middaeg | [OPEN] bite & arbeit

Makoto opens the door to her room without knocking, hoping the situation warranted the intrusion, and takes the few quick steps inside to reach her side. Just as he kneels to help her, a bluish and silvery fin sticks out from under the her bed sheets.

Oh. Huh. Hmm. He blinks and takes another moment of simply staring at it before looking back to her, his eyebrows raised.

"You're a mermaid."

This immediately strikes him as adorable.

"Y-yeah..."

It's a surprise to her too?! If her flopped on the floor trapped in a sea of blankets is any indication. Having him stare at her like this mitigates how strangely weak she feels at the moment, but Fuuka tries to push through that. She tries to push herself up to sit, but struggles to get herself upright, leaning on her arms and attempting to hoist herself up into a sitting position. Can she even sit with this tail? Probably not.

"I-I'm sorry—" Fuuka, you don't have to apologize. "I hope I didn't wake you up..." Please don't mind her actually floundering here.

When she moves to try to it up, Makoto swiftly puts a hand under her shoulders to help. He might feel like he's dying (and he is), but he still has the vampiric strength he'd gained since the last full moon, so it's quite easy to support her weight.

Still, she seems to be having trouble sitting up. Is it possible for merrow to "sit up" when their legs are gone? Makoto hasn't had a chance to read any of his merrow books yet, but either way, it could just be a side effect unique to her.

"I'm glad you did," Makoto says, offering a smile to put her at ease. "Because now I can help."

Let's be honest, even if it'd been Shinjiro-senpai who found her, he'd probably find the situation too awkward to do anything but pass the problem on to Makoto. He huffs a bemused laugh to himself at the thought and returns his attention to Fuuka, specifically, the bed sheets she's tangled in.

"I'm guessing you need... water? Not to drink, but to sit in?"

And just like that he's supporting her like it's nothing. Fuuka blinks a few times before glancing back at him. She's small, but then so is he. Was this something he gained during the full moon, or was she underestimating him? It's difficult to say; she gives Makoto a small, appreciative smile regardless.

Fuuka nods slowly. Both sound wonderful right now. As she slowly dislodges her upper half from the jumbled sheets, her smile turns apologetic. "Can you help me?" Free her from this blanket issue she's wrapped up in.

"Sure."

He's thankful she asked for help, because his next question would have been whether she's comfortable letting him see whatever pajamas or sleepwear he has on under those bed sheets. Figuring she'd be acting more flustered right now if she didn't, he starts unraveling the sheet and blanket rolled around her with one hand, his other keeping her propped up.

It takes a minute, but eventually, he pulls the last of it away to reveal her transformed body completely. His fist hovers in the air, gripping the sheets, as he gazes in amazement. That's a fin. That's a legit mermaid tail.

If it comes down to personal comfort and physical discomfort, the latter wins—just slightly. Her nightgown isn't too different from one of the dresses she would wear in the summer, airy and feminine but not showy. It only adds to the otherworldly air her flowing fins and tail add to her overall appearance.

Seeing herself has the same effect on Fuuka as it does on him. She stares down at where here her legs should be, eyes wide as it starts to feel real. Looking up toward Makoto, she sees him frozen there in amazement. He's staring. Her gazes falls away awkwardly.

"Um, Makoto-kun..."

It's weird, isn't it?!

He blinks. Oops, he'd been staring.

"Sorry," he says, looking guilty. He can't imagine how Fuuka must be feeling right now. She's never been one to like too much attention, even if it's positive.

Makoto's fist releases the blankets to fall to the floor, and he carefully reaches out to touch the side of the fin that used to be her calf. "Is this okay? It doesn't hurt or anything, does it?" He has no idea why it would, and she didn't seem to be in any pain, but he won't pick her up without checking first.

Slowly, he places his entire flat palm on the surface of the fin. It feels smooth and warm. Even in the low light, her scales shimmer a little.

It feels a little weird, seeing him place his hand on the side of her fin and expecting to see legs there. Fuuka forces herself to not dwell on that unsettling feeling, shaking her head quickly. "No, I'm fine. It doesn't hurt at all." Well. It doesn't hurt, but that doesn't mean she feels well.

She doesn't seem to register what's going to happen next. Makoto suggested getting her into water, but she isn't sure how that's going to work. He might be a strong fighter, but there's no way he would be able to move her. Maybe he can help her crawl to a bathtub. Her poor dignity...

