blepsart - Tumblr blog

blepsart · 1 month ago

Text

The Fish Bowl

Summary: A thief finds a mermaid kept in a fish bowl and decides to rescue her by carrying her out in her mouth. It's not as fun as it sounds.

Word count: 3404 (~6 pages)

It was night, but it could hardly be called that here. When the sun went down, it was replaced by that horrid ring hovering above Teskul, bathing the streets in a red glow. Regular street lights on the ground often got vandalized and the repairbugs refused to venture into the more dangerous districts to fix them, leaving those that had no choice exposed to those lurking in the unseen. So the council opted for that ghastly thing drowning out the stars in its sickening haze. But Teskul was nicknamed the ‘Unscarring Wound’ for its street flow red with blood. Reality was just catching up with the metaphor.

Leila Limbtwist was one of such creatures that crawled through the dark. However, she was of the harmless sort, according to herself. Merely a thief, not a killer or body harvester. A capital T Thief, with the three blessings given by the god of thieves, Ubb Sulea.

The first blessing was a seventh sense, that allowed Leila to sense the awareness of other beings. She can sense the field of vision, their earshot, even from which distance they could smell her. This sense was called ‘Telt’, though it shares its name with all sensory abilities granted by god pacts.

The awareness of others felt uncomfortable. Being heard was okay, but being seen felt like standing too close to a fire, even when the Thief wasn't trying to hide. Some can cope better with this sensation and being seen, touched even, can feel quite pleasant in the right context. But those times were rare for Leila. She preferred the darkness, the silence.

The second blessing greatly enhanced her flexibility and sense of balance. She could crawl through any opening that her skull could fit through. Granted, as a cat Asterian she could already do that, but the Thief blessing still took that ability a few steps beyond.

The mansion she had picked out for tonight had a slim window. A barred hole, just under the roof, to let the hot air escape. Leila could just about curl her fingers over the edge without leaving the ground. The metal bars wouldn’t allow even most Thieves through. But Leila was small and slender.

Pressed against the wall, Leila could escape the red light. The discomfort it caused was definitely only imagined but it was relief all the same. She stood there for a moment, seeing whether she could telt any awareness inside the house. It was late in the night, so most should be asleep upstairs. Unfortunately, those in deep sleep and unaware were basically invisible to Leila. The streets were clear as well. Leila pulled herself up by the bars, putting one arm through up to the shoulder and hooking it over the edge, then quickly squeezing her head and other arm through. Once that was done, pulling through her torso and legs only took another moment. There was no furniture beneath the window, so lowering herself back down was no issue.

Leila could sense a consciousness in the next room. The door was closed and it was faint enough to belong to someone not fully awake. Vision was contained in the room, if there was any, but Leila could be heard through the walls. The floorboards did not groan under her weight.

The guard was not alert. Perhaps they would fall fully asleep before Leila was done here. The rest of the house was safe to loot, though she’d stay away from the upper floor, to be safe. Though, if this household had something really valuable, it’d be in the room with the guard, Leila reasoned.

But first, she went to work on the shelves and drawers. The third blessing for Thieves is a magical pocket space to store loot in. After all, what good was squeezing through tight spaces if no treasures could fit back out along with you? The entrance to this pocket was located in Leila’s mouth, underneath the tongue. Her flexibility allowed her to unhinge her jaw and the pocket entrance warped dimensions slightly, which extended the list of items that could fit through. It could fit about a bathtub’s worth of mass and anything in there was weightless, but about two thirds of it were already taken up by Leila’s belongings. Spare clothes, cooking utensils, keepsakes, a couple books and music discs, a collection of knives. Sheathed, of course.

In the drawers she found some spare rings, as well as small, enchanted objects, like a rock enchanted with fire magic to serve as a lighter. Books were also rather valuable, as they could not be easily replicated. These wealthy folks sometimes kept magically detached body parts around, to remind them of their status. Forearms on desktops, to stick needles into and watch the muscles squirm beneath the skin. To delight in the knowledge that someone somewhere was feeling that pain and could do nothing about it. As a Thief, you do not want to be caught by this type of person. And fortunately, this house had nothing like that. Leila would steal such body parts too, just to get them out of those hands, but it was practically impossible to track down the owner.

