Mer!Otto Octavius x reader chap 4
The pounding in my skull brought my thoughts back to consciousness as I pried my lids open, but the more I tried adjusting my vision, it felt the more they blurred. I feel my body pulsate in agony, as I whimper pathetically, as feeling in my muscles and nerves started functioning again, I clawed at the wet concrete before me, feeling my surroundings.
Hard, cold, wet, very very wet. Then, something soft. Flesh like, the soft surface was cold to the touch. I close my eyes, as they were no use to me at the moment, letting my fingers find their own way. It was an arm, the strong bicep muscle flexed and gently relaxed under my touch, there were slight indentions or scar like textures.
I followed a specific scar line, up the bicep, shoulder, collarbone, chest. A very large hand enveloped mine, covering it completely, his thumb caressed the back of my hand "Are you alright?" his voice boomed like a boom box but was as soft as a whisper, I think he whispered to not scare me.
His voice sent chills down my spine, completely washing away the pain. "I can't see... It's all blurry... It... Hurts..." His hand trailed down my arm, to make sure I knew where It was going, and rested on my stomach "Where does it hurt dear?" I opened my eyes again with hot tears running down my cold face "Everywhere" I whimpered again, I've never felt so weak before. So vulnerable.
"Do no worry Dear. It will feel better. Give it time. I will stay if you'd like me to" I reached for his hand "Please. Don't leave me. Am I going to die?" his voice still calm, relaxing my nerves "Of course no Dear. I won't let it happen" His hand hovered over my belly and up my arm "Are you uncomfortable? Shall I stop?" I smile slightly "I'm not sure. I don't know you, yet you saved my life" his chuckle warmed my soul, and it felt like my brain was humming, like the voice of a god.
I felt the pounding in my head resisting its bloody banging, and the agonizing pulsation being soothed like a cold frost. I couldn't stop myself from relishing the feeling, letting a relaxed moan escaped my chapped lips "Good. Feels. So good" As I blinked away a few more tears, my stained glass vision became clear and the features of the enchanting creature that saved me before.
"What did you do to me?" He smiled and showed me his palms, the large calloused digits were covered in a strange thick teal substance "It's my saliva. I know its strange, but it helps sooth internal and external discomfort" I avert my sight to my legs and stomach covered in his slimy saliva "So... You... Licked me..." Still grateful, I can't help the thought 'this guy is a fucking psychopath'.
I tried scooting away for some space to gather my thoughts "No. I know that right now your probably uncomfortable. But I promise I mean no harm. I was just trying to help your agony" His cold hands reaching under the arch of my back to help me sit up, "Is there anything I can do my dear?" His voice dripping off his tongue like gold.
I raise my sight to his upper body, his soft and chub complexion did not hide the defined muscles that he did have under all the plush. There were slight scars covering his entire torso, but they look faded enough to almost be invisible, they in swirls and spectacular tribal designs, how I saw them I have no clue but they added to his beauty.
His hand was replaced with something more soft and moist while he moved his hand to the bas of my neck so I could relax more. I continue my sightful journey to find the BOTTOM OF A FUCKING OCTPUS. HE LITERALLY HAD LIKE HUNDREDS OF DARK BLUE FUCKING WET OCTOPUS ARMS WITH SUCKERS AND EVERYTHING!?
I guess he saw my panic and quickly put his finger to his lip and told me to quiet down "wait! I know your scared, but please" my mind running through a millions thoughts "wha? what the fuck? how the fuck is this possible? this can't be real. I'm hallucinating" suddenly he wrapped his octo arms over and around my legs, they're wet, and squishy, and feel really weird, their cups being stuck to my leg like super glue.
His hand pulled my face by the cheek to look at him "I promise this is real my love. I promise I'm not here to hurt you" he said again, maybe he knows what its like for humans to see him? "H-How do I k-know that?" my fear getting the best of me and showing my stutter.
To show his peacefulness he gently laid my head back down and scooted a few inches away, letting the back end of his tentacles sink into the deep dark waters. I gently sit up as to not quickly rush the blood to my skull, his arms left dark purple circles on my legs "My apologies for the marks" he muttered apologetically.
I traced the circles with my fingers, they left warm spots on my skin, "interesting" I whisper. I scoot back and curl my legs "W-where are we? This w-wasn't the s-same c-cave we were in b-before" "I brought you to my cave. It was safer away from the human that was attacking you, you were hurt, I couldn't let you die" his voice trying to be as sincere as possible.
