Fighting for Survival (Faye x Windsong)

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He gave a swift nod as he got her answer as he darted for the surface, showing a surprising jolt of speed with his undulating tail, his arms held to his side, they didn't seem to aid him at all in locomotion while his tail handled all power, steering, and much of his strength apparently, though his humanoid torso was still plenty strong. Once again he paused at the surface, looking for anything over the waves, seeing nothing he made it into the shallows where the slow shift back took place.

To say it was uncomfortable was an understatement, water dripped from him and the first few gasps for air made him cough and sputter with sea water still in his lungs that served no function other than buoyancy beneath the water. Naked, on his knees, and spitting up sea water on the beach he looked like a ship wrecked sailor to anyone who could see, but the solitude of the cove made sure no one did as he stumbled ahead, eyes blinking again as his now human feet crunched over the hot black sand, far warmer than the water had been too.

His clothes came first, belt, vest, and pants being picked up in a quick bundle as well as moving to hers, he was supposed to hide them, but he couldn't help but be a little nosy and she her garments up close, even if for a few seconds.

A quick look took with a foolish grin on his face found a spot for them, one of the few trees nearby had a nook that he quickly stuffed their things into, the sack of coins felt quite heavy, and he debated on keeping them for an emergency if they had to cross land in their travels. That was foolish, any town with water would buy fish from someone who could catch them as naturally as a cat caught a mouse, so in it all went. Her staff leaned against it, somehow reminding him of a grave marker.

After a few minutes he dove back in the water for relief of the cooler waves, being hit by a rather large one that he saw the sun through, soon dipping past the horizon and casting a shadow inside the hole, leaving it far darker than elsewhere thanks to its depth. Quick to return down to her, smiling as he did. "We can always come back if we need to. This place is familiar, it shouldn't be hard if we get lost."
 
Fay almost went up to look for him, but before she did, he had dove beneath the waves again. The world around her seemed to darken as he did. Ah, the sun was setting! She had terrible night vision...well, better than most Ru'mans actually. But the dark was still a terrifying time. It's when the large predators came out to hunt. But Daen didn't seem to be phased. Probably because he is one of those predators... She thought to herself.

A warm smile crossed her lips as he made his way down to her. It felt strangely normal...like...a man coming home...to his...wif-family. Family. She wasn't about to take that place in her mind. They were friends, at least at the moment. Ugh, she needed to be sure to explain boundaries before they traveled too far. One thing she didn't want was him just hugging any other females they met. Well, that thought savored strongly of jealousy. She took a few breaths before answering him. "I'm ready when you are...just...don't go too far. I don't think I'd last a minute after sunset on my own." She was scared. Not of him, but of this change. Before she met Daenlynn, she would never have been outside after dark. But here she was, about to travel unknown waters in the fading light. Having Daen around didn't seem to put her entirely at ease.
 
"We don't have to leave right now.. " He replied when he felt a change in the water, like she was afraid, it was palpable at least to him as it had before, though it wasn't the same as being afraid of him that was for sure. "There are spots to rest in here if you'd rather wait til sunrise.." He added as assurance, swimming up a ways and into an alcove, completely able to hide within it despite his large tail, it seemed more appropriate for his kind to hide in such a spot, just like his animal cousin.

After a moment he came back out and went to the bottom, another alcove, though a bit deeper and filled with sand. More than a few crabs and small fish fled from his sudden intrusion but it was obvious he wasn't taking up much room in it. "Or.. You can stay and I'll find something to eat before it gets any later. You don't.. Have to come?" The thought came to him of her getting lost in the water, sure land was never far in sight, but this cove was well hidden even from the underwater side.

"You can stay." Daen added as if it were a matter of fact. "I won't be gone long at all, the waters are rich, food's easy to catch too." His growing grin showed he was quite proud of his hunting skills, especially now that it mattered to someone else. He quickly swam to her, grasped her hand with a nod and a slight squeeze before releasing it once more and darting towards the hole at the bottom that lead to open waters. At that he paused and turned towards her for any objections.

The idea to hug her had come, but he didn't think he'd find himself hugging many others just yet, one friend was enough for now, the idea of having more than one at a seemed quite the daunting task. He'd had people he considered somewhat trustworthy on the surface, but he never knew their treachery, did they count as friends as well? Or simply people he knew and got along with to a degree?
 
