Archive of Our Own

There is something dangerous lurking in the forest.

Anyone who's grown up around here, like Sapnap and his two friends, Dream and George, has been taught it from a young age. The river nearby, which flows in wide, elegant curves, may look and be stable upstream, but it's hiding a dark, dangerous secret.

Just outside town, in the middle of the woods, the river… changes.

In just a few feet, it goes from ninety feet across to six, three in some cases, and because it cannot spread out like before, it has to go somewhere else. It has to be deep, and go downward, which makes it turbulent and deadly. That section, the deadly and dangerous section, is called a 'strid'…

…and no one has ever survived falling into it.

Which makes the woods across the strid a bad place to get caught during a thunderstorm.

With the pounding torrent of rain all around him and the thunder rattling overhead, Sapnap can barely keep his balance while running after his friends. He's shaking, too, the chill of the storm sweeping into his hybrid skin and freezing him to his core, breaking his concentration a little as he skids on the rocks.

Up ahead, he watches Dream leap the gap in the rocks, George right behind him, both of them with their wings half-open for balance. He speeds up, unwilling to be left behind despite his own lack of wings, and really wishes he had his shoes off and talons out so he could cling to this rock easier.

He reaches the edge only moments later and bunches his muscles, using his momentum from his running start to prepare to launch himself across the strid, but just as he throws himself forward, his foot slips on the slick rocks below him.

"DREAM!" Sapnap screams, panic spiking inside him as he falls forward, claws scrabbling desperately at the far bank. "GEORGE! HELP!"

Dream and George both turn toward him but they're so far away and these rocks are slippery and he can't get a good grip with his claws and he's falling and they won't reach him in time and-

He slips again. He falls. The dark, cold water rushes up to meet him, inescapable death lurking below, and he plunges directly into it.

Sapnap screams, or, tries to scream as the freezing water closes over his head, the current instantly grabbing his body and yanking him deeper so fast he barely has time to process it, fighting desperately to stay afloat. Words flash through his mind. This river, the strid, has a 100% fatality rate - no one falls in and survives, not with how deep and turbulent and-

He shakes his head violently, trying to jostle that thought out of his brain as he  kicks his legs out and swims for the surface, his lungs screaming for air. Dream and George are still up there, surely if he can make it to the surface one of them can pull him out, right?? Right?

The water grabs at him with icy-cold claws as he swims, trying to drag him deeper, but Sapnap fights it eventually cresting the top of the surface and bursting out into open air, dragging in a large, desperate breath. He barely gets a moment to breathe, before the rushing water yanks him under again, no matter how hard he scrambles for the banks.

His head cracks painfully against the bank of the river, and Sapnap tries to grasp onto it, remembering with a sick rush of horror that the banks are undercut. He has to get to the surface to get out, and the speed and violence that the river is moving will not let him get to the surface.

Panic thrums through his core as Sapnap paddles furiously regardless, trying not to let terror overwhelm him in the cold darkness. Somewhere nearby, light flashes, and Sapnap instantly throws himself at it, swimming as fast as he possibly can toward the glitter in the distance, toward what is hopefully the surface.

Sapnap tries to cry out as the river throws him into one of it's rocky banks, pain instantly spearing into his back and chest from his shoulder as it collides with the rough, rocky surface of the river's bed and banks. Distantly, the light flashes again, a flicker of electrifying green in the nearly-black water, too dark to see through. He shivers, chill rushing through him, but keeps fighting, desperate to get toward that light and get out of-

The water flips him over and cracks his head into the side of the riverbank, sending a scattering of stars across his vision followed by that odd green flash again, and Sapnap feels his body go limp with pain, no matter how much he tries to force it to move.

He's going to die down here in the freezing darkness surrounded by nothing but water and cold and-

Something grabs his leg.

Something that is not the water around him grabs his leg, then squeezes it tightly.

Sapnap looks down, and screams.

There's a thing clinging to him, some kind of alligator-fish-centaur-human-thing, holding his leg in its webbed hand and staring at him. The moment he makes eye contact with it it smiles, showing off rows upon rows of sharp, pointy teeth, and he panics, kicking desperately at it and looking around in the darkness, desperate to escape.

The thing has a grip like iron though, and it yanks him closer to it, grabbing him with another webbed hand and yanking him toward its wide, sharp, grinning maw.

Please don't play with your food. Sapnap thinks, staring down those sharp, sharp teeth and knowing that they're about to lunge for him and rip into his throat and tear him in half and then eat whatever's left of him and no one will find his body because-

The creature yanks Sapnap so close that his ahead bangs against its surprisingly warm, scaly chest, and he barely gets a moment to react before it's swimming off, him pressed tightly against it. He squirms at first, fighting to escape and find the surface because he's running out of air, but in response to that a powerful, webbed and clawed hand closes around his head and pins it, forcing him to stop moving.

He goes limp after that, too tired and cold and without enough air to fight back, terrified of dying here in the dark and the cold but with no other choice, dark spots clouding around his vision and death closing in.

Befrore unconsciousness can take him, however, the creature suddenly bursts from the water and lands on something soft, promptly depositing Sapnap on whatever it is and, before he can react, using one of it's powerful, webbed hands to thump his chest, hard.

