Between 29. (part 2) (Patreon)

(Authors note. I feel like it is important I put this above the actual chapter this time, cause this one gave me quite the headache. Agathis voluntueering to sacrifice herself, always felt off to me, yet I couldn't see a way to push the story forward without it. Yes, Charybdis is smitten, but would he give up his own life for the sake of others? Unlikely. Would a mother suggest sacrificing herself for her child? In some cases, yes. Would Agathis? Maybe. As you'll find out when reading the chapter, I am going to leave this up in the wind and leave you wondering. Was she sincere of was it all a bluff? We also find out a little more about what drives Charybdis. In any case, I am happy to say that I see little problem with the chapters going forth! This one was a blockade that took me longer than I care to admit to overcome, but I think I've passed the hurdle. ;) Thanks for waiting patiently! Love, Nym) 

Majestic wasn’t quite the right word, but watching both Agathis and Charybdis in close proximity to each other brought about some kind of awe in Scylla. These two larger than life entities, sharing a space that was barely the size of her own den, well, it sent a ripple across her scales. Perhaps anxiety was a more accurate term, but the stomach twirling sensation could easily be interchanged with excitement and awe… They were like two sharks circling each other, waiting for the opportune moment to strike, each lashing out with ideas on how they should approach their escape.

‘You’d have us wait him out? Wait until we turn to barnacles on the ceiling?’ Her mother sneered. Charybdis stayed still, except for an almost imperceivable roll of his eyes.

‘Be my guest to go down there and try your luck, your grace. I’m not risking my neck to test your theory that we could outswim a creature like that.’ A grimace plastered his features. ‘You saw how well that went last time.’

‘That was because we were all together. If we go separate, our chances would be better…’ her mother barked, as if pointing out the obvious.

‘Oh, so you’d be okay if just one of us got eaten?’ Charybdis hissed. Here it comes…

‘Well, not just any one of us…’

She’d be fine with Charybdis being dinner. Scylla knew without any doubt. Shifting her weight from one arm to the other. As practical as always. Her mother was taking Scylla being mated to Charybdis about as well as Scylla had expected. Which was to say, not great at all. Escaping Achypes was priority one for now, but if Agathis could get rid of her new son in law in the process, it wouldn’t be any scales of her back…

At the same time, Charybdis clearly didn’t feel conflicted about leaving her mother behind either, and he wasn’t making an effort to mask. Though her tail had stopped bleeding, the scales around it looked pale and dull, she’d lost a lot of blood and would be slower than normal. Any chance she had of successfully making a break for it , would be greatly diminished. Ever the pinnacle of pride, mother wasn’t the type to complain, but Scylla could tell she was hurting. A dagger of nerves sank into Scylla’s chest. If only she could get them to see, they needed each other to get out of this mess. The three of them together. But here they were, her mother and mate staring at each other with enough hatred to fill the deep dark…The chances of them working together were slim.

‘All three of us are getting out. All three of us, together.’ She tried.

‘Of course we are sweety. Mommy will figure something out.’ Her mother cooed softly, as if she was still a pup that needed the comfort. Before Scylla would have let her mothers tone slide, but now she felt the fins on her neck raise. Before finding the right words, it was Charybdis who interjected.

‘Don’t fucking patronize her.’ He growled as his gaze darkened. It was unusual for him to be the hotheaded one. Ignoring her mothers disdained chuff as Scylla swam up to her mate, she leaned in close giving him an appreciative nudge.

‘How about you? Any ideas?’ She whispered close to his ear. His posture softened ever so slightly.

‘That depends—,’ throwing a glance over his shoulder, he looked back towards a very attentive Agathis. ‘—I could probably get us away from here, but her…’

There wasn’t any room for privacy, so even though Agathis pretended not to listen, her ears perked up. ‘She’ll slow us down. We should—,’

‘Don’t you dare say it.’ Scylla snarled.

‘Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. You won’t leave her behind, so fleeing isn’t an option, that leaves us with facing Achypes.’ By the way he hunched over, stiffening as he looked over towards the void below them, into the murky darkness that hid Achypes’ huge body, it became clear Charybdis really didn’t want to try that.

‘You don’t think we can beat him?’ There had to be something they could do? Two matrons and a hag against whatever deepspawn Achypes was? There had to be a way.

‘Not with complete certainty, no. He’s freshly woken up and hungry right now, irrational. That could work in our favor, but he’s ancient. If he’s like me…’ the hag swallowed, creating an uncomfortable pause, ‘—and he probably is, he’ll only get much stronger if we let him rest. Whether we flee or fight, the longer we stay up here, the worse our chances get.’

‘So we go down there and face him.’ Scylla whispered, summoning a bravado she didn’t really feel.

‘I’m honestly thinking it would be easier just to knock you out and drag you away from here by myself.’ He cautiously admitted while rubbing his temples with both claws. Before Scylla could point out that she’d skewer him if he ever pulled anything like that again, his arm snaked behind her waist as he pressed her close. ‘If we go out there, fangs bared and ready to throw down, but we fail, would you be okay if only one of us makes it out? If none of us do?’ He gestured towards Agathis. At her back, Scylla’s mother shifted uncomfortably.

The idea of surviving by herself turned Scylla’s blood to ice, but worse yet was picturing Charybdis all alone once again. She didn’t know what that would do to him, and by the way he clutched her, as if afraid that she would already slip away, made her buckle even more. Being mated was funny like that. All of the sudden, she wasn’t sure what the best plan was anymore.

