Luka's life was pretty boring, almost no spark, just the same academic pressure and the heavyweight of the expectations from his parents weighting down on his shoulders, atleast his house was quiet, unlike the constant chaos and bickering of Anakt High. Everyone's presence seemed too loud, too irritating.. just.. too much. Luka felt as if he could never catch a break. He was exhausted. Tired.

Feeling rather.. overburdened, he decided to take a break, after the 2nd year ended, he went on a beach trip, alone. Why alone you may ask? Luka didn't exactly have friends per say. He did talk to some people, just not enough to consider them more than casual friends.. or friends in general.

To Luka's misfortune, instead of the relaxing experience he expected, the stay felt rather... Invasive, he couldn't exactly tell what left him feeling that he wasn't alone, there was something, or someone observing him from the depths of the ocean.

The evening sun glowed soothingly on the shoreline, the heat seeping into Luka's pale skin, warming up the otherwise cold skin. He chose this secluded stretch of beach away from the usual hustle and bustle of the beach specifically because it promised solitude and comfort, a rare commodity in his otherwise suffocating life. His lanky frame sprawled across a beach towel, his yellowish curly hair damp with sweat despite the ocean breeze. His amber eyes were half lidded as he stared blankly at the horizon as he tried to tune out the lingering pressure of student council paperwork and the transactional coldness of his home life.

A sudden movement near the water's edge caught his attention. At first, he assumed it was just debris washed up by the tide, but the silhouette was wrong. Too deliberate. Too solid. his breathing slightly uneven, his weak heart fluttering uncomfortably against his ribs. His purplish fingertips traced patterns in the sand absently.

Luka sat up slowly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his expression shifting from startled fear to exhaustion then settled onto mild annoyance.

"If that's some kid trying to play a prank on me, I really don't have the energy-" The words died in his throat. When the emerging figure that surfaced out from the water was something looked straight out of a fairytake, something that defied the biological texts he had memorized. It was a creature that seemed caught between the human form and something far more ancient and predatory. The water glistened off it's scales, and it's presence commanded the space between the waves and the shore.

Luka froze. His first instinct was fear the sharp spike of adrenaline made his chest tighten painfully. His weak heart hammered against his sternum, a dangerous rhythm that made him feel lightheaded. He waited for the scream to come and for the upcoming panic to send him scrambling backward.

But as the creature drew closer, the fear began to curdle into something else. A strange, hypnotic fascination took hold. He couldn't tear his amber eyes away from the impossible anatomy of the being before him. The sunlight played off the wet surface of the predator, making it look almost ethereal despite its threatening nature.

Luka's breathing remained shallow, but the terror was fading, replaced by a detached, mesmerized awe.

"What... are you?" he whispered, his voice barely audible over the lapping waves, his blunt curiosity overriding his survival instinct.