A key turned in the lock of Ronya’s apartment. When the door opened, it wasn’t Ronya that stepped through. At least, it wasn’t only Ronya who stepped through. The near-divine figure that paced inside and dropped her things on the side table had elements of Ronya’s face in her face, certainly. But there was a mix of other features. A sparkle of iridescent scale. Something majestic and mystical. Features that once belonged to a siren named Peia. And, of course, they still did. Because at t

Anahita and Cordelia swam through the forest, a twist of magic allowing them to navigate the air just as though it were water.“If she wanted to do a solo performance that’s fine,” Cordelia said sullenly. “But she could have chosen a more convenient venue for it.”“I think she probably assumed when she invited us to a performance that we wouldn’t bring our gear,” Anahita said.Cordelia grunted and heaved her case. “I don’t go to a venue without a way to perform. Peia

It had been a few weeks and two dates since Ronya had the honor of visiting Peia’s world. She’d been eagerly anticipating her next opportunity to return since the moment she left. It wasn’t so much that this world had a greater biodiversity than Earth’s own oceans. Humanity had yet to scratch the surface of the various aquatic biomes. But the biology here was simultaneously alien and familiar. It was catnip for a marine biologist. But by far the best part of visiting Peia

Ronya held tight to Peia’s hand as the siren worked her tails to propel them forward. Ronya tried to take in the sights of the deep sea world she found herself in. For many, it would have been a horribly isolated and empty place, but she was well accustomed to the ocean and knew just where to look to find the hidden gems of discovery.“Can we sweep just a bit lower?” she called to Peia. “Being able to smell things underwater is entirely new and I’d really like to see what that c

Peia drifted in slow figure-eights, pivoting with each loop to keep her eyes fixed on the door of the restaurant. She wasn’t in the water, but she moved as though she was, a handy twist of magic that made performances here a lot less cumbersome. This place had become one of her favorite places in the world--in many worlds, in fact--if only because it was the de facto meeting spot for her dates with Ronya. Until now, all of her time with Ronya had either been in this compromise of a place w

The last few hours had been wonderful. True, if Ronya had been asked what her idea of a perfect date was, she probably wouldn’t have said “stuffed into my friend’s physics-defying cleavage with my new girlfriend”, but time had a way of changing things. The soft flesh around them gently cradled the pair, who over the course of the last few hours had come to be very familiar with each other’s bodies. The fleshy embrace seemed to be perfectly designed to give them just enough

Ronya shut the door to her apartment and dropped her things. Her pulse was racing and her face was red. She’d prepared herself for a unique first date. Peia was a siren, a creature who wasn’t even supposed to exist, so there were bound to be some quirks and speed bumps. She was actually looking forward to them. But this? This was a little more than just a speedbump.She rushed into the bathroom and tugged off her shirt. Her bra had been carefully selected to be tasteful yet just a bit

Ronya sat in the driver’s seat of her mother’s conversion van and drummed her fingers anxiously on the steering wheel. It was strange to imagine it, given their brief but intense history together, but after a few weeks of flirting and twice spending some time inside her, the idea of having a real, honest to goodness date with Peia set Ronya’s heart a flutter. She hadn’t had a genuine date since the disastrous one with that guy who turned out to be an elf had dumped her. T

Peia flitted about, an uncharacteristic look of anxiety on her face. She’d been in showbiz for quite a while. In a lot of ways, she was more comfortable on stage than she was alone. There was nothing more simple and natural to her than seeing an audience before her and giving them what they wanted. That went double for private parties like this. There was always some variety to a caberet or a night club audience, but a private party was assembled by one person to serve a specific purpose.

Ronya
shuffled through the doorway of her apartment and kicked the door
shut.
“Ugh,
my arms are killing me,” she muttered. “Why do the department
heads still insist upon giving out so many of the reports in
hardcopy.”
Her
phone chirped with a notification as she wobbled her way to the
coffee table.
“This
better not be Henderson again.” She dropped the reports on the
table and fished out her phone. “I swear, if he… Oh!”
Ronya’s
heart skipped a beat as she recognized the exotic

An
exquisite creature swept through the rustic, rough-hewn doorway.
"Tonight's
the night, ladies!" she proclaimed.
In
any other place, the whole band would have been not just notable, but
nearly impossible. The group was decidedly aquatic. There were two
mermaids, each tuning stringed instruments that were somewhere in the
guitar family. What looked to be a seal but had far too intelligent a
gaze to be a simple animal slapped at a set of drums. And then there
was the singer.
From
the w