Arashi

(to be renamed)

The whale seemed to fight back for years.

"Steady now! Hold her steady!"

The waves churned and toiled in their battle, kicking up a boiling froth as they did. The undertide, like one large muscle, contracted and coiled, fighting hard to veer against the will of the creature she was entwined with. Every turn right from the whale was met with a sharp nudge left from her. And this back and forth test of strength had gone on for little over a half hour. This behemoth was their toughest yet.

The gruff calls from her boss- a beast-spearing bogsneak- could be heard far above, on the deck of a pirate vessel- bludgeoning between the rumbling of clouds- barking orders, to which concise squawks replied. Even with her vision, well equipped to see through the depths, she could barely make out the silhouettes of her ghastly crewmates as they flew through the air, their shapes like smears of blood through the water's surface.

"Hold her!"

The same, overpowering growl, the same tiring command. The undertide did as she was told, her body-flaming with pain- still squeezing her prey, who was megafauna compared to herself. Her head thrummed as the scum of the ocean assaulted her face; her wings could do nothing more than beat senselessly against the monster's tough hide. She could feel her grip slip away.

Finally, another call.

"Belly up, beast!"

Right now, it was the creature's tough, upper body exposed to the waves. No spear could even make a dent in it- but the stomach's was notably softer. The only target for a killing blow. So, heaving the last morsel of her energy, she veered left with her eyes wincing shut, the center of her body searing in agony as maneuvered weight three times of her own, and in defeat, the whale's body slammed into the ship, causing it to rock port before reorienting starboard again, the water pouncing up its sides as the crew yelled their frustrations.

The behemoth, who had been thrashing for freedom all this time, stopped moving. It had been stunned, at least, and the undertide could not be more grateful for the reprieve. At long last, the pain seemed to subside- the tongues of fire, after what felt like an age in hell, began to fizzle out. The water followed suit, going from a boil, to a simmer, to just a ripple of activity. The serpent felt calm.

Then burning. Not in her body- but in her head. She thrashed, her skull thrummed with white hot plasma. Immediately, her body freed itself from the whale, before coiling into knots in agony. She lashed again and again, at the boat and water, fighting a pain she did not understand. Trying to move her head- even an inch- made her almost gag. And the more she struggled, the more rivulets of blood released into the churning water, appearing black in its depths. She tried to open her eyes, yet she could not. Because it felt like she had no eyes at all.

Defeated, she could feel her mind drift away. But before that happened, she had one moment of clarity:

The whale had been speared-

and her too with it.

---

gifted for free as an ungened undertide by werepunk. thank you!

Celestial Antelope

Familiar

Resembles a creature of draconic legend from a distance. Up close it merely looks delicious.

2500