Chapter Text
Life as a merformer is grueling, for those lower ranking especially. Always on the look-out for those that may want to hurt them, never ceasing their work to make end’s meet. High-rank mers have a much easier life with everything fed to them on silver platters. All of their problems are resolved by those they hire. Everything is carried by the lower class, yet they’re never acknowledged for it, expected to do what they’re told and obey for the good of those that earned their ranks.
Among one of the many low-ranking mers is Dee. Fathered by a mer named Terminus, who strived endlessly to make a good life for himself and his adoptive child by the countryside, together they possessed long fields that required lots of care. Despite the constant attention, yield from their crops hardly proved to be enough. Just about every new season, it felt as though Dee was plowing new fields so they could make enough money for the following years.
With Terminus, nothing was impossible, Dee thought. They worked as a team quite well, even as Terminus aged; his father would sew the seeds and harvest their personal gardens, fertilizing and tilling the smaller fields, while Dee plowed and cultivated before fertilizing and harvesting the larger fields. As they grew older, Dee couldn’t help but notice his father’s decreasing strength and offered to help more on the farm in his stead so they could live their lives as normally as they could. His father was often too embarrassed to ask for help from others, but Dee cared for him and didn’t want him to hurt himself, and he most certainly didn’t want him to go hungry. Terminus would often argue with him about the responsibilities, but Dee insisted on helping. Eventually his energy outlasted his aging father’s and those chores became part of his daily routine.
One thing that Dee always liked were stories. Whenever his father went out to trade, he tried to come back with a new book for him to read or a new story to tell. Stories of adventure, of love and romance, of hope for a better life.
As Dee approached sexual maturity, Terminus began teaching him the necessary lessons for the time ahead. These lessons were usually taken on by the mother, but since they had no one else, Terminus would have to do and Dee never minded.
Taught how to approach mers of interest, what to wear and how to wear it, and most importantly the rules of the mating circles, Dee felt prepared to tackle it head-on for his first mating season. Matured enough for the last one but still too fresh, Terminus insisted on him waiting for the next season, which Dee begrudgingly accepted.
Underwhelming is the safest word to describe the mating season, he thought.
Coming to the mating circle had been exciting at first, but he soon realized how limited the numbers were, which meant he had very little options to work with. Mers paired off quickly in the countryside much to Dee’s dismay, which explained the shortened mating seasons outside of the higher areas of population.
In the mating circles, he met Impactor, which led to further issues.
Unimpressed with his limited options, he found himself disappointed as he returned back home. Impactor had been the only one who seemed remotely interested in him, but Dee couldn’t say the feelings were reciprocated, and it had been very clear that Impactor only sought him so he could secure the farm in place of Terminus. Dee didn’t necessarily blame him, as he’d learned Impactor came from a family with far too many sons—he wasn’t even the biggest or the eldest—which meant his time within his family’s territory was limited.
Impactor was… pushy. Far too pushy for Dee’s liking, very determined to secure a territory before he was to be kicked from his family’s. All of the gifts that Impactor offered made it very clear that he’d hastily scrounged for such boring pebbles the night before. No thought or care put into such gifts, leaving Dee extremely unimpressed. Said belligerent suitor hadn’t even looked at the traditional beaded jewelry which had been diligently hand-crafted with the help of his father, carefully thrown over his left and right shoulders; he’d merely glanced at it, figured he’d like to be presented with a gatherer’s gift, and offered lousy ones.
Hard-working, patient, and most importantly self-respecting, Dee would not consider himself a desperate mer, so he declined his advances. Multiple times.
Even after the mating season ended, in such a small town where everyone knew each other, Impactor continued his attempts to court him. He would show up every day or two with new scrounged-up pebbles or rocks. Nothing personal or hand-crafted, never cleaned or polished, still showing no thought or care. Dee turned him down every time.
With another slam to his door, Terminus asked him, “Still having trouble with that Impactor fellow?”
“Yes,” Dee huffed with a distraught flick of his tail.
His father hummed before he came up with a suggestion. “Perhaps you could tell him to help out with the farm, prove himself worthy enough of a mate. We can split the profits with him for the time being just in case you do decide to say no.”
“That’s not very traditional,” Dee argued, mostly confused if anything. From all appearances, Terminus was very fond of their traditions, seemingly overjoyed that Dee would wear his family’s trademark weavings of delicate grasses and flowers.
“No, it isn’t,” Terminus agreed solemnly. “Neither is farming. My… Our family was known for traveling, for weaving stories as well as jewelry.”
Repressing a droop, Dee nodded as he sidled up to Terminus, brushing his fins over his father’s to express his sympathy. No words could bring Terminus proper comfort or address the situation with any justice.
After a quiet moment, he agreed, “All right. I’ll give it a go.”
“Do you think you can tolerate him being around?” his father asked with a chuckle. “He’ll likely have to stay in our guest room on the occasion.”
“I suppose so,” he mumbled with a grimace. “Wait. Why? Would he be tending to the larger fields?”
Terminus nodded. “Yes, and for good reason. You need more time to prepare.”
“For what?” Dee asked, curious but concerned.
“Well, I have an idea for the next mating season,” Terminus explained. “I think you’ll like it much better.”
Dee worked hard on the fields alongside Impactor who did so with no complaint as long as he was given what he was promised, allowing Dee to save up enough food and money for the travel ahead of him. Of course, he never shared these plans with Impactor, and when the time came to leave for the city, Terminus promised not to tell Impactor where he was really going. As far as the belligerent suitor knew, he was heading to a distant town to trade, completely uninterested in this year’s mating season. Which was obviously far from the truth.
The truth was that he’s headed toward the big city, which isn’t even remotely nearby. For the long travel ahead, Dee was sure to pack just enough food to get there with minimal surplus, and he’d saved up enough money to purchase food while he was there. Nothing more than that as they simply didn’t have the money for it.
Already missing the first few days of the season, he couldn’t afford to be in the city for long and would return home soon. As much as he liked the idea of exploring the city and what it had to offer—a totally new world to venture as a low ranking merformer—he had to hope he would find a mate and be able to return back home swiftly to his anxious father. Less time he spent searching means less money he would spend sustaining himself, and they also had to account for the higher cost of living within the city as well.
“Goodbye, father,” Dee told him with a gentle kiss to his forehead. A gesture that was normally bestowed upon him, this time he returned it.
“Goodbye, Dee. Be safe,” Terminus stressed, grabbing hold of his hand with a firm squeeze.
“I will,” he promised.
Anxiously, his father did his best to give a warm smile as he said, “I’m proud of you. No matter what happens I’m proud of you.”
Holding back tears, he nodded as he turned away, feeling his heart ripping into pieces as he gently tugged his hand out of his father’s grasp. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
With that, he left his father behind to tend the fields. Thankfully, Impactor volunteered to help in Dee’s absence, relieving stress from the father of his potential mate.
The travel was long and arduous, but with only himself to worry about, it took less time than he anticipated which relieved some of Dee’s stress. Though it did little to relieve the anxiety as he approached the outskirts of the city with widened, curious eyes, knowing he would have to make it as quick as possible. Even that seemed daunting. What if the city was filled with more Impactors? What if it took too long to find the perfect mate? Was there such thing as a perfect mate?
His father had always been quick to assure him that it would all work out. Even if he didn’t find the right mer, that would be okay too, but Dee didn’t want to waste the money on this trip. Feeling absolutely determined to get it right the first try. However, Terminus was quick to remind him that the chances of him finding a suitable mate the first time weren’t that good, and he couldn’t stress enough that he didn’t want Dee to put himself in a situation where he was unhappy with the mate of his choice. Better to be safe than sorry, he said.
Past the dip of a large hill lay the sprawling coral reef that made up the bustling city. Towering structures for plenty of homes, lots of glowing lanterns lighting up the city even as night fell, so many things to see and smell. For someone like Dee, it’s a lot to take in all at once.
With nothing but a bag of his small stash of food, money, and his courtship jewelry, he wandered the streets in search of the mating circles. Keeping his personal belongings close to his chest, claws clutching tightly so as to not have them stolen from him, he kept his eyes peeled for any places to stay, places to eat, and any sign of the mating circles.
