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peachesofteal · 2 months

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Dad!John Price/female reader The Ocean anthology Note: The orcas mentioned in this series are based on a real population. Coolest things on this planet.

The strait is quiet.

Fog rolls across glass, painting grey sea smoke on top of clear, hyaline waters, mirror images cast from horizon to cliff. It’s a prehistoric stillness, the kind that’s sung low in the belly of this passage for millions of years, volcanos and glaciers all doing their worst, their best, to shape and carve this land to be as it’s known now.

Granitic wall looms above and below, plummeting into the earth beneath you until the water is too deep to see where it ends and hell begins, water and plants and light refracting into a teal green color. painting the pitch something most only see in magazines. It stretches tall too, forms the base of the islands, of all the land that flanks the strait, and you have to crane your neck to see where rock ends and soil begins.

It’s a marvel onto itself, but you’re not here for the geology.

Where are they?

Your paddle dips, pushes, forging a path through the quiet, preternatural stillness, wrists to ribs moving with hypnotic pace. Left, right, left, right. Dig. Dip. Your lungs burn, muscles ache, and still you paddle, up and down the coast, maintaining your determined pace in the face of exhaustion, forcing yourself past the brink of logic and reason, as always, in the pursuit of passion. You focus on your breath, on the cold, settling it in your bones, falling into the beautiful rhythm that is paddling, cold sea spray dripping down to your gloves.

It’s easy to get lost in the quiet of the water. The fog and the cliffs crowd inwards, silent watchers of a sacred place, protectors of a balance long disturbed and derailed everywhere else in this world. Your paddle strokes in perfect time, kayak cutting through the eerie mists and propelling you forward, focus fixed on the horizon, looking, listening. Waiting. You simmer in the silence, straining to hear the telltale blow of air, the signal of surfacing.

Nothing comes.

Where are they?

Salmon jump in front of the kayak, shattering the serenity in their wriggling flight.

The residents elude you. You say good morning to an otter, a sea lion the size of two men, some curious Dall’s porpoise, but are left bereaved at the noticeable absence of the pods.

It’s the first day. It’s okay, it’s only the first day.

The alarm on your watch goes off, just as the lighthouse, affectionately named Little Rock, looms ahead, faded and chipped green paint calling you back to the cove, a glacial breeze whipping under your goretex and neoprene, cutting to the quick, right down to flesh and bone.

Time’s up.

“Did you see them?!” Aly bounces on her toes at the edge of the dock, running alongside the pace of your paddling.

“No.” Your tone is light, but you don’t hide the disappointment, and she smiles sadly, sympathetically. What a smart kid.

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay.”

“Are you coming in now?” You nod, motioning to the beach, and she skips ahead, running down the steps onto where millions of little pearled rocks give way under her feet, echoing the same as you run the fiberglass bottom of your kayak aground, popping your legs out on either side.

“I know you wanted to see them.” Her eyes are wide and a little fearful. You frown.

“I’ve got all year, I’ll see them. Don’t worry.” The assurance is tepid, but present, and she shrugs.

“You should ask my dad. He knows where they are a lot.”

“Oh yeah?” You could try. She nods, excited, shiny dark braids gleaming in the mid-morning sun. You glance around, looking for an adult, or someone who accompanied here down here, but there’s no one, and you chew on it, pulling your boat higher up than the tide will reach today. “Shouldn’t you like, be in school or something?”

“I do school online.” She rolls her eyes, gap tooth grin stretched across her face. “It’s for gifted kids but I always finish early.”

“Does your dad know you’re running around this place unsupervised?” She shakes her head, and then sobers, glancing towards the woods.

“I’m not unsupervised.” What? You look the same direction, but all you see is the shadow of the forest, darkness so thick you’re not sure you could see your way in broad daylight.

A chill traces your spine, ice cold and cautious, slow in its discovery, pressing against your skin like it’s moving under your clothes. You gasp, whirling and-

There’s nothing. Only the lapping of the tide, the gentle waves that rake through the shore. Your beached boat. Remnants of the morning’s mists.

Must’ve been the wind.

The Ranger’s daughter giggles. You raise an eyebrow, and then motion up the hill.

“Want to head back with me then?”

“Aly!” The Ranger’s voice reaches you, even a hundred meters away. She sprints ahead of you, and your stomach twists, iced over fear spreading through your veins.

He’s going to freak. He already hates you and now he’s going to think you kidnapped his kid or something.

“Where have you been?”

“Down at the water.” She kicks a rock, beaming. One of his too wide palms sweeps over her forehead, moustache and lips kicking to the side with a sigh.

“Not supposed to be down there on your own, remember?”

“I wasn’t.” She stands tall with her insistence, and proudly points at you. “I was with her.”

John straightens. He stares at you with a scrutiny that you’ve never felt, an intense pressure building behind your eyes, in your thighs, incinerating all the muscle in your body until you’re sure to explode.

The silence is painful, and Aly hops from one foot to another.

“You find ‘em?” There’s no softness in his eyes for you, only a hard edge, hand coming to rest on his daughter’s shoulder.

“No.” You think he’ll turn away then, drift away in the wake of this encounter, but he holds you steady there, caught between him and the earth, crushing weights on either side. It’s unnerving, this stranger, this Ranger, a moon to a tide, and you swallow when he finally speaks, it’s with that rich timbre, the accent that twists you up in boundless knots.

“They make you earn it.”

“You should sleep with your window open.” Aly pipes up, and John’s mouth twitches.

“You can hear them in the cove, in the middle of the night.” He explains. “They hunt and play in the shallow off the beach pretty often. Though it’s too cold to be sleeping with your window open.” The last piece is serious, like a warning, but you’re already vibrating with anticipation, attention fixed through the trees, like you can see down the hill to the harbor.

When you turn back, John is watching you. Hard muscle and tone turned dulcet, there’s less shadow in his eyes, replaced by something wild, willful.

There for a second. Gone in the next.

