ORIGIN - The One in the Water

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AEGIR
Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless, like water.

There was a pale light in the water, blue and glimmering, beautiful and shining. A small bear within, thin and shaggy, peeked cautiously from the translucent gem. The world was warped, but it did not matter much. All he saw was water. The water went on forever, it seemed. The world began with water, the world ended with water. The little one did not know why or where it came from. Only that it was.

He reached forward longingly, as if wanting to touch the water. It was beautiful, flowing past, gleaming off the lights above. He wanted to see the lights too. He wanted so much, yet he had so little.

He scratched weakly at the crystal, but didn't put any heart into it. He only wanted the water. Would he have to break this shell to get at it?

It seemed like that question didn't need to be answered as, a moment later, the shell began to break anyways. He didn't do anything, but perhaps he was just getting too big. It took a couple of seconds, but, finally, the gem broke and the bear was swept into the current.

It didn't cross his young mind that this was a dangerous, life threatening situation. He bumped against a number of small rocks as he was thrown downstream, but otherwise somehow managed to escape injury that made him fear.

Eventually, he reached a shallow part and he saw an opportunity to control himself. He reached out with his claws and dug them into the sand. For a moment, he lost his footing, but then held onto a rock instead. The flow was lighter here and it wasn't too difficult to haul himself onto shore.

He turned around and gazed into the water. He reached out a paw and let the river flow through and past his fur. He smiled and closed his eyes. Yes, this was beautiful, everything he imagined. He could sit here in the water, all day, and never give a care for anything else. Until, of course, he realized how horribly cold he was.

He was soaked from the water and wherever he was wasn't exactly warm. He began to shiver as cold began to penetrate his thin, young skin. He stumbled out of the water, the cold water suddenly all the more obvious and collapsed on shore. He was confused. He had thought that the water was beautiful and perfect. What was this sensation of cold? He didn't quite understand what was happening to his body and desperately desired to seek comfort in the river. But his body would not let him. Sadness overcame him and he began to cry. A child seeking the only thing it knew and finding that it could not help him.

Oliver peered ahead. Above the rushing murmur of the water he could hear a different noise: a soft, wailing mewl, despondent and helpless. Immediately concerned, he hop-lolloped forward, running on hind limbs and taloned wing-limbs at an awkward gait.

He could see it as he crested the black-rock hill: a white thing, fuzzy and round, glowing faintly with the crystals' light and silhouetted against the darker stone. Oliver gave a soft whimper of empathetic concern, and spread his black wings. He hopped and tilted himself forward, gliding down the long slope and eventually landing near and a bit behind the cub with a quiet scuffle of paws.

The crow-dog didn't approach straightaway, instead gently calling out. "...Hello? Are you--new? Do you need help?" His voice was gentle, and softly worried.

He could see that the baby was wet, and huddled--cold? He wasn't sure what to do about this, and tentatively consulted his magicka, hoping it would do-... something, to help. It usually did. Meanwhile, his pale gaze roamed over Aegir. He couldn't see any gem shard remnants scattered anywhere, so it wasn't freshly hatched? Was it lost? Had it been trying to fish, and failing?

Oliver hoped, at least, that it wasn't injured. At least, not too badly to help.

He could feel the air now warming around him, and with some surprise noted the tingle of magicka working. Cautiously he crept a few steps closer, head down and tufted ears back--trying not to intimidate the cub, but at the same time, to shift that warm air just a little bit closer.

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

@Aegir

The little cub looked up as a warm thing approached. Warmth...he did not know the word, but he did know that it was better then cold. His little gray nose twitched as he turned and saw the thing that was bigger then him. Black with things that looked like fur but were not fur and a different color, like the stones but darker. His crying died away as the thing approached and began to speak.

He tried to divine a meaning from this. He knew that it meant something. It was not making those noises without reason. It was trying to communicate. He knew that much. However, what it was trying to communicate was not something he understood just yet.

"Are new?" he repeated back. "Do...need help?"

Was he Help? Was that what the dark-fur-like-thing was asking him?Did it have something to do with the fact that he was warmer now?

After a moment, he realized that it was, that heat was coming off of the darker thing and, without thinking, he rushed forward and got as close as possible. His wet fur brushed against the dark-thing's legs but he didn't notice as he sighed and closed his eyes, already feeling better now that he wasn't freezing.

My voice is speaking...
My thoughts are swirling...

@Oliver

Oliver peered questioningly as the little cub repeated back his words.

