Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I own nothing about this story other than the basic plotline
and some original characters that may show up. Everything else belongs to Joss
Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Distribution: The Mystic Muse:
http://mysticmuse.net
Through
the Looking-glass
Feedback: Yes, please.
Spoilers: None, Uber
Author's Notes: This story contains situations that may be unsettling to
some people. These include forced breath holding, drowning and underwater sex
between two females. If you have a problem with that, then stop reading now,
click "back" on your browser, and find something else to read. Thanks to Chris
Cook for the title graphic!
Pairing: Willow/Tara
Summary: Tara is a member of a race of undersea mermaids. Willow is a recreational diver who stumbles into their territory.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19
Willow Rosenberg sat on the edge of the small boat she had rented from the docks earlier that day, preparing her dive gear for her latest underwater adventure. The area was rather popular with the local crowd, and tourists often came here for fun and relaxation. She hoped that none would come today, however. Today she wanted to be alone.
She looked out to at the silently rippling water as she thought briefly about how much she enjoyed gliding through the weightless environment of the ocean. Her parents were certified divers and had often let Willow come with them when she was little. Of course, they didn't allow her to go into the water herself, saying that she was too little and that it would be too dangerous. She always stayed on the boat with the captain playing cards.
She couldn't recall when it was that she started to appreciate the water, but she did know that from her teenage years, she always felt as if she had always belonged there. During high school she would spend what free time she had at the local outdoor swimming pool enjoying the feelings she had as she glided around. Most of the time, however, the place was often too crowded by families, so she wasn't able to enjoy it as much as she wanted to. It wasn't that she wasn't a people person. It was just that sometimes she wanted to be alone. She figured it must have come from her upbringing, when her parents spent so much time traveling with her in tow that she didn't have time to make any friends.
The only constant in her life had been swimming. Even after high school, when her parents allowed her to come on their trips, she had found ways to indulge herself. No matter where her parents had gone to, there was a swimming pool either at their hotel or within walking distance. On the times that her parents had left her at the hotel while they went diving, she had often gone to the pool and swam around, though she found that the pools there were often more crowded than they were at home. She didn't mind, but she wished that she could be alone so that she could enjoy herself without having to feel too guilty that someone may be watching.
That led to her decision one night to sneak into the pool after it had closed, just so she could be by herself without having to listen to the constant noise that had often accompanied her daytime visits. Wearing a loose fitting T-shirt and pants and holding a bag containing a mask and fins in one hand, she scaled the fence, dropped as silently as she could to the ground and walked to the edge of the water. Dropping the bag next to her as she reached the edge, she took off her shirt and unbuttoned her jeans, letting them fall down to her ankles. She had taken a moment to examine her body, clad as it was in the blue one piece swimsuit she always wore and never really liked, as it did little more than to highlight just how unremarkable her teenage body was.
She sat down and took her shoes and socks off, putting them, along with her pants, down by the nearby diving board. She then moved to the edge of the pool, soaking her feet in the slightly chilled water. She felt a tingle go up her spine as she moved to don the fins and mask and slid into the water.
She swam around the pool for several minutes, taking several opportunities to dive under the water and run her hands across the pool's surface. As she dove under the surface and began her third slow lap around the pool, she began to feel something that she hadn't really felt before.
She was starting to get aroused. The sensuous feel of the water against the bare skin of her arms and legs was sending jolts of electricity down her spine. The cool temperature of the water, amplified by the colder surrounding air, brought forth a shudder. She looked down to see her nipples poking through the fabric of the swimsuit. She gently rubbed them both with the tips of her fingers, sending a spasm through her body.
As she swam to the side of the pool and started to rise, she took the time to think about what she was feeling. It wasn't something terribly new to her. As a blossoming teenager, she had often felt sexually excited, though it wasn't until she had read some books at the library that she was able to put her feelings into something tangible. But she had never felt this way while swimming in the water. Maybe it was that she was alone or maybe it was that she was doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing. She couldn't tell for sure.
As she broke to the surface, she took a few moments to look around. Although it was night and the chance that anyone passing by was slim, she wanted to make sure that she was alone. After all, breaking into the pool to go swimming by herself was one thing. But what she was about to do was something else entirely.
Taking several breaths, she dove under the surface once again and began to swim to the opposite side of the pool, much like she had been doing. Only this time, she was mainly using her legs to keep her moving forward, as her arms began moving of their own volition across her body. She traced her fingers across her body, sending small pulses across her skin as she teased herself, drawing her fingers away after only a moment's touch. She brought her left hand up to rub the nape of her neck, teasing it by rubbing with her fingertips one moment, then her entire hand the next. Her right hand circled both of her breasts, gently stroking and pinching the nipples after every third or fourth pass. She felt a burning ache in her lower body around that time and moved her hand down to her lower regions, feeling the beginnings of a growing intensity in her chest as her fingers gingerly grazed her mound.
Reaching the other side of the pool, she surfaced and started some breathing exercises, taking in as much air as she could as she prepared to swim back to the pool's opposite end. As she did, she reached for the straps of her bathing suit, pulling them down over her shoulders. She paused for a moment before removing the suit completely, allowing it to fall to the pool surface below.
She thought about the situation she was in. Floating in the pool as nude as the day she had come into the world, she knew that she should be embarrassed. After all, empty or full, night or day, being naked in a public swimming pool was something she would never do.
And yet, as Willow took a final few breaths and dove under the surface again, she couldn't bring herself to care.
Holding onto one of the bars of the nearby pool ladder as well as she could with her right hand, she began to move her left hand in a cursory exploration of her body. She traced a curve around her chest, in between her breasts and lightly rubbing her nipples again, having become painfully erect thanks to the combination of the chilled water and her earlier teasing. She moved her hand back down to gently tickle her thighs, teasing the skin of her sex as she did so. After repeating these motions about three or four times, she moved her hand to her sex again and cupped it in her hand. She gently slid a finger inside of her; gently massage her clit and teasing her inner walls. She paused briefly as she felt the pressure on her chest increase as the waves of pleasure began to course through her.
She struggled to keep herself from breathing, knowing that her orgasm would be more powerful without the lack of oxygen. She couldn't tell, however, if this was because of the fear of drowning or because of the thrill it was bringing her. These thoughts left her mind as quickly as they had come however as she continued to tease her inner walls, having added two fingers to her damp folds, feeling the wetness inside of her just as easily as she felt the wetness outside.
The urge to breathe was growing more intense as she continued to pleasure herself. Willow knew she was on the verge of a powerful and cataclysmic orgasm. Her moans, which had started off small, began to grow in intensity, magnified by the fact that her mouth was clamped shut in an attempt to keep herself under control. An attempt that was, she found herself admitting, failing spectacularly. The need to breathe was overpowering, but she fought it as she buried her fingers deeper inside herself, desperately trying to bring herself to the powerful climax she knew was coming.
Suddenly she felt an intense shock wave pass through her. She gripped the pool ladder and began to moan loud as an intense orgasm passed through her. This intense emotion, combined with her need to breathe, threatened to cause her to black out. As the last shreds of her powerful underwater orgasm faded, she grabbed onto the opposite bar of the pool ladder and weakly began to climb up.
As she moved to sit on the side of the pool, water dripping down her body, she took a moment to figure out what this all meant. Being the overly curious teenager that she was, she had often looked through things she wasn't supposed to. That included several sex books. But none of them had ever said anything about this. She slipped back into the water to retrieve her swimsuit, which had floated up from the pool's bottom and now was at the opposite end of the pool.
That had been nearly twelve years ago, and Willow could still remember it as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. Since then, she had discovered dozens of internet websites that were devoted to Aquaphilia, a term used to describe a form of sexual fetishism which involves images of people swimming or posing underwater and engaging in sexual activity in or under water. Willow could easily admit, and felt proud to do so, that she now considers herself one. "After all," she had thought at the time. "What could be more serene and beautiful than the human form balanced gracefully within the gravity free environments below the sparkling surface of a swimming pool, a rainbow colored coral reef, or crystal clear lagoon?"
It was then that she discovered another major revelation about herself. Most of the stories and pictures she found on these websites involved women underwater and in sexual situations. She found that reading these stories and seeing these pictures aroused her and many was the night that she fell asleep masturbating to them. The dual revelation of being both turned on by both water and women was something that she knew would affect the rest of her life.
"Talk about discovering yourself all at once," she thought as she zipped up her wetsuit top and raised the hood over her head, encasing her upper body in smooth neoprene rubber. She had decided to wear a bright red bikini bottom instead of the wetsuit pants, as it would make any attempt to pleasure herself while she was underwater (and she had no doubt such a situation would arise) much easier.
She had gotten certified as a diver when she was twenty-two, having saved up enough of her money to pay for the lessons herself without her parents' knowledge. She knew that they would disapprove of Willow's frequent dives, since they considered it more of a hobby enjoyed once in a while rather than a way of life. She did so partly because of her interest, piqued as it was by her parents' dives. But mostly it was so she would be able to act out her private underwater fantasies alone.
A small frown creased her features as she moved to strap her buoyancy compensator and its attached tank to her back. Not only had she not told her parents about her pastime, but she never told those who she considered her closest friends. Not even Buffy Summers, herself a certified diver who often accompanied Willow during the relatively few times Willow decided to join others on her underwater adventures. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the company, though. But every time she went into the water, she felt the uncontrollable urge to please herself. And that wasn't something she knew she could get away with around others. This left her feeling rather isolated, with no one with whom to share the passion for her hobby.
Picking up her mask from the boat's steering controls, she moved to the side of the boat, putting the mask on and adjusting it to her face. She had always known that she wanted to share her fantasies with someone, but her natural shyness kept her from approaching women she found attractive. She had come to accept it, but she had always hoped.
Or maybe it was just that she hadn't met the right woman yet.
Sitting down on the deck of the boat, she put the regulator into her mouth and drew several breaths, pleased to see that the equipment was still in tip-top shape. Placing a hand to her face to help secure them, she flipped off the boat and began yet another underwater adventure, completely unaware of the fact that this adventure would be different from all the others that had come before.
Tara swam silently in the ocean, admiring the natural beauty of the coral reefs and the tropical fish that swam about in schools. Normally such a sight would be amazing, but to one like her, it was merely an everyday part of the scenery.
Taking another look at her surroundings, however, she realized that she was nowhere near where she should be. It was well past the borders of her that were put in place by her clan of mermaids, and it was one of their most sacred laws never to travel this far beyond them. But she couldn't help herself. She was often curious about the world outside her own, mostly because few ever spoke to her about it.
Tara had lived her whole life under the ocean. Despite the common stereotypes associated with mermaids by the surface dwellers, she and the others of her clan had nothing that in any way resembled a tail. They appeared to be, in all aspects, relatively human in appearance. The only features giving away her aquatic nature were a series of small greenish scales, which stood out in contrast to her alabaster skin. These scales resembled those found on several smaller marine animals such as fishes. They were grouped together in several areas across her body; particularly her head, where they emerged from her hairline for several centimeters. Her thighs and feet were also scaled, in addition to the sides of her neck; where, also, a series of gill slits the length of about two inches, allowed her to breathe in the underwater environment. In all other aspects, however, she looked very much like a human woman.
It was a comparison that those of her race were loath to admit, however. She knew that her clan of mermaids held a distrust of humans, stemming from an incident in the past that was long forgotten. She didn't realize why, though, and had often wanted to meet a human, knowing that they sometimes traveled down to the ocean using some form of magic that she couldn't understand. And as a practicing mage, she was familiar with most forms of mermaid magic.
