Nate had wanted to be a hero and indeed being part of the "people of the sea" sounded nice. Being a green brute must mean he'd be an orc and despite the young one in front of him being cute, he didn't wish to actually be one. They were very smart or pleasant. The potion with the moon must indicate being a werewolf and though strength pleased him, Nate knew that it was dangerous too, for him and for others. It would be problematic to be a hero then. As for the nectar, he wouldn't mind be a hottie but would it truly help him as a hero? Not necessarily... Being fast like a horse was very tempting but he was already fast. Would it mean that he would run fast or move fast? In combat, the latter would mean easy victories. But the glass of water contained a blessing. Now that meant luck and fast or not, misfortune could strike anytime. Plus, the 'people of the sea" must mean being a pirate. A pirate with luck. That was sure to offer tons of riches and adventures! Yes! That was the right choice!
"I choose the glass of water. The blessing of the people of the sea."
"A good choice, all in all," smiled the elf.
Nate gulped the potion. It did taste like water, except for a slight aftertaste. Finally! He would be a hero after all, roaming across the oceans and leading a great life of action.
"Enjoy your new life amongst the merpeople," said the elf with kindness. "You'll be blessed with much luck."
Nate was bewildered.
"Wait... Merpeople? I thought the potion referred to pirates!"
"Ah... No," said the elf, sounding really sorry for Nate. "Your assumption was wrong, although I can see the reasons for making such a mistake. After all, the descriptions aren't clear by design. No, you are to be reborn as a merboy."
"Reborn?!!?" exclaimed Nate, horrified.
"In a loving family, I assure you. And you'll be able to lead the life you've always wished for. Do not forget, you'll be blessed. You shall live fulfilled."
"No... I don't want to forget..."
"It will happen, unfortunately," said sadly the elf. "But being reborn amongst the merpeople will allow you to adjust infinitely better to your new life. And I am certain you shall make a new family very happy."
Nate fell to the floor and sensed his body being pressed slightly. Then his eyes blurred and shut. He lost consciousness right after, dreading what was to come and not knowing if realizing what was to come or not was a good thing.
Nate slowly became aware of his surroundings. He was swimming in a warm liquid but felt no need to breathe. He could not open his eyes and he doubted he would be able to see anything. The liquid didn't feel like water. His arms and hands could barely move, and his legs not at all. He managed to feel around him. He was encased, alarmingly, in a sort of pouch, warm and fleshy. This pouch seemed to change in position at times and he with it. There were also sounds. A steady drum-like sound and even snatches of conversation. Not that Nate could try to answer these people to tell them he was there, wherever he was. Slight pressures on the pouch, flat ones, could also be sensed at times, yet regularly. Also at regular intervals he could feel liquid and sweet nourishment coming to him. It made him feel content and drowsy, ready to return to his wonderful peaceful slumber. And extremely oddly, he felt the nourishment coming though his belly, and not his mouth. Where was he? What was he doing there? He decided to feel around his body. And why couldn't he feel his legs??? He touched his face. He was surprised at how thin his nose seemed to be and his head had thin wisps of hair alongside bony nubs and thin floating appendages. And he had tiny little slits on his neck. As for its belly, a cord was attached to it! And waist down, it was worse: his legs just didn't exist anymore! Replaced by a single appendage that felt like a tail. A fish tail with a plumy end. How...? And then he remembered. The elf's slip-up and his choice. How he had assumed wrong. He was to be reborn as a merboy! This explained where he was! In the womb of a merwoman! The idea of being stuck in a womb, in another's body, revolted him! He felt sick. No matter how comfy it had felt before! Damn the sense of warmth and security and plentiful nourishment! Damn the blessing, even! He didn't care he had been in a womb at the start of his previous life. It didn't mean he wanted to relive the experience! In another species, no less! Ugh! He had to get out! Now! With all his strength, Nate moved and pressed against the fleshy wall of his prison. Because that's what it was, a prison!
Unfortunately, he was incredibly weak and could only tug at the cord and press and bounce pathetically on the walls of the pouch. That wouldn't help. Not until the birth. He would have groaned in frustration, if only he could have. Or scream in revulsion. However, he must have had some kind of effect because he got suddenly submerged by a wave of calmness and a rubbing gentle pressure and sound could be felt. A soothing sensation with a humming deep sound and shushing from above. Even weirder, the soothing waves were coming from the cord. It was followed by a sweet arrival of food and a lulling sensation, the cord radiating reassurance. Quickly Nate returned to his slumber.
It started being common for Nate. When he tried to rebel, no matter how feebly, his carrier reacted. He was forced food through his cord, spoken to softly, made to feel relaxing movements, words and noises and incited to make himself sleepy, silent and docile. He could not stop all the waves of affection and love his carrier (he refused to name her mother) sent him and he was getting affected by it. He felt not love, not yet, but gratefulness and a nice sense of security. The rocking movements and gentle pressures were also easy to get used to, in spite of his anger at the situation. The slumber he experienced was quite pleasant, even though he wanted to feel and think otherwise constantly. Moreover, he had never heard a merwoman but the voice most often heard was rather deep. Merwomen probably had different throats than humans. It's not like he could see who spoke or hear them distinctly. Some voices were higher-pitched too.
