Home from the Sea

Welcome dear reader, to the newest story in my erotica collection! This story contains the fetish of tentacles, although it's different than most other tentacle erotica I've come across. Most of what I have seen is women being ravished by tentacles attached to some mindless alien or beast, or brutal rape ala Urotsukidoji, and neither of these sub-genres of tentacle hentai appeal too much to me. I've looked far and wide for tentacle hentai that appeals more to my specific tastes, and it has been rather limited, so I thought it would be nice if I wrote my own tentacle erotica, since I am certain that there are others out there who would enjoy this particular flavor of tentacle porn.

I like tentacles attached to a sentient being, instead of just a mass of writhing tentacles attached to some unseen source, or some beast/alien/monster just trying to sate its base urges. This story, and more in the future if people really like this one, feature a race I have created, called the Teuthians. My primary inspiration for this race are the Eldritch from Lovecraftian lore, as well as Illithids/Mindflayers from gaming lore. The name I chose came from the scientific term used to classify squids and some of their relatives - the order teuthida (of the class cephalopoda, which includes octopi).

The Acuans are humans, although not mere mortals, the Acuan race resemble the peoples of the Mediterranean in coloring - typically olive skin with dark hair. They can breathe underwater, though they cannot handle any more pressure than an ordinary human would, so they cannot go any deeper than a scuba diver could.

I really hope you enjoy this story, and if you did, please don't forget to leave reviews/feedback, as an author who takes her craft seriously, I like to know what I am doing right, and what I might improve on or fix. Reviews are my lifeblood.

Special thanks goes to Randy. Oh Randy, you make me oh so randy.

o0o

The afternoon sun shone brilliantly, its light infusing the sea with brilliant shades of emerald, aquamarine, and teal, the breeze carrying in the scent of the water that was long familiar to the residents of Acua. It was early spring, so there was still a slight chill to the air, but that did not prevent most Acuan citizens from being out and about in the city, and the trading center was no exception, especially on a trade day with the Teuthians.

Nesaen did a cursory look over the load of supplies the Teuthians had brought to trade, taking note of the more valuable items. Whether it was because of their magic, or their unique biology - Neisae suspected it was a combination of the two - the Teuthians were able to plumb the deepest abysses and trenches of the ocean, being able to survive pressures that would crush even the hardiest of Acuans.

As she'd done so many times in the past, she inspected the merchandise, quickly marking down the quantity of each item on her stylus. One delicacy in Acua was black seaweed, which only the Teuthians could harvest. Rarer still was a seaweed that had a phosphorescent glow in the dark, and was best consumed fresh. Said seaweed sat in jars of seawater to maintain their freshness, and was one of the most valued items among Acuan chefs due to its unique flavor, and of course, the fact that it glowed.

She counted the jars, bags, and crates of various items that the Teuthians had brought for trade, checking the contents of each, something that she knew her Teuthian counterpart was doing to the items that Acuan merchants had brought for trade.

"Everything is as we have agreed upon," she finally pronounced as she turned back to the several Teuthians that stood near her, observing her calmly.

Many people found the Teuthians unnerving, due to their height and appearance. The average Teuthid stood one to two heads taller than an Acuan, with a frame that was generally a bit more lanky in comparison. With their height and tentacles, it wasn't hard to see why one might be unnerved by them, especially coupled with their usually calm and scientific demeanor that made people feel like they were being studied.

"Do we not always meet our agreements satisfactorily?" the leader of the trio asked. Due to the fact that their mouths were structured differently - tentacles in place of lips - their speech took on an accent that affected the way they said certain letters that primarily depended on lips, like 'b' and 'f'. Nonetheless, Neisae understood them with ease, having worked as a trading liasion for over a decade now, long used to their speech.

She was also used to their blunt manner of speech. Teuthians were generally seen as dour and humorless, with what seemed to be an almost non-existent grasp on puns or sarcasm, among other things.

"Yes, yes we do," Nesaen said quickly. "I'm just making a truthful statement."

The tall, green-hued Teuthid stared at her for a moment with eyes as black as a moonless night before he nodded. The hem of his robes fluttered a bit in the breeze. His companions were attired similarly, all wearing robes of dark colors that covered all but for their heads and long-fingered hands. A fourth Teuthid, the one who had been inspecting the Acuan goods, rejoined his brethren, giving the leader a nod.

Certain fruits and vegetables could only be grown in the sunlit realms, so they were desirable to the darkness-loving Teuthians. There were herbs and spices, along with plain bolts of silk, linen, and cotton.

"We find satisfaction in our own arrangement, as well," the fourth Teuthid stated as he looked at Neisae. She nodded, long used to this routine, having worked here for over a decade.