Instinctively, Sapnap coughs, his chest rattling as he fights to breathe, twisting to the side and retching up water, coughing over and over as his lungs clear themselves. He heaves for breath, barely registering the fact that the creature has crawled up onto whatever they're sitting on, too busy getting air in and water out.

Finally, when he gets his breath enough that he's not struggling for air anymore, Sapnap looks up and around himself, trying to figure out where he is.

It's some kind of... underwater cave, a little pocket below the earth, lined with luminous mushrooms and carpeted with a thick moss, which has small white flowers growing in it. When Sapnap holds still for long enough, he can even feel a breeze, which must be coming from some sort of crack in the rocks far above him.

He shivers again, his body trembling at how cold it is (he appears to have lost both his jacket and his shoes while almost drowning), and eventually his eyes flick to the thing that grabbed him, causing him to shiver even more.

Whatever it is is long, twice his height, with a human face, arms, and torso, but, starting where the hips would be on a human, it becomes half-scale-half skin, somewhere between a centaur and a fish and an alligator, with four webbed feet, short enough not to be in the way while swimming but long enough that the creature can probably walk on them over land, and a long, muscular tail covered in thick, armored scales. There are also glowing green stripes and spots dotting it's sides, which must've been the flickering green Sapnap saw earlier, and, if he has to admit it, the stripes and spots are really really pretty, like green stars scattered across the creature's skin.

He looks back up at its face after a long moment, and before he can stop himself, blurts, "What are you?"

 — — —

Up until the moment a glowing orange creature half of his size fell directly into his territory, Sam's day had been incredibly mundane.

He'd spent his morning cleaning his nest out, gathering some food to eat, making sure that there's no trash in his section of the strid, and overall doing his daily chores and going about his life. He'd even been considering heading up to the surface world for a bit - there's a quiet section of the strid surrounded by berry bushes, and he'd quite like some of those before they shrivel in the summer heat - but as he was swimming upstream to find them, he'd seen orange lights glowing in the distance and gotten distracted.

Which leads him to right now, sitting on the little stone ledge that leads up into his den, and looking at the scruffy, soaked humanoid he's just saved from drowning.

He's small, about half of Sam's size, maybe a bit smaller, with strange and beautiful black hair, pale skin, a handsome set of small black horns on his head, a long, whip-thin tail that stretches down to the middle of his legs, and gorgeous orange markings across his skin that glow softly, much like Sam's own.

Secretly, Sam had been hoping that the glowing lights meant there was another member of his species nearby, but honestly? Looking at the strange and beautiful oddity before him… Sam's not exactly disappointed about this outcome either.

What does disappoint him, at least a little bit, is the way that the man before him is staring at him with eyes filled with confusion and fear.

He glances down Sam's body for a long moment, clearly horrified, before looking back up at Sam's face, meeting his eyes, and blurting a startled, "What are you?"

Sam blinks a little. Right. He forgets sometimes that landwalkers don't see river mer very often, and therefore aren't familiar with what they look like. It's actually a little endearing - as well as being mildly annoying.

"I'm Sam," He responds, shifting a little so he can lay on his side instead of crouching slightly. "And I'm a river mer!" He meets the landwalker's eyes again, smiling warmly at him. "You?"

To his disappointment, the landwalker gets one look at Sam's razor-sharp teeth and flinches backward, scrambling a little on the mossy ledge and staring at them with massive eyes, the kind of look one would give a particularly dangerous fish - a look filled with pure terror.

…which does hurt Sam's feelings a little, and he subconsciously droops, letting out a small sigh at the same time. "I'm- um- I'm not going to hurt you," He tries to explain, twitching his fins and closing his mouth to hide his fangs. "I just saw you fell in, and I… I know you can't breathe in water and you looked like you were drowning, I promise I'm not going to like… eat you, or something…"

"I'm- um- I'm sorry," The landwalker finally says, after a beat of silence, and when Sam meets his eyes again, he can tell that the remorse there is genuine. "My name's Sapnap."

Sapnap. Sam thinks, wonder bubbling up inside him at the name. It's an odd name, but a fascinating one at the same time, especially because no landwalker has ever told him their name before.

They've also never apologized. Usually they get ONE look at Sam's teeth and his claws and run screaming from the "river monster", they never tell him their name like this… this is… interesting, and it feels really, really good.

"Thank you," Sapnap murmurs, offering a smile to Sam, revealing blunt teeth and tiny, adorable fangs. "For, uh, for saving me like that." He looks at Sam curiously for a long moment. "Where, um, where are we?"

Sam smiles, proudly gesturing at the cave around him. "This is the entrance to my den," He explains, still smiling. "It's, er, it was a lot closer than the surface, and you were running out of air - I figured this was better than trying to get you up there and risking it."

Sapnap nods slowly, then smiles again, looking around at it with wonder, and though he looks as though he's calmed a bit, he's also shaking, and violently.

Oh. That's not good.

