Bai You looked into Varesa's astonished eyes and nodded gently.
"I suppose I'm a Water Nymph. I'm not entirely sure myself."
With that, Bai You closed her eyes and silently switched to the Mermaid Form from the Mermaid Physique talent she had received in the beginner's gift pack.
The first strange sensation came from her ears. A tingling itch spread through them, as though her old ears were disappearing and something beneath her skin was slowly growing and unfurling.
She instinctively wanted to reach up and touch them. Two slightly translucent finned ear tips, traced with pale azure patterns, slowly extended from where her ears had been, their soft membranes spreading open layer by layer.
They eventually grew into finned ears almost identical to Varesa's, their tips curving slightly outward as their thin membranes trembled gently in the water.
Her human ears slowly vanished, leaving only the pair of translucent, beautiful fins, with flecks of watery light rippling across their surfaces.
An even stronger strange sensation traveled down her spine, gradually sinking into her lower body.
First came a long, drawn-out ache that spread slowly downward from the tops of her thighs. It was like the numb, swollen feeling after sitting cross-legged for too long, but with an added warmth and itch that wandered slowly beneath her flesh.
It felt as though countless tiny strands in her lower body were growing and weaving together anew, waves of faint tingling and itching creeping along her flesh.
She could clearly feel the skin along the insides of her legs growing hot. A cool, slick, soft transparent membrane slowly emerged from the surface of her skin, extending bit by bit toward the middle and gently binding the space between her legs together.
There was no tearing agony in her bones, only a slow, peculiar sensation of shifting.
The bones in her thighs first drew slightly inward, the two once separate legs pressing closer together bit by bit. A dull sensation came from her knees as the outlines of her kneecaps slowly faded from her awareness and vanished, the joints that had once bent freely gradually smoothing away.
Farther down, the flesh and bones of her calves slowly fused into a single, smooth form. The ache in her ankles grew stronger in waves as their contours slowly disappeared.
Her toes first went slightly numb, then their bones gathered and drew together. The toe bones slowly fused, most of them fading away as they extended to either side, forming the beginnings of a broad, flowing tail fin.
Fine scales emerged bit by bit along the fused body. First, a faint azure-white glow appeared beneath her skin, then tiny, crystalline scales broke through its surface one after another, bringing a cool, slick sensation.
They spread over her entire new tail, each scale nestled against the next. Their edges were tinged a pale azure-white, and tiny flecks of light glimmered on every one.
As her legs gradually became a fish tail, the transformation was nearly complete. The sensation of her legs slowly becoming one was especially clear.
The legs that had once walked, bent, and stepped on the ground gradually ceased to exist. In their place was a supple, powerful fish tail she could swish at will.
Bai You still felt a trace of awkwardness from being unaccustomed to it, but the moment her tail fully formed, a feeling of freedom and lightness enveloped her, the water buoying her brand-new tail.
A gentle swish was enough to send her gliding forward on the current. A relaxation she had never felt before spread through her body, as though she had always been meant to wander underwater in this form.
She slowly opened her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling gently in the water, and looked up at Varesa, who was close at hand and staring in a daze.
Varesa stared blankly at Bai You before her, her green pupils widening slightly. For a moment, she forgot to speak.
The finned ears on Bai You's head looked as though they had been cast from the same mold as her own, and even the way her new tail swayed was somewhat similar.
"You..." Varesa reached out and carefully brushed a fingertip against a cool, smooth scale on Bai You's tail, feeling its delicate texture.
Her voice was full of disbelief. "You really are a Water Nymph!? And your ears and your tail look so much like mine."
Bai You gently swished her brand-new tail, its fin sweeping out delicate ripples.
A faint smile rose to her face. "Well? Can we happily blow bubbles together in the water now?"
Varesa froze for a moment, then a radiant smile blossomed across her face.
Her azure-blue tail gave the lake water a sudden, joyous slap, bringing her right up to Bai You. She reached out and gently caught Bai You's wrist.
"That's wonderful! We can blow bubbles together!" Varesa's sparkling green eyes rested on Bai You, delight almost spilling from them.
She looked back and forth at Bai You's finned ears, so similar in shape to her own, then let her gaze travel down to the gently swaying tail, its color fading from azure to white. She could no longer contain the excitement in her heart.
"We really... really can blow bubbles together." Her voice was filled with joy she couldn't hide, and her tail beat briskly behind her, stirring up delicate ripples.
"Most of the time when I play, I'm alone in the water, blowing bubbles to amuse myself. There aren't many people who can do that with me."
"You really are a Water Nymph, so we can stay in the water together all the time. We can compete to see who can blow the biggest bubbles, and wander together through every corner of every body of water in Snezhnaya. Just thinking about it makes me happy."
Bai You watched the gleaming anticipation in Varesa's eyes and gently swayed her azure-white tail behind her, sending out a soft ripple.
The water brushed gently past her faintly trembling finned ears. Her eyes curved into a smile as she spoke softly, her voice traveling slowly through the water to Varesa's ears.
"All right, all right. I promise you, I'll agree to everything."
Bai You looked at the happy Varesa before her, at her delighted smile. But when she looked into her eyes, she noticed that beneath the joy, there seemed to be a faint trace of gloom.