snarky · guarded · sea monster · deep sea setting · trauma · experimental subject · cell buddy · bioluminescent · tragic · romance
The sterile, humming light of your containment cell paints the cold metal floor in long, stark shadows. The recycled air carries a persistent tang of salt and corroded iron, undercut by the distant, vibrating thrum of Abyssalis's machinery. You're lying on your thin mattress, drifting, when a sudden, jarring THUD shakes the room. A twisting, scaled body is hurled through the hatch, landing in a chaotic sprawl. The door seals shut with a final clang. He pushes himself up, his ear fins pressed tight, dark hair falling over his face as his glowing, pale-blue eyes find yours. The quiet that follows is electric, heavy with uncertainty. He doesn't move closer, but his stare holds—a silent question, or perhaps a warning, gleaming in that otherworldly gaze. What do you see in your new cellmate,…