Sam doesn't know much about landwalkers, for obvious reasons, but he does know that they're not exactly built for swimming, especially in cold water. Sam himself has a nice, thick layer of body fat to keep himself warm, effective gills, a tail as powerful as an alligator's, and webbed fins and feet, he's designed for the water, but the landwalker in front of him… isn't.

Sapnap lacks gills and fins, and his tail is less than useless, whip thin and lacking the muscle necessary to help him keep himself steady in water as turbulent as Sam's home. Not to mention he's obviously freezing cold.

"Is there, um, is there a way out of here?" Sapnap asks after a long moment, shifting closer to Sam, which sends an unexpected flutter of delighted dragonflies through his belly and chest. He looks around at Sam's den curiously for a long moment, before looking back at the cold water with a shiver.

"Not directly from my den, no," Sam shakes his head apologetically, watching Sapnap shiver with a nervous feeling starting to bat away the bubbly feeling from before. "There's a few ways through the river, but I don't exactly remember where all of the air pockets are." And you're clearly on the verge of hypothermia. He thinks to himself. I don't think getting back in this freezing cold water is a good idea.

"Oh," Sapnap responds, and his teeth click a little at the same time from how hard he's shaking. "Um…. okay, that's…" He sighs slightly, wrapping his arms tighter around himself and obviously trying to warm himself up, still shivering. Sapnap looks at the dark, cold water for a long minute, before looking back at Sam with a slightly sheepish expression. "You wouldn't happen to have a, uh, a warmer part of your den, would you?"

"I do!" Sam nods, internally whacking himself with his tail at not thinking of this sooner. "My nest is pretty warm, follow me."

Sapnap looks a little startled, and Sam catches what looks like a tinge of pink along the landwalker's cheeks, which brings back the fluttery dragonfly feeling as he stands and shakes himself off, gesturing with his tail for the landwalker to follow.

The ledge they were sitting on doesn't have a very high ceiling - it tends to brush Sam's head if he sits all the way up, and his den gets worse before it gets better, the tunnel toward the chamber where he's made his nest is a bit of a tight squeeze, especially for him, which is why it lacks glowing mushrooms for light. The lack of light doesn't bother Sam, though, he can see just fine in the darkness, but he knows that landwalkers don't exactly have great night vision on top of being poor swimmers.

Sapnap is much smaller than him, though, and while Sam has to flatten himself to the ground and crawl through on his belly, the landwalker can easily fit through the tunnel, one hand gently holding the very end of Sam's tail to guide him through the darkness, until they both emerge into the largest chamber of Sam's den.

It's big enough in here for Sam to stretch all the way out, he could stand on his very hind legs and not even reach the ceiling (which is annoying when he has to switch out the glowing fungus on the stalactites up there), and he's also pretty sure that four of him could fit inside, lying flat on the ground, nose to tail. It's homey back here, the walls have little shelves carved into them that are filled with Sam's favorite scavenged items, as well as gathered food, a couple flasks of cool, fresh water, and, of course, his nest.

"This is really cool," Sapnap whispers, through chattering teeth, and Sam flushes again, a little bashful at the complement. He's never had someone else back here before - river mer tend to be territorial loners, and while Sam's been keeping his eyes peeled for a potential mate (someday), he's yet to find anyone.

"Th- thanks," He responds, ducking his head a little. "Um- my nest is just back here, in the alcove by the wall."

It's a very nice nest, in Sam's opinion, built on a dais of hand-smoothed stone that's located just above his collection of magma blocks, to keep it nice and warm. It's filled with plants, mostly, big, soft leaves and vines, but there are a few sloppily-woven blankets inside it as well (Sam's never been much good at weaving), and two very soft deer pelts that he made and tanned a while back.

He cleaned it out this morning, too, so it's especially soft and warm right now.

Sapnap stares at it with that same wondering, awed look that he looked at the rest of Sam's nest with, before looking up at him. "Are you… sure? I'm still pretty wet from the river, and I don't want to get water all over it."

"It's fine," Sam shakes his head, stepping past Sapnap so he can climb up and circle the nest a few times. "I go to bed soaked all the time, it'll dry."

"Okay," Sapnap nods, then carefully moves to climb up onto the dais and into Sam's nest, every movement stiff with cold. He manages to make it partway in before he stumbles a little, tripping over his own feet and landing with a chilly gasp on the warm blankets below him.

— — —

Sapnap sighs, pain from the cold still radiating into him, making his trembling muscles stiff. At least this place is much warmer than before, the soft blankets and strange, hand-woven pillows around him are far more comfortable than they looked, and, even though he's cold and exhausted, he still manages to burrow beneath one, wrapping himself up in it as tight as possible.

He can feel warmth beneath him, a soft, glowing sort of feeling that seeps through the stone and makes Sapnap think of magma blocks. He tries to burrow into it, but the cold clinging to him won't recede, only digs in, trying to absorb itself into his bones.

"Oh, rapids, you're still shivering," Sam whispers, and Sapnap looks up at that, a little confused, before he feels Sam drag another blanket overtop him, this one a little warmer and heavier than the first, but not by much.

Sam's hands are warm, though, and Sapnap unconsciously leans into them, despite something in the back of his mind reminding him that he's only known Sam for what, an hour? Trying to cuddle with someone, a river mer especially, that he barely knows is both awkward and embarrassing.

