He had fallen in love with a fish.A very handsome fish indeed.
Sea Dancer was pleased by his own whimsy. The fish and the jelly. Such a perfectly delightful match.
They’d met by the ocean, of course. Where else would two such kin be? And Sea Dancer had danced, of course. Flowing prettily, swishing, swooshing. He had been enchanting. No kin in the world could see him like so, in the pale moonlight, by a sparkling ocean, glowing as he danced, and not fall desperately in love.
They had courted with long walks along the sand, following the tide. They’d splashed with the surf, twirled in the spray. They’d adventured into rocky crevices that normally the ocean ruled and sampled strange plants as they laughed merrily.
And then they had parted ways, for Sea Dancer was not one to love forever.
The whole thing still pleased him to think about but his love was ephemeral and there was far too much in the world to bring him joy than just one lover.
Though it was soon made clear that a gift had been left behind, in his changed body. To be honest, Sea Dancer had hardly noticed the shift, his gender was fluid at best and if his body had some parts extra and some parts less, it hardly mattered. They were still beautiful after all.
What to do now that he was expecting?
For a time, Sea Dancer simply waited. For surely a blessing would be sent quite quickly, to ease the way and make certain when he left them on the shore, somebody else would come along to care for them. It wasn’t as if he had time to be a parent. An unsuitable task for one so lovely.
When his body continued to change and there was no arrival, Sea Dancer gave a great sigh and began to search. Every beast he came across, he dipped his head and declared, ‘I am ready for your blessing’.
No creature answered.
The fish swam away. The bird flew. The creatures of the land scampered into the brush.
“Surely one of you will bless me?” He demanded, quite irate.
Eventually he grew so desperate that he even began to ask the insects. Though who would care for such a form, he could not imagine.
First he tried the butterflies, since they were the most pleasing. Then the moths, the beetles, the mantids. Finally he reached the most distasteful and he stared at an enormously terrifying wasp that stared back at him with glowing eyes.
By now Sea Dancer was quite far from the ocean's edge, feeling swollen and unsteady. He longed to return to the water, where he could float and do away with this strain upon his body. Where the seaweed was tasty and nourishing, and where the fish darted playfully through his tendrils.“Will you bless me?” He asked, desperate and weary.
And the wasp answered.
It buzzed first, a horrible sound, then it spoke. And its form shifted, from one to the next, so quickly, he had to blink his eyes for fear there was some dust caught within or that he was fainting.
“I will bless you and your offspring,” said the waspkin, “with the endurance you have shown and the grace they would surely inherit regardless. Now return to where you belong.”
And he did so gratefully, though not after finding a pretty enough bush to lay down and finally shed his burden.
Once he returned to the sea, he did not think of them again.
Not even to wonder as to their happiness.