Between 19. (Patreon)

Pain. Again. Accompanied by a feeling of helplessness and dread. Then silence. The sliding of stone against stone eventually stopped, along with the wailing of nearby Mer. Whether that meant the stone blocked out their screams or they were crushed, Charybdis didn’t know.

He pulled the tiny female closer until she stirred against his chest. That sign of life was enough to calm at least some of his nerves. He only just got her back, losing her again wasn’t an option. Orange bioluminescent marks scattered across her arms, tail and face lit up the narrow space they were in. Stone surrounded them from all sides. This was bad…

‘Are we alive? Is it over?’ Scylla whispered when the rumbling ceased for a long enough time.

‘It would seem so. For now at least.’ If this was an earthquake, there could be aftershocks. If it was an earthquake. Charybdis had his doubts.

Scylla raised her head, taking in their little cell. Her ears drooped as she realized what he already knew. They were trapped. What little room they had, was barely enough for them to turn around in, let alone swim. Her hands brushed up against the rocks, smoothing over the cracks and checking for an opening.

‘Do you think we can dig ourselves out?’ Her eyes met his. Hopeful.

‘Which way is out?’ He sighed. ‘Besides, we can’t dig through stone…’

Unperturbed, Scylla pushed a claw against his chest.

‘Well, can’t you do something to get us out?’

‘Something?’ Repeating her words back, Charybdis cocked his head to the side, staring at the little female.

‘You have fancy blood magic, don’t you.’ She grunted, trying to suppress any anger still very much in her system. He took her anger as a positive sign. It meant she wasn’t scared.

Ah yes. He was a blood witch now. A renegade mer gifted with dark magic. That might have been accurate at one point in his life, except at some point, all blood witches die. They burn fast and bright, leaving chaos in their wake, only to curl up and perish when they inevitably run out of strength and their bodies crumble.

Not him.

He lived. For hundreds of years now. Growing stronger beyond any scope a blood witch could hope to accomplish. How? Charybdis liked to think he was smarter than the others. Self sufficient and cunning. Though in truth, his body was probably better suited to handle the strain. Or maybe he just got lucky.

It was probably best if Scylla didn’t know that though. She seemed equipped to handle the idea of him being a blood witch. Handling it relatively well even, despite the circumstances. Or perhaps she hadn’t processed it yet. Either way, She didn't need to know of his status as a hag just yet. It was safer that way. Definitely.

Staring at the wall of stone in front of them, he didn’t know how much of it there was between them and freedom. Diz wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. He wasn’t even sure if Charybdis could…

‘I’m not sure. Let’s wait for the rocks to settle. I don’t want any of them to slide on top of us.’

Picturing that happening, Scylla instinctively recoiled away from the wall. And into him. The feel of her dorsal fin against his abdomen sent a shiver up his neck, but now definitely wasn’t the time. He’d let his emotions get the better of him today already. Not a mistake he was about to make for a second time.

‘Then what do we do?’ She sighed, clutching her arms to her chest.

‘We wait. Maybe help will come from the outside. You are to be the matron after all. They’ll be looking for you. Knowing Agathis, she’ll personally look underneath every stone if that’s what it takes…’

Worry crept into Scylla’s gaze after hearing his words.

‘Do you think…’ her voice was barely audible. ‘Do you think I caused this?’

‘You?’ Of course she blamed herself. ‘No offense darling, but your little show of force back there only served to knock yourself out of my grasp. I barely felt a thing from that first blow.’

A bruise on his ribs would argue otherwise, but again, she did not need to know this. This wasn’t her fault…The amount of force she had mustered to push him away had been… substantial. It surprised him that she wasn’t hurt because of it. His eyes trailed across her body.

‘You’re hurt.’ He groaned. Blood seeped from a wound on Scylla’s shoulder. A wide gash about a palm length long looking angry and swollen. Displaced and torn scales covered the edges of it.

‘It’s nothing.’ She growled. ‘It could have been so much worse. We could be…’ Melancholy flashed across her face. He knew what she was thinking about. How many of her people got crushed. How many were stuck just like them? Questions he didn’t have answers to.

‘It needs attention. Allow me.’ Scylla frowned and struggled in his grasp, but found there wasn’t really anywhere for her to go. Eventually she gave in with a sigh.

‘You can drop the sweet act…it doesn’t suit you.’ Wrapping her arms across her waist, she stilled.

Grooming was something mer did for one another. This he knew. But for him, it had been several lifetimes ago since being near another in this way. He used magic to take care of his scales, eliminating the need for closeness. As such, he was ridiculously out of practice and his attempt was… somewhat clumsy. Scylla winced once or twice, jolting with pain when he pulled too roughly on a scale or nicked the edge of her wound with his claws. She would’ve been in her right to scold him, but instead she just stayed very still, her body rigid and tense.

Perhaps she didn’t want to start a fight when they were trapped like this.

Or perhaps she wasn’t taking him being a blood witch as well as he initially thought.

He cleaned the edges of the wound, removing pieces of gravel and any loose scales.

‘Does it hurt?’

Scylla hissed, curling her upper lip.

‘It stings a little…, do you think the cavern of the moonsorla collapsed as well?’ Diz tensed at her question. If it did, that place was a deathtrap. Too many mer and only one way out. Scylla clearly realized this as well, her body curled in upon itself a little.

