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da3dm · 1 year ago

Text

In the deep blue sea, there isn't a place for me

—

Yeah I got that title from the same thing sloth sent brick...but I changed it a bit! Here's the result of that mystery poll from before—Sloth kinda half helped with editing this...this is a oneshot with two parts to it bc it'll be super long otherwise and then brick would never read it

It feels rushed to me but maybe not to you guys! Also my askbox is always open

Taglist: @brick-a-doodle-do , @i-am-beckyu , @justarandomsloth , @awkwardgtace , @rosewriting-ao3 (and look rose, gentle giant!!)

If you want tagged you gotta tell me or I can't

TW: Unintentional fearplay, character believing they'll die, begging to die (won't die), blood, mild cursing there's like one curse word bc Irza is Irza, character thinking they might be eaten, mention of suicide. (If there's more please tell me)

Word Count: 4.3k

Part 1/2

Well, this was by far not how he expected his day to go, but...he never did like boring things. But maybe even this was a little too far a stretch to be seen as boredom relief. His time would've been better spent not getting in this situation. Honestly, the last thing he remembered was the pod of mer he lived with outcasting him by using a prank. He was brought out to the middle of nowhere and ditched. With that sort of result he didn't even bother trying to return…he'd had enough and been planning to leave soon anyway. Seeing as he didn't have any possessions, he simply swam away.

Then everything had started to darken. It hadn't been too concerning because looking around…there really wasn't anything there. No predators. So he continued on his way to the shore, hoping to travel through the shallows to find a new home rather than the open ocean. Only a pod could somewhat safely be in the open like this, not a lone mer. It hadn't been too long after until he discovered the water was shoving him around strangely. Lightly, at first. Then it quickly started to increase and his panic rose rapidly. If only he'd noticed that the oncoming darkness was the omen of a storm.

It swept him away helplessly, flailing through the water like a loose piece of kelp. He could faintly recall that it pushed him roughly in the direction of shore, yet another thing only making the water's abuse even worse. It was fully expected that the water's torrent would smash his rather frail body into the rocks lining the edges. Leave him stranded in a tidepool where he'd be picked at by predators. Maybe bury him in the sand where he'd have no hope of escape. It was at that point he'd crashed into something big and smooth, with a lot of clattering sounds all around him. Then it had gone black, the impact too much to withstand.

And that brings him to now. The sun was hot on his exposed skin, the water level steadily getting lower, and hotter. It felt like he was being boiled alive. He was trapped inside something. Something clear, that shifted and crinkled when he moved, and was rather uncomfortable. Sure, it had probably saved him from outright dying, but now he was too far from the water to even attempt tipping the thing over to escape. This was a rather precarious situation to find himself in. After waking up in here it had looked to be sunrise and the container was half full…but now the sun was directly above him, beating down on his vulnerable form while the water was so low he couldn't even fully submerge.

While half his body was in the water, he shifted around to try and rearrange a few more times and only got the same results each time. It was hopeless, so he worked on keeping his tail in the water as much as possible, refusing to believe he'd simply die here. There had to be a way out, even if that meant waiting for night to fall, when the tide would be higher. He might be out of water by then, but…it was likely his only chance of survival. Being out on the sand in the hot sun would both cook him and let his predators see he was there. That would be his end right then and there with how far he was. He may want out, but he wasn't suicidal.

Trying to think of what to do, more time was passing and the water was getting lower. It was maybe an hour or two later of him attempting to figure out freedom when there was a change. He was noticing that it was a little cooler, sparing him of losing all of the water, but that wasn't all. There was a new tremor motion the water reacted to. He blinked at the tiny, extra ripples his body wasn't causing. The ripples stayed that way but soon he realized they were getting bigger. Not long after, it came to his attention that he could feel a vibration traveling from the ground through the rest of his body. A rising dread filled him and he scrambled to try and see, holding himself up.

He couldn't see anything. Well…to be fair it looked like he was in a ditch, it'd be hard to see anywhere from this angle. The vibration stopped and he held his breath. Nothing. Was it gone? In his distraction however, he failed to notice that all his movement had drawn something after him. All of a sudden something crashed into his prison and he barely avoided calling out, biting his tongue and flailing for balance. He looked up in a hurry to face his attacker and froze. A bird. What even was this thing?? It was white but he didn't recognize it from the usual pelicans he'd seen where he used to live. Still, it was eyeing him like a new meal.

Stopping to wonder what it was might not have been his brightest idea as it was now sticking its beak inside the small opening, wings flapping wildly. The webbed feet pushed at the clear walls as he hurriedly pushed himself down, away from the threatening beak. He bared his teeth uselessly, but it made him feel a lot better. Truthfully all the motion was sickening and too chaotic to make right from left. It even made a loud, overbearing sound that made his head ring painfully. The noise echoed in this small space way too much and he slapped his hands over his ears reflexively. This was too much for him. He hadn't even started to escape yet…and he was being attacked.

Then the vibration from earlier came to his attention, much heavier than before. It made him bounce in place and even the bird reacted, looking at the cause and calling out again. Before much else happened, a new sound came to him, sounding like words, but way too loud to be words. It made the space around him shudder and the bird had left. He had to breathe for a moment before he even dared look up, bracing himself against the slick walls and gazing up just as a new shadow fell right before his clear cage. In some ways he'd wished he'd never looked up.

The owner of the massive shadow was just as huge, towering over him in a way he'd never seen before. His mind immediately supplied the word human. He'd been told about them, seen them from a distance…he knew they were bigger, but not like this. Why would he get stuck on the beach and run into one of them?! Did the world really hate him that much?! Unfair! Not to mention, humans were supposed to stay away from the area he'd been heading for. Had he really been swept so far off his intended path?? Anything was possible at his size in a storm that nasty, but going from stormy waters, to a bird, to a human, wasn't even bad luck. That's like an outright curse.

His thoughts were cut short when the giant being took a step closer to him, shaking the entire space and making him scramble to prevent faceplanting. It was coming closer. His dread didn't have time to build up before a hand came rushing towards his trap, one way too big for what seemed natural. Though he clawed at the smooth surface surrounding him, it was hopeless, the hand closing around it. He shuddered at the realization the hand went all the way around the bottle…he could see the fingers nearly connect. That was to say…he forgot what would happen when it's being grabbed.

Not even a second later, he was hoisted off the ground, making his stomach do a wild flip while he forced himself to stay calm. What if it wanted him to be scared? But when the space was tilted and the water began to flow away from him, he gave an involuntary yelp of surprise and looked around frantically. The tilt suddenly stopped and it went back to how it had been before, the water returning. This time when looking at the human, he found bright green, huge eyes that were both locked right on him. He fought back a shiver, meeting that, admittedly, intimidating gaze. The eyes widened and he froze up.

Way too dizzying fast, he was racing skyward, stopping only once level with the way too big face. Out of pure instinct he bared his teeth with a growl, pushing himself back against the opposite side. He pointedly ignored that the hand was on that side of it and that he could feel the warmth it gave off from inside. Except when he growled, he noticed a responding movement from above and his eyes snapped to it, only to go stiff and regret showing aggression. Those weren't the right ears. They were like triangles and kept swiveling around. Listening, he thought. He suppressed another shudder, instead choosing to glare at this giant and those horribly observant eyes.

He knew he was being stared at, his every move kept track of, but he was trying to wrack his brain for why those ears and unnerving eyes were familiar to him. There wasn't much time to think as that loud sound came at him again—the voice. Definitely a voice. He ignored the words. They were too distorted and loud to understand while stuck inside this thing anyway. Besides, he didn't want to hear the taunts or what it might be planning to do to him. He'd rather seem boring and be tossed back to the ground and ignored.

Except those eyes changed and almost looked…worried? He scowled at it, but the voice returned and everything was turning sideways at an agonizingly slow pace. His slow slide felt like torture, especially with how fast the water was already pouring past him, tugging him along faster than it was tipping. At this point all he could do was weakly scratch at it, feeling like he was being played with on his way towards the only opening. The last thing he tried was spreading his arms too wide to fit while trying to turn to keep his tail inside. If it fell out, the weight would just drag him down.

When he hit the opening he stuck, just as intended. A grim, victory smile plastered on his face as he fought to keep himself in this same position while looking to the side at the human. What he found was a look of surprise, but nothing happened. It was held in the same position, not moving even slightly. He thought he'd be shaken or something, but it never came. Instead, the voice came again, still not understandable from his position. It got quiet and motionless, as if the human was just waiting for him to change his mind or something. Not happening! That was when he noticed he was slipping. The giant jerk was waiting him out.

He growled in real anger at being treated this way, noticing those creepy ears moving as he made the sound. All he could see in those big eyes, was patience. A steady, calm, patience. Like this human already knew they'd win this. And they would, which only upset him even more. The problem was that he was still slipping, and steadily feeling like he needed to catch himself. Was he just going to fall to his death or what? Was the human dumping him out of the way? It was hard to say, but he was about to find out for himself. There wasn't even a shred of hope in his mind of holding on for longer than the human could wait…the surface and angle were simply too much and only half his body could be used to prevent it.

With one last squirm in an attempt to stay inside, he finally couldn't stay splayed anymore and fell headfirst out of the thing. His eyes screwed shut, certain he would plummet to his death…only for the result to be much less dramatic. The impact was muted, interrupted maybe only a second later by something soft that smelled heavily of herbs. For a moment all he could do was breathe, his heart racing painfully as his chest heaved from the scare. He didn't waste much time and after only a few breaths, he moved to figure out what exactly happened. Seeing it made him freeze up, his eyes landing on the tan colored, patterned floor beneath him. Skin.

Looking up while already know what would be there, his almost weary gaze trailed up the length of an arm all the way to the human's face. He was in the damn thing's hand. He inwardly groaned and pushed himself up while taking a deep breath, glancing at the fingers towering over him. A threat. It was mostly behind him and he let his head hang so he could simply see past his arms without it knowing where he was looking. It was hard to know what would happen if he was caught staring, and honestly? He'd rather be ended because he fought back, not for looking at something. That would be even worse than having been abandoned by his own pod using a prank. So he held his breath and looked up at that face again.

Then he immediately bit the hand beneath him. Hard. His aim was to draw blood at the very least, and he needed to do it before the human could stop him. The only response he seemed to get was a quiet whine of pain and a harsh flinch that nearly sent him off the hand. What stopped such a fate were the fingers, curling up over him. Without delay, since the other bite was already bleeding, he whipped around and sunk his teeth into one of those massive digits instead, his arms wrapping around it so his claws could dig in as well. He was fully aware that he couldn't win this, but that didn't stop him from trying.

What did make him pause was that finger separating itself from the rest slowly, followed by that much too loud voice ringing out above him. "Uhm…will you please let go…? That…it kinda hurts?" The voice was still too loud for him, but he could for the first time understand the words being spoken, even even what sounded like hesitation in the tone. Of course, his response to this comment was to bite even harder and snarl while he did, moving his head a little to trying twisting and make it worse. The human winced in pain, those ears drawing back as it instead muttered, "Yeah, okay, that's fair." He wanted the human to feel pain, why was it saying this was fair?!

His anger was boiling over and he grabbed onto it, using it to bury all the fear as he snapped his head to the side with an angry hiss, clawing at the finger he'd been biting before it bending forced him to let go. He fell back onto the palm, not really able to support himself with his tail. Wait. The human had a tail too. He narrowed his eyes while keeping his teeth bared as a few things clicked into place. He remembered an animal that had those ears, eyes, and tail. It was also very sharp in his mind that he'd seen it swiping fish out if the water and chasing any mer that got close. He didn't know the name, but this human looked like they were part animal. That animal. That eats fish. And probably mer too.

A very brief look of terror flashed through his eyes and he dug his claws into the palm a whole lot more to hurriedly turn it into anger. He looked this giant in the eye with as much Hate and rage as he could muster, his mind simmering as he ignored how the sun was slowly making his skin itch as it dried him out. With one deep breath, he practically screamed out, "THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN GOING TO DO?! STOP STARING AND JUST DO SOMETHING DAMNIT! YOU'RE TOO LOUD AND TOYING WITH ME! IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING TO ME, JUST DO IT!" His sudden volume was plenty loud enough to make those freaky animal ears go down and it felt like his own personal victory.

Until the hand finally moved. He was going up, being brought right to that face. It was impossible to fully get rid of a shudder as his eyes widened. Was he going to die now? His mouth did usually get everyone mad at him. He'd actually asked for this one though, but…he looked at the closed mouth of the face he was rapidly approaching. Was the giant going to eat him like that animal did that fish? He turned his head away to hide his face while not wanting to see what would happen to him. It was over. He'd purposely yelled at the human and said to get it over with. It was only a moment later that he felt the huge digits behind him start to close in on him. He didn't even flinch.

He was expecting to die somehow, but the human decided to speak again. "What?? You…do you think I want to hurt you? I'm sorry I was too loud…did I really scare you that badly? I wasn't trying really hard not to—" Why was this stupid giant prolonging his death? But they just continued their ramble. "—but I…I messed up? What did I do? How do I fix it? Is there something you want?" The voice was growing increasingly higher pitched and they were talking way too fast. He growled inwardly, despising that he had to listen to such idiotic lies after begging to die. Did it really thing he was that stupid? That he wasn't just some fun creature to toy with and leave to die? Lies.

He raised his head back up to stare his likely killer in the eyes, only to find out they were right in front of him. He had soared past the mouth and even the nose, being held so perfectly level with the eyes that he couldn't avoid noticing their emotions. With a shiver he didn't even try to contain, he scrambled backwards only to realize those fingers were holding him in place. His eyes were rounded at this revelation, merely glad to see his tail was at least still against the palm and not just hanging. If relieved was the right thing to feel, rather, when he was terrified. What else could he feel when staring into eyes each bigger than his head. Happiness??

