Prev
Next
inspired by "Cry My Name" by Bloodbath
listen here
As you can imagine, this beast gave me a terrible fright. I was following one of the shallow rivers that ran through a massive underground cavern, figuring where I found water I would find life, when I heard something disturbing the water to my left. In this utter darkness my light didn't reach very far, so I had to turn it towards the sound to get a look at whatever it was. The colored illustration is my best recollection of exactly what I saw. I nearly dropped my light as I saw the slimy, gooey feelers reaching for me. I let out a surprised yelp which startled the beast and it pulled back. I don't think it knew what to make of me. Though large, it was wary, and in a minute it decided to leave me alone and go back to sticking its nose in the stream. It seemed to be fishing, but there wasn't much to catch in this water. Instead I suspect it was gathering and consuming the bacteria in in the stream, much like a cave salamander, but infinitely larger. Its skin was translucent. The redness of the tentacles was actually because you could see the many blood vessels that filled them. I'd imagine those tentacles are very sensitive and allow it to gather a wide range of information through touch. I looked for eyes but could not find any. It seems living in total darkness negates their usefulness, and instead its ears were much evolved. It had only two ears, but each were formed into three folded plates that adjusted individually to better decipher the slightest noise. I did witness the creature catch a small amphibian with the prehensile tentacles at the end of its nose, and drop it into its mouth, so it is partially carnivorous. Though its visage gave me the heebie jeebies, it was generally peaceful with me, simply because I don't think it knew how to eat me.
