Entwined - 𝕊𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕝𝕖 𝕊𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕥 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪

Entwined

"Wake up, sleepyhead."

Nava smiled, but the torpor induced from digesting the fish he'd eaten was not letting go of him easily.

"Come on, Nava." He felt a finger poke his ribs. "Will you ever learn not to stuff yourself?"

"Maybe." He finally opened his eyes to see a pale blue Mer maiden smiling at him. "With you to help me." He grinned and gestured lazily. "Come here, woman. Give me a kiss." She came to him readily, as she always did.

Nava usually didn't get to the river till mid or late afternoon, and he couldn't get away every day. He hadn't seen her for four days, so today he'd skipped eating, done a swift, slipshod job of mucking out the barn and left. When he'd arrived to find her absent, he knew she'd be back soon, so he'd filled his empty belly then settled in their nest to wait. The drowsiness of digestion sent him to sleep and that was the state she'd found him in.

While both had human-like torsos, her Mer tail was like a fish. His Naga tail was like a snake, marked with a series of diamond patterns in various shades of brown. Nagas had a bad reputation. There were rumors of them killing and even eating other races, and some were true. They were called vicious, barbaric and heartless - and many were - but she trusted him.

Nava's dark skinned torso was longer and slimmer than the other villagers. While he couldn't breathe underwater like a Mer, he could hold his breath for long periods and was an excellent swimmer. None of the others in the village liked the water but he didn't care. He preferred being alone, except for her.

Nerice had been a slave in a Mer settlement in the sea beyond the river's mouth. One day she saw her chance to escape and fled upriver alone. The water level in the river had been high from the spring rain, making it easy for her to travel farther than she would have otherwise. Hearing splashing, she'd gone under the bank to hide.

The fast water in his favorite pool was invigorating as Nava hunted fish in the eddies. Chasing a carp into the water beneath the undercut bank, he had run right into Nerice. She had been cautious of him, but he had been gentle with her. Eventually she had allowed him to tend to her scrapes and bruises and it hadn't taken long for caution to give way to easy companionship.

Both knew that if another Naga discovered her, it would be disastrous. Since the others villagers avoided water, they fashioned a nest on a small island in mid-stream. There, hidden under the overhanging boughs of a willow tree, Nava scooped out a hollow and lined it with moss. It held enough water to keep her comfortable, but was shallow enough for him to lie in.

More than once, Nava considered finding somewhere safer for Nerice, but he didn't want to be parted from her. Nerice was the only person that loved him just as he was. She appreciated him and never lied to him.

Now he held her close, weaving his clawed fingers into her damp azure curls as he indulged in a long, passionate kiss. When he finally pulled away, she lay on his chest, and his tail wrapped hers.

"I hoped you'd come today, but not until later," Nerice told him, playing with a strand of his straight black hair. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too. That's why I came as early as I could."

Through the rest of the day they raced, wrestled and played hide and seek along the banks. When they grew tired, they rested in their nest under the canopy of the willow, talking, cuddling and kissing as the day wore away.

All too soon the position of the sun told him he had to go. He held her for as long as he dared and their parting embrace, as always, held a certain desperation. Her tears wet his chest as he took one last kiss before releasing her. As he slid away, he heard her swim off toward the nest.