She studies me, then takes my hand. “So this doesn’t hurt?”
“No,” I promise, gently drawing her deeper. “There may be a moment of discomfort as your body adapts. A feeling of pressure, perhaps brief disorientation. But then… Then there is only wonder.”
She places her palms against my chest, and the patterns beneath my skin brighten at her touch.
“You’re glowing,” she murmurs, tracing the luminescent patterns.
“An inconvenient trait when attempting to maintain one’s dignity,” I confess. “Rather like those old maritime flags—broadcasting my state to anyone with eyes to see.”
Her smile is soft. “I think it’s beautiful. Honest.” Her hand slides lower, tracing the transition where humanoid torso meets tentacle. “So how do we do this? Just dive in?”
“We should move to deeper water. You’ll need to hold your breath initially until the sharing takes effect.”
She nods, letting me guide her farther from shore. When the water reaches her shoulders, she stops.
“What do you get from this?” she asks suddenly. “Besides watching me flop around like a fish out of water, except… in water?”
The unexpected humor pulls a low chuckle from me. “I promise, there will be no flopping. You’ll move through the water as naturally as I do.” I pause. “As for what I gain… There is a certain joy in witnessing someone experience my world for the first time.”
“And?” she prompts, sensing there’s more.
“And for one who has spent most of a century in solitude, even a temporary connection is precious.”
Something in her expression softens. “Then let’s connect, Captain.” She moves closer, her body pressing against mine. “Show me your world.”
I encircle her waist with two tentacles, supporting her as I guide us into deeper water. “Take a deep breath,” I instruct. “Andwhen you can no longer hold it, open your mouth to mine. Trust me, and don’t fight what follows.”
She inhales deeply and nods her readiness, her eyes holding mine with complete trust.
Together, we submerge.
Underwater, her hair flows like dark sea grass, her skin luminous in the filtered moonlight. I count the seconds as she holds her breath. Twenty… thirty… forty… I can see the first flickers of strain, the instinctive human panic.
I press my mouth to hers, the soft edges of my tentacle beard framing our connection as her lips part in initial desperation, then in something else entirely as the essence-sharing begins.
The ancient magic of my kind flows from me to her—not a gift given lightly, but offered now with a fullness of purpose I’ve never known before.
The transfer requires more than simple contact. My tongue slides against hers, releasing the enzyme-rich fluids that will transform her experience. I feel her initial surprise, then her surrender as understanding dawns.
I cradle her face, monitoring the subtle changes as my essence takes effect. Her tension gives way to wonder as her lungs adapt. Her eyes widen as her vision shifts, the darkness suddenly illuminated with clarity.
And then—our consciousnesses begin to blur at the edges, her emotions mingling with mine like warm currents. Surprise. Wonder. Desire. They flow into and through me, amplified by my own responses, creating a feedback loop that makes my skin pulse with light.
“I can breathe,” she mouths, though no sound emerges.
Yes,I reply in thought, knowing she will understand me now.And see. And feel as I feel.
Her wonder is pure and bright as sunlight through shallow water. I guide her deeper, revealing the hidden world below. The ocean floor glimmers with life invisible to human eyes—tiny phosphorescent creatures creating constellations more beautiful than the stars above.
It’s amazing,her thoughts reach me, tinged with awe.Like an entire universe down here.
I guide her through underwater caverns where walls sparkle with minerals, past sleeping fish nestled in coral, through forests of kelp waving like dancers. Through our shared consciousness, I feel her processing these wonders, her joy becoming mine.
But beneath the wonder, another sensation grows—desire, amplified by our shared consciousness, building like a tide neither of us wishes to resist.
Can we…?Her thought reaches me, incomplete yet perfectly clear.
Yes, I respond, my tentacles shifting their hold, no longer merely supportive but exploratory.If you wish.