Her eyes looked doubtful, shouldn't they leave now...She didn't want to be a burden to him. His voice and offer to stay seemed to at least calm her. Though she was upset that she was fairly useless at the moment. He darted into a couple alcoves, scaring fish out of one. A small giggle escaped her as the school swam past her in their hurry to hide. The current of water they left behind tickled her tail and scales. Still she did want to learn something soon. Daen seemed to come to a conclusion on his own.

You can stay.

Any protest she had vanished. That wasn't just a suggestion like the rest of his talk. He stated it as if it were a simple fact that he'd be the one to hunt tonight. She couldn't come. It was almost funny, how he suddenly was able to realize her own fear and inadequacies in the dark. This was strange...to be told that she needed to rely on someone else now to bring her food. It felt nice. Suddenly he took her hand and gave a final nod, as if he wouldn't take no for an answer. Then he was off to the opening, only pausing to see if she would argue. "Thank you, Daen...I promise to learn quickly so you don't have to do this much more." She did want to pull her own weight in this, it was only fair. Besides...hunting for her just seemed to...feed into that fantasy of being his mate. She may have looked stunned for just a moment in realization of how else this behavior could have looked. She covered it up though, knowing that it was quite possibly the man across from her wouldn't think much about this. "I'm counting on your skills then. I'll wait for you to return." Yes, they needed to go over different behaviors.

She watched him go, silently trying to think of a way to bring up the subject of conduct. While she really enjoyed his contact...it wasn't something she could encourage toward just friends. Ah, this may be hard. She only hoped he wouldn't mind having boundaries set up. As she waited, Fay decided to start exploring the different alcoves. She popped her head into a couple, making sure they were unoccupied before backing herself into them. Daenlynn really was lucky that he was flexible enough to have room to turn himself around in some of them. Fay soon found a hole large enough for her and several other fish to share. The best part was that it opened enough to give her room to turn about.
 
Her encouragement was all he needed as he slipped through the passage and into the open sea, keeping to the steeply sloping bottom and the rocky outcroppings that owed to its previously volcanic past. It didn't take long poking his head into alcoves that he couldn't fit into, his arms did though and he snatched for something, finding nothing but bait fish far too small to make a decent meal. That was disheartening, not being able to catch something large enough to feed her, though his pride had begun to swell at the thought of providing for someone other than himself. So on he went, he had another idea.

A faint smell on the current brought him to what he felt was a decent dinner, a small roaming group of lobster on their way to mating grounds. Deep brown in color, usually considered peasant food, or fertilizer for farms, often even called a seabug by the dock workers. He felt they tasted good, almost sweet. So noting where they were headed he ducked off, coming back to snatch a few off the sea floor and cradle them snug to his chest, under his other arm were a pile of clams, a rock to crack them as well. The dark sea wasn't hard to traverse, and the smell of that black volcanic sand made it easy to find it and slip back in, though he was worried he didn't notice her right away, that distinct scent she carried was easy to find, so he dropped the wriggling catch, they couldn't go far anyway and he slipped up to meet her.

He swam near silently to begin with, so when he poked into the alcove he chimed to give her fair warning. "I'm back.. Didn't keep you waiting too long, did I?"
 
After finding her alcove, Fay had turned to lay on her back. She watched fish swim above her, little eddies they left behind tickled her scales. She even reached up to trail a finger down she scales of one fish. The creature shied away from her touch at first, but after a couple more times it ignored the touch. Her mind wandered off to think about Daen. How was his hunt going? Had he caught anything yet? What if something larger got to him? Her stomach clenched in apprehension. No, he was alright. He was much better navigating at night than she was. He knew what he was doing...this was his life.

She calmed her nerves tipping her head back to gaze at the now upside down opening of her alcove. Even with the warning, a sharp jolt sent her heart racing at Daenlynn's sudden arrival. His seemed in a good mood from what she could tell in the dim light. Her gills flared out several times in quick succession, a way for her to attempt to calm her adrenaline rushed heart. She laughed lightly at her own fear, Daen was back and unharmed...there wasn't a reason to fear now. "Welcome back! No not really...fish don't mind my company, so they kept me occupied."

She flipped herself around, but stayed there propping her torso up with her elbows and allowing her tail to remain on the bottom of the little cavern. She smiled brightly at him, eager to see what he'd been able to catch. "How was your hunt?" Currently he was blocking her only exit, not that she cared. Being cornered by him was terrifyingly exciting. She couldn't deny that she liked it. Maybe she would teach him how to play a few games she learned as a child...that could be a fun experience.