Finally though, the hand moving snapped him out of it right as the human softly asked, "Hey, are you okay? Can't you speak?" Alright, so now he was going to be seen as some stupid animal that didn't even have intelligence? Like he'd allow that.

With yet another ferocious snarl, he growled, "Get the fuck away from me." His voice felt despairingly weak and he swallowed hard. Having to meet these eyes like this was…so uncomfortable. It frayed his nerves and played with his mind. The eyes looked too guilty. He leaned away. "Just…just leave me alone or kill me already. I don't want to play these games anymore." He was scared, but his tone still came out full of rage.

The huge eyes only got bigger as they widened, full of what looked to borderline horror. "Kill you?! I'm not going to kill you!" The human shouldn't be sounding so scared of his words. They should be getting mad, yelling at him, hurting him. But nothing was happening. Instead, he rapidly found himself tumbling back down into the hand, which now became two, simply cupped together. It wasn't right to be held like he was breakable. He glared at the human. They just wouldn't stop trying to mess with him.

Without thinking it through, he snapped, "Why not?! You're bigger than me, you're a predator, I shouldn't even still be alive except to be a handy little plaything for your own entertainment!" Nothing was said in response, everything going quiet. The human was…silenced? By his worthless and weak voice? This game was getting absurd and the look of pity he was receiving only served to make him retaliate with anger. He bit the hand again, trying as hard as he possibly could to be dropped or finally killed or something.

A wince of pain, but then nothing. He growled and twisted his head, eliciting a gasp and a following whine from right beside him. "Please don't do that…" Not long after, the other hand stopped being a floor for him and tilted up to cover him from above. He stopped and bit a different spot, feeling his eyes burn from tears he refused to allow free. This was it. The human was finally going to end it, by…crushing him. He finally got what he wanted…why did it make him want to escape from it? To never have asked for this? But no pain came. It was darkened, but stopped there, the other hand harmlessly held over him, making it almost reminiscent of a cave…if the walls were made of tanned flesh that kept moving around him. A muffled voice came to him next with, "I'll just put you back in the ocean…"

A spike of fear at the thought of returning, and yet he could already feel the human moving, making him roll slightly while struggling to stay in place. He stopped biting, now more intent on keeping himself still and not being given back to the ocean. Sure he'd been planning to escape there, but if he was for some reason getting free transport he wanted something else. A river or stream, something to make his boring life have some sort of meaning to it. This felt more like he'd be discarded this way than freed into it. He wasn't going to say or do anything, but his racing heart won. "WAIT WAIT WAIT!"

Everything immediately stilled and he had to cling to the skin under him to not go rolling away. He wanted to relax and maybe try to figure out why he'd said to wait, but the human of course had to butt in on it. "Don't you live there? I'll put you back, are you sure?" He inhaled sharply, thinking about being in the exposed shallows with the sheer number of those strange birds from earlier hanging around. He'd seen how many there were already. If he was put back in, not only would he be back in the place he'd grown to hate, he'd become food. Dying by the hand of a giant sounded much better than temporary, fake freedom, followed by being eaten.

He moved a bit, wincing silently at how dry his tail was feeling. "...I don't want to be in the ocean. Do whatever you want with me, just get rid of me already, but not the ocean…" He should've been asking for the ocean, not to stay away from it. This was stupid. Why would the human even listen? All he did was give it a new way to hurt—

"Okay, I won't." He stiffened greatly. Won't what? The voice sounded almost resigned with those words, making his already raised guard bristle with discomfort. Before he could demand an answer though, they spoke again, "I'll just…take you home. You're probably needing some water about now and my skin can't be helping that, not to mention it's really hot out today, huh? And it's not like there's any other water sources around…I don't even know what else you want if you don't want the ocean. Maybe you'll tell me once you're not so dried up?" He blinked at the half darkness as he listened to the disembodied voice from beyond the walls of hand.

The human was…just going to keep him? Probably to be able to toy with him better. Tools and other gadgets at their home to make his fate even worse. With an air of defeat over knowing he couldn't possibly claw his way out of the prison of hands, he hung his head. "...fine." His voice was quiet but with those ears? No doubt the human heard him. Fine. He'd accept this fate, but he'd go down fighting. He could already feel this giant moving again. For now however, he let his eyes drift shut, exhausted from his struggle and not sure if he'd even wake up later. Not without digging his claws in for good measure, smiling in grim satisfaction at the pained response he got.

Words rang out above him, "Alright, then let's go! I'll take and get a good look at you to make sure you're not injured and try to find a good place for you to stay!" That cheery voice was going to be the death of him, in more ways than one. Yet, that was the last thing he heard before his mind shut itself off. Oh well. Time to leave his fate to the mercy of this strange, giant being…even if it meant he'd die.

Maybe he wouldn't.

———

Part 2

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da3dm · 1 year ago

Text

In the deep blue sea, there isn't a place for me

—

Got the second part done, yay! This time from Vara's perspective!

I didn't redo the tilted words this time I'm too tired to bother, but enjoy!

Taglist: @brick-a-doodle-do @i-am-beckyu @justarandomsloth @awkwardgtace @nobodywritingao3 @local-squishmallow (if you want to be tagged you HAVE to tell me, I can't magically know)

TW: Unintentional fearplay, begging to die (Noone dies), blood, one curse word...not sure what else, most is the same as last chapter

Word Count: 3.3k

Part 2/2

His days were slow and peaceful, any given second put thinking about what he'd do to help out next. For now, he planned on heading down to the beach to clean up the aftermath of the storm. Trash always washed up in the waves, but storms seemed to bring a whole truck full onto the usually beautiful sand. It made him sad to see it all dirty, so he was bringing some big trash bags and some gloves for the worst of the trash he finds. Alongside it, he stashed a small kit of first aid in the back…wouldn't be much he could do, but sometimes animals got stuck in the trash too. He wanted to make sure they were safe too, just as much as anyone else.

With not much else to do today, he went ahead and got started, climbing into his truck to drive down there. It was about half an hour away from his house, and his favorite place to visit. Not very many people went there…probably because it was hard to get to, kinda secluded. His ears and tail wiggled happily at the thought of that neat little spot being cleaned up. No need to do more than just picking up the trash. People never using it only made it an even better place to be, in his opinion. He loved helping people, but he didn't like crowds very much. Or being pressured into something.

His ears swiveled and he hit the brakes in time to avoid a rude driver, ignoring their horn and continuing onwards. His mood was soured for no more than a few seconds, as he hummed in delight over his thoughts again. Why stay upset when it was already in the past? Instead, he turned on his blinker to head off onto a dirt road. He glanced around to watch for animals, enjoying the lush plants all around him. It didn't take long for the truck to start bouncing, the only half made road ending as he entered what was mostly just a dirt path. A path worn by use rather than being constructed.

Soon, the trees ended and he was greeted by glimmering waters, a bright sun, and…a dirty beach. His smile faltered for a brief moment, but he went ahead and parked his truck after turning off, keeping himself to the side. With his truck safely out of the way, he shoved the gloves and keys in his pocket, then grabbed the trash bags and hopped out. The sun was beating down rather hot today for being past noon. He gave a curious hum and set about his self appointed task, gazing at the water every now and then, sometimes wishing he could know its secrets. He stopped. How could it be so beautiful, and yet so dangerous?

He turned away from the sea at that question to return to his repetitive task. There was no room for a question like that. He'd be stuck trying to know for the rest of his life otherwise. Although…there were a lot more seagulls than he remembered usually being here. This made him speed up a tad, looking for an injured animal they might be picking on. If it was still alive, the birds might peck it to death! That spurred him forward, searching for whatever might be needing help. Of course, he also knew it could be the trash itself, but harm in being on guard to be sure he helped instead of missing it. He'd rather do it for no reason than let one die.

However, he didn't look for very long until he came across a seagull attacking what looked like an empty bottle. He waved the bird off, including a few others that had been coming closer. The bottle just seemed empty to him, half buried and sand obscuring what might be in it. So as he reached for it, he instead looked at the birds, wondering why they were still sticking around. He was a cat beastman, and yet they weren't leaving? His attention returned to the bottle when he found that it was heavier than expected, strangely enough. Maybe it was full of water? He tilted the bottle to pour it out so he didn't get the trash bag wet.

Then a sound entered his sensitive ears. They swiveled toward the bottle and he tipped it back to how it was, confused. Was there something in there? His hand shifted so he could see in better and…froze up, eyes going wide. What he saw there, was a tiny person. He knew that there were plenty of nonhuman things out there, himself included, but tiny people?? Well, not entirely…it looked like it had a tail replacing legs. He'd almost thought they were a fish, honestly. All he could manage was to stare in silence, struck by this thing even existing.

He raised the bottle higher in a hurry to see it better. As he did, the expression was clearer and…was it snarling at him?? Then there was a quiet, muffled sound and he stiffened. It was hard to not find that, probably a growl, adorable. He knew it was a threat, yeah, but the sound was just so small to him. And yet the little thing didn't even try to communicate better and seemed to be trying to get away from him. Did pressing itself against the other side actually make it feel better? He could kinda feel something cold against his hand through the plastic from its new position though, leading him to tilt his head curiously. Why was it so cold?

He paused. Would it be better to try talking? "...hello? Can you understand me? Are you okay?" Just because it looked sentient didn't mean it was. Still…he wasn't getting a response. Not really wanting to believe this was just an animal yet and overall wanting to help regardless, worry filled him. "Alright…I'll get you out of there. Trust me for a few seconds, okay? I'm gonna tip the bottle." After warning, he prepared his free hand to catch it when dumped out. He was very gentle and slow with the action, but winced seeing it scramble for purchase, but steeled himself. He didn't have something to cut it open with and it couldn't be healthy to be in there. If it got in…it could get back out. Maybe he'd have to squeeze the bottle to get it out if it got stuck in the opening.

Except what it chose to do startled him and he stopped, keeping still. It…did it just spread its arms to get stuck? On purpose? That was…a much more intelligent action. Maybe they just didn't speak the same language? "Please, you have to get out before I can help you." When he saw no change, he decided to not move and wait it out. It appeared to have a rather stubborn personality. Well…so did he! He kept himself calm, remaining unmoving and entirely silent, even when it gave out an even angrier growl. This was starting to be make it harder to truly discern sentience. Everyone did something to survive, but was he really seen as such a threat? He wouldn't hurt anyone for anything.

Finally, his patience paid off and it landed right on his palm, the small body rather cold. He sighed in relief, but grew concerned when it didn't move at all at first. When he was about to try and prompt a reaction to make sure it was okay, the creature became so suddenly stiff he could've thought he held an ice cube. In this situation, he normally would've tried to comfort it, but when it looked up at him, his heart felt like it shattered. He chose to watch wordlessly as it sat up, then hung its head. Instantly, the beastman wanted to fret over the small being. Had he hurt it after all? What if it was so stressed it just died?

Soon it turned its gaze back up to meet his and hope blossomed—only to immediately get bitten really hard for something so small. As much as he wanted to, he could only muffle the sound of pain, but not stop his reactive flinch. In a hurry, he let his fingers curl up to keep it from falling off his hand, confused. Why was it biting him now? Before he could even try for an answer, it latched onto one of his fingers, drawing a suppressed whimper out of him. That was more painful than it had a right to be. In a way…it disturbed him to see how much blood was dripping off that bite. As much as he wanted to stop the bleeding, he needed to focus on the scared creature.

Gently, he tried to move his other fingers safely out of harm's way slowly, hoping to avoid eliciting another bad response. All he could think of to do now was attempt to speak again. "Uhm...will you please let go...? That...it kinda hurts?" It seemed to freeze and for a moment he thought it listened, only for just admittedly adorable snarl to ring out, followed by nastily twisting the bite. He winced, nearly gasping in shock at level of pain it could induce. Not a lot of damage, but definitely hurt. Still, he just bit his lip with a solemn nod, muttering, "Yeah, okay, that's fair." He'd scared it after all. It paused again, only to start clawing at his finger this time. He could only take so much, so this time he tried bending his finger to dislodge it.

It worked, but now he had yet another problem. It had a brief look of realization and changed. While its teeth were still bared, the angry look slowly shifted to a fearful one the more it stared at him. He kinda felt like he was being studied. Did it notice he was a cat based beastman? Though that fear didn't last long, and accompanied by what felt like pinpricks on his palm, it looked at him with rage, of all things. He planned to say something else, but it took a breath and screamed, "The hell are you even going to do?! Stop staring and just do something damnit! You're too loud and toying with me! If you're going to do something to me, just do it!" At the very least, he thought it was a scream based on the tone…it was still quieter than one to him.

Regardless, he was taken aback by the harsh implications of that shout. It…no, he, based off the voice, definitely had sentience. Then…what was this small guy? Why…did he sound so scared and angry? He hurriedly raised his hand up to his face, letting his fingers curl in to be sure the fish person didn't fall. It felt a little risky so he gently held them in place and only stopped when level with his eyes. He could feel his stress building as he started to ramble, "What?? You...do you think I want to hurt you? I'm sorry I was too loud...did I really scare you that badly? I wasn't trying really hard not to—" He faltered, trying not to be loud but struggling. "—but I...I messed up? What did I do? How do I fix it? Is there something you want?" Maybe if he got an answer he'd be able to make him feel safe…being seen as scary kinda hurt.

Then all at once, he ended up feeling worse. They had looked up to meet his eyes, only for them for scramble away with a rather heavy shiver. Those tiny eyes were full of so much fear he wanted to cry for them. They weren't answering his questions and they were only getting scared. How could he fix this? Stressing, he brought his hand a little closer to softly asked, "Hey, are you okay? Can't you speak?" He wanted to help if he could. Maybe they got hurt.

