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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Feb 4

♤ ー Hi! I'm still around. Life is just a little stressful at the moment... I'm doing my best to be back properly soon.

ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 19

ー with him down there... but as far as he was concerned, they've said all that had to be said.

No other words were needed anymore.

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 19

ー face so carefully. "I gave you a taste of what it's like to live as a man... and now... I want you to show me what it's like to live as one of yours."

Without warning, he submerged himself anew, pulling Caelus down with him this time around. He may not have been capable of communicating ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 19

ー it for hours.

Caelus's words were like a promise to his ears, honeyed and sweet and luring him in like an unsuspecting sailor that wanted nothing more than for them to be true.

"It sounds like everything I've ever wanted," he told him, leaning into those hands that cupped his ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 19

ー very same merman's wrists and knew that he'd found so much more than a potential cure in him.

"You really have a way with words. It's poetic," Aventurine laughed, the subtle but telling hiss in his voice returning now that he's revealed himself.

He could've listened to ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 19

ー to eat. He was as lost and vulnerable in the water as Caelus had been in his room before he'd brought him the tank.

...They've really come a long way since then, haven't they? He could recall sleeping with... well, his one eye open out of fear, but now he was holding onto the ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 19

ー scales on them, he would've marked himself as preyーeasy prey on top of it, because while he was capable of defending himself on land if he needed to, Aventurine's lack of experience in the water led to clumsy movements and no knowledge on how to hunt for something ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 19

"You know as well as I how people tend to react upon seeing these," he replied, looking down at his scales. "Pretending to be human was my only chance of survival... I couldn't go anywhere else."

With his legs that remained as they were except for the ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 18

ー transformation never came easily to him. Aventurine stared at his companion with wide eyes, his mouth parting, revealing sharp teeth and a forked tongue... but he didn't make a sound.

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 18

ー sharper and less elegant-looking than the merman's. The scales that were covering a good portion of his body were a lot more pleasant to look at. Glimmering in purple and blue hues, they were complimented by the colorful spectacle that already surrounded the two of them.

Adjusting to his ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 18

ー water.

What had been hidden beneath his clothes and eye-catching accessories during their first time underwater became much more apparent now that he wasn't wearing any of it.

Fins were starting to show on his head as well as his back, not unlike the ones Caelus had on his body, albeit ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 18

ー encouragement, he would've turned around and pretended that nothing ever happened... but he wanted to commit to what he's started. Aventurine was known for his boldness, after all.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and leaned forward, offering all of himself to the ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 18

ー least.

"Easy now," he told him. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, but I'm not nearly as home in the water as you are."

It showed itself in how tense his muscles wereー Aventurine's initial boldness was slowly but surely leaving him.

If it hadn't been for Caelus's presence and his ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 18

ー of his pain... and he wanted to keep it that way. Though there were signs that Aventurine wasn't of a sound mind, such as him hiding as soon as there was a possibility of rain, there was no point in divulging his every scar or the stories behind them.

...That's what he believed, at ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 18

ー this was whatーwhoーhe'd been born as.

"I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather share this with, either," Aventurine said with a smile, knowing it to be the understatement of the century.

Caelus was the first he's ever willingly shared this secret with. The merman didn't know the depth ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 18

ー and welcomed him... at least that's how he'd interpreted it in the past. With no one to confide in, he'd had to come to his own conclusions about many things concerning his... well... he really didn't want to think of it as a condition.

Conditions were something to be treated whereas ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 18

Caelus was right.

As Aventurine's form began to shift, so did the water temperature... or rather his perception of it.

The shivers that ran through his body soon ceased, replaced by a warm sensation. The water was recognizing him as one of its own ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 17

ー what all of this is really about...

ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 17

Good for her, really. He's meeting people that are deserving of a well-aimed punch on a regular basis... but alas, professionalism and all that.

The soda is her last chance to get him something cursed. Better make it count.

He'll be waiting at one of the corner tables, still wondering ー

Ariganara @luctussororis.bsky.social · Jan 8

-- making her way to the soda fountain, trying to debate on what to get him.

Should she just pick some random flavor? Some combined abomination?
Decisions, decisions...

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 17

A challenger has arrived.

"Ooh. I'm partial to spicy foods... may I try one of these?"

h𖦹tpot 🍜 @jiaoqiudearest.bsky.social · Jan 17

‍ ‍‍ ‍
These wings are not as spicy as you think, dear reader.
‍ ‍‍ ‍

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 17

ー that the merman cared much about these things, unbothered as he was about being seen without clothes, but...

...

"Cold," he uttered as he stepped into the water, feeling the familiar prickling sensation of his scales as they became visible on his legs.

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 17

ー it, the more he felt at ease with it, so he began to undress, starting with his shoes and his overcoat that he left on a nearby rock.

As his fingers moved to unbuckle his belt, he hesitated for a moment, realizing that Caelus's hadn't seen him nude before. Aventurine doubted ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 17

ー were feeding his paranoia.

But...

Why not? Why shouldn't he indulge in this chance to reconnect to a part of himself he's suppressed for so long? To willingly choose to shed his humanity rather than it happening due to something out of his control?

The more he thought about ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 17

ー widening. The colors that surrounded them were a beautiful sight, he could admit as much, but to lose his clothes and submerge himself...?

Without meaning to, he looked over his shoulder. It was highly unlikely that anyone followed them here, but even the slightest possibilities ー

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ᅠᅠ𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐒. @fortifiedwager.bsky.social · Jan 17

ー while he was falling asleep. The offer to accompany him was taken with a nod of his head, so the two of them walked for a while, leaving behind the lights of their camp and the snoring of the sleeping crew.

"You want me to swim...? Here?" Aventurine repeated after him, his eye ー

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