Drown (MXM)

Chapter 39

Hey guys! So quick announcement before you read the chapter. I wanted to let you know chapter 1 of Float is now available to read on my patreon. For $5 a month, you can get updates on this book before it is released on wattpad. Refer to my wattpad page, or the previous chapter for the link to my patreon page, and chapter one of Float is the most recent update. :)

The first chapter is already an emotional roller coaster, and was bit hard for me to write, so for those of you who do go check it out, bring tissues!

Thanks!

-A <3

I glanced around the cozy space with barely concealed curiosity, trying to make sense of the foreign structures and items that surrounded Kai and I. I felt like a kid again; completely overwhelmed by the mass of oddities begging for me to examine them. I spared one last glance back at Kai, just to make sure it was really okay for me to basically peruse through his stuff. An encouraging smile was the only confirmation I needed to approach the first thing that caught my attention.

The box was rather large, not overly so, but large enough that I could probably fit inside without any problems. I began running my fingers over the surface, noting the softness of whatever sort of hide was covering the sturdy structure. The coloring was a patterned mixture of greys and blacks, where it started out black at the crest of the rounded top of the box, and began speckling into shades of deeper greys down the sides until it got to its lightest shade. The detailing was remarkably elegant, and rustic at the same time, giving the whole structure a vintage appeal.

'Seal hide,' Kai supplied when he noticed the attention I was paying to the design.

Normally, the scientist in me would have felt a bit upset in knowing a seal had to have been slaughtered in order to create the object of my fascination. However, I also knew the line that could be drawn based on cultural, and societal differences. Above the surface of the ocean, many of the luxury items I found myself enjoying had been harvested from the slaughtering of animals. Down here, I could only imagine the challenges Kai and his people faced in trying to find the proper materials to make up their homes. At least they weren't as cruel as most humans, who would sooner cut the dorsal fin off of a shark, and throw the poor creature back into the ocean to die, all for a bowl of soup. It wasn't the slaughtering of the animal that was cruel, so much as it was the slaughtering of it without honoring every part of it. If you are to kill something for your own gain, then the least you could do was learn to use every part of it, from the meat, to the skin.

'It is beautiful,' I muttered, allowing my fingers to slip from the smooth skin adorning the chest, to the metallic clasp on the front. I held my breath, as if expecting something to jump out at me, and pressed down on the release button. The echo of the unlatching mechanism springing open was swallowed by the water surrounding us, so that it sounded like little more than a thud of vibration.

The clasp itself was oiled up with some sort of substance, which wasn't very sticky, but it was slick enough that it lingered on my fingers for a few seconds. I assumed it was to prevent rusting underwater, and it wasn't like it was overly problematic. On the contrary, it actually made my skin feel rather soft after it was washed away.

I opened up the lid of the chest, peering inside with renewed interest when nothing popped out at me. It seemed as the days grew on, I became more and more jumpy, especially down here. Perhaps it was because I was out of my element, perhaps it was the overwhelming sensations, or perhaps it was because of my changing biology; either way, I found myself having to make a conscious effort at keeping myself calm and collected.

Inside, I saw all manner of strange objects, and some familiar. There were spears, like the ones I'd seen stuck in the ground by the memorial battlefield Kai had forbade me from entering. There were also hides like the one that adorned the chest, though these were clearly more purposefully designed for wearing.