User blog:Redknight910/WWYD Mershark JOVA82

Prompt:She's growing up

I look at my daughter, smiling at me, and sigh.

"Off the boy." Her smile fades, and she looks at me with a pout.

"But daaaad!" I glare at her.

"Off. Now." She grumbles, but eventually get's off of him, looking away from me.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The boy says, running out of the house.

"Mum would've let me have him." Again I sigh, sitting down on the bed next to her.

"I don't know if that's true, babygirl." I put an arm around her, holding her close. "Do you remember the story about how I met her?" She nods.

"Yeah, you were in a shipwreck, she found you, bit you a couple times, and you ended up loving her." I sigh, cursing her attention span.

"Riiight, you're missing some key parts of that scenario." I clear my throat, and she rolls her eyes, brushing my hand off. As she does to stand up, the polymorph potion she took wears off, and she falls flat on her face, as her legs turn back into a tail.

"Oww." She groans, rolling over and holding her nose. I chuckle and shake my head.

"I'll get some tissues." A few moments later and she's sitting in the pool, holding a tissue to her face and grumping.

"Now, are you going to listen to me?" She nods, sullenly. "Good. Now, when I met your mother, she wasn't just pulling me out of a shipwreck next ot some beach. She saved me from drowning in the middle of the ocean after we hit a rock running from a kraken.

As an Order man, I didn't appreciate that at the time, and she was a bit forceful with me, but she didn't just pull me in off the beach, she saved me from a shipwreck that would've killed me. Now as far as I know the whole crew made it out of that boat alive, because of mamono like your mother."

"I know, I know. I've seen the stuff you guys salvaged from the old wreck." I shake my head, smiling at her.

"What I'm trying to say is, you're mother may have forced herself on me, but it was for my own good. Now, pulling some random boy off the street, however, is not good for anyone. A hellhound might find that acceptable, or a harpy in breeding season, but you're not them. You're a strong, smart girl, who doesn't need to force herself on some poor guy." She gives me the slightest hint of a smile as her pout fades.

"I know. It's just... it's hard keeping it all under control, you know? Like, every time I see a guy I like, I just start daydreaming about giving him a nip, or shoving him against a wall and biting him, watching that energy just leak out all over him..." I grab a stick and bonk her on the head "ow, hey!" I give her a smirk.

"Reminding you that I've got experience dealing with monsters." She glares at me for a moment, before diving into the pool. Knowing what's coming, I tighten my grip on the stick I grabbed. Sure enough, a moment later she bursts out of the water, claws out and teeth gnashing.

I roll to the side, whipping the stick around to smack her, before hopping to my feet. She rolls, and holds herself up on her tail, wide grin on her face.

"So, what do you want?" I ask, smiling, already aware of what she's after.

"I want another polymorph potion!" She roars, propelling herself into me. Normally I only let her have one potion a day, but I also said if she could beat me, I'd give her a second. She brought a clawed hand down on my shoulder, watching as I ducked out of the way, only to bring her other hand up to grab my throat.

I'd taught her to never hold back, and the steel grip around my throat proved the years of embarrassment had driven the point home. I swung my sword arm around, cracking the stick against her arm and forcing her to let go. I then duck low, going for her tail. A solid swing, and I hit the ground, as she launched into the air. As she goes up I'm surprised by a slap to the face from her tail.

As I recover, she lunges at me, only grabbing my arm as I dodge away. The next moment, her momentum carries the both of us into the pool, at which point I release the stick and wrap my free arm around her, tapping her on the shoulder.

We surface, both laughing, and hear a cheer from the fence. Looking over there's our neighbours looking on in admiration. I climb out of the pool, still laughing, as she swims up to the edge.

"Hey guys!" She calls, waving to the neighbours, who wave back.

"She's getting to be a bit much for you, Marky?" Asks one of the mamono, opening the gate to our yard.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting to be slapped across the face by my own daughter." The neighbours giggle as they enter the yard. "Something going on?" I ask, looking at the bowls and trays they have. The excitement dulls imediately

"Well, it's, um... it's been twelve years since... you know." Yeah, I do. Nodding I remember the accident. I'd been so focused on teaching my little girl a lesson I'd forgotten.