She continued to swim majestically through the ocean floor, one hand lazily tracing across her nude body as the other moved to caress the schools of fish in various shades of color and spongy coral as she floated passed them. She took a moment to examine her body and realized that it was nothing that she had to be ashamed about when it came to her body. With long, golden blonde hair that flowed in the ocean currents, long shapely legs that ended in webbed feet that made her a powerful swimmer, and a generously sized chest that, more often than not, was kept hidden by her beautiful blonde locks, she was the perfect picture of the typical underwater goddess.
Suddenly she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head toward the movement, she was surprised to see a body moving off in the opposite direction. It was then that she realized that it was a human! The thought filled her with dread, as she had heard rumors from others in her clan that humans were both disruptive and destructive. She knew she should return to the meeting place to inform the Elders of what was going on.
Instead, her curiosity was piqued. She knew that it might be dangerous, and that she would most likely be punished for doing so, but she couldn't help herself. There was something about this human that called to her. She decided to move to investigate, using the nearby coral as cover. After all, she figured, she always wanted to meet a human. This might be her only chance.
Willow glided silently through the ocean, the only sound the rhythmic pulsing from her regulator as she breathed in and out. She watched as the bubbles traveled to the surface, a tingle of excitement growing as she did. She knew what that meant, and she wasn't at all surprised. Whenever she entered the ocean recently, she had felt an intense desire that begged to be released. It made her long, not for the first time, for someone to share her passion with.
She began to trace her left hand over her body, sending a jolt through her body. She gently teased herself this way as her right hand slowly made its way to her bikini bottoms. As she did this, her left hand grasped the zipper of her wetsuit top and gently began to pull it down. Stopping halfway, she reached inside and began to gently caress her breasts, feeling her nipples grow and harden as her teasing brought them to attention. Her other hand dipped into her bikini and gently cupped her mound. She shuddered as she felt the growing wetness that yearned to be released.
She was all too happy to comply, gently inserting a finger into her sex and began to caress her inner folds.
"Oh, goddess!" Tara thought as she watched the human from a safe distance as she fondled herself. "I never knew a human could be so…be so…"
She couldn't think of any way to put her thoughts into words, as the actions being put on display in front of her defied all conventional explanation. She had often spied on humans as they made their way through the area, but she had never seen one so engaged.
She had always had a weakness for female mermaids. This, combined with her talents in magic, had made her unpopular with the majority of her clan. But there were those with whom she enjoyed special moments, where they could discuss whatever was on their minds and practice their Craft. However, they had drawn the proverbial line in the sand at acting on the feelings that they had shared for one another, for fear of bringing the others' wrath down upon them all.
But as she stared at this human, she felt something for her, a feeling that went beyond simple lust. It felt half like a yearning, half like a desire. What caused this desire, she found herself wondering. What was it that was causing this pull she felt toward the human? Tara thought that it was that, unlike most other humans she saw in the area, she was alone. She was often alone, as well, though this was because she wanted it that way. Did this human have desires, too? Was she here alone because of some repression that the surface world had brought upon her?
She gazed intently at the human as she continued her exploration of her body. And she noted that, it was a remarkable body. Modestly proportioned, with shapely legs and a small yet ample chest. This, sadly, was all that she could see, as much of her upper body, along with her lower regions, were covered in clothing. Tara felt regret that she couldn't see more of her body and that she had felt the need to cover herself. The ocean was a place to be natural, to be free.
She lost her train of thought as she became aware of the fact that her hands, seemingly having detached themselves from the rational part of her brain, were moving across her body in much the same fashion as the human's. The thumb and forefinger of her left gently pinched the nipples of her exposed breasts until they became the size of small peaks. Her hands then raised to gently knead them over and over again, sending ripples of pleasure coursing through her body, inflaming her soul. She never thought that anyone could bring out such feelings in her, especially not a surface dweller.
She paused as she opened her eyes to see the human gently begin to unzip the clothing that concealed her upper chest, and silently gasped as she caught sight of two of the most perfectly sized breasts that she had ever seen in her life. They, much like everything else about this human, seemed too good to be true.
Her right hand slowly lowered to her sex, the throbbing and feelings becoming too much for her to ignore anymore, her thoughts on the shape of the human's luxuriously formed chest and how much she would enjoy fondling, nipping and gently stroking them. As that last thought burned into her brain, she began to rub her sex, sending two fingers inside, following up quickly with a third. The small scales on her fingertips helped send her body afire, the heat of her passion flowing out over her as her wetness joined with the natural wetness of the ocean around her.
Willow's hand was moving of its own volition now, all pretense of calm or patience abandoned as her fingers impacted against her inner walls, sending insurmountable pleasure through her body and forcing her to draw air more quickly than she would have liked. She was close now, she could feel it. She continued to send her fingers deeper into herself, her other hand lazily climbing back up her body.
Her moaning, muffled as it was by the regulator, began to grow in intensity. Her breaking point was near, and she only increased her determination. Her hips began to buck violently as she felt her passion explode from her, her self made wetness joining with the natural wetness of the sea.
Feeling herself coming to the breaking point, Tara increased her thrusting, bucking her pelvis to help bring herself closer to climax. She could feel the tidal wave of pressure beginning to form, begging to be unleashed, and suddenly, without any warning, it had. Tara threw herself back into the ocean and moaned in ecstasy as spasm after powerful spasm washed over her.
As Willow began to slowly swim away, her body still tingling in the throes of her orgasm, she realized that she was in no hurry to bring her underwater adventure to a sudden and, she had to admit, pleasurable end. She noted, however, that she didn't want to do it out here in the open where other divers happened along. She looked around for somewhere she could be alone and continue to explore, and spotted an entrance to a cave nearby.
She checked her air supply, found that she had enough to last for quite some time, and made her way to the cave entrance.
As her orgasm subsided, Tara realized that her cry of passion could have alerted the human to her presence and she moved quickly to find if she had been noticed. She was relieved to find, after a few moments, that she was still underwater, though her pleasure at seeing her was soon changed to dread as she saw that her destination was a nearby cave.
Tara knew the cave all too well. It was a superstitious place among her clan, where mermaids had gone and never returned. Her mother had gone several years ago to disprove this theory, and never returned. She didn't know what had happened to her, and those she asked merely said that it was "surface dweller aggression".
Tara hadn't believed that. There was no way that she could. But it didn't help that she still carried a fear about the place. And that the human was now making her way there.
She had been planning to leave to tell the Elders, but she knew that to do so would abandon the human to die. And this was something that, despite her nature, she could not allow. She felt…something for this human, and it just wouldn't allow her to come to harm.
Moving cautiously, and keeping to the coral as much as she could, she kicked her legs and began to follow the human into the cave.
Taking a length of rope from one of the pouches on her buoyancy compensator, Willow wrapped it along the shaft of a nearby piece of coral, and entered the cave, holding onto the rope with her left hand as she swam slowly, her right hand moving down beneath her bikini bottom to one again begin rubbing her sex.
After several minutes, she came to a stop and rested on the ocean floor, sitting cross legged with her back to the cave wall, the tank clanking as it impacted the surface. She let go of the rope in order to free her hand, bringing it up to unzip her wetsuit top the rest of the way, exposing her breasts to the cooled water, her nipples still hard from her earlier teasing. She brought the thumb and forefinger of her left hand up to gently pinch them, the intensity of her touch causing her to squeal each time she did. Her right hand, meanwhile, continued its massage of her precious parts, slowly at first, then more rapidly, two fingers gently inserting to caress herself once more.
Her moans, soft and muffled with her regulator in the way, began to grow in frequency and loudness as the fingers brought her peaks to attention and her sex to a furiously painful wetness just straining for release. She bit down on the regulator's mouthpiece as her hand vibrated faster, her moans increasing in intensity as her orgasm began to build.
After several more seconds, she lost control and began to arch her back; her breaking point reached as wave after wave of intense pleasure was sent through her body. She arched her back again and again, the intensity building, then slowing and finally ceased.
As she began to breathe normally again, she figured that she could probably bring herself to another peak of ecstasy, but she realized that she might not have enough air left. She moved her hand back to the cave wall and began to look for the rope, only to realize that it had disappeared.
"Where did the rope go?" she thought, bubbles nervously pulsing from her lips. "How am I going to get out of here now?"
After a few moments of searching (and failing to find) the rope, she began to panic internally as she realized that she was completely lost in the middle of an ocean cave with no idea how to get back. Every path she could find only seemed to send her deeper into the cave. She should have been aware of this, but her desperation to find a way out blinded her to all other thoughts. The only thing she did think about was how her situation could get any worse.
Then she attempted to take a breath…and didn't draw any air.
Panicking, she reached for her air pressure gauge, and found that it was near empty. "How?!" she panicked. "I had plenty of air. Unless…"
She thought briefly back to her intense orgasm, how her back had arched itself violently…and only now realizing that it must have damaged her tank. She was so intent on trying to find a way to escape that she hadn't realized it…until now.
With blind panic, she began to scramble back the way she had come, hands clawing at the rock around her in a feeble attempt to move faster. She began to feel an intense tightening in her chest, though this time Willow was not pleased about it. Instead, she knew that, unless she found means other than sexual release to make this pressure go away, she would die down here. And no one would know.
Tara had followed the human inside of the cave, after pulling curiously at the piece of rope stuck to the coral near the entrance until she had tugged it completely out. She wondered what it was, but her more immediate problem was to help the human.
As she entered the cave, she was glad that her natural attenuation to the water would her to track her as she moved deeper into the cave. Her empathic senses began to pick up danger, however, and she began to increase her strides.
"I hope she's all right," she thought to herself. She couldn't tell for sure, but a sudden sense of danger ahead didn't help to assuage her fears, so she kicked her legs faster.
She turned left to find the human racing towards her, hand clutched on an oval shaped device over her mouth as she attempted to breathe from it. Tara didn't know what she was doing, but she could tell from her movements that she was panicking about something.
It was then that the human's head looked up at her, emerald green eyes reflected in the mask that she wore. Eyes that quickly widened in fear at the sight of the unknown person in front of her. She backpedaled several feet before realizing that nothing awaited her back there, but realizing that she could go no further, she muffled some sort of exclamation, gesturing wildly to the device she had in her lips.
Tara nodded, knowing that she had to take extra precautions. She gestured with one hand and spoke an ancient chant that would allow the human to fall into a sleep-like trance until she could get her to the surface.
The human looked quizzically at her for a second before falling limp. As Tara moved to collect the human in her arms, she checked to see if she was all right. She was somewhat glad to see that, expect for her inability to breathe (due to the spell sending her into a trance like state), she was all right.
She also noted, with some surprise, how warm the human's skin, where it was exposed, felt against hers. And how much pleasure she found in holding her against her own bare skin. But these feelings would have to wait. She knew that the spell she had cast would not last long, and she would need to take her somewhere she would be safe when she awakened. Flicking her powerful legs and holding onto the human like a long lost treasure, Tara headed back the way she had come, knowing that there was a place nearby where she could tend to her.
And perhaps, if all went well, even learn more about her.
The ocean held many secrets, most of which, quite surprisingly, lay in plain sight for anyone to see. As Tara swam towards the exit of the cave with the human still in her arms, she was more than grateful of that fact, because it meant that there was nowhere in the ocean more safe for the two of them than her secret hiding place. Tara found the small cave when she was a teenager. Its location is very close to the borders of her clans underwater city, and was far enough out of the way for her to be alone, yet close enough to her clan to feel safe. Many was the time she had swam there to think about the greater mysteries of the ocean world: Why she felt so alone, why she could not confide in others her deepest desires and most of all, if there was anyone in the world who she could feel love for.
Her legs kicked fiercely as she sped into the cave, knowing that the spell she enacted would not last long. Tara hoped that it was the spell that had caused her unconsciousness. She didn't want to believe that she had accidentally caused the death of an innocent. She would never be able to explain it to the others. Or forgive herself.