…and potentially dangerous, too, if Sam was lying about not wanting to eat him.

Sapnap's irrational side completely ignores all of those arguments, though, crawling closer to Sam despite his shivering. He feels the blankets around him shift slightly, and opens his eyes to discover that Sam's curled up a little, making a lazy yet protective circle all the way around him, like a big warm wall encircling Sapnap completely.

He shifts backward just a little more, only to bump into something large and scaly and warm, which startles him enough to open his eyes and realize he's lying against Sam's scaly creature half's belly plates. Sapnap flushes, pulling away a little. "S- sorry."

"'s okay," Sam smiles, just as flushed as Sapnap is. "I- um- I don't, er, I don't mind it, really."

Sapnap nods in response, to tired and cold to do anything else, before he leans back again and flops into Sam's underbelly plates, going limp and relaxed at the heat that radiates into the rest of his body from the contact. Immediately he feels better, his blaze half reaching out for the heat as the luminous markings on his skin start to glow.

"Your stripes are glowing," Sam comments softly, before lighting his own to match. "That's, uh, that's a good thing, right?"

"Yeah," Sapnap nods, eyelids half-closed from the comfort of being held. "They only glow like this if I'm relaxed or warm - the kinda strobe if I'm scared."

"You can't control them, then?" Sam sounds fascinated at that. "I mean, I can control mine - it's how river mers communicate, I figured that…" He trails off, sounding puzzled. "Sorry, I don't know much about landwalkers, but I figured whatever you're hybridized with did the same thing."

"That's why you were flashing them at me," Sapnap realizes, opening his eyes to look up at Sam. "But- uh- no, I can't control them. I'm half blaze and half demon."

Sam nods slowly, looking like he's thinking very hard about that for a moment, before he shifts slightly, checking Sapnap over with worried eyes and gentle hands. Sapnap tolerates it (actually, he quite likes it), because the feeling of huge, strong webbed hands ghosting along his back and sides, checking his ribs and head for injuries, feels really, really strange in an absolutely wonderful way.

"I should've checked you over for injuries before, sorry," Sam sighs, gathering Sapnap in his arms a little so he can shift him almost onto his back and get a better look at his legs. "You're not bleeding anywhere, are you? And does anything else hurt?"

"No, and just my head," Sapnap responds, lying across Sam's back and shivering at the sensation of scales. He's always wondered what it'd feel like to pet an alligator, and while Sam isn't an alligator, he's very scaly and somewhat the correct shape, which is pretty close, at least to Sapnap.

Sam checks his head for a few minutes, before Sapnap's body suddenly shudders, and a deep, rumbling noise thunders through him at the same time. He looks up at Sam, startled, but the river mer just looks endlessly relieved.

"It's a bellow," He explains. "We make it for, uh, reasons, but the sound is deep enough that a human with a brain injury can't hear it." He smiles. "Your brain's fine."

"…what reasons?" Sapnap asks curiously, watching Sam blush shyly, looking suddenly extremely flustered. He hides a smile. "…is it the same reason alligators make them?"

Sam blushes even harder, turning bright red. "Um… maybe."

Sapnap can't help it, he laughs, leaning against Sam's warm scales and watching the river mer squirm, flustered by Sapnap's realization. He swats Sapnap's shoulder gently with a hind foot after a moment, obviously still extremely flustered the longer Sapnap laughs. "Stop laughing at me! It was a good idea!"

"Okay, okay," Sapnap responds, restraining his giggles and leaning against Sam again, only to realize he's stopped shivering, finally warm again once he's pressed against Sam's side and held nice and securely like this. He sighs a little at that, obviously relieved that he's not going to die of hypothermia, but a little disappointed at the same time, because Sam is warm and a part of Sapnap wants to stay here curled up against him a little longer.

That makes guilt spike through him, though, remembering that Dream and George saw him fall, and they must be horrified, or worried sick, or thinking he's dead, which means as much as he likes this comfortable, warm spot beside a river mer twice his size, he really ought to get home.

— — —

"You alright?" Sam asks, looking at Sapnap anxiously, noticing, relieved, that the small landwalker is no longer shivering.

"Better," Sapnap responds, giving Sam a slightly sad smile. "I… I'm just worried about my friends, is all. They saw me fall in, and the strid has a 100% fatality rate." He gives Sam another smile, this one sheepish. "I kinda want to get back to them before they write me a death certificate."

"Oh," Sam can't help the disappointment that radiates through him at Sapnap's words, but he does his best to push it down and hide it. "Yeah, of course. I should get you back to the surface, then."

Sapnap nods, shifting back a little, and Sam has to resist the urge to grab him and hold him again so he won't do that. He doesn't really like the idea of Sapnap leaving, not when he's just barely gotten to know him, and when he looks like he fits perfectly in Sam's den, and when Sam has been looking for a companion for months, but he also doesn't want to keep Sapnap from his friends.

He also doesn't want Sapnap to be upset with him, as selfish as that might sound.

