Dive and Shift

He leaps, falls, hits mirrored water, shifts–
human skin flips to scales. Gills breathe water,
exhale oxygen into blood; the shift
continues, webs his fingers, toes. Water
caresses his sleek new body as he swims.
The current tugs him out to sea, its siren
call he can’t resist. It carries him out
into deep water where old wrecks fallen
prey to storms litter the seafloor. Check out
their remains, he does, until a shadow’s
pass draws him out. The kraken’s come to play.
Chitinous claws extend to uphold vows.
Tentacles swing, stab, miss–he strikes to slay.
He evades its limbs, slashes an eye, causing
the kraken to flee. Victory from his sting.

~ ~ ~

This sonnet is loosely based on a scene from a book within the same world as the Curse Breaker Saga. It stars another of my magic races.