Crystal Swan || Sugar Squad || [1,870] 3,297/3,250
Not that he knew what was going on in the other mage's mind, but Theo was also transported into memory land once the focus was shifted solely to the sharks. There was a time long ago that he was in a situation like this, but somehow he was even worse off. So much time had passed, something so trivial in comparison to the tragedy that befell him was foggy. But now that the memory was dug up and brought into the spotlight, he got to relive it.
He'd been on the good ship
Shippo, hired to travel across the sea and take care of a couple of...matters for his old guild. His ebony hair was tied back at the nape of his neck into a tiny pigtail, the rest of the strands left to frame his face shifted in and out of his field of vision in the salty breeze that filled the sails and sliced them through the ocean waves. He wore a navy yukata, one arm lazing in the fabric on his chest instead of in the sleeve. You know, because that was much cooler looking. Frosty hues seemed bored with the journey, only vaguely interested in the raven haired beauty that sharpened his sword to his left.
Without warning, a large tentacle reached up from the depths, breaking the ship in half and drawing the crew and passengers to a watery grave. As Theo plunged into the water, his mind raced. How would they survive? A few had already passed away, crushed by the initial slap, but most of the others made a break for the surface. It seemed the life boats were still intact. As the crew saved themselves, Theo became aware that the baby Kraken intended to have a nice meal. Not today, baby Kraken! Getting a craving for some calamari sushi, the inky-haired boy swam down with his companion to slay the beast!
He remembered that he drew his sword, but in the face of the toothy beak bigger than him coming in fast, what had he done? And why did the sharks remind him of the baby Kraken to begin with?
The view from below really was exquisite. Chavez Clambourne didn't get out much, being a clam and all, but he fancied himself a connoisseur of the rarer things in life. He'd prided himself for ages over his knowledge of the dreaded mob boss Thassalus. The oversized, heavily armored fish had gripped this part of the ocean by the gonads, squeezing ever tighter the longer he was left to his own devices. To have the great whites, previously a band of queen-bee mean girls, relinquish their reign as top frightening force and become his body guards and harem was an unexpected turn of events, but more would follow. The top heavy pyramid of power easily brought all other aquatic life under the rule of the beast, doing his bidding without question.
That was all witnessed from afar with intense admiration. To be so respected and revered. Clams hardly fell under the hierarchy. They were a species so insignificant that they could do whatever they liked. Most clams cherished this freedom and lived blissful, stress-free lives. Thassalus's rule had zip to do with them. But being the only clam for hundreds of miles that could produce a pearl gave Chavez Clambourne a thirst for a higher tier of living. He had to look smart, educated, and exciting to his peers to keep up the appearance of being above them, right?
The stars in his eyes were too much for Chavez, and his knowledge of the life up top gave him a nasty idea. Even though clams were too insignificant to factor into the dynamic under Thassalus's rule, what if he were to become a Thassalus to his own kind, to the bottom dwellers of the sands? He was already special. He'd observed long enough to have the general idea of intimidation and manipulation. He had a small group of goons that hung on his every word, idolizing him enough to surely lend a strong shell clamp in his defense. He could devise a network, bringing those pearl spitting oysters under his rule to choke off the supply, making his own rare pearls that much more valuable and special. See, clams
can make pearls, but it's pretty rare. Oysters, however, just spit 'em out like it's their job. Makes him look like a poser!
Why stop at the oysters? His other cousins, the scallops, where a bit high on the hog, too. They somehow knew their taste was superior to the other mussels in the mouths of evil humans and took pride in their perceived grandeur of gouging the murderers so much per pound. He'd rule all the bivalves. Oh, and don't get him started on those scrubs the univalves. It'd take little effort to bring the conch and snails under his command. Next would be the decapods. The lobsters, crabs, shrimp, and krill would be his transportation crew and his heralds, what with their mobility. too bad Thassalus had already employed those brainless jellyfish. A horde would be quite the shield system...
With all that support and power, he'd be unstoppable. Everyone would bow down and obey. He'd be the bees knees. Even his wife would have to appreciate him, that undeserving, unappreciative wench! His parents would have to stop pressuring him to work harder, as if he was a common laborer!
