In the deep blue sea, there isn't a place for me
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Got the second part done, yay! This time from Vara's perspective!
I didn't redo the tilted words this time I'm too tired to bother, but enjoy!
Taglist: @brick-a-doodle-do @i-am-beckyu @justarandomsloth @awkwardgtace @nobodywritingao3 @local-squishmallow (if you want to be tagged you HAVE to tell me, I can't magically know)
TW: Unintentional fearplay, begging to die (Noone dies), blood, one curse word...not sure what else, most is the same as last chapter
Word Count: 3.3k
Part 2/2
His days were slow and peaceful, any given second put thinking about what he'd do to help out next. For now, he planned on heading down to the beach to clean up the aftermath of the storm. Trash always washed up in the waves, but storms seemed to bring a whole truck full onto the usually beautiful sand. It made him sad to see it all dirty, so he was bringing some big trash bags and some gloves for the worst of the trash he finds. Alongside it, he stashed a small kit of first aid in the back…wouldn't be much he could do, but sometimes animals got stuck in the trash too. He wanted to make sure they were safe too, just as much as anyone else.
With not much else to do today, he went ahead and got started, climbing into his truck to drive down there. It was about half an hour away from his house, and his favorite place to visit. Not very many people went there…probably because it was hard to get to, kinda secluded. His ears and tail wiggled happily at the thought of that neat little spot being cleaned up. No need to do more than just picking up the trash. People never using it only made it an even better place to be, in his opinion. He loved helping people, but he didn't like crowds very much. Or being pressured into something.
His ears swiveled and he hit the brakes in time to avoid a rude driver, ignoring their horn and continuing onwards. His mood was soured for no more than a few seconds, as he hummed in delight over his thoughts again. Why stay upset when it was already in the past? Instead, he turned on his blinker to head off onto a dirt road. He glanced around to watch for animals, enjoying the lush plants all around him. It didn't take long for the truck to start bouncing, the only half made road ending as he entered what was mostly just a dirt path. A path worn by use rather than being constructed.
Soon, the trees ended and he was greeted by glimmering waters, a bright sun, and…a dirty beach. His smile faltered for a brief moment, but he went ahead and parked his truck after turning off, keeping himself to the side. With his truck safely out of the way, he shoved the gloves and keys in his pocket, then grabbed the trash bags and hopped out. The sun was beating down rather hot today for being past noon. He gave a curious hum and set about his self appointed task, gazing at the water every now and then, sometimes wishing he could know its secrets. He stopped. How could it be so beautiful, and yet so dangerous?
He turned away from the sea at that question to return to his repetitive task. There was no room for a question like that. He'd be stuck trying to know for the rest of his life otherwise. Although…there were a lot more seagulls than he remembered usually being here. This made him speed up a tad, looking for an injured animal they might be picking on. If it was still alive, the birds might peck it to death! That spurred him forward, searching for whatever might be needing help. Of course, he also knew it could be the trash itself, but harm in being on guard to be sure he helped instead of missing it. He'd rather do it for no reason than let one die.
However, he didn't look for very long until he came across a seagull attacking what looked like an empty bottle. He waved the bird off, including a few others that had been coming closer. The bottle just seemed empty to him, half buried and sand obscuring what might be in it. So as he reached for it, he instead looked at the birds, wondering why they were still sticking around. He was a cat beastman, and yet they weren't leaving? His attention returned to the bottle when he found that it was heavier than expected, strangely enough. Maybe it was full of water? He tilted the bottle to pour it out so he didn't get the trash bag wet.
Then a sound entered his sensitive ears. They swiveled toward the bottle and he tipped it back to how it was, confused. Was there something in there? His hand shifted so he could see in better and…froze up, eyes going wide. What he saw there, was a tiny person. He knew that there were plenty of nonhuman things out there, himself included, but tiny people?? Well, not entirely…it looked like it had a tail replacing legs. He'd almost thought they were a fish, honestly. All he could manage was to stare in silence, struck by this thing even existing.
He raised the bottle higher in a hurry to see it better. As he did, the expression was clearer and…was it snarling at him?? Then there was a quiet, muffled sound and he stiffened. It was hard to not find that, probably a growl, adorable. He knew it was a threat, yeah, but the sound was just so small to him. And yet the little thing didn't even try to communicate better and seemed to be trying to get away from him. Did pressing itself against the other side actually make it feel better? He could kinda feel something cold against his hand through the plastic from its new position though, leading him to tilt his head curiously. Why was it so cold?
He paused. Would it be better to try talking? "...hello? Can you understand me? Are you okay?" Just because it looked sentient didn't mean it was. Still…he wasn't getting a response. Not really wanting to believe this was just an animal yet and overall wanting to help regardless, worry filled him. "Alright…I'll get you out of there. Trust me for a few seconds, okay? I'm gonna tip the bottle." After warning, he prepared his free hand to catch it when dumped out. He was very gentle and slow with the action, but winced seeing it scramble for purchase, but steeled himself. He didn't have something to cut it open with and it couldn't be healthy to be in there. If it got in…it could get back out. Maybe he'd have to squeeze the bottle to get it out if it got stuck in the opening.
