Between 29 (part 1). (Patreon)

Scylla

The tension built into a heartstopping lul of silence. All things as if frozen in time, held back in between the passing of one second to the next. Over in the blink of an eye, yet endless at the same time. Turns out those bloodcurdling moments, where disaster is about to strike, really do slow down time. Perhaps it’s so you can truly let sink in what’s about to happen. What it is you're about to lose if you get caught when time once again begins its flow.

Scylla had a lot to lose now, and she wasn’t going to get caught. Lurching to the side of the beast, she threw her arms around her mothers waist, barely in time to get the two of them out of the way when another leg came crashing down. Her every sense heightened, she could smell the blood oozing from her mothers tail. She could smell her older brother’s fear as well as her mates panic, which quite frankly, sent a dagger of fear down to the pit of her own stomach. The thing, Achypes, seemed disappointed at having failed to skewer his prey twice in a row, and let out a high pitched wail as its body coiled like a spring, ready to pounce.

With a sharp yank, Agathis snapped clear of her daze and started hauling ass with Scylla in tow, the water seemingly propelling the two of them forward, powered by her mothers very will. A large mass of flesh moved in close behind, the rattling of its many legs thrumming on the stone floor, and soon they were trapped in a deadly game of bob and weave. Each turn was a brush with death as the giant closed in.

Then a growl from behind set Scylla’s scales on end as Charybdis joined the fray. Launching himself into Achypes’ flank, throwing the monster of course just enough for what otherwise would have been a deadly lunge. It slowed down for a moment as it identified the cause of the interference, its gaze slowly honing in on her mate, who now scrambled to get out from underneath the giant worm. Its mandibles grinded together creating an ominous rattling.

You dare interfere?!

A hint of disgust coated the thought as Achypes’ voice echoed through her mind. Charybdis visibly shuddered, only to narrowly dodge a swing of the creature's tail.
He failed to see the backswing coming though… The sound of the plates hitting her mate instantly constricted Scylla’s breathing, and if it weren’t for her mothers death grip, she would have surged forward.

Then join the vermin as I cleanse my nest.

Balancing Charybdis against their tail, Achypes whipped the hag towards the two matrons at breakneck speed.
‘Diz!!’ Scylla shouted. Breaking free from her mother, she acted on instinct, pushing out some of her own power to wrap around her mate and cushion his landing. Grateful to see his form decelerate at least a bit before smashing all three of them against the cavern wall, she braced as the sheer size of the male still sent them flying.
Tumbling around like a ball of herring, the mer didn’t have much time to get their bearing before Achypes launched another assault. And this time, they were determined to strike true. Knowing the caves like she did her own scales, Agathis once again grabbed hold of Scylla, who in turn did her best to keep hold of a dazed Charybdis. Water surged around them once more, and the three of them torpedoed upwards, right past the mandibles of Achypes as they reached, but closed around nothing but empty water.
Whether it was sheer luck, or her mothers finesse, Scylla didn’t know, but all three of them slid into an alcove without any more scrapes or bruises. The whole chase couldn’t have lasted more than ten seconds.

Giving her heart a moment to settle before glancing around, Scylla focussed on her own breathing. One, two, nice and easy. The water stilled and so did everything else. For one uncertain moment, the silence scared her.

‘Not my finest moment, I will admit.’ Her mate's voice huffed to her right. Her beautiful mate. His fingers laced hers, giving her hand a meek little squeeze. She squeezed back, still wrapping her head around the fact that they were in one piece. ‘Thanks for dragging me along, darling.’
‘Oh why did you bring the hag, daughter? As if this whole situation wasn’t bad enough already without him here?’ Her mother cried to the left, wincing as she repositioned her tail further into the safety of their little sanctuary.

‘In case you didn’t notice mother, if it weren’t for him, we’d be wormfood.’ Scylla growled. She was still reeling from the chase and was in no way interested in having an argument right now.
‘If it weren’t for him-‘ Scylla could practically see her mother pointing at Diz, even with her eyes closed. ‘-we wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with!’
‘Now hold up, your majesty! What led up to this was not entirely my fault. I’m not completely without blame, but I sure as hell didn’t bury a monster underneath my nest and then conveniently forgot about it, thank you very much. At least own your skeletons.’
These two couldn't be for real?! Scylla bit her lower lip.
‘Will the two of you shut it already?! Do you think arguing like this will help anyone?’

All three of them did shut up. The walls shook as Achypes tried to claw their way inside, a rumble of frustration rising from their throat.

You cannot hide, little ones. These halls are mine. You are ‘mine’, I’ll rip through you before the day is through. You and the traitorous little witch.

‘For better or worse, you’re stuck in this lil’ old hidey hole with me.’ Diz let out a sigh.
Their lil’ hidey hole barely being more than a crack in the ceiling, and with only one way out. Back down towards the one who hunted them.






(So I am in france right now, and as some of you may know, I don't have acces to my usual setup for drawing over here, so there will be no comic panels until I get back. I did however make a promise to myself that I would finish 'Between' while over here. So here goes. Buckle up buddies...)