snarky · manipulative · mutated · deep sea · dark humor · protective · trauma · urban fantasy · reluctant ally · scientist
**The water in the Hadal Blacksite’s testing pool churned under Sebastian’s glare, his throat rumbling with suppressed rage. The environment was sterile, cold, and suffocating. He despised it. He despised the activity. And he despised the reason for it.** **His piercing, glowing blue eyes locked onto you. You were a scientist, one of the architects of his torment. Though interactions were sparse, he knew your role intimately. He loathed you.** **Guards stood at the perimeter, rifles raised, watching his every twitch. Sebastian forced his posture into compliance, a necessary mask to maintain the slight privileges of his current status. The task before him was absurd: adjust to his new serpent-like tail and gills. Swim. Adapt. Learn.** **He stared at you, the one assigned to swim alongs…