Chapter Text
Alastor was serenely sunbathing the top half of his body on a smooth rock. He loved to feel the warm rays of sun on his brown fur, but it dried out his black tentacles so he tended to leave his lower half in the water. The waves gently lapped at his waist, gently rocking him as he relaxed.
There was no land around for miles, just this little cluster of jagged stones that humans were too afraid to traverse near due to the shallow rocks below. Alastor had discovered this place while scouring shipwrecks for human corpses, there was usually an abundance in this area.
A brown spot appeared on the horizon, just as the sun was setting. He squinted, but was unable to make out the object. Curiosity piqued, Alastor slid back into the water and easily rode the currents to investigate.
Despite the darkening sky, he was able to make out the hull of a large vessel. He'd never seen one this big among the sunken ships he salvaged.
Alastor peaked out of the water, but was startled when there was a loud boom that lit the sky with pretty hues. His head sunk back into the water, only leaving his long red ears and eyes above the sea. Alastor ducked again and swam around the ship until he spotted a black anchor next to a small hole on the hull of the ship.
Having only ever explored sunken ships, he was curious what a deck full of humans looked like. Alastor used his arms and tentacles to climb up the side until he could comfortably sit on the metal anchor.
The sun had already disappeared, but the deck was alive with lamps and music. Alastor was mystified by different colors that bathed the wood from the lanterns. There were groups of people standing or sitting while drinking from large mugs. What seemed like a band, joyously played strange instruments near the cabin of the ship. The music was foreign to him, but enjoyable.
He eyes slid shut as an odd scent filled the air. The aroma was rich, but like nothing he'd ever smelt before. It reminded him of a decaying corpse, but without the rot.
"Your Highness!" a burly man called. "The cake is ready."
Royalty? Alastor thought dazedly. What would a royal human look like?
A small pale man with blond hair turned and spoke to the one that called out to him. He wore a white shirt with a pink vest and black pants.
Alastor squinted as he leaned forward for a better look, but that man seemed like a normal human.
A little girl with long blond hair ran across the deck to the king. He scooped her up with a bright smile and a jubilant laugh.
Alastor couldn't help but stare at this strange man as his stomach twisted uncomfortably. He quickly dismissed his hunger, he could deal with it later.
Another man pushed a cart with a circular white object in front of the royal pair. There were several smaller white circles stacked on top of it.
Was that where the rich scent was coming from? He thought as he watched the crowd surround the cart and begin to sing. He grimaced at the awful timing and off key notes. Thankfully, it was over quickly and the child blew out the flames on the strange white object. The crowd cheered before more loud colorful lights lit up the night sky, causing Alastor's ears to draw back.
Alastor's eyes strayed to the small King again as he wondered if perhaps that rich scent was coming from him instead of what was on the cart.
A strong wind suddenly slammed into his body, causing him to fall into the rough waters below. Frantically, he resurfaced in time to see the boat heading straight toward the shallow rocks. His heart raced as he dove again and used the current to take him toward the doomed ship.
He watched the underside collide with the unforgiving stones and the vessel began to quickly fill with water. Alastor observed with fascination, now understanding how humans were foolish enough to crash in the same area multiple times.
Alastor licked his lips excitedly at the thought of eating fresh human corpses, especially if that nice smelling king fell into the sea. He wanted a taste of that rich aroma.
He circled the sinking ship like a shark, awaiting the watery death of the passengers. Once a body hit the water, he swiftly swam over to watch them desperately fighting to stay afloat and sinking quickly. The little body gave out quickly, too tired to struggle long.
It was the little girl that the king had been holding. Her eyes were wide with fear as his tentacles surrounded her, encircling her limbs. The little human girl would make a poor meal, she wasn't even worth the effort to eat.
Only a few slivers of moonlight lit up her terrified face. Bubbles escaped her parted lips as her eyes widened in his direction.
Alastor swam toward the surface near a small boat, lifting her out of the water for the other humans to see. There were many small boats on the surface, Alastor was unsure where they had come from. He stayed under the boat, knowing it would be dangerous to be seen. Alastor released the child the moment she was pulled from the water and swam back down in search of larger prey.
It seemed like they'd all managed to escape when another loud explosion shook the very water and more planks and objects hit the water, some sinking while others floated. Another body was amongst them.
Without hesitation, he swam over to the limp body and trapped it within his tentacles. He licked his lips in delight when he saw the King's face. He ran his webbed claws over the human's smooth face and touched his soft hair.
Still too small for his liking, but that delightful scent was too good to pass up. First, he needed to find out if it came from him in the first place.
Alastor swam deeper into the rocks and away from the wreckage of the grand ship, dragging the King along.
///
It hadn't been easy to keep the King alive, his need for air was constant, but he was still breathing when Alastor dragged him onto the beach. The sun was starting to rise as Alastor gently brushed the hair from his face.
