Watching through the slats, Shiro Laos eyes on the land man for the first time. He had seen them before, smiling and laughing from the plastic pieces they left floating in the ocean but he had never seen one close before. This one was quite erratic and Shiro couldn’t work out his pattern of movement. The only thing he noticed was that he stayed away from the water’s edge sharply, like he was nervous about it. It seemed that the rumours were true.

Shiro kept his head low and his tail poised to dart away quickly should he need to. The land man didn’t know that he was there and waves of uncertainty were beginning to wash over him. Unlike the creatures he fought in the arenas, this creature was completely different and had different patterns of motion due to his walking through the air not the water. Gravity held him down and affected his balance, whereas currents and up thrust affected sea creatures.

Shiro watched instead. He couldn’t see any of his sea glass on the wooden structure anymore and his heart sank, seeing one glittering in the man’s hand. He had taken them all. Shiro would need a new place to collect them, a new anchor to his safe haven. Somewhere away from this creature above him.

Suddenly, he wasn’t above him. Shiro started as the man fell to his lower body and the wood creaked above him. Before he had time to react, the man shifted and Shiro met the creature’s eyes fully. They were dark and full of such a range of emotions that Shiro felt his stomach squeeze. He opened his mouth to gasp before he darted away. His tail released like a spring and he shot through the water, back beyond his cave. He knew better than to lead the land man there. He swam out deep into the bay and stayed low against the sea bed. He swam until he couldn’t smell the oily metallic tang that permeated the water around the cove and he looked back behind him. Safe, but spotted. He couldn’t get those eyes out of his head.