But he was interrupted by him snarling again, the tiny voice growling, "Get the fuck away from me." He blinked in surprise and guilt flooded him. Had he really messed up so badly? His voice sounded so weak. Seeing them lean away, he wanted to say something, but was cut off a second time. "Just...just leave me alone or kill me already. I don't want to play these games anymore." The voice was so frightened, but so full of anger that he almost whined.

Then he registered what had been said to him. "Kill you?! I'm not going to kill you!" He was horrified and quickly tried to fix this. Letting go of them, he cupped his hands together to be more gentle and keep them safer. His heart squeezed when this got him glared at. Was this even fixable? Or had he already ruined everything by just trying to help? He hoped not.

He was pulled out of his spiral when the tiny person snapped, "Why not?! You're bigger than me, you're a predator, I shouldn't even still be alive except to be a handy little plaything for your own entertainment!" This time, he was stunned enough he couldn't even begin to reply. How could he? When someone was so hysterical you couldn't reason with them. He probably had a look of pity mixed with his worry, but…plaything? Predator? What did being bigger have anything to do with it? Maybe it was just a sealife thing he didn't understand. Then he got bit. He winced, hand shaking briefly as he fought to not react. He gasped from the spike of pain he got when they twisted their head to make it worse with a growl.

Whining a little, he started to move his other hand. "Please don't do that…" He carefully cupped his hand over the other one, in a manner like a child might use to catch a butterfly. He'd been hoping this would work, but he felt a sharp pain only seconds later from a different spot. Right. Being bitten all over his hand now. Pleasant. He waited, but…the bite was still going. He sighed, "I'll just put you back in the ocean…" Maybe he just needed to free them. He glanced at the birds warily though, worried they'd come after the small man. There wasn't a response though, so he just started walking, keeping an eye on the birds while searching for a good spot to put him. He did notice he wasn't being bitten anymore and his steps seemed to almost toss them around.

He tried to walk a little more carefully, but found himself being amazed at the feeling of a tiny heart racing against his palm. Only for a muffled voice to ring out and startled him into freezing, his ears angling forward to listen. "Wait wait wait!" He could tell it was meant to be shouted really loud, but…he still didn't match that volume he was used to. He felt them move and needle claws grab his skin when he stopped, so he paused to listen in case something else was said.

When nothing came, only silence, he prodded for an explanation instead. "Don't you live there? I'll put you back, are you sure?" It didn't make any sense for them to be scared but not want to be in the ocean. The silent stillness wasn't very promising but he simply took a deep breath and waited this time. It might help to just give time to think.

Finally, it paid off. He could feel movement before the small voice carried to him again. "...I don't want to be in the ocean. Do whatever you want with me, just get rid of me already, but not the ocean…" The tone was faint and almost shaky…it must be stressful to say something like that.

Except he didn't hesitate to agree, though he was a bit regretful to. "Okay, I won't." He felt them stiffen, so he softly added, "I'll just...take you home. You're probably needing some water about now and my skin can't be helping that, not to mention it's really hot out today, huh? And it's not like there's any other water sources around...I don't even know what else you want if you don't want the ocean. Maybe you'll tell me once you're not so dried up?" Silence. He got a very long, drawn out silence. It made him stress all over again. Did he say the wrong thing?

There was a shift in weight before he heard a very soft, "...fine." He'd barely been able to hear it, but now he'd gotten permission. He nodded to himself and turned back around, leaving his trash bag for now. It was more important to help him than to clean the beach. While walking, it kinda felt like they were laying down now and he started to smile, only to feel pricks from claws. He hissed through his teeth but chose not to comment on it.

Rather, he took a deep breath and tried to be himself instead. "Alright, then let's go! I'll take and get a good look at you to make sure you're not injured and try to find a good place for you to stay!" It would be good to check. He wasn't sure what would happen if they dried out, but he doubted it was good. By the time he got to his truck though and went to open the door, they weren't moving anymore. He pulled his hands apart so he could grab the handle, only to see they were entirely limp. A lurch of fear sent cold down his veins and he immediately yanked the door open, jumping inside and reaching for his water canister. He watched them closely while carefully pouring a little bit of water over them, only to stop when he realized he'd run out of water to transport them.

He took a deep breath to calm down. It's fine. They were fine. The tiny fish man was fine. He could see the chest moving. Shaking his head, he decided to put them inside his water canister and set it in the cup holder. Now he just needed to remember not to drink it. With a smile, he shut the door and made his way back over to get the bag of trash he'd abandoned. On his way, he looked around to make sure there wasn't anyone else that needed help. Luckily there wasn't and the trip to his bag was uneventful, so he just collected some trash and dragged the bag away. He'd been out here cleaning the place…he didn't intend to leave what he'd already gathered. Though as he tossed it in the back, he wondered what he'd do with his new acquaintance.

Amidst his pondering he automatically got in his truck, following the smooth, autonomous actions of getting everything set up and started. He glanced to his water and stared, hand flexing as he remembered the feeling of holding such a small body. The cold touch of scales…the fear. He shuddered, his ears pinning back in discomfort. After a moment of staring again, he shifted around until he could drape his tail around the water while in the seat and nodded, satisfied. How long would he be stuck with them though? It wasn't like he could just keep them in cups all the time either…should he get a fishbowl? That seemed mean, the guy hadn't even said where they wanted to go, just away from the ocean. He studied their sleeping form for a moment. He'd probably get to talk to them for a long time, perhaps going on trips or simply being each other's company. Maybe they'd even become good friends.

——

The end

Part 1/2

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da3dm · 2 years ago

Text

Mer AU 1.1

Here’s the mer au!! I switched perspectives towards the end and I hope everyone enjoys it!

Some people who wanted to read this! @beckyu and @brick-a-doodle-do !

TW: Fear, Dehumanization (calling someone ‘it’), vore mention, mouthplay, intentional to unintentional fearplay, fear of dying, fear of being eaten

Word Count: 6.7k

Veiled Curiosity 1

A flash of emerald green scales darted through the reeds at the base of the reef, zipping around to collect whatever interesting shells he could find. The rather bubbly merfolk flitted about curiously, enjoying this brief adventure away from the other merfolk. He’d always found that place so…crowded. It was fun to make new friends, don’t get him wrong, but it could get overwhelming. Somewhat boring, too. Honestly, they wouldn’t like that he was away from them, out in the open gathering items the others thought were useless. He’d be told things about the shells and rocks not being necessary to his survival. Did he care? Nope.

What he so loved about these things was their individual uniqueness. Not a single one was the same, just like how every mer had a different tail and coloration. He couldn't possibly get over it, and so what if it filled his home with useless items? It was always so much more beautiful than leaving it blank, so much less lonely. Of course it always made him receive the strangest looks, bringing back a bag full of stones and shells, but it kept him out of trouble. Thinking back, the only reason they didn’t use more force in stopping him was that he used to prank everyone as a child and only stopped when he started collecting these things.

Today there didn’t seem to be many new ones in this reef though, which was quite disappointing. Usually the changing tides and storms would move the sand and bother the animals enough to bring some out, but he couldn't find very much. Not all too pleased, he swam more to the top and to the side of the reef, skirting the edge before finding a good piece of coral that let him hang his bag. He smiled and left it there, then turned to head down, sparing only a single glance at the trench nearby. It was somewhat of a threat, but he didn’t see any glow and he had no intention of going too close.

Rather, he simply swam to the sand and used his tail to brush at it, hoping to maybe unbury any cool new shells or pebbles. He’d learned this trick for hunting with small sea creatures, but he never really used it for that. Sure, every now and then, but never anything all that important. The action of this however, didn’t quite get a reaction he wanted. A ton of silvery fish darted out of the sand, their swarming spinning him, then dove into the trench along with several items he’d been looking for. He gave a whine and reached a hand out but didn’t dare actually approach that darkness.

That was the world of the leviathans, and despite being curious and explorative, even he knew better than to swim right into certain death. With a pout he instead settled down on the sand, sitting as he used his hands to now lazily search. He was quiet for a while, every now and then finding his eyes trailing back towards the trench. It was a tug of curiosity, urging him to investigate, but…if he went down there, too many things would go wrong. If he was attacked no-one would help him, and even if he came back fine they would never accept something so risky. What if he led a leviathan to them all?

He noisily sighed with his lips making a fun bubbly sound before he let himself fall sideways. His bright green eyes traced the edges of what might as well be called a death trap while he went limp on the sand, only the water currents moving him around. The sand shifted around him as it made his fins sway and he watched it, but was easily growing bored. He frowned and closed his eyes to get at least a little bit of rest. His pod had only just come back from the trip to warmer waters and he hadn’t gotten much rest. Most of it was his fault for swimming all over the place, but hey, he had fun.

Not much time had passed but he must have fallen asleep, because it seemed not even seconds had gone by before something heavy slammed into his head. He gasped in both pain and surprise, his hands going to clutch his head with a groan as he curled up, laughter serving as the background to this agony. Them?? Again??? What was so amusing about throwing rocks at someone?! It was his own bag, sure, but they full well knew what was inside it! He grit his teeth and took a deep breath before he pushed himself up slowly, only sparing a glance at his bag and its now scattered contents.

Putting on a mask of a smile, he looked at them while rubbing where it hit him and acting like it was the joke they thought it was. “O-oh hey! What are you guys doing out here…?” He didn’t really like acting so weak but at the same time, he didn’t want to cause more trouble. In the first place…there were three of them and one of him. Mainly only two really harassed him, but the third was almost more irritating with how they hid in the background smirking all the time. Honestly, he really didn’t hate a lot of things, but these three were an extreme exception. It was hard not to.

The one that always overtook the others so loudly, boldly approached him with crossed arms and an irritating smirk he wanted to slap right off their face. “I should be asking you that, Varazae.” He tensed just slightly at his entire name being used with that tone…especially since he preferred Vara. Just when you thought you couldn't hate someone more than you already did… “You're not supposed to be out by the trench. You reek, it'll bring all those predators right to us.” For someone supposedly worried about dangerous predators, the guy really didn’t seem all that bothered being close to the hole himself.

Vara eyed them but kept up that behavior anyway, wanting to just be released and allowed to slip by them all. “Oh, of course! I should've known better. I apologize.” He didn’t really like saying that either, but it wasn’t wrong. The creatures in there probably could smell him just hanging out up here like some sort of fancy treat offering itself up for dinner. Except when he moved to grab his bag, scooping everything back inside, a hand darted out and snagged the incredibly precious bag from him. Well that immediately got an honest response out of him and he jolted, reaching for that bag. His parents made that!

He received mocking laughter and froze, a pit forming in his stomach over what he’d just done. What would they do now? He’d just given them the exact response they wanted! The bigger mer twirled the bag haphazardly before taking a look inside, face twisting with disgust. “Geeeez, you really do only gather useless junk! And what’s with this bag?? It’s freaking ancient!” He shut the bag, tying it shut tightly, then hoisted it above his head. “Thought you might've at least had something extra in here…oh well, trash goes into the trash dump!” Another thing he hated were the nonsense insults, but he was distracted by something else.

The mer pulled that arm back, grew tense, then chucked it towards the trench. Vara didn't hesitate to shove himself away from the sand and swim after it, his arms outstretched to catch it…and he missed. Horror filled his every inch as he witnessed the most valuable thing in his life, sink into the trench. Obviously, he should leave it and live. Clearly. He dove. Speeding downwards to the tune of their laughter and taunts, he began to curse his horribly weak body, already feeling all kinds of aches. The only silver lining was seeing the strap just barely get caught on a shelf jutting out from the trench wall.

He beamed with relief and went right towards it…until a giant squid pushed itself out of one of the many gaps and tried to grab him. He tried to dodge, unable to retreat at first until he was then backpedaling. Even so, he kept one eye on his bag, searching for an opening, any opening, to get it…and the squid dislodged it from the wall. He cried out wordlessly as it sped into the darkness, but he couldn't chase after it anymore. Instead, he had to refocus on getting out of there! The tentacles were reaching for him and he was already struggling, so he hurriedly just grabbed one and proceeded to bite as hard as possible.

His teeth, sharp like every other merfolk’s, sunk into the soft flesh easily and the creature spasmed in pain momentarily, providing just barely enough time to race right back out of the trench. Of course those guys were still laughing, but he just bit his lip and soared out of the trench, rushing right past all of them. He’d made it mad and was being followed…wasn't hard to guess that much when he heard screams of fear but not pain even as he was passing the reef. Maybe biting it wasn't his best decision? Well he didn’t want to be eaten! Still, it seemed an awful lot like he was leading it to the rest.

When that occurred to him he sucked in a sharp breath and his brows furrowed in concentration. If he fled to the pod…he’d be in trouble. They’d punish him! He glanced back only to see the squid trying way too hard to chase him and regretted looking. Paling, he opted for trying to fit through small gaps, using his extra small body to his advantage and hiding every chance he got among the coral. Of course, he got cut and even zapped a few times, but like usual it was only light sensations and not enough to stop either side of the chase. This wasn’t improving his situation.

In the end, more afraid of being torn apart for a meal, he took some more narrow trips to get close to the pod but not enough to put them in danger. Now he inhaled deeply and shouted, “Help! A squid left the trench!” He needed the guards to help him! It was only desperation that was keeping him going as his breathing steadily became a harsh wheeze and he got slower. He’d always had a weak body, but now he was genuinely despising it for the first time in his life. No wonder they were always so mad at him for not trying to strengthen it! All of that wasn’t even the worst part of this considering the thing made no sound.

By either pure luck or worst nightmare, the guards intervened. They had spears and utilized the special mer magic they'd been training for years, one of them catching Vara tightly. He knew they were mad from the grip alone, but he could help but to turn and watch the fight, feeling a pang of sympathy for the creature as it got hurt. And yet when it escaped alive, he was disappointed. It had taken his bag! He could've gotten it back if that thing didn’t show up! Both his heart and mind were screaming even while he could hardly keep himself up, grief the only thought dominating his head.