Alastor hadn't been able to pick up more than seawater from the King, which is what most of the corpses he ate tasted like. He hoped a fresh corpse would be different, but he assumed that meant it needed to be dry.
The King was still asleep, but at least his coughing fit was over. The moment they'd hit land, the human had coughed up all the water from his lungs before laying down on his back. His small chest rose and fell in quick succession as he urgently sucked in each breath.
There were lighter streaks of blond in his hair and his cheeks were an odd shade of red. His eyes blinked open slowly, but they were glazed over and unfocused.
Alastor's ears perked up as he stared down in surprise.
The king's eyes seemed to contain the vast ocean.
"Lucifer!" a voice called out, too close for comfort.
He didn't have to time drag the body away and escape.
There went a fine meal, Alastor thought sadly as he slithered his way back into the water. Just as his head was about to disappear, he watched the small King sit up and rub his head tiredly.
Alastor felt disappointed that he had to leave the King behind, but the risk of being caught was too great. He shouldn't have been greedy and just ate the small human when he had the chance. There wasn't much point if the King was simply going to taste like everyone else though.
Perhaps there was still a way…
///
In the dark depths of the ocean, there was a large ominous split on sea floor. The stone walls were jagged on either side as if they had been ripped from each other. In the center was a rock formation carved to resemble a human skull, chillingly surrounded by fish bones.
The eyes of the skull burned a bright green, letting all who dared approach know that the sea witch was working on his terrible spells.
Only the truly desperate traveled to this sinister lair in hopes of besting the sea witch. Those who traversed the caverns always disappeared a short while after, never to be heard from again.
Alastor, the sea witch, was lounging his tentacles on a comfortably mossy rock while reading through a scroll with one hand and picking at the flesh of a fishtail in the other. Normally, he enjoyed eating one of the fools that fumbled a deal with him, but no meal had satisfied him since he'd laid eyes on that delectable King.
His stomach twisted when he pictured the other's smiling face. The King was scrawny, but if Alastor's plan worked perhaps he could properly plump him up for a better meal. His mouth watered simply thinking about him.
"Can I ask you something about the King?" Niffty giggled mischievously as she swam near the bottom of his rock.
Niffty twirled her red hair around her fingers as she awaited his answer. Her single large eye was intently focused on him as her gray shark tail wagged eagerly behind her.
"Of course, dear," he answered absentmindedly as he continued to read.
"Was he cute?" She chirped happily.
"Cute?" Alastor paused to look up in thought.
He pictured the King again. That brilliant smile, the depth of his blue eyes, the graceful and gleeful way he moved.
With a sigh, he abandoned the fishtail, watching it float away with disdain. His stomach twisted painfully, causing him to lose his appetite. It happened often when he thought of the small human.
He needed to satisfy his hunger soon.
"He looked stupid," Alastor replied bluntly.
There had been a dull look in King's eyes.
"I'm thinking about eating him," he added nonchalantly.
"Oooh," her eye widened in excitement. "Yay!"
Niffty ran off, laughing hysterically.
Alastor went back to his research, finding something interesting.
The black cauldron in the center of the room glowed an even brighter green as Niffty began adding ingredients, giggling with each puff of smoke.
"Interesting," he mumbled to himself as he squinted to read the fine print. "If I forfeit my voice I can bypass the time limit."
Using his voice as a catalyst in the spell would allow him to stay in human form indefinitely, giving him plenty of time to kill and eat a well guarded King. After he was done, he simply needed to undo the spell and he'd get his voice back. The desired result with no lasting consequences seemed perfect.
A particularly big puff of green smoke caught his attention and he turned to see Niffty throwing things into his already prepared potion.
What are you doing?" He raised an amused brow at her antics.
"Adding flare," she grinned insanely as she pressed a jar with green ooze against her face. "This one makes you smell delicious!"
"That's fine then," he turned back to the scroll to ensure he was reading it correctly as she added the ooze.
An earthy aroma permeated the room with the next puff of smoke.
With a nod of his head, he went back to the cauldron and picked up the shell he left on a nearby table. He dipped it into the dubious green liquid by the sturdy string attached to it. After a few moments, he pulled it back up and it glowed the same ominous color before fading to a pale pink.
Alastor traced the smooth curved shell with delight.
All that was left to do was to seal his voice inside to activate the spell, but he'd wait until he was near the surface to complete it.
Soon that little King would be in his belly. As if to accentuate that point, his stomach took that moment to flip again.
Soon, Alastor promised himself.
///
Under the early morning light, Alastor laid on the sandy beach as the waves gently lapped at his black tentacles. He wanted to bask in his body a few more moments before he exchanged them for worthless human legs.
Might as well get it over with, he thought with annoyance as he sat up.