“Well I’ve… work to do.” Paltry effort. It sticks in your mouth the way this man has stuck to your mind, lurking and wandering, leaving you wondering what he's doing on the other side of your bedroom wall, your living room. Wondering what he’s like, what he’s really like, under the clipped and caustic words, the churlish airs swirling around him whenever he lays eyes on you. He’s the definition of surly, and the reluctance to interact with you stings, even though you shove it down. Secrets lay beneath his ribs, you have no doubt, protected by his thick coat and wide frame, a mass of tenured muscle and strength visible under the heaviest wool.

He nods.

You turn your back.

"Leave a note, when you're goin' out." He's got Aly in hand, halfway up his side of the porch, breath fogging in the space between your bodies. "Shouldn't be out alone, without anyone knowing, alright?"

Leave a note.

"Alright."

#more vibes and not much else #John price #john price x reader #the ocean anthology

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thatcatbasil · 10 months

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felt like throwing out an idea for a slugcat species, don't know if i'll end up really doing anything else with this one but we'll see?

(text transcript under cut)

"pengcat" / "orcat" (fully aquatic slugcat concept) (i don't have a proper name in mind right now)

top right:

countershading similar to orcas, penguins, etc. (backside can be any color but underside must stay white/off-white)

blunt body shape with flat paddle tail

breathes air, but can hold its breath for a good while

adapted to cold environments but can tolerate warmer climates

very poor mobility on land (unless sliding on belly)

middle:

ears stay flat upon head while swimming

fingers/thumb are basically vestigial (think of the bones in a cetacean's pectoral fin)

can't grasp objects, has to carry in mouth or using both fins (which is somewhat uncomfortable)

bottom left:

not quite flexible enough to curl up while sleeping, sorta just flops down wherever

bottom right:

would be far further down the timeline (probably around saint's era) but would probably be besties with rivulet if they were able to meet

#my art #rain world #slugcat #oc tag #pengcat

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cypherdecypher · 4 months

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Animal of the Day!

Ribbon Seal (Histriophoca fasciata)

(Photo by Josh London)

Conservation Status- Least Concern

Habitat- North Pacific Ocean

Size (Weight/Length)- 1.8 m; 130 kg

Diet- Crustaceans; Fish; Cephalopods

Cool Facts- Ribbon seals have a massive amount of dependence on arctic sea ice. They almost never set flipper on the mainland, instead using sea ice to sleep, socialize, and give birth. Ribbon seals have a unique form of movement on the ice, slithering across like a snake and using their clawed flippers to drag themselves along in a graceful freestyle stroke. Males have a massive air sac that helps their calls to travel in the water while searching for a mate. When the environment is less than suited for a pup to be born, a mother ribbon seal can delay her pregnancy for up to four months. Pups are born completely white and are often left alone on an ice flow while their mother hunts. Predators are rare but the pup will play dead and wait for mom to return when faced by an orca circling their icy home.

Rating- 12/10 (The only species in their genus.)

#animal of the day #animals #mammals #seal #saturday #december 23 #ribbon seal #biology #science #conservation #the more you know

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mashiraostail · 3 months

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your gang orca praise kink stuff goes soooo crazy please give us some gentle dom praising from halsin w Fem reader PLEASE

glad u like it thank u!!

yall are crazy outing your praise kink in my ask box. Ask and u shall receive tho!!! Kind of a long one, i care for u guys so I have to feed u.

NSFW under the cut!

Aches blossomed like weeds all over your poor body. Maybe you should have brought Halsin along on this one, a healer would have done you well about 3 hours ago. He stayed back, or perhaps he went on his own way for the day. For all your not seeing eye to eye Astarion was seemingly happy to help you hobble along with an arm slung over his shoulder.

He's biting something back and Karlach all but shoves it out of him.

"Thank you. For...taking those hits for me." He rolls his eyes when he says it, but it does nothing to veil his grateful tone, "i can't imagine it was pleasant."

"It wasn't." You muse back, "but you're helping me along."

"Well-" He sputters, "I figured you could take it since you have Halsin waiting for you with baited breath every night."

He was right, you did. He tried to be subtle, to give everyone a once over after a hard day, but he always lingered on you. He liked you, perhaps more, it was obvious. At least when you stumble back to camp he has a reason to make a b-line to you first.

"What happened?" He takes you from Astarion, who snickers a bit at you.

"Nothing, just the typical day." You shrug.

"Is everyone else okay?" Bless him, he feigns interest in the other 3 trailing behind you.

"Don't worry." Wyll waves, "we'll live."

"Come with me." He doesn't even respond to Wyll, he was not as good of an actor as he hoped to be.

You go with him, not that he gave you much of a choice, guiding you away before he could even finish. He settles you down by a shallow river not too far off from camp. He brings a bowl and a rag, with a small sack of supplies to clean you off with.

"I know you're capable." He starts, as he wipes layers of blood and grime away from your skin, "i'm not underestimating you-"

"I understand." You cut him off before he can prattle off into a nervous explanation as to why he seems to favor you over the others when you're injured.

You fall back into silence as he cleans you off.

"Look up at me." Fingers on your chin crane your gaze up to him, if he's trying to be seductive it has certainly worked, and if he wasn't it was cruel. He's scanning your face, his eyes meet your gaze.

"Will I live?" There's a coyness to your voice that just about knocks him off balance.

"Yes, lucky me. Does your head hurt?"

"Not at all." You felt better, under his caring hands, there was a dull soreness now, it overtook the harsh and stinging aches.

It was already dark, nobody had bothered to call the pair of you for dinner, perhaps more knowing than they let on.

"Can I do anything else for you?" He asks, kneeling now but still tall enough to be gazing down at you. The dull light of your lantern made him glow.

"No-" Suddenly you can't play coy anymore, it's like his sucked the air out of your lungs, he takes your hand.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" when he asks he traces his fingers over the back of your knuckles.

"Of course." You nod, something flutters under your ribs. He brushes his lips over the back of your hand, and it lights you up. It's such a silly, small, innocuous gesture, but it makes your stomach warm.