‘I’m sure they’re fine. Your brothers as well. Let’s worry about ourselves first. It’s not like we can help anyone while stuck in here.’

She nodded, but her shoulders didn’t relax. Worrying for others was an unfamiliar concept to him, at least until very recently it was. This little female forced him to experience some undesirable emotions.

‘Were you frightened?’ He asked after a long pause. Scylla turned her head to the side. ‘When I trapped you, I mean.’

She stayed very quiet for a minute, but eventually shook her head.

‘Not exactly, it’s hard to explain. I felt more angry more than I did frightened. I suppose that’s what you’d call ‘betrayal.’’ She glared over her shoulder towards his claws, still picking at her scales. That was fair.

‘Don’t you think you owe me an apology?’ Diz halted, raising an eyebrow at her question.

‘Didn’t I already apologize?’

‘No, you just groveled and told me it wouldn’t happen again. You never actually apologized.’

His teeth smacked together in distaste, but at the same time his lips curled into a smile.

Maybe he did owe her an apology.

‘I never groveled.’ A dull pain flared up almost immediately as Scylla used what little room she had to smack her tail into his flank. He grunted, letting go of her shoulder and sinking down into the stone behind in feigned defeat. The little female glared at him from above, but winced when she tried to raise an arm to turn, pain flashed across her face.

Adrenaline must’ve dulled the pain, with everything settling down, the gash had to hurt.

‘Hold still.’ he commanded. Coiling his arm around Scylla’s waist again, he pulled her down and flush against his chest, trapping her arms between her body and his. Her eyes shot  down in suspicion. He didn’t mind. His tongue darted past his lips, tasting the water and the blood still trickling out of Scylla’s wound.

‘What are you doing?’ Pushing away from him, Scylla tried to get free from his hold, but the attempt was weak.

‘I may not be able to dig through stone right this second, but I can do this.’ Charybdis pressed his mouth to the wound, running his tongue along the edges of it. Scylla shuddered from the contact, but relief was immediately visible on her face. Let this be my apology, he thought. A submissive gesture like this was hard to interpret in any other way.

Charybdis concentrated on the task at hand. Soothing her pain. After a minute, his eyes dilated. Tasting Scylla’s blood was an… unexpected but pleasant side benefit. He really did like the way she tasted.

When he was satisfied with his work and retreated, the wound already looked days old and beginning to heal.

‘That’s… convenient.’ Eyes growing wide, Scylla curiously inspected his work and tested her arm. ‘You could’ve used that after fighting Scython.’

‘Who said I didn’t?’ Sliding the tip of his tongue across his lips, he smiled. She blinked, once then twice. Then rolled her eyes at him.

‘Gods, I’ve been so blind.’

People only saw what he wanted them to see. Sometimes right up until he had his fangs around their throats…

‘You’re pretty fearless, aren’t you?’ Charybdis purred, as he watched Scylla stretch her arm as far as their little hole allowed.

‘How do you reckon?’

‘You just allowed my fangs near your throat without even blinking. I’d call that brave.’

She thought about it for a second.

‘You’re still the same as you were before. You had a chance to kill me, but didn’t. I’m not brave, I just don’t think you’d go through the trouble anymore. It’s not like I could fight you off anyway.’

If she really wanted to, she probably could. Matrons were strong. If he were to face Agathis in battle, he wasn’t sure who would come out on top. Scylla could become like that too.

Scylla sank down, her tail curling up on the cavern floor. If only he had his real tail, he could coil around her so she wouldn’t have to lie on the cold stone. Doing the next best thing, Charybdis wurmed himself behind her, sliding his tail under and around hers and wrapping his arms around her small frame. Holding her like this, he could almost imagine being back in his nest. Just the two of them together.

‘Are you afraid sometimes? What does a blood witch fear?’ A good question.

‘Not at all.’ he answered decisively. As a hag, there wasn’t much that could hurt him, so Charybdis hadn’t really given fear much thought.

‘That’s a load of crap…, look at our situation. Just be honest for a second.’ she glowered.

He exhaled deeply, considering her question more thoroughly.

‘I got worried when I thought I’d hurt you. Back in the tunnels. That I wouldn’t be able to fix my mistake. Almost getting crushed by a mountain of stone was worrisome too.’

Scylla lifted her head to look at him. Charybdis took advantage of the small movement to snake his arm underneath.

‘Worry? That’s not the same as fear.’

‘It is similar enough.’  Fear was for those who couldn’t take care of themselves. It immobilized the body and mind alike. No way in hell he would allow himself to fear.

‘I worry about your mother.’ He grinned to himself.

A corner of Scylla’s mouth rose slightly.

‘Oh, that’s a no brainer,  I even worry about my mother.’ She chuckled. That little laugh released some of the tension in his muscles. I got her to laugh again.

‘I…worry about losing myself sometimes.’ he admitted with a low voice, offering a glimpse of truth.

Scylla turned around in his arms, tucking her head underneath his jaw. She pressed a soft kiss below his gills. Only a peck really, but it left a searing heat upon his skin.

‘Do you worry about that now?’ Her voice but a whisper.

Charybdis took another deep breath as his heart jumped.

‘Not at all.’

(Fresh from the typemachine. Boy , we are zooming this week! I've been reading a lot as well, and reading always makes me wanna continue writing. We have the two of them opening up a little. All it took was a rock slide. Do leave a comment or feedback! I am eager to improve my writing.)