Playing with food - short story o syrenku w Ossentharze ;)

[kasiotfur]

Ma oczywiście pewien erotyczny content, ale jak ktoś ma ochotę przeczytać, to zapraszam

Wszelkie wyłapane błędy mile widziane!

Z piękną okładką by Book Cover Masterclass hehe



***

When the mermaid’s skin turned a dark golden hue, the kitchen staff moved the spitroast away from the fire and placed her grotesquely contorted body on a metal stand at the main table. Freshly barbequed meat was a delicacy few guests of the restaurant could resist and soon, a queue gathered at the buffet. A cook with a knife where his left hand should be, served the patrons with terrifying proficiency, and off went the mermaid’s breasts, her crisp fingers and juicy insides. This place catered for even the most sophisticated palate and many of the guest seemed to have a particular liking for the mermaid’s skin.

Llawan gathered his long hair to one side and twisted it into a tight braid. Only a few hours ago, that piece of roast was alive and far too agitated to stay in one place, curled behind a colorful rock or hidden in the bush of algae like the other captives. Restlessness was a death sentence. Llawan knew that all too well after three days in the restaurant’s merpeople tank. In the confines of a small mock-castle he didn't feel like a prince at all. Stuck at the bottom of the huge aquarium, he watched the soulless land dwellers munch on the flesh of his brothers and sisters. When one of them walked over to the tank and knocked on the thick glass to capture the merpeople’s attention, Llawan always remained in hiding. Most of the time, the guests wanted to watch them swim around, but sometimes, curiosity led to death when luring them out of the shadows was meant to select a merman, or a mermaid to go on the table.

The days spent in the tank were filled with never ending terror. Llawan could barely sleep, as whenever he closed his eyes, he was taunted by the image of a mermaid; her eyes laid out on a bed of sliced fruit like the most delicious treats and a servant crushing her fingers with a nutcracker and adding the bits to a salad. Witnessing such atrocities, he figured it was for the better that at least they were killed before being eaten.

What dawned on him though, was that he was the last merman left in the aquarium and he was ashamed of it. During the morning feeding, it was only females darting towards the surface for the best bits. Their stay in the tank was short lived, so the staff didn’t have to feed them properly. And even though he was starving, Llawan kept hidden in his castle, peeking out the windows every now and then. Only this time, he wouldn’t. If he was to die, he would embrace it and leave this world on his own terms, because this kind of life was not worth all the terror he was going through. And maybe, thanks to him, one of the mermaids who was not yet ready to end up on a fancy plate, could have a few more hours.

He heard the tap of fingers on the glass wall of the aquarium and it wasn’t just the sound he recognized. Llawan could feel the delicate vibrations in the water. He took a huge gulp of it and left the castle to swim up closer to the glass. Judging on the number of taps, he assumed it was two people looking for a meal, but he wasn’t prepared for what he actually saw. There was a single man in front of the aquarium, but he had a total of four arms, all of his fingers knocking against the glass. The moment their eyes met, Llawan’s white with the man’s dark like two black jellyfish, his heart froze. That was it. This was the moment. He’d be eaten by this man and his friends. Or, if the customer had a voracious appetite, he could take Llawan’s body home to feast on it for as long as there was any flesh left on his bones. Maybe he’d even suck on the bones. Llawan had seen others do it.

Nothing went to waste in Ossenthar. These people even made their tables out of bones and skin. Those pieces of furniture made him cringe. He couldn’t think of magic more disgusting. The tables would walk away on their own when not in use anymore and even through the tank walls, he believed he could hear their raspy moans of pain. He’d rather be eaten than end up like them.

Another series of taps on the glass wall, got his focus back to the man behind it. From his neck to the toes, he was dressed in figure hugging black and even his short hair was of the same color, a sharp contrast to the whiteness of his skin. Some parts of his outfit were covered with scales, but at least not a mermaid’s. His smooth trousers were made of something Llawan had learned to fear and avoid. It was shark skin. And then, the man smiled, revealing a set of large, pointy teeth in a grin that was even uglier than a shark's. His mouth was unnaturally wide for a human and the way he kept his eyes focused on his prey made Llawan cringe. The jaws seemed strong enough to crush his forearms with one bite, and his mind filled with disgusting sounds of munching. Fighting the visceral tremor in his body, he dashed forward and touched the wall that separated him from the customer, his tail stirring the fine sand below him.