Unused to all the mers around him, he had to quickly learn how to limit the movement of his long and powerful black tail and his large turquoise flippers, often finding himself getting yelled at. Any time he made the mistake of whacking someone, he’d duck his head and profusely apologize, which seemed to calm them down as they rolled their eyes and swam off in a hurry.
After some time, he eventually gathered enough confidence to begin asking mers around him for directions, which went about as well as one would expect from a shy country mer in the city.
“Excuse me, could you tell me where…? Ah, sorry to bother!”
“Uh, excuse me, have you seen the…? Oh, okay.”
“Pardon me, but can you help me with…? Oh, yes, of course.”
Got to the point where he ended up trading a scruffy mer for a meal in exchange of telling him where the mating circles were. He thanked the mer profusely before swimming toward the direction he’d pointed, only to find himself even more lost. After awhile though, he finally stumbled upon the obvious signs of cleared patches leading to circles lined with several rings of stones.
Dee found himself balking at the sheer size of these mating circles, and found himself even more shocked to see that the city—a respectable place of high regard, he thought—implemented the inner circles according to older tradition. Blood was shed in the center ring as bulkier mers fought for their prizes, quick to whisk away with their mers of choice to nearby, readily-available places to mate.
At first, Dee tried approaching the mating circles during the day. From the outermost ring intended for those spectating, he watched in horror as fighters clawed and slashed mercilessly at one another while pretty, slim prizes lounged on rocks nearby. Occasionally, a mer would attempt to sneak off with one, but they’d coyly resist. If the fighting mers noticed, they were quick to chase them off. Dee paled to think of what would happen if they successfully caught one of the less fortunate sneaky ones.
“It’s so… violent,” Dee murmurs to himself.
A mer next to him pipes up to helpfully inform him, “If you want less violent options, you could always come here at night. It’s much different here when the moon is overhead.”
Dee blinks, thoroughly surprised by some real advice. Quick to welcome it, he hastily replies, “Thank you! Thank you, that helps me a lot.”
Getting a much better look at the mer that’s spoken to him, he looks them over curiously. A much smaller mer with the lightest amount of scarring, but not enough to make him think he’d been through the center ring, and he spoke with a calm but knowledgeable demeanor. Unable to resist his curiosity, he asks, “Do you plan on mating this season?”
“I might,” he answers with a shrug, his gaze combing over the mers of the inner circles. With a bored hum, he remarks, “It’s the same thing every year.”
Twiddling with the bag drawn across his chest, he asks, “How many years have you come here?”
The white-and-red-tailed mer scoffs. “Too many.”
Hearing that made his heart sink. What if he didn’t find a mer the first few times? He couldn’t afford to come here very often, having been hellish merely saving up for this singular trip.
Seeming to realize he’d said something wrong, the other mer hastily assures him, “Ah, but don’t worry! I’m just very picky. Doesn’t hurt to be picky. I’m playing the long game, that’s all.” The other mer’s gaze flicked over his body this time, and he helpfully mused, “If you come in the late afternoons, you might be able to cash a suitable prize.”
“I’m… I’m not planning on fighting,” he admits, holding back a gag as he glances over and watches a mer nearly get disemboweled. They both divert their gaze elsewhere as one of the enforcers drags the mer out of the circle, the other mer roaring proudly as the prize of his choice eagerly embraced him along with two others. With finality, Dee adds, “And that’s why.”
“Yeesh. Yeah, you’re better off without it,” the other mer agrees. “Sorry. You’re so big and toned I thought for sure you were thinking of entering the ring!” he remarks with a laugh.
“Yeah, I don’t blame you…” Dee chuckles awkwardly. “I was actually thinking of being a prize.”
The mer laughs louder at that, making Dee blush.
“I wasn’t joking.”
He stops, blinking up at Dee with a perplexed expression. “Wait, seriously?” For the second time, his gaze flicks over his body inquisitively. Tilting his head, he questions, “Where are you even from? You’re new here, aren’t you?”
Flapping his mouth, he considers how he should answer the question. He remembers to heed Terminus’s warning regarding giving away too much about himself. Eventually, he answers, “Yes. I’m new to all of this.” Gulping nervously, he lies and says, “It’s my first mating season.”
“Ah, that explains it. Apologies,” he replies with a curt nod. “Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I don’t think you’ll find much success being a prize. Most mers here are looking for smaller, slimmer prizes. It’s just the beauty standard. You might get lucky towards the end of the mating season, though. In that case, I recommend the middle rings, you’ll find more luck there.”
Gut twisting, his brows knit together at the information. “Should I even bother entering the center ring?”
“Absolutely not,” he answers immediately. “You’ll get mistaken as a fighter.”
“Even if I wear my jewelry across the right side of my chest?”
He can tell the other mer has to hold back from a snicker. Still trying to be serious, he answers, “No. City mer don’t care about that sort of thing. The ones in the center ring don’t, anyway.”
Biting his lip, he can’t help but look back toward the center-most ring once more as a new fight began. He glances over the prizes, noticing how they preened and posed, but found himself uninterested. Even if he did want to fight for them.
“Well, good luck. Will you be coming here tonight?”
“Definitely,” Dee answers. After all, he clearly isn’t going to get any attention during the day. “Will you?”
“Maybe,” he says with a shrug before he turns to swim off away from the mating circle, leaving Dee alone as he anxiously toys with his bag. Realizing he never asked the white-tailed mer for his name.
Dee takes the liberty to change his schedule. Originally he planned to come to the mating circles during the day, having no clue that the time of day or night made a difference. New information changes everything.
Managing to find a vacant spot on the outskirts of the city, he sleeps on the rough floor of coral with no time to make a nest. After a nap, he returns to the mating circles, warily wandering the outermost ring until he can gather enough confidence to wander into the inner rings. This time, he’s decorated with his father’s handiwork, lacing over just his right shoulder as opposed to both. To make himself look more presentable, he shifts the bag to his hip on the same side it’s slung over the other shoulder, hoping it doesn’t draw too much attention away from the beautiful weavings he’d spent so much time on.
At night, the city feels like a completely different place. Much less violent in the center ring, thankfully, but also less visible with lingering shadows that make him uncomfortable. Still, he wanders through the middle rings, making his best attempts to socialize with other mers that glance his way. If he wants to find a mate, he’ll have to be more bold, he realizes. Though there is more to choose from, that also means there’s more competition. His father warned him of this.
There is little success to be found. Any time he thinks someone might be interested in him, he swims closer the way his father taught him—awkwardly trying to mimic the way the other prizes swing their hips—but they either quickly lose interest or a different prize swoops in and steals his thunder.
After many attempts to break out of his shell, he returns to the outer ring and watches other prizes. Becoming increasingly obvious just how many of them are smaller, slimmer, yet more plump in just the right places. Dee finds himself constantly looking down at himself, grabbing some of his fat, silently cursing himself. If his father was here, he would told him he was perfect the way he is. He would tell him that he should find a mate that loves Dee for who he is on the inside and not on the outside.
Every night that passes with very little increase in success, he loses more and more hope, feeling more desperate than the last. At first, he tried to be a little picky with who he attempted approaching, but that thought is totally forgone. Octopi were the only species that he felt were a hard pass, but fortunately they never seemed interested in him, more interested in others of the middle circles. Very few octopi were ever prizes in the center ring, he noticed.
Even thinking about the idea of touching their squishy tentacles gave him the shivers, holding back a gag at the thought. He’d eaten too many in his lifetime, finding them too raw and chewy.
Each night as his hopes continued to grow smaller and smaller, the light of the moon grew fuller and fuller.
“I’m going to look like a disco ball,” he tells himself as he curls up into a sad little semicircle, readying himself for sleep. “Maybe I should just leave before nightfall, save myself the embarrassment.”
So tired of all the dancing and getting rejected, he ends up sleeping most of the day. By the time nightfall comes, the full moon shines down on his scales, now opal colored under the moonlight. They do this every night on the full moon—practically glowing under the moon’s gaze—making him look silly, like he was some sort of glow worm. Still, he has one more night to try and find a mate. If it doesn’t work tonight, he will have to go home empty-handed, he decides.
