Tom leaned in closer to Wave, blushing heavily as he whispered as quietly as he could into her ear. “He thinks that we’d be having, well, sex, Wave…” Pulling back, he looked at her a bit sheepishly, shrugging.

Wave's expression evolved into a whole new layer of confusion as Shining found a convenient excuse to vacate, all the blushing stallion despite being married to one of the prettiest mares in the land. Wave watched him go, then looked back at Tom. "Why would we do that?"

“And… that would be a marked contrast with my wife,” Eric chuckled. “Though I’m amused at how fast you got the Prince to flee.” He busied his newly freed hands checking the contents of his backpack.

Bringing his knees up to his chest to cover himself, Tom couldn’t help but laugh, despite the burning blush on his face. “Wave? It’s a very common activity that married couples engage in, and those who aren’t married, too, for that matter. Humans have a tradition of after getting married, they tend to be very, physical with each other in an extremely intimate fashion for a time. Does that make sense?” he asked, hugging Wave with an arm, the other hand playing with her wet mane. “You look even better in your natural element, too, Wave,” Tom complimented her, figuring it was something that married folks did.

Wave pressed into the hug and wrapped her hooves around him in a return of the affection. Despite any confusion about actual sex, affection and cuddling were no strangers to her. "I think that's a pony thing, or maybe a human thing? I won't lay an egg, um…" She looked thoughtful and even confused after a moment. "I don't know. I haven't since I became a guardian."

“The fish parts continue a bit too far up the siren anatomy, then? Though…” Eric shook his head, “okay, any further conversation down that road is between you two. But I will say for humans at least, sexual pleasure is one of the things that helps bind us to our spouses, emotionally.”

“We’ll just have to add that to the list of things to look up about sirens then, Wave. It’s been a very long time, and you said it yourself that being a guardian had its own things to it. Who knows, perhaps trying to talk with your gods could help explain some things, too?” he offered up, hugging her close against those furry legs that were pressed against his chest, closing his eyes as he thought hard about trying to reach out to her gods. They were in water, after all, and that was their domain and everything, or so Tom assumed.

Wave looked downright embarrassed at the line of conversation. "No one came to me and wanted to be, you know, like that. I was 'the guardian', so romance and things didn't come up at all." She frowned a little and crossed her hooves. "And now that I think back on it, I haven't… done anything in so long, and I barely remember what it was in the first place, and I feel stupid about it."

Eric laughed a bit, light heartedly. "Can I tell you a secret? Nobody knows this stuff when they get started. Being two different species will make it even more awkward at first, but everyone's a little different anyways, and every couple has to sort it out themselves. Just take your time, communicate a lot, and give each other a lot of grace, and it'll work out. When you do finally get that alone time, that is."

Tom squeezed Wave a bit tighter in that hug, kissing her lightly for a moment. “Don’t worry, it’s something that, like Eric said, can be worked through in time. So long as you realize that I’m going to be awkward as hell about things…” The gears in his mind went to work, and an idea formed. “Do you think trying to reach out to your gods would give us any information we could use, Wave, or?”

Wave returned the kiss and squeezed in with her chosen partner as she gave Eric a dirty look. "I'm sure you know what you want to do to make it work with a mare. I don't have that advantage, er, with a stallion, of course." She nuzzled into Tom's neck. "I never tried that before. I always just did what they wanted me to do, protect their stuff."

“Hey, don’t bring me into this. I’m sure Tom is perfectly capable of figuring out what to try with you, when he sorts through his own hesitation,” Eric answered. “I would have suggested talking through some of this stuff before proposing, but I know you’re not one to wait on a decision, Wave.”

Weakly chuckling at Eric’s words, Tom faintly nodded. “Yeah, I probably should’ve said something myself, but… things should work out in time, I believe?” he turned his full attention back to Wave. “We’re in water right now, which is technically your gods’ domain. I’m pretty sure whatever you’re using to change me is divine in nature, which means it comes from them… using that, and being in the water, do you think that would let us reach out to them?” he offered up, running a hand through her mane.

“Oh! Tom’s turn to trying doing some Science!” Eric grinned.

Wave didn't know, and said as much. She lowered her hooves and swam back half a pace. "It couldn't hurt to try, I think? So long as we're polite about it. I don't remember any of them being very grumpy. The ponies that worshipped them were always smiling. They did have a mean streak though." She pointed at herself. "They picked me for a guardian."