The last connection to his parents. His parents who disappeared and no-one would say where. The only two people that hadn’t hated him for just being himself…and he’d lost it today. Never in his life did he think those guys would go as far as to throw something of his into the trench of all things, but…lesson learned. On that note, when he caught sight of those three perfectly unharmed, his blood immediately boiled. It was them. It was their fault. Tossing aside all fear of punishment, he lurched forward despite the iron grip on his arm, snarling and hissing as he swiped at them the moment they came close.

Everyone there was shocked by the usual docile mer trying to attack someone, but not so much as when he spat, “YOU! It was YOU! YOU did this! That was MINE! You KNEW that was mine! Give it BACK! I NEED it! I HATE you!” Vara wasn't the type to explode on anyone. Yeah he’d play tricks, but he wouldn't outright declare his hatred for someone and threaten their life so vehemently. This was the only time Vara wished he hadn't dulled his claws, desperately wanting to tear them apart…but mainly the one who actually did the deed. He was never going to forgive losing that bag.

The guard holding him eventually yanked him back and retrained his arms behind his back even as he writhed, growling with his now bloodied teeth bared on full display. “Varazae, what actually happened?” They sounded concerned, but he knew they'd ask the others the same thing and go by majority. It wouldn't matter to them that he’d lost something like that.

Even so…he hissed out, “He threw my parent’s bag into the trench! And the squid attacked me because of it!” There was still that desperate, shining hope that maybe…maybe they would give him his bag back? Surely, the guards could venture down after it and—

A sigh interrupted his thoughts. “I’m sorry Varazae, you need to let it go.” The guard looked at the other three, everyone there remaining way too calm for his liking. “And you three will be explaining why you thought that was a good idea. Now let’s go, none of us have finished settling back into the area, we need all the help we can get.” He felt empty. When the guard let go of him, he just stayed there, his tail hardly twitching enough to keep him there before he sank. He knew it. Material possessions were always seen as useless and something to abandon…clearly nobody would help the misfit get one back.

Everyone else just left him there, at this point used to not trying to force him to participate in working. He should just be grateful they feed him, really. And protect him. But if they really wanted to protect him, they would have gone into that trench for his bag…because now he was broken. His shaking hands rose to his chest, fingers interlacing as he bit back tears bitterly. Vara’s mind was a maelstrom of emotions, with absolutely none of them going in the same direction and dangerous thoughts building up. Something so simple shouldn’t have caused so much damage to him, but it had.

He squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip, his entire body being wracked with grief and real rage. Except…he didn’t just remain there. After a time, he pushed himself back off the sand and made his way to his personal shelter. When he swam inside, it…looked exactly how he left it, but with more sand scattered about and some of his shells broken or missing. Usually he’d feel relieved by the sight and rush to relax on his bed while dusting off shells with his tail, but right now? He just felt so painfully empty. It wasn’t fair, they knew it wasn't too, but it didn’t matter. An item like that had no real survival value, and so it was to be abandoned.

く⁠コ⁠:⁠彡

It wasn’t even an hour later and he was at the trench, hands clenched and gaze sharp as he glared at the darkness. He was shaking. This was the place always made to be the most hostile of them all, why wouldn't he be? The only thing keeping him here, at the edge of doom, was his own despair. He didn't really have anyone important to him in the pod or the kingdom, no-one ever bothered to get to know him, and he would rather be somewhere else than trying to blend in with all their strange rules. So honestly? What did he have to lose after that one precious item being ripped from him?

Truthfully, he was on the verge of backing out when he heard something weird down there, but a water current pushed him forward until he wasn't over sand anymore, but a seemingly bottomless pit. This made him quite tense, but he merely took a deep breath and went for it, diving towards certain death for an inanimate object. No wonder the other merfolk thought he had problems. Still, he kept going, keeping his arms tucked in close while venturing into the darkness. It was hard not to outright flee back to the relative safety of the reef, considering this only looked like a death pit to him, but backing out now would be even worse.

The way down was slow and risky, with him keeping distance from the space that squid had appeared from earlier but sticking somewhat close to the wall. He didn’t need to add getting turned around to his list of problems. It was easier said than done as everything began to fade out, his own coloring slowly turning dull as the light that was supposed to be above him slowly vanished. This was…creepy. It matched the stories of the trench, of how it would drain all color and light from the world to trap you within its depths. He tried not to dwell on that too much though as it started to spook him.

Still…how was he supposed to find his bag in this darkness? He had to be getting deep enough to be at risk of meeting an adult leviathan at this point, right? Not the best thing to think of, but was his entire mission doomed from the start? His thoughts were spiraling only to be thrown out in an instant when the water shifted, pressure from something massive pushing him around roughly. He bit back a yelp, hands flying to his mouth to keep himself silent as he scanned the area desperately. Something was nearby! He had no clue what, but this wasn't the sort of movement he’d ever felt before, even with that squid earlier.

The water became displaced again, almost seeming to spin him as another motion took place underneath him. A dreaded thought entered his mind—he was being circled. Whatever this creature was had already found him. A shiver ran down his spine, but so much as when a deep growl vibrated through the entire area, shaking his entire body with the force. It was too hard to place the direction it came from, making his heart race as his breathing became short and shallow, tail flitting from side to side as he made attempts to flee only for the water itself to push him away.

Then a white glow lit up the area. It was a dim pulse at first, only to come back again and remain solidified. Before him were towering fingers tipped with claws that could skewer him without a second thought. They curled in towards him as he spun around…only to come face to face with a leviathan. He could have sworn his heart stopped for a moment, one of his hands raising to his chest defensively as he tried to back away. His try at leaving was stopped in an instant when he bumped into those fingers. Vara jolted away from the touch, his eyes instead locking with the ones far above him.

Nothing happening for so long might have made Vara question if he was actually in danger, but the massive creature had such an intense and unsettling gaze that he couldn't imagine it ever being kind. Then the fingers behind him flexed before attempting to close in on him, drawing a gasp out of Vara as he bolted upwards. Somehow this made it even worse, as he was brought to eye level with the constant angry glare…and a snarl that bared the sharp teeth leviathans shared with merfolk. He couldn't tell if that look was more frustration, anger, or hunger, but he wanted none of them.

He started to swim backwards at the same time it moved, rushing towards him with their jaws opening wide. Vara yelped, scrambling to avoid being eaten and assisted by the water displacement this time. He gasped a few times as he felt a rush of adrenaline, head spinning to try and find the giant, who kept turning their glow off. It was both frustrating and terrifying to be toyed with this way, treated as if this was some kind of sick game only meant to draw out the most fear possible. If he wasn't so panicked, he might have even gotten mad over it. But again, he felt the water move before ever seeing the danger.

A smaller glow lit up above him in a red color, and another one, a greenish tone, came from beneath. The white glow of his original pursuer pulsed again, almost like sending a message without words, and the other glows left. He didn’t exactly want to study that, but their scales lighting up made his head snap to it before he could even think it through. This also revealed another thing—there were more leviathans. This wasn't the only one hunting him but it looked like it was currently the biggest. Should he be comforted that it was claiming him from the others, or more scared?

He wasn't given much time before he saw the light pulsing once more, but coming from beneath him. The fang lined mouth was wide open underneath him as it gave another charge. Vara couldn't find a good way to escape the threat, the bright golden eyes narrowing as it got closer. But as if by magic the leviathan was slightly off and the water tugged him down, sliding right past the face as the eyes kept tracking him. He tumbled down its back haphazardly, trying to find purchase or at least remove himself from the current the large body created. With them going this fast, he was much too close.

But the leviathan changed directions, diving down with the glow only dimming rather than shutting off completely, and…he saw it. His bag! On one of the many spikes lining this massive creature, his bag had gotten solidly hooked, almost like it had been tied there. He would have celebrated, but now there was a fully different problem. Vara needed to leave and let it have his bag, or…risk trying to take it while avoiding being eaten. The decision seemed to have been made for him when it tried to come from under him again, using too much speed just like before. As much as he wanted it to shove him out of the trench…it was only tugging him down further.

Except this time when he went down, he tried desperately to take his bag back…but it was on the side fine, creating a battle against the currents he just couldn't win. He was too small, his body too weak. He began to curl up into himself, slowly just wanting to get out of this without being tossed around so painfully, for the leviathan to stop pushing him deeper. All of that was fine and dandy until it seemed to get the same idea and came charging down from above. Vara yelped again and tried to dodge the pull of the water, but his body was sore and definitely going to bruise…if he survived, that is.

The problem this time? The angle did pull him towards the surface, but it also yanked him directly into that massive mouth once combined with his struggling. He fought back a scream, his arms spreading wide in hopes of becoming too inconvenient to eat as the currents shoved him all the way back where he slammed into the throat. The leviathan made a choked sound, their mouth snapping shut and sealing him inside. Not too long after, Vara found himself being slammed against a hard surface by something much softer. The force made his vision swim, close to blacking out if this continued.

Whatever was pushing him—the tongue, he realized with a jolt—released him for a second only to shove him somewhere else. In this darkness he couldn't even tell where he was…until his hands slipped over an eerily smooth surface that his mind immediately registered as teeth. A chill went through him as he was fully pinned against it, only able to think that he was going to be bitten—torn apart while alive and turned into nothing but a snack—then it shoved him a bit harshly again. It hurt—every interaction with the levithan had only hurt so far and that was all he could focus on even when the pressure lightened.

Then a new development took place, a glow starting in the back of the mouth, from the throat, to illuminate the space he was in. He felt his heart skip a beat at being shown such a thing, eyes skipping all over the place. The glow was both comforting, as he could see what it was doing, and yet made it even worse. At the very least, it showed him that he was being pinned to the side of its mouth, the dangerous throat to his right while the deadly teeth were pressed against his back and his other side. Just lovely. Nothing like being trapped in the same place food went. At least the space was still full of water.

Although…with nothing happening for this long, he began to wonder what it was doing. He could feel the giant moving, but had no clue why he was still alive. What, did it not like his taste? He probably did taste more sandy, but he doubted that was a reason. The dark colored tongue then suddenly moved some, the apparently partially forked end wrapping around him and removing him from being along the side. He stiffened some and struggled just a bit, but he didn’t have any high hopes of being able to fight his way out of this. That didn't stop him from squirming when the muscle, somehow still slick in the water, started moving all over him.

He whimpered slightly and tried to push it away from him, this almost searching action making him feel way too much like he was being tasted of all things. It was unsettling him all over again, but he really didn’t have enough strength to even try to resist, and he was all too aware of this. His situation was made worse when the leviathan suddenly hummed, the tone unusual and borderline sounding like a wordless question, but his head was too busy spinning from being too close to the loud noise. They didn’t control their volume at all! The fact a thoughtless hum hurt him brought on another quiver.

This carried on and he failed to notice the pressure changes before the mouth cracked open. Fresh seawater and light flooded around Vara along with it, both trying to shove him deeper inside and pull him out. In the end the latter won as the tongue pushed him out a bit roughly, sending him tumbling through the water with his arms flailing weakly. He was started by this action and glanced around, but he was so drained that his movements were way too slow. His body felt heavier than it should and the world wouldn't even stop spinning…he should be happy he was out, but he hardly felt awake.

The leviathan seemed to have the same sort of thought, the hands raising back up underneath Vara. The mer stared down at those hands before simply closing his eyes. So it was done toying with him? Did it just want to better see what he looked like when torn apart by using sunlight? He just gave up and kept his eyes closed, going limp even as he came into contact with the huge hands. Except…he could have sworn he felt the limb jolt under him. He could feel the hands moving but didn’t register any pain. This brought him to slowly open his eyes just to make sure, and found something strange.

In this light, the giant didn’t seem near as terrifying. The gaze was still just as intense, as if studying every last motion down to a strand of hair, but he could properly see the face without the shadows. Was it possible he could see concern? No, that wasn't right. It had tried to eat him. He couldn't have been released so simply, it wasn't possible. This leviathan must be planning something…right? He flinched when it opened its mouth, expecting to be shoved inside and finally slain, but instead words flowed out smoothly, “Are you dying?” It took him aback. There wasn't any worry in the tone at all, more bored, but the eyes had changed slightly.

Vara quivered, debating whether or not he should answer before it became too overwhelming and he just curled up tightly, his tail wrapping around his as his arms covered his head. It was still speaking too loud. It could still dominate him with a single finger…it didn’t even sound concerned with that question. Was it possible the thing just wanted something to mess with and he might get out alive? Or was this simply another part of the game? It must have started to become impatient, as a huff came from above him and the hands around him began to move.

“Fine, don't talk.” Vara almost screamed when the hands cupped around him next, expecting to be crushed or impaled…but instead found himself being half tossed away from the trench and towards the reef he’d started all of this from. He tumbled through the water yet again, trying to right himself but too dizzy and crashing into the coral instead. As he sunk, he gazed weakly at the leviathan to find it was out of the trench from the shoulders and up, those harsh eyes still on him. “...stay out of the trench.” The sound made him flinch again. “Something that isn't even a snack should know better.” The tone was still…so strange.

He was silent, but the leviathan took their anger with them as they turned and headed straight back down into the darkness, leaving Vara stunned, in pain, and alone. His mind raced. Did he seriously just survive that? It brought him back out of the trench? Why?? It made no sense! Even if he wasn’t enough to be a snack, like it had so rudely pointed out, even merfolk would eat the tiny crabs and fish the size of their fingers! He almost felt insulted, but…he was mostly unharmed and it hadn’t actually done anything to him. Did the leviathan…? He froze, a different thought interrupting him as he remembered something important. That JERK took his bag!