It reminded me of the reason why I don't hurt people anymore. My face flushing red and turning my face away, my body still tingling from the loss of his touch, I tried so hard to ignore the yearning my body wanted from him but I have to calm down first, he is literally a fucking merman, its his job to be attractive I can't fall like this.
I slightly look back up into his sorrowful eyes and think 'okay, maybe he's not like what the books say, maybe he's civilized?' I look around for my bag and worry a little "M-My bag. Wh-Where's my bag?" I watched his dementor change slightly to relaxed more "Right here!" he snatches it from behind a large rock and gently pushes towards me to no scare. How can so many people be scared of him, when he seems. So. Kind?
I reach for his hand on the bag and tug him closer, he happily obliges and... slither? forward. I reach in for my phone, only to find it smashed to pieces "fffffffffuck" a worried looked comes to his face "What's wrong?" "My phone is broken. It was the only way I could contact my family" "I apologize. I wish I could have stopped it from being destroyed".
WHY IS HE SO FUCKING NICE?!?! What fucking little mermaid bullshit is happening right now. I turn to the merman and gulp at his masculine and matured features "Wh-who are you?" I ask gently, hoping to not anger or upset him.
His gentle smile appearing again and replying with much joy "People call me Otto. Otto Octavius" I gasp, "Otto?" He nods his head questioningly "yes?" I reach into my bag again and pull out a small polaroid picture with my father and him at the docks at home "You met my father. Right?".
Almost like a dream he smiled widely, his toothy sharp grin shining brightly in the waters light "Ahh! Yes! Michael! I miss him. We met years ago, it was an accident, he hit a storm while fishing one day and was completely thrown off ship. I couldn't save the others, only him." His happy face frowning "I feel terrible I couldn't save them. They died. Painfully. But I saved him. That was the best decision of my life" he gestures to take the picture.
I oblige "Your father was a great man. Always hard headed but very kind, after meeting me, he did everything is his power to keep me safe from other humans that attacked me" giving the picture back and crawls behind the same rock and pulls out an old, dirty, and molded captains hat. "I kept it all these years. It was his captains hat. The only thing I had of him. Is he still alive?" he asks filled with worry.
I entangle my fingers with his "Yes. But, he recently got in another storm yesterday with me. He survived, but one harpoon got stuck in his arm. They're thinking of amputating it" sadness filling his face once more. Talk about expressional huh? I remembered the tablet "M-My father. He wanted me to find you and give y-you this" carefully pulling out the marble tablet, his eyes shot open with wonder and excitement "The old testament. A tale as old as time itself".
Gently setting it into his palms "What is it?" "in the beginning it tells where I am located. Then it goes on to say that the surface world will collide with the creatures of the sea in a terrible and fearsome war. Someone will become greedy for power and will try to destroy everything, just to have all species bow down to them" He pauses, tracing his fingers over the carved words.
"He said we we're in trouble Otto" he looks back up, I reach for his hand "Otto. Is the war happening to us?" Fear tracing my voice, quivering. He looks back down and up again "I-I'm not sure darling. I haven't read this in millennia's, my kind has always tried to make peace with the surface world, but never succeeded. Eventually we gave up and stayed out ground, as our territory was the waters." giving me the tablet back and sitting against a rock.
"Humans never understood boundaries, and when they crossed them we had no choice but to attack. So over the years they called us monsters. Creatures of the oceans instead of living breathing people who have just as much right to the world as they did".
I gulped the guilt away, god I've never felt so bad to be a human, we are so fucked up, destroying everything everywhere we go, we're all so selfish and monstrous. I gently and hesitantly reached for his palm, intertwining our fingers "I'm so sorry. I understand what it's like to have everything taken, and destroyed.". I reached up and unclipped my pearls to show the large man.
"My father said you gave this to him for my mother" and handed it to him "She died from a fire in our house. Someone broke in and tied her up, before they doused everything in gasoline, a liquid that lights on fire easily. The pearls were in an iron box, it's the only thing that survived" Hot tears fighting to escape my lids and my voice cracking with each word like a child just speaking for the first time.
