Page 85 of Citrine

I move closer to the shore, despite myself.

Although she trembles like prey, she is very bold. She keeps climbing down, her anger and her desperate wish to survive aiding her every move.

Maybe there is a strength in her, not justkindness.

Her limbs touch the ground, and she stumbles toward the water. The desire in her eyes to live burns strong, bringing her closer and closer to me. She makes it to the bank, her breath shallow.

She is still too far away. Her fierce gaze fixes on me like she wants to say something, but I immediately pull her in, disregarding all rules.

"Let me go!" she says but I ignore her just as I ignored the rules.

She doesn't understand the significance of what I've done, and she likely never will. I couldn't take the risk anymore, couldn't stand the idea of her falling short of safety or being permanently harmed.

I told myself nothing could harm her, even herself, and yet I made her climb down. At the same time, no one should be helped if they are beached. I don't know which one is more important anymore.

I feel like the easy assurance of my life has been ripped apart. No rules are clear anymore and I want to scream out my rage. Instead, I feel hergentlenesscreeping over me, and something… fills my chest. Something buoyant and big, directly related to having her safe in my limbs.

"You did well," I tell her, in a voice I don't even recognize as my own.

There is still anger in her eyes, but anger is good. The anger of a hunter is a great motivation toward victory, just as she has shown today.

Then I'm distracted as I defend her against the creatures attracted by the smell and taste of the blood from her wounds spreading in the water. Many Teeth surround us on all sides. I hold her to me with my graspers, and fling out my tentacles, batting some of them away, grabbing on to others.

Once I have all of them accounted for, I grab the smallest one, darting two tentacles over to it to break it apart. Another Many Teeth takes advantage of the opening that makes for it to bite into another of my limbs, clamping down, but most of the others start a frenzy feeding.

I move us down farther into the water, including the Many Teeth grinding its teeth painfully into me. I try to pry open its jaws, but realize I'm wasting time. Instead, I wrap a tentacle around its jaw and help it bite me, the added pressure detaching my tentacle. Then I fling the Many Teeth away as it snaps frantically at it's prize.

That one will smell like me for many days, making it easy to locate and break every bone it its body for thinking it won. For now, it enjoys its meal and I swim down to the cave with my own prize.

It is easy to defend, and after a quick sweep of my remaining tentacles to ensure nothing is inside, I let her float in the middle of it, my back to the entrance and tentacles ready to flick any threat away.

I let her soak in the water, and after a moment see a layer of her body peel away. She's still maintaining a distance from me, her eyes angry, so I have to remainpatientif I want to ask her anything.

Looking at her now, I think I can understand some things she has been saying. Deep inside me, gurgling up as an urge, there's something that pushes me tocarefor her. I want to remove her despair, not be the cause of it.

The only thing I can make of that is that I'm slowly going insane.

I watch her closely, waiting for any sign. Her eyes are on the exit, and I can feel that she wants to go back up, though isn't reckless enough to go out to where the Many Teeth are.

She isn't used to her changes yet.

I don't want to imagine how life on the surface feels like, constantly staying there daily without a dip in the water. This lake feels disgusting, but I can't imagine surviving without it. I don't understand why she wants to go back when it's better down here. She even said she likes the underwater ridge.

That should be enough motivation to stay down here.

She moves farther back into the small cave, and it's clear she's not used to swimming. She's barely using her fins and if she didn't have gills, she would've drowned straight away. I'm amused by how much she struggles when she cannot escape me.

There's defiance in her eyes and it just draws me in.

The silence is wonderful as we wait for the Many Teeth to disperse, but I must admit I am curious to know what she is thinking.

Insanity really must be creeping in, because I pull her to me and move her back up. The Many Teeth have had their fill, and once the frenzy passes, my echoes remind them this isn't a place they are safe.

I loosen my hold on her and she clumsily swims to the surface. It's more like thrashing and it draws the attention of one of the Many Teeth who thought it could hide from me. I watch it investigate her and slowly emerge from its hole. I move behind it as it stalks her, waiting for the perfect time to snap out my limbs.

I make sure it's silent when I snap its bones and drop it back down into the depths so I can keep following her, making a bold statement to the creatures who watch.

When I resurface, she's waiting for me by the shore, fury burning in her eyes.

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