The little golden pearl growing under the surface of the river, in a particularly shallow part where the river was swift, at last quivered, throwing up the bit of sand that had settled on top. Another shiver before it gently began to crack and peel open as a small body fought its way out. Already, he showed fight as he thrust this way and that to try and dislodge the hard shell of his chrysalis until, at last, he managed to squeeze out of the darkness and into his new world.
There wasn't much time to think about it, though, as the little goldfish emerged from the pearl chrysalis. As soon as he'd finished the fight to hatch, another one began - against the current. It caught him for a moment before he began to swim for the first time - and swim hard. His first sense of wonder at the largeness of the world was swiftly overtaken by fear. Fear of what would happen should his fight run out and the current take him, fear of the unknown, of being thrown to a new, more dangerous place, or even tossed right out of the water.
Survival instincts kicked in and he pushed hard, but he was but a tiny baby fish in a river that swept too mercilessly. After a valiant effort to stabilize his place in the water, the current, at last, overtook him and he was swept away.
He wailed, as much as a little goldfish could, as the river swept him along. He quickly lost control of his swimming, still too young to know how to properly fight a river, and at once point the river dipped, water splashing over a short fall and it was here that he was thrown right out of the water and over the tiny cliff. But to him, it seemed a great distance.
His shrill cries at last were heard above-water before he splashed right back in and was picked up by the current, too exhausted now to fight much more.
Ruvaen had finally left Cepheus to explore. Ursa had been... interesting. He'd told Eggbert about his plans and had a coat shoved into his arms, which had made the trip a lot less miserable than he could have been. He'd made it to Polaris, shivering with cold, his feet soaked and his hair a mess from the wind. What an awful place!
He trekked through Polaris, thinking bitterly of his perilous trip through the cold cave, before a noise met his ears. A cry for help. His head snapped to the side and he saw something orange falling, a tiny little shape. A gembound.
Before he knew it he was running, a hand thrown out desperately in an attempt to catch the falling creature despite him being so far away. His magic flared to life at his command, wrapping around the fish and slowing its fall. Ruvaen picked up the pace, eyes wide as he jumped into the river, nearly being swept away himself. He caught his balance and reached out for the fish, hands outstretched to grab him.
For a moment, exhausted as he was, he thought he was dying. The river no longer seemed to rage as powerfully around him. He felt like something had wrapped around his body, slowing time as his last minutes stretched to forever. But as he was given a moment to rest, a chance to allow water to flow more camly through his gills, he realized he was getting more awake and not, in fact, fading away. The river still flowed around him, but it no longer pulled him away as powerfully, as if something had pushed back behind him. It was still threatening, though, so, as soon as his balance had returned, he began to swim forward against the current again, out of instinct alone. He didn't want to - he was so tired of this.
And then there was a noise above the water and a moment later something had cupped around him. The river became even weaker and he looked around, confused. It wasn't all blue and gray stone, but a warm hued skin tone that surrounded him. Oh no...was someone eating him?!
Panic swept through the little fish and he began to dart around, a shrill squeak bubbling out of his mouth.
Ruvaen caught the little fish and made his way back to shore, holding the fish in his palms while he tried to kick some stones up so the current wouldn't sweep him away. He looked down in surprise at the terrified plea, blinking. However, instead of something comforting, like 'I'm here to help' or even 'I won't eat you', he shoved his foot in his mouth.
He set the fish down in the small circle of rocks, the water significantly calmer inside of it. The prince knelt down and tucked a strand of his blond hair behind his ear, peering down with his big blue eyes. Appearance wise, he looked around 9 years old. Still very much a child with baby fat clinging to his cheeks, but his steps were surer than they had been when he'd first awoken, enough to trudge through the snow.
The little goldfish continued to panic with what energy he had left when suddenly the water disappeared completely. The soft hands beneath him lifted him fully out of the water and his panicked thrashing was suddenly rendered pointless as he flopped on his side, feeling the biting, dry air settling on his scales, no water to give him movement or breath.
He was scared - of course he was - but then a voice spoke to him and, instead of staring at the wall of skin that he'd been glaring at, he tried to look up and around for the source of the voice. But it was difficult to raise his body without the water supporting him and he only got a flash of golden hair and bright teal eyes. Wow that was...a big thing. It could eat him...but it said it wouldn't. Well, then there wasn't any point to be scared. He had no reason to not believe him.
He had only begun to realize that he couldn't breathe when he was gently being set down back into the water, where the river no longer surged around him. His fins worked immediately, pulling himself back upright and turning around towards his savior (he now realized). He could get a proper look at him now, he realized, letting his face peek just out of the water to look at him. He was very big, for a little goldfish at least.
Fitting? Very much so, Pudge looked like a lump with fins, albeit a very shiny one.
Ruvaen stood and looked around, hoping to find something that could help. Perhaps a bowl-shaped rock could serve as a vessel for transportation, or something along those lines. Cepheus was surely a much better place for a fish to be, with ponds and things to swim in. Of course, he'd have to mind the swans, but perhaps that could be solved with one of the vases in the palace.
He searched high and low, lifting rocks and peering between crystals, hoping to find something suitable for carrying Pudge in. For a while he came up short, seeing nothing but regular flat rocks and discarded chunks of crystal.