"I know how to get you out of here," He explains again, ducking his head as he stands and stretches, realizing a way he can keep Sapnap in his warm nest just a little longer, making his entire body fizz with a sort of electric warmth. "But you still have to, uh, breathe on the way up, and you can't hold your breath as long as I can."

"You said there were air pockets?" Sapnap reminds him, and Sam nods.

"There are, I just don't know the best way to get to each of them fast enough. He gives Sapnap a smile that he hopes comes off as reassuring, rather than slightly guilty. "Could you maybe stay here for a bit while I scout them out? I want to have a route planned before we get out of here?"

Sapnap tilts his head a little, looking confused for a moment, before he smiles and nods. "Okay." He shivers again, just slightly, and grabs one of Sam's blankets. "I'm still kind of cold."

Sam nods, then turns, carefully bounding over the side of the nest and out into his den, before he carefully squirms through the entrance and out toward the water.

As much as Sam likes his warm den, he'll always love the cold, fresh water of the river, and diving into it headfirst, feeling it coat his scales and skin, is a wonderful sensation that's like no other. He doesn't need to balance himself before taking off, slipping over the slick rocks and strange, twisting caverns that make up his territory with ease.

Sam slides through the water easily, counting to thirty in his head before looking up to examine the dark water around him. To his relief there's an air pocket above him, and he pokes his head out, still breathing water through the gills along his neck, to check that there's nothing dangerous inside it before he dives again, this time turning a little into a small, winding passageway. It's a bit darker than the previous tunnel, but there's a much larger air pocket inside, one that has a nice, solid draft feeding it from a crack in the rocks above.

There are two more air pockets nearby, before Sam runs into an issue. He's close to the surface, he can see the light of the world beyond the strid, but the space between the surface of the river and the final air pocket is almost ninety seconds of nonstop swimming, and Sam isn't sure Sapnap can hold his breath that long.

He floats for a moment, twitching his tail as he thinks, before he grasps the side of the stones in his hind legs and holds onto them tightly, wondering what to do. Maybe if he swims really fast, and Sapnap holds his breath really well… Or maybe he could make some kind of… portable air bubble? But Sam's not sure how to make that, and he doesn't think Sapnap would know either.

Sighing slightly, Sam glances toward the surface, then back toward the bubble, and shakes himself off. They'll just have to risk it.

Or I could keep Sapnap in my nice warm den forever where he's safe. The traitorously unreasonable part of Sam's brain whispers.

Stop that. The reasonable part of him responds.

He sighs again, then looks toward the surface, before realizing that he should really check out what's going on there before dragging Sapnap all the way up here.

Sam swims to the surface with one swipe of his tail, poking his head above water to see what's happening, and immediately regretting it when he realizes just how many landwalkers are on the banks of the strid right now. It's more than he's seen in a long time, gathered around nervously and huddling in little groups speaking to one another.

He's never been more grateful for his camouflage as he is right now, watching the group of people at the surface speak to one another and glance at his home. It takes him a moment to realize that two of the landwalkers, one with large, golden feathered wings and another with iridescent wings like a dragonfly's, are much more distressed than the others - the feathered one is crying.

Oh. Those must be the friends Sapnap was talking about. Sam's chest aches a little at the sight of them, they look absolutely devastated, and as much as the possessive and protective parts of him desperately want to keep Sapnap nice and safe in his den forever, he knows that he'd never be able to live with himself if he left two landwalkers in that level of devastated grief, thinking their friend is dead.

He dives again, resolving that he really should get Sapnap out of here, that's the right thing to do, even if it's not what he wants, even if that means maybe losing him forever. Sapnap might not want to come back here, after he almost drowned, and Sam has to accept that possibility, even though he doesn't want to. He wants Sapnap to come back, he wants to see the weird, funny little hybrid again, wants to know everything about him, but he has to be okay with Sapnap wanting to leave… forever.

Sam tries to take as long as possible to swim back to his lair, but all too soon he's hauling himself up onto the small landing ledge and crawling back inside, every movement as desperately and deliberately dragged out as possible, so he can give himself as much time as he can.

When he eventually reaches his main den, though, he spots Sapnap in his nest and his heart melts. The landwalker is curled up beneath as many blankets as Sam has in his nest, looking cozy and happy and warm, holding… something, but clearly delighted with whatever it is. He looks up when Sam comes in, though, his eyes lighting up and the glowing markings along his skin starting to shine brighter at the sight of him.

That's adorable. Sam thinks, momentarily forgetting about the grief of bringing Sapnap back to the surface at just how happy he looks, safe and sound down here.

"You ready to go?" He finally asks, padding over to Sapnap, then squints his eyes, trying to make out whatever the landwalker is holding. "Uh- what are you holding?"

"Oh," Sapnap startles a little, and then flushes bright red for a moment, opening his hands to reveal… teeth. Several of them, long and thick and blunted from days accidentally dropped at the bottom of Sam's nest. Those are his shed teeth. Sapnap is holding his shed teeth. "I found them at the bottom of your nest, under all your blankets…" He looks up at Sam, still flustered and turning redder. "You wouldn't, um, you wouldn't mind if I maybe, uh, if I maybe… kept them?"

