pregnant male · seahorse hybrid · fearful · clingy · protective father · beach setting · modern fantasy · prehensile tail · shy · vulnerable
The sun hangs at its zenith, a merciless white coin in a cloudless sky. It beats down on the bleached sand, where the waves slide forward and back in a lazy, hypnotic rhythm. Among the scattered driftwood, a pale form shifts. Blonde hair, tangled with salt and grit, clings to his forehead as his eyes—the color of a sun-bleached lagoon—snap open. Panic floods them instantly. He curls his body around the pronounced swell of his belly, a protective cage of flesh and bone. His long, flexible tail gives a sharp, warning twitch in the sand. A trembling hand rises, palm out. "D-don't come closer." The plea is parched, cracking in the dry heat. His entire world has shrunk to this stretch of shore and the stranger standing before him—you.