Mythic Transformations

by Kris Schnee

  Samples. She needed her samples. Where was the pole? Washed away. The vials? Still in a holder she'd secured next to her instrument. Irene busied herself with the clicking beads and stuck vials into the sea with her bare hands now, collecting the three she'd wanted, then five more. She needed hard data. Had to understand how this had happened.

  The tow-rope was hauling the dinghy back. Irene turned around, less rotating than simply making her front and rear sides reverse. The captain and Justin were hollering and pulling her back. "We've got you!" they said. "Don't worry!"

  Irene collapsed into the boat's hull, head on her hands.

  * * *

  When they grabbed the dinghy Justin said, "Miss! What happened?"

  Irene worried that she'd lose control over her body completely and splash into a puddle. She said, "Changed by the water. Or replaced. I don't know. I have samples." She held up the vials; they bobbed in her hand as though floating at the surface of a pond.

  "You kept taking measurements!" Justin said. "Are you... safe to touch?"

  It was a good question. Irene turned her measurement device around to focus on herself. The clicking was still there, but she reported, "It says, magically tainted but without the specific effects of my samples."

  Justin was still above her, leaning down from the rope ladder. He approached and tapped her flowing hair with the tip of one pinky finger. He waited, shook the water off, and said, "All right. Here." He offered his hand to help her back on deck.

  They got herself and her equipment back aboard. The captain held out a blanket, then hesitated. Irene took it to see what would happen. When she concentrated on being solid, she could drape the blanket across her shoulders and have it behave nearly as though it rested on flesh. She said, "I... I need to lie down, I think. My samples..." She waved vaguely toward her equipment.

  "We'll take care of them," said Justin. "We'll figure this out."

  Irene nodded dumbly and went back to her cabin as though nothing was wrong, as though she hadn't just died or something. She felt parts of herself splashing into and through the bunk, shuddered, and pulled herself together again. Could she even sleep safely? She was so busy forcing herself to run through all the equations and laws of magic she knew, that she forgot to stay awake.

  * * *

  The captain's son looked fearfully at her and brandished a tin plate of biscuits and wilted cabbage. "They told me what happened. I didn't believe it."

  Irene was still waking up, becoming aware of the constant sense of herself flowing and rippling inside. "I'm not sure I do either." She took one of the biscuits and tried to eat it, but had no true throat or teeth to chew and swallow with. The thing only floated where her jaws should be. She shuddered and yanked the wet dough out.

  "You can't eat?" said the young man.

  Then she had to be powered by magic, didn't she? She was an elemental of sorts. "Water," she said. "Bring me water."

  The man backed away, but returned with a mug of drinking water in his unsteady hand, held out as far as he could in front of him.

  Irene took it, tried to give him a reassuring smile, and poured some of the mug into her mouth. The water seemed to vanish, or to merge with her. The same thing happened when she poured into her hand instead. Now, if the stories of elementals were true... Irene held up one hand, palm up, and concentrated. A bead of water flowed up from her and hovered, forming a glob a few inches above her hand. She flung it at the cabin wall. The captain's son yelped and fled. Irene crouched beside the wet planks and willed the moisture to flow back into her, which it did. The process was disturbingly intuitive.

  The captain and Justin appeared next in the cabin doorway. "Are you all right?" said Justin.

  "I think so. I need... I need to study this more." She could gather more information, learn more, keep herself busy investigating. She brushed past the men, tried not to think about how she'd contorted herself to pass between them, and dived into the sea.

  She was part of it. She could let some of it flow through her or around, and when she tried, she rose up on a pillar of water that enveloped her lower half like a mermaid's tail and was as much at her command. Her senses spread across a broad stretch of water around and beneath the ship. She rippled under the hull and inspected it, prying off barnacles as though chiseling at their edges with tiny jets of water. It was several minutes before she noticed she hadn't breathed. Irene surfaced again to meet the eyes of the astonished captain, and said, "I'm all right."

  She would have to be, whatever she was now. There were advantages to this new shape. She'd focus on them and on her studies and everything she could learn from both.

