Precious

03: Deep Sea Mysteries

"How long has it been since you've captured me?" Wooyoung let his thoughts come out as words, voice as frail as his body started becoming.

"Four moons." San answered without any form of hesitation, his back to the human as he continued unloading and decorating the cave with his random treasures and trinkets.

Wooyoung groaned, trying to curl in on himself, somewhat able to since his bindings had significantly loosened. It wasn't enough to escape though.

Thinking about it caused Wooyoung's stomach to grumble, not having had anything to eat in this time. Sure, he was forced to drink the water collected from the glasses scattered about, but it didn't sit well with him. He needed food, and his only way to avoid the thought was to try to sleep, which he did do a lot of when he wasn't completely under the siren's spell.

The downside to sleeping was everytime he woke up, he was in a different spot in the cave. He didn't know why the siren chose to only move him when he was unconscious, but that turned into the sick routine.

"What was that sound?" San questioned innocently, turning around to look at Wooyoung who was on the opposite side of the cave, the pool of water separating them.

"My stomach." Wooyoung answered, giving up on everything. He didn't have the energy to fight anymore, so whatever the siren asked, he answered.

"Your...stomach?" San questioned, head cocked to the side as he stared down the human.

Wooyoung laughed briefly, the sound simply sad.

"Yes, my stomach." Wooyoung mustered up some sass, but that was about it, his eyes remained staring at the different colored mosses that illuminated the ceiling above him. "I need food, which is something you seem to of disregarded."

"Food...right." San muttered, head tilted to the side in a sense of confusion and curiosity.

Wooyoung hummed mockingly, keeping his vision trained above him. Seconds later he heard the pitter patter of San's bare feet getting closer, until his gaze was obstructed by the siren. Wooyoung let out a heavy breath, his chest tightening as he became trapped under his spell.

The siren said nothing, just stared down at Wooyoung. He always hated whenever San did this, it was completely unpredictable, his features unreadable. He had no idea what the creature could be thinking, planning, scheming, all at his demise.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner? About your hunger, hmm?" San questioned, crouching low, tilting his head so he and Wooyoung were in the same orientation. When Wooyoung didn't reply, a sneer formed on the siren's lips. "Was it perhaps because you were waiting to die of starvation? Now I need to force both food and water into you to keep you alive?"

Wooyoung breathed out heavily, blinking slowly. He didn't know how to respond, because in some sense, San spoke the truth. He was waiting to see how long his hunger could go unnoticed, and while he may suffer in the meantime, it was some sick step closer out of this situation.

San let out an annoyed huff of air, standing at full height. Without saying anything else jumped into the pool of water. Wooyoung cowered away from the splash, shielding his face from the oncoming water. Turning back, he still felt surprised seeing the siren in its true form, already completely transformed. Oddly enough, the clothes that San wears out of the water completely disappear whenever he's in the water, and whenever he exits they return. It was like the clothing became a part of his skin, or blubber, or whatever it was meant to be called.

One last glance and San went diving into the water, tail flicking water out of the pool as he did. Wooyoung scoffed, again shielding his face from the water that was definitely splashed in his direction on purpose.