in the depths

Honu wasn’t usually one to swim into the darkest depths below. She preferred the superficial waters, where there was branches and kingdoms of coral for miles beyond. It was plentiful for her store and her personal collections.

But when her eye caught on the curious gleam below, she couldn’t help but be allured. After all, she wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to add to her collection!

But swimming down far below, feeling the air get harder to breathe, Honu believed she made a mistake.

But the glow seemed so close, just right within reach of her talons.

So she paddled and swam, bending with the currents and trying to steady her pounding heartbeat as she followed the light down below. The ground was barren around here, perhaps not the deepest the ocean was but certainly the deepest she had gone. Underwater volcanos shot around her in bursts of bubbles, and she steered her wings to avoid them.

Only when she barely balked away from a flurry of bubbles did the glow finally resume above her eyes. While the volcanos steady to a quieter rhythm, Honu looked up.

In front of her were three large underwater boulders, nestled into the ground. And resting on the largest one was a dragon with protrusions that let out the shimmering amethyst glow, shining in the depths.

Honu backpedaled a little, meeting the dragon’s eyes. She was startled into finding a blinding blue glare staring at her, the creature holding still.

But she wasn’t expecting the dragon’s expression of fear to be matching her own.