She saw the cave wall above her head vanish and replaced with water. She knew then that she had made it into the cave's air pocket. She headed for the surface, feeling her arms and legs beginning to ache. The weight of this human and of the bulk attached to her slowed her down and caused a rather large drag on her ability to swim.
As Tara broke through the surface of the water, she became aware of another ache. Like the others, it was due to the presence of the human. Unfortunately, this ache was completely different and was more difficult to ignore. Now was not the time for it, though, and she knew it. Better to deal with that problem later, if for no other reason than to ensure the human's continued survival. Once she was awake and breathing, then she could deal with these feelings and their possible ramifications.
Loosening her unnaturally tight grip on the human, Tara slowly dragged her body to a cluster of nearby rocks. Reaching her destination, she gathered all her strength and lifted her up, carefully laying her on top of the smooth surface of one of the rocks. The heavy equipment on her back caused her to nearly topple over, but Tara moved quickly to steady her.
Tara began to remove the 'foreign' materials from the human's body. She first moved to the backpack, struggling a bit with as she tried to remove it. But, not being familiarized with this human's contraption, the task was difficult and time consuming. Tara had no time to waste; this beautiful human's life depended on her figuring out the best way to strip her of this heavy burden. She tested several of the straps, finding ones that, once removed, made it easier to slip off. She continued for several minutes, removing the other equipment and clothing until the human was lying nearly nude in front of her, the only covering she wore the red cloth tied with string.
She was prepared, now. As Tara jackknifed under the water, she swam to a nearby collection of small rocks where she usually kept her medicine bag. Normally she and the others who practiced their magic would only do so with each other and not on their own, but she always knew that an emergency would arise that would require her to be ready, and that it never hurt to have some supplies handy.
Granted, she never would have figured that an emergency to save a human's life would ever present itself.
"If Baji knew I was using my talents to heal a human, I'd probably never hear the end of it," she thought as she began to remove the last rocks covering the hole where she kept her bag.
As she did so, she took a moment to reflect on the form that awaited her in the cave above her, recalling some of the details of that exquisite body. Her long red hair was a shade darker as the cloth that she adorned, framing a face that sparkled with the radiant beauty of a child. Green eyes and small, yet undeniably perfect breasts that had been covered by the strange upper garment she had unzipped during her earlier exploration of her body. Well toned legs and sculpted thighs that, though not as muscular as hers, were smooth to the touch, completely devoid of the scales that covered her own.
The human's most attractive feature, however, was her lips. They were…Tara had no idea how to even begin to describe them. Every time she did she found herself wondering how pleasurable it would be to bring her own lips in contact with the human's and gently press, nibbling then parting them ever so slightly to allow her tongue to enter her mouth and explore deeper.
She also briefly thought about how different they appeared. In addition to the lack of scales, she lacked gill slits. Her hair was short and cropped neatly around her head, contrasting with her long and free floating golden locks. What's more, she had made an effort to keep herself from being nude. That was what she found the most strange about her patient. From what she was doing, it made her appear to be as at home in the ocean as Tara herself did, notable physical differences notwithstanding.
She removed the last rock covering her bag then, and reached forward with one arm to grasp it. She kicked her feet and began to swim back to the surface. Breaking through the calm water, she gently swam over to where the human lay and crawled on all fours onto the rocks, taking several seaweed wrappings from her bag and began to place them across the human's exposed abdomen.
After she placed the final one down, she withdrew a clamshell. Muttering an ancient chant and running her fingers across its surface, the clamshell popped open sending tendrils of mist in the enclosed space, which eventually evaporated in the cave's walls. The clam's juices, contained inside the shell, would aid in bringing the human back to consciousness, by drawing her essence to the surface.
Replacing the shell in her bag, she crawled on her hands and knees, stopping mere inches away from the human's face. Tenderly, she began to anoint her head with the clam's juices, creating tiny intricate patterns, invoking the Gods and Goddess of the sea to watch over their children of the ocean.
As she continued, she began the chant necessary to complete the spell. "Oh Goddess, may your light shine brightly on this visitor from above and show her the way back into my…" She paused, caught herself, and hastily amended, "your warm and waiting embrace. Oh God, let your eternal wisdom allow her to come back from the spirit world so that she will see my…" Again, she caught herself and hastily added, "thy waiting arms."
As her fingers finished tracing the pattern on the human's face, she gently placed them against her lips. She bent forward, gradually parting her own lips and lightly pressed them together. She found herself unwilling to break the kiss, though she knew she must. She had to say the final incantation to complete the spell. She parted lips with the human, gently whimpering as she did.
"Come back to us, gentle maiden from above," she whispered.
Willow felt as if she was floating. Granted, this wasn't a feeling that was strange to her. What did make it strange was how uncomfortable it made her feel. She felt guilty in letting herself get as carried away as she did. She began to realize why her parents didn't want her to become involved in diving, insisting that she could never deal with any dangers that may arise. It was just as glad that they weren't here now, she thought. They'd never let her hear the end of it.
It had really been an experience, though. She had to admit that. She hadn't had a more powerful orgasm since her first time in that public swimming pool all those years ago. She remembered from high school how all the girls giggled and said that they never forgot their first sexual encounter. She never could understand it herself, though after he midnight escapade, she could understand a bit better. And now, she wished she could travel back in time and tell them how wrong they were.
Still, a small tingle of fear gripped her heart with one hand as her excitement gripped it with the other. Regardless of how good it made her feel, she had nearly died. But instead of feeling her lungs fill with water and her body grow cold, she just felt…nothing.
She was surprised to find it was a good nothing. She didn't feel dead, nor did she feel alive. It made her feel…uncomfortable.
"But, hey," she thought. "At least I'm still alive. Or am I? Well, if I were dead, I'd certainly know it. I wouldn't be here overthinking my own mortality if I were dead, now would I? No, no, I'd just be waiting in a big line at the pearly gates waiting for the keys to my permanent suite at the Hotel Heaven…"
Her thoughts trailed off as she became aware of the fact that wherever she was, it was making her feel chilled to the bone. "OK. Good. Cold. Oh, wait. No! Cold! Wait. Feel cold, not cold cold. At least I know I'm cold. That's gotta be good, no matter how grim it sounds."
She also became aware of the fact that someone was speaking to her. Had someone found her body? No, nobody could have found her body. She had made this trip by herself. Nobody knew that she had left. No one knew she was here.
Except…except that strange girl she had seen as she tried to find her way to safety. Thinking back on it now, it must have been the seriousness of the situation that she had found herself in that made her mind play tricks on her. That had to be what it was .She was oxygen deprived and in a heightened state of panic. It must have been the only way to explain what she had seen, because strange looking naked women just don't appear out of nowhere.
Through the darkness surrounding her, she heard a beacon calling to her. And she also felt that beacon pulsing over her body, exploring it gingerly. She had the cautious feeling of many slim, nimble fingers touching her chest, caressing her thighs, teasing her breasts and across her face.
Normally the thought of someone casually exploring her body in this manner would disgust Willow. After all, being touched in naughty places was something she didn't like unless she was the one doing the touching. But what surprised her was that she noted how respectful the touch felt, as if whoever was doing it feared to cause her harm.
She also noted, with a small hint of surprise, that it didn't feel that bad.
"Hello?" She thought, trying to get the attention of the mysterious presence. "I don't know who you are, but I'm a human, not a house of cards! You don't have to be so gentle with the touching." She thought for a moment.
"Then again, soft fingers…soft, nimble fingers…soft, nimble fingers dripping with water…soft, nimble fingers dripping with water across my naked body…"
She felt a grin form on her face. "I changed my mind. Keep with the gentle touching, please!"
Just as her mind was getting accustomed to the feel of sensual touching, the hand moved away. If Willow could find the strength to move, or even whimper, she would have.
"Hey! Get back here with the fingers!"
The thought had barely breezed through her consciousness before the touch came back. Or rather, it was a new touch…in a new place
The touch seemed to set her every nerve aflame, bringing her back into consciousness.
Her eyes popped open without any warning, and was surprised to find, staring back at her, something that could only be described as a dream.
After all, nothing in real life could have been as beautiful.
Emerald green stared deep into ocean blue for what seemed to be an eternity, though it was only seconds. But for the two beings in the cave to which those eyes belonged, time seemed to come to a halt. The lives they had lived until this moment were forgotten, their problems and concerns evaporating into the air and passing through the cave walls.
Willow drew a breath, feeling her strength return as her chest expanded. She noted that the air had a strange tinge to it. Not quite stale, but not fresh either. It didn't feel dangerous, though, and she knew that she could breathe without harm. Of course, she was grateful to be breathing at all, given her near death experience. She continued to stare at the female face in front of her, taking note of her strange features.
"Are those...no. It couldn't be...scales? And wow. What are those? Gills? Must be. She's breathing with them. But what does that mean? Oh, wow. Wow. She must be...a mermaid!?"
A curious child, Willow had often read books about myths and fairy tales, always finding the stories about mermaids to be of particular interest. She also had watched "The Little Mermaid" a lot when she was younger.
Little did Willow know that one day all that reading would bring her face to face with an actual living, breathing, and exquisite creature, a real life mermaid. Though, she had to admit, the beauty in front of her could put Ariel and all her sisters to shame.
She had done a lot of research on her fetish, and she knew that most people found mermaids to be a turn on. Some people even took it to the extreme, and made tails so that they could swim around like one. She never really got that aspect of aquaphilia as much as some other parts. But she had to admit, as she stared into those wonderful blue orbs, that she could see the attraction.
But this wasn't possible. Mermaids didn't actually exist in real life. They were the stuff of fairy tales and children's bedtime stories. And yet...here, she was.
It made her want to rethink her belief that she hadn't died.
A sudden chill passed through her. She craned her head to one side and looked down at her body. Suddenly, she became aware of why she felt so cold. Biting down a squeak, she struggled to get out from under the weight holding her down. She didn't mind being naked, of course. She just didn't want to be naked in front of other people.
Suddenly, the pressure was gone, and she quickly crawled backward until she felt her back impact against the cave wall. Willow paused as she caught her breath, taking a moment to glance quickly around the cave. It didn't appear to be too dangerous, she noted. She spotted her equipment resting near the water, along with her wetsuit and the tank top she had worn underneath it.
Willow also saw the mermaid sitting near the edge of the water, noticing that the creature was as naked as she was. No, not nearly as naked she realized as her fingers brushed down across her abdomen to feel the cloth of her bikini bottom still in place. The mermaid's body was completely exposed, no clothing evident either on her chest or lower body. She also noted the scales that ringed her forehead also covered her fingers and thighs.
Willow took notice of the mermaid's other features. Her mysterious savior had long golden hair that flowed down to the small of her back. She ran her fingers through her own hair, realizing that, while hers was also long, the cut and style must have made it seem rather short to her. Instead of a tail, she had long legs that looked lean and powerful, obviously the result of her aquatic nature. The feet that were at the end of those legs were scaled as well. Her chest was ample, with two of the most perfect breasts she had ever seen.
Willow's gaze lifted to the mermaid's face once again. Her countenance was as beautiful as any she had ever seen; full lips and a cute nose, high cheekbones and prominent but feminine chin that appeared to be chiseled from the finest porcelain.
Their eyes locked again, and Willow was surprised to find that they had taken on a different expression. Where before she had seen hope and joy, now she saw anguish and pain, and what appeared to be...
"Hurt?" Willow thought. "Why would she be..."
She realized then what it was that must have made her rescuer so upset. This beautiful creature had risked her own life to save her own, doing so without any thought of reward or compensation. And what had she done to show her gratitude? Flinched away and given her every reason to make her believe that her help was unwanted.
