Agree, just to get him off of you

"Okay, fine," you say. Just as you hoped he would, the hippocampus swipes his tail through the water and rises off of you. As soon as you are clear, you plant your feet against the bottom and shove off, swimming with all your strength. Behind you, you hear him laughing.

"Look at the ugly frog try to swim," he taunts, gliding past you with slow, graceful sweeps of his powerful tail. He circles back, and as he swims past, he whacks you hard in the middle of the stomach with his tail, causing you to double up in pain. Hard hooves dig into your back and he pushes you toward the bottom again.

Gathering all of your strength, you twist around, grabbing handfuls of his mane and pulling him toward you. He looks surprised as you bare your teeth and bite down on the soft flesh of his nose. He screams and you let go, kicking him in the chest as you push away from him and swim for the surface.

"You nasty little fucker!" he shrieks. "I'll kill you for that!" You know he's coming after you, but don't dare to look down. You swim as hard as you can, your heart thundering in your chest. You can see the glimmering light of the surface, but it looks so far away. You'll never make it.

Flat teeth bite down on your leg, and this time, it hurts. You scream, flailing and kicking, but he won't let go. It feels like his teeth grate against your bone.

Suddenly, a piercing squeal echoes through the water, rising and falling, followed by a loud clicking sound. The hippocampus releases you, knocking you aside as he flees, his tail pumping furiously. Your leg throbs as you kick and claw your way to the surface. You burst out of the water, drawing a relieved gulp of air, and scream as something grabs your arm.

"Do not be afraid!" says a soft voice. "I will not hurt you." You look over at a young man, something familiar about his dark hair and tanned skin, speckled with large freckles--

"You were crying," you say. "I saw you in the passage."

"No time," he says, pulling on your arm. "We must go, now. Benthic will be back. He will be mad. Come, come quick."