The rocks along the seafloor became larger as Dan, a 10-inch-log lobster, counting both tail and carapace, scuttled over and around the large rocks. He scuttled with a mix of desperation and exasperation, the latter reserved for his sister. Despite her arrogance, it would seem Kat had made one mistake in her spell. A doozy of a mistake, at least in Dan's opinion. He could safely be consumed by human connoisseur of fine food and not have to worry. With the gourmand's first bite of Dan's delectable lobster flesh, the shapeshifting brother of a novice witch and the son of a practiced witch would find him back in his room for a period of re-spawning, safe and sound.
Although Kat had apologized, Dan found he had some doubts. How did he not know Kat had planned such an outcome? A massive claw clacked loudly, displacing a swirl of water in the process. Compared to Dan, who was short yet delectably plump, the pursuing lobster resembled an armored underwater tank and looked capable of using its heavy claws to dismantle and dispatch the much smaller lobster's carapace.
"Mom!" Dan shouted. "Kat!"
The lobster's claws snapped closed again, closer this time.
"Fuck!" Dan sped from the behemoth with additional motivation. If he hadn't pigged out on the rotting sushi he might could manage to move a little more nimbly.
This was it! He was going to be caught and ripped apart by one of his own kind, a gigantic Maine lobster who had probably been the king of its underwater kingdom for decades. It wasn't fair!
Just as the giant crustacean, which had every advantage on its side, drew within range of grabbing Dan's puny, plump body in its claws, Dan spied a crevice or cavern within the rocks. It looked big enough to permit him entry and, hopefully, too small for the pursuing lobster to enter. Pinning all his hopes on a last desperate burst of speed, he scuttled so quickly that his walking legs kicked up a trail of grit and sand. He ducked inside the rocky cavern just as the giant claws snapped toward him. The giant waved its mighty claws in frustrated rage as Dan cowered within the stony shelter and prayed for a positive outcome.
Finally, the other lobster tired of its futile attempts to wrest its prey from the rocky cave and, smelling the still rotting fish carcass in the vicinity, decided upon easier prey. The departure of the predatory crustacean did little to lessen Dan's fears, crystalized by the sure knowledge that the ocean teemed with hungry carnivores. He recalled the words of the tong-wielding waiter back at the restaurant after weighing his lobster body. "Five pounds. He's a nice fat one."
Kat might as well have painted a target on his shell. His plump tasty flesh wasn't just coveted by the human race of which he had so recently belonged. Any number of predators would practically salivate over the prospect of dining on his plump, tender flesh protected by an all-too fragile exoskeleton. The big difference was that, if dined upon by a human, he could magically respawn. If eaten by a codfish or a dogfish, that was the end of Dan the lobster.
A shiver of fear traveled the ganglia that now comprised Dan's brain. A familiar arousal and warmth followed.
"Hell!" Dan realized that even the prospect of being eaten by a fish held a dread fascination. Perhaps it was all part of his lobster birthright. He was mostly a scavenger that, in turn, served as prey to a host of other creatures.
"Yes," Dan thought as he rearranged his spiky body in the cramped stone cave. "That's got to be it."
He admonished himself not to think too much on the prospect of becoming prey. Of course, that only made him think more about it.
Kat's voice in his head. "Dan? Oh Dan?"
"I'm here," he latched on to her thoughts like a man overboard tossed a lifeline.
"Oh good," she thought. "You didn't get eaten."
"No thanks to you," he retorted, only to shiver again in his rocky security at the prospect of finding himself on the lower rungs of the food chain.
"It really was an honest mistake," Kat insisted.
Dan thrashed his claws in front of him in open exasperation. He didn't know whether to believe her or not.