Anyway, Chavez had been hatching this plan and meticulously chipping away at its goals and daydreaming of his new life when the shadow of that pesky old man's boat appeared. How dare he come back yet again and challenge Thassalus's reign! He was no common fish to be caught, sold, and eaten! A smug grin curled his dual shells. The human didn't know when to accept failure. At least it was entertaining to watch. But wait. This time was different. As the bodyguards rushed up to smack the ship and attempt to discourage the salty old fishermen, extra shadows moved about. Before long, two humans were dumped into the drink. A special performance, and Chavez had a front row seat! Time to observe what his idols would do in the face of a new threat. Maybe he should take notes for future reference...
Even if he'd been able to take notes, there's no way he'd been able to tear his eyes away of the unexpected events. These two
monsters decimated the jellyfish brigade! The second round of barracudas were dispatched. Nasty creatures, those. Eel-like fish with razor teeth. Surely it'd be over now...no! The female human summoned fish creatures to turn on their own kind, ripping them up while the man pumped them full of something jiggly until they exploded! This was unprecedented! Even in his dawning horror, he wouldn't wait to pass the gossip along. He wasn't yet Clam Thassalus, so touting his gossip of this event would have to hold him over!
The great whites darted in. As if watching a rigged fight, he took comfort in the threat's end drawing near. Except, the girl drew out something else, some sort of deranged spirit that wrangled one of the mean girls in a golden whip, while her loyal sirens rushed in to lay the smack down. So barbaric!
The male was somehow even worse. He called for no aid, but in his hands formed a long spear. As the other mean girl body guard swam at him, angry maw spread as wide as possible to offer him a horrific view of several rows of teeth, the human boy thrust his weapon forward and stabbed the roof of her mouth! Ouch! The shark recoiled in pain, but only enraged. Now within range, she chomped at the tasty human, looking for an arm or a nice hunk of abdomen meat, but there was something strange about this guy. His body moved in no way Chavez had ever seen another mere fisherman move. It was as if there were no bones inside, so he arched and twisted his flesh just out of the shark's grasp over and over, jabbing her in the sides, fins, and mouth whenever he could. The waters were stained red! Finally, those horrific teeth found their mark on the wiggly boy's arm in what should have sheared it right off. However, the limb seemed to go translucent. How in the world?! The buy cried out, but as the great white opened its maw in confusion over the lack of snack, the arm turned back to normal. The spear shrunk and was jammed in vertically, just long enough to trap her mouth open. She couldn't bite down! Holding it in place, the boy used his bleeding arm to pump out globs of goop like he had the barracudas.
Oh no, he couldn't watch. Though he'd never liked the mean girls, it was hard to watch them be reduced to this level of failure and shame. One floated peacefully, fate unclear, while the other writhed and fruitlessly fought for freedom, only to be filled to bursting with whatever heinous material the boy's magic made. The rest of the great whites' loyalty was tested, but ultimately failed as they turned tail to save themselves, leaving Thassalus to fight his own battle. How quickly the tables had turned! Chavez had no way of knowing this twist in the story was around the bend. With great power comes greater threats. But! He still held out hope that his juicy gossip yarn would roll to a triumphant end, and not one that would dash his very dreams, steal his will to live, and render him just a normal clam with an overinflated pearl ego and champaign taste on a beer wallet. Thassalus would turn this around and rebuild his empire! Maybe with whales and leviathans this time! Bigger and better. He'd just have to win and show this ocean he was the idol! The undisputed boss! The big tuna!
But what did he know? Chavez was just a lowly clam, after all.
Theo was getting tired, too. And though his arm had taken only fifty percent of that shark bite's damage, it still hurt pretty freaking bad and the little holes from the teeth shed bloodlet tears into the water. The little ice stick he'd made in the head of the moment disappeared, allowing the dead shark to float away in the calm currents. It was so weird to have such a tense battle in a place where sound was slow and the waters offered faux comfort. Good thing he'd remembered that time on the
Shippo and what his companion had done with a magic staff and some tricky magic, or else only Aura might have survived this far.
Turning to the girl, Theo grinned, pleased they'd won their battles though a bit tense from discomfort. "Heh, I think we scared the other one's awa---" "
MY HAREM!!!!" came a baleful roar, causing all the H2O molecules around them to quiver from the vibration. It came from the shadow beyond, which was now becoming larger and less shadowy by the second. "Oh...heck," Theo grimaced, seeing that the true battle would be upon them any second.