One thing did strike her as odd though. She had been entirely hidden from view last time she had checked. How did he find her so quickly? A puzzled look crossed her face as she thought. It had been possible for him to search the other alcoves lower than hers, and simply find her by trial and error. She hadn't picked up on when he entered the cove, he could have been here for a long while without her knowing it. "How did you know I was here?" She asked with a small giggle.
 
He hung from the alcove edge with a smile plastered on his features, watching how she moved was fascinating in its own way, rather alluring too, but in a way he'd yet to figure out why. At his sudden appearance many of those fish she'd been toying with departed, he didn't think much of it, surely her inactivity had them at ease until they began moving and startling them. "It went well, if I'd had a spear we'd have fish, so I hope clams and seabugs are filling enough. I can always go back out, bigger fish sleep at night, easy to catch."

The thought of fishing at night exhilerated him, it was always fun to do, avoiding larger motion in the water, almost like playing in traffic, as morbid as that was. But the thought of her grief at him injuring himself or worse, made his stomach hurt, so perhaps waiting until morning to find more food would have to suffice. It made his tail itch, so it brushed against the rock, rolling on itself to scratch it off against the stones.

Her question was met with a flaring of his nostrils, though normal sized now, they opened, revealing how they kept shut much of the time by reflex alone. "You smell nice. Not hard to find." He teased, letting go of the ledge and drifting down to grab his catch, trying to escape still.
 
Clams and sea bugs...She could only assume that by 'sea bugs' he meant some sort of crustacean. Hmm, that actually sounded good. He seemed to be excited to do a night hunt...She honestly didn't like the idea, of course that was for her. He looked as if he belonged out there in the dark. Hmm, she really didn't have a reason that he shouldn't do it, of course she want him safe, but it was still his choice. She cocked her head as a light scratching sound made soft vibrations pass through the stone. She almost laughed again as she realized it was probably just his tail against the wall. Her eyes moved back onto his face just as his nostrils flared. Ah, so he did have a heightened sense of smell then. Though, his comment about her smelling nice caused a blush to rise to her cheeks. She honestly couldn't say what she or anything else down here smelled like. That was not a strong trait for her at all. Hopefully he hadn't noticed the pale pink tint to her cheeks.

She waited a couple moments more after he sank down before she emerged. There had to be a way to change the subject, or at least divert attention from how easily he had triggered her blush. Her hands pushed herself out of the crevice and she used her tail to propel herself downward. "You can go on a night hunt if you want...." She paused, really hoping nothing would happen if he did go. "You seemed excited to go...and, I can always heal you if something happens...." As long as he made it back close enough. If he did go, she would wait up for him. Even if she was fairly certain nothing would go terribly wrong, she did want to be sure. This way she could keep an eye on the cavern entrance for signs of his return. If he were injured when he came back...she'd know.

Pushing off those nervous thoughts, Fay examined his catch. "Wow...you brought back a lot..." A lot for her anyway. And they were still alive....live clams she'd had before, but not lobster. Killing them would be the issue for her...She had no natural weapons. Her eyes looked intently at the creatures as she tried to figure out how she would be able to manage.
 
In the dim shelter he'd have been hard pressed to see the change in her skin's color, red and its close brothers were the first color's to fade away in the gloom of the water after all, so she simply appeared more gray and blue than anything, then again, everything was blue down here, soothing and calming. Gray or not, she was pleasant to see and smell in the water, even her motions seemed like music to his senses, he couldn't help it, she was as exotic to him as a native islander would be to a man from the mainland, with some differences.

He had to catch the lobsters before they got too far, holding them by the claws at an angle that kept him from losing a finger or dealing with a nasty nip on his tail. "I don't have to. This should suffice, we could always save the clams for the morning. Or find food on the way. Kelp beds can be quite tasty too." He replied, hardly taking note if she had been worried for his departure, he'd like to stay for now anyway.

While the clams couldn't get anywhere of their own accord the lobsters were another problem, they were cracked in half, showing off their tender white meat in their tails. The first was offered to her of course. He took the claws and bit one open with a loud crack of a shell that stood little chance against his jaw strength, pulling the meat out with his finger tips and popping them into his mouth, doing his best to avoid opening it too far.

"You look like you could use a good meal ya' know." He mused between biting and tugging out the fresh meat. Not that he would denounce her figure, she just seemed a bit thin, even if she was probably 'meatier' than he was.
 