"Thank you." He looks up from the back of your hand to catch your gaze.

You kiss your teeth, your mouth feels dry all of a sudden, "why thank me?"

"Because you're allowing me." Halsin murmurs it, "I'm grateful to be let so close to you." He kisses his way up your arm in a galant gesture, though it makes you feel light headed none the less. When he reaches the crook of your neck, the shallow divot where your shoulder ends he stops, and drops your arm gently onto your lap.

"You can act modest, or play coy," He continues despite the lack of contact, which makes you feel cold and even more exposed then when he's ravishing you. "But you know how I want you. You indulge me."

"Please," You're fluttering, you try to sound casual but you're fluttering like a moth and Halsin is a big, bright fire drawing you in. "it's self serving."

"Even better." He elects to sit beside you, "indulge yourself in me."

"Oh gods." You feel hot, in the back of your neck, in your chest, between your legs.

"What?" Halsin reaches for you, you let him, he wraps an arm around you, he draws you in. "don't you want to?"

"I do-" You're practically whining despite the fact he has not denied you, and probably never would. You turn your face into his neck, nosing at his collar. He makes a pleased noise at the feeling, and brings a hand up to cup your hair.

"Then tell me what you want. You can have it, you deserve it. Anything, just tell me."

You aren't sure when you make your way into his lap, when the desire to taste his skin becomes so potent that you have no choice but to glide your tongue over his collar bone. He's happy to rub up your back and thighs, to pull your closer by the back of your head.

"Is it me you want?"

You moan, gasping, you aren't sure when you started rutting against his leg, but he seems all the more happy to have you there so you cast aside the sheer embarrassment of it all.

"You can have it, you can have me. All you have to do is take it. I'll let you, I'm yours for the taking."

You practically cry at that, you aren't sure when you'd become so pent up.

"You can have me." One of his hands is holding onto the bend of your hip, guiding them against his leg in a languid rolling pace, "you already do. You deserve it, all of it, whatever you want. Tell me."

You let him take your shirt off, you're more than keen to free him of his.

"I must have been particulalry well behaved in my past life." For a breif moment his hand releases your hips and he's gliding rough palms over your chest and stomach, "you're such a lovely thing..." He ducks down, kisses at your chest, pulling you away from the perfect friction of his thigh to the warm heat of his mouth and tongue.

He's kissing, licking and nipping at the newly exposed skin while his hands trail over your ass, up your back and thighs, drawing you in impossibly closer to his mouth.

"I'd give you the world, anything you'd ask." He pushes the small of your back, guiding you back down onto his lap, "but you only want me?"

"Do you really feel that way? That I should have whatever I ask for? Whatever I want?"

The sight of your chest heaving, glistening from his mouth makes him groan, "how could I not? Tell me what you want, My hands? My mouth?"

You feel on the verge of passing out, terrible and blissful all at once.

He lifts you as he stands, but just a quickly sets you down again laying on your back.

"Are you sore?" His hands hold your waist, his nose is at your jaw, "I'd be content just to stay here, looking at you, kissing you. We would not need to anything more to sate me." He assures you, "the sight of you like this alone would be enough to satisfy me for lifetimes to come."

"No." You're breathless, you shake your head.

"No?" Despite what he's said he sounds hopeful, grateful, pleased even.

"No." All you can think to do is repeat him. You help him help you out of your pants.

"Will you let me?" He's already lowering himself between your legs, you flush.

"You hardly have to ask permission."

"Yes?" He pushes you for it anyways, of course you indulge him.

"Yes."

It's been hundreds of years, of course he was an attentive and...skilled lover, but this was almost too much.

Your back arched off the ground, his hands were there, big and warm and slightly rough, he held your waist there his fingers wrapping around to the small of your back where it arched. Where they held you his hands pulled you closer, just barely.

He didn't protest when your thighs closed around his head, when they squeezed, or when your hands pulled him impossibly closer by his hair. In fact he sounded more than pleased at all of the above. Every time he had a spare breath he was singing you praises. You were perfect, you cried out for him perfectly, and you were so easy to love.

His hands squeezed your waist where they held you, he groaned every time you called his name.

When you do reach your climax it almost blinds you for a second, but Halsin doesn't seem interested in letting you rest until you force him off with a keening sort of whine at the overstimulation.

"I'm sorry," He's kissing at your legs, your lower stomach and up your ribs ravenously, "I can't bring myself to stop with you."

It's so easy to open yourself up to him, to let him take and for you to take what you want.

"You're so lovely." He's kissing around your chest, subtly gasping for you air, "I'd mistake you for an angel if not for the things we do together." He guides your legs around him, closing the small amount of space left between you.

"If I didn't know you to be so truly good then I'd mistake you for something much more sinister than an angel, considering the spell you must have put on me." He's arching up into your hands, turning and preening at every touch and heavy breath, "do you know what you have done to me?"

Eventually you stop your head spinning enough to fumble with his pants, until there's nothing at all between you.

"I was taken by you from our first meeting," He groans as you undress him, "but all the things I dreamt have been put to shame at the feeling of the reality of it in my hands." He takes in an uneven breath as your hands run over his cock, you turn your head to open your neck to him, he's glad to muffle himself into it. The feeling of his low groans vibrates the crook of your neck. You arch your back, pressing your chest into his which seems to set him over the edge.

"You're the most lovely thing I've ever laid my hands on, please, say you'll have me." As if it wasn't obvious, as if you weren't laying naked below him, blossoming at his lips and fingertips.

He guides himself easily into you It’s hardly painful, it barely stings, it tingles up to your stomach, and it’s pleasant. A blooming sort of feeling that you often pined for once it was gone. It was fleeting and easily missed when it dissipated. He's captivated by you, your expressions, the way you cry out, the wavering in your voice.

As with all things, he's incredibly gracious with you, giving you long, deep rolls of his hips and easy praise. He enjoys watching you melt from it, it makes his chest warm with affection.