Forcing himself to crawl out of his den, he eats his final ration of food for his time in the city with a little extra to spare, then swims toward the mating circles. Right off the bat, he can see the way others tilt their heads at him with curious looks. Ignoring them, he maintains his path, disregarding how some of them seem to follow him from a distance. Still curiously, he hoped, and not maliciously. This encourages him to swim faster.
Seems as though the moment he’s reached the outer ring of the mating circle, merformers flock to him like glow worms to a flame. Gasping and reaching for him with grabby hands, he jerks back, raising his hands defensively. At first he thought they were swarming to assault him and it nearly gave him a heart attack, but he quickly realizes upon hearing the curious coos and intense clacks of their teeth that they’re all interested in him as a mate. All of them!
For a moment, he struggles to wrap his mind around the daunting situation as more mers gather around him—there’s so many that they’re pushing each other aside in their interest, and there’s even other prizes fighting for a spot to get a good look—until, thankfully, an enforcer steps in and scares them off.
A bulky shark littered with old scars pushes past the mass of mers, roaring, “This is the outer ring strictly for spectating! If you’re interested in mating with this mer, you need to wait in the inner circles. Otherwise, get moving!”
All of them mumble and complain but eventually swim the other way.
“Thank you,” Dee tells the shark.
She snorts at him, perking a brow as she glances over his body. “Fancy party trick,” she jokes, swishing her tail powerfully to keep moving.
“Uh… Thank you?” He slaps his forehead upon realizing that it wasn’t a genuine compliment.
Palm drawn down his face in embarrassment, he can see through his fingers how several mers linger near him in the inner ring, waiting for him to enter so they can swarm him again. Turning his head, he watches as others in the outer ring make eye contact with him and maintain it while moving toward the inner circle, waiting for him to follow. When he doesn’t, they move back to the outer ring with an annoyed huff.
With a bite to his lip, he turns so his back faces the inner rings, hiding his face in his palms as his heart continues to race frantically in his chest. Everything is a lot to take in, and he can still feel their prying eyes on his glowing form like hungry sharks waiting patiently for their prey to slip out of their crevices.
Mustering his courage, he turns back to face the inner rings, only to find that no one seemed interested anymore. Just as his heart had calmed, it pounds in his chest once more, frantically wondering if he missed his chance. Was the interest in all those mers already expired? Had he merely been a fleeting trend?
A flick of his opalite tail whisks him into the inner ring, looking around at all the mers that now inexplicably seem more allergic to him than before. Averting their gazes, swimming the other way, but not in a manner that makes him feel like they’re being coy. What had gotten into them?
“Well, aren’t you a sight to behold?”
Head swiveling, he sets his gaze on an octopus merformer. From his lower half is purple flesh that travel up his sides to his shoulders and lower arms, framing his chin and raised cheeks, with pointed ears dipped in the same purple. His head covered in short, black, slicked-back hair. A bright and intense deep lilac in his eyes looks him up and down, clearly interested. Drawn in by the shining opal glow of his tail no doubt.
Quickly regretting the decision to come here under the full moon, he finds himself not interested in any mer that finds him attractive merely for his glowing scales. Besides that, this other mer is an octopus.
To signal his lack of interest, he dips his helm respectfully and turns the other way. He tries to swim toward another mer that had been avidly interested in him just minutes prior, but when they make eye contact, they swim off hurriedly. When he tries with a different mer, he gets the same result.
A coo is heard beside him. He looks over, disappointed when the same octopus mer from before approaches him once more. This time, he wordlessly reveals a string of smooth stone beads in his hands, holding them out to Dee as a clear offering. Either he guessed Dee was interested in such a thing, or he’d actually paid attention to his weavings and determined it was what he was interested in.
Even still, he doesn’t accept, despite his gaze locking firmly with Dee’s. Never wandering down to his shining opalite tail. Dee dips his head before trying and failing to approach other mers that he thought had surrounded him earlier.
“What is with them?” he whispers with a distraught huff.
Another coo. Recognizing it, he holds back a groan and looks back at the octopus again, forbearing scowl. Despite his distaste, he looks at what’s offered to him, noticing a string of glass beads. Much more intricate and detailed than the last, not to mention much more valuable.
Again, he doesn’t accept. He turns away with a stroke of his powerful tail, feeling as though he swims in circles and circles, everyone avoiding him as if he’d been infected with a plague. Maybe it was more like a forcefield encompassing him, or like he’d blinded those that had been interested with his flashy tail.
For a third time, he hears the interested coo, deep as a purr.
Turning to face him, he opens his mouth to make a remark, stopping as he looks at what the other mer holds in his hands: a string of black pearls. Sparkling with iridescent pink and green shimmers, reflecting the bright flash of his opalite scales. Insanely valuable. Something he could never have dreamed of possessing in his entire low-rank life.
“Almost as pretty as you are,” the octopus remarks. Capitalizing off of Dee’s surprise, he takes his hand and presses the pearls against his palm with the other, clasping his fingers around Dee’s. “They would simply look so charming against the bright colors of that gorgeous tail of yours,” he suggests, floating closer as he leans in. Dee instinctively jerks his head back, but otherwise makes no move away from the octo-mer. “Or, you could weave them into your jewelry.” He draws the pearls from out of his palm, tugging on the weaving to press the pearls against the cheap but personal coral beads.
“Be— Be careful! Those were my… These are from my mother,” he lies, quickly bringing his hand over the other’s to keep the precious weavings in place. Absolutely not frail by any means, but still.
“Such beautiful craftsmanship,” the octo-mer replies, rubbing his thumb over the carvings of the coral beads where his gaze lingers before returning to Dee’s. “Your mother must be very talented.”
“My… My mother, yes, she was— she is very skilled,” Dee agrees, a tremor in his voice as he holds back from shaking.
“Tell me what they mean.”
Surprised, Dee asks, “The beads?”
“All of it,” he purrs, leaning ever closer. He loops the beautiful black pearls around their joined hands so the other can run up his arm, sending a chill up his spine as it encroaches his nape. “The sea grass, the flowers, the beads. All of it.”
Heat pools into his lower region as if he had spoken the magic words.
“Well, the sea grass, it comes from…”
Dee pauses as the octo-mer lowers the string of pearls and moves to loop it around his waist, clipping them together where they connect. Breath hitching at the realization that he’s accepted his offering, which really only meant one thing.
Those piercing, bright purple eyes look up at him, one of his tentacles softly brushing over his blue flippers. Like he was prompting for him to continue.
With hesitation, he does. When the other mer slips his hand to the small of his back and presses into his side to guide him out of the circle, he allows it, excitement and fear jumping around his stomach. He can barely hold back from stammering as he explains the significance of the sea grass, the pattern in which it’s weaved, the coral beads and their carvings as well as the colors of the flowers. Whenever he finds himself worried that the other mer isn’t listening, he becomes less excited, only for the octo-mer to brush a tentacle over his tail with fingers swiping against his back. Humming for him to go on, renewing his courage.
Dee assumes the other mer knows where he’s going, hardly saying a word to him besides a few phrases that indicated he had been listening, specific enough to show that it hadn’t been absentminded. On the occasion, he asked an intriguing question, which made Dee excited to answer. No one’s ever asked him what any of his weavings meant before. No one’s ever been interested in him besides Impactor, and Impactor was only interested in possessing the farm. This, though? Completely refreshing. Completely new. Pleasant and surprisingly arousing, his tentacles gently brush over the back of his tail and the gentle pink ribbons that trail from his backside. Tentacles were not so weirdly squishy as he’d anticipated, making him feel bad for having been so rude to him earlier, not that the octo-mer seemed to mind.
“It’s just occurred to me,” Dee says, breaking out of his spell.
“Yes?”
“I didn’t ask for your name. I’m sorry, I should have asked, it’s so rude of me…”
The mer smirks, seemingly amused by something. “My name is Orion,” he answers. “You?”