く⁠コ⁠:⁠彡

This day chose to be very strange. He was just minding his own business in the dark, trying to avoid the two young ones that had been following him lately, when something chose to smack his face. Usually he would have just let it keep sinking, but a flash of color from inside of it caught his attention, bringing him to gently reach up and catch it in his far too big hand. Well, this was strange. He’d never seen something like this before. It held what looked like miniscule seashells and rocks, but unless he risked breaking or losing it, he wouldn't know for sure. Did a mer lose this?

He was curious, swimming a bit higher in the trench that day…but he didn’t get all too far before several near accidents with the tiny item occurred. Giving a heavy sigh, he opted for very carefully tying it to one of his spikes, hoping it would stay there. He might have stored it if he wasn’t worried about accidentally eating the thing without noticing. Still, he continued upwards, spending just a little bit of time in thought. He’d been told of merfolk before…that they were fish with hair and hands. Honestly the description didn’t make a lot of sense, but he couldn't remember if he’d seen one when young.

Another factor…was everyone always told him they tasted really good. That when you see one, keep your lights off and eat it before it can bit back. Apparently, the tiny creatures were supposed to have some sort of power and would fight back. Honestly, it only reminded him of all these irritating squids. The creatures made him wish he’d stayed in colder waters, missing the orcas and occasional penguin if he left the trench…but down there, there weren't really any mer. All these other leviathans kept insisting he travel and find some, and so he’d left…but only to shut them up. He didn’t want to hunt a mer, and he wasn’t going back…he just wasn’t interested.

His thoughts were disturbed when he realized that there was a strange motion in the water, heading his direction. When glancing towards it tiredly, it was for his eyes to lock onto what must have once been a bright green tail. At first he was just going to leave it alone, wondering if it was a young leviathan…but it stopped swimming and started looking around way too strangely. It drew his interest. He quietly changed directions, slowly building up to be circling around the smaller, curious about them not seeing him at all. All leviathans could see nearly just just down here…so what was this about? He gave a quiet growl to question, but only got panic.

He got closer, even bringing his hands up under the small creature to find that even then, he went unseen. Now mildly concerned along with being curious, he made his lights pulse, trying to silently ask a question…but he got fear in response and no glow. Only when he watched how they reacted to his hands, and then turned around, did it fully register what this was. He’d just found a mer. No, that couldn't be right. He knew he was frowning and was probably looking like a threat, but he didn’t necessarily care. All those leviathans…had eaten these? Sure, it was bigger than a penguin, but…they looked the same as them.

It took him a moment, but before too long he faintly realized that it must be quite dangerous for them down here. He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly before gently trying to close his hand to grab them. There was a good chance if he didn’t, they'd die. But…the little thing bolted away from his hand, only striking frustration in the leviathan and making him scowl, gritting his teeth in a half growl. Irritated beyond belief by what was honestly a natural reaction, he gave up out of annoyance and forced himself forward instead, pretending to hunt them. Maybe he could just get the thing to go up to the surface on their own and be done with this.

He curved around to do it again when it didn’t leave like an idiot, only to catch sight of the familiar lights of the two that had been messing with him lately. Rather possessively, he flashed his lights in warning, claiming what he’d found and outright threatening them to not come closer. He was satisfied to see their lights vanish as the two left. He grumbled and dove underneath the mer this time, letting his lights pulse in warning so it could avoid him before he actually caught them. Except upon approach…their desperate movements did nothing to help them escape. Was it not scared?

He tilted his head slightly to avoid catching them, watching as it slipped past his face and out of sight down his back. Deciding this thing was rather incompetent, he kept his glow on, but dimmer than it had been. Maybe if it was aware the entire time, he’d be avoided? He tried it again, wishing it would just go up…but when he actually saw how the water forced them downwards, he groaned inwardly. Of course. Smaller creatures had a hard time swimming around leviathans…how he’d so easily forgotten that was a mystery, but at least he now had a general idea of what to do.

This time he came down from above, hoping the water would pull them again, but upwards instead…and that did happen…but not the way he wanted. He could see them struggling and wanted to hurry, but then they just disappeared? He didn’t realize what happened until he was suddenly choking. Well that happened. He coughed to get them out of his throat, but closed his mouth. Obviously attacking with his mouth would end this way…but he’d been trying not to touch them after how scared they’d been. He just wanted to chase them out of the trench, not actually eat them.

Still, to quell any movement that might cause an accident, he pinned them to the roof of his mouth and hurriedly switched directions, wanting to rush them out of the dark area. With that done, he went ahead and stopped pinning them…only for him to just slightly get a taste and immediately shove them away. Well he hadn’t been expecting that. It was actually quite pleasant, but…he pushed them a little, wondering why he wasn't getting any reaction. Usually you'd struggle, not just lay there…right? He lessened the pressure he was using, wondering if that was the problem, but nothing changed.

Was it confused, maybe? He went ahead and lit up again, knowing it would also bring light to the inside, hoping to help somehow. That still didn’t get a reaction. He stopped changing things for a little bit, but with still no change, he half mindlessly wrapped his tongue around them, curious about their somewhat unknown taste, but also hoping to be shown it was still alive. Well, considering it started to squirm, it at least wasn't dead…yet. Had he hurt the small thing? He was feeling just a tad guilty, but was also unable to stop licking at the mer. He knew why the leviathans would eat them, but didn’t understand it.

When it started to grow much brighter he lessened the amount he was pushing them around and hummed questioningly. Why were they so limp? He moved them around only a tiny bit more before he was at the top of the trench and chose to just push them out and take a look. It would suck if he’d scared them to death when he was actually just trying to help them. Seeing how weakly they moved, he reached over to catch them so they wouldn't sink back down…but they looked so lifeless. He found himself flinching against his will when the limp body touched him, but suppressed it quickly.

It was still alive, right? He moved his hands to bring the mer a little closer and inspect them, only to find the bright green eyes meeting his. After what felt like a staring contest, he calmly asked, “Are you dying?” He was concerned quite a bit, actually. It wasn’t unusual for him to do something stupid when frustrated, and this was definitely one of those times again. Although…they just curled up and wouldn't answer him, only sparking that frustration once more and making him cup his hands both under and over the mer. “Fine, don't talk.” He weakly tossed them towards the reef, not expecting them to tumble so badly.

He felt a twinge of guilt over how they stopped, but focused on being sure they were still opening their eyes. When the little green orbs locked onto his again, he decided to warn them, “...stay out of the trench.” He had no clue he was talking too loudly, but knew they were still scared. Maybe a joke would help? “Something that isn't even a snack should know better.'' He got nothing from it even after waiting so he turned away with a shaking head, diving back down into the trench. Why did he even try? Except as he was drifting back to his home in the dark, he had a new thought. Maybe he should have given that mer the item he’d found? Oh well, not like that’s why they were in the trench.

—

End

Voila!!!

First time creating an actual au instead of a book! Also, first time I've done any mouthplay/vore writing so be kind to me QnQ

I'll either post the next chapter or do a diff au, depends on what my headache decides it can write :P

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da3dm · 2 years ago

Text

The Fool and the Dragon 1.2

PERSPECTIVE SWITCH YEAH

People who wanted tagged: @justarandomsloth, @brick-a-doodle-do, @beckyu

TW: intentional harm, trying to drown someone, calling someone ‘it’, mentions of death, intentional fearplay, mention of violence

Personal warning: This switched to someone else’s view and he is extremely violent and doesn’t care about anyone. So take care if you don’t like someone being very cruel...

Word Count: 5k

Chapter 2: The Villain

Well…today couldn't possibly get any worse for him. Today he’d had to fight so many more heroes than seemed right. He was only trying to return the artifact he destroyed…it made his blood boil that they went through so much effort to protect something so useless. It was a waste of his time…so he wasted their time and sent people to the hospital. Perfect. Now they would stay the hell out of his way for a while. That was better than having to see their ridiculous faces so many times in one month. He could feel his scales nearly bristling at the idea of them showing up any more often than they already do.

Smoothly, he used his shadows to transfer himself back home, aiming for in front of the door just in case. He wasn’t entirely certain what he was being cautious of, but…he did have blood on him and there were too many students. It would suck if his roommate happened to be in the apartment and found him showing up somewhere in the house when he was previously not there. The last thing he needed was to hide another body on top of everything else. That was merely more stress than he cared for. Sure, he could probably erase the memory of it, but…where was the fun in that?

Still though, he took a moment to breathe deeply and scan the room, gathering the scents and sounds in the apartment. This made him pause as a momentary flash of annoyance passed through his eyes. It was that scent again. He could never place what exactly it was, but he knew there was something rather small going around and messing with his things. It was borderlining what he’d keep ignoring, but it almost seemed like it wanted him to react. So he wouldn't. He held it in, feeling like tormenting it in return and refusing to allow what it wanted from him.

So…where was it coming from? He stepped forward, glancing about as he looked for something different. It wasn't until he went to sit that the scent hit him full force and he immediately looked at the source. Well now. It had never been that strong before. Was it still there? He could swear he heard a heart racing from the fruit bowl, making him narrow his eyes in thought. Interesting. He turned on the TV to add a background noise to maybe distract the thing, but the smell of fear instantly smacked him and he had to pause. He always despised how some scents affected him.

With a soft, breathless mutter, he reached for the bowl, using a single finger to drag it somewhat closer. That generated a spike in that fear and made him flinch, the emotion way too powerful and trying to grip at him as well. With a sigh, he stopped pulling it closer and instead chose to scan the fruit in an effort to possibly see it. Nothing. He could probably just dump the bowl out and it would be right there…no, that would put an end to it all. It was hard to know why he tried so hard to avoid bringing it into the open, but…what would happen once he found it? Will it just be some random mouse? That would…really suck.

Taking it to the next level, that thought fueled him using his mana sight. Rather quickly, he was able to see something curled up underneath the fruit. The green mana moved and pulsed with their intense fear and had him staring at first. No matter how many times he reminded himself that animals didn’t have such clear mana, it was hard to believe any person would actually be hanging around him. Maybe, if it was a person, he was actually a victim of attempted bullying for what he was? No…that was unlikely. There would have been many different things happening if that was the case.

Since he’d confirmed this, however, he finally just grabbed the fruit on top in an effort to figure out what it was trying to do this time. That's when he was immediately struck with a faint smell of spices and the sight of what was clearly intentionally a smiley face. It was so shocking he found himself freezing up and barely fought down the smile that threatened to come. Why would he smile at something so stupid? Marking it like this could've made the fruit spoil. There. He managed a frown instead, glancing at the bowl again but still not seeing anything. With a slight shrug, he went ahead and took a bite out. Oh.

Oh. He could feel his eyes trying to water as a burning sensation lit up throughout his mouth and tore through his sinuses. Well that was rude. He wheezed slightly, a hand going to his mouth as he found himself unable to smell anything now. It wasn't hard to tell that not much had been put on, but for him, it was plenty enough to ruin his senses for a while. His chest heaved with the following coughs and he set the fruit down, putting his face in his hands and sighing very heavily. “...ow.” He didn’t say much else, but he did glance at the bowl and feel rather irritated by this. Did it know he avoided spice?

A mix of anger and partial amusement had him pausing, but in the end he grabbed the bowl and the pear he’d taken a bite out of. Not hesitating anymore, he casually carried the entire thing away from the living room while fully aware the creature was still inside the bowl. Not too long after, he was in the kitchen and scanning for whatever sort of revenge he could give. In the end he eyes locked onto the sink and he stared, wondering if using it would give away that he knew or not. Maybe not? He’ll just say its to get rid of whatever else might be spicy. Actually…that was a good idea. It might have done this to more.

Grumbling under his breath, he strode to the sink and held it out before he grabbed the spray nozzle and turned it on. The water was cold as he sprayed the fruit, his eyes narrowed unhappily and cruelly as he kept going. What made him stop was realizing he could hear something struggling to breathe. At first he fought with himself, but in the end knew he needed to stop. That was far enough for something that was just a prank. He might have overdone, actually…but he hated spice. It hurt him, but it was hard to tell if the creature knew it was that horrible to him or if they simply wanted to mess with him.

With a sigh that sounded like he wanted to keep going, he turned off the water. Then he took and tipped the bowl just enough to let the water pour out of the holes on the sides. He let a small amount stay pooled in the bottom so he didn't accidentally dump everything out of the bowl, but set it on the counter a tad roughly. Angrily, he muttered, “Putting pepper on fruit…” He chose to leave it at that and walked away, wanting to wash all this blood off. Well, he didn’t really smell it anymore, not with the spice ravaging his senses, but he knew it was still there and would bother him tomorrow if he didn’t.

Like usual, he didn’t bother with his clothes and simply stepped into the shower before it had even warmed up yet, holding his hand out under it as it washed over him. He stared at his hand, remembering what he’d just done with an air of guilt. He shook his head at the thought, scowling as he dropped his hand and started getting himself clean. Why should he feel guilt over retaliating when attacked? That was idiocy! Even in the middle of fights with heroes, he never spared a second glance for those who messed with him. His roommate was an exception…people would notice him missing.

His gaze dropped down, focusing in on the blood flowing past his feet numbly. Except…nothing that tiny being had done had any malice behind it. In a way, this felt like dealing with a child, not an enemy. That made him pause. What if it was a child of some kind? No, he doubted it. Some of the tricks were too thought out to be from a child. He thought it over for a long moment as he considered what all this actually was. Simply pranks? What if it could be a spy of some kind, and it was trying to catch him slipping up? But…then why would the thing put pepper on a pear?