‘Well, at least he is right about one thing. One of us should live.’ Her mother softly spoke at her back. Scylla hurled herself around, ears ringing with what was implied, but her mother didn’t give much time for a rebuttal.

‘I can’t blame him for having a preference as to which one of us that should be. I do too.’ She solemnly smiled. ‘The pod needs you.’

Scylla could feel herself drift away, eyes starting to sting and burn.

‘Don’t! Don’t say shit like that! They need you. I need you! The pods still needs you.’

‘I wish that were true.’ Hugging her daughter tight, Agathis felt warm and comforting.

‘You.’ The bone chilling tone of voice Agathis used meant she was now directling her attention to Charybdis. ‘You’re still here, so I’m cautiously considering that you might actually care. Can you make sure she escapes?’

Charybdis

The disbelief in Scylla’s eyes was telling. Her mother wasn’t the self-sacrificing type, so the implication here was too unreal. Scylla violently shook her head while trying to get out of her mothers grasp.

‘Don’t be ridiculous! All of us are leaving!’ Her screaming stirred the monster below, it’s head popping out of the dark, turning upward and tilting sideways inquisitively. As brilliant as the idea of Agathis sacrificing herself so her daughter could get away sounded, an ever present part of him just didn’t buy it. It was too convenient, too easy.

The pain and worry Scylla felt radiated to him, which didn’t help matters either. Blocking those emotions was tiring and It made him feel paranoid, made him second guess what otherwise would have been crystal clear.

“I can get her out.” He cautiously replied, distrust stuck halfway down his throat as he watched the two females. What other option was there?

Agathis nodded, a hint of calm filling her expression.

“Then we agree on something.” Her arms pulled Scylla into a tight embrace, and for a moment, Charybdis figured his doubts were misplaced. After all, shouldn’t a mothers love for her pup be exactly this? Just because his own mother, as vague as his memories were, didn’t live up to the standard, didn’t mean Agathis couldn’t at least do this for Scylla.

(Play "The wrath", by Olivier Deriviere, for a fitting soundtrack)

An itch flitted over the back of his neck, just a second before disaster struck and their hiding place was torn asunder. A spear tipped leg cut from below, piercing through the stone, and hitting the ceiling above with enough force to shatter the rock. Apparently Achypes grew tired of waiting them out. Their shot in the dark had missed the three of them, but only barely. With Charybdis on one side of their leg and the females on the other. Little remained of their hiding spot. Debris came tumbling down, and in an instant, Charybdis was forced back out into the open in order to avoid being crushed. His eyes frantically darted across the hall. A part of Achypes’ body was pressed against what used to be the ceiling, the creature hissed with glee as it spotted him. For one blood curdling moment, Charybdis feared it would lunge. Luckily, it was working on pulling itself free. He had maybe a couple of seconds before all hell would break loose.

Where did the girls go? Where was Scylla? His ears flicked back and forth as he scanned the room, but silt and debris made it impossible to see anything but the coil of Achypes as its body found the leverage it needed to pull its leg loose. Did they duck out as well? Were they still up there? A giant boulder came crashing down together with Achypes’ body, utterly destroying one of the columns as it reached the cavern floor. Charybdis’ blood turned cold as the idea of Scylla still being trapped up there took hold.

Six beady red dots honed in on him, another moment of hesitation would be the end. Charybdis dodged an incoming claw, mostly on instinct, as his mind was still trying desperately to decide between fight or flight. The bulk of Achypes’ body surged toward him in a snakelike movement, using the spikes that lined its carapace as yet another weapon in its arsenal. Pain surged through his left  flank as a row of knifelike spikes cut through the flesh of his abdomen. The wound wasn’t deep enough to hit anything vital, but stung like hell and threatened to slow him down. Ducking out of the way and underneath another stabbing leg, Charybdis surged upwards and roared his mate's name.

Achypes chittered as if amused by his desperation.

Pathetic little witch. It sneered before going for another deadly stab. Charybdis pushed the leg aside, narrowly dodging the brunt of the force. He listened for anything, a whimper, a breath, any sign of life, but nothing came. He tried again, with the same result. Only this time, the giant centipede straight up laughed at him, going as far as pausing its assault to revel in his suffering.

At his back was the tunnel that would lead outside. A gentle current beckoning him to safety. His path to freedom. His entire being screamed at him to flee. His own claws pierced into his palm as his hands folded into fists.

You lack what it takes to grow ancient, little one. Let me end your suffering. The creature leaned in, its voice laced with feigned compassion.

Charybdis shuddered, looking up at Achypes, seeing his worst fear manifested. A creature which cast aside everything except the will to live. The cold current at his back sang its siren song once again, but this time, he saw the creature before him for what it truly was. A mirror into his future. A long and lonely existence that eventually lead to…

Being an overgrown monster at the bottom of a tomb. Forgotten by everyone. Destined to pop up every couple of hundred years to sate a never ending hunger. Not quite as glamorous as he figured his golden years would be. In that moment, it sounded like a fate worse than death. He’d been on a collision course with this fate before… but now?

A crazy, ill-informed idea popped into the hags head. He was beat up, wounded and more than a little crazed, yes. But in the last couple of days, he’d also fed more than he did over the span of years, and he’d drunk from his mate, Scylla, A matron. The irony given the situation wasn’t lost on him, yet this was exactly the advantage he had against a creature like Achypes, who lay dormant and starving for god knows how long. A smile crept onto his face as the crazy little idea solidified and took hold.

“I won’t be put down like some disfigured pup.” The words coming from his own mouth sounded surreal and distant. “You want your nest back? Come and get it, Old man…”