Do You Have Tentacles Too? [Nonhuman]

Frigga's marriage has no foundation of love.

Her father married her off to her current husband for money. They say one of his ancestors was a branch member of some foreign royal family, which left him with immense wealth and a pair of rare blue eyes.

Her father often told Frigga, "You need to have his child soon. That's the only way to keep his heart."

But her husband was born with a deficiency in that department.

Pale, clammy skin, foggy eyes, breath like a cold wind, and a pulse so faint it was almost impossible to measure: everything about him proclaimed that his life was nearing its end... as well as his inability to perform in bed.

On their wedding night, her husband leaned against the headboard, his body trembling slightly. His face was strained with embarrassment. "Next time, I'll make you happy..."

Frigga nodded, failing to notice the cunning that flashed beneath his icy blue eyes.

After that, their married life was unexpectedly harmonious.

Her husband was very good at using tools, so whenever she entered the room and saw those blue eyes, Frigga's heart would race and her breathing quicken. She would find herself wondering what shape of tool he would use that night.

The only thing Frigga couldn't understand was why he always covered her eyes with a ribbon.

Until one time, the ribbon accidentally slipped, and she caught sight of the shadows on the wall.

Her husband's "silhouette" enveloped her: tall and powerful, with countless tentacle-like things approaching her little by little, in shapes she knew all too well.

Taking advantage of a change in position, she stole a look at him and saw a faint gleam in his eyes. The lifelessness he usually wore was nowhere to be seen.

And her husband, oblivious to it all, pressed his neck against hers.

"Looks like this is your favorite."

*

To reproduce and expand his species, Prosper selected an adult female as his research subject.

She was stupid, shallow, and fragile. But for that very reason, she was the perfect breeding specimen to manipulate.

Experiment No. 001: Octopus-like form, narrow at the top and broad at the bottom, smooth on top and lined with suckers below. When it secretes toxins to devour prey, it stimulates the nerves. The specimen reacts strongly, with reduced sensitivity to pain.

Experiment No. 010: Snake-like form, one and a half pairs, with horny barbs covering the surface. When the barbs were fixed inside the specimen to keep them from slipping out, the specimen showed a pained expression (crossed out), note: difficult to distinguish.

Experiment No. 098: Dog-like form, swollen and enlarged at the base. The specimen's passage cannot accommodate any more tentacles. The specimen's words and actions do not match (question marks, bolded).

The specimen voluntarily shares animal kingdom **knowledge.

The specimen voluntarily shares **knowledge, including but not limited to animals.

Prosper was very pleased with the results of his research as he looked over his records.

However, despite conducting countless experiments, he still couldn't detect any signs of life inside the specimen.

Just as he extended his tentacles and wondered if his mimicry wasn't perfect enough, he accidentally knocked over the folic acid she had placed on the vanity to help her conceive.

When the medication test results came back, he was about to ask the specimen why she was taking birth control pills. But she was already lying on the bed, the ribbon over her eyes.

Her voice carried a hint of excitement.

"I wonder what it'll be like tonight, hu...sband."

Theme: Live well