Leviathantale Mermay 2022 - Pearl Edition

Day 15: Octopus

For the past few days, excitement and nervousness has been high in Nightmare's Ditch. Cross especially had trouble calming down when he was actively growling at anyone who approached him or the nest. While Horror eased his nervousness with hunting to which he took Dust and the bull sharks with him - after all, they soon had more mouths to feed - so had Balance and Dream teamed up to make small gifts for the upcoming pups. Nightmare was practically tasked with keeping an eye on Cross so the thresher shark didn't do anything stupid. Because Cross instincts were in overdrive, especially since this was his first clutch. And while Cross's overly protective nature was a bit disturbing, Nightmare couldn't help but find it somehow endearing. Especially when there was the prospect of having more children at some point.

And while having kids was a great thing, especially since the Leviathans were having trouble fathering kids - Dream and Nightmares were delighted that Cross was even carrying eggs, even though they didn't even know if they were the parents of any of the eggs - Nightmare already felt the dad jokes coming. Because the bull sharks would definitely not shy away from using some and probably also bring Horror and Dust into it. Maybe even Balance. Nightmare wouldn't put it past the black goldfish Mer.

A faint sound, similar to a cracking sound, reached Nightmare's ear and he could see Cross going into panic mode. Nightmare had to hold him back, wouldn't it help the children hatch if Cross panicked and tried to help them and accidentally injured them

"Calm down Cross. Nothing is wrong. The kids will have to make it out of their eggs on their own.” Nightmare softly told a Cross trapped in his tentacles. He could even accept the angry bites for that, Cross instincts just went haywire. “Just watch them and look forward to them deciding to join us now. After all, we have all waited a long time to welcome them here.”

Just in time for Nightmare's statement, the first child stuck its arm out of the egg. Soon the second followed, as did the head. Nightmare loved watching a little Killer climb out of the egg. While it might not do Killer's ego good for one of the kids to look like a mini version of him, Nightmare was sure the kid would have been spoiled either way.

Soon the next child that joined the little mini Killer was a little mini Dust, who fought his way out of the egg. Though Nightmare could see some of Horror's aspects in the child as well, it seemed to mostly take after Dust, at least in appearance. However, it made Nightmare curious about the last two eggs. Who were the parents of these two? Would it be one of the other sharks? Or would Balance have the honor of being the father of one of the two children?

However, Nightmare was surprised when he saw the last two children in front of him.

The last two children hatched almost simultaneously. Just a few seconds earlier was the little golden octopus with purple-pink spots and suckers. The small umbrella between the tentacle was adorable, a clear sign of Dream's side of genetics, as were the fins on the child's head and waist. The other child was similar, only purple in color with green-turquoise suckers and spots. The child also had a small umbrella and fins on its hips, but none on its head like its sibling.

Nightmare let go of Cross now that the kids were out of their eggs and let the new mom bond with his kids. It was a beautiful image for Nightmare, Cross sniffing at each of his children before starting cleaning each one while purring.

"Welcome to sea my little gems," Nightmare said softly, not wanting to disturb Cross. But he vowed that he would do everything in his power to protect them.