  After all, water flows around obstacles.

  Seal of Solitude

  Jack woke up shivering. He pulled his blanket tighter, felt that it was clammy and smelled of salt, then realized that he'd gone to sleep in his ski jacket and a life vest. The cruise! He sat up and stared, making his head spin. Yesterday he'd been on a tour boat cruising the Pacific coast. Then last night... He didn't remember. He was lying bruised and cold under a dirty blanket, on a bleak shore studded with rocks. The sun was barely alive this far north, casting a wan grey glow over the world.

  Jack loosened his life vest's straps so he could breathe better. He'd obviously had time to dress in his boots and coat, but had no hat or gloves. He'd been traveling with dozens of other people! Where was everyone else? Sadly, he could guess.

  A full-body shiver reminded him that he didn't have much time to mourn. There was a lot of coastline, too. Maybe the others had washed ashore there. Jack saw scraps of orange fabric from an inflated life raft. Someone had to have spotted the raft, or someone must have radioed for help... Who was he kidding? There were miles and miles of shore to search, and he now remembered there'd been a storm to scatter everyone. Grey clouds still churned in the sky, low and dense. No one was coming for him yet. He had to hold out until someone did.

  Jack wrapped his blanket over his shoulders like a scarf. He searched the wreckage but found only another blanket, no flares or anything. He wrapped the extra cloth awkwardly around both hands and stuffed them into his pockets. He hiked inland; maybe there'd be a village. Instead he saw more black rocks and then water beyond them. His heart sank. His gaze traced the coastline ahead all the way around to where he'd come ashore. He was on an island, not the Canadian mainland. Swimming in this sea would kill him in minutes. He was lucky to have made it here and gotten reasonably dry at all.

  The rocks ahead were moving. Jack froze. The tourist brochure had mentioned seal habitats along the coast. There were dozens of the creatures laying there like a bunch of boulders. With the sky so overcast, the sunbathing couldn't have done them much good, other than to keep them out of the water. Jack tried to figure out whether the seals made it more or less likely to find other people around. Probably less, since no one was bothering them and the lumbering, hairy animals weren't exactly photogenic. At least they weren't freezing!

  His jealousy reminded him of the frigid air stealing the warmth from him. He marched higher up the mossy, rocky slopes in search of spotting any sign of the mainland, civilization, or shelter. He thought he could see more land in the distance. It'd take a raft and good luck to get there.

  Jack shouted at the sky. "Is anyone there?! Hello?" He was starting to panic. He stomped back and forth across the moss and tried to calm down. He'd been on the right track by calling out and looking for safety. Figure out how to protect himself for the next little while, and how to build a raft. It couldn't be that hard; humans had colonized this area thousands of years ago!

  No trees on this blasted rock. He'd worry about that later. He managed to tear up a few little clumps of moss at the cost of bruising his hands against the rocks. He could burn that, maybe, or use it to line his clothes. Was there a cave or something around? He hiked for what seemed like hours, circling the island, and found it had almost nothing to offer human life. There had to be shelter, though! Jack found a slope where a cliff
had collapsed a million years ago, and began piling rocks up to make some kind of wall against the wind. The work made him ache but it at least gave him something to do.

  It also made him thirsty. He'd been working and hiking for hours with no sign of passing ships. Just those seals in the distance. They had to know where a freshwater source was, right? Jack stood up from the crouch he'd been in, stepped out of the rocky cleft he'd built along the hillside, and felt the wind slice into him. He staggered at the first blow of it. At least the temperature difference told him he'd picked a good spot for his shelter. Clouds of mist puffed out from his mouth. He'd go out for a few minutes and return.

  The seal rookery stank, though the cold air and the sea masked the scent of the hundred or so animals. It looked like he'd found them with a bunch of juveniles. He approached cautiously and saw most of the seals loafing, the rest wandering. It was a good sign that they weren't aggressive enough to bother the seabirds that rested in a few spots. No streams or natural springs, though. Could these things live on saltwater? Jack had no one to ask. He circled the area and still found nothing to drink.