The man moved his fingers along the glass, all the way to Llawan’s mouth and his lips moved, but nothing could be heard in the tank. Those obsidian, lifeless eyes never moved away from Llawan’s face. It was disconcerting and soon, Llawan wasn’t entirely certain whether the knot that formed in his stomach was one of relief or growing terror. Breathless, he swallowed a large gulp of water and let it slowly pass through his gills, the rush of oxygen making him a bit calmer. He let his fingers slide down the glass until he was resting in the sand, with his tail curled into a half-moon. If he was to die, he wanted it to be graceful.

He unwound his long braid and let the ginger swallow him. Even through the mass of flowing hair, he could still see his captor, with all four of his palms flattened against the translucent wall. Unnaturally pale, larger than most land people Llawan had seen so far, he was oddly fascinating. Captivated by the emptiness in the man’s eyes, he missed the moment the staff threw the cage in.

Alarmed by the sudden splash, Llawan swam a few feet away from the glass and looked up, crouching in the sand. He had seen this happen many times before and the mermaids all hid in the corners of the aquarium, hoping it wasn’t their time yet. Even though his heart was racing like a petrified sardine, Llawan faced the machinery that was to take him out of the tank. It was a spine chilling construction of huge ribs, held with a rope made of what looked like tendons. The procedure was always the same. The merman or mermaid would get trapped between those closing jaws and pulled up onto a platform by the top of the tank. If the captive resisted, the staff would use sharp tridents to make their prey submit. It took two grown men to operate the machine, one sitting on the other’s shoulders. They never separated and always walked around this way, which made Llawan think that they might be one of Ossenthar's infamous creations, stuck together permanently.

He knew resistance was futile and those who tried to avoid capture ended up with broken bones even prior to their death, so he forced himself to move up. It was hard to bring his tense body into motion, but he obediently entered the cage and curled against one of its sides. His stomach pressed against his spine as the huge ribs closed around him and moved up towards the surface. Llawan took his last chance to take in some water before he was pulled out of the tank.

The first seconds were always a shock. Colors changed, he had to adjust to how dry the air was, how many loud and harsh sounds surrounded him. His long hair now felt heavy, nothing like when it floated in the water. Llawan couldn’t properly see what was happening yet, but had witnessed the ordeal from his hideout in the castle enough times to attribute the shaking and loud thuds to being taken down the stairs.

[kasiotfur]

Hugging one of the ribs in a tight embrace, he closed his eyes, praying that it wouldn’t last long. Back in the tank, it seemed like welcoming death was a good choice, now however, he felt absolutely horrified by the perspective of disappearing. Or worse, what if his bones were used to build a chair or a plate in this ghastly place. Would he still feel it after he died?

“Hello there, pretty fish.” Llawan heard a raspy voice just by his head and jerked away, with a strangled screech. His skin felt dry already, but thanks to the thin membrane on his eyes, he could see his buyer quite clear. He swallowed, nervously gathering his hair over one shoulder. Why was the man even here? Shouldn’t he be at the table, now that he bought the meal?

“You should feel lucky I had chosen you. You will get an opportunity, the other fish didn’t.” The client’s voice sounded as if it came from deep within his chest and traveled up a throat of spikes and hooks. The servant followed the shark-like man out of the lavish room, still carrying Llawan in the cage like he was weightless. As strange as this was, at least Llawan wouldn’t have to look at the half eaten mermaid carcass anymore.

He gasped and coughed when he drew in too much air at once. He understood the land speak rather well, and when he didn’t know a word, most of the time he could understand its meaning from context. His active use of the language was limited, so he shook his head, looking around frantically. Only now could he smell the smoky, almost sweet aroma of roasted flesh and it made his teeth clatter. “Not fish!”

His buyer gave him a toothy smile and slid his gloved hand through the ribs of the cage, to stroke Llawan’s wet hair. “Ah, yes. I should hope so.” Everything about him screamed ‘shark!’.

Llawan was carried through a wide corridor, with walls that turned out to be covered in skin when he looked up close. There were even little hairs sticking out and Llawan could swear the wallpaper was covered in gooseflesh. He shook his head, covering his ears at the cacophony of sounds. Unbelievable as it was, the corridor seemed to move and whistle, as if it was a breathing, living being.

