ORIGIN

Black paws squelched through the mud, leaving broad prints that slowly filled with stagnant water. The entire place reeked of rot, of decay, and the dog was finding it difficult to work his nose. It was something like staring into a bright light; the longer one stared, the more blind one became. Details were lost to him--all was the stink of the marsh.

He glanced back, ensuring that Fisher was still following, then plowed onward, again.

"We are here," he announced quietly, unsure if his shorter friend Fisher could see through the reeds as he could. The dog paused, peering out toward the still black waters of the swamp, a dark mirror that lay vast and stretched off into the darkness before them.

He stepped aside, making room for Fisher to move past him, and to the water's edge.

"How do we summon him?"

Black's neck wounds were knitting, though they had cracked during the hunt earlier, and bled a little. Still, he seemed stronger than he had been after the fight with Baratheon, healing, and as he knelt and shrugged the dead cave deer off of his back, he didn't flinch.

It landed in the mud with a loud squish and a short spray of muddy water, and Black then looked to Fisher expectantly. Clearly, his smarter friend would know how to summon the swamp-god.

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Fisher tagged along behind Black, a cave rabbit in his jaws, hauling it along with surprising speed despite the fact that prey was nearly as big as he was. The mastiff was carving quite the path through the mud and reeds, and the mustelid's paws were made for snow but seemed just as suited to the mud, wide, webbed feet plodding along through the path.

The dog finally stopped, signalling the edge of the water, and the noodle reached up on to his hind legs to try and see past, to see the water, but found it hard to see much past the hound. The dog set down his deer and he placed his rabbit on top, crawling over the two kills to get to the edge of the water.

The fisher had no idea how to summon the humongous, ancient Noodle Dad, but he knew there had to be a way. With a deep breath, he scampered down to the water's edge and tried to grab at his magic, trying to make the loud noise, something to echo down to the depths to grab Aquarian's attention.

"H-hello?!" He called, fur prickling down his spine as he got a horrible feeling. This could have been the worst idea he had ever had.

His gem sparked, and across the water came a dull, crumbling rumble, like distant thunder, but it wasn't anywhere as near as loud as he wanted. "Hello! Anyone?!" He shouted at the water, his eyes jamming shut, a tremble building up in his small frame. What if this didn't work, what if, what if, what if...

@Black

The thunder rolled seemingly across the very surface of the marsh, not quite touching the water, but loud enough to cause the water to quake. From below, it sounded distant as though the thunder roared far across some expansive sea. The creature within its depths stirred - it knew this was no normal occurrence. Meters upon meters of a slick, serpentine form unfolded and unraveled amongst itself, as the beast slowly ascended towards the top of the murky water. It gained speed, a fleeting shadow beneath, before it broke the surface with an eerie shriek. The momentum of its body propelled it forward, onto the muddy shores upon which the fisher and the dog sat. Yellow frills flared, and one yellow eye pinned on the pair as his small legs dragged him around, trapping the two in a coil. The beast said nothing, erupting another shattering screech as he swooped his head in close to the fisher.

Black's hackles stood on end, eyes widening. The meat offerings lay forgotten. This was why he was here--to see Aquarian--yet the sudden sight of him, his vast size, was still somehow unexpected. Intimidating.

Black stumbled back a few stiff-legged steps, growling and tensing, letting out a sharp deep bark before regaining control of himself a split second later. He blinked, looking to Fisher briefly to make sure he was okay, then looking to Aquarian again.

Suddenly, rather than waiting for Fisher to speak, Black lurched into loud and socially-inept speech. No greeting, no words of flattery--simply statements given matter-of-factly.

"I bring information. The thing-that-fled, the thing-that-buzzed, it has escaped me. It smells of metal and sweet. We bring food, and ask information. A comrade has fallen and been locked within her stone. Will she perish, or is this something other?"

He pulled away from the meat, leaving it so that Aquarian could snatch it up... and slinking just a little closer to Fisher. If the giant snake-fish decided to eat his friend, Black could hardly stop him, but he wasn't about to stand aside, either.