Not only that, but that she was also somewhat startled by her. While that was true, at first, she found herself starting to warm up to this lovely creature before her. She couldn't explain it. It may have helped that the mermaid didn't appear in any way to be the type that would intentionally harm another person.
Regaining her composure, she raised her hand and waggled her fingers in greeting. "H...h...hi."
The mermaid waved back, though Willow noted that some of the pain in her eyes remained, tinged with a hint of concern and confusion. Willow knew she had to reassure her, but she wasn't entirely sure how she could without making her feel worse.
"Th...th...thank you," she said, cursing herself for stuttering. "For saving my life, I mean."
The mermaid nodded in reply, some of the pain leaving her eyes, though the concern and confusion remained.
"Good," Willow thought. "I've reassured her that I'm all right. Now to let her know about me."
She placed a hand to her chest, the touch sending a shiver through her body. "Willow. My name is Willow."
The mermaid gave a half smile and placed a hand on her own chest, the scales of her fingers glittering in the dim light of the cave. "Tara."
Willow's body shook as the mermaid's voice pierced her heart, sending wave after wave of delight through her nerve endings. The voice was soft and lyrical, yet carried behind it a power that radiated through Willow's skin, sending the cold she had felt away as if it had never been there.
Willow slowly moved back towards Tara, who made no attempt to either move away or resist her advance. In fact, it appeared to her as if she wanted her to approach. Willow was all too happy to comply, though she proceeded with caution, just in case she made a wrong move that would frighten Tara away.
Willow sat down facing Tara. She looked up and gave a small half smile. Being so close, Willow noticed that Tara's eyes had begun to shine with a sense of desire and longing that Willow couldn't place. With a revelation of sorts, it dawned on Willow why she felt so concerned about worrying the beauty that was now mere inches away.
Taking Tara's chin gently in her hand, she slowly brought her face up. "I...I want to thank you for saving my life."
Tara's brow creased slightly, the scales on her forehead rising with the action. "Willow?"
Willow's smile brightened and brought her face closer to Tara's. "I've always been taught to give thanks to those who do something nice to me. Do you really want me to be rude?"
Willow couldn't tell what possessed her to do what she was doing, but she knew that she was drawn to this exotic creature...no, not a creature. This person that was sitting in front of her. It's like what she had learned in high school science class: Two forces with opposite charges would naturally be drawn together.
She wondered, with some curiosity, what was it that drew her to Tara?
Willow's lips inched closer to Tara's, some shock mixing with the excitement she was feeling. On the one hand, Willow thought of how forward her actions must seem to Tara, especially given how they had just met. And especially given that they were, to be blunt, two completely different species. But on the other hand, she couldn't help but feel that it was somehow...right to be doing what she was doing. And a tiny part of her mind couldn't help but think that maybe she was dreaming, or in heaven - after all, did mermaids really exist? For whatever reason, she found that her usual inhibitions and shyness weren't holding her back.
The distance between the two finally closed, and Willow found herself kissing Tara. She noted, with some surprise, that Tara hadn't been caught unaware of her action. Nor had she moved away.
The richness of the kiss surprised her, as well. Willow had often overheard some of the more popular girls in high school talking about how whenever they kissed a boy for the first time, the kiss was usually awkward and passionless. This kiss, however, was different. It felt to her very much like a key being inserted into a lock, or two puzzle pieces being placed together.
It felt...good.
After yet another eternity that encompassed seconds, the two parted lips, knowing that neither was the same as they had been before they had exchanged themselves in this fashion.
"So..." Willow began. "You're a mermaid?"
Tara gave a silent nod in acknowledgement.
Willow gave a shy half smile. "Well, you don't look a thing like Ariel." She noticed Tara's brow crease in confusion and quickly added, "I mean...Ariel's a well know mermaid where I come from. And she's got a tail and a beautiful singing voice. Not to say that you don't sing beautifully, too. Because, you know, never heard you sing and all...but I'm sure that you..."
She felt a hand on hers then, and looked down to find Tara's scaly fingers on her wrist. The touch was soft, yet sent a jolt through Willow's spine. She looked up again and heard the most beautiful voice she had ever heard.
Willow had never heard anything quite like it in her entire life. There were no words to the lyrical melody being sung, but the resonance carried in the tones spoke louder than written words could ever convey. It spoke of a friendship between two good friends, of a close relationship between two individuals and a joining together of two souls into one eternal embrace.
Willow sat in silence as Tara continued to sing for her, and found that she was becoming enthralled in what was going on. She found herself being carried away by the voice like a body in a cresting wave, riding along the water of the melody until she came to a rest on the sandbar.
She opened the eyes she didn't realize she had closed as Tara's singing came to an end and smiled. "That was...beautiful."
Tara smiled in return as Willow looked around the cave. "So...is this where you...live?"
Tara tilted her head slightly. "Sometimes. Not always."
Willow turned to face her. "Looks nice." She let out a small sigh.
Tara took notice of her apparent discomfort. "Okay?"
Willow nodded, though the motion did not carry with it the truth that it should have. "I don't know. It's just that...I've always had a thing for water, you know." She turned to look at Tara again. "I guess you would. But at least with those gills you have, you never have to worry about drowning down here. I mean, I never would have come close to drowning if I hadn't lost my rope, but I'm usually more careful than that."
Tara was no longer listening, her thoughts turning inward to when she had pulled the cord from the cave entrance. At the time, she had been curious as to what it was, but she had let the thoughts drift aside in order to save Willow. She now realized that, in addition to saving her, she had nearly been responsible for causing her death in the first place.
The thought brought a wave of shame over her. She had always secretly thought that she could be better than those of her clan and respect all life that entered the sea, whether or not it belonged there. It pained her to know how wrong she had almost been.
Tara felt Willow move away, and looked up to see her approaching the equipment she had left near the water. Willow picked up one of the hoses that came from the backpack and examined it, and then she inspected the tank attached to the backpack.
"Tank's damaged," Willow said without preamble. "I won't be able to get back."
Tara started. "Get back?"
Willow turned to look at her. "What?"
Tara grew anxious and scared. She had finally found someone with whom she might be able to share everything, her one link to the surface world, and she was going to leave her? "What you mean 'get back?'"
Willow looked pained. "Tara...I...I can't...stay..."
Tara's gaze passed down to the rocks in front of her. She knew that it wouldn't last, but she hoped that it wouldn't come so quickly. She was already thinking of how to say goodbye when she felt Willow's hand on her chin. Her head was lifted until she was staring into Willow's eyes.
"I...can't stay," she repeated. "But...but...I'd like to...you know...come back. To visit?"
The pain at thinking she had lost Willow evaporated, and Tara's face brightened. "You...you mean..."
Willow sat down beside her and placed her arms around her waist, bending forward to kiss Tara on the lips again. It was a small, quick kiss, and yet it felt to Tara to be much more. It signified trust...understanding. A promise.
Love.
"I mean..." Willow said as their lips parted. "OK?"
Tara's face brightened as she began to cry. "Oh, yes."
Willow raised an arm and wiped away the tears. "I don't know why, Tara, but I feel...close to you...somehow. And...I would like to get to know you...and for you...to know me."
Tara could only sit in silence, not believing what was going on. She could only stare at Willow as she spoke. Knowing that she would see Willow again made her feel happy, as if she could float through the air as easily as she floated through the water.
"I can come back in a few days," Willow continued. "Would you like to meet then?"
Tara nodded enthusiastically. Perhaps a little too enthusiastically, but she didn't care. Something about Willow told her that she would like her regardless of what she did. That didn't mean she would ever tell her how she had been nearly responsible for killing her, however. That was a secret she would never tell.
Willow looked back at her equipment. "I don't know how I'm going to be able to get out of here, though. My air tank got damaged when I..." she paused. She didn't want to admit to Tara, at least not right now, what she was actually doing in the cave. "My tank got damaged. And I can't hold my breath long enough to get back to the surface, especially when I have to drag my equipment with me..."
She felt Tara's hand on her shoulder and turned to find her muttering something in a language she couldn't understand. Willow also noticed that Tara's right arm was extended, two fingers outstretched and close together, a small light emanating from them. She noted that it grew in intensity as Tara continued to speak.
Just as she was about to ask Tara what she was doing, her fingers touched her throat, the light shining brightly around her and enveloping her in what felt like a cocoon, warm tendrils of energy dissipated into her skin and into her trachea. She instinctively began to fight a gag reflex, only to realize that no gag reflex was forthcoming.
Just as quickly as the feeling started, it vanished, leaving her wondering what had happened. A whistle drew her attention to the water, where Tara awaited her, the buoyancy compensator and tank floating beside her. Willow looked down to find her wetsuit, tank top, mask and fins by her feet.
"Coming?" Tara asked, a glint in her eyes and a grin on her face.
Willow sat on the boat, waving goodbye to Tara as she dove under the surface of the water. She couldn't believe what had happened. Tara had somehow given Willow, temporarily at least, the ability to breathe underwater without assistance. For those few brief moments, she had felt what it would be like to be like Tara, gliding through the water without assistance from any complicated diving equipment.
She would have to talk to Tara about how she had done that, but it would have to wait till later. It was getting late, and she had to get back home.
She started up the boat's engine and steered it back towards the docks.
The trip home had been uneventful, but it had given Willow time to think about what had happened. As she took her car down the highway, she thought about how much her life had changed in the past twenty-four hours. She had started the day by taking a relaxing dip in the ocean and hoping to be home long before her roommate and now looked to finish it heading home after an encounter that had left her simultaneously feeling confused and at peace.
And she realized that it never would have happened that way if she had been careless. She was usually more careful during her underwater escapades, planning her adventure down to the smallest detail. But this time things had gone a bit too far, and she knew it. Never before had Willow had to deal with the possibility of drowning. And it wasn't much of an exaggeration to think that she would have died down in that cave had it not been for...
Willow's thoughts drifted, as they had done many times during her trip home, back to the mysterious beauty that had saved her. There were so many unanswered questions she had about Tara. For example, why was she beginning to feel so strongly towards her? She assumed that it was because of her striking beauty. Being used to seeing the naked female form underwater, there was nothing about Tara that Willow hadn't seen before. But that didn't begin to describe her burgeoning feelings. Willow strongly felt that it had something to do with her natural attraction to all things aquatic. There was no other way to explain it.
Willow brought the car around the street corner to the apartment complex where she and Buffy had moved to following high school. It was a modest ten-story apartment situated near the Santa Monica Beach, which made it an easy commute for Buffy, who worked as a lifeguard at the beach during the summer and the nearby indoor pool the rest of the year. Willow worked part time at a number of odd jobs during much of the year, often joining Buffy during the summer as a volunteer lifeguard.
The two had shared a passion for the water ever since high school, but in different ways. Willow preferred the quiet contemplation that came from silently gliding through the water while Buffy had been a competitive swimmer in high school and a member of school's swim team. Willow had been certified for only three years while Buffy had been a certified diver since she was fifteen. Despite their differences, their mutual interest, along with their friendship, had led to their deciding to live together following graduation and to choose their home near the ocean.
Bringing the car into the underground parking lot, Willow shut down the engine, pausing for a moment before opening the door and stepping out. Kicking the door closed behind her, she moved to the trunk, and opened it, taking out the large bundle that comprised her equipment. She left the tank, since it was damaged, she would have to find time to take it to the dive shop and get it serviced.