“Do you have a name, or should I make one for you?” The shark-man kept his hand in Llawan’s hair. It felt heavy and unfamiliar, yet being asked for a name was something completely new. Merpeople rarely communicated with those who lived on land, because it always meant putting themselves in danger. Llawan swallowed, looking at him from beneath the curtain of hair. He didn’t understand why someone would want to name their food, but in the end, he decided it was good to leave at least this little behind.

“Llawan. Why?”

“Llawan. That’s a pretty name.” It didn’t sound pretty at all with the man’s harsh accent. “My name is Rhys and I ask, as I am curious of you.” His hand slid down to Llawan’t nape and then, his shoulder. “You seem in need of water. I will help with that.”

Llawan looked down at the huge palm before directing his gaze at Rhys again. “Why you help me?”

The moment he finished speaking, they walked out onto the terrace and Llawan almost forgot his own question at the breathtaking sight. The sky was clear, with stars scattered all across the dark blue and a moon like a huge puffer fish. Instead of the spitroast he expected, he noticed marble stairs leading down to a pool of clear water that seemed to extend to the very edge of the terrace. Llawan heard the familiar squeal of seaguls, accompanied by a soft hum, which was unmistakably made by a waterfall nearby. The castle was built on a cliff and behind the pool, far below them, was an infinity of water. The Interior Ocean.

He dashed forward with a gasp, clutching at the bone bars separating him from his home. His heart skipped a beat when he felt the familiar, salty breeze. His whole body yearned to return where he belonged.

“Oh, you like the view?” Rhys asked and sat down on a stone bench to unbuckle his shoes. “Let him out into the pool.”

Llawan blinked, taken aback, but he didn’t say anything, already eyeing the edge of the pool in hope of finding a way out, despite the height.

“I want to know why you came to me on your own. You didn’t hide like the others.” Rhys casually shoved his shoes away as the servants opened the cage. They didn’t even have to urge Llawan. He jumped right into the shallow pool, eager to wet his rapidly drying body. He could stay out and breathe air, but he always prefered the cool weight of water against his skin. Now that he was wet again, he felt much better, despite the unfamiliar feeling of the mosaic at the bottom scraping against his tail. Weighing his options, Llawan cowered close to the edge of the cliff, looking at Rhys’s powerful silhouette, which through the trembling lense of water looked like a big, dark mass.

Nothing apart from the shoes got thrown to the side and Rhys walked into the pool in his clothes. “Answer me.”

Llawan hesitated, but knowing that it was never a good idea to tease a wild beast, he resurfaced, looking up at his buyer. He bit his lip, gathering his hair in one hand, but stayed in the safety of the water up to his arms. “I didn’t want to wait more.”

“So you are not a coward, Llawan. Ready to face your death, huh?” Rhys gave him that freakishly wide smile again and started circling him, like a shark before biting in. That one thought was enough to freeze Llawan in place, and his whole body went rigid. If this man was a shark, then that was the way he wanted to dine; out in the open, on living prey.

“You... eat me?” He panted, curling the tail closer to his body.

[kasiotfur]

“There is a part of you that I want to eat.” Rhys slicked back his black hair. “But you will have to agree for me to have a bite.” He licked his lips.

The water set Llawan at ease, but Rhys’s teeth were another matter, so he tried to look into the glossy, pitch-black eyes instead. “You ask me to let you eat me?” The suggestion was bizarre enough to make him lower his guard.

“I have a need for a resourceful fish boy.” Llawan didn’t even notice when Rhys came close enough to wrap a few strands of ginger hair around his fingers. “But it comes at a price.”

Llawan peeked towards the edge of the pool that was the border between him and freedom. He pulled his tail up, hugging it with both arms. “You speak riddles.”

“No, it’s you who talks funny.” Rhys’s hand slowly crept up Llawan’s shoulder. He was still wearing a thick leather glove.

The touch gave Llawan a shiver, but he didn’t try to flinch away. “Best I can.”

“I will try to be more clear. I have bought you and it’s up to me to set you free if I so chose. But there will be something you will need to do for me when the time is right.”