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The thing came up from the surface, wrapping around them, and suddenly Fisher was thrown back into the past, back into his nightmares. The mist and the great swamp beast were one, suffocating and all around-- his friends trapped in the currents of the long snaking body. He let out a yelp as the roar burned through his memories, sending him into shock. He stumbled back, his weasely body hitting Aquarian's scaly flesh-- frightened, he was so frightened. When he was younger, the beast hadn't quite scared him. The situation had terrified him when he realized the danger, but he hadn't been afraid before.

Now, Fisher was horrified. This thing was so big. Fisher knew he wasn't invincible, he had seen his friend almost-die, had watched Black's throat turn to blood, had watched a beast a quarter-- a tenth-- of Noodle Dad's size nearly destroy him and his friends. Aquarian? He could wipe them out with a blink of an eye and he was so, so afraid. He practically pissed himself, his ears pinned back, his eyes jammed shut, his fur puffing up to pipe-cleaner status.

If it wasn't for Black's words, cutting through the echoing roar of Aquarian, of his fear and memories that held him hostage, he might have just stood there until the great Noodle ate him and his offering up. His eyes snapped to the mastiff, and he rushed the dog's side, pressing into him, forcing himself to look up at the massive water creature.

"Noodle Dad!" He yowled, fear in his throat, catching his voice and cracking it. "Ple-EEASE, Fallah-- Fallah, tell me she's not dead! Please... Please, I just want Fallah back!" He bawled, fear pushing him over the edge, rationality fleeing the small, defenseless noodle.

@Black

Black stared at Aquarian, and he felt as if his world were falling away.

Don't follow it? But it is my purpose.

Still, after a moment of blankness, his emotionless brain seemed to have reconstructed his orders, reprogramming in a way. He would find it, but he would not follow it. And if he found it, he would certainly report back.

Now Aquarian was telling them that Fallah would live, and the hound found his tail wagging, slowly at first, then more rapidly, until he was gazing up at Aquarian like a puppy whose master has just come home. He looked down and nudged Fisher, still wagging his tail, excited.

"She'll live. She will live! ...Thank you," he added, more loudly, up toward Aquarian.

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Fisher shivered all over as the great Noodle Dad spoke, but at the very least, at the very least, the huge swamp monster was speaking and not using his teeth to devour them both. That was enough to get him to settle down and toughen up, if only just for the moment. He pulled himself out of his nightmares and back to reality, leaning on Black for support, as he listened to the deafening roar of words that spilled from Aquarian.

Noodle Dad seemed insistent that Black didn't follow Nemean that Fisher was glad that the dog did not argue with Noodle Dad in that exact moment. He still felt like the Big Ass Swamp Spaghetti was about to eat them at any moment. His ears twitching, he didn't quite comprehend what Aquarian meant until Black spoke up, an eager, loud woof coming from his chest.

... Fallah was going to be okay? Was that what he meant? Sleeping? Fisher's tail gave a tentative wag, considering this news. So was he right, that she was just.. recovering, some how, in that egg, and she wasn't dead? Yet something compelled him to ask.

"... Will she be the same?"

@Black

To Black, "sleeps" meant a short time. A few hours, perhaps--or in Fallah's case, a few days longer? It didn't occur to him that Aquarian might have a different meaning of the word, so when Fisher asked his question, it startled him.

Why wouldn't she be the same?

The dog's tail-wagging slowed, then stopped, until he, too, was peering up at Aquarian with deep, wrinkle-faced concern.

He wanted to ask about Nemean--wanted to ask what it was, what to do with it. But he didn't want to press too many things at once, right now; Aquarian was enormous, powerful, and deserving of respect. So he remained quiet, and wondered about Fallah, instead.

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The monster's wide yellow eyes flickered and focused on the fisher cat, tilting his head so that one peered down at him. He chittered quietly to himself, thoughtfully, before devising a response. "...I DO NOT KNOW! PERHAPS SHE WILL! PERHAPS SHE WILL NOT! YOU MUST TELL AQUARIAN OF HER FORM WHEN SHE AWAKENS!" He decided with a nod. Then, his head reeled back and he extended his long, serpentine body over the swamp. "I MUST FEEEEEED! I HUNGERRR!" All this talking had made him hungry, that was for sure. Without much more of a good bye, the serpent twirled his body and dramatically flopped into the depths of the swamp, bathing its shores in murk.

Exit Aquarian.