Aegir shook his head, frusterated with his lack of vocabulary and his inability to get the message across.
He expected Oliver to ask him another question, perhaps about his life, but the one he did ask surprised him.
@Oliver
Oliver listened, curiously, as the bear spoke. He wasn't entirely sure what it all meant, but he vowed to remember it anyway, because--well, it sounded important. And, because Aegir had obviously put effort into trying to get this point across to him. "Thank you," he murmured again.
Quiet, he crept forward, watching as Aegir splashed more water into the river. This time, the bear's demeanor changed to deep worry, and Oliver drew a little closer in concern. Sacrifice? Well--that didn't sound good. Oliver wanted to reassure Aegir, but at the same time, he didn't want to lie to him. His own brow furrowed as he looked into the water, and then, sitting slowly at the top of the bank, at Aegir.
"Sacrifice means... giving up something, to save something else. Like... getting hurt to help someone. Or losing something you care about, like-... If you threw a piece of food to a fish, because the fish was really hungry? --Wait you-... eat... fish uhh-not the best metaphor. Let me think." Oliver blinked a couple times, then nodded and tried again.
"If you were really really hungry, and... someone else was hungry too and you gave them your fish. It means you sacrificed yours. It can mean all sorts of things," he admitted, "But usually it means you give something up. But it's by choice--it can only be by choice. No one can take a sacrifice from you. So it won't happen unless you want it to, okay?"
He smiled, as kindly as he could. He didn't want to worry the cub any more than he had to, and really it probably wasn't so bad as all that, so he asked--hesitant--"Can't-... Can the water tell you what you have to--sacrifice? Maybe? Or--why? Or when?"
@Aegir
The more Oliver spoke, the more relaxed Aegir became. The water had been heavy upon its message of sacrifice and he had worried that it would be a bad thing, a dark thing. But it could mean anything. There was no point in stressing about it now - whatever the water told him was coming. He would sacrifice something and he would have to be able to distinguish what that was.
He shook his head at Oliver's question.
He didn't understand. Why did the water speak to him and not to Oliver? Or perhaps it was and Oliver could not understand? He began to drink the water, feeling dehydrated once again from the magic he had been doing. He eagerly lapped up the water, silent for a while as he drank quickly.
@Oliver
Oliver listened, quiet, then laid his head on his wing-paws. He let out a yawn, considering, as the cub drank his fill. Hydration was good, and he only spoke after Aegir had finished.
"Well that's--good, I guess? Calm is good. That's a good magic you have. Oh, hold on-..." He pushed back up again, blinking, planting his taloned forefoot back over a smaller, fairly smooth stone, concentrating. "So... I can make stuff glow. Light. Others can... Grow plants. Or mushrooms. They can... make their bodies stronger, or their senses sharper, or... They can make shadows. Make dark. I can make it warmer, I can... heal if you're sick, mostly. Uhh. Some can move stuff with their minds, or see things in... rock and stuff, things that happened a long time ago. My dad can do that," he added, matter-of-factly.
He removed his taloned foot from the stone, relieved to see that it was finally shining a soft, glowing golden-white. This he pushed gently toward Aegir, with a kindly expression. "There. For you. In case it gets dark or--if you get scared. Or anything. It's yours. Okay?"
@Aegir
Once he had drunk his fill, Aegir stood back up, water dripping from his muzzle. He turned his attention to Oliver as he began to speak...and instantly became very interested. There were so many different kinds of magic, so much more in the world then just this river, then. And Oliver could do so much! Aegir was fascinated and impressed with his friend.
He knew that Oliver had said he could make things glow, but a part of Aegir did not really understand what that meant until he pulled out the rock. His eyes widened as the dog handed the glowing orb to him and he gently raise a paw and clumsily rolled it into his other. He held it up to his eyes, observing it and admiring its beautiful glow. Magic, this was magic. A beautiful thing. He would keep this forever, to keep alive the memory of this day. And his new friend.
He looked from the orb as he held it close and pushed his head against Oliver.
"There's other caves. Other water? If you want. Calmer water that you can try to catch your own fish in? I could show you some places. Warmer places, if you're cold from this water?" He offered this hesitantly. He wasn't sure what the polar bear was, let alone its optimal living conditions, and he didn't want to make things worse.
