What are You?

Chelsea : The Shore and Stolen Identities

(.... Just stick with me. I know this isn't a traditional HV fic, but trust me.)

Nyxn gasped when she broke the surface of the water, waves threatening to drag her back under as thunder cracked overhead.

This situation, to say the least, was quite unfortunate. She should have known better than to have stopped on that ship. She shouldn't have fallen asleep, she could have outpaced the typhoon if she'd had enough brain to notice it looming on the horizon.

She choked on water as she was dragged back under, the taste of salt making her gag before breaking the surface again to spit out the disgusting sea. The water tugged at her limbs, threatening to break the wide wings attached to her back, the current tugging at her tail violently and spinning her around. She was too busy trying to keep her head above water to think of pulling them in and out of harm's way, to disguise herself as one of the creatures that dominated the earth.

Nyxn was thousands of years old, she wasn't going to die now. She was in no way going to let herself drown of all things.

But it seemed she didn't really have the authority to make that decision once she was thrown into a rock hard enough that the world became nothing but darkness. She was at the mercy of Nature and God. For now.

* * *

She woke with a start, wincing as the bright sun assaulted her eyes. She sat up quickly, ignoring the disgusting sensation of sand stuck to her skin and hair as she looked around.

She couldn't see much, a boulder coated in seaweed was by her right shoulder, and to her left, there was nothing but beach and tropical flora beyond. She relaxed momentarily under the impression that the rock beside her might hide her from anything she couldn't see on the shore beyond as she looked down at her own person, warily taking note that she must have shifted fully in her unconsciousness, her wings, and tail securely hidden with magic for the time being. Without needing to worry about those she sat up a little straighter, breathing slowly to keep herself calm.

The young woman took in a deep breath, the taste of salt still on her tongue. The sounds of lapping waves whispered near her as she hesitantly reached back to tousle her hair, shaking out all the sand that had collected in it and the bits that had dried on her cheek and around the ear she'd been laying on.

The pointed tips of her ears were less than subtle, making her human(ish) form less than perfect, but all things considered, it was quite lucky she could blend in at all. Few of her kind were capable of it, and she was the last of her kind. Depressing, but what could she do about it? Nothing.

She was young in body, having been stuck in her early twenties since a year after her hatching. Her beautiful blue eyes were a reflection of her true form,  they were deep with color and secrets one could only fathom. Her skin was light like that of the skin beneath her great armor and her teeth were perhaps a bit sharper from the canines back than they should be for a human, but it wasn't noticeable unless some creep was staring at her teeth.

These small details, from the tips of her ears, her stature, fangs, and the way her eyes sometimes shifted were all warnings from nature to man that she should be feared, that they should run, that she wasn't right. She was dangerous. But man was rarely observant enough to catch the warning signs. She hid her pointed ears in her long bronze colored hair, and she made sure never to smile too widely. Her eyes were what gave her away more times than not over the thousands of years she'd been alive. They looked human most the time, but in moments of emotion, they had a tendency to morph into that of a creature's, of her true body. But that wasn't important. Her life revolved around her ability to control and conceal who and what she was, as long as she keep her secret, she could live within this sick world ruled by humans.