There was no need to go up to the second floor, as Leila could fill her pocket up to her jaw with just the items on the ground floor. Still, as she circled back to the window, that one guarded room intrigued her. The bubble of awareness had diminished only slightly. But this only meant their ears could pick up sound, it didn’t mean they’d take conscious note of it. Maybe it would only be incorporated into their dream.

Leila twisted the door handle and gently pushed it open, hiding where potential vision could not spill. But there was none, the eyes were closed. She listened for breathing. There was none. She could not telt a sense of smell either. Only hearing.

She pushed the door open further. The room appeared to be a small extension of the living room. A table for two, surrounded by cabinets of porcelain cups and plates. No one was seated at the table, no one slumped in the corner. Leila couldn’t pin-point the origin of the awareness. Maybe just a mouse. Leila stood in the doorframe, giving the room a good look-over. Nothing valuable here. No need to bother checking the drawers. There was no guard and therefore nothing to guard. False alarm. Her eyes lingered on the object on one of the shelves, opposite to the door. Her shadow hid it from her, so she stepped aside a little, letting the red glow coming in from the window illuminate it. The light reflected off glass. At first, Leila had thought it was a teapot but it was a fishbowl. She could faintly see a little fish float inside, sleeping. That must be the source of awareness. Mystery solved. But-

In an instant, sight washed over Leila’s body, like a sheet of needles raked over her skin. Something was seeing her, not just seeing her, it understood what she was more clearly than an animal could. Her nerves twitch, her instincts kicked in. Her namesake, her limbs wanted to twist around the source of this recognition and smother it down. But there was no one here. The fish. Red light had shone through the eyelids just enough to have awoken it, alerted it. Not a fish, a fish Asterian. Soundlessly, Leila closed the distance, but then was without a plan once more. Should she smash the bowl on the ground? Too noisy. Unscrew the lid. Turn back and flee. Shuffle a knife into her mouth.

Then she caught her racing thoughts. The fish had made no sound. Only stared back. Not frozen in shock. It wasn’t going to alert anyone. Leila reassessed the scene.

This Asterian inherited the traits of… Leila wasn’t too knowledgeable about fish. Orange scales, a plain fin instead of legs. Messily cut hair, a scrap of cloth wrapped around her human half. Asterians don’t inherit the size of their animal, so this one must be a Gnome. Made a pact with Kitz Lelenik. Leila had never seen a Gnome before, but she recalled that, while they are permanently shrunk down, that didn’t make them any weaker or easier to squish. A knife still would do the trick.

Then she realized that this was a water-breather. Sometimes air-breathing Asterians can give birth to water-breathing Asterians or vice versa. Such children would usually be relocated to their natural habitat, effectively as orphans. Did she choose to stay with her parents? Why would they keep their child in such a small bowl though? Why leave her all alone down here at night?

Leila wasn’t sure how to proceed. She felt responsible to resolve this somehow. She recalled that the fish had a sense of hearing.

“Hello?”, Leila whispered.

“Are you a thief?”, the fish responded. The voice travelled through the water, created not by her mouth and lips but some internal organ. The transition to soundwaves in the air warped it a little bit, but Leila could understand.

“Yes. I’m Leila.”

“I’m Russ.” Russ swam up to the glass, palms and chest flat against it. The sound came through clearer. “You need to get me outta here.”

Leila’s right ear twitched. She knelt down to eye level with Russ and brought her cat eyes close to the glass. Russ backed away a little. Leila only meant to compare the fish bowl to her head though. Too big, it wouldn’t fit through. There was no other suitable container to relocate Russ into. Either too small, too big or unable to hold water.