Right-... So he doesn't know how to speak. The hybrid wasn't quite sure how to handle that. Suddenly Aegir was moving, and Oliver grunted softly as the little one leaned in against his limbs. He turned, hovering one wing-limb over Aegir, exhaling. He wasn't sure where he'd come from--the bear looked newly-hatched, but again, even with another glance around, Oliver could see no signs of a chrysalis. But he couldn't talk? So he was young, but--where had he come from?

He turned his attention back down, blinking and focusing on just maintaining the warmth, for now.

The hybrid slowly blinked pale blue eyes, unsure as to what to do next. Should he--get him food? A worried glance around Polaris, a shifting jitter of a memory--Oh! OH. He could make food! With a jolt he remembered those weird yellow fruits that had cropped up all over this very cave. He half-squinted, focusing, hoping that a shiny magical banana might manifest itself directly before the cub.

Success! It appeared there with a gentle plop of peel thunking softly onto stone, and Oliver reached forward to slice along the peel's length to let its appetizing odor out. He himself mostly ate fish and meat, but the bananas tasted good to him anyway. They were magickally nourishing, and he thought it might do the baby some good. With a gentle nudge, Oliver pushed it toward Aegir. "Eat. Food," he offered softly. For a time, he waited in silence, hoping the little one would get the idea--if not, he'd have to show him. He kept his body language friendly and neutral, reassuringly so (or so he hoped) meanwhile.

At length, he spoke again, slowly and clearly, and with a gentle tone. The bear cub's drenched fur was soaking his legs, but that didn't really matter.

"Yeah-... Help. Like I'm doing now. I guess? Uhh-... I'm Oliver. Me. Oliver." He gestured to himself gently with his free taloned forelimb, then extended a claw to point at Aegir. "Me, Oliver. Oliver. You? --Do you have a name?"

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

@Aegir

The bear cub looked down at the yellow thing that was presented to him. He leaned down and cave it a sniff. A sickly sweet smell hit his nose and it twitched, wondering if it was safe. But the black thing had said that it was food and that was a word that he understood, deep inside. He leaned down and licked up the banana with a couple swipes with his tongue. It tasted delicious on his tongue, although he had never tasted anything else in the world besides river water.

He swiped his tongue across his lips, savoring the taste, not knowing that his stomach would reject the food within a short period of time. But he was grateful for the food nonetheless. He looked up at the black thing that was warm and gave him food and purred softly. He was happy with this thing. He liked this thing. Kind of how he liked the water, but different.

When it began to point and make noises, he realized that it was trying to tell him its name. He also understood the word Name and had been thinking all the time in his crystal, staring at the water, what his name would be. This thing, the black thing that was warm and made food was called Oliver. Well, he finally settled on a good one that felt good to toss around in his head and opened his mouth to say it out loud.

And a stream of water came pouring out, straight towards Oliver.

He quickly shut his jaws, surprised by this. That was unexpected. He looked away and carefully opened his mouth again, but not water came out this time. That was strange. And, now that he looked back at Oliver, he realized that he probably hadn't been expecting it too. He shuffled his feet as he carefully said his name. "Name...Ae-gir. Ae-gir sor-ry." He thought that was the word, at least that seemed like the right word. There were so many different words popping to and fro in his head that he could barely tell which ones went where.

My voice is speaking...
My thoughts are swirling...

@Oliver

Oliver flinched, freezing up as the blast of water splashed unhelpfully over him. His eyes squeezed shut and, for a moment, he didn't move--feeling it course down into his fur.

Then he opened one eye, and another, peering quizzically at Aegir. ...Why?! he thought, but he didn't speak it aloud. Gross. The bear cub had puked all over him. Or--was it water..? Either way it wasn't pleasant, and as the bear cub shuffled back, Oliver pushed up to swipe some of the liquid from his fur with a fore-limb.

As the cub spoke, Oliver glanced back up, offering an encouraging expression and again, a soft tone. "Aegir. Hi." Something occurred to him, then, and he tilted his head, eyeing the cub. "Is that--was that your magick? That's--good magick if it is. Everyone... has some, and they're all different."

Oliver considered. Summoning water could be a really useful thing to have when the people he tended--since he mostly tried to help others--were sick, or overheated, or hurt. Everyone needed water. He'd have to try and teach himself this, later. Maybe another demonstration would help. But then again, he didn't want to tax the little guy.

Instead, he focused on teaching, for now--hoping to help, as always. "Like-... I can make light? Mom and Dad make light and shadow and stuff, and-... here." He looked down, and around, then stretched his forelimb's talons to draw a dull, dark stone over to him. He focused, for a moment, on the upwelling of his own magicka.