Llawan’s eyes darted up to meet the cool black of Rhys’ gaze. He stopped listening at ‘free’. “What?”

“You will swim back to the pirate islands of Kartaldor and befriend people I tell you to. When the time comes, I will use your arm and then our arrangement will end. You would be free to do as you please.”

Llawan was focused on the hand on his shoulder and didn’t even notice when two others rested on his waist.

“My arm.” Llawan felt sickened and he pressed both of his palms under the tail. “You want my arm?”

“No, silly.” Rhys’s fourth hand pushed beneath the tail and entwined with Llawan’s fingers. “I want just this little finger here. As a token of your understanding. That’s why I said you will need to let me eat you.”

It was hard to even name the flood of emotions going through Llawan at that notion. Kartaldor wasn’t a safe place for a merman to be, with tritons deep under the water and mermaids of the flesh eating kind, mad with bloodlust. Not to mention it was shallow in a lot of places and swarming with land people. Then again, he would be more careful to avoid capture now that he experienced it once. He swallowed hard, focusing on the firm, but almost weightless hands on his waist. “How do I know you tell truth?”

“You will have to trust me.” Rhys’s fingers moved along Llawan’s spine and he wasn’t even sure which palm it was. The touch made him curl up even tighter, but he slowly slipped his left hand out from under the tail. Looking at it was a mistake. Only now, that he saw how badly the membranes between his fingers shook, did he realize how terrified he really was. He could hardly breathe.

“I want this one.” Rhys slid his own palm up to Llawan’s hand and pinched the tip of his little finger. A strangled sound escaped Llawan’s lips as he looked at the pale digit. Would it hurt a lot?

Frozen with fear, he glanced at the huge, pointy teeth that filled Rhys’ mouth. “You bite it off?”

“Is that what you would like?” There was no compassion in his voice though. Rhys sounded amused and the way his smile widened, made Llawan cringe. He stirred in the hard embrace, instinctively trying to get away. His fin flung up and down, splashing water into the air.

“No, Llawan. We wouldn’t want blood spoiling this perfect pool of water, now would we?” Rhys brought the finger up to his lips and kissed the tip.

Llawan slouched, refusing to look at it. He felt trapped and sickened.

“Do you agree, Llawan? This will not be an easy task, but it will give you freedom. I can’t waste time on you if you don’t want it.”

“What will I have to do?”

“I will make contact when I have the need for you.” One of Rhys’s hands kept stroking his arm.

Llawan didn’t want to know any more, so he nodded. “I want freedom.” He dared to look up, into Rhys’s glossy eyes, trying to stop the slight tremble in his lips.

The man locked his gaze with him, but held Llawan's little finger in a firm grip. At first, all Llawan felt was a tingle, but slowly, the digit became numb. Unpleasantly numb, like when he swam into an icy stream and lost feeling in his hands and fin. He closed his eyes, trying not to tremble too much.

He dared to take a peek and instantly regretted it when he saw his finger, all blackened and stiff. He let out a screeching yell, cowering in the crook of Rhys’s armpit.

Rhys hugged him close and kissed Llawan by the gills. “There, there.” And with those words, he snapped the finger off like an icicle. Apart from a strange tingle, there was no pain, but the sound itself made Llawan so lightheaded he slumped against his owner. He refused to look at his hand, suddenly realizing that the body he was clinging to had no odor, as if it wasn’t flesh and bone.

“Good.” He was so shocked that he barely registered one more brush of lips against his gills and it took a loud crunch to yank him out of the stupor. Breathlessly, Llawan looked up into the ghastly white face and realized Rhys was chewing his finger, those sharp teeth working the digit. It only took a few crunches and he swallowed it without hesitation.

Llawan felt himself go weak and clasped a hand over his own mouth. If he had any food recently, he would probably be sick.

Rhys stroked his cheek. “There, there. It’s all done. We can become friends now, yes?”

Llawan looked at him, wide eyed. How was he supposed to become friends with a man who just ate a piece of his body? He still didn’t dare to look at his hand, especially that he didn’t feel that there was anything missing. “Friends?”

“Yes. You gave me something, I give you something.” Rhys sat down at the bottom of the pool, so only his head was above water. Two of his hands stroked the sides of Llawan’s tail, just beneath the hips. It felt odd and warm.