"Thanks. Can you guys wait  min? Need to get something from inside. They nod, going to set up in the small outdoor area overlooking the beach and ocean. I go and grab one of the potions from my stock of polymorphs. One thing about having an aquatic mamono on land, these are almost a neccessity.

As I tep outside, I see my duaghter, happily talking to some of the other kids. Though, calling them kids these days is a bit of a stretch. They'd all be in their late teens, and I've noticed some pairing off happening over the last few years. I shake my head and call out to my girl. She looks up as I throw the bottle into the pool with a grin.

She gives me a glare, before diving for it. In typical showy fashion, she goes to the bottom of the pool and shoots out of the water with a flashy flip, bottle already uncorked and in her mouth. She goes back into the water with a dive, then emerges on the edge, her large tail now a pair of slender legs.

"Thanks dad!" She said as she walked back towards the others, while I walked over to the adults.

"So... she's started getting those urges, huh?" I give the harpy a look, and she just grins. "We saw the poor sap running for his life in his boxers." Right, I chcukled at the reminder of what'd prompted our discussion eariler.

"Yeah. Yeah, she has. It's been so hard raising her without her mother, but I hope I've taught her how to be a good woman." The werewolf from next door chuckles.

"Oh, don't worry. If she turns into a man eater, she'll never be in danger." I give her a small glare, which she responds to with a warm smile. "I'm just saying, you're one hell of a man, Mark." I roll my eyes, and one of the other guys claps her on the shoulder.

"Hey, no flirting. Especially not today." She suddenly flushes, and looks down.

"Oh, right, sorry, Mark. I shouldn't be-"

"Don't worry about it." I cut her off, looking at the younger ones talking by the pool. "I've lived here long enough to not be worried about you girls hitting on me." She looked relieved, and we devolved into a mundane conversation about the unmarried ladies new boyfriends, about the kids getting too old for our liking, and other normal adult things.

When the food was all ready and everyone was sitting, I couldn't help but notice the slight flush on my little one's cheeks as she sat next to one of the neighbour boys. I grabbed my glass and stood, offering a toast.

"To my wife! She was a generous, loving and devoted wife and mother, a proud mamono, and my saviour. If it weren't for her, I'd probably still be in that shipwreck, a pile of bones with no lovely duaghter, or happy friends." I raised my glass to the sky. "Miss you all the time, babe, wish you were still here." With that I give a cheers, and drink, everyone following the gesture.

It's a lovely night of light flirting, occasional caresses and general enjoyment. As I'm carrying my duaghter to her room, the potion having worn off about an hour ago, She nuzzles into my chest like she used to when she was little.

"Thanks, dad." I raise an eyebrow, asking what for. "For looking after me. I know I'm a hassle some times, and I know I cause trouble, but I know that whatever I do, you'll be here to make things right." I chuckle, reminding her that I'm not always gonna be around to get her out of trouble. "I know, and every time I think about it I can't stop dreading the moment.

I just hope that before that day comes I'll find a man who'll let me lean on him."

"Well, you seemed to be enjoying sitting next to Jeff today." She blushed, looking up at me as I sat her down on her bed.

"W-well, it's just that, um, h-he's kind-kind of, um, y-you know...." She trailed off, embarrassed as hell.

"If you like him, tell him. He's a nice kid, even if he's not all that tough." She looks up at me, eyes bright and curious.

"Y-you wouldn't mind?" I smile at her, rubbing her hair.

"I never said I didn't want you chasing boys. That's like telling a kettle not to squeal when it boils." she giggles at that, "I just don't want you forcing yourself onto them like a feral beast. Your mother was better than that, and so are you." I kiss her on the forehead, standing up.

"Love you dad." She says as I walk out.

"I know, sweetheart." It's hard, watching your daughter grow into a woman, but it's worth every little bit of it to see them grow up strong and happy.