Dee opens his mouth before he closes it, remembering his father’s advice again. “You can call me Opal.”
“Beautiful,” Orion hums. Seeming to approach their destination, he leads Dee into a large building, having not gone too far from the mating circles but much farther than he would have thought. Orion was in no hurry either, which gave Dee some relief.
As they enter the building—part of the structure being a large vertical wall of coral, the rest of it dug into stone—Orion leads him to what seems to be some sort of front desk. However, he doesn’t even pause to speak with them, he simply waves his hand and they nod as he passes through.
“Do you already have a room reserved?” Dee asks curiously, his gaze flicking over the stunning arcs of coral architecture and the beautiful artworks hanging on the walls.
“Something like that.”
Before they move much further, Orion stops to curl a tentacle over his tail as he pulls him in closer, the hand on his back shifting to his hip. Dee blushes but says nothing as Orion leads him up, up, and further up until they’re at the top layer of what Dee assumes is a hotel. Leading him past a few doors until they’re at the final door of the coral hallway, differing from all the other layers which had been rock. “Here,” Orion announces, breaking them out of the awkward yet comfortable silence.
Dee reaches for the door handle but Orion interjects the motion by doing it himself, pulling Dee into the room, closing the door and locking it with one of his appendages. When Dee looks around the room, he gasps at the realization that the roof is made of glass edged with a beautiful pink and blue coral which makes up majority of the walls. Stunning (and expensive) silks were streamed across the ceiling, and at the center was a lantern lit by glow worms. It’s a spacious room as well, freshly-grown furniture made of what looked like the warmest mosses weaved with the softest sea grass. At the center of the room below the lantern is a half-circular piece of furniture sat below where glass is rounded above it, which could not have been a cheap form of architecture in the slightest.
How much does this room cost? he wonders, feeling his gut twist. Only then does he look over to Orion, reassessing the jewelry that had been slung over the other’s left side. He knew those pearls and glass beads had to have been expensive—now that he’s looking more closely, he realizes he’s adorned with shimmery pearls and opals as well—but he didn’t realize just how much money this mer might have had by that appearance alone. Thought perhaps he had worked hard for that jewelry specifically for the mating circles, high enough ranking that such a purchase wouldn’t be too difficult. Leaves him to realize just how much he underestimated the mer.
Orion nudges him forward and Dee gulps but follows him, feeling the way he fervently squeezes his hips, the way his tentacles rub much more hungrily over his tail ever since having been brought here. One tentacle that’d looped around him then inches towards the sensitive part of his midsection, teasing his closed slit where the black pearls now hung over his tail, eliciting a gasp. Orion’s turned so he can lean in with mouth pressed against the frilly, baby pink gills of his neck, kissing reverently with a chuckle deep and reverberating. “You like that?” he asks, smoothly gliding him toward the rounded cushion of soft moss below the curved glass.
Afraid he might make broken sounds with his voicebox, he answers with a simple nod as his body shook in anticipation. Allowing himself to gently be guided down on his side to the soft, almost velvety nest; Dee nearly moaned just from that alone, thinking he wouldn’t mind sleeping here every night.
Orion then positioned himself in front of him, one arm hooked under his with hand placed on his upper back, the other rubbing over his hip as he never broke eye contact. Only for a heartbeat did he glance down at his tail which glowed under the direct light of the moon. Both their chests pressed together, Orion leans in to kiss his jaw and tells him, “There’s more where that came from, my dear Opal.” Feeling a sharp tooth slide over his neck, he gasps, and he finds himself gasping even louder as nearly all of his tentacles encompass him and press more insistently over his now-puffy slit. Claws of Orion’s fingers trace over his spine, pressing between each divot of his spinal cord, making him whimper. From the touch alone his nerves fire rapidly, shooting straight to his slit. Heat pours to his stomach and oozes downward, enough that he can feel it leaking.
Orion presses his nose to his nape and inhales sharply, taking in his scent with a groan. However, they’re soon interrupted by a knock on the door, to which the octo-mer twists to look back and shout, “Come in!”
Dee flaps his mouth in objection, but by the time he finds the words, a slim mer enters with a tray of food. Orion motions for her to set it on the end table sat just behind him where he’s snuggled up with Dee, his roving tentacles slowing but not entirely pausing their quest in the presence of another.
Room service dips her head and does as ordered, setting the plate down on the table before she turns away and exits the room. Thankfully, Dee hears it lock behind her. He thinks to voice his complaint before a tentacle rubs demandingly over his slit, making him keen as it rubs his fold open with a satisfying pop.
“Are you hungry?” Orion asks.
Gulping, Dee finds himself shaking his head as he objects, “No, no. I’m not hungry. Thank you, but…”
Betrayed when they can both hear his stomach growling profusely.
Orion scoffs with a laugh. “Here. Take some barracuda,” he offers, reaching for the plate to put it on the nest where they can both reach. Hand on his hip retracting to take a finely-cut piece, Orion holds it just below his nose so he can smell it. With a shaky inhale he catches its scent and his mouth waters as he gulps back drool. Would certainly be unattractive if he drooled on his partner.
Barracuda is expensive. Exotic.
“Really, I’m fine,” Dee insists, pulling his head back to be met with soft cushion. Orion moves to press it to his lips and Dee tries to seal them together. In response, the octopus perks a brow, seeming more amused if anything. He leans in and presses his lips with Dee’s, and in his surprise he whimpers quietly as he returns it. Orion licks his lips for entry and Dee opens without thought, allowing Orion to lick his teeth with a shiver. Before he knows it, though, he’s leaving him high and dry just as he slips a piece of the delectable barracuda into his mouth. Dee clamps his teeth around the meat right away and he has to refrain from drooling all over Orion’s hand where his thumb and index pinch his lip.
“Just try it. You’ll love it,” Orion promises.
Incapable of speaking with the delicious piece of fish in his mouth, he offers another whimper before he begins chewing. At first he chewed slowly until he realized just how good it was, becoming avid and frantic, closing his eyes as the flavors tickle his taste buds with a gentle moan.
“See? That wasn’t so bad,” Orion coos, letting go of his lip in favor of cupping his cheek, feeling his thumb rub down his jaw. He lets go if only to give him another piece of barracuda before he feeds himself.
This time, Dee does his best to savor the flavor as opposed to hastily swallowing it down. Still, the wandering tentacles rub over his tail, continuing where they left off with a firm press over his exposed heat. Dee has to gulp in order to clear up his airway for a moan which turns shaky as the tentacle slips into his folds. Surprised when it feels cold in comparison to his wet heat, but he recovers quickly. He’s never felt anything quite like it, never having touched himself with his own fingers, but it’s a surprisingly welcome intrusion as he feels his walls greedily clench around it. Almost satisfying, if not for craving more of the writhing appendage.
High-pitched and needy, Dee whines, “Please, Orion.”
“Please what?” Orion asks with a chuckle.
Dee whines and pulls him closer if possible, tucking his head under his chin. “Please, it feels so good…”
Orion hums, seeming to take another piece of barracuda for himself before he stretches to put the plate back on the table. A sudden lack of attention as his tentacles then refuse to move makes Dee sink his claws into his back as he pulls him back in, which he retracts the moment he realizes his mistake. Yet Orion hardly seems to mind, chuckling as he kisses his cheek. Dee can feel the way he toys with his hair as the tentacles coiled around him tighten their hold possessively, feeling like a fish caught in his trap. Pressing his lips to Dee’s ear, he whispers, “Do you want me to go deeper?”
“Please, yes, Orion,” he begs. “Please, um, go deeper.”
Orion chuckles as he takes the lobe of his ear between his teeth, the tentacle intrusion teasingly moving further into his clenching heat in a painfully slow movement. “You do enjoy it, then. Don’t you, precious Opal?” he asks. Then Dee can feel the wet draw of his tongue over the helix of his ear.
He nods, another shaky gasp leaving him as he pushes in deeper. “Yes,” he breathes, holding back another pathetic whimper, still clutching onto Orion.