Walking up to the door, Willow fumbled to take her key card from the pocket of her jeans, withdrawing the small plastic rectangle and swiping it across the reader after a moment. Opening the door and stepping inside the apartment lobby, she walked up to the elevator and pressed the up button. As she waited for the elevator to arrive, she thought of how wonderful it felt to swim in the ocean as freely as she had been able to when Tara had done...whatever it was that she had done. To swim without needing a tank on her back or being dependent on canned oxygen produced feelings in Willow that she couldn't begin to describe. It felt like...magic.
Willow scoffed at the thought. She had a hard time believing that what had happened was because of some magical means. Then again, she also had a hard time believing that there were mermaids in the world, and there was no way she could deny that anymore.
The elevator doors opened with a ding, and she walked inside, pushing the third floor button. As the elevator doors closed, her thoughts drifted back to ocean, and the beautiful being she had encountered there. Her love of the ocean had meant that she had seen a great many strange and exotic underwater creatures in her life, but Tara was one of a kind.
This brought her conflicted feelings for Tara to the surface once again. On the one hand, Tara had saved her life, and that was something for which she would be eternally grateful for. But that couldn't explain what she was feeling. She wouldn't feel the way she did for just anyone who rescued her. Perhaps it was the fact that she was physically attractive. Willow had found other women attractive for quite a long time, but for Tara, her feelings were more...obvious. It could be her exoticness. Thanks to her online escapades, she was used to seeing the naked female form in a variety of environments and situations. But with Tara, it felt as if she was discovering the pleasure of seeing it for the first time.
The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. She blew out a breath, hefted her gear over her shoulders and stepped off, heading for the apartment door. She set the gear down and reached for the door knob, only to find it turning on its own. She caught her breath as the door opened and the unmistakable shape of her roommate's body emerged from it.
Buffy was apparently as surprised to see Willow as Willow was to see Buffy, as she did a double take. "Will!"
Willow smiled sheepishly. "Hi, Buff. I didn't think you would be home so soon."
"Neither did I," Buffy admitted, running her fingers through her honey colored hair. "But Riley said I could take the rest of the day off since the beach wasn't as crowded as it's been the past couple of days. And a lifeguard doesn't get as many opportunities to take half a day off as some other people do, so I..." It was then that she noticed Willow's baggage and cocked an eyebrow in surprise. "Will?"
Willow felt her face turn the same shade of color as her hair. "Well, I thought that you would be out all day, so I decided to go. You know, I thought that you would be back by the time I was finished, so I didn't really see..."
"That's no excuse, Will," Buffy interrupted. "I know you're not as experienced as I am when it comes to diving, but even that doesn't excuse the fact that you should know better than to dive alone. You should always have someone with you, just in case something happens that you couldn't anticipate."
Willow kept quiet as her best friend admonished her. She was right, of course. And what made the situation worse for her was that she couldn't tell Buffy why she had gone alone in the first place. She was certain that she would freak out, or at least not believe her.
"I know, Buff," she said. "I was...stupid."
Buffy's face softened somewhat, her lips slightly turning in a small smile. "Don't say that, Will. You're one of the smartest people I know. You just need to be careful and have someone with you. You never know what could happen."
"Actually, I have a pretty good idea," Willow thought to herself, an image of Tara once again forming in her mind's eye.
Buffy reached for one of the bags containing Willow's gear. "Come on, let me help you get that stuff inside."
Several minutes later, Willow was sitting on the couch, a cup of hot chocolate in hand. Her thoughts continued to drift back to her encounter with Tara. No matter how hard she tried, the image of that perfect female form continued to coalesce in her brain.
She sighed, wishing that Buffy had stayed to talk to her, but she had decided to go down to the pool to work on her breath holding exercises. She had said that she wanted to improve her technique so that she didn't suddenly run out of air whenever she was in the ocean for long periods of time rescuing drowning victims. Of course, Buffy invited her to come too, thinking that she would enjoy herself. But Willow had decided to stay, saying that she had enough water fun for one day.
She wondered why she felt so afraid that she had been caught with her dive gear, because she knew it had nothing to do with her love of the water. After all, she made no real effort to keep it a secret from Buffy. But there were facets of her fascination she thought she could never share. Of course, as one of many lifeguards at the nearby beach, Buffy was as comfortable and at ease in the water as she was. But Willow couldn't bring herself to talk to anyone about what she felt when she was in the water. Not even her best friend.
"I wonder, though," she thought. "I mean, Buffy's a big water fan. Maybe she...I don't know. Maybe I should find out. But how could I ask her that? 'Hello, Buffy? Ever play with yourself in the ocean?' Bet she'd give me one of her patented 'what the hell' stares and toss me out on my rear."
Willow sighed again and placed the cup down on the table, shifting her weight as she moved her feet to rest beside it. As she settled into her new position, her thoughts once again turned to Tara. What was it that made even the most fleeting thought Willow had about her something to look forward to as others looked forward to the morning sunlight or a fresh cup of coffee?
She figured the only way to find out was to fall back on an old habit: good old fashioned research.
Willow sat up and moved to the nearby computer. As she turned it on and waited for it boot up, she thought about what made Tara different than the mermaids she was used to seeing. "Well, for starters, she has legs," she thought. "And what a set of legs. Wow. They just went on forever and....The frilly heck?! Where did that come from?!"
As the login screen appeared on the monitor, Willow typed in her name and password, thankful that Buffy had agreed to put separate accounts on it when they bought it. It made keeping things she didn't want her roommate to find out about easier than having to delete the contents of the cookies and history folders every time she used it.
The desktop appeared and Willow dragged the mouse over to the Internet icon. Double clicking on it, she watched as the web page loaded up. Moving the mouse over to the Favorites tab, she dragged the icon down to the folder containing the aquaphilia- related websites she had discovered over the years. One of them, the first she had found shortly after her pool experience and had checked nearly every day following, was devoted to mermaids. She had found other websites since that broadened and expanded her horizons, but she kept that one bookmarked.
Until now, she couldn't figure out why. But she figured that now was the time to pay it a long overdue visit.
Clicking the link, Willow watched as the page appeared on the monitor. The dominant picture of the website featured a mermaid with long flowing red hair and an ample chest laying on a series of rocks, her scaled tail slightly upraised and swinging in the breeze. On her face was a smile that could melt the heart of anyone who looked at her. It had certainly melted Willow's the moment she laid eyes on it. In fact, with the red hair and killer smile, she often had wondered if that she was that mermaid in a previous life and had captured her image for all the world to see. The site also had a section devoted to the history of mermaids, which she moved the mouse icon to and clicked.
Willow absorbed the information contained within with interest, which included a rather interesting piece of information. The first mermaid myths had been born out of an old legend where an ancient goddess that had taken on the attributes of a fish after killing a mortal whom she had fallen in love. That particular passage made Willow pause, as it was somewhat similar to the situation that she had found herself in. She had been near death, but was saved by Tara. It made Willow wonder even more about her strengthening emotional connection to her rescuer.
In addition, the site also mentioned the role that the mermaid had played in popular culture. The most obvious one was, of course, "The Little Mermaid". Willow smiled as she recalled the many Saturday afternoons that she had spent watching Ariel swim through the ocean in search of her one true love. She let out a sigh. Ever since she had discovered her dual nature of being a lover of the water and the female form, she had often pretended that she could be like Ariel, swimming through the ocean and looking for someone to love. Getting certified as a diver was the closest she could get to feeling that, and the fact that she did it without her parent's knowledge or acceptance made her feel isolated. Being friends with Buffy had blunted that somewhat, but the fact that she never explained to her just what it was about the water that made her feel the way that it did meant that she was never as comfortable about herself and her hobby as she would have liked.
Willow knew that their love of the water was mutual. What set them apart was how specific their love went. While Buffy was drawn to the water out of a desire for exploration and to save lives, Willow was more sexually charged about all of its aspects. To her, there was nothing more exciting than swimming in a lake or ocean on a quiet Saturday morning or sitting at the bottom of a swimming pool and bringing herself to climax the likes of which she had never felt before. And to her, there was no difference between the two.
Willow thoughts turned ever so briefly from Tara to one of the times that she and Buffy had decided to go diving together. It had been two years ago when Buffy had first gotten the lifeguard job and had decided to celebrate by joining some of the other lifeguards on an open water dive the following weekend. After much cajoling, Willow had decided to go with her, mostly because of her desire not to bring Buffy down from the emotional high she was on about getting the job.
She remembered how excited Buffy had been that day. The prospect of spending the day in the water was clearly something that she had been looking forward too. Willow knew from high school how much Buffy enjoyed the water, but that had been the first time that she had known how personal she felt about it. Buffy had told Willow afterward how much of a thrill it had been to be in the water with others who shared their passion and love for the aquatic life. Willow couldn't help but agree with her, even though she knew that they were on two completely different tracks.
Shutting down the computer and moving to close the window, Willow stepped to the table and picked up the glass of hot chocolate, finishing off the last of it in one sip. As the liquid traveled down her throat, she felt the warmth pass through her body, revitalizing her after her ordeal. As much as it stimulated her senses, it was nothing compared to whatever magical spell Tara had done to bring her back to the land of the living.
Willow's brow creased in thought, wondering why her thoughts continued to drift back to Tara when thinking about even the most inconsequential things. It made her think about her sanity. People who spent time obsessing about a single thing were never considered to be of sound mental health. Then again, there were things that one could focus on that could be of a positive nature to one's emotional well being. And Willow quickly realized that Tara would end up becoming something that would make her feel a whole lot better. Not only about what had happened, but also about herself and her secrets. Willow didn't know how she knew, but she felt like she could open up to Tara about her life in ways that she couldn't to anyone else.
After washing the cup and placing it back in the cupboard, Willow moved to her bedroom, lying down on the queen sized mattress and stretching her arms and legs out as far as they would go. Bending her wrists and ankles and flexing her toes and fingers, she realized that knowing how good it felt to move her extremities helped a great deal to alleviate her dread at having almost died.
As Willow closed her eyes, her thoughts suddenly shifted from Tara to what she had done earlier today. She had read a lot of stories on the Internet that tended to glamorize sexual experiences like hers. But reading about something and experiencing it yourself were two completely different things. And she knew that, despite having the most powerful underwater orgasm she ever had, it also nearly led to her death.
Willow felt conflicted about the situation. It was unlike anything she had experienced before, and she most definitely wanted to experience it again. But not when it meant nearly killing herself. Perhaps, with Tara...
The thought snapped Willow's eyes open. She wasn't seriously thinking about this, was she? Making love to someone like Tara? Someone who, despite her burgeoning feelings and curiosity, was as much an alien to her as she was to Tara? Besides, she didn't even know if Tara felt the same way. She had seemed so upset when she said that she had to leave, but that could have meant anything.
Willow let out a yawn, and realized that these mysteries would have to wait. She was too tired right now to think about anything. She sat up and took off her tank top, exposing her chest to the chilled air around her. She followed this by unbuttoning her jeans and slipping her legs through them, gathering them up and placing them down on the floor beside the bed.
As Willow moved to get under the sheets, she took a moment to glance down at her body, clad in a matching cotton bra and panty set. She normally kept them on when she went to sleep in addition to an undershirt on the odd night that she figured she would engage in what Buffy so eloquently dubbed "fridge bingeing". Sleeping in the nude was usually the last thing she had on her mind. But after a day full of risky actions on her part and surprising discoveries, what was the harm of doing one more potentially silly thing?
After all, she figured, it wasn't like it would kill her or anything.
Willow stood up and reached behind her back, her fingers working on the clasp holding the cotton bra she wore in place. After several seconds, she had the undergarment unhooked. Pulling the straps down and working her arms through them, she placed it on the floor near her nightstand. Her fingers then drifted to the waistband of her panties. Slowly tugging them down her legs and over her feet, she dropped them on the floor near the nightstand as well.
