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As a shapeshifter, Charlie sometimes struggled to find their place in the world, which was ironic since they could become literally anyone they liked to fit in. But the thing was that people didn’t appreciate having shapeshifters around. They were too unpredictable, being able to transform into anyone at any time, and they always crossed them out as liars or thieves or just people you could not trust. This made the ability to have long-lasting friendships quite challenging, not to say impossible, but Charlie was okay with that because they never planned to stay in one place for too long. They liked the adventure, the travel, the challenge.But, there was a place that they kept coming back to: Uncle Bob’s bar. That tavern was like Charlie’s saving grace. The owner, Bob, was an eight-arm humanoid who was one of the few people who actually knew what Charlie was and still managed to be friends, so they always swung by whenever they were in the area.The thing about Bob’s bar wasn’t like your regular bar for regular people. Actually, it was forbidden for a human to step into that bar. So, apart from humans, all other creatures were welcomed from the highest of clouds to the deepest oceans.
“Hey, Charlie! Don’t you dare step on the carpet with those hooves, you gagootz. I just got it cleaned.”
“Bob, you wanker, I didn’t know you turned posh,” Charlie said with fake disgust as they tried to get their mud off their hooves.
They both walked towards the end of the bar, where there was a space for creatures who needed special care, like taller tables for centaurs.
“Got a nice rear-end there,” Bob chuckled as he saw Charlie’s immense horse butt. “For a gig?”
“Yep. I’m leaving tomorrow. Won’t be able to come back until later this month.” Charlie said. “You’ll be alright, though?”
“Oh, don’t worry about me, child.” Bob clicked his tongue. “I’m always good.”
Bob had the habit of calling them ‘child’ even though Charlie was so much older than him, but they found it amusing.
As the night progressed, Charlie spoke to a few other centaurs there, a gargoyle and Gary, an alien from outer space who had just appeared at the bar one day and started talking to them. They didn’t particularly hate him, but they wouldn’t call him a friend. He was just there.
“Are you sure I can’t come with you?” Gary begged as he devoured the finger chips on the table. “You can always use the extra set of tentacles, or at least that’s what my mother used to say.”
“That’s alright, mate. Some adventures are meant to be done alone.” Charlie gave him a few reassuring pats on the back. “Plus, you would do horribly on the mountains. It’s rather cold there, you know that, right?”
As Gary continued to beg, Charlie realised a new creature had walked into the bar. Well, not walked per se, but swam into the bar. Her hair was dark with light brown highlights, and she was wearing a pearl bra that matched the soft golden colours of her tail. Charlie couldn’t see her face, but they could already tell she was the most beautiful creature they had ever seen.
“Yeah, sorry, mate. I gotta go do this thing--” Charlie said, not paying attention to Gary anymore.
Charlie had heard the rumours about the beautiful mermaids that used their looks to attract men to devour them, but they couldn’t resist it. They had to meet her.
“Hey, there,” Charlie said as they approached the bar separating the land area from the water area of the establishment. “Don’t think I’ve seen you around before.”
The mermaid turned around and looked at Charlie. Yeah, they could confirm she was the most beautiful creature on the whole planet. And that was cutting it short.
“Oh, hi.” The woman said as she smiled. “And here I was wondering where all the good-looking people I’ve been told about were.”
She was very straightforward. They liked it.
“Well, you can stop looking for them, then,” Charlie smirked. “I’m Charlie.”
“Charlie… Hadn’t heard that name in a while.” She said, putting her arms on the bar in between them. “So… mundane.” She moved her tail to better accommodate herself on the seat.
“Hmm, should I be jealous?” Charlie asked.
“Not at all. That Charlie… He didn’t last for long.” The mermaid’s eyes darkened at that memory.
“Well, I can last as long as you need me to,” Charlie said as their eyes fell to her lips.
The mermaid giggled. “Please, I don’t think you could handle me.”
“Oh, baby, you don’t know me,” Charlie smirked.
“And you don’t know me.” The mermaid reached for Charlie’s chin. “I’d eat you alive, little horse.”
Charlie looked down as they let their imagination go wild for a second.
“Let’s change that, then. What’s your name?”
“Zari,” she said as she twirled her hair. It was driving Charlie insane. “Do you come here often?”
“Yeah, since it opened. I’m friends with the owner.” They responded. It seemed they had started some sort of interrogation type of game, because Zari was looking directly at them, and Charlie wasn’t about to break that eye contact. “Mermaids aren’t typically around here. Where are you from?”
“The Gymone region. Do you know it?”
“I’m familiar. Are you a princess?”
Zari chuckled. “What gave me away?”
Charlie moved their head, signalling her bra. “Golden pearls. Only worn by royalty.”
“You do know your oceans. Good job.” Zari looked impressed.
“Did you think I was lying?”
“It was a possibility, yeah.” Zari wrinkled her nose. “My turn. What herd do you belong to?”
“I don’t have a herd.”
“Oh, a rogue centaur?”
“I’m not a centaur.”
Zari looked at the floor.
“But those are hooves.” Zari looked a bit confused.
“Yes.”
“And your torso resembles a human.”
“Also, yes.”
Zari waited for a more curated response, but Charlie liked playing the mysterious card. With other people, they would’ve made up a fake backstory, but something was telling them that Zari was different. She wasn’t going to settle for something normal.
“I’m a shapeshifter,” Charlie smirked.
“A shapeshifter?”
“Yeah. I can turn into anyone you like.”
“Anyone?” Zari said in a suggestive tone.
“Yeah, anyone.”
From there, the conversation did nothing but flow. Unfortunately, Charlie had to leave the following day, so they didn’t have time to do anything other than talk.
As they left the little bar and went home to get a little rest, they decided. Their next stop after the mountains: the deep ocean.