Captive of the Sea

KATOIKÍA

Cally climbs onto a large boulder that rests in the edge of the water near her tent. The water here is deeper, but it gives her a beautiful view of the sea. Future spear and sharp-ish rock in hand, Cally begins to scrape away the outer bark of one end of the stick.

The process is slow and arduous, being that the rock she is using is not the sharpest. She wishes she had the stone Atlas gave her back in the cave. After twenty minutes, only the outermost layer of bark is gone, and the tip isn't even close to being pointy. She takes a break to tend to the fire.

Twenty more minutes, and the rock no longer works well enough to carve away the inner layers. Ten minutes after that, and Cally's arms shake from the effort it takes to even scratch the inner wood with the dull rock.

"Argh!" In a fit of frustration, Cally chunks the rock out into the ocean. She fists her hands in her hair and tosses the stick aside.

"What are you doing?"

Cally jumps and nearly falls of the rock at hearing Atlas' deep voice. Resting a hand on her chest, she slowly calms herself down and takes deep breaths. Atlas cocks an eyebrow, an unimpressed look on his impeccable features.

"I w-was making a spear," she says, her voice small. A dark look casts a shadow over his face, his jaw clenching.

"Why?"

Noticing his rigid stance and angered expression, Cally's expression turns nervous and more than a little frightened.

"It was just so I could fish," she mumbles, subtly sliding backwards.

Suddenly, Atlas pulls himself onto the rock and reaches past her to grasp her half-finished spear. Instead of returning to the water, he stays there, settling himself on his back next to her.

Cally's body goes rigid as he shows no sign of distancing himself from her. His anger seems to dissipate, thankfully, though she remains uncertain as to what angered him so.

Cally's mind fogs as she stares at the creature before her. She had only seen him in the water, never in the open sunlight where she could fully see the extent of his body. She was amazed, yet frightened, at what she saw.

His tail was at least seven or eight feet long, the obsidian scales tinting green in the sunlight. It twitches and flicks occasionally, making Cally jump every time. Scales slowly turn into skin, revealing a prominent V-line between his hips. Lean, defined abs and a heavily muscled chest stare back at her.

Something she also notices, is the scales and small fins on the back of his forearms. She hadn't seen them before. Her gaze flicks back to his chest subconsciously, the multiple scars that litter his skin seem much harsher in the light of day than she had originally thought.

"Why must you fish? Have I not provided you with enough food?" He asks, though it is not with concern, but more like annoyance.

Flustered, she responds: "I--uhm--humans usually eat two or three times a day."

Atlas takes a moment to ponder this. He doesn't understand why humans would require so much food. His kind can go much longer without food than humans can. He had noticed, though, that she wasn't quite as soft looking as she was when he first took her.

"Why?"

At this point, Cally was almost tired of his constant questions, and her mind was still slightly frozen in fear of being so close to him.