"You're divine," He doesn't mind your arms around his neck, he holds you closer with a hand between your shoulder blades, "every single time." He enjoys the feeling of your hand holding the back of his head too.

"Every time I swear you can have me, but you're always bent at my will aren't you? Beautiful, obedient, and mine for the taking. Look at me."

All you can do is obey and nod, maybe a bit dumbly. You wrap your legs tighter around him, there was no way you'd last very long in this state. He holds you by your chin, he keeps his eyes on you whenever you cum, muttering out obscene praises. Occasionally he'll use his hold on you to turn your head to the side, to observe your throat, he swears he can see your pulse beating.

When the pair of you are finished Halsin seems perfectly fine to dip into the shallow river, it hardly reaches his waist.

"Come here," He insists, "I'll hold you."

"is it cold?" You roll over to see him.

"No, barely." He waves you over, and fuck, you're still coming down from your high, still bent at his will. You go to him, you let him guide you by your hand into the river, once you're close enough he holds the crook of your elbow, then the bend of your waist.

You rest your head against his chest as he runs wet hands over your hair.

"Many people have held my favor in my life," He looks down at you, "but I don't recall ever being so enthralled by someone." He runs a wet hand down the side of your face, "some days I dread the thought of our paths diverging."

"Don't think you'll be rid of me so easily" You manage to be a bit cheeky. Despite yourself you brush gentle fingers over the side of his neck, he closes his eyes thankfully.

"Kiss me." His voice is quiet but steadfast. Of course you go to him.

When he pulls away it's just enough to speak, "you know I adore you, tell me you do."

"I know." You grin and push his damp hair back, "you're especially sentimental today."

"I suppose I...must have missed your company." He decides, "we usually travel together."

"Is that it? I'm not complaining, maybe we'll travel separately more often."

He groans, wrapping his arms around your waist and lifting you up, "don't be cruel to me when you were so well behaved all night. I'm not sure what I'll do."

You laugh, bracing yourself against his chest as he prepares to drop you into the river, "no please, I swear to keep you dutifully at my side from now on, just don't drop me in this water!"

He's ravishing your neck again, your laughter made his chest burn with affection, "I truly can never deny you."

You have a feeling tonight may be a longer night than average.

#halsin x reader #bg3 #Halsin #bg3 x reader #bauldrs gate 3 #bauldrs gate 3 x reader #halsin bg3

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afeelgoodblog · 1 year

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1. New Jersey Governor Declares State a 'Safe Haven' for Gender-Affirming Care

New Jersey’s Democratic governor has a message for the LGBTQ+ community. He issued an executive order on Tuesday indicating that, unlike in some Republican-controlled states, New Jersey is open and welcoming to everybody regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition, he says New Jersey is a “safe haven” for those seeking gender-affirming care.

2. Watch Ocean Cleanup remove the 200,000th kilogram of plastic from the Pacific Ocean

youtube

3. Finland becomes 31st member of NATO, doubling the alliance's border with Russia

Finland has become the 31st member of the Nato security alliance, doubling the length of member states' borders with Russia.The Finnish foreign minister handed the accession document to the US secretary of state who declared Finland a member.

Then in bright sunshine in front of Nato's gleaming new headquarters, Finland's white-and-blue flag joined a circle of 30 other flags.Finland's accession is a setback for Russia's Vladimir Putin. He had repeatedly complained of Nato's expansion before his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

4. Captive orca Lolita set for release into 'home waters' after 50 years at Miami Seaquarium

The killer whale known as Lolita appears one step closer to returning to its natural habitat of the Pacific Northwest, after performing at a Miami tourist attraction for decades. It was taken from the ocean in 1970. But after a long-running dispute over where Lolita belongs, officials from various parties announced Thursday a "binding agreement" to take Lolita -- also known as Tokitae or Toki -- to its "home waters."

"Lolita will receive the highest quality care as the team works to make relocation possible in the next 18 to 24 months," Miami Seaquarium said in a statement Thursday.

5. Nature prescriptions shown to reduce blood pressure, depression, anxiety, and loneliness

A new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health suggests that nature prescriptions, which recommend spending time in nature, can provide both physical and mental health benefits. Patients who followed these prescriptions had reduced blood pressure, lower depression and anxiety scores, and a higher daily step count.

Research shows that contact with nature reduces harms, including those from poor air quality, heatwaves, and chronic stress, while encouraging healthy behaviours such as socialising and physical activity. This can help to prevent issues including loneliness, depression and cardiovascular disease.

6. Library Receives Flood Of Donations For Beloved Cat

The Ashville Free Library recently began a fundraiser to help pay for the aging cat’s veterinary care. After a story on Libby was published, donations to the library poured in. Director Kristina Benson called the community response overwhelming. As of Thursday, more than $2,900 had been raised.

Benson reported that Libby, the cat — who has recently been suffering from a cold — is now doing much better now that she has her medicine. Benson expects to keep the GoFundMe up until sometime next week.

7. Mother and baby reunited in Turkey nearly two months after earthquake

A mother has been reunited with her baby in southern Turkey after a DNA test confirmed it was her daughter, almost two months after the devastating earthquake, the country's family ministry said.

The three-and-a-half-month old "miracle baby", called Vetin, was pulled out of the rubble of a building in the province of Hatay more than five days after the Feb. 6 quake with no health problems.

----

That's it for this week :)

This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Also don’t forget to reblog

#best news of last week #Youtube

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yandere-sins · 10 months

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The Orcas' Tale - Chapter IIII

You guys are really swimming through these polls. Maybe I made it too easy for you, but you got it right again! We are nearing the end, and finally, we make our escape from our captors. Enjoy!

Fandom: Original Content Pairings: Yandere!Orca Mermen x GN!Reader Warnings: Yandere, Monsters, Violence (Fighting and getting attacked), Butchering a fish, Dub-con touches/kisses, Animalistic behavior, Mention of claws/sharp teeth, Hinting at death, Long post

"Human~"

The voice in your head echoed far and clear through your dreams of muddy waters and shadow creatures. It was the only thing able to pull you from those nightmares plaguing you, with its melodic up and down of a whisper, the sound vibrating in your chest as if it were a part of you. Something wrapped around your shin, large and cold, heating up as it made contact with your skin, and you pulled your legs upwards instinctively, trying to flee from the grabby hands, only to get blocked by a large weight pinning you down.