Willow sat down on the bed as exposed as the day God made her, the cool air breezing through the nearby window running across her body sending a spasm through her spine and nervous system. She couldn't help but admit that it was quite an arousing feeling. Slipping between the sheets, she shifted her weight in order to get comfortable. All the while, she fought the building urge to close her eyes and drift to sleep. She wanted to be comfortable when she fell asleep, otherwise she would wake up more cranky than she usually did.
Her efforts were interrupted when an image formed in the darkness of her mind. Willow was not overly surprised to find that it was the gloriously nude form of Tara, lying on the rocks of the cavern where she had been brought back to consciousness. Her arms were tucked behind her head, the scales on which highlighted the crystal blue of her eyes. Both sparkled with an intensity and passion that rivaled the stars themselves.
What drew her the most, however, was the smile on Tara's lips. That crooked almost half smile caused Willow's stomach to do flip-flops, zigzags, barrel rolls and every other type of movement possible. Just one look at that quirky smile made her weak enough to lower her defenses and have the need to sleep overpower her desire to remain awake.
With a final yawn, Willow closed her eyes and allowed herself to be sent off on her nightly journey to an euphoric state of bliss.
As easily as the sea water plankton drifted in the ocean currents, so too did Tara's mind drift back to her encounter with Willow. It certainly had been a life-altering change for her. But as much as she felt excited about having met and struck up an apparent friendship with a human, it also gave her pause. She had used magic to help Willow, and by doing so had broken one of the cardinal rules that she had been taught while growing up. Tara kept telling herself that it had been the right thing to do. Regardless of how her people felt about humans, she just could not allow her to die, especially since Willow had become trapped and could not find her way out on her own.
That too had given her much to think about. If Willow had gotten lost on her own, it would be easier for Tara to justify her actions. But she had been responsible for putting Willow in danger in the first place. And that, more than anything else, made how she felt conflicted. She was told to distrust and leave humans alone, believing them to be a disease that would infest the ocean. And yet, she could not see how damaging they, and Willow in particular, could be to their society. If anything, her actions made Tara believe that she was born to live her life in the ocean.
Tara's thoughts turned briefly towards how magic had come to exist for the mermaids. It certainly was a rare talent, and there were few not only in her own clan but throughout the entire mermaid race that could wield the power that she could. Even those few would never fully realize the untapped potential that they possessed. Those clans whose members carried the potential for magical talent also had a mage who taught those few adepts how to use their craft for the betterment of the ocean.
Tara had often questioned what "betterment of the ocean" meant. Obviously it meant preserving the purity of the ocean as much as could be possible, but how did it apply to others? Mermaids often feasted on the fish that they shared the ocean with. Clearly they were not above the need to preserve the integrity of the clans. And what of humans? That was a question she had long thought about, ever since she first learned that they often came beneath the surface of the ocean. They shared obvious qualities, such as a family structure and a need to explore, but there was nothing that signified a lasting connection between the two.
She herself had no real connections. Ever since the death of her mother, Tara had been raised by her father, who had disowned her when she was twenty years old because she reminded him too much of the woman who had been his wife. Tara was not overly sad, as he had not treated her well even before her the death of the woman he claimed to love. Since that time, Baji, the elder Mage of her clan, had been responsible for her upbringing. She treated Tara in every way much like her own child, looking out for Tara's best interests, making sure that she was needed, comforted her in times of woe and provided a shoulder to cry on. In addition, she also taught her the fundamentals of magic and how every incident had a consequence on the ocean around them. Or, as Baji had put it, "every stone thrown in the ocean, even in the most inconsequential ways, affects the world around it."
One of the lessons she had taught Tara was that she should never use the Craft on humans. She knew that Baji was one of the few in the clan who held no ill will towards the surface dwellers and made no secret of it, which had caused her to become the object of suspicion and ridicule. But she also knew that it would be dangerous to approach them and make them aware of the mermaid presence in the ocean, as it had the potential to bring down disaster on them all. That was a point that she had driven home to Tara on many occasions.
It was because she knew that Baji would understand what she did that Tara traveled to her now, in order to seek the guidance and comfort that Tara knew she could not provide herself.
Tara's thoughts turned once again to Willow, and she found herself thinking how beautiful she looked. Her red hair looked long, but compared to hers, was rather short. Willow's face was, even in her unconscious state, a sight to behold. As for the rest of her body, it was certainly attractive, even if it was…different. It frightened Tara that she found herself attracted to Willow, even on a subconscious level.
She had to be comforted. And she knew that there was only one person who could ease her mind.
On the outskirts of her clan's colony was a makeshift dwelling composed of several large stones supporting a flat disc that served as the roof of the structure, the whole of which thrummed with the magic that was holding it together against the ocean current. This was where Baji lived when she wasn't required by tradition to participate in the affairs of the clan. Tara was one of the select few who could come to her private sanctum without fear of reprisal.
Tara found Baji meditating outside the small hut. The long silver hair that was her most prominent feature flowed from her head out into the ocean in all directions. Her legs were crossed and she was humming a chant that Tara knew was meant to cleanse the spirit and revitalize her soul. The fact that it was so similar to what she had done to Willow made her ill at ease, as if the one person who could understand her already knew why she was coming.
As Baji's eyes opened, Tara grew relieved as the older mermaid's face broke out in surprise, signifying that she had not been aware of her approach. "Tara. My dear, sweet child. How are you?"
"Fine, Master Healer," Tara responded in the way that was proper to address someone of Baji's standing. Although she was rather unconventional, she still held onto the basic traditions of her clan, and she didn't want to be disrespectful.
Baji smiled. "Please, Tara. There is no need to be so formal. I know it is in your nature. But out here, where it is just the two of us, let us drop tradition, if only for a little while."
Tara sighed as she kicked her feet to approach Baji as the elder mermaid moved to sit down in a more comfortable position. "Speak, child. I sense that something troubles you."
Tara knew that she couldn't try to keep what she had done a secret, especially not from Baji. So she told the elder mermaid everything. How she had encountered Willow, how she had endangered her life, how she had brought her back and the promise Willow had made to come back. Despite this, however, she did keep from Baji the fact that she was beginning to feel something for Willow. Tara didn't know how long she could, but she figured that it would be for the best to keep it quiet as long as she could until she had a chance to sort it out for herself.
As Tara finished her tale, she looked into Baji's face, and was not at all surprised to find her looking back at her with a disappointed expression. "Tara, I've told you before…"
"I know, I know," Tara sighed, shifting rather uncomfortably as her best friend and teacher began the disciplinarian speech that she had been expecting. The fact that she knew that it was coming made it all the more difficult to endure. "But I couldn't help it. I was curious about her. You know how I am. I tend to get rather…possessive about that which I find curious. And I nearly caused her to die! I had to do something to help her. I owed it to myself to make sure that she lived…and that I…"
Tara trailed off and sniffled, fighting and losing the battle to keep herself from crying. The emotional way she said those words was mainly due to her attraction to Willow, which would not let anyone, not even the one she respected most, speak any ill will of her. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to look at Baji, whose face had softened somewhat, no longer looking at her with disapproving eyes.
"I know how you feel, Tara," she said, her tone of voice telling Tara that she did indeed understand what it was that Tara was going through, and not simply saying that it would be better for her own comfort. "I know that you feel that we are unnaturally cruel to the humans, and that you wish to prove yourself better than those who feel that way. But you should know that to interfere with the affairs of humans directly."
Tara held her head, accepting the mild dressing down. She wasn't aware of which incident of interference Baji was referring to, but she had the feeling that it didn't matter. "Yes."
"And do you know why?"
Tara nodded as Baji held out her hand, palm facing forward. A light began to shine from the center of the palm, growing slowly as she began to move her hand, using the light to transform the water in front of her into a reflective surface upon which played one of the many stories she had been taught to convey in this manner.
The story of how humans and mermaids had come to separate.
Baji began to narrate the story being shown out in front of them. "A long time ago, child, there was a human male who traveled into our underwater kingdom. Most of our clan was indifferent to the intrusion, with the exception of one."
The image of a beautiful mermaid appeared a perfect vision of loveliness with skin bronzed by the sun and shoulder length brunette hair. Unlike either Tara or Baji, this mermaid had a tail, which was covered in beautiful green and purple scales.
"Lorelei was the mother," Baji continued. "The first. The one who gave birth to our race as it exists today. She fell in love with the human. And, in a desire to learn more about him, performed the Spell of Transformation."
Tara watched as Lorelei began to chant a spell. She recognized several of the incantations, but was unfamiliar with much of the spoken word, most likely being an archaic form of language she didn't understand. Tara watched in astonishment as concentric rings appeared and slowly enveloped Lorelei's tail until it was replaced by two powerfully muscled legs. Tara also noted that the scales from her tail were now sprouted from various areas on her body, including heavy concentrations on her forehead and feet.
"Yes, Tara," Baji said as she noticed Tara's shocked expression. "She became half human, retaining all of her aquatic tendencies, but appeared in all other aspects to be human. It was then that she then set out to meet this male, encountering him near the Forbidden Cave."
Tara stared in amazement. She had always wondered what incident caused the intense distrust between mermaid and human, and she knew that it had to do with that cave. But what connection could it possibly share?
Then it hit her. There could be only one answer. There was only one thing that could irrevocably alter the balance of the sea.
"She didn't…"
"I'm afraid so."
The reflective surface once again showed the nude body of Lorelei, this time with the equally nude form of a human male with short dark hair, a beard and a powerful build. And the two…
Tara gasped. She had known that it was coming, and had done her best to be mentally prepared for it. But hearing about an incident and actually seeing it occur were two separate things. She realized that the pair must have been deeply in love for them to have committed that action. Tara quietly sympathized with them, knowing how it felt to love someone who was not her own kind.
Baji continued her narrative. "When the Elders found out, they were furious. They assumed that the human had come from the surface to corrupt us. The fact that one of their own could so easily be taken in under his charms showed how dangerous he could be. So the next time he came underwater, the Elders ordered their strongest warriors to…"
Baji fell silent, and Tara nodded in understanding, her eyes a mixture of deep thought and profound sadness. The Elders had seen the human as a contaminant and feared that he was merely the first of a supposed invasion from above, so they had killed him. It made her sick to her stomach. The pair was obviously in love, and could have been the first step in a successful merging of their divergent worlds. And their love had been repaid by those who could have accepted it with nothing but suspicion, fear and outright hatred, even to the point where they had been forced to kill, all in the name of preserving their way of life.
It made her ill. The Elders preached not to upset the delicate balance of the sea, but saw no qualms about doing it if it meant preserving their secrets. Could they not understand that in order to survive, all things must live in harmony?
"What happened to Lorelei?"
Baji's eyes grew said. "It was felt that her acts warranted her banishment from the clan. And in order to ensure that she could never do again what she had done, the Elders arranged for her to be killed. Unfortunately, there were…complications."
"Complications?"
Baji pointed to the reflective surface, which was now showing an image of Lorelei, whose appearance no longer matched the strong nubile aquatic beauty that Tara had first seen, now appearing instead to be very much with child.
"The Elders decided that they could not harm Lorelei for fear of harming the child. They decreed that, though born through illicit circumstances, the child was an innocent in the whole affair. So the Elders declared that Lorelei was allowed to live only until the child was born. After which, in order to hide the child's birthright, she was immediately put to death."
"But how did they explain his heritage to him?" Tara asked. "They could not keep such a secret from him."
Baji's head tilted slightly. "Indeed, Tara. But they could not tell it of the circumstances of its birth. Therefore, the Elders enacted the Spell of Transformation on our entire clan, remaking all of us in the image of that which we now despised the most."