None of it made any sense to him. It felt like someone was sent to specifically torment him even when he was asleep. He swore he could smell that creature in his room every time he woke up. That could be happening for several reasons…none of which were particularly comforting. All he could see was it watching him while he’s asleep, wanting to kill him, trying to know when he’s awake…not a single one felt good in any way. No matter how he spun it…the existence of this thing alone was strange. Could it just be a fairy? It would have to be a wingless one though, but it could be after freedom.

When thinking didn’t bring him any closer to an answer as it did any other time, he huffed in annoyance and turned off the shower. Stepping out, he used his shadows to switch his clothing, leaving the wet set to just hang dry. The new clothes were his usual black t-shirt and pants. It sent a shiver through him at the sudden chill. He never liked that all too much…the cold was much more unpleasant compared to even extreme levels of heat. He paused to glance in the mirror, checking how well his makeup was hiding his scales and not entirely pleased to notice his contacts needed switched out. New ones always hurt.

Eventually he left the bathroom, heading back out and sparing a glance at the kitchen for a moment. He debated it, but found his feet moving against his will to carry him forward. Gazing inside it was to see the fruit bowl still sitting there to dry and…a trail of water from the bowl to the wall. Thinking, he wandered closer and studied the path. Did it just phase through things? As his eyes landed on the wall, he discovered something new. There was a hole in the wall. Well, a carved out opening that shut nearly seamlessly, otherwise unnoticeable. Oh…that was interesting. Were there more?

He was tempted to search, but…that sounded bothersome. More effort than he wanted to even try using. Why do so much for something he wasn't even that interested in? He’s just wasting his time…so with a sigh he grabbed the bowl and went back to the couch to watch the news, wondering if they were showing the feed from his earlier fight yet or not. He wanted to know who exactly interfered in that fight. They had managed to tick him off only to completely vanish into absolutely nothing. That was simply unfair and set him off to no end, like a bad version of his apparently tiny tormentor.

The news was playing through the day’s events, but so far none of it caught his attention. His gaze wandered to the pear he’d taken a bite of, staring at it for a long moment as his lip twitched before he grabbed it. With a slight shrug after studying the smiley face, he went ahead and started to finish eating it. There was still a faint pepper taste, but it was much better than earlier. He wasn't even sure why he was eating it again, but in the end…he did hate wasting food. It’s not always so easy to have food. Yeah that must be it. There couldn't possibly be any other reason.

His tail twitched mindlessly as he returned to watching the screen. That happened to be the same time they switched to ‘breaking news’. Yeah right…it all happened an hour ago, they were just being lazy. But it played out the feed of the fight while he thoroughly scanned the background. Except…as it was shown, he began to notice certain things the heroes had said, being cut out entirely. The scenes were skipped and everything about it made him the one at fault. He growled in annoyance, this action not necessarily new. Then it showed a brief glimpse at the part where he’d been ambushed.

It showed the person for a split second, only to skip to him being injured. Immediately, he gave a shout of anger that really had no solid wording, before he stood up and stormed off. His tail whipped towards the remote, shutting the machine off as he made his way to his room instead. He yanked the door open, stepping inside quickly only to slam it shut hard enough that dust rained down on him. He gave a rather inhuman growl, then sucked in a breath while running a hand through his hair while tipping it up some. He shut his eyes to breathe through his nose, hoping for the calming scent of his room.

That's when an entirely different, but somewhat familiar scent came to him. A wet animal, mixed with that same mint-fruitiness of that creature. So he was still being stalked. At least unlike the human, who smelled of alcohol and, dare he call it a scent, stupidity, this wasn’t too bad. More like an air freshener that kept changing all the time. The same animal with explosiveness was always surrounded by a different plant smell every time he came across it…did it keep going outside or something? Honestly, there were a few times he believed it smelled like a cat of all things.

His eyes reopened to slowly rake through the room, but still couldn't quite place the origin of it. He was used to this being in his room, but it was particularly irritating to never know where it was coming from. Grumbling under his breath, he wandered over to his desk and pulled some papers out like he usually did when it was getting later. It was rather immediate for him to be met with magic language, tensing and internally raging as he worked on it. He was supposedly a powerful villain, but he still had to do his homework. Somehow he was doing this willingly? If it wasn't for learning about magic, he wouldn't be here at all.

It took him a while, honestly, to finish the analysis and interpretations of his many magic based classes…not all of them were on that, though. In some he just needed to read, solve a problem, or write a short essay. Still tiring and was quite simply more than necessary. There was no way they had a real reason for you to write an essay about how wonderful and honorary the language of magic was. Exaggerated, useless assignments that taught him nothing. That’s what it was. But he was already a villain, so he occasionally found a way to make an AI do it for him sometimes.

Around an hour later, feeling like he was being watched the entire time, he finally finished it. With a sigh, he let his head fall into his hands, his shoulders slumping as everything came crashing down on him now that he wasn’t distracted. The artifact he’d tried so hard for today…did help her at all. Like usual, there was no helpful response from his comatose mom laying on that hospital bed. If he didn’t need the life support machines to give her what she needed that healing couldn’t, he would've already brought her home. She’d just be stuck in his bed instead, but it was better than that place.

He ran his hands down his face with a groan, looking up at the wall. His tired eyes scanned the scratches he’d left on the wall when he first came here. He’d calmed down a lot more since then, but…sometimes he wondered if that was only from being so tired of it all. Although, when looking straight ahead of him, he could've sworn he heard something scramble, but…that didn’t make much sense. He hummed softly before he tore his eyes away from the wall and to the pile of completed homework. In all honesty, he completed his work really fast compared to others. Still, it annoyed him.

Leaning back with a stretch, the chair teetering with the threat to fall, he shook out his limbs. Then he took and turned off the light as he stood up, glancing at the now dark room to decide what he was doing next. Really…there was nothing left. Nothing about new artifacts being anywhere nearby, no healing scheduled for his mom, and no homework. So all he could really do, with it being so late, was simply go to sleep. It was that or deal with the even worse people that come out at night…he’s already beaten during the day, he wasn’t interested in the sketchier nighttime folks.

He wandered over to his bed and lay down how he was, only checking if he’d taken off his shoes and socks yet before climbing under the very thin blanket. The half dragon really didn’t need a blanket, he was warm enough as is, but the weight of the fabric was always very comforting to him. Settling into a comfortable position, he stared at the wall again, then glanced at the window. He always had the curtains closed…the light was never the most comfortable for him. That could probably be attributed to his shadow element, but alas…not much else he could really do about it, so why worry over it?

As he was finally letting his eyes drift shut, a distorted, echoing voice entered his mind just in time to be annoying. “”Are you just going to sleep?”” He grumbled in complaint and tightened his closed eyes, trying to ignore it. Underneath him, his shadow wavered, only to somewhat form into a small spot of living shadow…this wasn't the true form, but it was enough to recognize. “”You can't just sleep!”” The shadow moved like it was mad, a hand reaching out just as inky dark as the shadow to push at him. “”Get up!”” This resulted in making him open his eyes just so he could glare at his own shadow.

He didn’t bother speaking. This thing could read his mind and he knew it. Rather, they could hear each other and he already knew what this guy was complaining about. It wasn't his fault that the unknown creature had been in the fruit bowl and messing with his food. For all he knew, it might've been trying to poison him. And it wasn't like he killed the thing. He stopped. He even let it go back home…wherever that was for it. His train of thought remained negative towards the creature, continuously justifying what he’d done one way or another. As a result, all he could hear was an angry buzzing.

Not too long after, that hand came back and grabbed his arm angrily as a person made of shadows came halfway out of the shadow in front of him. “”You know you did wrong! Go apologize! Or at least do something to make up for it!”” Wow. His own shadow was judging him so aggressively…he just wanted to sleep. This was so unfair. With a bit of a groan, he sat up and glared at the shadow, narrowing his eyes unhappily. This was not how he wanted to be spending his time. This was the sort of thing that made him wish he actually could hit this shadow being.

There was absolutely no reason for him to be staying awake for something that might just be an animal. Why apologize to what could be a rat? The smile on the fruit flashed through his mind and he waved the shadow off. He scowled a bit and shook his head before turning to put his feet on the floor. He began to mutter to himself…well, it would look that way to anyone else at least. “No, I’m aware it was that shape. That doesn’t mean anything.” He growled when his shadow tried to shove him onto the floor, whirling around to fix it with a nasty glare. “Keep going, see what happens.”

The shadow wavered for just a moment only to start sending every single hint that it wasn't an animal…but wasn’t trying to push him out anymore. Still though, despite not caring about the images, he rolled his eyes and stood up with a languid stretch, glancing over his shoulder at the shadow. The shadow now fully came out and looked like a perfect replica of himself, simply…made of shadows. He put a hand on his hip and tilted his head while considering the dark form, who crossed their arms at him. Why did his shadow care so much? Not bothered by murder, but irritated over being mean?

He narrowed his eyes quite a bit before just shrugging and stepping across the room, eyeing how his door had been jammed quite haphazardly into the doorframe. He looked at his shadow. “Was there a reason you didn’t catch the door this time? Usually, you do.” The look he got was plenty enough answer and he didn’t miss a beat to sneer, “Right, mister goody-two-shoes.” His tail lashed to the side in irritation as he gripped the handle, working on getting it tugged back open. He needed to be more careful…he’d nearly broken the entire door and frame with that fit.

It wasn’t exactly something he could help. He just felt like he needed to lash out sometimes. In some ways, it was similar to the building frustration over trying and failing to pull the door open. His sharp teeth were bared angrily by the time he gave a way too silent stomp of annoyance and forcefully yanked on it again. It didn’t open, but he got it out of the jam…so annoying. He pulled the door open as the living shadow disappeared where it belonged, leaving him mostly alone. How was he even supposed to try to do this? An animal wouldn't know something is an apology in the first place.

He grumbled to himself, but then heard something creaking from the kitchen. There was silence as he went still. Fine. He turned, walking through the living room to find the kitchen, his steps, as usual, giving no warning. The fact he was even considering doing what his annoying shadow said verged on the edge of ticking him off more, but…it was hard to say he didn't feel any guilt. Or that he wasn't at all curious. Even if he did find the culprit, what was he supposed to do? Say sorry and be friends? Yeah no. At most, he might manage a word of apology before just leaving or trapping it. Depends on what it is.

When stepping close enough to see over the bar, he didn't really…see anything there. This edged on triggering him again but he took a deep breath to settle back down before he went to the doorway instead to study and wait. From what he could tell, most of the sound was coming from inside a cupboard…interesting. Was it a rodent digging through his food? He could swear he saw a furry tail appear at one point for a split second. Was he supposed to apologize to a rat? Or maybe a mouse? No way that’s happening. It left him torn between just going to bed or chasing after it this time.

He took his time deciding what to do, fully aware he could catch it in an instant if he wished to. This also happened to give the little bandit plenty of time to finish whatever it was doing, and his attention was stolen again. The motion of the open door suddenly closing, slowly, deliberately, made him tense. He knew those doors didn’t open and close on their own…and now, looking again, he could see something like a string glinting in the faint light. What…exactly was in this kitchen? If it was that smart and not an animal, why in the world would it mess with him of all people?

There was no way it saw him and decided he’d be friendly enough to prank all the time. He felt a twinge of irritation, but had his thought stolen away when he caught movement. Something was moving around now that the door had stopped at a point it was nearly fully shut, and seemed to plan on exiting the cupboard. He watched. Not a second passed without him closely studying every last sign of life. That familiar scent finally wafted towards him, making his tail flick almost eagerly. He had to admit, it somewhat felt like he might have an instinct to hunt smaller creatures sometimes…but that was ridiculous.

Letting instincts control him would only make his dragon bloodline be branded as even worse than it already was. Alright, why was this creature taking so long to do anything? For several reasons, it was digging at him. His mind was drifting too much. He was getting impatient, something he knew he had a problem with. The worst part of that was the fact he was earning a rather cold scowl, which was not useful for trying to ‘make nice’ like his shadow was just so insistent upon. Yeah. He, in no way, enjoyed having such an insubordinate shadow. It was cool at first, but now it's only irritating.

After so much time passed, he had half a mind to march right over there and just grab it already, when it finally moved. He leaned forward just a tad only to watch something tiny rocket out of the cupboard. Then it jolted to a rather rough stop, seeming to squirm while something else dropped to the counter. Was that…one of the other guy’s granola bars? He watched it fall before returning his gaze to the small creature just in time to watch it plummet. His whole body jolted forward for a moment, but he stilled himself. It bounced off one of the wooden empty shelves and onto the counter.

He tilted his head, trying to understand what it was. That was, until the shelf tipped over while it was scrambling so pitifully that he cringed. Oh…he certainly hated such obviously weak displays. His tail curled when the shelf slammed on top of the small thing, but he simply sighed and shrugged. Well. Guess he didn't need to apologize after all. No use apologizing to a corpse. Couldn't he just go to sleep now? His shadow, of course, protested, and so did a part of him. Leaving something dead out all night would be a horrible smell through the whole apartment…his nose was already sensitive enough, he didn’t need that.

Then he felt a fluttering sensation, a shiver that made his spikes stand up running down his spine. It…was as if something small was moving around inside of a very dark space, where his shadows would easily feel the movement. He paused. Did it survive? He didn’t go closer, but he did narrow his eyes, studying the shelf closely. Maybe it ended up in one of the open spaces? That was a very unusual stroke of luck if he’d ever seen one. So then. Could it get out? He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, his tail merely flicking idly while he let his spikes settle back down.

There. He saw something squirming out of one of the sides, finding himself tempted to go closer to get a better view. Still, after some patience, he started to see a bit more of it…only for a quickly cut off scream to echo through the small space. He went stiff. A scream? That was…a very human scream. Why would there be something like that over there? It wasn’t an animal? Even though it was struggling, he wouldn't go closer. He was stunned. His denials were being thrown in his face right now…unless it was just a human sounding animal? That was far-fetched and stupid, but possible.

