More Than Human

Chapter 62: Underwater Playmate

Rudy leaned down and poked at the water tentatively. It looked and smelled clean and it was a good size. He just wanted to double check. Price had given them the directions down a path outside to a body of water on his property. Alejandro thought it was a good idea to get Rudy in some water he could actually move around in.

"Well, what's the verdict, mi amor?" Alejandro asked from where he was seated on a nearby log.

Rodolfo stood up and gave a firm nod, "It's good."

"Good." Alejandro laughed, "Now go swim around for a bit. It'll do you some good."

Rudy grinned and clicked out a response before stripping down and hurrying into the water. As soon as he reached the drop off he dove down deep, feeling himself change as he did. Once his eyes had properly adjusted they widened slightly.

The large pond had to be man made, and magic for that matter. The inside was beautiful. Little stone caves and dens along the side. Brightly colored plants littered the rocks and sand. He swam to the bottom and moved along it, running his hand through the coarse material before flopping down and rolling around in it. It felt good to give in to some of his natural instincts after being stuck in that tiled room for so long.

He looked directly up at the light shining down through the surface. He felt his pupils dilate when the movement of fish above him caught his attention. He allowed himself to give into every instinct in the moment and darted up ward to sink his teeth into a couple of fish before swimming up to the surface and tossing them to shore. He heard Alejandro let out a startled shout and he chirped, amused, before diving back down to continue providing for his mate.

He thought he caught a flash of something at the entrance to one of the larger caves. Maybe a little light? He swam toward it, curious. The inside of the cave was dark at the entrance and he squinted to try and get his eyes to adjust to the low light. He slowly swam inside to investigate when something, or a few somethings burst from the sand and wrapped around his waist. He let out an alarmed squeak and started to thrash about. He opened his eyes and came nose to nose with a creature. The creature's eyes widened at the sight of him and let out an underwater yelp sending bubbles fluttering forth. It quickly released him from its clutches.

Rudy retreated slightly, now noticing they were tentacles.

Oh. König.

He puffed water in and out of his gills briefly before whistling out a questioning call into the cave. A pair of glowing eyes blinked open from farther inside before they tentatively shifted closer, his skin changing from the color and pattern of the rocks to a green that matched his many limbs.

He let out an apologetic titter. Neither had been expecting to see anyone else down here. Rudy swam forward and began to circle the larger man. He had never seen a kraken before, and based on the way König's eyes tracked his movements curiously, he had never seen a siren before.

Rudy made another questioning sound and hoped he understood his clicks well enough to know he was asking about the little light he had seen.

Fortunately, he seemed to and made an answering rumble before one of his tentacles snaked upward, a slightly bulbous end, different in color that the rest of him. It suddenly lit up and Rudy startled.before leaning closer to look.

König was amused at his interest and flashed a little pattern with it, changing its color. He then pulled it away and motioned for Rudy to follow him back into the cave. That was a dangerous move in the wild, following a larger predator into an enclosed space. But he found that he trusted König, so he did. König's flesh changed to match the sand and he slightly buried himself in it. Rudy followed suit, changing the color of his scales and skin to blend in. He watched König snake his little light forward and poke it out from beneath the sand. He flashed another colorful pattern, and Rudy found himself wanting to go to it again, but he held himself back.

After a few moments, a large fish swam up to it. As soon as it did, one of König's other tentacles snapped forward and grabbed ahold of it. Rudy shot up and applauded König's catch with little claps. König's color shifted and he almost looked embarrassed at the praise.

They spent some time in the water together. Rudy hadn't had a friend to spend time with in the water since before he was taken. He had forgotten how nice it was to play with podmates. It reminded him of when he was just a little pup. Brand new to the world and playing with his clutchmates. König obviously looked a little different than they had, but it instilled the same feeling.

After some time they both came to the surface and Rudy swam to shore. He dropped a final fish there for Alejandro before he felt himself changing back. Alejandro met him halfway through it, gently toweling him off. Rudy's siren whistling and clicks slowly turned into his own hearty laugh as Alejandro's ministrations slightly tickled.

"Did you have a nice swim, mi sireno?"

"Very nice, Alejo." Rudy said, extra chipper, "I made a new friend!"

Alejandro looked at him, slightly confused, before a tentacle shot out past them and snaked into the very log he had been sitting on. Retrieving a bundle of clothes.

"¡Jesucristo!"

Rudy laughed again, by the time König fully emerged on land, he already had his hood back on and was stepping into his clothes.

Rudy slowly stood on his freshly reformed legs, "Thank you for playing today, König!" He called out.

"Oh, um, yes! Of course!" König idly fiddled with a stray tentacle. Clearly straight up speaking to people was what made him nervous. "Sorry I startled you, Sirene."

Rudy waved him off, "No need to apologize, hermano. It looked like I startled you just as much."

König blushed beneath his hood and nodded.

"Let's head back up to the house." Alejandro suggested now that he had recovered from his own scare.

"Don't forget the fish I caught for you." Rudy reminded, gesturing at all the fish laying on the shore.

Alejandro chuckled and ruffled his hair, "I won't. I won't, Mi belleza."