A brief moment of confusion passed your tired mind, your body heavy and rigid from the hard sleep on the stone ledge that, for a moment, you wanted to cry from being awoken much too early to fully rest. Somewhere in your circling thoughts, you must have passed out despite your hesitations to sleep around these intriguing but threatening creatures, too exhausted from everything that happened to you the previous day and the seal fur luring you in like a siren's song.

"Human."

This time, the call had already shattered through your dreams, hooking your conscience and pulling it back to reality. You awoke with crusts gluing your eyelids together, remnants of the salty water you never got to wash off. But when you wanted to reach up, you found your arms pinned to the ground you were lying on, forcing you to open your eyes without the help of a good rub. Your view wasn't great, though, as you were faced with darkness, not even the blue shimmers of light getting beneath the body that was covering you.

There was never a moment without horror when you were around these strange, unpredictable creatures. But the loss of your movement and the weight feeling ever so crushing on top of you certainly put the cherry on top. Your mouth—one of the few things able to move—opened before you could even think about screaming, but just as quickly, it was covered by lips not your own.

You made a pitiful quaking sound as a tongue slipped over yours, straight towards your throat. There was little room to struggle with this huge body on top of you, but you still did your best to flail your arms and legs, only to be shut down by much stronger limbs. Sharp teeth grazed your tongue and lips when you tried to close off the access to your mouth, reminding you of the predicament of their bites, the taste of iron and fish filling your panicked senses.

Until you had to take a breath. You were close to tears when you realized you were suffocating from the kiss, unable to gasp or fill your lungs until desperation forced you to inhale. The other tongue paused, waiting as you took your breath, both of your bodies shuddering as you received the sweet, sweet air you needed. Your eyes had squeezed shut as there was only darkness to see either way, but now that the tension in your body began to fade in confusion, you forced them open.

The amber of Nerrocan's eyes seemed almost like a glowing green as it reflected the faint blue lights of the cave plants, allowing their light to overtake the darkness. He allowed you to breathe through him a few more times before he awkwardly kissed you, creating some space between your mouth until only the sounds of sloppy, wet smooches rang out. His gaze fixated somewhere below your own eyes as he licked over your—blunt in comparison—teeth and sucked in your tongue, the feeling of his sharp ones making you flinch in surprise. Feeling your reaction, he pulled away with a jolt, replacing his lips with his hand before you had time to react.

"Don't," he warned, the sound curt and blunt. Not at all melodic like you were used to their voices by now. Don't scream, you figured from his order, and when his eyes moved to the side, so did yours, Nerrocan softening his hand clasped over half of your face so you could turn your head.

Sprawled out to your sides were the other two mermen. You'd never have expected them to sleep so soundly next to you. However, you heard Krill let out whistling snores when he breathed out, and looking at Lyr, a bit of drool dripped from his lips, indicating the two were truly asleep.

"They only just entered deep sleep. We have to be very quiet," Nerrocan whispered, even leaning down to the side of your head to speak into your ear. His closeness brought back the tension, shivers running down your spine. But you nodded into his palm, and he didn't question you before lowering his hand.

"I will take you to the humans."

Your eyes widened in surprise as you listened intently to every word he murmured into your ear. "But…" you mumbled, barely moving your lips. He'd be able to hear you, no matter the volume of your voice. Glancing back over to the other two for a moment, your furrowed your brows as you looked at Nerrocan, finding his gaze to be on them too. For a moment, you thought you saw a flash of sadness cross his features as he looked at his pack, but other than you, he shook off the doubts before leaning down once more.

"Now. Be quiet."

Questions shot into your mind as Nerrocan slowly descended into the pool of water, using all his strength in his arms to temper the movement and slide into the wet soundlessly. Part of you was skeptical as you sat up, watching Nerrocan very openly take precautions from the others, apparently betraying them, considering how careful he was to be secretive. It made little sense for him to act this way, especially considering he was never the most interested in you either. Your questions about the why and how didn't help soothe the doubts that suddenly rose inside you, whether you should trust this guy more than anyone else.

You gulped as he held out his webbed hand towards you, a serious expression on his face while most of his body was already submerged in the water. Waiting for you. Expecting no more delay from you who wanted this in the first place. Nerrocan said nothing while your thoughts were hissed in his voice, an illusion of your own nervous uncertainty. You want this. This might be your only chance.

And the others didn't care.

They didn't need to spit this fact into your face to make it any more true than you already knew it was. Neither Krill nor Lyr cared or wanted to care for what you wanted, and neither of these possibilities was any less hurtful. They might look human (at least for half of their body), but they weren't. And there was no reason for them to help you.

But what reasons did Nerrocan have? Why would he help you and go against their united front? Why go to these lengths for a human he seemed to harbor no sympathy for, either?

You didn't have a choice this time.

Shrugging off the seal fur you used as a blanket, you peered nervously at the sleeping predators of this sea, the two looking almost peaceful, with no worries on their minds. They were different from you, and, looking at Nerrocan, he was different from them too.

On all fours, you crawled slowly, quietly, biting your lip whenever a pebble pressed into your palm or shin to keep yourself quiet, over to him. When you reached out your arm, his wet skin slid along your hand, up your wrist, forearm, to your upper arm, where it wrapped around. Nerrocan lifted himself out of the water while he pulled you towards him, your faces only inches apart when you realized he tilted his head and readied another kiss.

You didn't want that! But he held you steady as he pressed his lips to yours, tongue slipping out to lick over your closed-off mouth, asking for entry. "Air," he breathed, and you scrunched up your face as you realized what he meant. You'd have to dip down into the ocean again. There'd be no saying how long you'd be stuck there if you wanted to try to hold your breath by yourself, so you needed to rely on him. To him, it was just a way of offering you air, but to you, it was much more meaningful. As if he was asking you to trust and allow him to protect you, making you feel vulnerable and gullible. What if his intentions were malicious after all?