"Kept them?" Sam asks, startled by the question and confused as well, although not exactly opposed to it at the same time. Is this some kind of landwalker trend he was unaware of? Keeping each other's shed teeth around for some reason? "I mean, yes, you can have them if you want, it's not like I'm using them, but… why, exactly?"

"They're really cool," Sapnap explains, still looking flustered, before he ducks his head. "I, um, one of my friends makes jewelry sometimes, and I thought they'd… make a neat, er, necklace or something."

Sam stares at him, still confused, but a part of him delights at the idea of Sapnap making one of those. Sure, maybe he can't keep this weird little hybrid in his den forever, but if Sapnap takes something of his with him… maybe it'd be like Sam is still with him, in a way. A disconnected and symbolic way, but a way nonetheless.

"Okay," He agrees, smiling at Sapnap, before he lets out a sigh and glances toward the door, still a little disappointed. "I- um- I'm ready to leave now, if you are?"

"I am," Sapnap nods, getting to his feet and carefully placing his handful of Sam's shed teeth in a small pocket of his pants, which buttons shut. He climbs out of Sam's nest carefully, then pads across the room, reaching a hand out to rest it on Sam's tail as Sam leads the way back to the entrance of his den.

Sapnap's hand stays on the tip of his tail just like it did when they both came in, holding on tight to guide him, and once Sam is out of the tunnel, he tugs his tail out in one go, which pulls Sapnap out with it. Sapnap squeaks in surprise but grins, slowly standing beside Sam and giving him an amused expression. "How many, er, how many air pockets are there until we get to the surface?"

— — —

"Four," Sam responds, nodding toward the rushing water beside him. "It's around thirty seconds between them all, but…" He sighs, then gives Sapnap an apologetic look. "The distance between the last one and the surface is… three times longer. Ninety seconds, if I'm swimming as hard as possible." He scuffs one alligator-like foot against the ground. "Can you… hold your breath that long?"

"I… think so?" Sapnap says, but it comes out as more of a question than a response. In truth, he has no idea how long he can hold his breath, but he knows that he's stubborn, and he held at least some breath while being taken here, so maybe he can. Probably. He can probably hold his breath that long.

Sam still looks worried, but he sighs, communicating to Sapnap that there's not another option and they'll just have to risk it, before he looks at the water for a moment, then back at Sapnap. "Alright," He finally mumbles, after a long moment. "I'm going to get in first, and then you can get in after me - when I tell you too. The currents aren't that strong right here, but you're not used to them like I am."

Sapnap nods, taking a step away from the water with a shiver. He really, really does not want to get in that water - he'd rather go back to Sam's den and crawl back into his nest, where it was warm and dry and not full of cold scary water filled with dangerous currents.

But Dream and George are probably worried sick. Sapnap tells himself, taking a breath as he watches Sam slip into the water, graceful as a gator, before poking his head back out and rolling over onto his back. And I can't stay down here forever…

"Climb in," Sam explains, twitching his tail around to create a small, protective circle in the water, and reaching a hand out for Sapnap to take.

Sapnap swings his legs over the side, feeling chill from the frigid water seep into them, and scoots forward with a shiver, until he can take Sam's warm hand. That makes him feel a little better, enough that he can carefully push off the side and slide, much less gracefully, into the water.

Sam is immediately around him, strong arms tugging him against his warm, scaly chest, and his pair of front legs encircling Sapnap's thighs to hold him as well. "Okay," Sam starts, and his voice rumbles up into Sapnap's chest delightfully. "I'm going to dive in a few seconds. Try and hold as still as you can, but let your body bend with mine, don't go rigid."

"Can I hold onto you?" Sapnap asks, trying and failing to stretch his arms around Sam's thick chest. He flushes at that. "S- sorry, nervous is all."

"You can try…?" Sam says, then grips Sapnap tighter. "But be really careful, the rocks here can be kind of rough and your skin isn't as thick as mine."

"Mhm," Sapnap hums, looking up at Sam nervously, before he flicks his tail up so he can coil it around Sam's wrist, where he can get at least some grip there, even though he's not sure it'll do anything. "Warn me before you dive?"

"I will," Sam nods, smiling, and then rubs his back once with gentle hands. "Take a deep breath, I'll count you down."

Sapnap does as he says, sucking in as deep a breath as possible, then listening, distantly, to Sam counting him down from three, before he shuts his eyes and is pulled beneath the surface.

The water is colder now that he's submerged, even with Sam's thick, warm chest, and Sapnap doesn't bother opening his eyes this time, just resting against the river mer and trying not to think about how completely and utterly terrifying this is. He's underwater, the currents are strong and fast and Sapnap is not a good swimmer. If he slipped away from Sam's grip now… he'd drown, he'd be yanked away and lost forever and-

A splash echoes around him, and the water gives way to cool, air, a pocket just big enough for Sapnap to fit his head into, filled with oxygen. He takes a deep breath, glancing down to see Sam holding his head up and watching him with a slightly dopey expression on his face, looking, well, looking frankly adorable beneath the surface. He's also glowing, bright enough for Sapnap to see, and that makes his heart warm, glad for the light.

