Into Wonderland Chapter 3: Octavinelle Part One-
Does anyone know how to do a dropdown thing? I feel bad about these posts filling up a chunk of the tag ;;;; Also sorry for the spam! I’m trying to publish what I already have done so I can finish it quickly!
They choke on sand that fills their mouth, sputtering and coughing as they gag. Seagulls screech ahead, diving into the water that crashes just a few feet short of their feet. Mc groans, rubbing their head as they look around. They seem to be at the bottom of a rocky cliff, at a beach.
About as far from the Savanah they'd been since they got there. They stand and look around frantically. Dread filling their gut as tears prick at their eyes.
"Nonono-" They mutter, pulling at the tunic they were gifted by Leona just hours ago. "Leona!" They yell, choking on their tears. This can't be happening again- They think hopelessly. "Jack!" They scream, running along the shoreline, hoping to find a way to get on top of the cliff, hopefully they'd see all the beastmen standing there and scolding them for doing something stupid again and- I'm never going to see them again. It's just like what happened in Wonderland. "Ruggie!" They choke out with a harsh sob.
"Ten years!" They yell to nobody in particular, hoping that whatever deity that keeps doing this to them will hear and start counting their days. "Ten fucking years! I was only in Wonderland for a day and a half! But ten years?!" They groan, doubling over and letting all their emotions out via screaming at seagulls, the ocean, and an unfortunate crab that might crawl by.
"Hey-" They gasp hearing a teenage boy's voice behind them. They jolt, Savanah instincts kicking in and making them accidentally bitch slap the blue haired boy.
"Oh my gosh I'm so so sorry-" They run over to the boy, who nurses his red cheek with his hand, wincing. "I'm just lost and something happened and I woke up here- Deuce?"
Laughing sounds from the top of the shore bank, and the two of them look up to see a redhead boy laughing to the point of tears and pointing at the blue haired boy. "Ace?"
That makes both of them stop in their tracks. "How do you know my name?" Right, world switching logic.
"Uhh- I knew someone back where I'm from with the same name and you look alike-" They decided to leave out the part where they both had rabbit ears.
"Right..." Deuce interjects. "Anyways. I'm Prince Deuce Spade and this is my advisor, Ace Trappola-"
"Oh my god I just slapped a prince-" They gasped, hands flying to their mouth. Ace laughs.
"Eh kinda helped me out there. You have no idea how many times I want to hit this guy but I can't-" Barking interrupts him from going on any longer. They turn their attention to a white wolf standing on the bank. Is that-
"Oh! And that's Jack!" Deuce introduces them. "Normally we're not allowed to have pets at the castle but I found him when he was a pup and took him in-"
"Thats because you don't have to clean up after him-" Ace mutters.
"Jack..." They smile, glad to at least see a form of their companion of the Savanah. Thinking of the beastmen feels like a knife to their chest and they gasp, tears trickling down their face.
"Hey! Hey!" Deuce is at their side in an instant as they apologize and wipe at their eyes with the backs of their hands. "What's the matter? Did- Did we say something?"
They shake their head. "It's not- it's not that. I just- I'm from really far away and I- I might never see my friends again, at least not for a long while," Jack walks up to them and nudges against their leg, allowing them to pet behind his fluffy ears. They laugh weakly, more tears streaming down their face at the familiarity.
"Jack reminds me a lot of one of my friends so I guess that got me-"
Ace and Deuce stare in shock, Deuce being knocked out of his trance before the former. "I-I'm so sorry-" He stammers before pausing for a moment.
"Hey, why don't you come with us on a trip?"
"What?!" Ace shouts.
"They're clearly upset about being away from their friends!" He defends the stranger. "Besides, we're going to see the neighboring islands and they might know something about where they're from-"
"But it's a stranger! They could try to kill you!" Ace groans.
"Jack trusts them-" He points to the dog, who still happily accepts Mc's head pats, bushy tail wagging behind him.
"He's a dog!" Ace groans as Deuce leads them across the beach. They walk for what feels like forever with the two bickering next to them, until they hit a dock with a giant ship floating at the end.
"This thing is huge..." They gasp in awe, almost tripping over their own two feet as they ascend on to the ship.
"Of course. It's a royal vessel-" Jack runs ahead of them. They talk for a bit, finally setting sail and going on their long awaited journey.
What happens if I do find them? Mc asks themselves, doubting their own hope. I hope they're okay, I mean- Leona almost died! They go on with their worried about their friends, replaying those last moments over and over in their head until it spins.
Until they hear a wet smack and a pained groan from the side of the ship.
"Ow!" A boys voice yelps from the side. Mc rushes over, leaning over the railing and making eye contact with the redheaded boy who clings to the side of the ship, his sea green tail flopping uselessly against the harsh winds of the ocean.
"You're-" They gape.
He lets out another yelp, slowly turning. His worried sky blue eyes crinkle as he offers a nervous smile. "I'm- I'm sorry! I shouldn't be here y'know maybe I shouldn't be talking at all I should be gone by now-" He rambles until Mc cuts him off, sitting with their back to him.
"Don't worry I won't rat you out-" They try to joke. "I'm just curious."
"Oh! I'm curious too!" As the boy says that his eyes trail over to the navy haired boy, who laughs and dances with the other teens on board. Jack sits across the deck, ever watchful eyes keeping track of anyone who might look suspicious.
"Of... Deuce?"
"Is that his name?" The boy sighs. Mc nods, looking between the two. "Name... Oh! I'm Rielle!" The boy extends a cold hand towards Mc, who hesitantly shakes it, careful of the soft webbing between each finger.
"Mc." They nod, looking at the boy.
