Beso Toxico excerpt - 2022/9/20

	In the beginning, Terra knew only land. There was water, of course, but only in rivers and lakes and streams. One day, however, people came from the sea- Aegir, so they called themselves. They lent their aid, their resources, and their knowledge to the coastal country of Iberia. Iberia learned of the sea, and the people of Iberia grew strong through the sea and the people that came from the sea.
	One day, monsters came from the sea. A few at first, attacking settlements along the coast, and then an Iberian dreadnought mysteriously disappeared. Soon after, a great wave of these monsters came, and reduced Iberia to a husk of its former glory, cut off from the rest of the world. On that day, Iberia learned to fear the sea, and all born of the sea.

	The sea.
	The sea. The sea. The sea.
	Water all around. Dragging down, down, down into the awaiting abyss.
	Yes, no place for light, so back into the darkness, where nothing would be perceived.
	The sea, the sea, the sea, the-sea-the-sea-the-sea-

	Blue Poison bolts awake in a cold sweat, panting hard. She looks down at her hands tightly gripping her comforter- Still fleshy, with a tinge of rosy pink, though red at the tips. In other words, she has normal hands. She takes a deep breath, holds it in, lets go of the comforter with a sharp exhale, and turns her palms up to look at them. She touches her face, feels the soft, well-maintained flesh concealing her head. Mercifully, they are also perfectly normal for the time being.
	She sighs, and recites to herself the same mantra as always whenever nightmares like these happened.
	"I am an Anura from Iberia," She declares to no one in particular, looking down at her still-shaking hands like she was reading off of a Lateranian religious text, which would probably be a lot easier for an Iberian like her to talk about than this, "I work for the pharmaceutical company Rhodes Island as an Operator. My code name is 'Blue Poison'. My specialty is in toxicology. While I primarily assist in treating toxins and toxicants as well as researching the potential adverse effects of various chemicals and substances, I can use my extensive knowledge of how to administer over one hundred different poisons, analytical skills, and personal experience with anatomy to... effectively dispose of enemies."
	With the final article stated, Blue Poison sighs and flops onto her side. Her hands reach for the comforter, pulling it over herself and gripping it tightly. After a while of facing towards the window, she turns away from the warm sunlight that now peeps into her room through the blinds. Her eyes fall on the full glass of water still sitting on the folding table. Reluctantly, she shrugs off her comforter, slides out of bed, drags herself over to the table, picks up the glass in both hands, and downs half of its contents in one gulp.
	She lowers the cup from her mouth. One hand absentmindedly leaves the cup and brushes up against the patch of black and blue scales along her neck, feeling them pulsing, almost breathing a sigh of relief as her body rehydrates. Blue Poison rears her head back, tips the cup back up, and downs the rest. Her arm slams the cup back down with a loud enough thud to make her flinch. She shakes her head, dragging her hand along the table for support as she pushes her body towards the bathroom door. Her hand reaches for the control panel, but then the door slides away without her input- A young girl with long, wheat-blonde hair nonchalantly peeks out from behind the door, blinking at Blue Poison's sudden presence. Though she's mostly-dressed, her hair's still a little wet from the shower, and her scaly tail wraps around her leg.

	"Oh. Hey. Sorry, Indigo," It takes a second for Blue Poison to register the girl, and she stumbles back from the door to give the other girl space.
	"It's alright," She offers a shrug as she walks out of the bathroom, walking past Blue Poison and tilting her head again. She pauses, considering on if she should point out that Blue Poison didn't even use her real name, Aria, but thought better of it. "Had a rough sleep, or something? You're up before Glaucus, usually. She got a bit fussy that I was the one waking her up this time- She had to hurry for a meeting in Engineering today."
	"Mm, yeah. That's about right. Just a bad dream," Blue Poison shakes her head, tucking back a lock of her bubblegum-pink hair. She steps towards the bathroom, but then lingers at the door to look back at Indigo, one hand holding onto the doorframe. "Glaucus must've gone to one of those department meetings, huh? I'll have to make it up to her somehow."