[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Devere held his breath as he dived down, hunting for saltwater oysters near the beach. The super-salty water made his hide itch, but it was merely an irritation; lesser beings were far less fortunate, and the beach was littered with the crystallised remains of those who could not handle the saltiness.

He used his claws to dig through the silt, unearthing large oysters which he pried open with a claw to reveal the treasures inside of them; large pearls of different colours coated in slime.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Each large pearl was carefully extracted, so as to avoid harming the mollusc which bore it, and was dropped into the narrow-necked bag he carried looped around his back and shoulder. The oysters were then replaced on the sea floor, a grain of sand being inserted before he released them so as to start the process over again. The oyster farm had been in his family for centuries, and although there were no formal boundaries to it as such, very few others could handle the salt water exposure enough to venture out here.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Devere rose to the surface to take a breath, and shaded his eyes with an arm from the harsh glare of the sunlight,which made the sea glitter as it reflected off the waves, as if a thousand tiny diamonds were winking at him.

He turned to face the shoreline, where a family of four were collecting salt clusters along the sand, and waved back as they greeted him. He was well-known and well-liked, as had his father been before him, and the locals were a friendly people to start with.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He took in a deep breath, and dived back down below the surface, returning to search for oysters. Being living things, they liked to burrow or wedge themselves into crevices, but his family had taught him all the tricks of the trade, and the bag he carried was almost full - not bad for a single day's harvest.

He carried two other bags, one wide and shallow for kelp which was hung around his waist, and one wide and deep which hung from the other shoulder, for any trinkets he might find.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Few things could grow in such salty soil, and Devere had been raised on an almost exclusively sea-borne diet, supplemented with whatever vegetables could be bought from the local market. Due to this, he tended to keep hold of whatever he found whilst harvesting the pearls, and although the oysters themselves were too valuable to consume, the creatures which made their homes in the area were fair game, and he usually came home with something to cook for dinner, or to sell.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

So far, he had made excellent progress; only a few more pearls and he would be done for the day, his kelp bag (which currently also held a few small fish and a crab) was almost full, and he had found a few crusted trinkets which could be something from a wreck or just a large salt crystal - he wouldn't know until he tried to clean them, but he had picked them up just in case, as sometimes the trinkets which were buried in the sand were worth surprising amounts.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Three oysters later, and he was in for a surprising treat - the oyster in his hand had produced two pearls, side by side, which had not yet joined, and which were a beautiful shade of deep blue.

He tilted his head a moment, and plucked one of the pearls out, pushing the other one into the centre of the oyster so that it could continue growing. He clutched the other pearl in his claws, as he dug up the oyster he had put down a moment before, and pushed the pearl into the centre of it before putting it back down again.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Small pearls, while beautiful, went for low amounts, and whether he crafted the jewellery himself or sold them as parts the bigger pearls were what would feed him. He was the last of his line, his parents having passed on the winter before, and he did not have a mate or family as of yet, being only in his mid-twenties. Dating opportunities were scarce when one spent the majority of one's time underwater, and Devere, in truth, hadn't really been looking for anyone.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He was satisfied for the day, which was just as well because the light had changed - whilst not yet setting, the sun was beginning to lower in the sky, and Devere rose to the surface for the last time, taking deep breaths before swimming on the surface to the shore.

Here, the beach was full of sharp salt chunks and crystals, built up on sand, stones and shells, and it was painful to walk on. It was for this reason he climbed the breakwater instead, shimmying up the rocks to avoid the painful walk on the beach.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

The path at the top was smoother, and he walked barefoot over the fine grains of salt, deposited by the highest waves and sun-dried into little more than a powder. He reached his shoes, and the towel he had left there, and dried himself off before pushing his feet into the sandals which would protect him from harm whilst he made his way over the sand. He squinted in the glare of the sun reflecting off the salt crystals, like a thousand tiny mirrors glinting along the sand.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He pushed the shades that had been resting upon his towel up onto his snout, and began to walk along, bare-chested with water dripping from his bags and shorts, carefully navigating the stone steps at the other end of the breakwater. The bags slung over him would have chafed those with smoother skin, but his hide was thick and rough, a fact which he was sure would not endear him to any ladies he should come into contact with but which protected him from the hazards of his work.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He smiled at a passing young couple who waved to him, but dropped it as soon as they were out of sight; the truth was that he was lonely, especially since his parents had passed, the big empty house which had once housed whole extended families now left to him alone.

He had been an only child, rare enough for their family but his mother had explained that she had trouble forming eggs; he had been her little miracle, and unable to bear the heartbreak of another loss, they had stopped trying.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

His father had loved his mother to distraction, and had been willing to scour the earth for a cure, but she had simply smiled and stated she was satisfied with her son, and so that had been that, though both of his parents had treasured him.

Devere shook himself free of the memories as he stepped up to his porch and made his way inside, intending on a nice hot shower to rid himself of the salt which clung to his scales and crunched under his feet.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He passed the photographs on the walls as he went, snapshots of times long past; some were of himself and his parents, whilst others were great-great-grandparents he had never known, or second cousins he had never met, all long since passed. He was, to his knowledge, the very last of his line, and salty fingerprints were left below his favourite photos from the many times he had passed through and paused, searching for some new detail in the pictures that he was certain he had never noticed before.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He dropped his towel and shorts in the laundry basket, and stepped into the shower, little more than a tiled corner of the room which was enclosed by a shower curtain, and which had a grate set directly into the floor to catch the soapy water. Thanks to the hot sun overhead, the water was deliciously warm, and he let it pour over him, raising his head with his eyes closed so his face would also be cleansed of the salt and grime.