  It was starting to get dim, too. He could live without water for a few days. What about food? He saw a few of the sea lion pups, just a few feet tall, following him curiously around. They were kind of cute. Otter-like faces with long whiskers, flipper-fin hindfeet that they waddled around on. He decided he could outrun them if he had to. There must be something he could to do take care of himself out here! He wasn't helpless! He picked up a sharp rock and looked into the big dark eyes of one of the pups. He couldn't attack the critter then, even for food. Yet. Jack muttered to himself that another day of being stuck here would change his mind.

  The seals left him behind when he walked away. No wood, no fire. He tore up more moss and hurried toward his pathetic rocky shelter to take stock of what few possessions he had. Stones, moss, his clothing. Not even anything metal to strike sparks against. What about the buttons on his coat? Those were metal! Jack yanked the bottom button off and shoved it into the dirt between two rocks, then began trying to bash the thing again and again to see if he could make a spark. His hands shook. They were already cold, with small cuts in half a dozen places, and had dirt wedged under the fingernails. Jack yelled at his attempt at a firepit. How could it be this hard? He couldn't even make the button keep still long enough to hit it repeatedly. The fourth time that it went spinning off downhill, he stumbled and collapsed with the button in his hands, hardly able to feel it. The ground was still pulling heat out of his body. The wind had changed direction and was coming at his shelter now, assaulting it.

  Jack stood up and felt tears freezing at the corners of his eyes. This island hated him. It had no place for him. The sun had gone red and was headed for the horizon already, along with what warmth there still was in the sky. It was about then that he understood he might not survive the night, let alone live to be rescued. Just a day ago he'd been in a bed, with Internet access and good food. It didn't take long at all to fall through the protection of civilization. Some people had the skills to deal with that. He wasn't one of them.

  Still, he didn't have to give up. Not yet. He made a fist around the lost button and started looking for a better place to rest. It was harder to walk now that his legs were sore from fatigue and he couldn't quit shivering. He went around the hill he'd been on, until he could find a spot where the wind didn't cut so badly. He could spend the night here and in the morning... Something. Search the life raft's wreckage again.

  Within an hour, only the moon and stars lit the sky. Jack knew he was freezing to death. His teeth rattled painfully and he had to keep his hands wedged in his armpits for warmth. His feet were wooden blocks. He didn't dare take his boots off even to rub his toes.

  Jack lunged to his feet and wobbled to keep his footing. His hands were out and freezing again. He couldn't let himself go to sleep like this; he'd never wake up! He needed something, anything, to help him survive the night!

  He looked toward the beach. The seals had left this part of it for the night. All except one that lay there asleep. It would be warm. Jack grabbed the sharpest rock he could find and staggered his way down toward the creature. Maybe it'd let him rest close by for warmth. Otherwise he'd have to kill it and hope the body stayed warm for a while. Anything would be better than being alone and so cold.

  He crept up as well as he could with shivering muscles and the beginnings of frostbite. The seal looked like one of the young adult males, powerfully built but not yet bigger than a human. Its fur was deep brown with patches of lighter tan and black flippers. Jack didn't have any better option than to try to lay down next to it. He eased himself into a crouch. The seal didn't react, though Jack imagined there'd be a mouthful of fangs swinging toward him at any moment. When nothing happened, he dared to curl up next to its warm back.

  Except that it wasn't warm. Dead? Jack whimpered as he stood up again, then fell. It wasn't fair! It should at least have some lingering heat! He swung his fist at the creature's back and felt almost no resistance. It caved in. Just a heavy seal pelt lying there on the beach. These things didn't shed their skin like snakes. What was this thing doing here?

  It didn't matter to Jack in his frozen state. He couldn't even stand. He pulled the pelt over him like a blanket, hoping it'd at least trap air against his skin. The fur-covered hide was soft and blubbery, and surprisingly not coated in blood or guts like some recent kill. He was still wondering about the pelt's origin when it grabbed him.