“I think that means they’re smart and chose well more than them having a mean streak,” Tom reassured her with a smile, nodding slightly after a few moments. “I give you permission to go ahead and try it, maybe we can both talk to them if it works? Or, perhaps Eric can get wrapped up in things as well,” Tom remarked, glancing over to Eric for a moment. “Want to try and talk to some deities?” he lightly joked before turning towards Wave once more, arms outstretched for a hug.

Eric opened his mouth to comment, then closed it, looking decidedly thoughtful as he hmm’d to himself, mentally going over questions of whether it would be more or less likely to succeed, what changes if any might be applied to him, and whether or not he did in fact want to meet water deities.

Wave put her hooves even with the water and splashed a little. "Hey? Hey guys? Or girls? Um, damn, I'm terrible at this. I'm still your loyal servant! Please come talk with us? We mean that with all due respect and things. We just have a few questions, please?" She flashed her best winning smile at the tub in general. "I've been good?"

Tom couldn’t help but chuckle quietly at the display before him. It was, in all honesty, extremely cute as she splashed a bit, trying to summon them up by simply asking. “You’re very cute like that, Wave, but do you think it’ll work, simply asking them?” he asked, still with his back against the edge of the tub.

“I know when you last talked to them, when we were leaving the temple, you had just channeled divine power, energy, something like that. Which is what you’ve been using to change me, so I figured that link would make it even easier?” Tom remarked, shrugging his shoulders. “If they don’t come from your cute display, I’m still willing to try that.”

Eric sat up and watched intently, curious if anything would reveal itself. He barely bit back a suggestion for what exactly Wave could change, deciding to leave the previous topic of conversation unreferenced.

Wave nodded a little. "I was just kind of following my gut. I know I can draw out your pony, and I felt like I needed to do a few things, and say a few things back then. It was really important. I'm still sad we lost that tablet. I hope it made it back…" She sank into the water a few inches. "Come on! We said please! What more do you want?"

Wave's eyes suddenly filled with light as water spilled from her mouth like a fountain. "What do you want, ye who accompany the old guardian?" asked a voice that sounded ancient and female.

Freezing, Tom’s jaw opened a bit, shocked at how something so simple seemingly worked. Now that it did, he found himself a bit lost for words at first, coughing quietly to clear his throat before speaking up. “Um, greetings to you, god. We were looking for knowledge, both about Wave and a bit about yourselves, too?”

Wave looked frightened for her possession, with tears welling up in her confused, if light-filled, eyes. The water gushed in time with the words that forced out of her, and she seemed to be controlled as well as any puppet, with no volition on her part. "She is a guardian, not a priest. See how tormented she is to serve as our mouth. She is a siren, but so much more than that. You are a stranger, but becoming much more than that as well. Do you truly love our servant?"

Eric looked sympathetic at Wave’s plight, but kept silent, knowing this was Tom’s experiment.

Noticing Wave’s extreme discomfort, Tom heavily winced as he moved forward, hesitantly reaching out a hand, even as he was put on the spot by that question. Despite the indecision and personal doubts he had, there was really only one way to answer. “I… yes, I do, if not completely just yet, I do care about her a lot,” he shakily spoke, resting a hand on Wave’s shoulder, the other moving to wipe away those tears welling up.

"That is good. She is lost and adrift in a world that scarcely understands her, and that she does not even begin to comprehend. You think you are a stranger? You are, but you still have more than her. Protect her, and she will be always loyal. I will grant one question, and one boon, then you must find your own way." Wave's expression lightened as she said that. That sounded good!

Tom nodded, smiling at Wave a bit, still extremely off guard by the whole possession bit, but Wave’s comfort came first. And, speaking of, Tom slowly started asking his question. “Wave… seems to have forgotten a lot about herself, I would like to ask if you could tell me about sirens, for Wave’s sake, and mine as well.”

"That is not a question," countered the god-in-Wave. "Ask a specific question, stranger."

“Where,” Tom started, trying to figure out the best way to phrase his question, “is the best place to learn everything Wave and I need to know about Sirens?” he rephrased, both arms on Wave’s shoulders now.

The god's voice chortled softly, sputtering water from Wave's mouth. "There is an aged siren, who yearns for the life of youth, but her years have passed. Tell her the old ones demand her obedience, and she may yet yield the secrets of her kind. If you do not like that, you could seek a younger member, but they do not often dwell near land. See the old one at the docks of Baltimare, where she lives in uneasy peace with the ponies there. Now, your boon?"

Looking at Wave, Tom paused to consider his choices. This was, perhaps, the worst time to draw a blank, which is precisely what was going on at the moment. “I want to be able to better understand her so that I can protect her the best I can, but that is something that only time can make happen, I think,” he muttered in a rash of embarrassment, scratching the back of his neck with a hand.

