fearplay & fluff

Aless considered it. His life at home was hellish and lonely, and everyone there had always talked about how he was sure to become something’s snack with how often he traveled out of the safety of their little reef. With Skim, he could go so much farther.

Even with what Skim had mentioned… It would be worth it. He could deal.

He clenched his fists, and then darted out into the open, heading towards Skim’s sunning spot with bullheaded determination. About halfway there, he suddenly felt something pinch around his tail, stopping him cold.

“Going somewhere, little fish?” An amused, unfamiliar voice asked, before Aless was jerked up by his tail in a dizzying ascent.

When his vision settled, he was face-level with yet another giant mer. This one had pale skin, a mane of red hair, and the tail of an orca. His deep brown eyes were locked on Aless, and his mouth was curled up into a threatening smile, showing off sharp teeth. “You’ve got perfect timing. I was just starting to feel a bit peckish.”

Aless paled, and his frills flared out in panic. “No!” He tried to jerk away, but was stopped by another hand pinching down on his freshly-bruised midsection, making him yelp. The giant brought him close to his lips, and slowly dragged his slick tongue across Aless’s front as he wriggled. He swiped his tongue over his upper lip, apparently savoring the taste.

“Oh, yeah, you’ll do nicely. Make sure you squirm on the way down,” the mer said, before lazily flicking his tongue out and dragging the tip of Aless’s tail into his mouth. He pulled most of Aless’s lower half into his mouth like a noodle, and Aless could feel the fleshy heat against his scales.

The tiny mer thrashed and twisted around desperately. “Skim!” he called, as loudly as he could. “Skim! Help--!”

“Mmrph?” The mer looked down at Aless, cross eyed, but didn’t stop slowly suctioning more of him into his mouth, tongue clinging to his back and tugging him in up to his waist. Aless scrambled for purchase, grabbing at the lip and nose above him and trying to dig his claws in. He could feel his tail fin grazing the back of the throat, so close to being devoured.

“Rhys?” a familiar voice said, and Aless nearly wept with relief. “What are you-- hey! Spit him out!”

The newly-named Rhys paused, and Aless took the opportunity to tilt his head back and see a worried Skim only a meter or two away. He flinched as Rhys’s hand descended on him again, this time looping fingers around his chest and pulling him out of his mouth with strength that showed how careful Skim had been being, before. Aless struggled to breathe in the bone-crushing grip, while Rhys looked at Skim, annoyed. “What is it, Inkblot? Is this one your Bonded or something?”

Skim hesitated, looking down at Aless, who was still recovering from the rapid change in surroundings. “He’s… um--”

“Because if he’s not, I found him and you can’t stop me from having a snack.” Rhys started to pull his hand back towards his mouth, making Aless writhe in panic, and Skim jerked forwards.

“Yes! Yes, he is my Bonded. So let him go.” Aless’s struggles faltered. Rhys narrowed his eyes, suspicious.

“Prove it.” He said, and dangled Aless between them. Aless looked at Skim, eyes wide and uncertain. Rhys jostled him tauntingly. “He’s your Bonded, right? So, eat him, soft scales.”

Aless saw the way Skim froze up, and felt oddly reassured. He really did care, it looked like. He kept himself carefully still as Skim reached out, and gently looped his fingers around Aless as Rhys released him. He pulled Aless up towards his face, bright eyes locked on him. There was no haze in them this time, only worry.

“If you just let him go, I’ll kick your ass.” Rhys inspected his claws casually, but his body was angled towards them, ready to pounce.

Aless thought he could probably deal some damage too, just going by his size and viciousness alone. He tensed a bit in Skim’s hand and avoided eye contact, trying to prepare himself for what was coming. It wouldn’t be like before. Skim wouldn’t hurt him. He’d be okay.

After a long moment, though, the fingers around Aless loosened, and then fell away entirely, leaving him completely free. He looked up at Skim in shock, and Skim looked back down with a sort of wry amusement, no doubt expecting him to bolt. A yard away, Rhys cursed.

“What the hell did I just say--” He stopped short as Aless flitted even closer to Skim, close enough that he could reach out and touch his face. Skim, too, seemed frozen at his closeness, gills barely fluttering. Feeling giddy with adrenaline, Aless tapped the tip of his nose playfully, amused at the way Skim’s mouth had fallen partly open in shock.

He took a second to steel himself, and then darted down to that open mouth and twisted past those sharp, sharp teeth before he could lose his nerve. A noise of surprise echoed softly around him, and Skim didn’t close his mouth, holding his tongue carefully still. Aless could still see Rhys’s face, so he settled onto the soft flesh of the tongue and made a rude gesture, acting as though he was as familiar with this mouth as the back of his hand.

