There was something looking at Celia beneath the water. Something big. The sheer mass of its presence dwarfing the cave several times over. As if she was looking at a leviathan of the depths crammed into the tiny pool, staring at her. Watching her. Studying her in silence that stretched beyond uncomfortable and straight into unnerving. Very, very unnerving. Like it’s very gaze was skinning her alive. Leaving her feeling claustrophobic, like the cave was shrinking around her, the air turning hostile and burning its way into her lungs. Every cell of every part of her being betraying her to this fathomless thing.
And just as quick as it had began, it ended. Pressure ceased. The mountain crushing force vanished. She could breath, she could see, she could think. If only in the simplest manner. Her mind too distraught to come up with anything remotely complex as she fell to her knees, coughing, struggling to come back to herself.
The giant beneath hardly seemed to notice.
"Do you YiELd? WoUlD YoU FIghT¿ iS dEaTH TOo MUch?" It screamed, every word carrying the weight of an ocean and slamming against her consciousness.
She drowned in it. Felt the questions in their totality. Meaning searing itself into her mind, and leaving no room for interpretation. Images of violence and struggle flashing before her. Lives lived and ended in breathes. It was more than she had ever experienced before, more than she could handle. A flood reaching for her, demanding an answer.
It should have broke her.
"N-no." She choked out, barely able to even lift her head.
And that seemed to please the thing causing it to release a less than gentle hum. It’s presence growing just a bit dimmer. Like it wasn’t as close as it had just been.
"GoOD! YOu sHaLL Be FerTiLe GRouNd¡ a VessEL oF StrIpEs aND bLooD! TAKE!¡"
This time Celia didn’t just drown, she was dragged to the deepest depths. Submerged in meanings she didn’t know, wouldn’t and couldn’t want to know. Something beyond her understanding forcing its way in, clawing past her eyes and mind and mouth. Forcing her to drink it, to take all of whatever it was/wasn’t in all at once.
Choking.
Choking.
Choking.
Designation: Newspawn hybrid (Beyondling)
Classification: (lesser) Feastling - Drowning
Slots open: 3
1: locked, 2: Null tongue, 3: These teeth unending, 4: empty
Modifications available: none
Warning issued(!): GIVE (rEsISt) IN!
Celia came to with a startled gasp. Hands flying to her neck, the phantom sensation of choking lingering for a second longer before it faded away. Her hands lingered for a second more. Still and shaking, but she couldn’t remember why. Other than she had just been in the presence of something terrifying.
Maybe.
Whatever it was, she couldn’t remember it. What it looked like, or smelled like, or if she’d even seen it all. She just knew that it was big, and that it had been here. And for some reason that ‘wasn’t' as utterly horrifying as it should’ve been. Which she really wasn’t sure how to feel about.
So, it went into her growing bin of things not to think about. A matter to be investigated later, if at all. Probably never. As just thinking about… whatever it was, sent an unnerving shiver down her spine.
It also reminded her of how hungry she was. Which was strange, as she didn’t remember being all that hungry before this. Especially considering Jonas had let her eat what seemed to be the entirety of his dinner. Which, unlike her first meal in this place, she hadn’t wholly digested yet. Or in a manner of seconds. A minor improvement made utterly moot by the fact that her stomach was outright demanding she go out and put something else in it as well.
A request that, before talking to Jonas, she might’ve been more hesitant about even considering. But now - now she had the very strong impression that if she wanted to live then she was going to have to get used to being a partial monster. And right now, that meant getting some grub.
So, in spite of her own significant misgivings, Celia went out in search of food. Returning to the cavern once again.
… and finding it completely rearranged.
Where once it had been a stone tomb with a giant tree punching its way in through the roof, it was now a jungle made of stalagmites and stalactites. Massive earthen teeth that jutted up and out of both the floor in ceiling like gnashing fangs. And within the gaps between was an entirely new ecosystem. A labyrinth of things that crawled to and fro, sliding between the cracks and ever on the hunt for food.
Much like Celia herself was. Searching for food, that is. So, after a moment spent reorganizing her thoughts, Celia stepped out into the changed cavern. A plan already brewing in her mind. And by a plan, she really just meant a repeat of her last hunting trip.