"Hey uh.. quick question-" Mc starts. The boy turns his attention to them once more, tiktong his head. "Are there... eel... uhh..."
"Eel mers?" Rielle finishes.
They nod vigorously. "Yes!"
"Well... there's mers of every kind I guess. It's hard to find a strictly eel mer... or a mer of just one species for one!"
"What do you mean?"
"Most mer, like myself, are mixed so much that our tails rarely match up with one species of fish. Though, if you live in an area with a lot of sharkmer you'll probably find a pureblooded sharkmer, a place with a lot of cecaelia you'll find a lot of octomer-" The boy pauses, beaming. "I'm glad I remembered all that from those boring lessons-"
"Oh-" Mc starts, unsure of what to do with all the information they just received.
"Why do you ask?"
"J-just curious-" If they could avoid it, they'd like to stay out of the way of the twins they'd met back in Wonderland.
"Oh okay!" The boy chirps, going back to watching the humans dance on the wooden deck. "Can I ask you a question?" He whispers, voice soft.
"Yeah?"
"What's it like to dance? Or to walk or to-" The boy stammers a bit before sighing.
"Well it's-" They're cut off by a sharp jolt of the ship. On instinct they reach down and hold on to Rielle's forearm, the little bit of slime and small scales making it hard to grasp.
"I'll be fine!" He yells up after the ship screams and threatens to crack. Thunder booms overhead as it rocks and Mc slams against the railing, falling with the mer into the icy water. They let out a scream at the shock of the cold, choking on the water. Rielle grabs their arm and pulls them to a piece of driftwood. They can see the ship on fire out of the corner of their eyes, hazy with smoke and probably the concussion they had from hitting the water at that height. They can hear Deuce yelling, followed by Jack's pained yelps from the burning ship.
The last thing they see before they black out is Deuce throwing Jack off the ship into a lifeboat before plummeting to the sea, to where Rielle's fiery red hair waited just under the surface.
They wake up to a claw poking their cheek. "Hey-!" The claw pokes harder. "Ne- Jade- I think they croaked-"
"Nonsense. They're alive. Look, their tail is moving."
"Hey!" They get a firm smack to the forehead. They gasp and jolt awake, their forehead smacking the one hovering over theirs. The boy yelps and swims back. "Hey! What did ya do that for?!"
"I'm sorr-" They rub their own forehead and look over to see the same pairs of mismatched eyes that haunted their dreams of Wonderland. Really, universe?
"Oh, I'm glad to see your awake-" The softer twin steps forward. "How are you feeling?"
"Good I think-" The go to swing their legs over the ledge of the rock they were laying on, only to find it difficult to separate them. A tail swishes to the side where their legs should be and look down in horror to see that it had replaced them.
"What?!" They shriek, patting at the tail with their hands. Their hands also look discolored, now set with claws and thin webs between their fingers. They gasp and feel water rush in from the sides of their neck.
The twins watch in amusement, with Floyd laughing hysterically and Jade grinning behind his hand. "I hope you don't mind but we took the liberty of testing out a new potion on you. It's rare to get a human specimen around here. I do hope you understand-"
"I- a- po- Specimen!?" They yelp, hitting their head against the roof of the cave as they try to swim with their new tail. They try to stand upright but end up smacking both twins, making them both laugh again.
The human- well, used to be human- hides their face in the hands, humiliation kicking in. "Please stop-"
"Nope~!" Floyd laughs, circling Mc until his tail was tightly wrapped around theirs. His arms wrap around their throat, covering their gills. They try to shimmy out of his grip but end up making him squeeze them tighter instead.
"Can't-" They choke out. "Breathe-"
"Floyd." Jade warns. The other boy pouts but lets them go, not before giving them another rib crushing hug.
"I can't help it! They're so squishy in their new form! They look like a little minnow ready for me to sink my teeth into-" He lets out a high pitched giggle and chills run down their spine.
"We won't eat you, right, Floyd?" The calmer twin swims towards Mc, who still struggles to swim upright to look him in the eyes.
The other twin lets out a long, pained groan and rolls his eyes dramatically. "Riiiight-" He grunts as he flops into a bed of seaweed. "'Zul's orders-"
"Zul?" Mc asks.
"Azul Ashengrotto. The man who made your potion and now, your new boss."
"Boss?!" They yelp. "I never agreed to anything of that sort!"
"Hm? I thought it was fair." Jade hums, grabbing their arms and making them stand upright, moving their tail manually until they can swim straight.
"I mean, ya get to live after that shipwreck, and you get a free potion too-" Floyd begins.
"So it's only fair that you work with us." Jade finishes his twins sentence. Mc sputters and follows them as they leave the cave, swimming haphazardly through the open waters and ducking between large rocks and fish. Floyd practically crushes Mc with how tightly he holds them so they won't run off or swim into something else.
"B-but Rielle was going to save me! He told me to-"
"Rielle?" Floyd interrupts them, making them grumble and wriggle a bit in the eels hold. "Hey, Jade, why does that sound familiar?"
The other twin merely chuckles. "Thats the boy Azul was helping earlier-"
"Helping?" Mc asks. "What happened? Is he okay?"
"Oh he's just great~!" Floyd giggles. "Came into 'Zul's office all lovey dovey and traded his tail and voice for legs!"
"Oh..." Mc sighs. "He did ask me before what it was like to dance-"
"Before?" Jade asks. "This is interesting."
"Mhm!" Floyd laughs as they approach the shoreline. The surface of the water is clearly visible now, and they can see something floating above them. They can see other fish twirling around the boat as if dancing, and soft humming coming from the boat above.
"Floyd." Jade instructs.
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