the wolf he is today, the exhilaration of the freedom he got from running made his adrenaline rush and his senses heighten.
Then the sound of the waves then washes over him like the waves themselves, he soon neared the edge of the forest and stopped altogether. He phased and unstrapped the clothes from his leg, once again slipping the material over his hips and picking up the bundle next to him before exiting the forest completely and stepping on the beach, feeling the lukewarm sand fill the gaps inbetween his toes. He looked up and glanced around the bay, before looking out to see and seeing the baking mermaid atop the lone rock. He smirked softly when he noticed that Pearl was indeed asleep, and placed the bundle on the sand and wading into the sea.
He took a deep breath and dived, before swimming strongly towards the mossy rock, he caught sight of her tail getting pushed around gently by the slight current. He surfaced again, and propped his elbows up on the rock, staring at the peaceful look that graced Pearl's features. She held a look of content and calmness about her, no fear and no worries. That was how it should always be… happy.
Pearl sighed and shifted around as she woke slowly, the sun had made her skin tingle slightly at the exposure. She groaned and pulled her arm up over her eyes and she opened them, fluttering them to get them accustomed to the harsh light above her. She yawned and rolled over, she squeaked in surprise when she rolled onto something… no, someone. She started panicking, what if some random person had spotted her and were freaking out and trying to sell her off to the state circus.
It was only when strong tanned arms wrapped around her waist, stilling her movements, that she realised just who it was that was with her. "Paul… god you scared the crap out of me" she sighed and rested her forehead against his shoulder, calming her heartbeats, before glancing up to meet Paul's amused gaze, then it occurred to her, how long had she been out. "Exactly how long have I been sleeping… and how long have you been here watching me sleep? You could have just woke me up you know"
Paul let her go and scratched the back of his neck, bobbing up and down in the waves. She just smiled and giggled before heading off towards the shore, Paul following shortly after her, she was buzzing now the he had actually arrived. She was going to have legs for the first time in… well ever. She couldn't help the grin that appeared on her face at the thought of being able to walk like Paul and his friends did all of the time.
When they reached shallow water, Paul stood and jogged over to the pile of clothes, picking them up and bringing them to the shoreline. "Well you know I'll go run for a bit, be back in 10 minutes or so to check on you ok?" Pearl nodded and let Paul drag her out of the water and up onto the beach, to wait until she dried. With a quick cautious glance sent her way, Paul was off and soon began roaming the overgrowth in his wolf form again. Giving the mermaid some much needed privacy, he didn't need to see her naked, that would just make it too awkward between them, and that was definitely not what he wanted.
Pearl frowned as the water was just out of her reach, she had never actually seen his happen, so what if it was all a lie. She felt the nervousness well up inside of her as she cursed and flopped her head back into the sand, before rolling herself over and staring off into the dark forest. She gasped when she felt a strong tingle over her tail, and she gazed back to see smoke fill the air, clouding her vision. When the smoke cleared, she cried out in surprise. There before her very eyes were long, elegant, pale legs, and they were hers.
After about 3 minutes of just sitting and staring at them, what also confused her was the soft, podgy bottom that she had. Finally daring to move the limbs, she rolled over and stretched experimenting, when he leg curved into a bent position. She reached a hand out to run over the smooth skin, smiling at the softness of it, she decided to get dressed, if she could even figure out how the clothes worked.
She pulled over the material and held it up infront of her, staring quizzically at the bizarre objects of 'clothing'. She sifted through until she found the thinnest piece of clothing, her underwear. She saw three holes in the material, one larger than the other two. She sighed and looked down to her legs, before slipping them through the two smaller holes, they fitted perfectly around her hips and she pushed herself into a standing position, she wobbled a bit before steadying herself on the two long limbs beneath her.
She smiled and squealed in joy, she bent over to pick up the next piece of clothing, but lost her balance in the process and toppled over, landing in her original position. She huffed and pulled up the bra, she knew how to put one of these on and quickly did so with ease. The next objects confused her again, though one of them was similar to her underwear, but with more material that covered her legs tightly. She slipped her legs in and yanked the material the rest of the way up, before fingering the button until she figured out where to put in, then she tugged on the zip, staring in amazement when it moved, fully closing the pants.
Then only thing left was something that she had seen nothing of likeness before, but she guessed since her torso was yet to be covered that, that was indeed where it went. She looked at the number of holes in it, there was four, one at one end, which she assumed to be the bottom, one slightly smaller in the middle of the two smallest holes. Sighing she attempted to slide it over her head and got it stuck, she groaned and struggled for a bit, before she heard a chuckle come from the forest behind her but she couldn't see who it was, as the material blocked her view.
Soon hands were at her aid as they guided the cloth over her arms and head until it rested in what she presumed as the right place. Pearl turned to look at her saviour, needless to say that the cheeky grin belonged to Paul, and he started laughing softly, before it erupted into full blown laughter, making a solid frown make its way to Pearl's face.
"I thought you were supposed to be supportive of me" Paul calmed and glanced her over, before a face-breaking grin appeared on his face as he tackled her into the sand, earning a squeal from the blonde that was rolling around with him. They paused before they both started laughing at their childish behaviour, having legs felt so natural to her that it was unreal, as if she had been on legs for all of her lives.
"You have legs!" he cheered and hopped up to his feet, bringing the disorientated blonde with him, Pearl swayed slightly but was held upright by Paul once again. "You need to work on your balance there, wouldn't want you falling over when you meet the guys now would we?" he was almost mocking her. Almost.
Paul was overjoyed for his imprint, but that was the thing, she would have to find out about the whole 'you're the one' thing, and no doubt it would scare her off. He got scared at the thought of her being frightened and leaving him on his own, they were made to be with their imprint no matter what, and whatever she wanted him to be, he would be.