"I apologize. I didn't mean it in that way darling" Otto's apologetic voice melting my brain, I smiled and wiped them away "Ya know before I came here I read a book about octopus people, it said I needed to give you food or gold to stop you from taking my heart and sacrificing it to the gods" Otto's face turned a slight blue "Ahh, heh heh, yes many people make terrible accusations of us. Some have even said they offer their innocence to live if they encounter us".
My face blowing in fire, I snapped my neck giving myself whiplash looking at him, he obviously noticed "No. Do not worry. Your won't have to give me anything if you don't want to darling. We aren't like that. We need consent to permanently breed" his honesty is killer man, I felt like I could melt.
"What do you mean permanently?" I ask, curiosity consuming me, why am I so interested in this? It's fucking weird to ask a FUCKING OCTOPUS ABOUT HIS FUCKING RITUALS?! "As it is in our DNA, we only breed once in our lifetime, unlike others who breed with different beings, we stay with one companion. In such, we perform certain rituals to make sure others know our companion belongs to us, and others don't swoop them away" god this is so fucking weird but so fucking interesting.
"Like what?" STOP ASKING QUESTIONS, I could see his face churning to a grin, cocky fish "there are many different ways, some more intense than others, but we usually do one specific act" raising his hand he ghosted his finger tips along side my throat "The neck is a vital part of the body. If trust is put in the wrong hands, could kill anybody almost instantly, as it is sensitive and carried a lot of blood" he informs, his voice getting darker and quieter as he inches closer.
Of course I let it happen, I'm weak, I can't do shit but let him do as he pleases. "We sink out teeth into the throat, just deep enough to scar and not kill the receiver, then we release a liquid pheromone into the neck that can be recognized by others that the receiver is taken" removing his now warm hand from me, I could feel the pins and needles of where his touch used to be.
I always longed for that effect. "How do you humans claim others as your own?" I couldn't help but choke on my nervous laughter "Well, uhm, heh, we aren't that trusting so we usually stay together for some years to really know that if their the one. After that, some people buy a diamond ring, its visible to others that they are taken and sometimes we are very selfish so if the ring didn't cost a lot of currency, the other might be upset." his face contorted to confusion.
I smile in guilt, we really are fucking awful "I know. it's awful, but it's not our fault, a lot of us don't know how to control our desires like greed, lust, or wrath. That boy you were hanging at the throat before I blacked out, is the son of the richest man in our little home, so he thinks we should all bow down to him" his hand gripped my tightly, his brows were stitched together and his face was serious.
Feeling guilty of what humans have done to these poor creatures, I slithered my soft fingers to his bicep and squeezed and caressed to get his attention, "I'm really sorry we did this to you. I ashamed to be apart of it." his attention quickly grabbed at my last words "You have done nothing? I learned a long time ago when I met your father, that there is still kindness here. But I knew with that snotty little boy I couldn't let him hurt you, I don't know why, it was like a need".
His voice laced with confusion and care, butterflies built in my stomach. "A need" I repeated, almost an echo, "Yes. I need to protect you. I'm not sure why." The longer we sat, the more he thought "Why did you stop me from killing that boy?" I curl my body into his, unintentionally, I was cold, I clung to his arm as I hid my face in his arm "I can't hurt people. I don't know why, but I could never bring myself to hurt people or watch people be hurt. It feels wrong. Even of they are bad people." I watched as the wet blue arms wrapped around my legs away, almost feeling like they're pulsating as the suck on the bare skin to cling on. They stopped at my knee.
"You are a very soft human" the arm I clung to, them rested on my knee and ran up and down my leg slowly, aching and lovingly, I tried not to feel weird, as 1) I just met him 2) he's literally and octopus and 3) he's probably like 100 years old. But I like him a lot, he's kind, and very concerned about my consent and what I'm comfortable with, hell he fucking saved me from my face being crushed.
"You are very big for a merman" I utter, his laughter roaring from the depths of his large chest and rumbled and shook both of us "Y/n" "I'm sorry?" I repeat "My name is Y/n" I didn't look up but I thought he smiled, his body shifting and leaning into my neck slightly. His still wet body, soaking my skin and clothes, but of course my dumb ass didn't mind "It is an enchanting name" is breath sending shivers through my body, as his large form held mine closer.
Is this wrong? It doesn't feel wrong, It feels so right, the first time I've ever liked someone who didn't want me dead.
