The male swam down into the depths, down from the world of light into the ever night darkness.
In the dark he could feel the pheromones in the water, this area was claimed by an alpha.
The male released a challenging call, letting all know of its presence. Then it waited.
Soon he felt movement, long serpentine shapes like his own, but larger, about two, sometimes three times his size, the alpha's females, coming to see if they should inform the alpha. Soon they darted away. And the intruder waited
Suddenly a call rumbled out, making his challenge seem meek and quiet by comparison, the alpha has accepted his challenge.
The intruder kept aware, feeling for the smallest shift in the water with his barbs, he was a visitor in the depths, the alpha ruled them.
Suddenly a large mass came at the intruder from the side. The intruder swung themself out of the way just in time to avoid being bitten in half by the jaws of a monster easily ten times his size, the alpha.
The alpha swung around for another pass, the intruder deftly dodged away before dragging his ridged crest against the alpha's armor scaled hide. The alpha struck again, this time swinging their head at the intruder with their own crest, built more for bludgeoning and crushing, yet the intruder dodged this one as well. This continued for a minute before the alpha pealed off, the intruder left to wait and prepare for their inevitable sudden return.
A call rang out, thunderous and loud enough that it made the soft tissues of the intruder wiggle in ways it isn't meant to, yet the intruder stood their ground and answered in turn, only barely sensing the alpha's next attack through the noise in time to avoid becoming the alpha's snack, all the while running his crest against the alpha. And thus their battle continued, the alpha barely missing as the intruder retaliated by running his crest against the alpha's scales.
But eventually the intruder tired, their size limiting the air they could bring down to the depths. The alpha swam around the intruder, sensing his fatigue, the alpha judged him before they swam in and scooped the small intruder up and swam carefully to the surface where the two could breath.
The alpha had deemed the intruder worthy of fathering her young. And soon she would return to the depths to lay her eggs on the sea floor where they would be safe, protected by her as she was cared for by her females, till it was time for her to carry the eggs up to the surface to hatch where they would grow up until the females swam down to the depths and the cycle could begin anew
