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As scuba divers enjoyed the reef and all of its wonders, two pairs of dark eyes watched from a cave half hidden by the reef. The small group of humans was clueless to how close to danger they were and yet were also blissfully unaware of the cave.

That lack of observation was all that was keeping them alive.

“We cannot stay here.” A pale hand tightened around the spear and the figure drew further back into the darkness as a human swam in front of their cave. Fifteen feet away or not, it was too nerve wracking to make this a long term home. Even with the reef covering the entrance for the most part, the figure could not trust it.

“I know.” The second answered, deeper than the first. Unlike the other though, this figure moved closer to the entrance of the cave. What sunlight shone through the reef left speckled bits of light on the gray skin of the male. His spear held at the ready as he inspected all avenues of escape. “But not yet. There is no way to get away without being seen.”

Moving back again, one of his longer tentacles intertwined with that of his partner. This was only meant to be a resting place but they had overslept. All they could do was to wait for the cover of night before moving on.

The male reached out with his free hand, separate from the eight tentacles that extended from the waist down, and his mate closer. The female’s color was paler in comparison to the males. Their only likeness was their inky black hair and the tentacles that were in place of human legs.

“I do not like this. They are too close,” She murmured, allowing him to draw her against his chest. If not for the safety of her unborn young, she would have made for safer waters already. But it was also that same reason that drove them to stop the night before; she could not travel as she once did and needed rest frequently.

Her worries only seemed to amuse her mate, earning him a smack on the chest for laughing at her. He shook his head slowly and motioned to the group of humans who had them both so on edge.

“They have not come any closer than fifteen feet to this place.”

“It is far too close.”

“The reef hides most of the entrance.”

“But not all of it,” She argued, looking up at him with a frown. He was just as tense as she was and yet was downplaying everything. She was far from fooled.

“Enough of it. The darkness also hides us,” His job was to protect her and their young. Their race was already an endangered one. Keeping her from stressing herself was one of those jobs he took upon himself despite her stubbornness.

“When have humans been one to fear the dark?” It was the very reason they were traveling to another home. The humans had sent their odd contraptions down into the deep and they couldn’t keep destroying them. Eventually they would have caught sight of more than a tentacle.

Her eyes glittered with victory when he had no answer for her question. Even went so far as to allow herself a tiny smile while he rolled his eyes at her. They lapsed back into a vigilant silence after the small banter, taking comfort in each other’s presence.

There were still hours before the sun set and brought the much needed darkness for their escape. Until then, they’d pray to the sea gods that the ignorance of human knew no bounds. Being found would bring down another hunt upon their people and their numbers couldn’t handle another one.


I’m running behind, I know. But I’m trying to keep away from falling into the known legends or world-wide movies (coughLittleMermaidcough).

Tomorrow’s Creature: Naga