"Air!" he reiterated, this time hissing the word in urgency.

Behind you, Krill grumbled as he turned on his side, his arm falling to where you had just laid. If he noticed you gone, he'd probably jolt from his sleep and catch you two trying to escape, neither of you getting out of this situation safely. Nerrocan was strong; you had no doubts. But you knew Krill was older. If it came down to it, it would be strength against experience, and you doubted Krill would be fighting alone. Nerrocan was putting himself against his whole pod, even though you had no idea why. But you, too, had to play your part if he was ready to go this far.

Finding hold on his arm, you reached out to wrap your other arm around his neck. It was much easier to get things over with when you closed your eyes, so you surrendered to the darkness as you pressed your lips to Nerrocan's, allowing him to overtake your mouth once more while his free arm snatched around your midriff. It all went by so fast. Nerrocan lifted you from the ledge and pressed you to his body as his kiss deepened, making you reliant on the air he breathed through his gills as he pulled you into the water.

The harsh cold shocked you, but inside the water, Nerrocan's body was finally warm again, just like the first time he pulled you down under. Strangely enough, this memory resurfaced now, the panic and fear you felt then replaced with a spark of determination and the desperation to escape and trust him. However, this time, Nerrocan let you go as he noticed you voluntarily moving your body toward him instead of putting up a fight. Finding the smallest spot on his torso, you wrapped your legs around it as best as possible, arms holding on to his neck and fingers sinking into his hair as if your life depended on it. He loosened the kiss only once, threatening to drown you, when he gasped as you clawed at his scalp, as you were afraid he might slip from you.

You didn't dare to open your eyes even once as Nerrocan put your bodies into movement, navigating you two through the ocean with strong strokes of his tail. Nerrocan's arm slid over your back, pressing you against him while you kissed for air, making you almost feel… safe. He used the other arm to steer through the waters he swam through vigorously but kept you safely against him at the same time, never again prying your lips apart to make you fearful of the ocean you were in. The longer you were tied to each other's lips, the more natural it became. As if his mouth was the diving gear you needed for air on an expedition. But had you opened your eyes, the only thing you had seen would have been his, as the reflection of the ocean darted by inside them, with no time to awe about the wonders of the sea.

When you two finally breached the surface, your worries melted away in an instant.

You found yourself liberated from the shackles of the ocean, barely feeling the water around you anymore as you pushed yourself away from Nerrocan, breathing in the fresh air as deep as you could. He was surprised for a moment by your sudden, energetic push higher. Still, he quickly adjusted his hold to lift your whole torso out of the water.

After four deliberate, long fills of fresh air, you finally opened your eyes, staring at the twinkling stars above. The sun hadn't risen yet, but the horizon had already colored itself in a warm pink, promising a beautiful day. The water was calm, and when you looked down, all you found was Nerrocan's eyes staring up at you, his head tilted back to reveal a smile playing on his lips.

"You're really taking me back to the humans?" you croaked, suddenly feeling a lump in your throat. This was almost too good to be true. Nerrocan had already brought you back to the surface, a dreadful place had you been here alone, no land in sight for miles and miles. You'd probably never have made it alone, so you were thankful he was with you. But what if he was just playing with your feelings? Showing you your own helplessness?

"I will. I promised. I'll take care of you and protect you."

"But why?"

The question made the lump in your throat swell even more, and you realized it was accompanied by tears shooting into your eyes. Nerrocan was promising you hope, but your heart was already too fearful to allow it. "Why help me? Why go against Krill and Lyr?"

Lowering you a little bit, Nerrocan reached up, swiping a wet thumb over your cheekbone and collecting your tears. You laughed as you were now wetter than from crying, and he did it again as if he didn't understand why the tears wouldn't stop. But when you reached up to press his palm against the side of your face, he stopped, staring at where your skin met his with an intense focus.

"I… don't know," he muttered, squinting his eyes suspiciously. For someone who always seemed very collected, he was much more expressive than you could have hoped for. You felt yourself trust him more when he showed his emotions openly. "I just know I have to bring you back. You want to go back, so that's what I have to do."

"Are you sure? You don't sound sure…"

"I am. I am unsure why I feel this way, but I am sure about what to do. And we must move now, or the others can catch up with us before sunrise."

It wasn't the answer you hoped for, the questions burning in your mind never being solved to your satisfaction. But you swallowed them for the sake of this escape. Nerrocan had proven himself trustworthy, and when you gave him a nod as his go, he pulled your hands from his shoulders where you had supported yourself and slipped underwater again. Only to emerge with his back facing you, directing your arms around his neck again.

"As long as the sun isn't high in the sky yet, we can swim on the surface. But we'll have to go back underwater when it gets dangerous for you. Humans are vulnerable to the sunlight, right?"

"Yes," you confirmed without thinking, slowly hooking your arms around his neck and drawing closer to his body. "Yes, we are."

"You are very fragile," he noted, but there was no bite to his words, and you spotted a smile on his face as you peered around to the front. Next thing you knew, he had ducked his head into the water, pushing his body upwards for you to sit on. Nerrocan didn't need to tell you to wrap your legs around him as best as you could, hands falling to the space between his neck and shoulders before he began to push onwards.

It wasn't easy to hold onto him, but you did your best, feeling like a cartoon character riding an oversized dolphin from the TV shows of your youth. There was some fun to it, but the moment your focus shifted anywhere else than your grip or the even but still fast pace you two had, you were sliding down his body like a slippery eel. Luckily, Nerrocan would always grip your legs in time to steady you until you found your place on top of him again, but you concluded that the trip to where you wanted to go would be an exhausting one.

But at least, now you had a chance to make it.

