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dingbatnix · 2 years

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Eel

I got inspired by the mer post of shark Dream I made a while back, so now here’s this! Enjoy!

Dream, Sap, and Goggy designs

Karl design

Word Count: 4,180

Warnings: Mentions of death; blood; descriptions of injury

Sapnap was just minding his own business today, curiously prodding at some croppings of a startlingly bright orange coral when something came barreling into his chest with a solid whump that nearly knocked the breath from his gills! Sapnap yelped and jerked back, wanting to get away from the thing, but whatever it was seemed to cling to his skin like freaking glue!

He hurriedly reached down to shove it away. His eyes widened when his hands met small shoulders, and he looked down more closely, finally catching a glimpse of the thing that seemed to be trying to curl itself around his torso. It was a mer! Albeit, the strangest mer Sapnap had ever seen, but a mer nonetheless. If the remora had to venture a guess, he’d say the mer was some kind of octopus.

He was about the length of Sapnap’s arm, maybe a little bit shorter. Long, suckered tentacles took up about a third of his body-length, and what seemed to be wide, colorful sails billowed out around the little guy as he wrapped a few of his thin little octopus arms around Sapnap’s sides. Sapnap pulled a face and wriggled when the tiny suckers tickled his skin. The mer had wavy brown hair, and the most terrified expression he’d ever seen!

“Please,” the little mer gasped out, multicolored eyes heartbreakingly wide as he stared imploringly up at Sapnap. The remora’s brow furrowed as the guy seemed to choke on his words. The small mer finally managed to suck in a deep breath, and rushed on. “P-please, please, I-I–there’s something a-after me and I need, I need help–” He seemed to hear something behind him and froze, octopus arms stiffening around Sapnap’s body.

A look of resigned horror crashed over the other mer’s face, and he glanced backwards fearfully. “Oh no, oh n-nononnono no! I’m s-sorry, I’m so so so sorry, I-I’ve just killed us b-both, we-we need to go, w-we need to swim-!” He suddenly shoved against Sapnap’s chest, unsticking all of his arms at once, and tried to shoot away.

Sapnap tightened his grip around the octopus’s small shoulders, raising his eyebrows with extreme concern. “Hold on, what’s after you? I can help you, just tell me what it is, dude.” The mer only whined, thrashing wildly against Sapnap’s stronger hands.

With no answer seeming to be forthcoming from the panicked mer, the remora shifted his gaze and scanned around. He could see nothing but the reef around them and long, trailing swathes of green seagrass. There was nothing that he could see that would—Sapnap’s eyes ballooned out when he finally caught sight of the thing after the little mer. Charging straight towards them was a huge-ass fucking moray eel. How the hell had he not noticed the damn thing first!?

Sapnap’s hold on the other mer’s shoulders slackened in his surprise, and the little guy bolted off in a flash! The brush of the current as the octopus fled broke Sapnap from his shock, and he whirled around immediately, darting after the other mer.

He chased after the octopus as he twisted and wove through the reaching coral branches, only having to change course when the little mer dove through gaps smaller than what Sapnap could fit between.

Sapnap was much, much faster than the other mer, though, and quickly caught up to him and kept pace. He glanced back, and was very alarmed to see the eel rapidly gaining on the both of them despite all of the twists and turns it was being led through.

He looked down at the other mer, sucking deep, heaving breaths through his gills. If he didn't do something quick, the eel would catch up and make snacks out of the both of them!

Making a split-second decision, he quickly angled down and wrapped his arms around the smaller mer, trapping him in a hug. The mer screamed, immediately thrashing all of his limbs and trying to struggle free, but Sapnap held him tightly. He was faster, he could swim faster than the octopus mer, at least, maybe he could get them both away safely.

He glanced quickly back and nearly had a heart attack. The eel was closer than before! Sapnap could count each and every one of it’s gnashing, needle-like teeth. Every one of those thrashing incisors was the length of Sapnap’s hand.

Spurred on by the horrifying sight, Sapnap pumped his tail harder, dodging through a twisted clump of reef as he desperately scanned the surrounding sea for anything he could use to aid in their escape from the monstrous eel. All he could see was coral and sea foliage! There was nothing!

The remora was starting to feel panicked, now. The octopus mer bunched up in his arms was quivering quietly, muttering small, breathless nothings that Sapnap couldn’t hear well enough to discern, but he could make an inference, could make a good guess about what he was saying.

