Statera *Chosen At Birth*

Chapter Eleven

She stopped to catch her breath while Daniel looked out into the crystalline blue water. There were specs of silver in it from the dipping sun. The sky above them was splattered with coral orange clouds outlined with golden bands.

"Time to change." She announced with her shirt turning into a bikini top and her already short shorts shrinking down into a bikini bottom. His jaw dropped in amazement as she changed her clothes once more like a chameleon changing colors. He looked down at his outfit helplessly needing help. She laughed, "Just try to imagine short." She instructed. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate.

He felt the jeans slowly creep up his leg after a great deal of effort. He paused when they got too high up his thigh and brought them down a little lower. After he stopped changing the length, he felt the material change so that the denim wouldn't weigh him down.

"Not bad for your first time." Isabel commented, but try not to hold your breath next time. That's a good way to pass out. She walked down to the water without waiting for Daniel to take off his shirt and shoes.

"What's that?" Daniel asked while they walked down the sandy shore, Daniel found it abnormally easy as the sand beneath the water was smooth and pleasant to walk on. The water was cold at first, but once he walked deep enough to cover his chest, he was fine. A dark figure loomed over them as they stood there in the water.

"It's just a Pegasus." Isabel stated as she swam around Daniel in circles.

"A Pegasus?" Daniel asked and then somebody popped up behind him after a gush of water rushed around his legs. He almost fell over. The two men looked at each other curiously.

"You don't know what a Pegasus it?" The blond man asked with his sea blue eyes studying him like he was disappointed. Daniel was nervous and was relieved when he saw Isabel swimming back over.

"He's a newcomer, everything is kind of new to him. Mythical creatures are extinct on Earth." She emphasized Earth so that he could get the hint. The man's demeanor changed dramatically and was more sympathetic.

"Ahh gotcha. I apologize, we haven't had a newcomer wash up in a while. I didn't see someone like you in the papers for the wash up list." Tyler turned to Isabel for an explanation.

"He didn't wash up in Austurias like most people." She had him hooked as he wanted to hear the rest of it, "When we found him, he was near the Zungali coast." He eyes went wide before his face winced like something had pinched him.

"Dang, that must not have been fun." He laughed nervously, "I'm Tyler by the way. One of the commanders of the Austurias merfolk." He announced while reaching out to shake Daniel's hand.

When Daniel reached out to shake his hand, he noticed something floating next to his leg. He felt the giant mass shift the water as the waves rolled by them, "What's that?" Daniel asked again like a child.

Tyler laughed when he realized what Daniel was talking about, "That's my fin." Daniel felt embarrassed at the dumb question since Tyler just announced that he was a merman.

"Sorry didn't mean to stare." Daniel apologized looking up at Isabel, who giggled. Tyler lifted his heavy tail out of the water with a grunt. Just by looking at the size of it, Daniel could tell that he struggled to keep it out of the water.

"You're fine, most newcomers find them interesting to look at before they get used to it." He brought his tail down causing the sand below them to move as the giant tail patted against the ocean floor. It looked like two, more flexible, legs bound together. It resembled a whale's tail with two tail flukes at the bottom and a dorsal fin at the base of Tyler's back.

"So, you resemble a whale?" Tyler confirmed with a slight nod taking no offense to the personal questions. He seemed to enjoy it instead.

"Yeah. My family inherited the typical blue whale style. Merfolk inherit shark, whale, dolphin, or fish tails. Depends on your aura, where you live, parents, or combination of everything." The shadow appeared over them once again. It seemed to be closing the circle around them as the Pegasus got lower and lower to the water.