“I like it when you beg,” Orion says firmly, making Dee shiver as his stomach does a nervous flip. He holds the back of Dee’s neck with the hand that’d previously been playing with his hair, just as possessive as the squeezing tentacles encircling him, keeping him trapped. As if Dee would want to leave with this feeling so good, having been fed such delectable food, exotic and beautiful black pearls looped around his hips indicating who he was to be mated with.
Dee groans as the tentacle draws back, letting out a keen of surprise as it surges deeper. Hitting such sensitive spots never been touched before that simply feels glorious, making him tilt his head back into the cushion with a cry. Soon taking advantage of this, Orion follows him, kissing at his gills and licking ravenously over the sensitive parts of his neck. Sucking in a sharp inhale just as the tentacle repeats the harsh motion, Dee continues to cry, “Orion!”
“My name is so sweet on your tongue, my opal,” he purrs into his nape, the tentacle beginning to increase the speed of it moving in and out. Every time it slips away only to return, Dee moans and clenches harder, hoping that would keep it inside him. After a lick up his jaw, he demands, “Keep begging.”
“Y-Yes. Yes, Orion,” he stammers, finally getting the courage to buck his hips into the questing tentacle plunging deep inside of him. So velvety and smooth, gliding in and out of him with such ease. “Please, please,” he continues begging, “please give me more, Orion!”
Folds flutter over the intrusion. Just as he thinks something big is coming, the tentacle slips out of his heat entirely, leaving him high and dry once again. Dee groans in discontent, bucking his hip against Orion’s in search for the final push into release. That’s what he assumes he’s looking for, anyway, with his mind addled and drowned in the pursuit of pleasure he can’t think very well. His hole feels stretched and hungry, clenching on nothing at all as he whines into Orion’s shoulder, latching his claws onto his hips.
Orion chuckles into his nape before he grabs his shoulders and pushes him into the cushions, readjusting himself as his tentacles lower their grip on his shining opalite tail. Blinking dumbly up at him, he tries to cease his fruitless humping in his confusion.
“You’re a virgin, aren’t you, Opal?” Orion asks, tilting his head as if he was studying him.
“Y-Yes,” Dee answers truthfully, his hips bucking with a mind of their own before Orion firmly places a hand over his hip to pin him to the nest below.
Seeming pleased with that, Orion shudders, his eyes rolling back as his grin widens. “How has such a beautiful merformer never been claimed before?” he wonders, drawing the hand on his hip downward to his slit, two fingers rubbing over his folds. Dee whines as he resists the urge to buck into his touch. Pleasure depleting, he feels desperation claw into his chest, but all he can do is wait.
“I-I… I don’t know,” he babbles, hardly hearing what he was saying but glowing in the praise all the same.
“Perhaps you were destined to meet me,” Orion purrs. Dee bites his lip as the octo-mer then grabs both hips to shift himself downward, breathing heavily over his exposed slit. Still, Dee holds back, even as desperation screams to buck into him.
Even more confusion settles over him as he finds himself questioning, “What are you doing?”
“Giving you the wonderful first time you deserve, my precious opal,” he promises sweetly. His warm tongue is even more sweet as he dives in with his mouth, breathing into Dee and giving him new air to inhale as he cries and clutches the nest desperately. Laying claim inside of him with his twisting tongue, which feels much larger inside of him as it laps circles in his abused hole. Warmth flows through him like liquid amber, trying desperately to draw him in to little avail.
Pressure mounting at its cusp as his tongue expertly swirls inside of him—he had nothing to compare it to, anyway—makes Dee writhe beneath the other’s hold, until finally it crashes over him like a rogue wave. Arching his back into the soft cushions of the nest behind him, he tosses his head back as he grasps Orion’s shoulders, body shaking while he continues to moan loudly. Part of him feared the neighboring occupants would hear. He feels himself clenching down hard with Orion still inside of him, purring into his folds, until it releases all at once. It squirts straight into Orion’s face, his body going limp even as it squirts twice, then thrice.
By the time he looks down and realizes what he’s done, it’s too late, the remaining undissolved viscous liquid smeared all over his cheeks and even his nose. Horrified, Dee gasps, “Oh dear Primus, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to make such a mess on your face, I…!” Reaching for his cheeks, he tries to swipe it away with his palm, but all it does is smear further.
Orion simply chuckles, hardly seeming inconvenienced. Especially as he grabs Dee’s wrist to stop him, bringing his palm to his mouth as he reverently laps up the mess on his hand with his tongue. Dee freezes at the motion, eyes wide as he briefly brushes his teeth over his palm before he moves to the mess around his slit. Licking it up slowly but almost ravenously, never missing a single drop. Enough to make Dee hold his breath, worried he might squeal in horror at the prospect.
“You can breathe, you know,” Orion teases. Almost as if he was ordered to, Dee releases the air held captive in his chest.
Orion shifts himself back upward, his face in front of Dee’s, a mess still squirted all over his face which made Dee blush furiously. From behind him, his tentacle reaches for a piece of barracuda and puts it into his hand, offering it to Dee. Reaching with a shaky hand of his own, he takes it, glad to feed himself for once. Orion then feeds himself a piece before feeding Dee the last one.
“Oh, no, you can have it,” Dee insists.
“Nonsense,” Orion hums. “You’ll need your strength for us to continue.”
“Continue?” he squeaks. “Did we not…?”
“You very much are a virgin,” he remarks with a chuckle. “I can’t impregnate you with my mouth.” Reaching down to his own slit, he rubs it until it releases his length into a waiting hand. He smirks as Dee watches with hitched breath. “I’m not finished with you yet, my opal,” he promises as he leans in, brushing his member over his stretched folds. A squeal that he’d been trying to hold back escapes him, but even with the embarrassment he couldn’t help but gingerly move his hips so he can rub the length against his sensitive parts. “Besides,” Orion muses, “I want to squeeze you until you’ve got nothing left to give.”
Being told that alone makes Dee shiver with a groan which turns into a full moan as Orion slides into him. If not for having been stretched out so thoroughly by the roving tentacles which still rub over his tail with minds of their own, he would have felt split open as it pierced inside him. Orion doesn’t waste time before he begins pounding into him, Dee soon catching up and bucking his hips with cries and moans, the soft leafy bed under them bouncing as it takes the brunt force of their movements.
“So good… So good, my shining opal,” Orion murmurs. With a far strike into his heat, Dee feels him reach the highest point and keens obscenely. Soon after, he feels his walls clenching once more as the same wave from before crashes back over him. Deep inside, Dee is filled with his seed, and they both moan ceremoniously. A purr escaping his chest, he finds himself grateful he had eaten as much as Orion forced him to considering this activity was surely straining him. If he was paying half attention he would know he’ll be feeling this come morning.
Orion isn’t finished, either. Soon after cumming into him, he’s moving again, making Dee bite his lip. A rogue tentacle brushes over his gills softly and curls there, distracting him just as another dives into his mouth. Having grasped the other’s hips again, Dee lets out a muffled sound of surprise, alarmed briefly until the tentacle gently brushes between his tongue and hard palate. “Suck,” Orion orders, pausing momentarily.
Dee whimpers but does as he’s told—the sudden lack of friction alarming and disorientating, needing for it to continue—sucking without hesitation. Surely he’s inexperienced, but Orion doesn’t seem to mind as he continues ploughing into him, his loud moans muffled around the sheer size of the tentacle. This one, Dee realized, had been the same one inside of him before, being the only one that lacked suction cups toward the tip of it. Only the soft undersides were present where there was an absence of suckers. Orion seems open to rewarding him as Dee feels another intrusion slide in under his member, moaning loudly around the one in his mouth.
Dutifully, he sucks as Orion comes another time, then a second time, then a third soon after. Minutes—hours?—blend together as the night goes on, Orion reverently pleasuring him. At one point the tentacle had even came into his mouth, to which Orion grinned and told him to swallow. Obediently, he did, even as it stuck to the roof of his mouth and his tongue. Then he’d bit on his nape, making him scream, but he otherwise didn’t object as Orion sucked on the wound to make it bruise.
