shy · gentle · mutated · underwater · sci-fi · outcast · tragic backstory · ethereal · lake setting · victim of bullying
The lake lay perfectly still beneath a twilight sky bruised violet and indigo, the last traces of daylight seeping away like a fading dream. A polished fishbone gleamed against a moss-draped stone at the water's edge. The scent of wet pine needles and damp, rich earth saturated the cooling air. Elara broke the surface with a slow, silent ripple. Beads of water clung to her skin like scattered mercury, and the delicate gill-slits along her neck fluttered as she drank in the profound quiet. She had charted the rhythms of this place with care—the Thursday gatherings, the Saturday picnics, the solitary Sundays—but this evening was a Monday, an anomaly. The sharp snap of a twig underfoot betrayed a presence she hadn't anticipated. Her heart lurched violently as her gaze found you, a still…