ORIGIN - The Water-God's Harvest

The alligator faced the others, still billowing his throat with a rumble of pride and contentment. He was proud--proud of himself, proud of them, proud that Aquarian had seen fit to give them all his blessing--and his protection.

When he spoke, his voice still boomed with the thrum of energy he'd maintained during the chanting.

"He will protect us. We will serve him." He inhaled deeply, looking over the others. "We will each have our roles to play. Each have contributions that we can make--regardless of our size," he added with a soft growl of amusement, eyeing Tal'at, Willow and Eve. Then he took another breath, continuing.

"I ask now that we share our knowledge, so that we all know what we each know. We should go to the wall, and begin work on a drawing, carved into the stone or a tree, to map the cave. Share what we know of each place, gather knowledge. Perhaps tell the secrets we each know. I will tell you mine, once more: I know that the pools in the cave of jungle plants, when I swam too deep, filled my mind with evil things that wished to drag me down and kill me. The water ran cold. What do you know? Tell us."

He then continued, apparently intending to make a bit of a speech, first.

"Then. When you find time. When it suits you--but soon. I would ask that the small ones leave Cetus, and seek treasure. Seek that which is unusual. Seek information. Seek more knowledge. More! ...Seek new food, seek the things that Aquarian will treasure, will reward us for. The big ones perhaps can accompany them to protect--or stay here, and test our mettle against one another. Train for combat. Or begin a hunt, to seek offerings for our Father. But Willow--remain with me. I wish to speak with you." He swished his long, thick tail from side to side, allowing the others to make this decision.

What secrets did they have to share? And what would they choose to do?

{ art by dark } ~ { table by aura aka rare . edited by banshee and dark }

[ OOC. -- I figure this is a good time to just jump in and get started! Thread takes place just after the formation of CoR.Tal'at could gather up those seeds/plants to start his garden, if he wants. If Eve/Tal'at want bodyguards they could ask Ghan or Czernobog to do?! Or Ghan/Czern could want hunting/sparring! It's up to you guys! :3 This thread is meant for Children of Rot members only, but if someone else wants to spot us and hop in, that's okay too!

@Czernobog @Willow @Eve @Talat @Ghanyarah ]

Tag for mature language :O

Ghanyarah couldn't truly feel at ease until the snake-like water creature had disappeared beneath the surface of the marsh again. He watched as his long, yellow and teal body slid back into the water, receding to the mysterious depths until they would call upon him again. Once the monster had gone, the komodo turned his attention fully to his brother-leader. Dragon started talking again, launching into the discussion that had apparently been planned for the coalescence of this group. He nodded as the alligator spoke of serving Aquarian, yes - that had been their goal all along, hadn't it? It was what Ghanyarah had agreed to. Maybe his intentions were different from the alligator's, but they all planned to live forever and learn everything, so what did it matter?

He spoke of sharing their knowledge, and drawing - drawing, that was Ghanyarah's specialty. But he wasn't as smart as the others, like Tal'at and Willow and maybe even Eve. They were smaller, flying creatures, intended to converge all their thoughts and meditation into a common knowledge among the inner circle. Ghanyarah didn't share those thoughts. Hell, he doubted he was even capable of the level of meditation that was expected of them. That didn't mean he couldn't draw though... but maybe he'd just keep his talent to himself. He made a better fighter than an artist, anyways.

Dragon went on to instruct them further, a bid to gain more knowledge. Of course. He would do his duty just as his brother expected. But for now, the komodo had something to say about the Eyes. "I went to visit the Eyes in Eridanus." He spoke up, stepping closer. "I was greeted by a group of cats. They said the Eyes belonged to something called the All Mother, and that when you entered the water, she could see... who you truly were." The komodo dragon spoke this with a measure of obvious skepticism. "I didn't see a creature belonging to the name All Mother, all I could gather was that they thought the pools were her Eyes. I strongly suspect there is no such thing as the All Mother, which already renders our great protector Aquarian far superior to whatever bullshit they were spewing." He rolled his eyes with a sneer.

table and code © chelsea of ORIGIN

Tal'at did not want to fight, he did not want to do anything too dangerous. He had gotten himself mostly cleaned off, listening to Dragon's speech, and he tried to figure out where he best belonged in this group of strong, powerful creatures. He was way under the baseline of toughness that the group had.

Perhaps he didn't belong at all. Yet they hadn't shooed him off, so he tilted his head... He supposed he could look for new food. Perhaps grow and harvest food-- he was no plant user, but he could see Green now, and he understood it.

"Would anyone like... To help me? Look for food. Plant a garden. Create food source," he spoke up softly, timidly, his voice much more quiet compared to Dragon or Yara-- but he had put himself out there.

He shuffled in the mud, ears straining for the sound of feathers. Perhaps he should fly up to the tree branches and seek Eve, but perhaps she had already left. Oh dear. He felt so unsafe on the ground, but that was where all the tough characters were. Perhaps one of them would help him. If it wasn't too much trouble. He supposed he could always do it by himself.

"Would anyone please?"

And as he waited for a reply, he reached out with his magick, trying to see the Green around him.

!!! ...
@Czernobog ? :3

It's in the eyes!
I can tell, you will always be danger!
We had it tonight! Why do we always seek absolution?

Czernobog, still paddling in the shallows of the murky swamp water, was oblivious to much of what the adults were saying. Big ones. Protect. Train. Hunt. The last words caught his attention, and the piglet swam to shore, hooves tapping across the muck, shaking his short, pitch-black wire coat free of the muddy water. Hunt. He knew that word, what it meant, and the boar swallowed back a wave of hungry salivation, the taste of spider clear in his admittedly primitive mind. Still, the thought hit - was he a "big one?" Peering down at his own body in befuddlement, the beast-in-training was stunned to find that he had, indeed, grown. The boar, tusks glinting in the mellow, foggy light, was at least one hundred and fifty pounds, now, legs short but powerful, hooves and teeth sharp and dense, enough to break through bone.

A pleased snort escaped it, and Czernobog glanced about, wanting to find some way to prove that he could, indeed, help in some way, that he was "big" like Dragon wanted. The little bat, who had fallen from the sky after the grand-boat had left, was nearby, and began to speak up, voice soft. The pig hopped forward, completely unaware of just how intimidating the playful action might be to someone so small, ears pitched forward and tail wagging. "Heeeeeeelp?" Apparently the words plant and help had caught the monster's attention, and he shook a hoof in example, showing off the sprout bursting forth from his skin, rooted deep into muscular tissue. "Help!"

post roll:
Jaw hanging open with excitement, it was easy to see that the boar's tusks seemed to glow a mellow sea green - if you had eyes, that is. As soon as the glow receded, the plant within the babe's leg began to grow, almost seeming to dance towards Tal'at, burrowing out of the hog's skin just long enough to tap playfully at the bat's ears and cheeks, as if in some odd greeting.

Evening

[Image: tumblr_n0sufarvA41tsu8dmo2_500.gif]

The crow squawked briefly, nodding at Tal'at. "I can help you! There's tons of fruit and seeds in Eridanus, right?" The crow squawked as she hobbled down Dragon's nose. "I can look there, for seeds and shinies."

Idly the crow scratched the side of her head with a talon before she abruptly fluttered off without even waiting for any one else to speak, croaking as her wings carried her out of Cetus and presumably into Eridanus.