Hmm, kelp was pretty good, she could remember having a sort of salad with the salty green mixed in. It was relieving that he wouldn't be going anywhere tonight, this would be her first night spent under the waves. It was exciting, but she wanted to be cautious. Daen was her security blanket in a way. He knew the waters here and the creatures that inhabited them. She felt far safer with him around. That was settled then. Before she could work up enough courage to take hold of a lobster and attempt to pry the meat from its shell, her companion had one opened for her. The snap of the exoskeleton seemed to echo between the cavern walls.

Fay had to swallow hard before she accepted the offered meat. While she had assumed Daenlynn had strength equivalent to an eel or snake of his size, she hadn't expected he would just crack open the sea bug like that. He could easily crush her in a hug. Another crack sounded as Daen used his jaws to break open a claw as easily as one would open the shell of a peanut. What could she say though? He was a hunter, one who used superior strength and camoflage to catch his prey unaware and render them helpless. At any point, he could decide she was too troublesome to keep around. That was a sobering thought. But it did spur her to begin learning from him as quickly as she could, if only to give herself some way of defense against large predators.

"Thank you..." It was only polite for her to thank him. Even if hunting had been his offer in the first place, it must have been strange for him to gather enough for two. Using delicate fingers, Fay picked out bits of meat to eat. She had to be careful. The edges of the shell were still sharp and could easily slice through the webbing on her fingers. His comment was met with an open mouth and a small sound of protest. Another piece of meat was pulled from the tail and eaten before she started a teasing protest. "I'm not that skinny. Your the one who looks like they haven't eaten decently for a few weeks." The rest of the tail meat was quickly finished as if to prove she could eat well.
 
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He opened her mouth to protest his own pitiful state, rather than retort he swallowed his mouthful and carried on eating, two more tails were set on a small flat stone he'd chosen to sit near for her, the lobster wiggling gently in the mild current of their movements. Rather he smiled at her, with a nod of his head and a gentle pat to his stomach, though it was thin, he was more lean than anything, owing to the hard labor he'd done just to keep fed all his life. It was hard, but somewhat rewarding when he got an evening meal that actually filled his belly.

"You're very welcome." He mused between using his thin fingertips to pull out the meat from the cracked claws, resorting to bending them backwards til they popped open, not as difficult as biting them open and with far less pieces of shell stuck between his teeth. The clams came next for him, he'd gotten seven of them, she'd get some and he'd get some, that was even and fair, right? He'd figure that out as he went, popping the first one open by somehow managing his fingers between its nearly impenetrable shell and pulling back. Warm, salty, and somewhat slimy as he pulled it free from its shelled platter, an acquire taste to be sure.

"Saw you found your spot to sleep." He added after the first clam and added with a nod up towards her resting spot. "Hope it's big enough an' all."
 
Fay almost felt as if they had a deeper connection than just simple acquaintances really. They met the night before last, and already where sharing a civil meal, and chatting as if they were close friends...or siblings even. She did have to admit that he was probably the more mature of the two. There he was, no comment thrown back to spark and argument, or even defend himself....it was nice, but almost odd. First he hunts for her, tells her where she could find safe shelter for the night, breaks open her food, and doesn't argue back. And he said he owed her for a bit of information and healing his injury. If this continued for long, she'd owe him twice over. She suddenly felt a little guilty to poke fun at the way he was built. It wasn't as if he were sickly thin...just a little too thin for some peoples tastes. Even so...his stomach was definitely flatter than hers. Yeah...it was probably her love for Ru'man baking. Maybe with all this swimming she'd loose just a bit of her stomach, enough to make it look better. Yes, even she struggled with her self image. However, Fay easily wrote it off as 'every-girl-has-this-problem' and 'no-one-wants-to-hear-it'. So she simply wore clothes that were comfortable and a little on the baggy side, easy fix.

She found herself poking at the meat by now, debating if she really wanted to finish everything. Oh, dear, now she had gone and ruined her appetite. She set the empty shell down on the plate-like rock and picked up another full one. She should finish...especially after Daenlynn had gone to the trouble of hunting and helping her. The meat was forcefully swallowed, a simple act to remain polite and keep Daen from questioning her. The male across from her had responded to her thanks before moving on to pry open the clams and eat those. He still seemed to be hungry. "You can have the other tail. I don't think I'll be able to finish all three." She smiled at him while still managing to eat more of her second lobster tail. Her eyes lingered on his fingertips as they managed to somehow pry the shell apart. Again, his strength amazed her.