"Is there anything you require? Are you in need of refreshments?" she inquired. It was not normally something she would offer to traders, but Nyarlathothep was a regular, and it was best to keep the Teuthids happy.

The green-hued Teuthid stared at her for a moment before he nodded. "We will accept whatever refreshments you wish to offer."

There were several tables in the center that merchants could use to display their wares, or count money. The table closest to her was set with an array of wines along with fruits, vegetables, and some breads. She'd made sure there was no milk or cheese, for she noticed that the Teuthians didn't eat them, much less traded for them. Whether for personal taste, or their bodies being unable to process such food items, she was not sure.

Though she didn't stare, she was well aware of how the Teuthians ate. They used their tentacles just as much, if not more, than their hands, the appendages deftly picking up pieces of produce before sliding them into the portal that lay between all these tentacles. Larger pieces of food would be broken up with their hands before a tentacle completed the task of feeding. Usually, when an Acuan saw this, they would feel revulsion, or at least discomfort, at the strangeness of this mode of eating compared to their own, but Neisae wasn't the least bit bothered by it. She might even call it fascinating.

Out of ten tentacles that each Teuthid had, eight were shorter, a little longer than the distance from their mouths to their elbows. The last two were twice as long, and from what she had seen, was used to reach for and handle items, while the shorter ones seemed to be mainly foe eating.

Once she was sure that her trading partners were satisfied, she turned back to the items that they had procured, taking a piece of chalk out of the pocket of her smock and making marks on the boxes and jars, designating who, and where they would be going to. Generally, merchants preferred to do their own training, whether with other Acuans, or humans, but the Teuthians unnerved many, and their speech could be difficult to understand, so she was happy to serve as liaison.

o0o

Ralthid stood at the table with his companions, partaking of the fruit and enjoying its sweet flavor. Clad in a dark stone-gray robe and black pants, he had felt the warmth of the sun absorbed through the dark-hued fabric as he'd waited for the inspection of goods to be complete, and was happy to go into the shade to partake of the refreshments. Unlike the Acuans, the Teuthians felt more comfortable in cool places, shying away from fire and sunlight, though neither were particularly harmful to the race.

As he took several pieces of vegetables from the bowl of salad in front of him, he eyed the Acuan he'd shared a long acquaintance with. Neisae was clad in a loose blue dress under her beige-colored smock, the linen hugging her curves when the breeze blew against her. Her thick, curly black hair was tied back and off her neck with a sash of a matching blue, highlighting the curve of her neck. The sunlight brought out a healthy glow to her olive skin, and Ralthid let his gaze follow her as she went about her business. He'd met her almost a decade ago, when he started coming with Nyarlathothep on these trades. Unlike so many Acuans, she seemed to have an easy understanding of the way his race spoke, and he'd also noted that she showed no shyness around them, although of course her manner was respectful.

Several younger Teuthians were already loading the fruit and fabric onto the carts they used to transport the goods back to R'lyeh. Once their carts had been loaded, the young Teuthians were then permitted to partake in the refreshments, and Ralthid stepped back, having sated himself. He hesitated for a moment before he approached Neisae, easily dwarfing her with his height even though Neisae wasn't a short woman.

"Good day, Neisae," Ralthid started. Although he had a better grasp on the nuances of Acuan language than most of his peers, he still had a bit of a hard time with small talk, for the Teuthians saw no value in idle talk, preferring to talk to share matters of import. He spoke in a low voice, to ensure privacy from both his kin and the assistants that were at the moment loading up the goods the Teuthians had brought into their own carts, divvying them up as the trader instructed.

She turned back to him with a small smile, and he was gratified to see this expression of friendliness.

"Good day to you too, Ralthid. How are you?" she asked. The gray-purple Teuthid wondered why he should feel so awkward, as this wasn't the first time he'd personally spoken with her.

"I am doing well," he responded evenly, his hands folded in front of him. "I trust you are well, also?"

"I am. It's a lovely day, isn't it?" She glanced away for a moment, giving a command to one of the workers before she turned back to him. "I hope you enjoyed what I had put out for you."

"Indeed, we did. It was unexpected, but not unwelcome."

"Ralthid!" He heard Nyarlathothep's voice from behind him. "Our provisions have been secured. It is time for us to leave."

Ralthid wanted to stay longer, but there was no reason he could give that seemed logical. The notion of 'socialization' was almost lost on the Teuthians, who preferred to use whatever interactions they had with others to accomplish practical goals. He looked back to Neisae, regarding her with a slight bow of his head.

"I will see you on our next trading sojourn," Ralthid said, looking forward to that occasion.

"Yes, you will. Enjoy your provisions."