Except what it chose to do startled him and he stopped, keeping still. It…did it just spread its arms to get stuck? On purpose? That was…a much more intelligent action. Maybe they just didn't speak the same language? "Please, you have to get out before I can help you." When he saw no change, he decided to not move and wait it out. It appeared to have a rather stubborn personality. Well…so did he! He kept himself calm, remaining unmoving and entirely silent, even when it gave out an even angrier growl. This was starting to be make it harder to truly discern sentience. Everyone did something to survive, but was he really seen as such a threat? He wouldn't hurt anyone for anything.
Finally, his patience paid off and it landed right on his palm, the small body rather cold. He sighed in relief, but grew concerned when it didn't move at all at first. When he was about to try and prompt a reaction to make sure it was okay, the creature became so suddenly stiff he could've thought he held an ice cube. In this situation, he normally would've tried to comfort it, but when it looked up at him, his heart felt like it shattered. He chose to watch wordlessly as it sat up, then hung its head. Instantly, the beastman wanted to fret over the small being. Had he hurt it after all? What if it was so stressed it just died?
Soon it turned its gaze back up to meet his and hope blossomed—only to immediately get bitten really hard for something so small. As much as he wanted to, he could only muffle the sound of pain, but not stop his reactive flinch. In a hurry, he let his fingers curl up to keep it from falling off his hand, confused. Why was it biting him now? Before he could even try for an answer, it latched onto one of his fingers, drawing a suppressed whimper out of him. That was more painful than it had a right to be. In a way…it disturbed him to see how much blood was dripping off that bite. As much as he wanted to stop the bleeding, he needed to focus on the scared creature.
Gently, he tried to move his other fingers safely out of harm's way slowly, hoping to avoid eliciting another bad response. All he could think of to do now was attempt to speak again. "Uhm...will you please let go...? That...it kinda hurts?" It seemed to freeze and for a moment he thought it listened, only for just admittedly adorable snarl to ring out, followed by nastily twisting the bite. He winced, nearly gasping in shock at level of pain it could induce. Not a lot of damage, but definitely hurt. Still, he just bit his lip with a solemn nod, muttering, "Yeah, okay, that's fair." He'd scared it after all. It paused again, only to start clawing at his finger this time. He could only take so much, so this time he tried bending his finger to dislodge it.
It worked, but now he had yet another problem. It had a brief look of realization and changed. While its teeth were still bared, the angry look slowly shifted to a fearful one the more it stared at him. He kinda felt like he was being studied. Did it notice he was a cat based beastman? Though that fear didn't last long, and accompanied by what felt like pinpricks on his palm, it looked at him with rage, of all things. He planned to say something else, but it took a breath and screamed, "The hell are you even going to do?! Stop staring and just do something damnit! You're too loud and toying with me! If you're going to do something to me, just do it!" At the very least, he thought it was a scream based on the tone…it was still quieter than one to him.
Regardless, he was taken aback by the harsh implications of that shout. It…no, he, based off the voice, definitely had sentience. Then…what was this small guy? Why…did he sound so scared and angry? He hurriedly raised his hand up to his face, letting his fingers curl in to be sure the fish person didn't fall. It felt a little risky so he gently held them in place and only stopped when level with his eyes. He could feel his stress building as he started to ramble, "What?? You...do you think I want to hurt you? I'm sorry I was too loud...did I really scare you that badly? I wasn't trying really hard not to—" He faltered, trying not to be loud but struggling. "—but I...I messed up? What did I do? How do I fix it? Is there something you want?" Maybe if he got an answer he'd be able to make him feel safe…being seen as scary kinda hurt.
Then all at once, he ended up feeling worse. They had looked up to meet his eyes, only for them for scramble away with a rather heavy shiver. Those tiny eyes were full of so much fear he wanted to cry for them. They weren't answering his questions and they were only getting scared. How could he fix this? Stressing, he brought his hand a little closer to softly asked, "Hey, are you okay? Can't you speak?" He wanted to help if he could. Maybe they got hurt.
But he was interrupted by him snarling again, the tiny voice growling, "Get the fuck away from me." He blinked in surprise and guilt flooded him. Had he really messed up so badly? His voice sounded so weak. Seeing them lean away, he wanted to say something, but was cut off a second time. "Just...just leave me alone or kill me already. I don't want to play these games anymore." The voice was so frightened, but so full of anger that he almost whined.
Then he registered what had been said to him. "Kill you?! I'm not going to kill you!" He was horrified and quickly tried to fix this. Letting go of them, he cupped his hands together to be more gentle and keep them safer. His heart squeezed when this got him glared at. Was this even fixable? Or had he already ruined everything by just trying to help? He hoped not.
