#AND NOW THE COLOR CONSISTENCY IS OFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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🏝️Time on Island: Day 43

“Io! Are you there?”

After a lengthy pause, he peeked around a rock, his expression reflecting a mix of apprehension and the sheepishness of someone caught red-handed. The sight made me burst into laughter.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟

“Thank you for the fruit, and the fish… and this weird seashell. You always find the strangest things,” I said, half-laughing as I held up the smooth, iridescent shell that had caught my attention. Its colors shimmered in the rising sun, reflecting hues I had never seen before.

A hint of a smile tugged at his lips, but there was no warmth in it. “You have become quite a capable little human on your own” he remarked, the words laced with something I couldn't place.

“Still couldn’t catch a fish though” I murmured.

Ioannis floated at a distance but no longer hid behind the rock. I suspected it was more than him respecting my space. In the stillness that followed, a wave of regret washed over me.

“I shouldn’t have called you a monster,” I said, my voice softer now. “I was angry and scared…”

He met my gaze, his expression unreadable. “My kind inspire fear for a reason,” he replied, the weight of his truth hanging between us. There was no malice in his voice, only acknowledgment of the nature of his being.

I settled into the soft sand beside my gifts, searching for kinder yet truthful words to express myself.

“I think in my fear, I minimized you to just one part of yourself, and I’m sorry for that.”

He tilted his head slightly. “It is understandable, and you owe me no apology. I am not like you, and harbor instincts that can be frightful to your kind.”

“I get that,” I responded, still searching for the right words. “But I can’t ignore that you…you saved me.”

He looked away, the shadows in his eyes deepening. “Perhaps I saved you for selfish reasons, to possess what I find intriguing. Doesn’t that make me a monster in a different sense?”

“I’m not sure what it means, truthfully, but I don’t think you’re a monster,” I shrugged. “You could’ve left me to fend for myself. You didn’t have to stick around and keep me company. Honestly, if you hadn’t been here with me, I might not even be alive anymore…”

“Maybe I should have—” he began quietly, unable to meet my gaze, trailing off.

“Let me drown?” I asked.

His gaze snapped to me, very clearly offended. “Do you think so little of me?”

“Not at all, but you seem regretful,” I replied.

“Little human,” he murmured. “I cannot ignore this instinct to protect you, and I am troubled by it. Your presence has become… important to me,” he confessed softly.

Another moment of silence passed, and I could see his struggle.

“You make it so easy to forget what I am.”

“Well, you kept your promise so far,” I said softly, my heart racing as I met his gaze. “So, you must care a little?”

A long pause filled the space between us, fraught with unspoken emotions. Just as I felt the moment stretch too long, he drew closer, the gentle warmth of his voice shocked me.

“I do not wish to be a monster, Imogen. Not to you.”

And this time, I truly believed him.

˚꩜🐚🌊🔱🫧꩜˚

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