They were both probably about to die to the mindless, greedy gullet of the moray eel.

Sapnap just barely managed to catch a glimpse of a huge flash of yellow-green through the twisting coral that quickly gave way to a flowing swathe of seagrass, and he suddenly felt hope. He knew that shade! He knew those scales! That was Dream! Dream, his huge, goofy friend who was a lemon shark mer.

"DREAM!" Sapnap screamed out loudly, so loudly that his throat ached, but if he could get the shark’s attention, it would be worth it. Dream could fight anything! If he could just catch his larger friend’s attention, both he and the smaller mer in his arms would probably be safe. Dream could take care of the eel, no problem! It would be an easy task for his bigger friend.

Sapnap sped towards the distant shape of the large lemon shark mer peeking through the waving seagrass as fast as he could. He felt the push of the current against his tail as the eel caught up to them, could hear the rushing swoosh of the eel closing in from behind, as if the horrifying sound was being transmitted directly into his eardrums. Cold, creeping fear was spiking up through his spine.

He wasn’t going to make it.

"DREAM, PLEASE!" He screamed once more. He was losing steam. His tail was becoming harder and harder to move. He could feel himself slowing down. He was heaving in deep breaths of water, to no avail.

Hot, sharp pain suddenly flashed through his tail when dozens of needle-like teeth clamped down on his tailfin. Sapnap screeched at the sudden pain, twisting around and trying to writhe away as the eel yanked him closer. He tightened his arms around the shivering form against his chest when the little octopus mer let slip a quiet sob, all the while struggling to hold back his own agonized screaming as the moray seemed to chew his tail between it's jaws. His tailfin felt like it was being torn to shreds! Blazing agony spiked through his bones when he tried to thrash out of the moray’s hold, and he could only fight for a few seconds before the pain forced him to stop.

His tail was useless, Sapnap realized abruptly. He–he couldn’t move it without horrible pain striking through his whole body.

He was going to die.

With his tail out of commission, there wasn't much Sapnap could do but twitch uselessly through the water. He squeezed his eyes shut, silently apologizing to the little octopus mer that had begged him for help.

Suddenly, a huge rush of a current surged over Sapnap, accompanied by a visceral-sounding snarl, and then the teeth chomping painfully down on his tail were suddenly torn away!

Sapnap flinched when large hands brushed against his back, gently guiding him underbelly-first onto a rough, warm surface. Instinctively, he latched onto it, flexing his ventral-suction fin and attaching himself to whatever it was. He protectively curled his arms further around the trembling octopus mer, shielding him with his body against whatever he was sticking to.

Heavy currents tugged at his back and ravaged tail as the apparent body he was clinging to rushed and twisted around, savage hissing and snarling echoing through the water as the two large creatures fought against each other.

Sapnap peeled his eyes open and saw light, creamy green scales in front of his face. He quickly peered up, and his heart soared at the uplifting sight that greeted him.

It was Dream! Dream was fighting the eel!

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of blue-grey as his other friend George, a remora mer like himself, darted about, aiding Dream in his battle.

Sapnap's heart lurched up to his throat when the eel viciously snapped at George, but before it could do anything, Dream was in it's face, slashing webbed claws and flashing his huge, razor-sharp teeth at it's long, twisting body.

The water tugged and pulled at his body as the two huge vertebrates thrashed around each other in a deadly dance. He could taste the blood that had started drifting through the water when he breathed in, sparking worry in his chest. Was it his own blood, or George's, or maybe Dream's?

Sapnap continued to cling firmly to Dream’s belly while the shark fought, keeping his arms wrapped securely around the little octopus mer underneath his chest. He could feel the mer’s heart pounding, almost as if it were fighting to rip itself free from his ribcage.

The little mer twisted in his hold and buried his face in Sapnap's chest with a whimper, curling some of his octopus arms around Sapnap's back and sides once more in a tight, quivering hug.

Sapnap ducked his head down, pressing his face against Dream's warm scales, managing to squeeze in a sharp, strangled breath. His own heart was thrumming viciously with adrenaline, while every movement around him yanked savagely at his injured tail-fin and sent white-hot spikes of agony panging up his body. Sapnap suppressed a whimper, wishing that the fighting would be over soon.