Over time, Nate got upset at how the pouch slowly became more restrictive. It was getting tight and his movements, if more powerful, still brought the same effects that humiliatingly worked on him. He could feel more of his appendages, tale and even his penis and scrotum. The elf had not lied. He was still a boy, at least. Nate, in his daze in which he was content of the warmth, love and comfort, had recalled enough of himself to tug and kick. But the only effect it had had, to his frustration, had been a change of position from the pouch, a pat, a rub, a shushing sound and a regular breathing and heartbeat along with a slight snoring noise. His carrier was a snorer and frankly, it did kill the love he thought about more and more frequently, much to his shame.
Finally, he was woken by a pressure. A real one. The pouch was constricting and releasing its grip upon him, only to start again more violently, relentlessly. It was very uncomfortable. It hurt. Everything had been so calm and blissful until now! What was happening? Why did his wonderful nourishing protecting pouch act in such a way? Moreover, he could hear sounds, screams, grunts from the outside. There was stress, agitation and worry and Nate didn't like that. He preferred before. When Carrier was happy and he was too. And pain. Not only his own but also that of Carrier, which irradiated all his surroundings.
The pressure was just too much. Nate decided to follow it. Maybe if he did, it would ease and everything return to normal. Dimly he realized the merwoman was giving birth. To him. How vile! But he could not resist instinct and the will to escape the intense discomfort.The pressure tries to engage him in a tunnel he had never suspected the existence of before. Perhaps if he stayed there until the pressure calmed down eventually and vanished? He let himself get pressed down into the tight tunnel. He hope he'd not have to stay there long because it was too tight! How he regretted his beloved pouch!
Luckily, if it was very uncomfortable, it was brief. The pressure got worse but the tunnel was not too long. Furthermore, something grabbed him by the waist and pulled him to shorten the ordeal. Suddenly, Nate was thrust in a new pouch. So big he could not feel its limits. The fluid was also very different. More salty. Less thick. Fresher but still warm. His slits (his gills, he forced himself to remember) opened and let in water, singing salt but also oxygen. As the grip around his waist raised him, Nate understood he was suddenly out. And soon out of the water as he broke the surface. His reflexes kicked in and he inhaled air through his mouth to his lungs with a cry. It hurt but it felt like a beneficial hurt. A bright light was blinding him. His mind occupied by his previous life told him it was just the sun, whereas his merbaby thoughts screamed that it was just too uncomfortable.
"Congratulations, Hammer!" a jovial voice boomed. "It's a superb little boy guppy!"
Shouts of joy and relief erupted all around Nate's blurry vision. Exclamations and compliments were offered from all sides. Nate could only see blurry shapes and a shallow pool in which an indistinct large shape was, surrounded by many others of different colors. He also noticed a slight pain as his umbilical cord was cut, completely freeing him from Carrier. The grip's hands then placed him against a soft wet surface that was grey and deep blue. Large hands rested delicately on him. A kiss and a wave of relied and love engulfed him. Coos and comments about his cuteness were heard from everyone, it seemed. Nate couldn't move, he was exhausted, but pondered about the size of Carrier. How big were werewomen? They all seemed large, compared to his puny infant size, but Carrier appeared simply gigantic. He was annoyed at his eyes that couldn't see well.
"How will you call him, Hammer?" said a voice above him.
"He looks strong, like me, so I'll name him Breakstorm."
Well, thought Nate, it would fit a future hero like him. And Carrier had said he looked strong already. Awesome! But... But Carrier's voice sounded like it was not feminine at all. Was that normal for merwomen? The voice would be considered male by any human standards. Yet it was the very same he had heard so often when he was in the pouch. He was sure of it. Besides, the sensations of maternal love and instincts he could sense through the enormous palms around him were the same as those he had received during all this time. He was certain! How did that work? Did Carrier just was incredibly muscular for a merwoman, an exception?"
"I have to admit it's unusual for you and your mate," continued the voice further away. "You have a shark's tale, Hammer, and yet you have a pouch to carry the young like mers sharing seahorse characteristics. You even produce eggs at times, by Neptune!"
"Hammer had hermaphrodite fish and seahorse mers in his distant ancestry, healer," calmly said a voice very near Hammer. "I'm sure you've seen odder mers. Moreover, Hammer and I are overjoyed at having our second little one and that is it."
"Very true," agreed the voice of the healer. "Congratulations again. To both of you."
Nate could feel the two mers beam and glow in happiness. But inside he was mortified. No wonder Carrier's voice had been so deep. He had been a guy! A male with weird reproductive anatomies that mers could possess, apparently! He would have to be looked after by a male mother! How twisted was that? Nate, now Breakstorm, did not bother recall that no matter his sex, Hammer had done a good job while he carried his offspring. Reeling from the frights and otherness of his new life, Nate started being agitated.
"Now, now, don't be afraid, sweetie. Come closer to Papa," softly said Hammer as he pressed his beautiful new boy closer to his shoulder. "Daddy will bring you food."
Nate could only whimper but after pieces of fish dipped in whale milk, he surrendered to exhaustion and the feeling of having a full belly. After all, his Papa was big and strong. What could happen to him? He was nice and gentle too. He'd keep him safe and happy. Nate, now Breakstorm, slept, happy at being surrounded by mers taking care of him and loving him. Especially Papa, who'd teach him to be strong and tall like him. He was lucky indeed. Being a hero was nice and good, but being a loved baby near a warm mommy seemed a lot more important for the moment.