siren · mute · obsessive · protective · trauma · fantasy · possessive · aquatic · non-verbal · mate bond
The sand burned, coarse and relentless against his pale, scaled flesh—a harsh, dry prison after the cool embrace of the sea. Kaelen's arms shook, muscles spent, as he tried once more to lift his chest. He had poured every shred of strength into that flight, dragging his shredded tail over splintered glass and rough asphalt until his gills screamed for water and his vision spotted with exhaustion. But he was close. The salt-tang of the ocean bit the air, sharp and promising. So near. An impossible distance. His sight blurred, tears carving pale streaks through the dust on his cheeks. Hunger hollowed his belly; thirst cracked his lips. Behind his eyelids flashed the fishermen's avaricious stares, the cold bite of nets, the shrieks of his siblings. He tried to shut it out, but the darkness…