Hudson's POV

The teeth were rotting and absolutely vile. Albion nearly fainted as we made our way over to them in order not to get swallowed by the dolphin. He had declared it was worse than mucking out horse's stables, or their bathroom after one of them had gotten ill. I couldn't quite imagine what those were like, but I had to agree that it was the worst thing I had ever experienced.

We had tried to find some kind of exit, but there was nothing in sight and we had no way of adding any light to our surroundings. We treaded carefully across the slimy tongue, with Ler grumbling the whole time about the saliva on his tail. I didn't want to risk being swallowed by the dolphin, so we moved back to the teeth at the slightest hint of the dolphin's movement.

Ler had fallen asleep lying on top of me not even ten minutes after we found the teeth. His eyes hadn't stopped watering from the smell, but he buried his head in my chest and hugged me tightly. He must've been exhausted from all the swimming we had done, and the emotions which were running through him thanks to the deadly situation.

Albion had let go of me for the moment, leaning back against a tooth. But he wouldn't stop moving and fidgeting. He had taken something out of his pocket before sighing and putting it back, shifting side to side and looking around. I could only catch some glimpses of him in the dark, but I could hear his movements constantly.

"You know, dolphins don't usually get sick, but this one will if you keep moving like that. I'm sure the toothache it'll get would begin to cause some stress after a while." I had my eyes closed and my tone was rather flat.

"Sorry," Albion whispered. "I'm uncomfortable and scared. I don't know how we're going to get out of here."

I nodded. "The dolphin will have to open its mouth at some point, I'm sure." I was using the same tactics on Albion that I usually reserved for Ler. I had no hope that the dolphin would open its mouth anytime soon. But the three of us wouldn't be very filling for it, so perhaps it would require some more substantial food, and would probably go for it if it had the chance.

"Yeah, I just wish I could help." Albions sighed. "I feel like I've been nothing more than extra weight for you to pull."

I hesitated before shaking my head and making a noise of disagreement. "No, you were able to hear the sirens, that's very important. You had the sharp tool, the dagger, to help cut me free from the octopus. You have been a large help, even if your swimming abilities are severely lacking."

"I don't have a tail. I think that I've gotten pretty good at swimming since coming down here."

I nodded. "It is true that you lack a tail, and that makes swimming more complicated and difficult. I couldn't imagine what life would be like without a tail. It would be a nightmare."

Ler squirmed in my arms, muttering something, nails digging into my shoulders as his hair tickled my face, causing me to pull back and try my hardest to scratch it whilst still holding him tightly.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to be up there in the human world without legs, or with a tail. It'd be rather difficult to do the jobs I do at the moment."

"Like what?" I asked after a while, deciding that I should try and get to know him better. I was reluctant to do so, since he was a human, and I probably wouldn't see him again after this adventure. But I craved conversation and connection after only having Ler to talk to.

There was a moment of silence. "I usually take up any job that's going around really. I look after the animals at the farm, I help harvest food, I fish sometimes but that's only at a small stream. I like to build things, but I often need help and direction on how to do it. I offer a hand cooking and baking as well as delivering mail or packages. I'll do anything to help out and earn money. Sometimes it's not money I get in return though, maybe it's some free food or something that people were going to pass onto someone else."

It was very difficult to picture a human life. I hadn't really seen much of civilization during my time near land, and what I had seen was just full of loud people and shouting. I couldn't imagine a peaceful village where one would actually want to reside. I couldn't imagine the bonds humans had on land and the work that they had to do. Sure, I had my family of sirens, and we had hunters and jobs. We had some who scouted the ocean for both food and shelter, or really anything interesting. We had others who prepared food, and those who took care of the young ones. We didn't really have money, but we did some trading depending on the situation.

"It sounds different." I hated the fact that's all I could say right now. "I bet you miss it." I didn't want to bring up his memories of home in a negative way. I didn't know why I said that second part. I was sure the atmosphere would get even more negative.

"I do, but I suppose that's why I came out to sea in the first place." He sighed. "I was very comfortable and happy there, but I didn't really want to leave. I didn't know what was out here, and I was afraid I never would if I didn't take the chance now."

I chuckled bitterly and shook my head. "Now you're here, inside the mouth of a giant dolphin. I'd like to apologise for getting you into this mess, but at the same time, I don't really want to."

Albion laughed, but it didn't sound as resentful as I would've imagined. "It's an adventure. This is magic and mayhem in comparison to my little life in the village. I'm glad that I was able to be some kind of help, and I hope that we get out of here so our quest can be achieved and mission accomplished."

I frowned and began to stroke Ler's hair as I thought. "You make it sound all heroic. This is life or death, Albion. It's good to have hope, but you also have to remember that this is reality, and it can stop as soon as we make the wrong move. We're not playing pretend anymore."

Albion shifted, his leg nudging my tail slightly. "Sorry," he muttered. There was silence for a moment, which hadn't actually been silence since being trapped in the mouth, as dolphins were loud on the inside. The heartbeat of the dolphin was audible, as well as its breathing. It was difficult to focus on that, and I got shivers every time I became aware of it. "I know," he whispered so quietly I wasn't sure if he was actually talking to me. "This is dangerous. This could be my life at any moment. And yet, I highly doubt that any human could say they heard the singing of sirens and were nearly swallowed by a giant dolphin."

I hummed in agreement. "Very true." I really didn't know what to say, and so the world went quiet once more.

Time didn't really work the same way when you're inside of a dolphin's mouth. I wasn't sure how long had passed before the dolphin suddenly moved, its tongue sweeping over the teeth we were leaning against.

I let out a small yell and pressed Ler and I against the structure, praying not to get swept away by the organ. "Albion?" I asked, wanting to know where he was.

"Yes?" He was closer than I had expected, as his voice sounded right beside my ear.

I moved my grip on Ler and took Albion's hand in mine. "Something's happening." Yes, it was stating the obvious.

"What?" Ler grumbled sleepily. "I had weird dreams. Why's it so dark?" I had a feeling that he wasn't with reality yet.

"Can you see some light?" Albion tugged on my hand in his direction.

I wanted to tell him immediately that he was being silly, because where would there be light in this situation? But as I turned my head, I noticed he wasn't wrong. There was the smallest amount of light shining through a gap in the dolphin's mouth.

I let out a small gasp. "The exit." Hope rant through me for a few moments as I stared at the light getting brighter, the smallest slithers of the ocean meeting my eyes before I darted towards it.