It didn't come straightaway, though, and he coughed, embarrassed.

"Uhh-... Normally that would... Glow. So--Aegir, huh? That's a good name!"
{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

@Aegir

Aegir tilted his head at the word. He rolled it around in his head. Magick, magic...

Oh, was the water magic? Was that feeling he felt in the back of his head magic? He nodded enthusiastically at Oliver and smiled. "Magic! Magic!" He leaned back and opened his jaws, letting out a small stream of water fountain from his mouth. However, as he shut his jaws, he realized that he was starting to feel strange. Slightly dizzy and his throat was going dry. Was all that water leaving him? Was that where it came from?

He didn't know yet that his body required water to survive and expelling so much water, being so small, would be detrimental. However, the water seemed his only salvation and he instinctively turned around and thrust his head into the water, opening his jaws to swallow mouthful after mouthful of the clean river water.

He sat there for a little while, drinking until he couldn't breath anymore and pulled himself out, gasping, but feeling considerably refreshed. He stood and shivered again, this time shaking out his pelt as water droplets dripped from his face. Cold water flung everywhere before he turned back to Oliver to get back in his warm aura.

Oliver said another word that he didn't understand, but stuck in his mind. "Light?" Was that rock light? But Oliver seemed a bit upset about something. He looked up at the dog, confused, and called out with a question. "Oliver! Light?"

My voice is speaking...
My thoughts are swirling...

@Oliver

Oliver watched as Aegir spewed a second little plume of water--and then dove to the river, drinking gulps down. Maybe that was all he'd done? Spat water? Maybe fuzzy white bear cubs had that as some sort of--ability, maybe it wasn't magic at all?

He peered, blinking, as Aegir returned to his warmth, and began repeating the word, "light."

"Oh! Yeah--Oliver, very good!" he agreed in an encouraging tone, before looking around. He peered at the big, glowing crystals, and nodded to them. "Light," he explained. "It's bright, yeah? It's how we see." He glanced down at the little stone before him and focused again, chancing another attempt at making the pebble glow to reinforce his point. Again it didn't work at all, and he gave up, for now, sighing and looking around.

"Okay, so--do you see the corner over there, under the rock?" Tone still kind, he nodded off to a darkly-shadowed corner of the cave, then peered to Aegir. "That's dark. No light. Then up there--" and he nodded to a different area of brightly crystal-lit cave, cluttered with bioluminescent plant life--"That's bright. Light. Understand, or?"

He hesitated, unsure if this would just confuse the young one further. "These are all--words, language. Our names are words. Light and bright and everything I'm saying--it's words." In his experience, others tended to be born with a natural affinity for learning to speak, and even knowledge of some things--it just needed... unlocking.

But Oliver hadn't really met all that many newly-hatched Gembound, and he hoped he wasn't doing more harm than good.

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

@Aegir

Aegir listened intensely, intent on making sure he understood everything that Oliver was saying. He didn't understand a lot of the words and would need further communication practice, but things that he pointed out, like rock, dark, light, bright, and words...kind of. Were those words? That he was thinking? Was Oliver saying words? Was everything just words?

He cocked his head and opened his mouth to try and speak. He felt a strange sensation in the back of his head and his pelt started itching before a cool sensation washed over his body. He suddenly felt like he had just swallowed a whole bunch of water. Water...yes! That was a word too! "Water," he blurted out before widening his eyes with surprise. He'd figured out a word on his own! "Water! Rock! Light! Dark! Oliver! Aegir!" He smiled and looked up at Oliver for affirmation and praise - had he done it right?

My voice is speaking...
My thoughts are swirling...

@Oliver

Oliver tilted his head, blinking a little at Aegir's strange display. But his words! Those were good. Impressive, even! In a gently encouraging tone, his expression warm, he spoke.

"Good job! Yeah! You can do words! You're a--bear, I think." He studied him, briefly--realizing he might just be a big white puppy. Oh, well. "Do you like water, then? Water's good?"

He kept his tone gentle, and looked around, thinking. "There's different kinds of water," he offered, speaking slowly and kindly. "That, there--that's a river." Oliver nodded slowly, pointedly, toward the river. Then, he looked up. "Sometimes, water falls from above us. That's called, rain. Sometimes there's sort of... water, thin, in the air all around? That's called mist. Or fog."

He paused, smiling at the young one, hoping Aegir could pick up some new words--maybe figure out some grammar, from context.

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

@Aegir

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