Tara couldn't believe it. Understanding finally hit her brain like the crest of a wave. Despite all that they had done, an apparent contaminant had been introduced into their society, and in order to keep it secret, the entire clan underwent a dramatic change into that which they had hoped to keep buried forever. No wonder they came to loathe humanity.
"And…and that's why…" She paused as a sudden thought struck her. Her mother had died under mysterious circumstances after preaching that the dangers of the Forbidden Cave were little more than lies. Her desire to show this to the clan and her eventual murder seemed less than coincidental. "Did…did…did they also…kill my moth…?"
"I do not know," Baji sighed. "Your mother was an intensely private individual. She did not share to me all of her secrets. I would not put it past her, however. She had a curious streak about her." Baji gave a soft smile. "One that you seem to share."
Tara returned the smile. Her teacher's approval remained unspoken, but it was indeed present. It meant that she was free to explore her feeling for Willow without regret. "So you wouldn't be upset if I went…if she came back…"
"No, Tara," Baji replied. "You are old enough to make these kind of suggestions for yourself. I shall not pretend that I can tell you not to see this human again and expect you to follow my wishes. If you wish to see her again, that is up to you." She gestured with her hand, and the reflective surface disappeared, changing back into water. "It is late, child. Perhaps you should return home."
Tara nodded and got up as Baji got up from her cross legged position and moved to swim inside her private cave. As she reached the entrance, she turned to face Tara. "But I would suggest that you tell her about your involvement in her near death experience. It is not a good thing to keep secrets from other people. Not even humans."
Tara watched with growing sadness as Baji retreated into her home. Her friend had effectively killed the elated feelings she had. Baji told her that she could make the decision to see Willow again on her own without fear of her reprisal, but at the cost of having to tell Willow that she had accidentally killed her. It did not set well with her, as she didn't know how Willow would react if she realized that the reason for her salvation was also the reason for her near death experience. And what if others were to find out? Not all of her clan was as accepting of humans as Baji was, and she couldn't bear the mark of being branded a human lover.
As much as Tara knew it would be a problem, she also knew it was one that was not likely to happen. For all she knew, Willow was not coming back, and she merely said that in order to get away from her.
Still…the kiss…and the promise…perhaps there could be happiness there. Tara owed it to herself to try and find out, if for no other reason than to soothe her conscience. And she owed it to Lorelei, who had once had a chance to merge the two races. If she could do this, she could bring about a whole new change in their society.
And Tara could finally be with someone who shared her passions. There was indeed something about Willow told her that she was someone who was as like minded as she was: respectful, kind, courteous and gentle to everyone. Her activities before the incident in the cave also indicated that she held a special kind of love for the water, one that gave Tara hope that Willow would return to her.
Turning around, Tara began to swim home, knowing that Willow would be very much on her mind the rest of the night. And perhaps, just perhaps, for a long time to come.
Willow was underwater, wearing neither diving equipment nor clothing. She was also drowning, thrown overboard by some mysterious assailants for no obvious reason other than to gain some sort of sick pleasure in watching her struggle and drown. She tried to free her wrists, which were chained together and to the ship's anchor, but had no luck in loosening their death grip. Her lungs burned as she struggled to hold her breath. She knew that she couldn't hold on forever, and that she was going to die.
And suddenly, from the murky depths of the sea, a figure emerged.
Continuing to struggle to hold her breath, Willow saw the shape move towards her, transforming into a gloriously beautiful woman with long blonde hair and ocean blue eyes that, even now, tinged with fear.
It was Tara.
Thankful that someone was coming to her rescue, Willow began to moan and jerk her head, attempting to tell Tara of her predicament and to release her. The act caused Willow to involuntarily blow a burst of air directly into Tara's face. This startled her rescuer for a moment, but then she moved to one side and proceeded to work on the chains, trying to force them open.
As Tara did this, Willow could feel the energy slowly seep out of her body, knowing that her struggling had expended her a great deal. She could no longer fight the urge to breathe, and so she did. The act caused her to convulse as a large amount of water traveled down her throat. She spasmed, closed her eyes and began to gag…
And felt a pressure on her lips, one that caused the pain in her chest to ease. She opened her eyes…
And found Tara's face in front of her again, delivering a deep, thorough and emotional kiss.
Willow was surprised by this, as she had thought that Tara would be freeing her. What she was even more surprised to discover was that her drowning spasms began to cease, the pressure on her chest and lungs easing and her mind growing clearer.
Willow took a breath, and was surprised to find her lungs filling with oxygen. She looked at Tara, who was floating in front of her, as if waiting for something.
She gave the only response she could think of. "Thank you," she mouthed.
Tara smiled, then raised one scale covered finger to point at her right eye, then brought her arms up to her chest. She finished her movements by pointing at Willow, then swimming back to finish untying Willow from her prison.
Willow had understood at once what it was that Tara had told her.
"I love you, too…"
Through the sheets, Willow could feel the early morning sunrise wash over her with the cleansing action of the midmorning tide. Still, she was not completely ready to wake up from her state of unconsciousness; the images that had been playing across her mind's eye too temping to let slip away without a challenge.
But, as she opened her eyes, they did.
Sitting up, Willow turned to look out the window. The sun was rising in the sky, but with the ocean so close by, it was not as humid as she thought it would be. The street was relatively clear now, but by midday, they would most likely be filled with tourists.
"Well," she thought. "Time to get up and join the real world."
Untangling herself from the wadded sheets, she got up and headed for the shower, taking the time to wrap a robe around herself and tie the sash. With the possibility of being spotted by Buffy, the time for casual nudity was, rather sadly, over.
Ten minutes later, Willow emerged from the bathroom, still wearing the robe, though she now wore a fresh pair of underwear underneath it. After she had something to eat, she would get dressed. Heading into the kitchen, she prepared to make some breakfast and paused as she noticed a note taped to the fridge door.
Will,
I've gone to work. Drop by if you're not too busy.
Buffy
Willow sighed as she took out the milk and put the container on the counter. Should she take Buffy up on her offer? It wasn't like she had a great deal to do, she figured. And perhaps it would help to clear her head in regards to Tara to be around others, especially at the ocean. It was too public a place to get away with thinking…
Willow paused, as she couldn't quite explain what exactly it was she was thinking about. Ever since she discovered this side of herself, she often had erotic dreams of that nature. She always figured that it was a means of playing out her private fantasies in a way that neither endangered her life nor let her secret out, but this was the first time it had affected her as deeply as it had. It combined the two things about the previous day that were of vital importance: nearly drowning to death and meeting Tara.
As she took the cereal out of the cupboards, Willow couldn't help but think a lot about how the two were related somehow and briefly about, despite how absurd the notion was, she couldn't help but think how much it made sense. It certainly didn't help that Tara was the only one to be near her when she began her panic attack.
She slouched back into the chair, lost in her own thoughts. She quickly became aware of the fact that she was no longer as hungry as she thought she was, and moved to clean up.
Ten minutes later, after a trip to the dive shop to get her tank fixed, Willow was walking down the street towards the beach, the late morning temperature allowing her to wear a tank top, shorts and flip flops. She carried a folding chair in one hand and had her laptop case slung over her shoulder. Her body may have been on land, but her mind was far away, deep in the ocean depths, searching for the mysterious blonde to whom she owed her life.
Willow was beginning to wonder about her sanity. Even though what had happened was traumatic, she knew that, after such a time, most people would eventually look past what happened and continue with their lives. The fact that Tara was beginning to dominate her thoughts every waking moment, and even her non-waking moments, told her that she was beginning to obsess about her situation. Her mother would no doubt say that it was because of some "deep rooted desire to prove one's limits" or some other psychological technobabble.
She suddenly felt her feet go from slapping unforgiving concrete to shifting sand, and grimaced as the finely grained particles invaded the openness of her shoes. Slipping out of them and reaching down to pick them up, she walked over to the nearby lifeguard station, where she could easily spot the figure of her friend leaning against the wooden railing.
Willow couldn't help but smile. Buffy wasn't one that others would consider to be the "bubbly blonde" type, at least not in private where Willow was the only one to see her as she truly was. But when it came to her duties as part of Los Angeles' lifeguards, she completely radiated the image of the "All-American Girl", the red one piece lifeguard swimsuit and blonde hair evoking the well known image of Pamela Anderson from "Baywatch".
"At least Buffy doesn't have large…floatation devices," Willow thought, slightly blushing.
She also became aware of the fact that there was a second person with her friend, this one also clad in the one piece red swimsuit that signified her status as a lifeguard. But aside from that, she was the complete opposite of her best friend. Whereas Buffy was blonde, this person was a brunette. Whereas Buffy's eyes were unassuming and kind, the brunette's eyes were dark and mysterious. And while Buffy held herself in a position of quiet reservation, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice, this other person seemed more laid back and casual.
There was something about her that Willow didn't like.
The brunette whispered something to Buffy, who turned her head to look at Willow. "Hey, Will."
Willow waved back. "Hey." She glanced at the brunette. "Who's the newbie?"
Buffy turned back to the brunette. "Faith, this is Willow. Willow, Faith."
Faith's face broke out into a smile that, as far as Willow could tell, looked as forced as one could imagine. "Hey."
Willow did the polite thing and smiled back.
Buffy turned to look at Faith. "Mind keeping an eye on things for a bit?"
Faith shook her head. "No problem, B."
Buffy nodded and walked down the ramp, coming to stand beside Willow, who had put her laptop case down and was setting up the folding chair. "How you doing, Will?"
"Fine," Willow replied absently, sitting down and shifting her position in an attempt to get comfortable. "Looks like you've got someone new."
Buffy looked up to see Faith looking out into the ocean with a pair of binoculars. "Faith? Yeah, she's new. She just transferred here from Hermosa. She said she was looking to go where the action is, though if you ask me, she might want to be looking for another kind of action."
Willow creased her brow. "You mean…"
"If she's gay?" Buffy finished. "I don't know, Will. Why? You think she's cute?"
Willow wished her hair was longer than it was, as she could easily hide behind it. She was a rather secretive person, and didn't let other people know too much about her. But since she and Buffy were such good friends, being secretive wasn't much of an option. So she had decided, as their senior year was coming to an end, that she was sexually tilted in favor of the opposite sex.
Buffy was understandably shocked about this, but it passed rather quickly. Even more, she insisted on escorting Willow to both the prom and after-grad party. People had looked, and even more snickered, but Buffy didn't care. She was not prepared to let anyone ruin Willow's special night.
It pained Willow to think about it. Not only because she thought it made Buffy, (who was rather popular despite her tendency to hang around the social outcasts) the object of undeserved ridicule, but also because she had kept the fact that her aquaphilia fetish played a major role in the swerve her sexual slant had taken a secret. It made her friendship with Buffy one that was based on hiding her true self from the one person Willow believed could understand her the most, something that had broken her heart.
It was then that she became aware of the fact that Buffy was talking again, her gaze looking out at the ocean and the large waves that were beginning to form. "Looks pretty nasty out there today."
Willow shifted in the chair, her gaze fully locked on the sand below. "Yeah."
"Could see some killer surfing action," Buffy added, raising her hand to shield her eyes from the sun.
Willow absently nodded as she once again shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah."
Buffy turned to look at her best friend, hands firmly planted on hips and noting the lack of enthusiasm in Willow's voice. "And my suit's riding up my backside something fierce."
Willow nodded. "I guess."
"Will!"
Jerking her head up rather suddenly, and silently thanking herself for not suffering whiplash, she looked up into Buffy's face, her eyes slightly glazed over. "Yeah?"
Buffy decided that she had to choose her next words carefully. From how her best friend acted, she seemed rather hurt. No doubt this was due to her well meaning, though rather harsh, words of advice the previous day. The last thing she wanted was to upset Willow any further. "You're…not upset with me, are you? About last night, I mean."