Rhys clicked his tongue, irritated, and waved a dismissive hand. “I get it, bastard, I’ll find something else to snack on.” He shot a menacing grin over his shoulder as he swam off. “But if I ever find that morsel of yours unattended again, don’t think I won’t borrow him for a taste.”

Aless shuddered, and watched uneasily as the mer vanished into the deep. The tongue underneath him shifted, and he jumped a bit as Skim made a questioning sound, since he couldn't exactly form syllables just then. Right. He’d felt safe enough that he’d almost forgotten where he was for a moment. No wonder people thought he’d end up a meal.

Aless easily propelled himself out of Skim’s mouth, gaining some distance for both of their sakes. Skim seemed to be still processing what had happened, eyes wide.

“You, uh… That was some quick thinking. Sorry he caught you like that. Are you okay?”

Aless felt that same warm reassurance at his concern. “I’m fine.”

“Good… If you want, I can help you back home, or close to it. That way you won’t run into any more possible predators. I’m guessing you’ve had enough of that for a while, huh?” Skim smiled at him goofily, and then remembered himself, covering his dagger teeth with his hand. “Ah, sorry!”

Aless startled them both by laughing. “It’s— uh, it’s okay. And no, I don’t want you to take me back.”

“Are you sure? It’s dangerous…”

“I’m sure. I don’t want to go back at all.” Aless watched Skim blink, the giant mer’s face twisting with confusion.

“Huh?”

“I want to travel with you. As your Bonded. ...If that’s okay.”

Skim stared a moment longer, and then an uncontrollable grin split his face. “That’s more than okay! Are you sure?”

Aless nodded, resolute despite the way all those sharp teeth sent a shiver down his spine. “I’m sure.”  

“Yes!” Skim did an elaborate corkscrew twist in the water, clearly overwhelmed with joy. He circled back around to Aless, wiggling with excitement like a giant seal puppy. “This is great! I’m so glad! I gotta be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to more or less abducting anyone else, even if just for a bit. Once was more than enough.”

… How in the world had he been scared of someone this earnest?

“You’re a pretty straightforward guy, huh?” Aless responded, trying to hide a grin. Skim stuck his tongue out at him, and then paused.

“That’s right! What’s your name?”

Aless blinked. He hadn’t told him yet, had he? “I’m Aless. And you’re Skim, right? Or is it Inkblot?”

Skim laughed, ruffling his hair and almost dislodging some of the errant kelp strung in it. “Oh, no, Inkblot is just a nickname. I’m Skim!”

He held out a hand, and Aless darted forwards, placing his own webbed fingers on the tip of one of those huge fingers with barely-concealed awe. Skim seemed just as enchanted by the size difference as he was.

“Wow… I’ve never really gotten to interact with any bitty mers up close before,” he admitted, shaping his hand into a scoop that gently bracketed one side of the tiny mer, careful not to crowd him. “Most of them tend to be pretty skittish around us, ‘specially if they know about the curse.”

Aless leaned tentatively against the palm, able to feel that steady heartbeat again. “Really? I thought knowing about the curse would make them less worried, since they’d know you won’t eat anyone for real.”

“I wish,” Skim sighed. “But they have a right to be scared. Some sharks from the Eastern Depths decided that bonding wasn’t as efficient as just… hunting down new prey that matched their wavelength whenever they started feeling the curse’s effects.”  

Aless felt a chill. “Hunting down as in… actually eating them?”

“Yeah,” Skim replied grimly. “It’s messed up. Don’t worry, though, I promise to keep you safe.”

Aless nodded slowly, and then was distracted by an oversized finger carefully ruffling his hair. He shoved it lightly, wrinkling his nose. “Hey, quit it!”

“But it’s so fluffy!” Despite his protest, Skim obligingly lifted his finger away. A thought seemed to strike him.

“Oh man, I can’t wait to tell Devon that I found my Bonded on the first try! Lucky!”

Aless watched with amusement as the big mer fist pumped in celebration. “That’s right, you had someone with you. Where did your other… uh, friend(?) go? He wasn’t in the cove, right?”

Skim tilted his head. “Devon? No, he said this part was my job. Can’t have your mentor do everything, after all! He’ll probably be back soon.”

“Oh,” Aless replied, feeling a pit of fear form in his stomach at the thought of facing yet another giant. He mentally shook himself. He would be fine, Skim was there and had promised to protect him. If he wanted this thing to work, he had to trust the bigger mer, like it or not. “And then what?”

“Then we do the second bond!” Skim chirped. “Though… I don’t actually know what the process for it is. Dev likes to keep things pretty hush-hush.”

“That’s not very reassuring,” Aless grumbled, thinking about the scare the first bond had given him. Skim chuckled, offering the tiny mer a hand.

“We should probably get closer to the cove, that way Dev doesn’t miss us. Want a ride?”