Edited (Thanks, phone...) 2019-09-20 14:14 (UTC)

Poor Fuuka, Makoto thinks, smiling to himself as he forms a plan. She keeps giving me excuses to make her blush.

His hand leaves her fin, only to hook underneath it. He lifts up sightly, making sure he has a solid grip, and then in one inhumanly smooth movement, he lifts her up off the floor and into his arms.

Makoto can feel the side of her boob pressing against his upper chest, her arm wrapped around the back of his shoulders. Ahhh... that's... nice.

"Sorry about this," he says, his smile now looking more overtly mischievous. "Let's get you in the bath tub for now, okay?"

He turns around and walks out into the hall, towards the bathroom.

Edited 2019-09-20 16:37 (UTC)

Fuuka hardly gets a warning before he sweeps her up into his arm. She lets out a brief, startled shriek before throwing his arms around his neck, pressing herself against him. Makoto? When did he get so strong?!

Pulling back slightly before looking up, eyes wide as she stares at him in amazement, she does, in fact, start blushing. This would be romantic if it weren't so shocking—but that doesn't stop her heart from drumming in her chest. She can't really protest, can she?

So instead of letting herself see if their other housemate comes across the both of them, Fuuka turns in and just... burrows her very red face into his shoulder with a muffled, "O... Okay..."

She'll thank him later, but for now, time for him to carry this embarrassed mergirl through the house like some princess.

It's a good thing Fuuka said nothing else, because Makoto's got a dozen suave one-liners in his head that he's keeping to himself for her sake. He just keeps smiling calmly, unable to keep the affection off his face as he makes it to the bathroom and nudges the door open with his hip.

"Does anything else feel different?" He steps up to the side of the porcelain white bathtub and carefully sets Fuuka inside. Her fin is slightly too big, but once the tub is full, she should have most of it completely submerged.

"That was fun. We should do that again sometime." Okay, so maybe he has to let one of those one-liners out. Makoto leans over, turns the handle for cold water, and gives the hot water handle a half-turn. Hopefully it won't be too hot or too cold for her starting out. Sorry, Fuuka, but unless you want to take your pajamas off, they're getting wet.

It feels weird having someone place her in anything, let alone a bathtub—saying nothing of being here, reasonably clothed, while someone else accompanies her. Fuuka is thankful that Makoto gives her something else to focus on, as she quietly considers what he's asking her. That's a difficult question to answer.

"I feel... heavy." That isn't the right word, but she can't think of any other way to describe it. "Like it's difficult to move around much." The prickly feeling her scales had last full moons, when they first appeared, is back, but she doesn't want to mention that. She doesn't want to make him worry.

Her face turns positively pink when he teases her, and she can't resist the urge to put her face in her (now wet) hands. She holds them there for a few long seconds. At this point, it doesn't matter if the water is too cold or two warm, because it feels amazing against her skin. She dips her hands in the quickly filling tub again, splashing it lightly on her face. The fins on the side of her tail begin to unfurl and fan out as the bathtub fills with water, and she dips her hands for a third time.

Looks like her nightgown is going to get wet—and so will Makoto if he gets too close.

Edited 2019-09-21 00:08 (UTC)

"You probably are heavier. I think you gained a few dozen kilograms overnight in bone and muscle and scales." Even if he didn't know how much Fuuka weighed yesterday, he knows that her slim legs had to be lighter than the thick, powerful fin slowly being submerged in the rising water. It seems to glimmer even more from beneath the water, although it could just be a trick of the light.

Makoto takes a moment to shut the bathroom door, hopefully ensuring their privacy from Shinjiro and any of his usual guests, before returning to the side of the bathtub just in time to get sprinkled with splashed water. He doesn't care if he gets wet - he won't leave Fuuka alone until they can figure out a more permanent solution.

"Does the water feel good?" he asks, kneeling on the floor and resting his folded arms on the edge of the tub. "You look really happy. Your fins look better, too."

A few dozen kilograms?! How was he able to carry her so easily? Fuuka briefly gawks at Makoto before looking down at her fins and tail. She didn't get a good look at it when he carried her here, and seeing the fins finally unfurled takes her by surprise. It's... a lot to take in. No wonder it felt so heavy, but something about sitting even in shallow water like this makes her feel much less encumbered.

