By the time Henry had finally gathered the materials to start a fire, Abyssus had already returned with some fish. With two huge Yellowfin tuna in her hand, she paused for a moment to lift one of the still flapping fish up, tilt her head back, and swallow it whole. Sitting down with her legs crossed, she curiously inspected the circle of rocks and cone of sticks that Henry had erected on the beach. 

“Is this fire?” She asked, poking the pile of kindling and accidentally causing it to collapse. 

Henry sighed, rebuilding it quickly, “No. I haven’t made the fire yet. That’s where this comes in,” He explained, holding up the stick he’d found along with a stray piece of driftwood. 

Abyssus laid down on her stomach, resting her chin in her hands as Henry rubbed the stick against the groove in the plank. After about a minute of hard work, the first wisps of smoke began to form. Before he could get the flame he’d been so desperate for, Henry had to stop, undoing his work. His arms were burning, but the wood was not. 

“Want me to try?” Abyssus asked as he caught his breath. 

“Sure,” Henry shrugged, “Just push down with that stick and rub it back and forth. If you do it right, smoke will come out, and you’ll see a faint glow. 

Abyssus eagerly copied him, her huge size able to create more friction faster. In only a few moments, she’d managed to get smoke. A few moments later, the hint of an orange glow. 

“Yes! That’s perfect!” Henry cried, eagerly picking up the plank to confirm a few hints of fire.

Quickly adding tinder and delicately blowing, he was rewarded by more smoke and finally a flame. Cheering, he added the small ball of flame to the kindling pile, watching as it rapidly spread. Once the kindling had caught, he added larger pieces of wood he’d found from a fallen palm tree. 

“Woah! That’s so cool!” Abyssus gasped, leaning in close to the fire as it quickly grew into a respectable blaze. 

“Yeah. Feel that warmth?” Henry replied, holding his hands out. 

Abyssus suddenly reached for the fire, grabbing a burning log and holding it in her palm. Before Henry could warn her, she let out a yelp of pain and dropped the log into the sand, promptly pushing a small hill of sand over it to smother the flames. 

“Ouch! Why did it bite me?” She whined, rubbing her palm. 

“Yeah, you don’t grab it. It’ll burn you,” Henry explained, “Let me see your hand.” 

Reluctantly, Abyssus lowered her massive palm into his arms, presenting quite a nasty burn against her otherwise perfect, pink skin. As he carefully looked over the blistered skin, Henry noticed that it was actually…moving. Upon closer inspection, he confirmed that the burn was actually receding, replaced by uninjured flesh before his very eyes. 

“H-How is that happening?” He stammered, amazed as the wound continued to heal. 

“I can heal injuries,” Abyssus shrugged, like it was no big deal, “Now that you have fire, what do you do with the fish?” 

“Well, that part is a bit more complicated. I need to gut the fish…” Suddenly he eyed her fingernails, or rather, his new knives, “Slice it open along its belly.” 

“I don’t see why humans need to do all of this nonsense. Just eat,” She muttered, but obliged, “So you need to remove all of the guts?” She asked, using her pinkie nail to slice the fish’s stomach open. 

“Yes. Then I can—”

Before he could finish, Abyssus lifted the fish to her mouth, locked her lips around the cut she’d just made, and loudly sucked on it. Swallowing, she smiled and presented the freshly gutted fish to Henry, with traces of her saliva still lingering behind. 

“Uh, I guess that works, too,” He shrugged, picking up the branch he’d intended to use as a spit, “Would you…want to cook it too?”

——

“Wow,” Henry sighed, laying back in the sand, “I’m full. Don’t think I can have another bite.” 

Unable to help herself, Abyssus licked her lips and eyed the remaining fish. Deciding not to let it go to waste, Henry motioned for her to eat it. As soon as she was given permission, Abyssus’s eyes lit up as she eagerly grabbed the cooked fish and raised it to her mouth. Her purple tongue slid out, the forked tips delicately testing the flavor. Thick strands of saliva dripped into the sand as she guided the massive fish into her mouth. 

She chewed with her mouth open, shredding the meat and bones apart with her razor-sharp teeth. Henry still couldn’t block out the images of her devouring those hapless seamen alive, but it was at least a bit easier. Swallowing with an audible gulp, she licked the remaining grease from her fingers and let out a refreshed sigh. 

“Did you like it?” Henry asked, suspecting her answer would be in the affirmative. 

As he guessed, she rapidly shook her head, bobbing her gills, “That was delicious! I’ve never tasted something like that before! Is that what all human food tastes like?”

“Not all of it,” Henry replied. 

Abyssus let out a deep belch, patting her belly once it trailed off, “Ah! That one felt good! I think I can do better.” 

Before Henry could understand what was happening, Abyssus leaned over him and let out an even louder belch directly in his face. The air around his head became contaminated by her burp, smelling of rotting fish in the hot sun. Choking and fanning the air around his face, Henry watched as Abyssus giggled at her idea of a ‘harmless’ prank. 

“Well! How about I take you to more of the island? Maybe a nice walk along the beach?” She asked, quickly jumping to her feet. 

“Okay. Maybe there’s a better way to transport me than just having me hang on for dear life?” Henry wondered, knowing there was no way he could make another trip hanging around her neck. 

“Well…” Abyssus trailed off, considering Henry’s size, “I guess this could work as well.”

Grabbing his torso with one hand, Abyssus lifted Henry up and into her arms and cradled him like a baby. With Abyssus carrying him down the beach, Henry decided to relax. As she pointed out all of the different rock formations and different parts of the small island, he decided to close his eyes for a minute. 

“What’s your home like?” 