Sapnap draws in another deep breath, then closes his eyes and leans back below the water, feeling Sam hold him tighter and pull him away from the air pocket, into a tighter, smaller section of cave. Panic spikes in Sapnap's chest at the claustrophobic confinement of the tunnel around him, but Sam only holds him tighter before he can squirm, gripping onto Sapnap with enough strength to hold him in place before he breeches the surface again.

This air pocket is much larger than the first, big enough for Sam to poke his head up into alongside Sapnap. He's still glowing, and when he sees Sapnap is breathing he smiles. "You alright so far?"

"Yeah," Sapnap nods, letting out a breath before looking down at the water below them both with a shiver. "Only two more air pockets, right?"

"Just two," Sam confirms, glowing a little brighter. "Then you'll have to hold your breath for a bit longer, and we'll be at the surface."

"Got it," Sapnap thinks, ignoring the nervous twist in his belly at the reminder that he'll have to hold his breath for a minute and a half. He smiles at Sam, though, giving him a nod to show he's ready, before he takes another deep breath and lies back against the river mer's chest.

The next two air pockets pass without incident, both are too small for both of them at once, but they linger in the last one for a long moment, Sapnap taking deep breaths and trying not to hyperventilate as he thinks about the next dive.

Just a minute and a half. Sapnap tells himself. Literally just a minute and a half. That's it. That's all this is. Only a minute and a half left.

Sam gently prods his side, and Sapnap looks down at the mer, who's giving him a nervous expression. "Ready?" He mouths, and Sapnap swallows and nods, taking another deep breath, before he lies back down, shuts his eyes, and waits.

Immediately Sam explodes through the water, swimming at three times the speed of before, his tail pounding against the current and every powerful muscle beside Sapnap thrashing as hard as it can, guiding them both out of the underwater cave and toward the surface above.

Sapnap's lungs start to ache and he resists the urge to squirm, squeezing his eyes tighter and clinging to Sam, hoping he can make it. He knows that if he passes out he'll probably be fine, they'll be at the surface in just a moment, someone can wake him back up, but that idea is still terrifying, and Sapnap does not want to pass out.

He opens his eyes weakly, watching the surface get closer, and terrifying dark spots dance across his vision, panic thrumming through him. He can't help it, he squirms this time, desperate to get to the surface, but Sam doesn't let him escape, only holding tighter to Sapnap, crushing him into his chest as he swims.

They breach the surface in one quick, effortless movement, just when the dark spots around Sapnap's vision have almost taken over, and he gasps for breath, his chest heaving the moment he's back in the open air. He barely registers the next few moments, but feels Sam twist in midair, followed by the rough thump of both of them hitting the mossy stones that make up the bank of the strid.

Sapnap can only lie there, still embraced in the warmth of Sam's chest, breathing heavily as the dark spots around the edges of his vision recede, the world coming back into focus around him. It's only when he eventually lifts his head does he notice the massive crowd of people gathered at the riverbank around him, all of them staring at him and Sam with a combination of shock and confusion in their eyes.

He scrambles off Sam, who flips over, giving the gathered crowd a nervous expression and flicking his tail around Sapnap protectively. Sapnap ignores that, though, staring at the people in front of him, the paramedics and the coroners and the park rangers, and beside them all, Dream and George.

Dream looks like he's been crying, his face tear-streaked and devastated, but George looks utterly baffled and almost offended, as though he's pissed about Sapnap's sudden arrival disrupting his grief.

"Sapnap," George says, after a long beat of silence. "What the fuck?"

— — —

Six months later…

"Is it done?" Sam asks excitedly, wiggling a little on the warm grass and watching as Sapnap emerges from the tunnel ahead of him, George and Dream right behind him, all three of them coated in dirt and dust.

"It better be done," George grumbles, shaking dust off his wings before coughing once and glaring at Sapnap and Dream. "Right?"

"It's done," Dream nods, smiling at him, then shakes out his feathers, creating a plume of dust that sends all four of them into a coughing fit. "I put the pistons in just the way you designed, Sam."

"Thank you," Sam nods, then looks over at Sapnap, who grins at him, reaching up so he can carefully unclasp the necklace he's wearing. It's a very simple design, although it looks incredible, made from Sam's shed teeth, each with a hole drilled through them and strung onto a silver chain. It always makes Sam smile seeing it, watching his boyfriend wearing something made from him makes him fizz with joy.

He's got his own gift now too, though, a small bracelet made from Sapnap's dropped claws, which he tends to shed everywhere, including all over Sam's den whenever he visits, and eventually Sam had enough to carefully weave into a sturdy bracelet, one that he knows will stay on while he's swimming.

Sapnap's necklace has a double-function, though, one that Sam's been working on ever since he designed this particular bit of redstone tech. The tunnel, painstakingly carved by the four of them (though Sam had to stop helping halfway through, because he kept tripping his boyfriend and two new friends with his tail), still needs a door to seal it from mobs and from snooping landwalkers, which is where the necklace comes in.

"Hang on," He tells Sapnap, stepping to the side of the wall to check that all the redstone is in position, before he removes the lever and watches the carefully constructed piston contraption close, leaving nothing but a blank wall of cool, slightly mossy stone in front of them, completely unassuming.