She looked up to the dark shadow that held the opening to the alcove she'd chosen as a perch. A small chuckled wiggled past her lips as he commented on it. She placed another section of meat into her mouth, and swallowed before answering. "Yes. I can turn around in that one without a problem. It opens up toward the back to give me room to maneuver. And it's big enough for the fish to not feel as if they need to leave." That was true. She would enjoy sleeping with the various animals below the water, especially when they didn't intend her any harm.
 
He continued to eat at his leisure, it was nice, and he regretted not doing this more often. Eating out here with something he caught himself, he'd probably have lived far more comfortably if he'd have embraced what made him so different from others on land, though given the majority of people he'd been around it was hard to try and be different, such a folly of society to shun those different. It'd been part of why he was so thin as well, not eating as much, so this was a feast that he'd been gorging himself, a rare opportunity, one that even made his stomach bulge just a bit, it'd fade as he digested the food of course, he thought it made him look a bit healthy, like Fay. He liked her figure, it gave her a healthy glow that made her seem all the more full of life, that made him smile warmly at her, though he gave little indication why.

Was she sure? Not wanting to eat anymore made him worry it tasted off, maybe it did, it was a bit different when eating on the surface, but it was still easily edible. "If you don't want it.." He replied gingerly, already picking it up, hesitantly at first before tearing into it with a hungry gusto. "It's good you have room.. Glad you like it." He added with another warm smile. He didn't really mind about the fish's comfort, more hers than anything else, he'd have chiseled out another hole in the wall if she'd had asked him to he was quite sure.

It grew ever later, and he was sure the moon would be up high in the sky tonight, he could feel it in the pull of the tides. Strange that he was so in tune with that, it was always odd feeling the moon in the sky before it was even in the night's sky, the way it pulled the tides and made them rise and fall. His eyes wandered to the dark exit, feeling its gentle pull on him from where he sat, moving to adjust how he 'sat' on the sandy bottom, tail moving around until he was leaning on his side, tail thumping against the sand gently a distance away.
 
Fay nodded when he asked if she was sure. Right now, even though it was a good meal, she wasn't feeling as if she would want to eat the rest of it. Her smile returned when he tore into the tail meat hungrily. It was a definite that he was enjoying it more than she was. That was good. Her tail was soon just an empty shell, allowing her to focus more on the strange pull of the water around her. What was it though. Of course she knew of tides and the moon's relevance to them, but in the water experiencing it was new. It was getting much darker too, was it safe to be so close to the opening like this? As the darkness grew, so did her anxiousness. This couldn't be a good idea for her at least, if something did come in...she would likely be too slow to react. Daen's movement to get more comfortable did make her smile though. He had a tail nearly three times the length of her own. From what she'd seen of him, he was able to control his tail fairly well, whether consciously or unconsciously. It was a curious thing to her, what was it like to have a tail that long, and without fins? She may never know.

A yawn forced her mouth and gills open. She should get some sleep if she wanted to be up early. She allowed her pale gaze to find his eerily dark eyes in the gathering gloom of the watery pit. "I'm going to sleep...thank you again for hunting, and...and breaking open the shells for me." Yeah, she needed to learn to fend for herself soon, it would be a bother if she remained ignorant. "I'm sorry I can't travel during the night, or be much help." She pushed off the sandy bottom, leaving swirls of sand in her wake. "I look forward to learning a lot from you." A pleasant smile was flashed toward him before she swam up to the little alcove she found. In she went, and turned around before poking her head back out. Her eyes noted the silhouette of Daen, and she sent him a small wave. "Good night." With that final statement, she pushed herself back into the darkness and settled on the rocky bottom. Her entrance hardly disturbed any life here, they simply made room for her and went back to their slumber. Her eyes closed, leaving her in a world all her own as she slipped into her dreamland.
 
Daen smiled at her even as he let the last lobster roam off on its own, following the exiting tides to freedom. Poor thing, having been made to watch its brothers or sisters being eaten, it made Daen chuckle, watching it go. Her declaration to turn in already made him look to Fay with a soft smile and a nod of his head. "Of course!" He chimed, looking at the leftover clams. Breakfast.

"If you need anything just ask, alright?" He called up to her, waving back as well. As if he'd go far tonight. Though truth be told once he was sure she may have been asleep he was already moving, out of the passage and sitting on a ledge overlooking the sea shelf. Deep, black, and near endless, and it was only him and her. Oh how small he felt being there alone.
 
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