He wanted to believe that, but it kept making human noises. He thought about it, but felt a vague sense of frustration. He shuffled slightly to be standing up straight, putting a hand on the doorframe. That’s when it noticed him. Immediately, it went still. Deathly silent. It wasn't long before the scent of fear, way too heavy for its own good. His shadow was assaulting his mind with reminders of every hint and scent that had told him this wasn't an animal, and he tried to push it away every time. He wasn’t even aware of how cold his expression was or what it was doing…he was too in thought.

It had always played childish pranks on him, things that could only be intentional and not caused by an animal. It smelled like different plants and cats, but no cat was that tiny. He always felt like something was watching him for the past few weeks. Not to mention, it had drawn on that fruit. Sure, it didn’t count as a joke to him, but it still was. His shadow was berating him, so intent on being kind as if it knew something he didn't. And it probably did. Everything told him this wasn’t an animal…this thing was more like a human. So it had emotions. A spike of irritation. Damnit. This meant he needed to apologize.

—

Chapter 1

Chapter 3 (unwritten)

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da3dm · 2 years ago

Note

The fool and the dragon (fake fic titles!!!)

THIS BECAME AN ENTIRE AU

The Fool and the Dragon 1.1

This is the mystery au! Starting from a borrower's perspective...

People who wanted tagged: @justarandomsloth, @beckyu, @brick-a-doodle-do

If you want to be tagged for any stories of mine, just lemme know!

TW: Fear, panic, mentions of death, drowning, injuries, calling someone 'it' (if I'm missing one, please tell me)

Word Count: 6k

Chapter 1: The Prankster

It was yet another bright day nearing its end, the inhabitant of the apartment once again absent. Except…it wasn't all that empty. Someone small enough to go unnoticed dashed out of the wall, a blur the only thing visible crossing the floor. With a hurried scramble, the finger sized cat hybrid hauled himself up onto the living room table. Once up he had to crouch and take a moment to breathe, but his ears stayed perked up to listen closely for danger. There were two residents in the apartment. One was human, usually gone most of the week, and extremely aggressive to the other person when home. That guy was a little scary, but not hard to avoid. It was the other one he was being cautious of.

The other man definitely wasn't human and was always way too silent for how terrifying his eyes were. He always looked angry or blank, never said anything to the louder person, and…never fought back. Sure, that makes him sound nice and all, but if that was the case then explain the times he'd heard that guy muttering about the best ways to murder the human without anyone finding the body. Not to mention he kept his claws as sharp as possible and would vanish for a while to come back smelling like blood. What made it worse was the permanent scowl that sent shudders through his body. Honestly, he'd rather be caught by the human than that guy…at least he could predict the former.

Even so…he never could seem to stop himself from messing with him. He hadn't been here long, but for some reason he really wanted to see that guy's expression change. Recently he'd started trying just a small amount of things, purposely taking or moving things that would be noticed. He tried not to do something severe, focusing on things that could have been caused by the human rather than the borrower. He'd done that, but…there really wasn't any reaction. The most it ever got was a tired or annoyed sigh, followed by him just sitting and watching TV. Every single time. It was really beginning to annoy him that this giant didn't even care.

This meant that right now, he was busy trying to do something a little more prank like. So he took a deep breath and got up, boldly going to the bowl in the middle of the table. He slid down the smooth surface and hurriedly grabbed one of the fruit so he wouldn't get stuck, climbing on top of it with some effort. On top of the fruit, he glanced at everything in the bowl and debated which one he would target. He nodded to himself and climbed to one at the top that was a greenish color and shaped weird. He really didn't know what it was, but he was more focused on his mission.

It took him a moment, but he figured out the best spots, took another deep breath to calm down, then dug his dulled claws into the fruit, proceeding to draw a smiley face. He stuck his tongue out in focus, trying to make it big enough to be visible to the giant hybrid, really hoping he'd guessed correctly which one would be eaten first. This would just be depressing if he'd ruined the fruit and it rotted…wasting food always made him feel bad considering it was usually something really hard to get. It made this apartment rather dream-like, giving him enough access to everything that he could do this so easily without being worried about losing anything.

Well, other than that he might be caught from doing this. Still, he carried on, finishing his carving with a sigh. Leaning back, he studied his work with some approving nods, his tail flicking both excitedly and nervously. Taking a glance around the room just to be sure, he reached into his side bag to pull out some of the spices he’d recently nabbed. He debated how wise this prank was and the ways it could possibly go wrong…morally this was probably quite rude, but it was getting tiresome. If he never knew what pushed that guy over the edge…then how could he ever be prepared for it happening?

Obviously this wasn't nice and could end badly for him if they lashed out, but…he just couldn't resist. With a firm nod, he slapped some red pepper powder onto the open cuts, taking a moment to rub it into the fruit before he moved swiftly to gut underneath it. Once under, he began to scratch at it to get the pepper there too. He didn’t put an excessive amount in, but he did know that the human was the only one who ever used this spice. The moody one didn’t even touch it…he'd probably easily taste the pepper if it was unwanted. It made him too nervous to keep thinking about the possible outcomes, so he left it for just watching.

When that was all finally done, he gave a sigh of relief and slumped, studying his handiwork from where he’d slid to be underneath it. That was…the most stupid thing he’d done in a long time, but this might be a tad mean. Oh well…it was revenge for not getting more cookies. Yeah…then that just made this even. Perfect. Guilt gone! Not really, but it was too late to back out of it. He stretched a tad and let himself lean against the fruit for a momentary break from everything. Running so far and climbing this much was always so tiring. Sometimes worth it, but not always.

He was finally getting his body to relax and about to take and head home…when he heard the telltale sound of that strange shadowy thing the one inhabitant of the apartment makes. He stiffened immediately, slowly dropping into a crouch so he could get himself slid down out of sight. It was impossible to tell where the man was with his steps being so ghostly, but his ears were on a swivel anyway. Regardless…it was difficult to hear over the pounding of his own heart. Not even seconds passed before he had himself crammed somewhere he’d go unnoticed, but could suddenly see outside the clear bowl from a small opening between the fruit.

There, right in front of the door, dark wisps were already dispersing from the exact man he’d just been trying to prank, only confirming his fears. His breath hitched and his chest began to hurt when those horribly dangerous golden eyes scanned the room. The man was pausing for something, but…he couldn't tell what he was doing at all! It was the giant finally moving forward that made him start shaking slightly, praying to who knows what that he wouldn't be found at the scene of the crime. The hauntingly silent steps only carried the man closer and closer, where he began to stretch out his arm…

…and grabbed the TV remote. He shuddered watching this massive being, who he was WAY too close to, sit down directly in front of the fruit. The tiny cat moved slightly, trying to see more of what the man was doing, but unable to see him in his entirety anymore. Instead, all he managed to do was freak himself out even more. This guy was…staring. Right. At. The. bowl. He felt trapped, knowing they weren't looking at him, but also aware the giant hadn’t been looking at the TV from the beginning. It was hard not to whimper or just bolt when being even somewhat under that gaze, but…he simply bit his lip and forced himself to stay still.

This made him entirely miss the hand reaching for the bowl. It wasn't until he plainly saw the claw hooking the edge that he found the bowl suddenly sliding closer to the man. His heart felt like it would explode the closer he was dragged, but it came to a stop at the same time as a random flinch from the guy. He held his breath. Was he seen? He could see those gold eyes examining the bowl he was in, making his heart hammer away at his sanity. There was a sigh heavy enough to breeze over him before those eyes seemed to glow for a moment. Was it magic? He knew some of the bigguns had that. He only wished he did.

Then it finally came closer…the hand. He reached for the fruit and grabbed the one he’d targeted, making him both terrified for his life and ecstatic that he might get to see the expression shift directly in front of him. His excitement made him miss the brief twitch up of their lip before the giant was finally taking a bite. He was eager and nervous for the reaction and kept a close eye on what happened. The immediate coughing fit the man had held plenty enough weight to make the borrower feel guilty. Maybe…he shouldn't have laced the fruit with this guy’s least favorite thing.

Watery eyes, rasping breath, reddened face, and the apparent inability to smell or see anything clearly. Was he sensitive to spice? Then what he did was…more bullying than pranking. Well that was one way to make him feel ridiculous for finding it funny. The only thing that made this worse? The rather angry look the bowl…that he was currently in, received. That was closely followed by a hand roughly picking the bowl up, nearly sending him tumbling. He grabbed one of the small holes that lined the sides of the bowl and looked around fearfully. What was he doing with the entire bowl?! Was he going in the trash?!

He could smell what seemed to be the kitchen and scrambled a bit. He knew humans would waste food like this, but not while he was inside it! It was terrifying him and he was so distracted by the thought of being tossed out that he didn’t immediately notice the sound of the faucet. Not until water was slamming into him and shoving him around. The angry mutterings from above mixed with the quickly rising water level set him into a panic. His hiding spot was below the drain holes, leaving him submerged. The worst part was the fruit being in his way of climbing up and the danger of being seen if he did.

The water kept bearing down on him seemingly endlessly, leaving his sputtering and gasping for breath, drenched to the bone. It was when he had nearly faded out that it finally all stopped and went still. Then the bowl tipped. His movements were dulled and too slow, but it didn't matter because he was soon pinned down by one of the items in the bowl. Luckily, he was right over the holes this time as the water spilled over his back and down the drain. He was cold. So cold. Faintly, it felt like the bowl was set down, the giant muttering something his mind only half understood.

It took him nearly ten minutes before he realized the human was gone and began to climb back out. The way up was difficult when weighed down by water and having to use slippery fruit, but he managed it regardless. Out of the bowl, he hardly bothered climbing down all the way and just collapsed. His sopping wet body shivered violently from the chill of the air against what had already been freezing water. All his limbs felt too heavy to even try moving. The only saving grace was that he could still breathe just fine…but now a shudder ran through his entire being as he forced himself to sit up using shaky arms.

He had nearly drowned. From being sprayed by water in a fruit bowl. That was both humiliating and traumatizing to say the least. The…not human had looked so cold, completely uncaring about it. Maybe that was to be expected…they weren’t even aware he was in the thing and had simply reacted to the pepper. Honestly, he was lucky. That could have gotten so much worse if the bowl had been dumped or investigated. Not to mention, he didn’t die. It was like the man stopped before he could…and in a way it reminded him of revenge. Yep. Revenge is best served cold, right? Quite literally in this case.

With a stressed exhale, he got himself onto his shivering legs and looked around, trying to listen for the giant while he worked on getting the water out of his ears. All he could hear was water rushing, making him cringe until he remembered it was the sound of the shower. Oh yeah. The guy had smelled strongly of blood again…he’d been too focused on surviving to pay much attention to that detail. Maybe he should've? Was he more aggressive when he comes home smelling like death? Probably…there would likely have been a reason he’d be so covered in blood since it wasn’t a constant.

Well…with a deep breath, he hauled himself over the counter, the water weighing his entire body down as it pulled at his clothes and fur. He stumbled several times over his own feet, almost losing track of where he was going. It felt like hours, but it was maybe only a few minutes before he was in the walls again, shutting the entrance behind him as he leaned up against it. So now he knew one thing to avoid using…and to never take a moment to breathe when he wasn't hidden away in the walls or completely out of sight. That was too close…he could've been found, and he could have died.

Faintly, he could hear the shower running, the soft mutterings from the cold man inaudible from his location. He sighed heavily as he let himself sink down the wall, his knees up against his chest. Resting his elbow on his knee, he raked his hand through his hair and shut his eyes, trying to settle back down. That was stressful. His ears still twitched mindlessly at every mutter and sound going through the building, but his mind went to silently wondering if the guy was showering fully clothed again. He had never seen any of these big creatures do that before…sure it got the blood off, but didn't they clean clothes a different way?

Grimacing at the reminder that the guy had smelled like he was drenched in blood, the borrower forced himself to his feet. This person was definitely dangerous. It made him wonder, considering the drastic difference between the roommates, if it was simply his race. The guy certainly wasn't human, but past that he didn't know the actual name. What he did know, was that his gaze sometimes felt almost…predatory. Like he’d attack anything that moved and devour everything he destroys. Well, not literally ‘devour’ things, but…it sometimes really felt like it. Made him question even living here.

He stumbled down the path he’d found in the walls when first coming here, slowly heading for his makeshift ‘house’ that he’d hidden away in one of the rooms. His sanity was easily that questionable…after all, he soon found himself within the walls of the glaring guy’s room. From there, he could peer out and view the bed and the door. It…was just a survival decision. Best to keep tabs on the guy that was always here but wasn't human, right? No matter, it didn’t change where he was and that it got lonely otherwise. How he wished to have someone he could sleep next to for comfort.

Then his ears twitched as he realized the shower had turned off, soon hearing the telltale sound of the shadows being in use again. A shudder dashed through him at the brief thought of those dark, wispy, cold shadows wrapping around him, that horrible gaze bearing down on him like he was worth nothing. He would have seen himself being dragged into that inky abyss, but was interrupted by hearing the man exclaim over something, only to notice the TV going quiet. What was the guy doing this time? But…it shouldn't be for him to be concerned over, really. He tuned out the distant, angry mutters, to return to himself.

He sighed and sat in the chair he usually used to sit and watch the strange giant, but this time simply wanting to rest a bit. He needed to be awake for borrowing tonight, he couldn't afford to sleep when it wasn’t quite dark out yet. There was way too much of a risk that he might oversleep…he couldn't let that happen, not with this person. He whispered to himself but crossed his arms on the table and rested his head on them, staring blankly out of the small cut in the wall. This bedroom had a lot of those small cuts…probably from the owner lashing out or something. Still, it hid that he was behind it.