The old goddess laughed at the indecision. "Do you want me to select? I doubt you would appreciate my taste. I have found my taste is not that of modern ponies, to say little of a stranger such as yourself." Wave's hooves were drawn downwards to brush against Tom's new hooves. "Though perhaps you will learn that?"

Wishing he could die of embarrassment at having a goddess literally laughing at him, he took a few deep breaths. “You chose Wave to be your guardian, did you not? I would have to say that your taste is quite good. Since I cannot decide, then…” Tom faintly nodded, despite the potentially loaded offer. “I’ll accept your selection, if Wave finds it in good taste. These haven’t been that bad, truthfully,” he finished, words quivering just a bit from nervousness, cheeks a stark red from the lingering embarrassment as he wiggled a hoof underwater.

Wave was set free long enough to shake her head. "No, don't let them do whatever they want." Her will was suppressed right afterwards with a soft giggle.

"She remembers some things. You, husband of a siren, a fitting boon for you. I would first grant you the gift of the sea, to know its embrace and welcome it as she does." Wave made a gesture at Tom by the god's will, and a powerful warping pressure was felt at his neck, pulling and folding as he grew gills rapidly and his lungs seemed to atrophy, making air feel stale in comparison.

“Oh crap,” Tom muttered as his eyes went wide at Wave’s warning, although it was entirely too late to do anything about it. His hands shot to his neck, feeling the odd structures that’d formed as his breathing seemed to shift a bit. Coughing from the sudden change, he shook his head in an attempt to clear it, that staleness rather off-putting. However, there was something of equal concern, with how things had been phrased. “First?” he slowly and hesitantly questioned, sliding deeper into the water until just his head was left peeking out, staring up at the goddess occupying Wave.

Wave seemed to rise from the water, her fins holding her up easily at the end of her tail and towering over the mortal that invoked her goddess. "Oh yes. There is much to be done. You are too clumsy for the waves." A sharp tingling turned into a strange euphoria as fins developed along his furry legs, becoming capable of moving him through the water easily. Little pops and bends announced the legs reforming to better suit an equine creature.

Tom’s eyes went crossed as what should have been painful and excruciating was warped into odd pleasure instead, and he found himself blinking a few moments later, head somewhat muddled. “I… what the hell?” he muttered, cowering slightly underneath the goddess that was seemingly literally standing on water by Wave’s tail, his hands running down both legs. “Fins?” he muttered in disbelief. “Okay, I think that’s more than good enough now, mmhmm, I’m good,” he quickly started stammering, trying to put an end to things before they progressed any further, and potentially more awkward at that.

Eric drank in the details, watching a true master at work. His experiments on Poppy had been as a beginner, but this was a goddess at work. The difference was not lost on him in the slightest.

Wave pointed a hoof that dripped with glowing water. "This is your last chance. Do you swear fealty to me? Will you be the priest she cannot be?"

Recalling Wave’s remarks of him becoming closer to her by serving the same gods she did, Tom wondered somewhere in the back of his mind if this is how she’d planned it on going, if he had decided to say yes. Tom found himself unable to speak, figuratively pissing his pants as a goddess essentially gave him an ultimatum, the last chance sounding extremely ominous. Finally, he found his voice and gave a reply, “Yes,” he shakily squeaked out, nodding again.

Wave's hooves moved in intricate ways as the waters of the tub rose up angrily and began to gather around Tom, lifting him up to match Wave before she came up higher, floating over the water. "You shall be my first then, and serve me and her equally. She is scared, but she also rejoices, for you surrender that frail life for a new one." Water suddenly crashed in on Tom, crushing the breath from his lungs, then somehow the blood from his insides. The tub turned a dark and murky red as that vital force was expunged from him, only to turn a sparkling cyan and flow back into him as he was set gently down in the dry tub. "Mark this day well."

Her presence vanished and Wave fell into the tub with a squeak. "Tom?! Are you OK?"

Tom fell into the now empty tub and was unmoving, very much in shock from becoming a goddess’ bitch as he lay there on his back, eyes blinking and chest rising and falling about the only signs of life for the moment. After a few seconds, he groaned, slowly stirring and bringing a hand to his forehead. “Let’s talk to a god, it’ll be a great idea… my ideas fucking blow,” he muttered, coughing a bit as he weakly lifted his head.

"I've had worse ideas," Eric mentioned. He was starting to look pale, sweat beading on his forehead and starting to rain down as the presence of blood overwhelmed him.

Next Chapter: 23 - She would Wear Pants, but has no Legs Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 23 Minutes