But somehow the idea of the poor bear lingering here alone, unable to fish, was--worrying. Worse still, he waw pretty sure that Aegir himself would have no idea which was the best course of action. The newly-hatched rarely did. "Otherwise I could--describe them to you? I guess. Or uhh. Just check on you sometimes? Or both."
@Aegir
Aegir looked at Oliver for a moment, wondering if he should go with him, learn with him, or if he should stay by himself. But he did not know. He was young, how could he know? But that water probably did. But he was growing weary of his magic. He wanted to simply ask, ask and receive and answer. Could the water do that?
Without really thinking, he picked up a pebble and turned to the river, tossing it cleanly into the water. There was a small plop as it plunged in and Aegir watch the water fall. He understood.
He turned back to his friend and looked down at the little light.
@Oliver
Oliver blinked at Aegir's request, and then smiled, quizzically and warmly.
"That's--a big request, 'cause I don't actually know all the caves. There's bits I've never been too but--heard of? I can tell you about it though. Tell you about what I do know."
He smiled again, in his bird-dog-like way, ear-tufts flicking back and eyes half-squinting kindly. "The--waters, here--this is Polaris. They're pretty fast, and cold. I think they go to Pisces--that's what they call it--which is full of water. You'd probably like it there. Lots of pools, and a giant waterfall, too. Misty and stuff. People used to live there. I don't know if they still do. Uhhh. There's little bits elsewhere in the caves. Canis has like... old pools of water. Kinda... stagnant. Still and smelly. There's a fortune-teller there who looks at bones, but not the water, I think? And err. There's Fornax but I've never been there. Only heard of it. There's a really, really, really long tunnel--all ice and stuff--and if you manage to get to the top supposedly it's just... oceans. And an 'ocean' is uhhh."
How had it been described to him? He squinted, thinking. "It's water that goes on and on and on, as far as you can see, and there's so much that it ripples and splashes and makes waves. There's big things and fish that live in it. The water's supposedly warm. I've not been there though. I should check it out, some day. And there's--in Cetus--that's kinda where I grew up. There's mists, and the whole cave is water, with all the trees and grass and stuff just sticking up through it. One part's a whole huge, black lake, and Aquarian lives in that. He's big and he's our dad." Oliver did not bother explaining this--he was blithely unaware that it likely made no sense, and regardless, he had no idea that he was probably no longer considered one of the "Children" of Cetus.
"OH!" he exclaimed, expression shifting abruptly from thoughtful to alarmed. "There's water in--Eridanus? That's the room with all the green. Jungle and leaves? Don't go near the two pools of silver water. I got told they'll eat you. There's bad stuff in there."
There.
That... should cover it.
Oliver eyed Aegir, brow furrowing briefly, hoping he hadn't overloaded the poor cub. ...He probably had. He began to use his talons to quickly scratch a map onto the stone floor of the cave, pointing out each cave and tunnel and their connections as he did so. He did his best, too, to set his magic to it to make it easier to see--to make each line and curve glow brightly for Aegir's eyes.
@Aegir
Aegir listened attentively to Oliver's explanation. He wanted to know each room, he wanted to see them all and all the waters in every single one. And not just the waters, he wanted to see the people that lived in them. Would they be as nice as Oliver? As patient and kind? He hoped so. He hoped everyone was like this. But he knew they would not. It was a dream that was unreachable, but still, he would hope.
He did not want Oliver to leave empty handed, though. He felt as though he needed to give his friend a token of their meeting as well. He held out a paw and focused intensely. If he brought water together, close enough, make it solid...a little teardrop shape formed in his paw as moisture in the air collected and then froze. It was small and a little ragged, but it was something. He held it out to Oliver.
Oliver listened, then offered yet another smile. He dipped his head in a nod--and oh, there was a gift being offered to him! He took the ice, perfectly aware it would melt--unless it was super magickal in some way he didn't recognize?--and carefully cradled it in a taloned forelimb.
"Thank you. I hope your journey's safe, Aegir. I'll be--around, yeah? If you need me just call for me. I mostly live around here," he added, nodding about. "Polaris. And thank you." Wait. He'd already said that-... Oh well.
With another smile he turned, bowing a little and hobbling off on three legs, leaving Aegir with the baubled stone as a gift, and taking the ice chip the bear had granted him in the fourth limb's claws, clutched tightly. He could already feel it melting--but that was fine.
It was the thought that counted.
//exit Oliver
@Aegir