“You must be exhausted,” Orion muses, watching the rise and fall of Dee’s chest as he pants after having come another time. How many times now he’d lost count, eyes drooping and tired.
“Y-Yes, I am,” he admits. “I don’t… I don’t think I could go on any further.”
Orion seems a little tired himself. “I understand.”
Glad he wouldn’t be forced to continue, he sags with relief. “Thank you,” Dee finds himself saying, still breathless.
“You’re very different from the others,” Orion muses, pulling out his member and tentacle from inside the other, viscous liquid almost squelching around it as he does.
Dee perks at that. “How so?”
“For one thing, you seem to be a very grateful individual,” Orion explains. “For another, you don’t seem to care about my wealth. In fact, you seem keen on avoiding it, trying your hardest not to cost me anything.”
Dee made the point to glance down at the expensive black pearls still looped around his waist before he looks back up at Orion. He opens his mouth to respond when he’s interrupted.
“And yet, you still know your worth,” Orion notes. “I offered you stone beads, you rejected me. I offered you glass beads, you still rejected me. It was only when I offered you the finest pearls I could bring to you that you accepted.” Humming, he leans in to kiss at his neck for the umpteenth time. “Very different from my belligerent suitors, always up my tail—so to speak—interested strictly in my money, or they seek power.”
Power? Dee thought with an anxious twist of his stomach, still filled with the barracuda he’d graciously fed him. Choosing to put a pin in that for later, he opts to focus on the rest of his statement when he sympathetically replies, “That has to be stressful for you.”
Orion hums softly into his gills. “You’re also well-read. I like that in a mer. It isn’t required for my carriers to be intellectually gifted, but for you… Mmmh, my opal…” He rubs circles into his hips, tentacles twitching and squeezing possessively. “For you, I make an exception.”
That’s an odd thing to say, he thinks with brows knitting together. He dismisses it by thinking, It’s just bedroom talk. Until something occurs to him, making him protest, “I never mentioned reading.”
Orion pauses his fervent kissing briefly before he resumes. “Yes you did. You mentioned it earlier. You must have forgotten with all the action, and you were so very nervous about sharing.” With another hum to his gills, he strokes a finger from his hip up his sides, making Dee shiver.
“I… I guess so,” he mumbles.
Orion groans, seeming annoyed with something.
This time, Dee’s the one who hums, rubbing a hand over his back. “What is it?”
Nuzzling into his neck, the octo-mer mutters, “There’s something I have to do but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it.” Dee frowns and he can feel Orion reciprocate against his neck before he continues. “But I have to do it, there’s no other way around it.”
Dee doesn’t know the mer very well, even though he’d just mated with him—typical fare for merfolk—but he continues to stroke his back as he tries to be comforting with a low, soothing timbre of his voice. “You can do it. I know you can. You seem like the type of mer to be able to do whatever you put your mind to.”
His partner hums contemplatively. “You’re right. I just need to put in the effort.” He rubs his nose over his frilly gills and gives another kiss. This time, it’s Orion’s turn to be grateful as he says, “Thank you.”
“Of course, any time.”
Orion’s hand rubs over his stomach with a thoughtful hum before he asks, “Are you still hungry?”
“Well…” He wants to say no, but he knows that Orion won’t accept that answer. A possible sire will want to feed his mate as best as possible, or so his father tells him, so he’ll accept some more feeding. “I’m not hungry, but I suppose I wouldn’t mind a little more.”
“Good,” Orion replies with a smirk. “Now just wait here and don’t move, I’ll be right back.” He pries himself away from Dee—leaving him feeling oddly small and hollow—moving for the door, presumably to fetch some more food.
He watches as he stops near the door and pulls something from a nearby closet, wrapping his midsection with a green silk cloth. Dee can’t see very well what it is he does next, but soon enough there’s a knock on the door to which Orion answers it and asks for his favorite. Then he shuts the door and languidly floats back to Dee before he returns to rest beside him, hand returning to his hip where he resumes the circular motions of his fingers pressed to his shining opal scales.
Dee hums pleasantly and tucks himself under his chin and lays over Orion’s chest, much more calm and relaxed in contrast to when he was desperate for more of his thick, velvet tentacle. Orion uses his other hand to brush his hair, humming softly. Making him feel relaxed, Dee’s eyes droop but shoot back open when he hears the knock at the door. This time, Orion pulls over a blanket of moss stitched with gentle sea grass over their lower halves before telling room service to come in, which gives Dee some semblance of privacy. Despite that, he ducks his head and hides his face, as if it would make him or any sign of what he’d done with Orion invisible.
Same as last time, the food is set on the nearby end table, and the mer leaves.
Orion stretches to grab a piece, pressing it to Dee’s lips, who opens his mouth to accept the meal with a blush. Divine flavor greets his mouth, the texture something he’s never quite experienced, but it’s not something he could immediately put a finger on. Only when he begins chewing on it absentmindedly does he glance over as Orion reaches for his own, making him gasp quietly with widened eyes.
Finding himself nearly gagging on his food in his bewilderment, he swallows hard before he looks up and asks, “Is this octopus??”
Orion smirks, catching Dee’s gaze as he opens his mouth and tilts back his head to place the piece of tentacle onto his curled tongue. Making it appear much like a performance for Dee as he slowly clamps his teeth around the dead appendage, part of it still poking between his sharp fangs before be parts his teeth to roll it further into his mouth and chew it further. Then he grins at Dee with lidded eyelids, the bright lilac in his eyes ever glowing much like the opalite tail shining brightly under the moon still overhead.
Sleepy just before this, Dee’s now wide awake with a sense of dread, like something is horribly wrong.
He stiffens under Orion’s touch as he delicately draws a hand over his back, tilting his head at Dee. “Is there something bothering you, my opal?”
If his father taught him anything, it was to be honest, unless of course it was too dangerous not to lie. He wrestles with these lessons as he tries to piece together what he should say. Tentatively, Dee suggests, “Is that not wrong? Eating octopus?” With a nervous gulp, he hastily adds, “Not that I mind! It’s just… not what I was expecting.” He finds himself biting his lip, cursing his blunt manner of speech. Doesn’t help his father never sugarcoated things around him.
Reaching for another piece of octopus, he pauses before putting it into his mouth in the same manner as before. Much slower this time, rolling the tentacle with his tongue much like he had when it’d been rolling between his folds. As much as it disgusts him, he can feel his loose heat clench at the phantom sensations of the pleasure he’d brought him, holding back a groan. Orion clamps his teeth around the tentacle to chew briefly before swallowing.
He does so with little visible effort before he firmly answers, “There’s nothing wrong with it. We’re far enough related that it doesn’t matter.” He reaches for another piece, holding it out to Dee for him to take it without a word.
“I’m… I’m okay, I don’t need any more,” Dee objects.
Orion tilts his head. “You’re not grossed out, are you? It’s just octopus, and besides, I’m more cephalopod than you are! It’s not a big deal. We do it all the time.”
Something roils in Dee’s stomach. Perhaps the dead tentacle he’d unknowingly ate, the octopus who’s chest he’s laying on seeming unbothered by such a taboo act. Shaking his head numbly, he decides not to push the subject any further, instead choosing to ignore it. He rests his head over his chest, shifting his position in an attempt to make himself remotely comfortable to no avail. An awkward silence swallows them.
Dee closes his eyes, but he doesn’t really fall asleep. Orion shifts occasionally for another bite of cooked octopus, but that’s not what keeps him awake. He can’t push away the feeling that something is terribly wrong about this situation, can’t force himself to sleep, even as Orion brushes softly over his back in a way that previously felt soothing or arousing; now it just feels uncomfortable and wrong.
After awhile, he feels himself finally slipping away, only to be jerked back awake when Orion kisses his head and tiredly murmurs, “How would Queen Opal sound?”
Dee freezes, keeping his eyes shut, controlling his heartbeat so he doesn’t give away to Orion that he’s awake.
At first, he thinks he’s misheard. Queen Opal? he questions, having to suppress an unpleasant shiver.
