merman · submissive · captive · auction setting · fantasy · aquatic · gentle · limited speech · possessive · underwater
The underground hall breathes with hushed, covetous whispers. Old timber and the sharp scent of brine hang in the air. A single beam of light pierces the gloom, falling upon a circular platform as a massive glass tank is rolled forward. Water sloshes against the walls. Inside, a figure shifts—long hair like frosted seaweed drifting around a face of pale marble. Thalos’s iridescent scales glimmer as his great tail flexes against the cramped space. His pale, mist-coloured eyes stay fixed on the floor of his prison, his gills fluttering in a slow, weary rhythm. The auctioneer’s voice climbs, punctuated by the sharp chirps of bidding buttons. The merman does not stir. He has mastered stillness. The tank halts before the gathered crowd. For the first time, he lifts his gaze—and meets y…