He heard George screech angrily, and then a louder, much more terrifying snarl ripped out from Dream, rumbling beneath Sapnap throughout Dream's chest. Hot worry flooded Sapnap’s mind at the sound of George’s cry. He couldn’t tell if the other remora was alright! The only things Sapnap could see through the blood-clouded water were Dream’s belly scales in front of him and the occasional whipping flash of grey eel skin.

The moray suddenly loomed into view, lunging for Dream’s throat. The shark just barely managed to throw his arm up before the needle-like teeth were clamped around his wrist in a deathly grip. A pained shout burst from Dream's throat, and he reached up with his other hand to grapple at the eel's lithe body.

Blood billowed through the water when Dream finally managed to sink his teeth and claws deep into the moray's long, ribbon-like body. With a gruesome sounding snap-tear, Dream ripped the eel into large, bloody halves that absolutely clouded the water, obscuring Sapnap’s vision and completely clogging his nose with the metallic scent.

Relief flooded the remora's system when Dream cried out triumphantly. The large shark twisted and moved from the blood cloud, easily drifting away from the spreading redness. Dream stared at it for a moment, before he seemed to remember what he was doing.

“Sapnap!” Dream quickly turned his attention down to the small remora clinging to his belly, dropping his hands down to run his claws worriedly along Sapnap’s back, carefully checking for any injuries other than his ragged tail.

“Sap!” He heard George’s concerned screech right before the other remora crashed into Dream's side, right next to Sapnap. The other remora’s gaze immediately zeroed in on the shaking octopus pressed between Dream and Sapnap’s bodies. His eyes narrowed, but, regardless, he focused his attention on his injured friend.

"Can you swim?" Dream worriedly hovered a webbed hand next to Sapnap's tailfin, unsure of what to do.

The small mer in Sapnap's arms shied away from the sudden appearance of Dream's clawed hand with a whimper, cringing down as the shark whined in concern.

"N-no,"Sapnap hissed, pulling his gaze away from the wound. He felt green and queasy.

The shark hesitantly worried his large, sharp claws over Sapnap’s tattered fin, unwilling to touch anything in case he made it worse. The octopus mer seemed to notice the huge shark’s apprehensive concern, and hesitantly poked his head around Sapnap's arm to peer at the damage, seeming to push past his fear of Dream to look closer at the injured limb.

He sucked in a gasp when he got a full view of the wound. Sapnap's tailfin was riddled with small punctures and long, ragged tears, shredding through the delicate webbing. It looked really, really bad. There was no way the remora would be able to swim with it like that, not unless someone treated the injury.

George's eyes hovered cluelessly over the gruesome wound. "How do I…Dream, what do we do?"

The shark slowly shook his head, staring worriedly down at both remora. "I-I don't know…" Gently, he touched his webbed hands to Sapnap's back and carefully detached his friend from his belly, lifting him closer to his eye-level.

The shark's eyes briefly darted over the still-trembling octopus wrapped around Sapnap's chest, but disregarded him for now. Sapnap was the one who was more obviously hurt, and the one Dream was more worried about.

George flicked his tail, pushing off of Dream's side to rise up to Sapnap's level. The two started fussing over Sapnap's injuries, trying to figure out a possible way to help with the wounds.

The remora in question was determinedly ignoring the pain from his tail, as well as his two friends, and was instead gently nudging at the mer clinging to his body. He didn't think the little guy was injured, but it wouldn't hurt to check.

"Hey," he murmured, lightly moving his hands to the little guy's shoulders. The mer tensed. "Are you hurt?"

A small shake of the mer's head was the best answer he got.

"Do you want to move somewhere else, or something?" Sapnap faltered for a moment, holding back a whimper when George shifted a particularly painful part of his tail, then forced out another sentence. "I-it's fine if you don't, really, I just don't want you to be scared. O-or anything." He hissed again, scrunching his eyes shut for a moment to steady himself through the pain.

The smaller mer shivered at the question, hunching his shoulders underneath the remora's hands and shaking his head. He didn't want to leave the relative safety of the remora's arms. If he did, he would be in easier reach of the shark still hovering above them.

Weren't the two remora worried that the shark would taste the blood still lingering in the water and go on a murderous frenzy? Weren't they worried it would make them all into small, unfulfilling snacks?