He was pulled out of his spiral when the tiny person snapped, "Why not?! You're bigger than me, you're a predator, I shouldn't even still be alive except to be a handy little plaything for your own entertainment!" This time, he was stunned enough he couldn't even begin to reply. How could he? When someone was so hysterical you couldn't reason with them. He probably had a look of pity mixed with his worry, but…plaything? Predator? What did being bigger have anything to do with it? Maybe it was just a sealife thing he didn't understand. Then he got bit. He winced, hand shaking briefly as he fought to not react. He gasped from the spike of pain he got when they twisted their head to make it worse with a growl.
Whining a little, he started to move his other hand. "Please don't do that…" He carefully cupped his hand over the other one, in a manner like a child might use to catch a butterfly. He'd been hoping this would work, but he felt a sharp pain only seconds later from a different spot. Right. Being bitten all over his hand now. Pleasant. He waited, but…the bite was still going. He sighed, "I'll just put you back in the ocean…" Maybe he just needed to free them. He glanced at the birds warily though, worried they'd come after the small man. There wasn't a response though, so he just started walking, keeping an eye on the birds while searching for a good spot to put him. He did notice he wasn't being bitten anymore and his steps seemed to almost toss them around.
He tried to walk a little more carefully, but found himself being amazed at the feeling of a tiny heart racing against his palm. Only for a muffled voice to ring out and startled him into freezing, his ears angling forward to listen. "Wait wait wait!" He could tell it was meant to be shouted really loud, but…he still didn't match that volume he was used to. He felt them move and needle claws grab his skin when he stopped, so he paused to listen in case something else was said.
When nothing came, only silence, he prodded for an explanation instead. "Don't you live there? I'll put you back, are you sure?" It didn't make any sense for them to be scared but not want to be in the ocean. The silent stillness wasn't very promising but he simply took a deep breath and waited this time. It might help to just give time to think.
Finally, it paid off. He could feel movement before the small voice carried to him again. "...I don't want to be in the ocean. Do whatever you want with me, just get rid of me already, but not the ocean…" The tone was faint and almost shaky…it must be stressful to say something like that.
Except he didn't hesitate to agree, though he was a bit regretful to. "Okay, I won't." He felt them stiffen, so he softly added, "I'll just...take you home. You're probably needing some water about now and my skin can't be helping that, not to mention it's really hot out today, huh? And it's not like there's any other water sources around...I don't even know what else you want if you don't want the ocean. Maybe you'll tell me once you're not so dried up?" Silence. He got a very long, drawn out silence. It made him stress all over again. Did he say the wrong thing?
There was a shift in weight before he heard a very soft, "...fine." He'd barely been able to hear it, but now he'd gotten permission. He nodded to himself and turned back around, leaving his trash bag for now. It was more important to help him than to clean the beach. While walking, it kinda felt like they were laying down now and he started to smile, only to feel pricks from claws. He hissed through his teeth but chose not to comment on it.
Rather, he took a deep breath and tried to be himself instead. "Alright, then let's go! I'll take and get a good look at you to make sure you're not injured and try to find a good place for you to stay!" It would be good to check. He wasn't sure what would happen if they dried out, but he doubted it was good. By the time he got to his truck though and went to open the door, they weren't moving anymore. He pulled his hands apart so he could grab the handle, only to see they were entirely limp. A lurch of fear sent cold down his veins and he immediately yanked the door open, jumping inside and reaching for his water canister. He watched them closely while carefully pouring a little bit of water over them, only to stop when he realized he'd run out of water to transport them.
He took a deep breath to calm down. It's fine. They were fine. The tiny fish man was fine. He could see the chest moving. Shaking his head, he decided to put them inside his water canister and set it in the cup holder. Now he just needed to remember not to drink it. With a smile, he shut the door and made his way back over to get the bag of trash he'd abandoned. On his way, he looked around to make sure there wasn't anyone else that needed help. Luckily there wasn't and the trip to his bag was uneventful, so he just collected some trash and dragged the bag away. He'd been out here cleaning the place…he didn't intend to leave what he'd already gathered. Though as he tossed it in the back, he wondered what he'd do with his new acquaintance.
Amidst his pondering he automatically got in his truck, following the smooth, autonomous actions of getting everything set up and started. He glanced to his water and stared, hand flexing as he remembered the feeling of holding such a small body. The cold touch of scales…the fear. He shuddered, his ears pinning back in discomfort. After a moment of staring again, he shifted around until he could drape his tail around the water while in the seat and nodded, satisfied. How long would he be stuck with them though? It wasn't like he could just keep them in cups all the time either…should he get a fishbowl? That seemed mean, the guy hadn't even said where they wanted to go, just away from the ocean. He studied their sleeping form for a moment. He'd probably get to talk to them for a long time, perhaps going on trips or simply being each other's company. Maybe they'd even become good friends.
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The end
Part 1/2