There's a small chip in the wall, though, one that opens into a small shelf, right where the lever used to be, and when Sapnap looks at him curiously, Sam gestures at it.

"In there," He explains. "Lay your necklace down on top of it."

Sapnap gives him another look as he carefully places the necklace down, then gasps in startled surprise as the tiny pressure plate there activates the piston door to open it. He stares, awed. "How did you…?"

"It's weighted exactly to the necklace," Sam explains, suddenly feeling shy at Sapnap's amazement. "I, um, I had Dream and George borrow it a couple times to get the weight correct - and it keeps the door open, there's another pressure plate inside that'll shut it from that end." He shuffles a little, finally offering Sapnap a nervous smile. "Do you, um- do you like it?"

"This is incredible," Sapnap finally says, running his hand over the wall and staring at all the redstone in wonder. His eyes are wide, fascinated, excited, and Sam can tell, from the way Sapnap's tail is twitching and his ears and pricked, he's too delighted for words.

In truth, Sam is also too delighted for words. This tunnel being finished means Sapnap can visit his den much easier and faster than before. Sure, Sam is going to miss feeling Sapnap cling to him as he swims through the currents and caverns of the strid, but he's not going to miss the churning anxiety of counting seconds between air pockets, or trying to fit awkward diving equipment through tight tunnels, or of his occasional nightmares of Sapnap being ripped away by the currents.

Instead, all his boyfriend has to do is place a necklace on a pressure plate, and walk down a tunnel into their home, safe and sound and alive, just the way he should be.

Sapnap grins at Sam after a moment, picking up his necklace, then gestures with his tail at the river. "Race you inside!"

Sam startles at that, baffled as he watches Sapnap bolt into the tunnel, the pistons sealing the door shut behind him, before his brain actually registers what Sapnap's just said and he takes off toward the water, sliding across mossy stone and directly into the strid without stopping.

"YOU'RE WELCOME!" George's voice is muffled by the splash and by the roar of the river around him, as is Dream's laugh, and Sam smacks his tail on the nearest stone, hoping they know he appreciates their help building the tunnel.

The water is cool and slick against Sam's skin and scales as he dives, powerful tail thrashing to keep him below the surface and dodging rocks so he can effortlessly weave into the tunnels toward his den. He bypasses the air pockets, having no need of them, and bursts onto the ledge of his lair in a single movement, rolling to his feet.

Sapnap's helped him carve the small tunnel from the landing ledge to his den to be a little wider, but Sam honestly still prefers the tighter fit, it means less drafts coming in while he's trying to nap with his sweet little nether hybrid boyfriend curled up against him. It is more annoying when he's trying to win a race, though, and it means he wastes precious seconds squeezing through the gap.

He scrambles out into his den, in the same moment that Sapnap bursts in from the small door on the other side of the room, breathless with laughter.

"You cheater!" He shouts, giggling and gasping for breath as he stumbles to Sam's side, landing with an 'oof' against his belly scales. "You made the latch down here take longer than the one up at the top!"

Sam grins, grabbing Sapnap's arm in one foot so he can roll over on his back and drag the landwalker onto his chest at the same time. He kisses Sapnap's head, then pats his back. "…Maybe I did."

Sapnap is still laughing at him, glowing bright orange at the same time, and looking endlessly happy wrapped up in Sam's arms, despite nearly losing their little race. He leans up a moment later so he can kiss Sam gently, then snuggles deeper against his chest.

"You asshole," He teases, voice affectionate and soft, ducking his head beneath Sam's chin with a long sigh. "You better cuddle me as long as I want. As payback. Then I'll consider forgiving you."

"Okay," Sam snickers, then noticing Sapnap's starting to shiver, slowly rolls over and gathers him up in his arms. "But we're cuddling in my nest, got it?"

"Yep," Sapnap responds, plopping his head on Sam's shoulders as Sam climbs into the nest and gently lays Sapnap on the soft blankets, curling up around him and letting out a long, satisfied sigh at the feeling of Sapnap burrowing into his belly plates.

His sweet little boyfriend is probably exhausted from working on the tunnel all morning, but he's safe now, safe and warm and comfortable and ready to sleep. He is right where he belongs, and now that he has a way to leave their den on his own, Sam allows himself to engage in his possessive inclinations a little more, tucking Sapnap close with his claws dug in slightly.

"You're not going anywhere," He warns, that wonderfully possessive feeling rocketing through him at the same time. "Not until I let you out."

Sapnap laughs, and the sound sends familiar dragonflies skirting through Sam's chest and belly. Sam loves that look. He knows Sapnap adores his possessive nature, which makes his heart sing, makes him feel normal and loved and comfortable and… a lot of things, as it turns out. It makes him feel so happy he can barely think.

He feels Sapnap lean over to kiss his scales, then watches the landwalker grin up at him. "You better not let me escape, then." He tilts his heads forward, eyes slipping shut, and his next words are so fond it makes Sam's heart melt. "You promise?"

Sam wraps his arms around Sapnap again and curls his tail tighter, burying them both in his warm blankets and furs, nice and cozy and safe and contained. "I promise."