Fuuka turns her attention back to Makoto, watching as he kneels down beside the tub. He can't be feeling well, considering the state he was in the last full moons. But having him there brings her comfort, and as the bathtub continues to fill, she carefully shifts on to her side, draping her arms over the edge of the tub. His presence comforts her, more than it normally does, pulling a quietly fond smile from her.

"Mm, it does." She answers cheerfully, pausing to think of how she could explain. "I didn't realize how much I needed this. It wasn't so bad before this, but my body was starting to ache last night. I thought I might be getting sick."

The cloth against her scales on her body still felt a bit uncomfortable, but even with the door closed, she isn't sure if she could pull her nightgown off.

Leaning back far enough that she can get a good look at him, Fuuka tilts her head gently. "How are you feeling?"

"My body aches the night before full moons, too. I thought that was just a vampire thing," he says, the softness of his voice conveying that he appreciates the camaraderie between them on that point. Makoto inches himself a little closer, until his arm is touching hers. "Maybe it's a sign of your body changing, or getting ready to change."

Although his body has been sore and tired since he got here. Makoto has a strong suspicion as to why, but he hasn't told anyone yet. Nor does he plan to, especially right now, as he's gazing into Fuuka's happy eyes.

"I'm alright today. Not that different from last full moon, at least as far as I can tell right now," he says with a chuckle. "How do I look?"

The answer, he knows, is "unwell," having looked at his own pale face and slightly sunken in red eyes plenty of times by now, but he wants to try to put her at ease.

Knowing that it wasn't just her that felt that way before the full moons is oddly relieving, even if she wished Makoto didn't feel that way. She can't easily get closer to him like this, but when Makoto settles near her, she leans in as close as she comfortably can in turn.

"I don't know how much more I could change." She muses in response, managing to move her tail a little in response. Oh, that's going to take some getting used to!

But this position gives her a better look at him as well, and see how this place has changed him. Makoto jokes and makes light of it, but he doesn't look well. His eyes really stand out now, but not in the almost captivating way they had during the last full moons, and his skin looks nearly translucent. Worry begins to slowly wash over her in waves. He wouldn't make light of it if he was really suffering... right?

Bringing a hand up toward his face, she uses her nails to delicately sweep his hair to the side. She takes a moment to get a better look at him before concern creases her brow.

"You look like you've had a hard time..."

Edited 2019-09-25 02:33 (UTC)

He's about to warn her not to jinx herself on extra changes next month when she reaches towards his with her delicate claw-tipped fingers. Of course, he trusts her, so he doesn't flinch away, but the nails feel nicer against his skin than he expected. He hadn't been touched by anyone since - since the last full moon.

The tender moment is tainted when she looks at him with so much concern in her eyes. He keeps smiling, still hoping to put her at ease, although he must really look terrible today for Fuuka to be so worried.

"I guess I have," he says softly. He hadn't told her about what happened in his dream in Dorchacht, or outside the vampire bar, or the other day at one of the markets... nor did he intend to, as it would make both her and Shinjiro way too worried.

But there's one thing he won't be able to keep from either of them, assuming they didn't already know about it.

"...Do you know anything about how turning into a vampire works here?"

She should know. She should have taken the time to ask, to learn, so that she night be able to ease his burden. But she doesn't, and a pang of guilt hits her hard as she presses her lips together in a fine line. She knows about vampires back home (some, not the more obscure details), but Fuuka isn't sure that would help here.

Her hand still hovering near his face, still warm from the bath water, she lets her eyes wander to see if she can find any other immediate changes. Other than looking haggard, she can't find anything to grasp on.

Slowly, Fuuka shakes her head. "I don't.." Something tells her that she isn't going to like his answer.

Makoto sighs, closes his eyes, and tips his head into Fuuka's palm. He knows he should tell her. He'd be a hypocrite if he didn't. But this situation isn't unlike what happened after the Fall, when everyone lost their memories. He'd let them enjoy those few months of normalcy without having to worry about what was going to happen to him.

But, that's the sort of thing he knows he can only get away with once.

"Vampires are undead monsters," he says, his eyes still closed. "You know, the same as zombies or ghosts, stuff like that. They're people who used to be humans, but came back from the dead and became monsters afterwards."

Maybe that will be enough for her to understand.

[OPEN] bite & arbeit

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I don't have a good icon for this :(

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Assuming this is one of those taller clawfoot baths, just to make this easier

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