By the time the sun had already gone down again, you were sore and desperate for a break. You had no idea how you made it through the whole day without a moment of calm since you two began your journey, with no food and only an embarrassing amount of saliva to swallow from Nerrocan to replace your need for water. Talking about water—you were sick of it already, and it had only been one day.

"How long?" you gasped, wiping your face with your hands before planting them into the sand.

"Two more days if we can keep up the pace of today."

Nerrocan eyed you suspiciously as you kneeled on the small island in the middle of the ocean, barely ten steps wide and only sand and stones. There was some fern in the middle of it, but you doubted it was edible. Clutching your stomach, you weren't sure if you were hungry or nauseated from hearing the news about how long you'd still need to endure this kind of travel. You wanted to be better than this, toughen up, and take it as the price you'd have to pay for surviving silently without complaints. Still, at the same time, you couldn't imagine making it through another two days like this.

His eyes fell on your hand on top of your stomach, brows furrowing as he studied your sickly posture. "Wait here," Nerrocan instructed sternly. "Don't go anywhere without me."

You shook your head, waving your hand dismissively. As if there was anywhere you could go other than the other side of this small, sandy beach island. All you wanted to do was sit on steady ground for a while, rest your sore muscles, and dry off your skin. Hopefully, you wouldn't suffer long-term injuries from staying in water for so long. Still, even that was something you considered a minor price to pay for returning to civilization in one piece.

It could have only been a few minutes, your mind almost immediately dozing off when you were left alone on the island before you heard the splashing sound of someone emerging from the water. You jerked awake, disorientated as you looked around, only to see Nerrocan crawling out of the water, a fish hanging from his mouth with blood dripping out of it. Who knew if it was edible, but when Nerrocan held it out to you, your stomach gave a small, pitiful growl, and you sighed at your own needs.

You hesitated to take the fish as it was, complete with head and tail and entrails as you suspected. It also wasn't a species you'd usually enjoy at a restaurant. Nerrocan had bit his marks into the flesh, bleeding it out for you already, but when he noticed your hesitation, he paused, drawing the fish back. You never had the time to fully appreciate the merman, but the moonlight illuminated him like a god. Those trained muscles you had noticed before, moving and flexing as he moved, whether in the water or on land. They were perfectly accustomed to his needs, to whatever he needed to do, even though the bulky tail made for a heavy drag when he pulled himself onto land. His silky hair glowed in the white light, always moving, the long strands falling and curling over his body like waves caressing him. His eyes were razor sharp when he focused, beastly and predatory. But every time he looked at you, his expression relaxed, eyes softening as the tension fleeting. You could never tell what he was thinking, but you didn't mind his staring, his gaze so much more gentle than Krill's when it roamed your body. Around his hips was a leather strap, a net, and a small dagger hanging from it. The latter he pulled out, the blade looking dull and flat like a clam knife.

However, when he cut through the fish with the bare minimum of his strength, you realized it was sharp and ready. You always thought they only used their claws and fangs. However, watching Nerrocan skillfully disembowel and skin the fish was an impressive showcase of his abilities. Using his hand as a plate, he quickly put the dagger back into its sheath before serving the fish to you, not letting it get close to the sand. You inched closer to him to take away the pieces you wanted, one bite turning into two, then three and counting as you realized your body's need for sustenance.

Nerrocan watched you for a while, following your fingers sliding over his palm to pick up the pieces with an odd curiosity before switching to watch you place the food in your mouth and chew as if he had never thought about this way of eating before. But eventually, he wrenched his eyes away, directing his focus back on the sea, and you found him lost in thought when you finally finished your meal.

"I'm sorry," you muttered, suddenly overcome with a lot of guilt as you noticed his keen gaze, watching the waves splash around you. The things you'd have given to walk around in his mind for a while, figure out if he was measuring distance, what he could see in the moonlight, and feel with his tail fin in the water. The urge to study something so similar, yet different, had always been strong in you. But deep in those amber eyes, you could see longing, making you realize those similarities were worthy of your empathy.

"What are you sorry for?" he asked, turning his attention back to you and dipping his hands into the water to wash them off now that you had finished.

"For… well… everything. I didn't even leave you any dinner. Not to mention you left your pod because of me… your family. Your brothers."

He was silent as you dropped the heaviness weighing on your heart. There was more you felt guilty for: the fact you made travel harder by being unfit for the terrain or that you had doubted him for the longest time. You didn't even have anything to repay his kindness with, and you didn't think he'd like anything you could give him as repayment when he sat you down at land again.

"My brothers?" Nerrocan mumbled, furrowing his brows and cocking his head.

"Yes, the other two," you clarified, suddenly unsure about your assumption.

"We are not brothers; they are my mother's sister's children. But I am closer in age to them than my actual brothers. Krill taught me what I needed to know for my life in the pod. He made me a fine hunter, but I have long disliked his leadership abilities. He wants to be like his mother, which can be quite restrictive for others. I have sometimes struggled to understand his reckless behavior, and I loathe being blamed for his mistakes. And Lyr is… a problem. We've never gotten along well, but Krill insisted we had to stick together. You don't need to worry about them or me. It is quite normal for males to leave the pod. I'll be fine."

Cousins, you thought. All along, you thought they were close as brothers, especially how orcas usually acted in their pods. Still, you had been wrong about many things. You wouldn't have assumed yourself to be an expert on orcas, much less mermaid orcas, but it seemed you had been misguided about their relationship. You were also surprised to hear his thoughts about them, considering how well-integrated he had been into the pack. It made you remember Krill's words about the others, how he thought Nerrocan had ideas he wouldn't talk about. Hearing them from him now, it made sense he never spoke up against his cousin.

But then again, the bit about males leaving the pod made less sense as you believed the only reason they did it was to mate and then return to their families after all. Maybe it was different for mermaids? Did they stay with their mates? Protect their families?

Questions over questions, and you began to understand that the reason they all made you so nervous was your drive to find answers. But that seemed to be impossible, even at this point. You could ask him, but would it do you any good? All this time, you thought about revealing their identity once you returned to the mainland. To write up research papers and hold conferences about the strange existence of orca mermaids, but now… with how little you actually learned about them, would you have any grounds to stand on? If anyone caught on to the holes in your knowledge, they'd call you a sham and crazy for sure. After all, no one had ever learned about the existence of mermaids so far, other than in fairytales.

