Brenda was left alone for a while to settle in but she was told that if she needed anything that both, Boreas and Kassiopeia would be very closeby.

As she sat she closed her eyes and just listened to the sounds and happenings around her.

Far off in the distance she could hear the songs of whales and the clicks and whistles of nearby dolphins. She could also sense all the movement near her; that of fish, seaweed and other aquatic plants as well as the presence of Boreas and Kassiopeia. How, she was not sure as she was not really aware of such things before all this change came about. It was just there, silently existing like the gentle movement of one's own hair; she was conscious of it but only at a very low level.

It was only the quick darting movements of nearby fish that pushed for her attention as they were suddenly surprised or frightened by some unexpected happening.

She was aware of all of it. It was like an extra sense that had long gone unnoticed to her suddenly awakening to her conscious mind.

After a few minutes she opened her eyes and looked down at herself again, this time with more curiosity than anything else.

With a small bit of effort she was able to flick her tail fin slightly. It felt strange at first. Strong, yet elegant. She was aware that this tail could propel her at quite a good speed if and when necessary.

She could also see a few marks - the remnants of scars - of Diantha's experience with the eel. It didn't look bad but she felt sure that whatever the eel had as a defence put Diantha into the comatose state.

She ran her hands down her torso. It was incredibly smooth to the touch, almost surreal in feeling. As she ran her hands upon her, she was very aware of the sensation that her fingers made upon the mermaid-scales.

She could feel it as if she had always been like that. It didn't seem as alien as she might expect,

There was also the question of her body's gender. She knew that it was that of a functional female although her human mind did not quite know where that differentiation was.

She just knew that her body was naturally female - unlike her previous human existence.

Instinctually she knew that one of the two slits on the front side of her tail indicated she was female (aside from her obvious streamlined breasts). Only one which was a vagina

She also knew that males had two slits on the front. How she knew this was unknown to her. She just knew it as a fact. Somewhere within one of those two slits on the male was a hidden penis. Apparently Mother Nature had decided to tuck it away for streamlining issues.

Mermaids and Mermen did not wear clothing. Such things were unnecessary and could actually be harmful to them. They could easily get caught in them like they were small nets on coral reefs and other natural outcroppings. Besides they also didn't have the vanity issues that humans were plagued with.

Mermaids were totally free of the shallow world of fashion and clothing design and for the first time Brenda felt somewhat relieved. No longer did she feel the need to hide behind some artificial curtain of cloth to express who she was.

Yes, becoming a mermaid had set her free in many ways. She looked down at her tail. Gone were her self-esteem robbing size 11 feet. In fact she'd never need shoes again.

Her eyes skimmed over the rest of her body. She'd never have to deal with clothes again either; such things were not needed by the mer-folk. Clothes would cause unnecessary drag and held no purpose to them. They were not needed as protection from the sun, nor were they needed as protection from thorns and the like that were so numerous on land. The mer-folk also didn't have a sense of unnecessary modesty as there was no sense of fashion.

The necklace around her neck as well as those around Boreas and Kassiopeia signified the family clan. They identified with the dolphin and took it's image as a clan signifier.

They told her to take a few days to recuperate as the body of Diantha had been immobile for quite some time. During those few days she flexed all the muscles that she could think of so she could help gain the strength.

Eventually she was allowed to move about the sunken ship where Diantha's family had taken residence. The sense of movement through the water as she kicked her tail was quite invigorating. She had to learn to be careful while swimming within the structure as there were still quite a few hazards all about the ship.

As she moved through the ship she became aquainted with the local denizens. There were dozens of different species of fish, crustaceans, and various jelly fish.

As a human she was always taught that touching jelly fish could be dangerous as they could sting. But as a mermaid she found them quite affectionate (almost feline in nature). She spent a lot of her time with them, intermingling within their small colony in amazement at just how different they were from a mermaid's point of view.

Like many other sea creatures, they had evolved alongside the mer-folk and didn't consider them as any sort of threat as the mer-folk were notorious herbivores.

As a human, Brenda didn't care much for eating flesh of any creature. She didn't see how eating any flesh could benefit a species that bore so many herbivorous features. She also couldn't bear the idea of hurting any animal. Her new life as a mermaid suited her just fine - there was no carnivorous mer-folk in existence to attempt to coerce her to such a life style.

After a week of free movement around the ship she was allowed to leave the confines of the shipwrecked hull but still remain in the general vicinity. She was quite excited by this new found freedom.

For a week she had honed her skills in manoeuvering herself through the ship and felt quite confident in her ability to safely swim around the ship. She learned that she had to reign herself in with every kick of her tail or she'd speed off too far from the ship with almost no effort.