With one push of her tail, Russ pressed back up against the glass, staring into the eyeball bigger than her head. “Please…”

Leila leaned away and shook her head. She could clear out some room in her pocket but it was inadvisable to put living things in there. Detached body parts always came out a little pale and sickly-looking. Leila didn’t think exposing an entire body to whatever conditions reigned there would be any good. Though…

“There has to be something you can do! Please!”

“There… may be. You really want to leave?”

“Yes!”

“Bad enough to trust me with your life?”

“You’re a dream come true.”

Leila blinked. She realized Russ had been hoping for exactly this situation for a long time. To worry about trust was completely absurd from her viewpoint.

“The fish bowl won’t fit. All the exits are secured with curses. There is only one way I can get you out of here.”

“How?”

“Inside my mouth.” Speaking it made Leila want to immediately back out. But this was no choice for her. She was this girl’s whole future. To leave her to her fate was unbearable. “Don’t worry, I did not inherit the rough tongue from my animal. And I know where the next river is. You are a freshwater fish, right?”

“I think so.” Russ did not think twice about it. If she had to climb into the cat’s mouth to get out of here, then that’s still far better than the worst she would do to escape.

She swam up to the surface, hands against the lid and twisting her tail to slowly screw it open. Leila finished the work with a swift twist, Russ enjoying the short carousel ride hanging on, and set the lid aside, next to a pair of rusted scissors and a box of stale bread. Taking note of these only spurned her on. She leaned over the opening, chin against the glass, tongue poking into the water. It tasted stale and like rocks. Russ dragged herself onto Leila’s tongue, her hands painfully squeezing the flesh, but Leila bore it. Once inside, she tucked her tail into Leila’s right cheek and hugged the tip of her tongue tight. For a moment, Leila was overwhelmed, with the taste of foul water, the texture of wet cloth and smooth scales and worst of all, telting the sensation of being felt across pretty much the entirety of skin. Her body urged her to spit Russ back out like a piece of hot coal. Instead, Leila closed her teeth until they would bite into Russ’s tail and closed her lips. She sucked more old water into her mouth to let Russ breathe.

“Can you hear me?” Russ’ voice vibrated through the water and resonated in Leila’s skull like her own voice would.

Leila managed a sort of “Uh-huh.” in the back of her throat. All these sensations stabbing into her brain made her a little dizzy but she took a moment to steel her resolve and force her senses back in line.

She returned to the barred window. She decided to go head-first again, she could pull the rest of her body through easily. She put her face between two bars and held her lips shut with one hand as she slowly, carefully tugged the skin of her cheeks past the cold metal with the other, shifting the water in her mouth, which only amplified the foul taste.

Then her jaw made it through, the worst was over. The rest of her head only met little resistance. Except, she usually passed her arms through alongside with the head, which wasn’t possible this time. Funneling them through now would be difficult. She would have to snake through with her arms by her side, at least up to the waist.

That’s when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

Should she stay still and hope they’re too blurry-eyed to take note of her? Or make for a hasty escape? She could feel the aura of awareness step closer, the vision cone swinging around like a spiked mace. Then they found the bathroom and their awareness was limited to that room.

Leila put a foot on the window sill and slotted her shoulders through the opening. With her arms useless, it was hard to get the leverage to push herself through. She shuffled her shoulders until her torso was somewhat securely wedged between the bars, then tipped her weight forward, sending her feet into the ceiling with a thump. Seconds later, the bathroom door slammed open and recognition pierced hundreds of hot needles into her skin.

Leila kicked at the ceiling, pushing her ribcage through and freeing her arms. Just one last push. A hand grabbed her ankle. She kicked herself free but therefore couldn’t manage a graceful landing, hitting the pavement with her back and biting into Russ’s tail. The fish yelped, more with surprise than pain. Blood made the taste of the water more palatable.

She scrambled onto her feet and made a run for it. Out of town, towards the river. She was pretty sure the homeowner did not see her face and if she was lucky they didn’t see the brown spot on her tail either. By the time they exited their house, she’d be out of sight. She checked her leg but they hadn’t slapped a binding rune onto her either. She was good to go. Focusing on running, scanning the route for the darkest shadows, that occupied her mind enough that Russ’ awareness didn’t bother her. Her mind assimilated her into her body like a symbiont. No longer a foreign invader.

