You have to do a double-take, your eyes still adjusting to the dim interior of the plastic shelter. Sure enough, though, you can make out the movement of tentacles all around you, extending from a large mass slumped against the opposite wall. Its eyes appeared to be larger than your whole body, and they were clearly glaring at you. With a shiver, you start swimming backwards, wanting to get out of there as soon as you could. As you near the seaweed-covered opening, however, you instead bump into something soft and somewhat sticky that twitches as you make contact. Your eyes widen, but before you can swim away, the appendage wraps itself tightly around your waist, squeezing your midsection uncomfortably. Despite your struggling, you find yourself moving toward the head of the octopus.
"Well well... What sort of delicious morsel has Splash brought to me..." The voice you hear is male, but it sounds ragged and creaky, like it's the oldest thing you've ever heard. You spend less time thinking about what he sounds like than what he actually said, though, pounding on the tentacle to try and get it to let you go. "Don't bother, little mermaid," the ancient voice said. "I've eaten fiercer fish than you, and they only gave me a couple scars. Just calm down... what was it Splash named you? Coral? What a pretty little name for such a pretty little pet."
This catches your attention, as you stop your useless struggles to look at him in confusion. "How... How did you know what Splash called me? We were on the other side of the tank, and he sure didn't tell you..."
You're almost positive that the octopus is smirking, despite thankfully not being able to see any sort of mouth. "I know a lot of things, Coral. Not only who you are... but what you were." With this remark, you feel the tip of the tentacle slide against a slit in your scales, causing you to shiver as your face turns red. "I'd feel sorry for you, but I'm sure you look much better this way. I'm sure you're just as delicious, regardless."
You panic once again, shouting at him as you struggle to get free. "What... What are you doing? Who are you? I... I though Marisa said there weren't any predators in here! Please don't! Please don't!"
"Ug, how I wish you were actually talking so I could shut you up. I'm not going to eat you unless you make me, as tempting as you're already making it. Now stop moving and maybe I'll answer some of your questions." He gives you an "encouraging" squeeze, and you stop, looking at him fearfully but also curiously. "Good girl, Coral. Now, let me introduce myself, properly. My name is Alexander Coriander Lalonde. I was made into a familiar by Marisa's mother long before you were born. The damn witch... Regardless, I've since learned to use the tank's magic for my own purposes. You see, these cages are enchanted so that if any nons look at them, they won't notice any fish acting weird. It took some doing, but I managed to cloak myself in a modification of that magic. If her daughter ever knew about me, she's more or less forgotten by now." Again, you feel like he's smirking, despite no view of his mouth. "You're not too fond of the younger witch, are you, Coral?"
Nodding, you frown. "She turned me into a mermaid then threw me into a tank like a goldfish. Yeah, she's not one of my favorite people right now."
"Then may I make a suggestion? If you made me your familiar, we would both be stronger for it. We could escape and I bet I'd be able to help turn you back into what you're supposed to be."
You think on this a moment. Marisa definitely didn't give you the same chills this octopus does, but he actually seems like he wants to help you, whatever his alterer motives are. You quickly decide to...
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