No, he assured her, touched by her concern. He was a sturdy creature, and it would take a great deal more than Ray's gentle grip to harm him. You may hold tighter, if you need to. Because he was going to be making some movements soon which were not as slow and measured as was his usual way.
Peaceful and thoughtful Hadama might be, but he was also a child of the ocean and he was as capable of efficient hunting as most of the sea's denizens. He herded the crab with deliberate use of light, shadow, and his own muscular bulk until it had nowhere left to go.
And then he darted forward with a powerful flex of his tail. As it tried to dodge the crab entered the 'bubble' of water that he used to push back against the pressure of the depths and the sudden disorientation made it freeze.
Which made it easy prey to the mermanta's knife. The blade splintered shell and slid into the creature's head between its eye stalks while he used his free hand to find off the wildly snapping claws. Almost as soon as he plunged the knife home he withdrew it and thrust himself - and Ray - back and out of range of the creature's death throes. Their meat helps the sick recover faster, he offered to Ray, a memory from his own family surfacing. My mother fed me giant crab when I had fevers as a child.
Peaceful and thoughtful Hadama might be, but he was also a child of the ocean and he was as capable of efficient hunting as most of the sea's denizens. He herded the crab with deliberate use of light, shadow, and his own muscular bulk until it had nowhere left to go.
And then he darted forward with a powerful flex of his tail. As it tried to dodge the crab entered the 'bubble' of water that he used to push back against the pressure of the depths and the sudden disorientation made it freeze.
Which made it easy prey to the mermanta's knife. The blade splintered shell and slid into the creature's head between its eye stalks while he used his free hand to find off the wildly snapping claws. Almost as soon as he plunged the knife home he withdrew it and thrust himself - and Ray - back and out of range of the creature's death throes. Their meat helps the sick recover faster, he offered to Ray, a memory from his own family surfacing. My mother fed me giant crab when I had fevers as a child.