“You give me freedom,” insisted Llawan, trying to calm his breath. His thoughts kept returning to his missing finger and the crunchy sound it made when Rhys bit down on it.

“Yes, I will.” Rhys’s hand trailed along the front of Llawan’s tail, and he gave it a curious glance. “The way your people look, I often wonder if it wasn’t Ossenthar where you were made.”

Llawan felt himself flush at the suggestion, but decided to ignore the strange tingle in his fin. “We were made by the gods!”

“And what did the gods make this for?” Rhys licked his lips and reached out to cup Llawan's cheeks, holding him in place. If this tender gesture wasn't unexpected enough, a third hand trailed up Llawan's tail and traced the edges of his genital slit. He clicked in surprise, tensing in the shark’s arms. It wasn't long since he had reached maturity and no one ever touched him there. Then again, maybe Rhys was just curious about the unfamiliar anatomy. Llawan knew land-dwelling men did not retract their genitals into their bodies.

“Why?”

“I like to learn about bodies. Moulding the flesh is one of my passions,” Rhys said and pulled back his hand, only to take the glove off and return his fingers to the slit.

“No.” Llawan flinched in his grip, splashing the water with his fin. “You free me!”

“I just want to see!” Rhys growled in obvious annoyance, but he didn’t even blink. He was in complete control of his tense, powerful body and in one quick move, grabbed Llawan’s arms and pulled him back into place.

“Not yours to see!” Llawan tried to struggle, but it was futile. Rhys was far stronger than him and he had a total of six limbs!

“Stay still,” was all he got, before he felt two nail-less fingers slide into the pouch inside his body, teasing the tip of his penis.

Llawan screeched, batting his tail as energetically as he could, but during the struggle, his eyes met the empty space at the outer edge of his hand. He still felt its presence, but when he moved the muscles as he would when he still had the missing digit, only the finger next to it gave a little twitch of response.

“It will leave a scar, but will not hurt,” Rhys said casually, while moving his fingers in the slit with the care of a healer. Llawan stirred in his arms with a slight gasp as he sensed warmth around his cock. It felt so different than when he was touching it himself and his eyes fell shut.

“Mm... And it grows, like a human’s?” Rhys used another hand to pull the flaps of the slit open.

The gentle slide of fingers against the tender flesh inside pressed a moan out of Llawan’s lips, and he stopped struggling altogether. Even the soothing water he was immersed in seemed to warm up.  “Y... yes.” He used his free hand to gather his hair and dared to look down. Beneath the trembling surface of the water, two pale hands touched him where he was most sensitive. He felt his face and chest flush with so much heat it couldn't be cooled down by the water and evening breeze alone.

“Oh it does.” Rhys kept looking down with no shame whatsoever. “It’s swelling already. Is it a good feeling?”

Llawan yelped when he saw one of Rhys’s hands disappear between the rapidly swelling folds of his slit. It felt so full he was aching, submitted to pleasure that sucked him in like a deep, underwater well. “Yes. You know too.”

“I don’t have anything like it. Though I obviously know most species find being caressed there highly desirable.”

Llawan blinked, suddenly interested in the secret lying between Rhys’s thighs. “Like fish?”

“No, not like a fish.” It brought a grin to his face, but he never stopped touching Llawan’s slit and penis, until it started poking out like a snail out of it's shell.

“So how your people do it?” Llawan couldn’t help but hold on to the other man’s large, odorless body. He was out of the tank, bathed in cool water and for the first time, someone was giving him pleasure. He was torn by the conflict between gratitude for the promise of freedom and disgust, which was still lingering deep in his throat. The man ate his finger.

Rhys pulled the flaps open, to have a better look at the smooth penis and that alone made Llawan’s genitals swell even harder. “Do what? Mate?”

Llawan nodded, hypnotized by his stone-like eyes.

“In many different ways. I’m not looking for a mate though. I’m self sufficient. I do find your organs fascinating though.” He ran his finger from the base deep in the slit, all the way to the tip of Llawan’s penis, making his fin twitch. The touch made him warm all over and the sensation spread to his body, making it soft and pliant.

“Not your time?” As much as Llawan didn’t want to be a shark-man’s mate, it was a surprising confession. Was it not his spawning-season?

