Always Ascending

[Nihtgenga]

Retiaria chuckled at that. "Well, look on the bright side- you're hella pretty right now. If you're gonna be a girl... or a fish... half fish half girl? You're better off being a cute one than a minger, right? Not that anyone here don't look great like this..."

She took a moment to admire the sparkling scales on her tail before diving to follow Lou- and ending up flailing wildly, head down. It took a few tries before she could figure out how to properly move like this, and it still felt awkward to say the least, but she found if she sort of wiggled her tail it would propel her forwards, and leaning forwards would make her go down.

[Ordos]

It took a while of the changes to manifest, and Naethra felt... odd, afterward.  There was a jarring blop as her legs merged into her new tail and she went from standing to bobbing in the water.  Her clothes just... not quite vanished.  She had scales now, pale and faint, even more-so than she'd been while working at the library day in and day out. 

But, even more jarring than her vanished legs, sudden nudity, and new aquatic sensibilities... she felt and saw the glow above her eyes, dangling from a rod of flesh that sprouted from her forehead like an antennae.  The orb... it glowed.  She could feel it.  It was her spell focus, the arcane orb that had been gifted by her Fae Lady. 

She looked at her pale hand.  Somehow... she noted how Red had become a giant predator, Duran had become something large round and soft, Lou had become something... well, very pretty and colorful and feminine.  Either the potion was set to work off personality, or the transformation had been managed by the Fulsome Hostess.  Either way, she couldn't help but wonder what pale and with a glowy orb said about her.  She couldn't shake the feeling their Hostess was mocking her somehow. 

But, for the moment, she was half fish.  Or half fish-something.  And it looked like they'd be in the water for now.  Tentatively, she flexed her new tail (and grumbled when she realized she'd lost her own tiefling tail in the change, right after she'd just gotten that back, too).  She was shocked at how far she went with just a single push of her tail-fin.  She stopped, treading with her arms and adjusting herself upright, now in deeper water, and tried to brace herself for a dive.  She took a breath and tried to dunk her head under the waves... only for the increased buoyancy to keep her from getting more than a couple inches below the surface. 

Naethra steadied herself, brushing away her soaking (and now oddly pale) hair from her eyes, only for her crystaline lure to bobble with the motion.  She couldn't help but think someone, somewhere, was laughing at her just now.  Tentatively, she reached a hand to touch her prominent new addition while looking around to see if the others were adapting better than she was. 

[Ryuforce]

Duran watched as the last of her team has fully transformed into what would easily be such an odd set of water like creatures, all sticking out to be separate in one way or another. She sighed, while she looks bigger and tougher, she also looks well like dieting was never a concept at any point of her life and she could not help but wonder if this was some joke set up by this 'Lady' or that it was by pure dumb luck.

Regardless, there was no use complaining about it as she turns to follow Lou and Red deeper into the water. Wiggling, moving slowly, she tried to force her body forward by swinging the only limbs she had that remained. Her arms constantly swinging forward as if she was attempting to dig though a pile of sand that isn't even there. But as she struggles to get anywhere, her tail does start to turn as her body attempts to make use of it. Soon giving her some momentum as she tries to get use to her... sea legs.

[darlingng01]

Oric:

I take a moment to get used to my new... tiny body. My size certainly hasn't been very consistent recently. Regardless I keep myself cuddled up to Red, attempting to help her swim.

[Alice]

It takes a great deal of time but soon enough all of you are swimming in the same direction. Duran's slow powerful strokes propell her deeper even as Oric's frantic paddling keeps her along side. Right around the time that the light from the surface completely fades lights appear all around you.

Jellyfish glowing illuminating the depths.. Two trails of them leading downward deeper and deeper into the sea.

[Nihtgenga]

"Ooh, those are pretty..." Retiaria gasped as the first jellyfish came into view. "They kinda look like your head thingy, Naethra!"

Unless otherwise directed, she'd follow the Jellyfish Road.

[Ordos]

Even as she got used to her new form, Naethra still found this whole experienice disconcerting.  She felt so naked.  Which, well, she was.  She was acutely aware of her breasts and nipples free in the water, if thankfully reduced in size from her time as a plant.

As the light from above faded she grew more aware of her own orb.  Oddly, it didn't really seem to help her see, or illuminate the dark around them.  She felt very small in the vast, open waters.

And then she saw the jellyfish, illuminating the deeps.

"Those... that's beautiful," she murmured, taken by the ethereal glow.  "They look almost parralel... do you think that's natural?  Or..." she gasped, which felt profoundly odd underwater, "they look like lamp-posts!"

[Nihtgenga]

"I have no idea what pallarel is, but yeah. Most beautiful damn lamp posts I ever saw..." Retiaria agreed. She just wanted to stop and stare at them for a while, but... no, there was plenty more to see further down, she was sure.

[darlingng01]

Oric:

I look on at the glowing creatures with suspicion "It certainly feels like we're being guided somewhere... though I do think we should approach with caution. I know brightly coloured creatures tend to be poisonous, so I can only imagine what something that actively emits light would do to you."

(14 on a nature roll is hopefully enough to know about colour and poison)

[Ryuforce]

"Why would something poisonous be colorful?" She asks honestly curious to that statement but keeping it in mind as she keeps swimming with her strong heavy strokes. Still she follows them as judging by the lack of anything else but water, they might be leading them to where they are going.

[Nihtgenga]

"Dunno, but my guess is for food. The colours draw something in that tries to eat it, the eater gets killed by the poison, then the eater gets eaten." Retiaria nodded, pleased with her logic. "Yeah. That makes sense..."
She glanced at her skin, wondering if she herself was poisonous. Nah, she'd been 'eaten' plenty of times, and Aelia never got sick...

[Alice]

Oric knows the jellies are in fact poisonous.. if touched or eaten. As it is following them down below leads to what seems to be some manner of suspended platforms.. as you get closer, you see that they all give off a pleasant glow that suffuses the water around them. Buildings rise from them as merfolk swim between them. There are not signs so much as elaborate mosaics of coral and shells over doors. The glowing jellies and the platforms all seem to lead towards a an intimidating palace of large dark mineral on it's own floating platform.

[Ryuforce]

Duran swam closer but notice the platforms marked by coral and shells. She tilt her head but didn't stop moving towards said platforms, sticking to them rather then the jellyfish when Red points out that such colorful things, if poisoned, try to lure you into an attack. "I.. Think we are getting close? Maybe? Hard to see with everything else is just... water."

[Ordos]

Naethra pursed her lips.  She wasn't certain that's how animal biology worked... but she'd always preferred studying societies, histories, and magic, and as a result wasn't quite confident enough in her opinion to give it voice. 


And then they saw the city.

"Oh... oh my..." Naethra murmured, eyes wide, taking in as much of it as she could.  It was beautiful, but so alien.  And there were other people here!  She hadn't quite expected that, even when she saw the pathway.

"There are others, like us... do you think they were born this way?  Or changed, like us?"  She tried to peer, to take in details.  She was conscious of how vulnerable they were.  Here, in the water, they could be struck from any direction.  But...

"They haven't attacked us yet.  I think that's a good sign?"

[darlingng01]

Oric:

I feel even smaller as I look upon the city, pressing up close against my nearest ally so as not to get separated. "I don't think they're hostile... we should probably try and get one of them to speak with us. I get the feeling we should go to the big building, but finding out more about this place first seems like a good idea."