It was a rough ride for Russ however and she hung on for dear life. Her hands pinched into the underside of her tongue with too much strength. It was like she bit her tongue and refused to let go. The pain brought tears to her eyes and there was no way to signal to Russ to be more gentle. Only more reason to get this over quick. Leila ran past some buckets she’d have loved to relocate Russ to, but a mouthful of water would be too shallow in there.

After ten minutes of running through the sprawling city, Leila’s lungs demanded she breathe through her mouth. She started to resent Russ for the pain she was causing her. Once Russ grabbed onto her tooth for support and Leila bit down on her hand, just to keep it from clawing into her tongue again. She later felt bad and let go again.

Eventually, she passed the last house, entering a path stomped onto a grassy field. Only the white moon revealed her presence now and she couldn’t feel the black moon staring down at her either. Five minutes later, she collapsed to her knees at the edge of the water and spat Russ into her hands before passing her into the river. Blood dripped from her lip, hers and Russ’s.

Russ’s face smiled up at her, bobbing back and forth as she resisted the current. “I’m free. I’m actually free!”

Leila washed out her mouth with river water. It wasn’t exactly fresh but not as stagnant as the bowl water.

“I don’t know what to say,” Russ continued, “I haven’t been able to breathe like this… ever.”

“I can imagine how it felt.”

“I’m sorry if I hurt you. I tried to hold back.”

“I know.” Her full strength would’ve done more damage than a few tears under her tongue. Leila always wore tight clothes, to slim down her silhouette and not get in the way of crawling through small apertures. She took off her shirt to give her lungs a little more room to expand and let herself fall back onto the rocky river shore, not caring that the water lapped at her side. It was cold and she was drenched in sweat already anyway.

“Would you…” Russ began, “Would you mind following me along this river? You’re my first friend and I’d like to not lose sight of you just yet.”

Leila focused on breathing.

“In fact, I’d like you to never return to that city. I’d hate for something like this to happen to you.”

“I’ve grown up there all my life. I know how to survive there.”

“I’m sure that’s what all of them thought.”

“I’m a thief, Russ. Not a farmer, not an artisan and I’m no good in a fight either. Stealing and staying hidden is all I’m good at. Where are my skills useful if not here?”

Russ swam as close to the water’s edge as she could while keeping her gills submerged. Her hand could not touch Leila but her arm reached out anyway. Leila put her hand into the water and Russ snuggled into her palm.

Leila looked up at the moon as her breathing quieted. She could feel the awareness of hundreds of bugs in the grass but it was faint and didn’t bother her. One sensation seared into her side though. It was vision that poked her. An owl was eyeing her from a distance. The awareness of owl’s was sharper than most animals. Leila begged it to move on already in her thoughts. The better an awareness understood her, the stronger her telt reacted. If it could recognize her as a living being, if it could read her expression, if it knew who she was. This owl’s gaze had too much intelligence behind it. When Leila reacted, it was already too late. The owl swooped her, slapping a binding rune onto her arm in a practiced maneuver. These things only took effect on people sufficiently exhausted. And Leila was.

She flung Russ down the river. “Swim! Swim with the current, you’ll be faster!”

“No!” Russ tried to swim back to Leila.

They may have lost sight of her in the city but they knew she would be heading to the water. Leila tried to tear off the paper with the rune on it, but it had already taken enough control of her to not let her do that. Binding runes were used to restrain others. Usually, it would need a certain prop to work, a rope or something like that. But Leila’s flexible body could be twisted and contorted into a knot all on its own. Each blessing had its downside. She fought against it but could only slow the process. She rolled along the grass as invisible forces entangled her limbs around her body until Leila couldn't free them anymore by herself.

“Go!” Leila pleaded one last time. Russ ducked under the water.

But Leila knew they had already given up on Russ. She was their new trophy. And they’d be here to collect her soon.

10 notes · View notes