“I doubt it will ever be my time.” Rhys suppressed a laugh and pulled away completely, setting Llawan free. “You are very interesting.”

Shocked by the unexpected lack of touch, Llawan blinked up at him, suddenly embarrassed by his exposed organs, now plump and dark.

Rhys leaned over the side of the pool to fetch his gloves, unmoved by the display. “I will help you get down to the ocean.”

Llawan gave a delighted click and darted towards the edge of the pool, to look at the way the moon discus was mirrored in the dark waters. It was so close and yet too far for him to reach the shore on his own.

Rhys grabbed him under the arms and tail and in no time, he was carrying Llawan back onto the main terrace. The air felt dry on Llawan’s skin again, but he was already anticipating the salty ocean water, so he didn’t let it bother him. His hands went around Rhys’s neck and from the height of his arms, Llawan looked into the endless waters that were calling out to him, as if he was a lost child seeked by his mother. The man’s touch however, felt different now, more arousing than intimidating and Llawan couldn’t help but feel at loss about his spoilt pleasure, even if there was nothing he wanted more than getting back into the safety of deep waters, far away from Ossenthar.

They took a turn around a dark bush with no leaves and he finally saw the waterfall that he had only heard uptil now. His heart fluttered, throat choking with hope..

Rhys was taking him down a path of steep stairs, that led all the way down to a tiny shoreline and as much as Llawan wanted to avoid thinking about it, the creamy color of the steps reminded him of bone. With the arousal gone, his penis retracted back into the slit and Llawan was now solely focused on the proximity of water. He hoped with all his heart for it not to be a cruel joke, like when small mermen teased a fish they intended to eat just for the fun of it.

But when they were just inches from the water, Rhys stopped and gently put Llawan down on the wet sand. “Here you go, Llawan. Don’t disappoint me.”

The first wave that hit Llawan’s tail felt so familiar he couldn’t force himself to answer, breathless with relief. So instead, driven by some unnamed force, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Rhys’ grotesque mouth. It was smooth, even though he could feel the outline of his front teeth behind the flesh, and combined with the hope growing in his chest, made him feel more empowered than ever.

The man blinked a few times, but smiled without a word and Llawan jumped forward, rolling into the water until it was deep enough for him to swim. He didn’t look back and dove right in, drunk on the salty taste on his tongue as he took a deep gulp and let it flow through his gills. The moon cast a gentle glow on the white sand, showing him the way as he sped straight towards the sharp edge separating the world of the land people from the darkness of the deep ocean. Colorful sea urchins dotted the ground below him, smelling more delicious than ever, but safety was far more important than hunger and Llawan dove straight down, letting the current carry him along the steep wall that made up a natural border between worlds.

Even the thought that to get his freedom back, he had to tie his destiny to Rhys, couldn’t spoil his happiness now. He just went with the flow.

[Bollomaster]

Bardzo mi się podoba jak zaczynacie to opowiadanie. Mocne uderzenie na początek. Dobre.

Restauracja z basenem syren które można sobie wybrać do jedzenia. Bogowie! To jest chyba najbardziej ossentharski patent wymyślony do tej pory!

The client’s voice sounded as if it came from deep within his chest and traveled up a throat of spikes and hooks.

Genialne zdanie!

Przeczytałem i uważam że jest naprawdę dobre. Super patent z palcem. A Rhys jest bardziej ossentharski niż jakikolwiek ossentharczyk jakiego byłbym w stanie odegrać. Wszystko jest bardzo harmonijnie zbudowane. No i język! Czyta się bardzo dobrze.

Tytuł i okładka - czaderskie.

Jestem pod wrażeniem.


Poprawiłem pisownię Kartaldoru z mysteriowej na koszerną

O co chodzi z tym "steep wall"? Nie rozumiem jak to miejsce wygląda. To jest jakiś kolejny zbiornik tuż przy morzu?

Restauracja trochę gryzie mi się z zamkiem. Może lepiej "palace"?


(piszę wrażenia na bieżąco)

[kasiotfur]

Ha! Cieszę się i dziękuję za uwagi. Czułam, że Ci się okładka spodoba

Ta steep wall w wodzie to ja widze jako podwodne urwisko, jak jest plytko przez dlugi czas a potem spad.