"Say…" you started, opening your mouth to at least have some answer, even if they were just for yourself. You picked up one of the stones littering the beach, worrying it in your hand while he watched, minding the edges that protruded sharply from it. You wanted to ask him the bases and maybe what he'd do in the future. Even if he told you not to concern yourself with these worries, they still plagued your mind. Could he even return despite Krill and Lyr knowing what he did, taking you with him? Maybe it was less about the concept of his existence that you wanted to know about, but Nerrocan himself.

However, instead of an answer, Nerrocan suddenly hissed, throwing half of his body in front of you and forcing you to pull in your legs to avoid them getting crushed under his weight. You could see very little with his body in the way, but it was impossible not to notice the tension in his bulking muscles and how he leaned forward, ready to pounce.

"What's… What's going on?" you asked, trying to peer by him, spying through the gap between his body and arm.

"Quiet!" he hissed, but his body only strained further after hearing your voice. He seemed unwell as if something hurt him, but you couldn't see an open wound on his body.

Overcome with your nervousness, you held your breath as you tried to glimpse at what he saw, scanning the relatively calm waters as best as you could for any hint of danger that would justify his reaction. For a long moment, there was nothing, and you felt the tension begin to ease again, deciding to lean back and calm down, when Nerrocan snapped around, pinning you to the ground as he reached for something behind you.

You yelped in surprise, your head hitting the sand with a thump, but it was only thanks to Nerrocan pushing you out of under him that you nearly escaped the swiping, clawed hands reaching for you. You dropped the stone in your hand as a sharp pain pushed you into action, forcing you to open your eyes and face the picture unfurling before you. Nerrocan held another face in his hand, his claws digging into the other merman's scalp as you heard a snarky laugh from the grey half-human.

The moonlight made him look brilliant white, but in the shadows of their bodies, you could see the grey coat on him, very different compared to Nerrocan's deep black shade. Even though Nerrocan was a hulking figure even to this merman, the other still came with his own clawed hands that dug into Nerrocan's arm and sharp teeth grinning from beneath Nerrocan's palm. He held the grey merman up in the air as best as he could, preventing the creature from finding hold and crawling but also causing him to put all his weight into clawing at Nerrocan's arm.

"You damn orcas are always so perceptive," the other merman snarled, licking over his lips. "And here I thought we'd have an easy snack."

We? you thought when a sudden jerk went through Nerrocan's body, forcing him to lower the other merman back on the sand while he glanced back over his shoulder. You followed this gaze, only to see another set of webbed and clawed hands wrap around and dig into Nerrocan's tail before starting to pull. Being forced back into the water, Nerrocan gripped the other merman by the neck, dragging him over the sand and stone with him as the three began descending into the wet.

"Stay out of the water!" he yelled, your eyes meeting for a split second, yours blown wide in fear, his sharp and commanding. You weren't sure if it was meant as reassurance that he kept eye contact until he was pulled under; perhaps he was only trying to make sure you wouldn't get involved. More and more water was thrown around as you quickly climbed away from the edge of the island, sitting down on the grassy spot between the ferns. There was so much water being splashed around before the movement suddenly ceased, only to resurface seconds later. You saw tails thrashing against the surface, more light-colored ones than Nerrocan's dark hide, but you weren't able to figure out how many attackers were down there.

It all happened so fast that you didn't even notice you were shaking in fear until you curled your hand into a fist, another sharp pain zapping through you. It felt wrong to look away when Nerrocan was fighting for his—and consequently your—life, but you still glanced down at the cut in your palm, long and bleeding, not having noticed it until then. It must have been the stone that you accidentally clutched when you were attacked, but it seemed like a small thing while there was a fight going on just a few feet from you.

The pain was quickly forgotten when one of the unfamiliar mermen suddenly jumped out of the water, landing on his belly as he lunged at you. Sharp teeth etched into a mad grimace, so much more horrifying than any animal could ever be when it was the face of a human you were staring down. You only got glimpses of your attacker. Of the grey coat and the dorsal fin, which was shorter and sharper than the orcas'. Everything else was similar, though he wasn't as big as Nerrocan or the others, that much you could tell. He looked as if a shark had taken on a half-human form, and from what you heard, this might have been the case.

Your scream fell silent as you forced yourself away as far as you could, water already threatening to envelop you when Nerrocan suddenly pounced from behind the merman, gripping him by his hair and keeping him at bay. His teeth were bared, his eyes so dark you saw no spark of humanness in them. None of them resembled humans at that moment. Nerrocan didn't look at you, even though you couldn't help but watch him, terrified, as he dragged the attacker away from you. Another merman lunged at his tail, and you clearly saw him bite down into Nerrocan as he twisted around to grab that merman, too, letting himself fall back into the water and bringing them both down with him. That bite was not the only wound you noticed in the short time the struggle occurred before you. You saw the scratches on Nerrocan's body, the blood trickling from his shoulder, and the claw marks on his arms.

This fight was raw and brutal and… unfair. Even though he kept them at bay, those two other mermen didn't have wounds deep enough to bleed yet. Orcas were stronger than sharks, but you had never seen a fight between one orca and two sharks before. The outcome wasn't clear this time, but your gut twisted and turned with the realization there was no guarantee Nerrocan would be able to win on his own.

He told you to stay out of the water, to not get unnecessarily close to the danger, but should you just wait and watch as the two attackers ripped your only chance of safety and returning home apart? Nerrocan told you to stay back, and you had already decided to trust him. Would you be a hindrance if you tried to help, or would you give Nerrocan that little window he needed to finish off these two? The only way to distract them was to get into the action, but what if you put yourself into danger—accidentally or not?

There wasn't much time to think of anything else you could do. After all, this fight could end at any second when one of them made a mistake.

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