Minus all the time she wasted. And that began with finding a good spot and good traffic. Which as it turned out was a bit harder than she thought. As now that she was actually on the ground almost every living thing here was out of sight somewhere, or smelled exactly like the dirt beneath her feet. Making the prospect of actually finding a meal more than a little difficult. Still, Celia continued her search, scanning her surroundings with all the vigilance of a dog looking for a free meal.
Despite that, it took her far too long to realize she should’ve been looking up rather than straight ahead. Unfortunately, she chose the worst time to look up.
As, right above her head was a predator looking down. She barely caught a glimpse of it before it jumped at her. Glossy orange eyes staring at her with a feral hunger as the distance between them evaporated. Three grasshopper like legs slamming into the ground in front of her, as a parallel set did the same, trapping her beneath it in an instant. A grotesque second face above her head. Made up of a singular maw of triangular black teeth, and a second set of orange eyes.
Very vulnerable, very tasty looking eyes.
Celia’s tongue shot out from her mouth, practically of its own accord. Teeth sprouting out from it nigh instantly, turning the purple pseudo-limb into a makeshift whip. One that slammed right into the eye of the monster above her. Sensitive organ bursting in a spray of green.
She realized too late that it was acid. It’s properties strong enough to burn minor holes into the rock surrounding them. Acid that her extended tongue was immediately showered in. The green substance coating it in a matter of seconds.
Celia expected pain to follow. Instead, her tongue withered away. Literally melting down to almost nothing without sensation. And growing back to how it was before seconds after. Just in time for the giant insectoid monstrosity to kick her while she wasn’t looking and send her flying into one of the earthen walls surrounding them.
It, unsurprisingly, felt like she just got hit by a team going full speed down hill. Which, she was pretty sure, should’ve killed her, or at least broken a few bones. But it didn’t feel like anything was broken.
Yet.
And that yet got a lot closer when the vaguely grasshopper shaped monster ran at her. It’s nine legs moving at a frantic pace. Springing in a disjointed sync towards her. Fast enough that she didn’t have the time to even consider dodging. So she jumped right back at it. Ignoring the pain that bloomed in her side as she did so. And aiming her claws up at the grasshoppers torso.
Only for those claws to slide right off of it. Brain barely catching up to that fact before another kick slammed into her from below. Something like a knee connecting with her gut. Knocking the air out of her lungs a second before the monsters mouth closed around her head. Teeth clamping around her shoulders, as the world became dark.
Her body responded on instinct. Teeth sprouting from her skin. Slipping out between her scales, and out of her flesh bound skirt. And they didn’t stop growing. No, they multiplied and multiplied without end. Teeth growing larger and sharper, teeth growing out of teeth, and teeth growing out of her hair. Within seconds Celia had become a living pincushion inside the grasshopper’s mouth.
Which dealt about as much damage to it as it did to her.
Both of them reeled back in pain. The giant insect doing its best to spit her out, while she did her best to stop growing teeth. To stop her flesh from festering more and more pain within itself. It was as if her skin was covered in razors. Deeper, like her nerves had razors in them, cutting and ripping her apart from the most fundamental level.
They were both unsuccessful. Celia because she no longer knew how her own biology worked. And the giant grasshopper because she was stuck, and growing more stuck with every passing second.
Which eventually sent her regret filled attacker into a panic. It’s mighty legs throwing it about in an attempt to dislodge her from its mouth. But it only made things worse, pushing the multitudes of teeth she was growing further into its vulnerable insides, and causing a flood of blood to flow over her.
Celia was barely conscious by that point. Her every sense consumed by pain and a growing itch that she couldn’t relieve.
She didn’t even notice when her chitin shelled prison stopped moving. Not until all the teeth growing out of her skin stopped growing that is. After that came the torturous process of removing them. Which was a mix of ripping the teeth free from her skin - a process made somewhat easier by the fact that they were all very firmly stuck in the corpse of her latest victim - and plentiful screaming.
But eventually, She was free. And way hungrier than she remembered being.
Fortunately, she had something for that.
So, the teeth modifier was more literal than expected. Way more teeth than just those in her mouth. Also, it seems like the null tongue modifier is doing some interesting things, not just stretchy, but able to regenerate. Wonder if she can sprout more tongues just like teeth?
Teeth are cool.