Vibe: dark supernatural, protective, ambitious, intense, power dynamic, comforting through strength, slightly possessive
Summary: Struggling with pain and sleepless nights, you turn to the supernatural, only to unleash Crocodile, a dangerous protector who eases your suffering and pushes you toward greatness on his own terms.
— ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ —
You had a big challenge ahead of you. You loved surfing, and you loved sandboarding even more. You felt like it was a sport made for you. You didn't need good wind or waves. All you needed was a desert with dunes you could ride.
You were so good at what you did that you were among the top of the best and even had the opportunity to participate in the Sandboard World Cup. You were so happy about it that you couldn't sleep for the first few days.
Your enthusiasm didn't last long, however, as you had a bad accident during the competition and woke up without part of your leg. You were devastated. You felt like it was the end of you.
You couldn't imagine life without a leg or even a prosthetic leg. What about racing? You didn't want to give it up, but you didn't have many options.
You wanted to get back on your feet as fast as you could, but it wasn't as easy as you imagined. You could move with the prosthesis, but what you couldn't handle was the phantom pain.
It happened at night, or when you were at rest, when you thought you could feel your leg again. That it itched and you wanted to scratch it and then you realised that wasn't possible. The spot then started to hurt, as if the limb was still there.
This led to insomnia, where you just lay there at night staring at the ceiling. Quite often, you found that you were keeping yourself awake mostly on energy drinks, and when you got tired, you dreamt of sand. Giant dunes that were dangerous and swallowed up your opponents and you.
Very often, your lost foot began to sink into the sand. It hurt like hell, and the sand slowly began to bury you alive. You were drowning in sand and you couldn't get out. You felt like the pressure of your dreams was pushing you down in real life. Or was it the other way around? You weren't even sure anymore.
What you were sure of was that if you didn't do something about it soon, you'd be so tired you might as well forget the whole competition. That's why you turned to magic for help.
You found the best psychic in the area on the internet and decided to go to her for help. Sure, you could always try pills or other meds, but you were never one for the ordinary stuff.
Plus, this sounded a lot more interesting than some pills where just reading the package insert would put you to sleep. No, you wanted something unusual and out of the ordinary. Something like your favourite sport.
To your surprise, the psychic you'd found was in a nearby casino, which was humorously shaped like a pyramid, with a golden crocodile with a banana on its head. This was actually your overall first visit to the casino in question, as you may have been a gambler with a life, but not someone who would seek out slot machines and other games of chance.
You had no trouble finding her corner, which looked like a tent or the entrance to a marquee. Unsurprisingly, the psychic was already expecting you. You got the impression she was telling everyone who came to her for effect.
What you didn't expect, however, was that she had guessed the exact reason you had decided to seek her help. At that exact moment, all humour passed over you and you believed she knew how to help you.
The psychic took you inside her tent, where she first performed a palm reading and laid out the cards that told her how best to help you with your problem.
She stood up and left you alone for a moment. You got the impression she was looking for something. Moments later she returned with a teddy bear that looked very unusual at first glance.
It was a sandy and black teddy bear that was wearing an orange and black plaid vest and had a long black coat over its shoulders. But what caught your attention the most was the scar that stretched from one cheek to the other, a golden hook for one paw and a long crocodile tail.
"Teddy bear? And this one is supposed to help me how?" You didn't understand and began to question her again. She frowned at you and uttered that if you didn't want it, it was your fault.
You looked at the teddy bear once more and for some unknown reason, you got a chill down your spine. You finally took the teddy bear. You thanked her and were about to leave when the psychic stopped you with a warning. You weren't allowed to let him out of the cage, whatever that meant.
Since you took the bear home, your sleeping patterns have improved many times over. Your insomnia had evaporated and instead, you slept like a log all night and into the morning.
However, you woke up with sand in your bed with no idea how it got there. Of course, ever since you got your teddy bear, you've dreamed about the desert and sand in general very often. It didn't even have to be sand, sandboarding or anything like that.
It also happened that the sand in the dream was much finer. It caressed your lost leg and warmed you up nicely. It was a kind of pleasant massage that made the pain go away.
You've also often seen out of the corner of your eye a very tall man with black hair and a long coat that reminded you of the one the bear wore.
If something startled you or something strange happened to you, you even heard the kind of laughter that you used to hear in your dreams. And in the same way, you woke up in the morning and your room smelled of cigar smoke even though you were a non-smoker and didn't even own cigars. But all these things reminded you of the man you saw out of the corner of your eye and whose voice you heard in your dreams.
The sandboarding competition was the very next day and you felt that you had done everything you needed to do. Despite all that, you felt that it wasn't all. That it could have been done better.
You went to bed with these thoughts and worried that your thoughts would keep you up all night. Fortunately, that didn't happen and you fell asleep as quickly as you always did.
In your dream, you were in the middle of the desert, not a cloud in the sky and no water or civilization in sight. The only thing you had with you was your trusty board that you hopped on and decided to ride down the dune.