Willow smiled softly. "No, Buff. I'm just…"
Buffy smirked. "Living life at ludicrous speed?"
"You know me," Willow quipped. "I'm as comfortable in space as I am under water."
Buffy chuckled, moving to sit down beside Willow as she looked out into the ocean with a sigh. "I couldn't be like that. Give me the cool relaxing ocean over the stress of life any day."
Willow's ears perked up at this, as it gave her some hope that she could talk to Buffy about her love of water. She tried to open her mouth to form the words, but couldn't bring herself to say anything. Aside from the fact that it would sound crazy, she wanted to keep what happened yesterday, especially Tara, a secret. She wasn't entirely sure why, though. All she knew was that she wanted Tara for herself, which in and of itself was surprising.
And yet, it made sense, after a fashion.
Looking up, she saw Faith talking into a walkie-talkie. The look on her face was grim, and it made Willow's stomach tense up.
Switching off the walkie-talkie, she shouted, "Hey, B! Riley wants to talk to you. He says it's important."
Buffy got up, thumbs moving to straighten out the bottom of her swimsuit. "Sorry, Will. Riley wouldn't call me in unless it was important. I can't stay and talk some more."
"It's OK, Buff," Willow sighed, hoping that the act didn't make her disappointment that obvious. "You've got your responsibilities. Can't have little old Willow drag down your day."
Buffy looked down at Willow, bringing her hand down to reach for Willow's chin, slowly raising it until her friend's eyes met hers. Once she was sure she had Willow's attention, she said, "Look, Will. I'll talk to Riley. I'll see if I can get him to get Faith to cover the rest of my shift so I can get off early. And tonight, we'll head out somewhere, just the two of us. We'll go do anything you want. And I'll pay for everything."
Willow looked confused. "Buff, don't do this just because you feel guilty about…"
"But that's not the reason," Buffy insisted. At Willow's glare, she muttered, "OK, it is. But can you blame me? I mean, we've been friends since high school. We've done everything you can imagine together. I'd kinda hate to let something like what happened last night drive a wedge between us."
Willow could see Buffy's point. Even in high school, the blonde had acted like a mother figure, standing up for those who couldn't stand up for themselves. That, along with her love of water, had made Willow think that her friend's career choice was not as surprising as some others made it out to be. And one of her enduring qualities was that whenever she thought she had done one of her friends wrong, she would go to whatever lengths were necessary in order to make that friend happy again.
Buffy was obviously feeling upset about what she had said last night, or if not that, then at least the manner in which she had sent it. It was something that she felt trapped under, and just wouldn't feel better until she found a way to make it up to them.
That left Willow with only one option. "Sure, Buff. Tonight it will be just us girls."
Buffy gave Willow her patented smile. "Great." She turned to head off down the beach. "I'll be back in a bit."
Willow watched her go for a moment before turning her gaze back out into the ocean, the waves cresting onto the beach with a thunderous roar before settling into a gentle trill. Her thoughts turned once again of Tara and how much she had enjoyed swimming in the ocean freely. It was a wonderful feeling. And there was something about doing it with Tara made it all the more special.
Reaching down to pick up her laptop case, Willow opened it and pulled out the machine. She figured she could get in some more research before Buffy came back. It would help to keep her mind off the stunning mermaid.
Though for how long, she couldn't quite tell.
Inside her private cave, Tara floated above the water, her fingers and toes flexing as she stretched out to her full length. She had been here ever since she had first awakened. That had been almost six hours ago. It didn't matter. Even if she had to wait six hours or six years, she would come here everyday and wait until she saw Willow again. She would find a way to explain everything to her.
Even if it meant telling her how much her rescuer was also responsible for nearly causing her to die.
Tara had been wondering how Willow would react to that information. From what she had told her, Willow had held herself responsible for what had happened, though she didn't indicate how exactly she had managed to do that. Tara didn't press about it, as she was too involved in keeping herself from blurting out her role in the act. As a human, Willow wasn't used to being in the ocean, and it pained Tara to know that she had been responsible for nearly killing her.
What Baji had said made it clear that in order for there to be an understanding between them, she would need to feel comfortable enough to tell Willow this. The irony of the situation was that Tara wanted very much for there to be an understanding between them, perhaps even more. And what better way was there to build an understanding between them than to build on their mutual passion: the ocean. It made perfect sense when she thought about it: Willow, a human who longed for the pleasuring touch and caress that only the ocean could bring, and herself, a child of the ocean whose heart was pure as the water itself. There had also been the slightest of hints of a mutual, if unspoken, attraction between the two, as evident by Willow's very passionate kiss. As she looked back on it now, Tara realized how much that kiss had forged the beginnings of a chain between them that would carry the pair through every danger the ocean could throw at them.
But if Tara told Willow about what happened, she would no doubt look at her in a different light. She had agonized over that thought many times in the previous day. Would Willow see Tara as some sort of siren, who lured humans with the promise of riches and love only to kill them when they dropped their guard? And what would happen if she thought that to be true? Would she try to gain some measure of revenge by harming her?
Tara realized the sad irony in that question, for any situation in which Willow was hurt would be more than enough to cause her emotional damage more harmful than if a harpoon had directly impacted against her heart.
Turning over onto her chest, she dove under the surface and attempting to clear her head by swimming laps along the bottom of the cave. After several minutes, however, she realized how futile the act was, gave up and surfaced once again, paddling over to nearby the rocks to sit down.
"Willow," she said, then spoke an incantation that she hoped would serve her well.
"Goddess, please give me the strength to find the courage I need to bare my soul to the one who deserves it most. God, please impart unto me the desire to do that which I know I must."
Then, to her surprise, she began to sing.
I was so alone
No one could understand me
Then she came from above
And made me clearly see
That there is one
To whom I can share
Everything that I am
And lay my soul bare
Goddess, let her return
Down here to the deep
And give me the strength
To ask for what I seek
And if it is your wish
For it not to be so
Then please do it quick
For I cannot bear to be without…
"Willow," she finished, her eyes closed and her voice a hushed whisper.
On the beach, Willow had been absently surfing the net when she suddenly found herself distracted. She looked up from the monitor of her laptop out into the ocean once again, noting that, unlike the last time she had done so, there was an unmistakable urge for her to put the machine in her lap down and head down into the waves in a rush. It took all of her willpower to keep herself rooted to the chair, but she was surprised by how badly she wanted to be in the water at that very moment.
"Tara," she whispered, shutting down the laptop and placing it back in its case. She then closed her eyes and took the beautiful blonde's lusciously nude body in her mind's eye once again.
That was all it took to make up her mind. She had to see Tara again. As soon as possible. There was no question about it. But how could she? Her tank was in the shop, and from what the shop clerk had said, it would take a week, perhaps more, for him to fix it.
Willow sighed, realizing that she would need to ask Buffy to borrow her tank. And that doing so would bring up the whole "not-diving-alone" talk that she wanted to avoid. Aside from the fact that she would have to explain her deepest secret, she wasn't sure how much her best friend would react to a clearly alien creature.
Opening her eyes, Willow decided that she would have to take the risk. She needed to see Tara again, and Buffy was her only means to accomplish that.
Willow sat across from Buffy, her eyes wandering around the room that they currently occupied. She took a moment to reflect on the day that they had. It had been special, she had to admit. Between Buffy's lifeguard duties and her frequent part time work, they didn't have wealth unlimited. But it was enough that they could get by without having to resort to handouts, usually leaving enough money to enjoy the odd casual expense one every few months. But with all the stuff they had done today, Willow figured that there weren't going to be any more "casual expenses" for a while and that she would need to take three part time jobs in order to cover the costs.
Their first destination after going home to change had been Santa Monica Place, where they had spent countless hours window shopping. Nothing seemed of particular interest, though they had spent an obscene amount of time at both Frederick's and Victoria's Secret trying on unmentionables of various styles and cuts. The only good that came from that was that it gave Willow a new appreciation of her own body, having tried on several pairs of lingerie that were definitely not meant for sleep and drew a polite whistle of approval from Buffy.
The next destination was the theatre, where they watched one of the weekend's new releases, a comedy called "Date Movie." Though she found the movie amusing at times, Willow had to wonder at why Buffy would choose a movie that was so…crude. The lead actress certainly made an effort to perform well despite the weak script and Willow couldn't deny how much she felt for her character in the situation she had found herself in.
And to be honest, that little dance number at the start would make it almost impossible for her to hear "Milkshake" on the radio again without giggling.
The final place the pair had decided to go was their current location: the Il Fornaio. It was a well known Italian restaurant well suited to both Willow's vegetarian lifestyle and Buffy's varied taste in world cuisine. Aside from ordering their meals and receiving their drinks, the pair hadn't done much talking.
Or rather, Willow hadn't done much talking. Buffy had been, in actual fact, going on and on for the past ten minutes about how much she was impressed by Faith. The comments stung Willow with the power of a bee sting and a slap across the face. She had kept her most precious secret hidden from her best friend for the better part of the last ten years, and bubbling in a pot of self made guilt because of it, while some stranger she had known for all of thirty seconds had just walked in out of nowhere and flaunted her (from what Buffy described) rather impressive water skills like it was no big deal. The blonde certainly knew how much Willow enjoyed the water, but had never gone out of her way to say that she was impressed by that. Add the fact that her secret sexual attraction to water was something she kept close to her heart, and she figured she had the right to be bitter about Faith, who from all appearances was everything Willow was not: carefree, charismatic and totally in control of her sexuality.
Willow knew that now was not the time to dwell on Buffy's questionable relationship, work-related or not, with the brunette. Buffy had said that Riley gave her permission to leave early and take the weekend off on the proviso that she come in and work double shifts the following weekend. That gave Willow a small opportunity in which to convince her best friend to lend her diving equipment so that she can go to see Tara.
"Buff," she said, cursing herself for interrupting her friend while she was talking, but then realizing that it was probably going to be the only way to get a word in edgewise. "I…I…I wanted to talk to you about…"
She paused, her nervousness causing her to stutter.
"What, Will?" Buffy prompted.
Willow couldn't help it. She clammed up and shifted uncomfortably. It must have been more noticeable than she intended, for the blonde gave her a curious look. "Come on, Will. You know that you can talk to me about anything."
"I know," Willow admitted. "But this is…kind of…"
"Personal?"
"Kinda sorta."
"Well, if you don't wanna tell me, I'll understand." Buffy sighed. "I just thought that, with everything we've been through, that there would be no secrets…"
"I met someone," Willow blurted. She hoped that the suddenness of the act wouldn't be too shocking.
Instead, the look that appeared on Buffy's face was one of happiness. "That's great, Will. Who is she? Where did you meet her? Oh, I have so many questions."
"I kinda figured that," Willow noted. "I met her…yesterday."
"Yesterday?" Buffy asked. "You mean…so you didn't go alone?"
Willow swallowed. This wasn't going to be easy, and she knew it. But it would do her good to say the truth, even if it was a heavily modified version. "No, Buffy. I went down alone."
"Then how…"
"She saved me."
"Saved you?"
It was then that Willow realized that she had backed herself into a corner, and that she had no choice but to fully expose her deepest secret to her best friend. Although she knew the possibility might come up, she was still unprepared to deal with it. "It won't be that bad," she thought. "After all, I came out of the closet to her, and she was all fine about it. Finey McFine Fine Fine, as a matter of fact. Well, not really at first. She had this look on her like she just stepped in dog poop and didn't want to look down. But she got over it. So she'll get over this, too. I hope. Please, let her get over this."
"I…almost drowned."
Buffy looked at her with a mixture of shock and confusion