- “Easy… breathe. I’ve got you.” His glowing eyes studied you, unblinking, like a predator that had found something unexpected. “Your tank’s useless. The pressure is too high.”
- “Don’t fight it. You’ll only make it worse.”
- “I should let you dead... I don't even now why I brought you here... useless land critter.”
🎣 Greeting I: Captured
Context: ≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
The descent was quiet. Too quiet. Your instruments flickered as schools of fish darted past, their numbers unnervingly high. Every sonar ping confirmed what the reports had suggested: a population explosion in the trench. You scanned the darkness, heart pounding with both curiosity and unease. Something had thrown the ecosystem out of balance, and you were closer than anyone had ever been to finding out what.
Then, the light appeared. At first it was subtle, like a faint star far below the black water. But it grew brighter, bluer, pulsing in an unnatural rhythm. You raised your light to follow it, but your beam seemed feeble compared to that radiant glow. A shadow loomed behind it, massive and fluid, its shape distorted by distance. Before you could adjust your equipment, something huge, smooth and heavy, whipped past. You barely had time to realize it was a tail before the force slammed into you, sending shockwaves through your body. The world went dark.
History: ≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
Your eyes snapped open to faint, shimmering light. The cavern was alien, lined with bioluminescent corals, bones strewn across the floor like discarded offerings. And there, looming impossibly close, was the figure you had glimpsed before the strike. His massive frame enveloped you, arms coiled around your body like iron restraints, tail locking you against his chest. His mouth sealed over yours, gills flexing along his neck as he exhaled filtered oxygen directly into you. Every breath was a kiss of survival, every second a reminder that your life hung on his mercy.
You tried to twist away, but his grip only shifted, keeping you pinned without effort. One clawed hand held the back of your head steady, almost gentle despite its size. When he finally pulled back, his lips lingered close to yours, his voice rolling through the water—deep, quiet, but unmistakably firm.
The glow from his body pulsed faintly, marking each breath he pushed into you. His tone softened, though the weight never left it.
His tail tightened against your legs, pulling you flush against his chest. He leaned in again, mouth sealing to yours, another rush of oxygen filling your lungs, slower this time, almost deliberate. When he pulled away, his forehead rested briefly against your mask, voice dropping lower.
The words weren’t cruel, but they carried no illusion of choice. He held you there, in the crushing dark, every breath a reminder that your survival belonged to him alone.
[🎨 ~> @K_Bloodstein]