“Huh?” Henry asked, realizing he’d dozed off. 

“What’s your home like?” Abyssus repeated. 

“Oh…it’s…” 

Henry wasn’t sure just how to go about explaining his life. How was he supposed to explain what it meant to be an orphan, or working on a trading vessel from the age of fifteen just to guarantee a meal? 

“It was okay, I guess. Boring, not worth a story.”

“What about those pirates? Why were you with them?” 

“I did want to be with them. They attacked my ship. Made me join them.” 

“So that’s why you set me free?” Abyssus guessed. 

“I didn’t want you to end up a prisoner like me,” Henry smiled. 

Abyssus gently hugged him before rounding a bend in the beach to reveal the same fire, albeit not as large. 

“Wait. We went around the whole island?” He asked, glancing up at Abyssus. 

“I walked around the whole island. You were asleep. Don’t worry, you’re extra cute when you’re sleeping!” She giggled. 

Walking up to the fire, Abyssus gently set Henry down before taking a seat herself. Tossing more wood onto the fire, he turned it into an enormous blaze. Abyssus eagerly held her arms over the flames, still taking care to not burn herself again. Content, Henry laid back and closed his eyes. He was surprisingly at peace at that moment. With the sounds of cracking wood and crashing waves, he felt like spending the rest of his life on the island would actually be pleasant. Unfortunately, that tranquility only lasted for about a minute. 

“Henry,” Abyssus groaned, “My feet are sore.” 

Sighing, Henry sat up to see Abyssus with her legs extended out, her pink soles only a few feet from his face. 

“I assume you want a foot rub?” He asked, lifting an eyebrow. 

Abyssus eagerly nodded, “I mean, I did carry you all around the island. And I’m rarely on my feet like today. Seems only fair.” She shrugged, wiggling her webbed toes. 

As much as he didn’t want to give Abyssus a foot rub, he did have to admit that she probably deserved one. Shrugging, he got up to tend to her seven foot-tall feet. Placing his hands directly onto the arches of her feet immediately brought out a round of giggling from Abyssus. Seeing as how such a terrifying sea creature could be tickled, Henry decided to take full advantage of it. Her laughter drowned out the crackling fire and crashing waves as he relentlessly ran his fingers up and down, watching as her toes curled and she squirmed around, begging between her giggles for him to show mercy. 

Deciding she’d had enough, Henry let up with the tickling. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Abyssus sat up and extended her feet out, lowering her toes so Henry could reach between them. Working his hands around her toe joints, Henry carefully extracted bits of coral and crushed seashells trapped between her toes. 

“That feels good. I might need you to do that more often, what do you say?” Abyssus asked once she was satisfied. 

“Uh, I’ll have to think about it,” Henry replied, hoping it was only a one time thing. 

Abyssus smiled, extending her arms out, “Come. Let’s cuddle.” 

Henry laid in Abyssus’s embrace until dusk, when Ira finally emerged once again. Water cascaded down her body, reflecting off the sunlight like orange and pink gemstones as droplets rained down. Dragging her body ashore so that her head was above them, she looked down at the fire and promptly frowned. Sensing something had pissed her off, Henry slid free from Abyssus and stood emotionlessly to avoid angering Ira further. 

“What is this?” She demanded, hovering a massive finger high above the bonfire. 

“That’s fire! Henry made it! Well, actually, I helped,” Abyssus grinned.

Henry saw the faintest of twitches on Ira’s frown before she brought her finger crushing down on the fire, promptly smothering the flames and pushing the embers deep beneath the sand. Abyssus looked disappointed and confused, looking up at her mother for an explanation. 

“What were you thinking?” She growled, sending chills down Henry’s spine, “A passing ship could’ve seen that! None of this fire business, you hear me?” 

Ira towered over two thousand feet tall, but as she scolded him, Henry felt like she was two million. He would’ve crumbled into a ball in the sand if Abyssus didn’t rest her finger on his back reassuringly. 

“Mom, he was just doing it so he could cook his food!” She protested.

Ira raised her eyebrow, her eyes darting between her daughter and the human beside her. She worked her jaw side to side, taking great care with her eventual response. 

“Fine. You can make a fire to cook. But only a small one, and it cannot be during or after sunset. Understand?” 

Henry rapidly nodded, glad that he’d still be allowed to have any fire at all.

“Good. Come on Abyssus, it’s time for bed.” 

The finger on Henry’s back quickly turned into an entire hand as Abyssus picked him up and held him against her stomach, nestling his head between her breasts.

“Can I stay above the surface tonight? Please?” She pleaded, “I just wanna cuddle him all night long!”

“Abyssus,” Ira began, her tone a clear warning her patience was wearing thin, “I think it would be best if you slept beneath the waves tonight. You can see him bright and early tomorrow, though.” 

“Oh,” Abyssus frowned, her gills drooping slightly, “Well, can I at least give him a little bed to sleep in?” 

Ira silently worked her jaw back and forth as she glared at Henry, “Fine.”

Abyssus quickly bounded off into the trees, leaving Henry and Ira locked in an awkward silence growing more uncomfortable by the second. He felt like Abyssus was gone for an hour, when in reality she emerged from the trees not even a minute later. Using a scrap of sail and some rope scavenged from her collection of ships, she fashioned a hammock which she suspended between two trees. Gently picking Henry up and setting him down inside, she waved goodbye before running into the ocean. 

“Bye, Henry! See you tomorrow!” She called before diving beneath the waves. 

Ira have one final glare before she too pushed off the beach, backing into the ocean and vanishing without a trace. Making himself comfortable, Henry closed his eyes and let the soothing sounds of the crashing waves lul him to sleep.