"We always do," he shot back, and saw a flicker of a smile on her face before he turned away.

o0o

Neisae knew that others would think her weird for it, but she enjoyed trading with the Teuthians, and looked forward to the trading days. Usually, the center was populated by humans that sailed from various cities along the coast to trade with the Acuans for such rare items such as deep-sea pearls or even salvage from sunken ships, which only Acuans could harvest due to their ability to breathe underwater, or potions and unguents wrought by the skilled healers and magicians of the island city-nation.

Humans were superstitious and fearful creatures - not that Acuans were never susceptible to such foibles - and for most humans, a Teuthian was simply too much for them to handle. Therefore, the Acuans traded with both races separately, and even though the Acuans were more accepting of a race that had a radically different appearance than them, many were still ignorant and fearful. It was even said among humans, at least the few that had any knowledge of the Teuthids, that to gaze upon one would cause one to become insane.

Such as Nikos. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the young man approach her, looking relieved that the Teuthians were gone. The tall, curly-haired man stood at her side, a faint scowl on his face.

"We give them a fair trade, why do you offer more than that?" he demanded. She slowly turned to him, crossing her arms.

"Isn't hospitality one of our tenets?" Neisae shot back.

"They're traders, not guests," Nikos replied almost petulantly. "They give us stuff we can't produce or get, and we do the same for them. Nothing more, nothing less. That's how it's always been."

"Are we suffering from such mean provisions that we can not offer a bit of our bounty to them? It's not as if anyone in Acua is going hungry for it."

"It sounds like you're trying to... be friends with them." The very thought seemed to repulse Nikos, and Neisae had to make a conscious effort to not roll her eyes. Most of the people who worked here were at least polite and indifferent about the Teuthians, keeping silent about any criticisms or distaste they might harbor for the alien-looking race. She could understand being discomfited by their physical appearance, at least in the beginning, but as far as she could remember, there had been no conflict between the Acuans and the Teuthians.

"Would you rather their race be friends with ours, or enemies?" Neisae shot back coolly. Not much was known about the Teuthians, only that they were secretive, and harbored immense power. It was even said that if they so desired, they could rule the world, only they were either too intelligent or too disinterested to do so. The fact that no one had ever seen a female Teuthid only added to that mystery, with some saying that either the females were too repulsive to expose them to other races, or that the Teuthids were jealous guardians of their women.

"Besides, you could learn to not be so cheap," Neisae added, biting back a smirk as Nikos glared at her. He was the son of one of the older merchants, and he and his father typically traded with the humans that came for trading. He was known to argue with human traders, going beyond mere haggling, and Neisae was sometimes called in to soothe ruffled feathers. Fortunately, Nikos's distaste for the Teuthians, and his frustration at understanding their accent, meant that he never tried to deal with them, and Neisae had the feeling that Nyarlathothep and his ilk would react much more poorly than an irate human merchant.

"It's not about being cheap, it's about... boundaries. What do we know about them? Next to nothing! We don't want them getting too close to us!"

"Perhaps you don't want them getting too close to me," Neisae shot back, not biting back her grin this time. Nikos considered himself a ladies' man, but in all the time they'd been acquainted with one another, she had never felt the least bit inclined to respond to his good looks or what he considered his charms.

"That's not... funny," Nikos sputtered.

"Well, I think it is. I have work to do, and I am sure you do. Aren't we expecting a shipment of gold tomorrow? I hope you have the pearls ready for that, I would hate to have to step in again."

Nikos glared at her for a moment, his lips twisting as he tried to decide whether he should say something, but he spun around on his ankle and stalked off. He was probably thinking about how women should be 'kept in their place' or some such nonsense. At least the Teuthians seemed to show no preference or distinction to the genders of the Acuans they traded with.

o0o

Ralthid gingerly picked up the shell, examining it as he gently turned it around and over within his long fingers. He hoped that Neisae would like it. It was a shell he'd found many years ago during one of his explorations, and kept it even though he'd had no practical use for it, because he'd found the shape and color of the shell striking. Perhais Neisae would, as well. Twuthids were not in the habit of giving out gifts to one another, much less Acuans or anyone else, but he understood from his studies and observations that giving a gift was a way of showing one's esteem for another, especially if careful consideration went into the item.

Ralthid enjoyed going on the trading excursions for a variety of reasons - change in setting, the chance to observe others, and gain more knowledge and experience. And of course, there was Neisae. He hadn't been aware of it at first, of course, because generally, Teuthians did not discuss emotions - they felt that something not based in fact and logic was not an overly relevant topic for study, or personal expression - but Ralthid had come to the inevitable conclusion that he was attracted to the Acuan.

He looked down at the hell again, running his fingers along the smooth spines of it.

o0o

Well, boys and girls, I hope you enjoy the start of this new project. As always, feedback is more than welcome, and always much appreciated.