Lips curling into a smile where they’re planted on his forehead, Orion continues, his speech drawled with sleepiness. “You’ve had a hard life, hm?” he whispers, continuing to stroke his back. “Well, you won’t have to worry anymore. I can keep you, take care of you as you swell with our young. My future heir. You’ll stay in my castle… Only I will be able to see your stunning, shining tail. No one else deserves to see how beautiful you are…” Orion chuckles, mumbling sleepily to himself. “Once I’m King… Hmmmm… Queen Opal, yes, it’s adoring…”
No. No no no no no.
“We should be glad the youngest prince is not the heir to the throne,” Terminus had once complained to Dee, having just gotten back from trading by the looks of it. “The rumors I hear of him… Not good. He isn’t right in the head.”
“What did you hear?” Dee asked curiously, momentarily pausing his field work to glance over at Terminus as he approached.
“Mostly gossip, but nothing good. He’s violent, cruel, heartless, just to name a few descriptors. Not to mention the ghastly rumors of him possibly dabbling in… very bad things.” Terminus reached for Dee to pat his shoulder, shaking his head. “Nothing you need to worry your little head about. Perhaps when you’re older, but for now, you just need to focus on you work. Forget I said anything.” Then he’d turned away, leaving Dee to tend to the fields, wondering about the prince that lived in the faraway city.
Since then, Dee was told more of these things as Terminus continued to learn through the grapevine about the insane prince and his volatile manners. As just one example, he’d openly disemboweled a servant merely for insulting his opalite pearls. There are many testimonies of his unchecked cruelty. All of them now roll to the forefront of Dee’s mind, recalling those horrible things, the mer responsible for it still stroking his back as he fell into a deep slumber from beneath him.
Needless to say, Dee doesn’t get much sleep that night. Highly alert, replaying all the possible scenarios of how Orion could hurt him, wondering just how much he had said was true. If Orion thought he hadn’t been able to hear him, perhaps he meant it, but it’s hard to tell.
Not that there was any chance he’s going to stick around to find out, that much is certain.
Luckily, Dee doesn’t ruminate too excessively about how much Terminus will be disappointed in him. Coming back empty-handed was one thing, but coming back potentially pregnant with no mate to help with him or the farm is another thing entirely. He’s too focused on paying attention to Orion’s breathing, slowly working his hands away from his back and his hip, prying his grasp off of him. Any time Orion shifts, he freezes and closes his eyes, praying silently to Primus that he wouldn’t be caught trying to get out of here. To get far away from here. As far as his tail can carry him.
What would happen if I stayed? If Orion discovered I’m not really as pretty as he thinks when the moon is no longer full? Dee wonders. He’s clearly fond of opals, he thinks as his hand draws over the jewelry slung over his left side, claws tracing the opalite pearls. He might have given me black pearls, but he doesn’t know how fitting those are. He thinks this is what I look like normally, that I’m always this ‘pretty.’ His gut twists. With the sun rising, soon to block out the moon and the effect it has on his scales, he knows his tail will return to its normal color with a twist of his stomach. Would he disembowel me, too, once he finds out I’m not what he thinks? That I deceived him?
Shaking off the anxiety, he manages to pry himself away from Orion, carefully unwinding his tail as he floats the other way. Once he doesn’t think moving his tail will brush any water against Orion and alert him, he swishes his lower half straight to the door. Dee stops when he looks down and notices the color of his opal scales dimming, seeing how the black pearls shimmer less against the dying glow. Quick hands proceed to snap off the pearls, stuffing them into the pouch still slung on his hip before he glances back to check on Orion. Finding him still asleep, he opens the door quietly. He doesn’t risk closing the door, he aims straight down the hallway, that is until he runs into someone.
“Aye, watch where you’re— Hey!”
Dee doesn’t waste a moment glancing at who he’s just run into, swimming full-speed toward the exit of the hotel. All he sees is a flash of gold, as well as a flash of dimmed opal from his own tail. He doesn’t look back, even as the other mer shouts for him to stop, can hear them racing after him. Dee, however, is faster. Throwing aside leafy plants at the exit, he shoots out of the hotel, aiming for the crowds. He hears the merformer pursuing him struggling with the plants as Dee makes himself scarce. Doesn’t take long for him to realize there are more after him, the light of the sun as it rises making his tail darker and darker before he he can slip down a crevice between coral infrastructure, managing to squeeze himself between a rock and a hard place. Quite literally.
“Find him! He might have stolen something valuable from the prince!” he hears someone shouting, being the same mer he’d ran into on his way out.
Holding his breath and closing his eyes, clutching tightly onto the weaving slung over his right shoulder, he tries to calm down. Keep himself steady.
Maybe his color-changing tail will give him an advantage despite the fact it put him into this situation. They still think his lower half is opalite and shimmery, the mer he’d run into likely didn’t have the chance to see the bite on his nape, and he couldn’t have seen the black pearls stashed securely into his pouch. All he has to do is wait.
Wait he does. He waits for hours, stomach growling despite how much Orion had filled him up, both with food and with his tentacles and member. Knowing the following night will still be a full moon, however, he knows he doesn’t have much time to lose. Thankfully, Primus seemed to favor him, his scales black even with the moon overhead; most likely there had been clouds covering it up even as it shone against the sun’s rays.
Once he feels secure enough, he slips out of the coral, keeping his attention focused on all the other bustling mers. Still just as busy during the night as it is during the day. Covering the bite on his nape with his hand, he slips back into the crowd, zipping straight for the way out. He doesn’t bother buying any food, he has just enough surplus to get through the trip. Going hungry won’t be pleasant but he knows they’ll be looking for him, if Orion’s words held any truth or merit. Besides, he could be carrying precious heirs…
Prince Orion will never stop looking for him.
Any time he thought he saw enforcers questioning someone, he ducked away, his breath hitched until he felt safe enough to release it. Wandering the city endlessly until he finally found his way.
Out in the open now, he takes no chances, swimming as fast as his tail can carry him all the way back home. Only then can he finally think about what’s happened since nightfall. Everyone had cooed and adored him until they suddenly seemed allergic, letting Prince Charming swoop in and claim him, mating with him; Orion pleasuring him so avidly, feeding him reverently and tenderly like a good sire should, only for Dee to realize just what kind of person he truly was under the falsehood he’d constructed.
Under that guise, he’s horribly cruel, unpredictably volatile, and sinister to say the very least. That’s not accounting for the downright deplorable acts he and Terminus had heard through the grapevine, of the dark suspicions many housed but could not dare question or bring to light.
How long would he have kept the sweet act for Dee? When would he snap? Would he snap now that he had gotten away?
Dee is not foolish enough to believe that he has successfully slipped out of his grasp, but he would still have to try. At least, if Orion did find him again, he wouldn’t be able to kill him until he’d produced his heirs. If there was even the slightest indication that Orion might have found his father and hurt him, Dee would never forgive himself.
Snapped out of his endless ruminating, he enters the outskirts of the far town. Having swam so far with nothing to fuel him except adrenaline and lingering fear, he’s tired, but he manages to push himself just a bit further. He’s already come up with lies to feed Impactor, to which Terminus will then shoo him away to get further answers from his child. Dee also made sure to sling his pouch in front of his folds which had still not gone back to original shape.
Nearly crashing through the door as he swings it open, holding onto the handle for support, Terminus doesn’t hesitate to swim to his aid. “Dee! What’s wrong?!” he asks, his eyebrows pinched together in his worry as he looked him over. His gaze then lands on the bite over his nape, yet he makes no verbal assumptions. Shaking his head, he pulls Dee in for support as he says, “Come, come. Let’s get you somewhere comfortable.”
Doesn’t take long for Impactor to swoop in to help his potential mate, and Dee explains that he’d been chased by marauders—an increasingly common problem, being the reason why he was orphaned all those years ago—but otherwise had little injuries.
“What about that horrible bite on your neck?” Impactor questions, squinting as he leans in to look at it more closely. “It almost looks like…”
Dee was quick to cover it with his hand, turning away from Impactor. “It’s nothing,” he answers hastily. Even quicker to come up with another bold-faced lie, he says, “I think they were within their season, and… Well, I’m okay.”
