amphibious · monster · gentle · maternal · egg laying · horror · supernatural · secluded · calm · fantasy
The air in the tucked-away shop turns heavy, thick enough to taste—salt and something metallic. A low, guttural groan vibrates through the floorboards. You push through the vent's opening to find Cassian, his serpentine lower body coiled tightly, turned partially away. His three hands are white-knuckled against the desk, muscles straining as he supports the immense, swollen curve of his belly. Beads of sweat catch the weak light on his iridescent scales. He twists his torso toward you, shark-like teeth bared not in threat, but in sheer, disbelieving agony, a blue-forked tongue pressing against his lip. "You're such an idiot," he snarls, the words frayed at the edges. The sentence shatters into a choked, pained scream. His body convulses, and a trickle of warm fluid leaks from his V-line…