"I don't know what else to do," George huffed, invariably drawing Sapnap's attention as he twisted to look up at Dream and the other remora. Dream gave a hopeless shrug, jostling Sapnap in his hands. "I-I don't know? I don't know. Neither do I…"

"W-we need something to wrap it with," Sapnap muttered, putting more of his focus on the octopus clinging to him. He had glanced at his tail for just a second, but that was just long enough for an overwhelming crash of nausea to wash through him.

"I'll go get some seagrass," George offered quickly, hurriedly darting down to the swathing field of seaweed and hurriedly yanking up some of the long strands. He swam back up to Dream and Sapnap just as quickly, trailing handfuls of the billowy plant behind him.

Sapnap watched the other remora, vaguely noting that George was being oddly helpful in this situation as he and Dream attempted to wrap his tail-fin with the seagrass. Normally he would be complaining and sassing Sapnap out for being dumb enough to get bit, but right now…

It was understandable, though. For George to be worried. Sapnap, himself, was starting to feel a bit woozy.

The little mer wrapped around his torso suddenly slid off of him and hesitantly drifted down to where Dream and George were struggling with binding his tail.

"H-here, I can help," the smaller mer faltered for a brief moment before moving towards Sapnap's shredded tailfin with an oddly single minded focus, warily keeping an eye on the two bigger mers, but more especially on Dream, the shark.

George gave him a suspicious side-eye but moved over regardless, letting the octopus take over wrapping the wounds.

With his smaller, less clumsy hands, the little octopus had Sapnap's tail secured and wrapped in a flash. It barely even hurt anymore, Sapnap thought. He curiously twitched the fin—Ah! A sharp bolt of fire rocketed up his spine, and he stiffened. No, it still hurt, definitely, yep, it did.

“You won’t be swimming for a long while, Sap,” George promptly informed Sapnap, tearing him from his thoughts as he helped the smaller mer tie off the last of the seagrass bandages. He turned suddenly, staring the other remora down with a stinging glare. “So that means, no swimming,” he hissed sharply, crossing his arms. Sapnap opened his mouth to retort, but was swiftly cut off by Dream.

“No buts, Sapnap,” Dream hummed firmly, drifting a bit closer to loom over his smaller friend. “Until your tail is completely healed, you’re staying on me, got it?”

Sapnap grumbled and griped for a moment before he gave in. “Fiiine,” he groaned, crossing his arms poutily. Dream and George shot each other a triumphant look, making Sapnap’s scowl deepen.

“Alright, c’mon then,” Dream hummed, reaching for Sapnap and curling his webbed hands behind his back and tail. “Where…?” He asked. Sapnap immediately knew what the shark was asking, huffing and rolling his eyes. “I think your shoulder would be good, for now at least.”

Dream nodded and gently lifted the remora to his shoulder, helping Sapnap maneuver around until he could latch onto Dream’s shoulder blade and comfortably rest his arms over his shoulder. The remora sighed, shaking his head and crossing his arms to lay his chin over them.

Dream finally turned back to George and the octopus mer, smiling warmly and reaching a webbed hand out towards the smallest mer.

"Hey, uh-"

The octopus shrieked, whipping around and ducking behind George at Dream's offered claws. Dream's grin faltered. "Oh," the shark pulled his hand back, curling his arms closer to his torso. "You're scared of me…" Dream turned his head away with a slow huff. "...Okay."

The shark mer breathed in quietly. "I was just going to thank you for helping with Sap's tail, but I guess not." He shook his head with another huff and turned to mutter something to Sapnap. George sent the octopus a disapproving glare and moved away, trailing up to get closer to Dream's shoulder to join in on the mumbled conversation.

The octopus mer felt a small pang of guilt at Dream's subdued response. He-he just reacted! He didn't mean to freak out, and he definitely didn't mean to make the shark feel bad! Especially after he went out of his way to save him!

Nervously making a decision, the small mer moved to apologize.

He drifted forward hesitantly. "N-n-no, wait," he fidgeted with his hands, almost freezing when the three bigger mers turned their gazes on him. "I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to-to run. You-you're just–just really b–big."

The three of them glanced at each other for a moment, before something in the shark's face seemed to change.

"No, it's okay," the shark grinned carefully, keeping his teeth concealed behind his lips, and slowly held his hand back out. "I'm Dream."