“Did they mate with you?” Impactor asks, his voice rising, flippers fanning out to make himself bigger as he squares his shoulders. “I swear, if they did, I’ll—!”
“Impactor. That’s enough!” Terminus snaps, pulling Dee in for a hug as he pat his back gently. The black-tailed mer tucked his head into his father’s shoulder, hiding his face from Impactor, his body still shaking. “Leave us. He’s clearly shaken up and needs time to calm down. Return in the morning, he should be well enough to speak with you by then.”
Huffing, he turns to leave as he was told, making no complaint. As he exits, the door slams behind him which makes Dee flinch, but otherwise he’s fine. For now.
“Okay, Dee. He’s gone. Now, tell me the truth about what happened when you—”
“He’s going to look for me. They’re coming for me,” Dee starts to explain, babbling fearfully like a broken dam as he looks up to Terminus with tears in his eyes and claws digging into his arms. “Dad, I’m sorry, I didn’t know— The prince, the crazy one, Prince Orion, he’s sired—! Father, please, I’m sorry, I didn’t know! I swear, I didn’t know that he—”
“Dee. Dee, stop, pace yourself. Take a breath,” Terminus instructs him. For the untrained ear it would sound as though he’s scolding him, but in reality he was simply being stern. Never sugarcoating. “You’re making about as much sense as a seal dancing into the maws of an orca!”
Sucking in a breath, Dee hopes to calm down enough to explain, but all he can really manage is to let it out by crying into his father’s shoulder.
Terminus softens at that, but it’s out of extreme worry. Dee can feel this and it makes him even more anxious the longer he spends crying and the less time he spends explaining. They need time to prepare, they’re coming, they’re going to be here and he’s busy crying instead of planning.
“Let it out, Dee. Cry it out. Just let it out. Breathe, Dee, breathe,” Terminus coaches him, patting him on the back. “I’m sure whatever it is can’t be that bad. If it is bad, I don’t blame you, Dee. Things happen. We can work through this.”
When he finally manages to catch his breath, he tries to speak through sniffling. “The prince, Pa. I mated with the prince!” he manages to explain, trying his best not to break back into hysterics as he holds back a wail to little success.
Feeling his father stiffen only makes him wail even louder. Dee has to hope that Impactor had swam all the way home and he wouldn’t hear him yowling like a dolphin in mating season. They may need Impactor now more than ever, but how long would he be able to play an interested act if he is carrying? He refuses to mate with Impactor—he won’t stoop that low, not unless their lives were truly on the line—and even then, how could he convince him the children are his? What if he hatched octo-mers instead? What if he took one long look at them and realized they weren’t his at all? Impactor would react with fury, no doubt about it in Dee’s mind. He’s doomed his love ones, his father, he’s ruined everything.
“You didn’t ruin anything, Dee, you just— Dee, don’t talk like that about yourself!”
Upon being scolded, he realizes he had gone back to babbling. All of what he’s said is lost on him as he comes to.
Terminus grabs him by the shoulders and pulls him away if only to stare deeply into his turquoise eyes. “Dee, I need you to listen to me,” he says seriously. “We are not in any immediate danger. You are home. You are safe.”
Dee sniffles and opens his mouth, which Terminus interrupts by shushing him. “I’m not finished!” he chides, a growl at the back of his voicebox.
Nodding, Dee forces himself to clamp his jaw tight so he won’t interject.
“You’re home. You are safe,” Terminus repeats. “Say it with me.”
“I-I’m home. I’m…”
“You’re safe.”
Dee gulps. “I’m s-s-safe.”
“Very good. Now keep listening,” Terminus orders, squeezing his arms to assure him. “We can work this out. Whatever comes our way, Dee, we’ve always worked through it together. We just need a plan, that’s all.”
“They’re coming for me,” Dee reminds him, only for Terminus to shush him again.
“Slow down. Breathe, then try to explain. Slowly.”
Dee sucks in a shaky breath, letting it out before taking another. Only then does he allow himself to continue, although he glances elsewhere as he explains, “I mated with Prince Orion… I didn’t know he was the Orion, I didn’t even remember the younger prince’s name because we…” Shaking his head, he chooses not to distract himself on the details. “We mated, and when I finally realized who he was… I’m so sorry, Dad, I… Well, when I figured it out, I swam as far away as I could.” He bites his lip, holding back from crying further. “They were looking for me, Pa. I know they’re coming. M-Maybe it’ll take awhile, but…”
“Yes, we have time to figure this out, Dee. Trust me,” he assures him, pulling him back in for another hug.
Dee’s gut twists as he recalls everything Orion said about him. All those sweet promises he’d whispered in his ear. Hating the way pleasure intrusively tickles him at the memory.
“What if he took me away from you?” Dee asks quietly, as if he’d be ripped out of his arms right then and there if he was any louder. “He’d said he’d put me in his castle, that no one would ever see me again, because I…” He pauses, waiting to see if Terminus will cut him off. When he doesn’t, he dares to finish the thought. “Because I’m too pretty to be seen.”
Terminus opens his mouth to object, likely to assure him that he wouldn’t be taken away, soon interrupted by a sharp gasp of realization from Dee. Clutching onto his father tightly as he had before, he goes on to say, “Dad, he knew things about me. He knew about me being poor, he knew about me being ‘well-read,’ he—”
“Let’s not get hasty,” Terminus interjects. “You probably just gave him the impression that you’re not as financially stable as he is. Unfortunately, it’s not hard for mers to figure out.”
“Maybe you’re right…” Dee hesitantly agrees, feeling his heart sunk to the floor. “It just… I don’t know, Pa. It really felt like he just… knew things without me telling him. Like when he said I was well-read, I asked him, ‘Well-read? I don’t remember telling you that.’ He told me I must have forgotten I told him, but looking back, I really don’t recall telling him anything that would give him that impression, Pa! I just don’t.”
Knowing his father well enough, he can tell he’s frowning as he’d explained.
“How would he know?” Dee asks, quietly still. “What if he already knew me, maybe he—”
“Impossible,” he interjects once more. “Besides, if he really wanted to have you so bad, he wouldn’t have waited for you to stumble into the city for that.”
“You’re right,” Dee agrees, much more certain with that sentiment. “Maybe he’s just really good at reading people.”
Terminus nods. “Best not to think too hard about it, Dee. Especially because you’re not going back to him.”
Having said the magic words, Dee relaxes in his hold. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure, Dee. As sure as I am old.”
He can’t help but laugh at the joke, his sore muscles hurting him, but he couldn’t care less. They separate from their tight hug if only to get ready for sleep after a meal, further discussing their plans to hide Dee in the event someone came looking for him. Though it helps, at least, that his tail was black as opposed to opalite, and by the time someone came the bite on his nape would be diminished or completely healed. Aside from that, Dee had given false details about his life, which he’s sure the determined prince will have remembered and could be thrown off by. For one thing, he wasn’t really named Opal; for another, he’d implied he had a mother, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
Thankfully, no one ever came. If someone had come, it wasn’t obvious to either Terminus or Dee, and it wasn’t like he fit the bill in appearance. One glance at his tail would tell them otherwise.
This did not resolve all their problems, of course. They’d dodged a major wound, but that wouldn’t help with having no one to care for him and Terminus while he carried, nor solving how they could feasibly accommodate children. Terminus reminded Dee that he had herbal options for removal, but Dee had been firm that he still wanted to have the children.
“We will make do, then,” Terminus said, and that was that.
When signs of carrying were becoming visible—filling Dee and Terminus with excitement for the coming little ones—they decided to inform Impactor that Dee had been mated, and that he would not be mates with Impactor. However, they came to an arrangement. Impactor, still needing a place to say, could live and work on the farm just as he had before. Impactor was less than happy, but considering he was soon to be removed from his family’s territory entirely, he didn’t have much of a choice and agreed. Expressing firmly that he would not be helping raise kids that were not his own, which neither of them expected of him.
Fortunately, though, Dee did bring home that string of black pearls. Saving it for a rainy day, which he was sure to experience in the future, keeping it stowed away and hidden. Many rainy days were soon to come.