ORIGIN

The first thing Surgis ever felt was a roar. It was an unidentifiable feeling, a trembling all around her, surrounding her. And somehow, it was comforting. It was a constant, in and out, thrumming through her being with every sleeping moment. It was nice to rest to it.

But when she'd come to, it was gone. Where'd it go? Stretching upward, Surgis felt for it and only hit her head against the roof of something dark, with light filtering through multicolored pieces. It wasn't enough to see through, even if her eyes weren't so blurry. Where was the sound? All she could feel was the soft 'whump' of something in her chest, similar and yet so far away.

She stretched again, rolling in search for more. The next sound was a crack, and the first feeling was air, her nose pipping through her shell. She breathed in sharply in shock, then deeper, life flowing through her and strengthening her resolve. The rhythm was closer now, so close, louder at every push through the wall of her chrysalis.

By the time she got her neck out, the hole was big enough for her shoulders, which meant it was big enough for her. Sand surrounded her, half-buried her, and it clung to her sticky hand as she reached out from her amniotic egg. The sound. The sound was there, water lapping at her fingers, washing away the feeling of dryness that was weaving through her.

With a heave, she was free. Shaking legs carried her to the water, where she flopped into and sighed out in relief, awash with the joy of feeling every wave over her chest. It was amazing. The crashing of waves matched the beating of her heart, and she smiled and laughed into the open air, grinning for all the world to see.

Water streamed through Surgis's coat as she rose her head from the water, hearing Phelix's voice before seeing anything else. "Wuh?" She blinked hard, swiveling to find the source before landing on Oswald. ... who was that? Putting her fun on pause, Surgis stared wide-eyed at the two of them, hunched up on her back feet and letting her mane drift in the water.

Everything was fine? Why wouldn't it be? Wait, that thing ran up to the other thing... Two different... things? Like her?

There was a lot to take in. Glancing away to the water, then to the beach, then back to Phelix and Oswald, Surgis worked her mouth without any sound, unsure of how to form the words out of formless thoughts in her mind.

"I like water!" She called back a little lamely and after the fact. Why was that one cowering? The Oswald one. Which one was she? It took her another pause just to come up with an answer, this time barked out with a quick "Surgis!"

Wait. Back up. The waves lapped in her consciousness and filled the gap of words, but she managed to pull out the fact that they didn't know what a Surgis was either. Right. "I'm Surgis!" There, all clarified. Though, she did continue to stare owlishly at the pair, wading closer to the shore with uncertainty, like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.