The octopus flinched slightly at the proffered claws, then shook himself. "I'm K-Karl." He gently set one of his hands on the first claw he could reach. With a wince, he realized that his entire hand could barely cover the shark's claw tip. Karl hesitantly patted the claw once, then drew his arm back.

He turned his gaze up to his savior, Sapnap, who was lazily tugging at Dream's hair while carefully watching Karl.

"I–I, um," Karl paused, biting at his lip before shaking his head. "Thank you for saving me. I-I'm sorry you got hurt with, with the eel."

Sapnap grimaced. "It will, uh, it'll probably be okay, dude. I'll heal." The remora waved him off with a half twisted grin and released Dream's hair.

Karl chewed his lip again and nodded weightily. Despite the reassurance, guilt still pooled down around the base of his throat. It was technically his fault, but at least there weren't any hard feelings. At least the remora didn’t seem to hate him.

They all seemed pretty nice, actually. M-maybe…maybe they would let him….no, they wouldn’t, most likely. They’d be like everyone else he’d met, probably, and drive him away. Or they might try to eat him. But Sapnap had saved him. Why would he go through that sort of trouble…?

Karl vigorously shook his head, dispelling his thoughts. It wouldn’t hurt to try, right…? The worst they would probably do was turn him away. They seemed nice enough.

Karl took a deep breath and inched forward, lightly clearing his throat and sucking in another steadying breath. He hoped it wouldn’t hurt if he tried.

"Can I–can I stay with you guys?" He hesitantly asked, nervously twisting some of his tentacles together. He–he didn't want to seem ungrateful for their help and overstay his welcome, but–the trio seemed safe. Even the shark was starting to feel somewhat safe.

"I mean, I don't mind," Dream trailed, glancing at his two friends. Sapnap shot Karl a thumbs up with a grin. "I don't either, man. You can hang with us." Karl felt his heart rise.

"Wait," George held up a hand, black goggles gleaming coldly as he scanned Karl up and down. Karl's chest froze. "Why would we take him in? What good will he do us?"

Karl was petrified. He–he didn't have a good reason for them to let him stay! He–they–he didn't have anything to offer! The octopus opened his mouth to say as much, but was cut off by Sapnap.

"Geooorge come on, what's it gonna hurt?" Sapnap whined, waving his arms towards Karl. "He's small, it's not like he'll be a bother."

Karl winced at the remora's words. That was true, even the words seemed harsh. He was small. Even for an octopus mer, he was considered small.

"Hmmm…" George drawled, slowly circling around Karl's back while looking him up and down. Karl hunched his shoulders self-consciously.

"Fine, I guess." The remora finally hummed, floating to a stop by Karl's side. "But," he warned, fins flaring out. "Don't cause any problems, got it?"

Karl nodded fervently. He wouldn't. He would try not to, anyway.

George nodded once and turned back to Dream, obviously dismissing Karl. The other remora shot Karl a grin and a thumbs up, bolstering his spirits a little bit.

Slowly, he drifted after the trio, listening to their chatter. Karl sighed. At least he would be safe? Hopefully? He sucked in a slow breath, and paused. He could still taste blood in the water!

Concern piqued, he followed the steady scent and tracked it back up to the shark mer. Karl's brow furrowed. The shark! He had been fighting the eel, and he was covered in steadily bleeding bite wounds! Neither of the remora mers seemed to notice, absorbed in idle chatter as they were. He should probably say something, right? He should. He would!

"H-hey," Karl piped quietly. Dream tilted his head suddenly towards the octopus, turning his full attention to him. Karl faltered under the shark's curious gaze, but managed to shake it off and continue.

"You're bleeding too, still," he gestured sharply at Dream's wrist, where the nastiest bite was, as well as the various other bite wounds along Dream's body.

"Dream!" George scolded, twisting up to drift in front of the shark's face. The shark cringed back, already seeming to know what was coming. "Why didn't you say anything?!

Sapnap cracked a grin, watching as George started scolding Dream for being an 'idiot.' Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the octopus mer, Karl, drift a little bit closer to his perch on Dream's shoulder blade. He waved casually at the small mer, letting him know that Sapnap had seen him. The mer's face immediately brightened, and he darted up to Sapnap's level to speak with him.

Sapnap could only grin. His tail still hurt, he still felt a little nauseous, and Dream was still getting chewed out by George, but, he had met a new mer! One who wasn't completely scared of Dream. If nothing else, that was a win for today in Sapnap's book!

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