But the sand began to move as if it were alive under your board, pulling you in an unknown direction until you reached the rocks and the cave at the same time. However, the entrance to the cave in question was blocked by bars.
You were already thinking of taking a different route when you heard that iconic laugh again and your eyes glittered in the darkness of the cave.
"It took you quite a while. I have a feeling you wouldn't have found your way here if I hadn't helped," the voice spoke and you saw something, or rather someone, move in the darkness. Very soon whoever was in the darkness of the cell walked over to the bars and you could see who it was.
"I don't know what you're talking about," you replied, watching the man you had seen out of the corner of your eye for the last few days, who was close to you even when he was behind bars.
"I know why you got me. Let me out and I'm sure all your dreams, no matter how big, will come true," he spoke in a convincing tone, a slight smug smile on his lips.
You immediately remembered the warning the psychic had given you. That's also why you immediately dismissed him and wanted to move on. But even after you left, the sand made you come back.
The man behind bars was very convincing and before you knew it, you decided to let him go. You had no idea how, but as soon as you touched the bars, they unlocked.
The man came out of the cave and walked over to you. He towered over you, looking you over. You had the impression that he could see into the very core of your soul. He grinned and put a hook under your chin and made you look at him.
"This is going to get interesting," he smiled smugly, and you could see that he was pleased with you.
When you woke up that morning, your bed was full of sand. Even more than usual. So much that you felt like you were at the beach or a sandbox.
You sat up in bed and immediately remembered that strange dream. At that moment, you thought you heard his distant laughter.
You got out of bed, made your bed and were wondering what to make for breakfast when you realized that your teddy bear was missing. In that moment you could have turned the bedroom upside down, but it was as if the teddy had vanished off the face of the earth.
However, you didn't have much time to look for it, as you had to get to the venue of the competition, about which you had mixed feelings. Once you got to the registration and picked up your number, everything went by almost at the speed of light and you didn't remember much of it.
But what stuck in your mind and mattered most was the race. You stood at the top of the dune and with a deep breath as you cleared your head and heard the sound of the siren you started down the dune.
The start was calm and everything went according to your plan. In your head, you had prepared a precise procedure of which tricks to perform when and where. What you hadn't counted on was the fact that the sand under your board started to behave strangely. Like it had a will of its own.
At that point, all planning went by the wayside and all you had to rely on was improvisation and freestyle. You never knew exactly how the sand was going to move and more than once you ended up airborne.
However, thanks to all this, you managed to pull off many more tricks than you had originally planned and your descent absolutely amazed the jury. From then on, there was also a buzz around the course about who had it in the bag.
You were the clear winner and you could go and collect your prize. You got the gold medal along with an invitation to the next competition. With gifts from fans and medals, you stood on the podium for the press to take your picture.
As you stood there, you thought you saw the man of your dreams in the crowd. Your eyes met for a moment before he grinned and was blown away like sand by the wind. As if it were a mirage or a fata morgana.
As soon as you had a free hand and could move freely you made your way to the crowd, hoping to find your sandy protector. However, he was nowhere to be found, so you returned to your tent to rest and pack your things. There, to your surprise, your protector was sitting in your chair.
"Crocodile," you said in surprise, a smile spreading across your face. You got the impression that he was really happy that you had won. You walked over and wanted to thank him. But he took a drag from his cigar before he sat down and stopped you.
"Too many eyes here," he uttered, looking towards the door where footsteps could be heard. You looked to the door and then back at Crocodile, but he was as gone as sand and disappeared. Less than three seconds later, reporters walked in, wanting to interview you briefly.
That evening, you collapsed on the couch. You didn't have the energy to walk all the way to your bedroom and you fell asleep within moments. Even in your dreams, you dreamt about the journalists and it seemed that they had become your new nightmare. But before that could happen, the sand blew them away.
The wind picked up, and though you hadn't seen your protector yet, you knew he was there. The wind made you feel cold and you rubbed your arms with your hands.
Suddenly, a man's coat landed on your back like a blanket. At the same time, it was quite heavy, and you felt as if your knees would buckle under its weight.
"Thanks for the help... and the coat," you smiled and turned back to where he was standing. Crocodile lit a cigarette and just laughed heartily at that. He was surprised that the mean old hag had given him to you in the first place.
He finally looked at you before putting his hook around your waist and pulling you closer to him. He put his other hand behind your head and leaned in before kissing you.
"I'm your protector..." he said as he pulled away slightly and looked into your eyes. "...I expect great things from you, and with my help, I'm sure you'll achieve them..."
You woke up the next morning, and the first thought you had was that it had been quite a pleasant dream. It wasn't until you opened your eyes that you realized it wasn't just any dream.
Instead of a blanket, you were covered by a heavy but comfortable coat, and on top of that, you weren't lying on your couch, but on someone else's. Crocodile had his arms around your waist and looked like he was sleeping too. You smiled contentedly before you laid your head on his chest again and closed your eyes.
