#megladontale

[waddlebouncefloof]

Leviathantale Mermay 2022 Day 20: Adrift

Summary: Because they were constantly hunted, Cyclops children were nonexistent. At least, that’s what Geno thought.

Geno finds the child in his wanderings. Long after the mortals began to turn on his kind out of fear, he learned that survival came to those who didn’t stay in place. While the number of mortal hunters is dwindling with time as his kinds’ existences are fading from memory, Geno isn’t one to take any chances.

When his sealskin and feet brought him up to the Arctic, Geno didn’t expect to find…them.

Ever since the culling, the Cyclops were too busy fleeing and trying to survive to even think about having children. Not only did the high-stress environment make conception near-impossible, but birthing a child in a world where they would always be hunted seemed cruel.

That’s why Geno’s mind could hardly process the sight in front of him. His single eye focuses completely on the toddler in front of them. The cyclops child barely stands at the height of his knee. Their head tilts upwards to the point of discomfort as if to highlight how small they are. They regard him with the same intensity except it’s fueled by a sharp sort of fear that shakes Geno from his shock.

Geno tries to approach them. That’s a mistake. In his concern and his tentative hope that there are other survivors nearby, he forgets that the child is afraid of him. They bite him with a fierceness that impresses Geno. Ferocity means a higher chance of survival. Ferocity means that Geno doesn’t have to coddle the child if it turns out that they are an orphan. (With a sinking feeling in his nonexistent gut, Geno realizes that no parent would allow their child to wander so far or let their sealskin get this matted. For sea’s sake, there’s still blood around the child’s mouth from their last feeding.)

Somehow, he manages to scoop up the feral child and get a good whiff of their scent.

Oh Mia, Geno despairs when he recognizes the scent from the child’s second-hand pelt. They found you too and now your child is all alone.

Geno has never been close to Mia, but in their brief and short interactions when their paths crossed, he found her charming and kind. He’s uncertain of who the father is, but it’s clear that he’s not in the picture. It’s unusual for seal skins to be used twice, but Geno has a sinking suspicion that Mia must have given the pelt to her child so they could swim and flee when she…could not.

Geno decides then and there that he’s taking the kid with him, willing or not, because as fierce as the child is, there is only so much they can do on their own. And there is no way he’d leave them here to fend for themself.

The child fights him at every step. They hiss and snarl at him while scratching at his arms as he takes them to his shelter where he wrangles them into an impromptu bath session. They wail as he cleans the blood from their mouth and untangles their hair. He makes sure to give their fluffy, white sealskin the same treatment. By the end of it, he has one clean and grumpy toddler.

They become significantly less grumpy when he takes them close to the fire and offers them his food. With a sigh, his hard work is erased as they grasp at the barely-cooked fish with their bare hands and rip its head off viciously with their baby teeth. With a sigh, Geno realizes that he will have to teach them etiquette too on top of many other things.

“I’m Geno,” he says, breaking the silence between them. The child stops chewing and fixes him with an intent stare. “I was a friend of your mother, Mia.”

“...Mama?”

Geno tries not to flinch at the raw grief in the child’s voice. Ah. Mia’s passing must’ve been recent then. They clutch at their sealskin and stains it with fish bits as they nuzzle it. They look even smaller in their efforts to find comfort in the last reminder of their mother.

“Yeah. Your ‘Mama’. We knew each other. I am sorry for your loss,” Geno says, keeping his voice soft. “You are too young to be alone. I’m going to take care of you now.”

The child flinches at that. “No!” They hiss. “Not Blank’s Mama!”

So the child’s name is Blank. That’s good to know. Geno doesn’t take Blank’s visceral reaction to his intention to be their guardian too personally. To their young mind, they’re probably thinking that he’s trying to usurp Mia’s position.

“Not Blank’s Mama,” Geno agrees patiently. “I am Geno,” he makes sure to repeat, “and I will be your Guardian.”

“...Geno? Blank’s Guardian?”

“Yes, Blank’s Guardian. I will be protecting you until you’re big and strong enough to live in this world on your own,” Geno promises. He leans forward and wipes their messy face, making them scowl adorably. “Is that okay with you?”

Blank thinks long and hard about it before giving Geno a cautious nod. “Mmn.”

Well, that’s that. Geno is responsible for a child now.

…Oh no. Geno is responsible for a child now.

—————————————————————

Cyclops!Blank is a spicy feral baby who can and will take your shins out for a yummy fishie. As a Cyclops, they are gigantic and their baby seal form reflects that. Think Leviathan!Blank except they can shift into a feral one-eyed being at will. Their tragic backstory is that they witnessed the violent death of their mother, who had been hiding them under her pelt when Cyclops Hunters found them. At this age, they knew how to swim and hunt on their own, so they managed to take care of themself long enough for Geno to come across them. It takes a while for Blank to warm up to him, but they eventually reach the heartwarming parent-child relationship that they have in “Little Selkie”.

Blue, sobbing at the cuteness that is Blank: Let me hold the child! Please!

Geno: Lol no. They bite.

Blank, from Geno’s arms: Blep.

Sometime in the future…

Megladon!Cross: (Sees giant baby seal)

Megladon!Cross: (Snatches it from the ice) Mine.