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The deeper they went through the declining tunnel, the warmer it seemed to grow. He would have preferred to make his home in the bowels of this cliffside due to the heat, but he didn’t like being trapped and cornered. His underwater lake gave him an escape, whereas down here had no exit.

They passed a small alcove, in which her lantern light showed nothing but vacant nests. They journeyed on. A few times in their travels, he had to squish himself down shafts and have her carefully slide down to him. They went further down below sea level, sometimes moving through twisting, narrowing paths.

She occasionally mentioned her ears popping, when going deeper made them pressurise. He did not have the same issue.

A cavern opened up. There was nothing notable here, just different coloured rocks and sediment, but he did show her the area to appease her curiosity. Then Nathair lifted off his tail to place her in a dark hole in the ceiling. Seated near the ledge, she shuffled back to make room for him with the lantern shining right in his bony face.

“Holy shit, Nathair,” she rasped as he pulled up the heavy weight of his torso while pushing off with what remained on the ground. “Just where the hell are you taking me?”

You’ll see, little female.

He’d been wanting to bring her to a special cavern for days, but... he hadn’t trusted his lucidity. If his consciousness slipped in here, she would be utterly trapped in the dark.

He did truly feel well today, the voices not as pressing as usual. It was temporary, he knew this, but he was pleased nonetheless. Between her quieter hums, the sleep she often gifted him, and just Linh feeding him joy, he had plenty of energy for once.

Energy he hadn’t felt in centuries.

He cupped the underside of her chin affectionately, his orbs bright yellow in appreciation for all she’d done for him, then lowered his face to hers. He opened and closed his maw to mock her silly question, since he had no intention of ruining the surprise.

Her cute, full, and pouty lips quirked with humour. “Is this the part where you hand me a shovel and tell me to dig my own grave?”

Nathair licked across those pesky lips, letting a single fork of his tongue press between them. Her soft moan in return was the sweetest sound, revealing how at ease she was in the dark with him, how much she trusted him. He continued to lead, and she came up beside him since it was wide enough for her to do so.

The night was early, and she seemed invigorated by all the movement and the adventure. A smile shone constantly, as if the very emotion behind it thrummed steadily beneath the surface.

Regardless of what happened between them in the future, he just hoped she remembered the beauty he was about to share with her.

The area opened into a large cavern that looked fairly similar to his main cave. An underwater lake reflected the low light of her lantern, but the water was even more blue, clear, and clean than his.

He gingerly took the metal handle from her and placed it on the ground. The air was light, but there was enough of it coming from the way they’d ventured to give them both oxygen, as well as what already lingered here. It was too deep beneath the earth for anything to grow.

“I don’t understand,” she said, her cheer falling. “I-I don’t mean to be rude, but isn’t this like where your nest is?”

The humour in his chest was evil. His surprise wasn’t ready, and it would require his intervention.

“We swim,” he signed, before waving his hand towards the water.

The bottom of the lake was pitch black, and he doubted she could see what glinted on the bottom of it with her measly human vision.

“Ugh, really?” She groaned, letting her head fall back. “Another swimming lesson?”

“You swim fine now,” he responded, leaning down to pick up one of her feet to remove her shoe, before doing the other. He then pushed up her pants until they were bundled around her knees.

“I... don’t want to get in the water and be cold,” she admitted, hesitating when he slithered backwards while clutching one of her hands to bring her with him.

He placed his palm over his heart and brought it to the middle of his sternum.Trust me.

Nathair slipped into the fresh water, and bliss had his scales puffing along every inch of his body. It felt so good it rippled his muscles until even his seam clenched and his nipples hardened.

He didn’t pull her in; he just waited for her with his tail swivelling to keep him afloat in the deep water.

“Fine. Let me see how cold it is before I stupidly follow your reptilian butt in,” she whined, just as she went to dip a toe in.

She gasped, only to shove her foot in. He caught her when she almost fell, not wanting her to enter the water fretting. He wanted this whole experience to be enjoyable.

“It’s warm,” she stated with a smile, her face barely an inch from his own as he pushed her back onto the ledge. “Like...reallywarm.”

Nathair knew there was a reason for it, although he hadn’t worked out the why. He also didn’t care. The water was warm, blissful even, and she had no idea just how close she was to her people’s mountain. At least... he believed so from his mental orientation.