  The skin stretched and squeezed around Jack. He couldn't feel his hands anyway, so it didn't hurt when they flattened out. He kicked and tried to wriggle free. His feet wanted to go sideways, behind him. The boots on them felt like they were slipping off of him and their mass being pulled into the skin itself. When he reached around to find the skin's seam he had to curl his torso awkwardly and reach with a hand that felt wrapped in a leather glove. He saw the opening he'd crawled into as a cut down the former seal's belly... and it was shrinking, healing closed as he watched. Jack tugged at it but his fingers wouldn't move right and only got pushed out of the way. He stared in disbelief at the skin reforming with him inside!

  He shuddered. Suddenly he saw moonlight again. The sealskin had pulled itself up over his head like a hood and pushed his eyes against an attached head he hadn't noticed. The muzzle smelled of fish and dried blood. Its dark nose pressed against his own, seeming to mold against him like clay. He went cross-eyed trying to see it. The view from inside the seal-head showed him a set of white whiskers shining in the moonlight and twitching. His ears felt squashed against the sides of his head. Jack craned his neck farther than seemed possible until he could bat at the side of his head with one flipper-hand and feel his ears, still there as little nubs far back from his eyes. He had a muzzle!

  He felt like he was filling up, too, growing heavier and stronger as weight bulked up along his chest and torso especially. He tried to speak, but only a weird bark came out. He couldn't stand up, couldn't talk, and he was running on adrenaline. But at least he wasn't freezing!

  Jack rolled over onto his back and looked at himself. Stuck in the sealskin with his legs held together. Long flippers for feet and hands. Powerful muscles, a lot of extra pounds. Whatever had happened had done more to him than wrap him in some poor animal's hide. He flipped onto all fours and found that his feet turned around, another new feeling, to face towards his front. He waddled and hopped a few steps along the rocks, feeling rocks and sand under him. There was no sense of a layer of clothes between him and the ground, only the touch of the land directly against him. The skin was too tough for ground like this to hurt him. It was also too warm to let him freeze tonight.

  He made it to the water's edge and stared down into his reflection. His face was too wide, with a low forehead. He wasn't sure how he was seeing through those dark marble eyes either. They were his eyes now, apparently. He raised one flipper and poked at his muzzle, feeling the touch, then waved and saw an ordinary
-looking Northern fur seal waving back.

  Anything was better than that killing cold, he decided.

  * * *

  In the morning, Jack woke up and yawned with a mouth full of sharp yellowish teeth. A little heat had come back to the sky. After that night he was glad to have another day at all. He sighed, seeing a puff of mist around his whiskers. He heard barks and calls in the distance from the island's seals... the other seals, but couldn't understand them. He could join them. He turned toward the water and wondered what it'd be like to swim like this.

  Still, he wanted to be human again, to see the world he'd left behind. Even as he made the wish, a wave of dizziness passed over him. Jack found himself laying awkwardly on hands and knees that didn't seem to bend right. Cold air washed over his belly. He ducked his head and saw the sealskin slitting open, revealing bare human skin. "Huh?" he said. The word came out muffled through what now felt like a seal-muzzle mask.

  This was his skin, he sensed. His to protect, to take off or put on as he needed. He only needed to will himself to be part of it, or come ashore, dry off, and decide to be human for a little while. Not for long, though; the skin would call him back. He wasn't sure how he knew.

  Jack felt the arctic air cutting against his human chest. He still didn't want to be exposed out there, especially if his clothes were gone. The thought made the sealskin close up around him, the muzzle become part of his face, and his muscles swell with the strength of the seal he'd become. He turned himself around and felt surprisingly pleased. It was at his command! Of course it was. It was his, as much as any other part of his body.

  Well, he decided. For today he could learn how to swim again. After that, he had a new life to figure out. Finding civilization would be easier now that he could head for the mainland, but then what? He needed to get his bearings and a hot meal before deciding. Still, he'd likely end up living on a sea-coast somewhere. He found that he didn't mind, now that he had the chance to continue living at all.