He had started to drift into his thoughts, only for the door to swing open fast enough that wind shoved at his face. With a silent wince, he sat up, watching wide-eyed as the man he’d been thinking of entered the room. It didn’t end there though, as soon after his entire world quaked, the loud slam of the door making his hands fly to his ears in an instant. His sensitive ears rang, his eyes watering from the unsettled dust while he tried to keep his breathing steady. Yeah…this one was very dangerous. Whether it was from just not knowing he was there or simply a lack of care, it still wasn't super safe.

But…an apex predator kept the others away. So he stayed, watching as the giant took a breath and froze up when the room was scanned, looking away to avoid those eyes. A quiet grumble made him look back up. He stared with partial trepidation as the mysterious person came closer, keeping his eyes on every last motion to be certain if he was safe or discovered. Then he noticed him sitting at the desk, a place that was directly in front of him, and moving something around. The sound of paper shuffling soon reached his still throbbing ears softly, a soothing sidenote.

Oh. He was doing that thing he called ‘homework’ again. A slight smile crept onto his lips, easily feeling like he was just sitting across from this giant, who remained staring down, a direction that was somehow away from him right now. His wet tail flicked enjoyably, wondering if this was what being the same size would feel like…sure, it was with someone who would most likely kill him if he was discovered, but in some ways it was comforting. Just imagine how nice it would be to view this strange person from the same level. Maybe he would have been able to find out something brand new and hidden behind those intense eyes.

A sigh bordering being dreamy escaped from him as he leaned against the table to watch the other. It wasn't eventful, not really, but this was one of the rare times he would see just the slightest expression changes. Most of it was just agitation, but on occasion he caught a glimpse of a sort of calmness, as if he was thinking of something important to him. Tonight, though, didn’t seem to be providing that result. Rather, he was there watching the guy rage about something, both of them staying seated for perhaps an hour or more. Then, it seemed to finally be calming down with small signs.

The tiny cat hybrid was surprised when the giant held his head in his hands and drooped. Immediately, he was out of his seat and at the wall, desperately wishing to reach a hand out, to say something, to help that helpless behavior. He didn't see this man show this feeling often, almost less than the number of times he was calm, but it hurt to see every single time. It was clear he was somehow broken, haunted and weighed down by some sort of problem, but he never saw someone try to help. All he ever got to see was this, rather horrible person, being beaten just because he was in the room.

Was that the problem? He doubted it would have quite that much power, though…and he wasn't allowed to think about it too long before the giant clawed hands dragged down the man’s face, and his eyes started studying the room. He stiffened greatly, unnerved by how attentive that gaze seemed to be. When the non-human was staring right at him, and stared for so long, he felt his heart leap into his throat. His chest ached. Those horrid eyes bore into him. He couldn't breathe. He began to gasp silently. A hand flew to his chest, clutching desperately. His mind wasn't even working.

He gasped again, only to fall out of the seat and be startled out of it. He froze, blinking up at the darkness around him, the pounding of his own heart the only thing he could hear. It took him a long few moments until he noticed a shuffling sound like the guy was standing up. With a sigh of relief, he went limp for a long time. Didn’t take him long before he was pushing himself up, sparing only a long enough glance to see the giant was getting in bed as he shuffled around. Well, that was another year off his life. Still, he took a breath and checked his makeshift bag to be certain it had the tools he’d need.

Once he was certain enough he’d taken stock, he looked out once more before he was rushing out of that room, hurrying for the kitchen. He’d rather get the food, materials, and get back home. The human wasn't home often, but the guy came into the apartment at any hour of the day. His only chance was a brief time that the scarier resident was asleep or absent to get himself a meal. He’d wasted the chance earlier in order to play a prank that he still regretted…the water remained heavy on his clothes. He shuddered. Yeah, that was going to be the object of his nightmares for months.

He shrugged the bag on even further and gripped the strap tighter. He probably wasn't going to play any pranks anytime soon…for now he needed to refocus again. Well, sneaking around was one thing when he was in a normal condition, but his wet clothes made the faintest of noise when he ran out onto the laminate counter. All he could do was cringe, then grin and bear it. Not much else he could really do, the only other clothes he had were for winter wear. If he wore those right now, he’d be way too hot to do anything productive…although it was hard to tell which he preferred right now.

It took him a bit of time to get himself properly angled, his swiveling ears hearing phantom sounds that kept making him want to duck and hide. He was fine. Deep breath. He slipped the bag off so he could dig inside of it, pulling out his old hook fashioned out of what was probably once a weapon. He’d never given it much thought when he found it, the thing was useful and that’s all that mattered. So he raised it up and took aim. He didn’t use it often, as most of the time he was nimble enough to climb on his own, but today the cupboards were shut and he was wet. Neither were good.

He let himself fall into debate though, slowing in his movements. Couldn't he just…do this tomorrow? His body ached, his lungs still burned, and his nerves were on a hair trigger. All in all he wasn't in good shape, but…he couldn't afford to simply relax. Who knows what could happen tomorrow. Better to get it and be happy. So he tried to steady himself again while pausing to listen, then studied where he needed to throw it. It was as he examined it that his arms suddenly felt…heavy. Could he actually throw this that far? Successfully? His ears went down for a brief moment before he harshly shook his head. Doesn't matter

Only taking a second to be sure he had it correct, he chucked the hook at the cabinet handle, watching it soar through the air. Miraculously, it hooked. With a faint breath of disbelief, he tugged on the rope. Once. twice. A third time. It didn’t budge. He allowed some tension to fade from his body at last, now just working on getting himself up there. Stepping up to start climbing was easy enough, but he soon found himself needing to tie the rope around his waist, using it as a safety line more than something to hold onto now. Honestly, if he fell it could probably slice him in half if the force was too much.

He blinked in confusion at how negatively his mind had dipped in only a second, frowning while he tugged himself higher. It was important to stay focused. If he drifted off topic, he could get hurt. It wouldn't be hard to lose footing on these items…especially since he found himself balanced precariously on a slick glass jar of some kind. He didn’t bother trying to see what was in it, deciding he didn't have the time to right now. Rather, he just shook his head again and forged higher, finally reaching the handle after enough effort his lungs wheezed. Climbing was a lot harder when you weren't dry.

Still, he shook out his limbs before attempting to go higher. The cupboard door was kinda hard to get open, but he was at least in a good spot for it. He tugged many times until it finally popped open. Then he was met with the sudden new fear of falling when it swung out, bringing him with it. His breath caught in his throat again, but he simply swallowed it down and began to kick, trying to make it swing back shut on his own. Surely, it wouldn't be impossible, right? Since it wasn't entirely comforting to think of it that way, he tried to focus on what he needed to do to fix this instead.

He found himself shaking slightly, gripping the handle with as much strength as he could manage. It was a wonder he was still hanging on this long. Choosing to take a steadying breath, he moved on to swinging his legs rather than wildly kicking. This finally yielded some results. The door creaked as it swung open just a tad more, but then went inward. This repeated a few times, the length steadily increasing until it finally got close enough. He twisted to the other side and shoved off from the door the moment he was near the edge. Sure enough, the door swung back out, taking his hook with it, and he landed horribly.

The jump wasn't too bad, but he teetered on the edge, waving his arms wildly as he tried not to fall. When he started to tip back too much, he whispered, “No, no, no!” But he quickly grabbed the side of the cupboard, twisting his body with the agility of a cat in order to yank himself up into the dark space. He rolled and collided with something heavy, eliciting a sharp hiss of pain, trying to move out of the way just in case it fell over. At this point, the borrower had dragged himself to lean up against one of the walls, trying his best to breathe while he worked on getting back to his feet.

He looked at his arm, his brows knitting together over the pain throbbing through the limb where he’d hit that item. Didn’t seem broken…when he flexed the arm, it still moved, just stiffly. Well…at least he only banged it. Hopefully. It was just another part of what came with being born with a weak body…they thought he wouldn't even be helpful for surviving, hated that he resembled a cat, and tossed him aside. He took a deep breath and clenched his hand into a fist. He would survive better than any of them. While living in the house of someone that was clearly a dangerous giant.

Oh well. He looked around for his target, eventually finding the opened boxes and mentally cheering while hurrying over. It was only while he was wrestling to get an entire granola bar out, that he realized he’d forgotten his bag back down on the counter. Well that was a curse and a half. He groaned and let the bar just fall on top of him, sighing to himself while staring at the wood above him. Why was he just…so small compared to them? Having to live off their food and their houses…he forced the thought out of his head and sat up, glancing around again. Best not to dwell on those sort of things.

With a stretch, he got back on his rather shaky feet, bringing one end of the bar with him. It was a bit too big for him to just carry, so he’d have to drag it. Not too bad…he got a lot of food for the price of dragging one heavy thing back to his room. Excellent. He brought it over to the edge and peered down, glaring at the forgotten bag and at the hook he could probably never get back. It still dangled uselessly from the handle…and his only access was what he’d tied around his waist. That wasn't exactly the most helpful, but…it was probably enough. With his frustration ended he was starting to remember that he’d prepared for this.

Sighing over his forgetfulness, he grabbed the string and began to try pulling the door back to him. It was a bit hard and didn't seem to want to move for him at first, but he eventually got it to start swinging shut. For the price of nearly pitching over the edge a few times, anyway. When the door was getting closer, he tugged the bar closer as he knelt, getting it up on his lap so he could hang onto it. Now he needed to wait. If he pulled the door too fast, it would creak again…he didn’t need that happening. On top of it, his ears were on a swivel once more, trying to catch signs of movement ahead of time.

When he deemed the door close enough, he pulled the string taut and let himself drop. It turned out harder than he’d thought. He was jolted harshly when he reached the end, the bar getting yanked out of his grip from the sudden change. Not only that, the door was trying to swing again. In a bit of a panic, he scrambled with the rope around his waist before letting go. He fell. Soon, he found himself being dropped right onto something, bouncing off the top and falling onto the cold and way too hard counter. He kept his mouth clamped shut to avoid shouting when he landed on his already hurt arm, then went still. Ok. At least this was it.

That was, until whatever he’d hit began to tip. A spike of terror shot through him when his ears picked up the sound of wood sliding, only to look and see something big coming right for him. He scrambled. His dull claws skittered uselessly over the smooth counter. The wood groaned loudly behind him. A whimper escaped his lips, a second before it finally came rushing down. When everything began to darken further, he just gave up and curled up instead. His arms rushed to cover his head. His tail hurried to flick out of the way. His ears pinned down tightly to his head…just as a loud BANG rang out around him.

He was shaking when he moved his arms away from his head, peeking out cautiously…to see nothing. It was pitch black, all the way to the point that his cat eyes couldn't even make out an outline. The shock and fear kept him distracted, wondering what fell. It had some sort of hold and he’d…been lucky enough to end up inside of it. When he tried to move he found his one arm protesting and…one of his legs not budging. He immediately panicked, twisting around to feel for it, only now noticing that light peered through the space between the wood and counter.

There! His hands quickly found where his leg was pinned, having been caught when the wooden item fell. He exhaled shakily, swallowing thickly as he slowly started to register the pain. No! He can't focus on it! It’ll only be worse! He sucked in a breath and moved his arm more to make it pull attention away. With that taken care of, he started trying to lift the object. He planted his hands on either side of his legs and pulled…but it didn't even budge. That wasn't good. Was he trapped? That's even worse. Ears buzzing, he opted to lay down, scooting himself to the edge and using his pinned, aching leg to his advantage.

He had to move awkwardly, but he got himself lined up with the side. Using one hand, he pushed up on the edge while using the other to get himself scooted out. For once, he was glad his body could move like a cat’s. He was nearly out now, only a few more pushes…then something in his leg grated together. The sudden pain made him nearly scream, the sound escaping loudly before a hand slapped over his mouth to muffle it. His eyes squeezed shut. His head swam. He couldn't stop the scream as it continued even while muffled behind his hand. Tears escape him, but…he can't stop.

He squirmed as he fought against the pain until he popped free, gasping air now that he wasn’t surrounded by sheer darkness. His leg was still stuck. Numbly, he acted without thinking and used his other leg to maybe attempt kicking it off. All that resulted in was fighting another scream. So he lay there, on the cold surface of the kitchen counter. Wonderful. His clothes being damp weren't helping…it made him stick more and he couldn't simply slide anymore. All Those poor decisions today led up to his moment, where he’d forgotten how dangerous maneuvering through everything was.

It was unfair, but he wasn't just going to give up. Rather, he pushed himself up to sit before scooting closer to what now looked like some sort of small shelving. Maybe for spices? No matter, he needed to get out of here. He’d been way too loud. Any minute now, a giant could come stomping into the room and capture him to do whatever they want to his pitiful self. He grit his teeth, almost in anger. Now that, the thought of treating any life as worthless, really boiled his blood endlessly. There was never any excuse for it. He tried using that anger in lifting the tiny self, hoping it would give him strength.

Except…while he was struggling to get it to move even a tad, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. At first he didn’t look, thinking it was imagined…he didn't hear anything after all. Then he remembered why pure silence and motion was bad. His head snapped to the side and he swore he lost those nine lives cats were said to have. The giant. The not human. The man was standing in the doorway. Those eyes. Those horrible eyes, right on the borrower. He saw no emotion. No care. Terror slowly crept up his spine while he registered what this meant. What that unmoving, creepy man being here meant.

It wasn’t possible. He must be imagining it. He must be. Why would that dangerous man be staring otherwise? If he was surprised, it might make sense, but…he saw nothing in that blank gaze. No hint of even looking at something. Yet he felt the pressure, the intensity of those eyes boring into him. That was the stuff of nightmares. How could he even begin to believe he was going unnoticed? The eyes were golden rather than their occasional red, but they were glowing. It wasn’t hard to tell which direction they were aimed. He couldn't keep denying it. He’d been seen. He was going to die.

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Chapter 2

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