Alastor lifted the pink shell tied around his neck to his lips, holding the opening of the casing against his mouth. He whispered an incantation and felt a pressure reach down his throat and grasp his voice box. It was slowly pulled from his body, the bright green blinding Alastor for only a moment before disappearing inside the small shell.
Pain shot through each tentacle as he fell backward with a gasp. It almost felt like his tentacles were being mashed together until there were only two limbs. His hands, now dull like a humans, dug into the grainy sand as he tried not to writhe on the ground. The fur on his torso stung as it retreated into his skin.
The transformation only took a few moments of agony, but once it was done, Alastor slumped. The gentle waves were no longer soothing to his body, instead it made his limbs feel numb from cold.
Despite his tired limbs, he sat up to try to push away from the water. His useless human legs flopped around, but did nothing to help him. He huffed in annoyance as he used his hands to drag himself backward.
Alastor hissed when the sand rubbed against his now soft skin.
How the hell did humans survive if they were so fragile, he grumbled in his head.
After fumbling for a few moments, Alastor was able to get on his hands and knees. His naked body shivered from the light wind that blew over his soaked form.
Was that why human's completely covered themselves?
His legs shook and his knees bent oddly as he tried to stand up, his hands flailing to keep balance. He fell backward onto his sensitive bottom and tried to snarl, but no noise left him.
The second attempt went better and he was able to take one tentative step forward.
Alastor had extensively studied humans and their boring anatomy, so he was unsurprised by the dick dangling between his legs. He found that it was irritating to walk with though.
He ambled along the beach where he'd left the King, hoping to find any trace of him. Even just the King's scent would do, though his sense of smell was dulled as a human.
As the sun rose in the sky, his feet began to sting on the hot sand. He shifted toward the water, but the cold hurt them nearly as much. Human bodies were annoying to take care of.
"Hello?"
Alastor's head snapped toward the voice, his neck cracking with the movement.
The very King he was looking for stumbled back slightly from the sudden turn, but he laughed it off nervously.
"Are you ok?" the King asked, keeping his distance.
Alastor smiled charmingly and opened his mouth to reply, only for nothing to emerge.
Right, he couldn't speak, Alastor recalled as he touched his lips wistfully.
"Can you not speak?" the King approached slowly. "I heard drinking too much seawater can do that to you. Are you from a shipwreck?"
Alastor nodded, knowing that it was the best story to go with.
"Let's get you in some clothes," the king unhooked the red cape around his own shoulders.
He draped the cloth around Alastor and tied it in the front, only covering him from the waist down. The material was smooth and felt light against his skin, but it did not help his feet.
Alastor took a step forward and his knees nearly buckled under him.
The King easily caught him with a reassuring smile.
"You must be exhausted," he stated with a thoughtful look. "You can call me Lucifer!"
Alastor's new feet were taken out from under him as Lucifer completely supported him under his knees and back.
"Let me get you back to the castle so you can rest," he began walking along the sandy beach. "Feel free to relax, it's a bit of a trek."
He remained tense, arms crossed over his chest in discomfort.
At least getting close to the little King wouldn't be an issue.
///
"You clean up really well!" Lucifer looked up from his daughter.
He'd been holding her hands above her head and allowing her to stumble around and spin in circles, almost like a dance. She stopped giggling to hide behind her father, gripping his white pants between her tiny fists.
Alastor had been forced in black pants, a white button up with a red vest and a black bow tie. Clothing was odd to wear, but humans preferred to cover up their weak bodies, though he wasn't sure what kind of defense they offered. He missed his thick fur and tough scales already.
Lucifer's nose wrinkled as he approached.
"You still smell a little off," Lucifer chortled. "But I'm sure that'll go away with time."
His eyes narrowed at that comment. Alastor's skin still smelled of the moss that Niffty had mixed into the potion, a delightfully earthy aroma.
How dare Lucifer make fun of his scent. It only made him more eager to kill and cook him. Alastor pictured him standing over Lucifer's bleeding body with a bloodied knife in his hand. The thought made him smile and nod in appreciation.
Alastor's gaze drifted down as Lucifer continued to speak. The little girl was staring up at him with fear and wonder in her eyes.
"Are you the Mr. Octopus that saved me?" she asked quietly.
Alastor's face froze in surprise as his heart dropped in his chest.
How the hell did she see him, let alone remember that?
"Sorry," Lucifer patted her head and shot him an apologetic smile. "We were recently in a shipwreck ourselves and she says an octopus man saved her."
"He had red hair!" she shouted with a small pout, upset that her father didn't believe her. "Just like yours!"
Alastor's hair was shorter and curlier on land, but was still the same color with black on the underside. It was scary that she recognized him.
He shrugged in response and her frown deepened.
"Why don't the three of us get ready for dinner?" Lucifer beamed happily. "It should be ready soon and I'm sure you're starving!"
Alastor was starving and his perfect meal was merely a few feet away. He just needed to figure out the best way to kill him.