ORIGIN - Am I all that I say I am?

Talion held his head high as he soared, feeling way too proud of himself for pushing a younger, smaller Gembound around. It didn't occur to him at all that what he had done was considered bullying. Something that surely was not grand, or destined. Instead, he viewed it as a lesson that the little brat had needed to learn, and one he had been happy to teach.

I bet he'll think twice about disrespecting someone again, the owl thought with a self-assured nod. As he nodded, he dipped to one side, soaring over deepest parts of the marsh. His gaze scanned every piece of murky shoreline for a cave rat taking a drink, and yet he couldn't find one. He'd noticed a similar lack of movement, lack of life, by the trees. For some reason, he'd assumed being near the water would be different.

A twinge of hunger, and annoyance, at seeing nothing again, drove Talion downward. He dipped, the sound of insects buzzing all around as he quickly descended. Whenever a log, sitting half-in and half-out of the water, came into view, he angled toward that as a landing place. Whenever he was just over it, his wings flared, slowing him so that he carefully landed upon the part of the log that still laid on land.

His talons sunk into the rotting bark, holding him steady as Talion settled his wings against his sides. He ran his beak over his ruffled, amber chest feathers a few times before finally looking up and around. Would he be able to see anything down here, or was he wasting his time even looking, the owl wondered silently.

@Aegir

The marsh of Cetus was exactly as Oliver described it - misty, filled with water, and lots of plants sticking out of the water. The wet mud stuck to Aegir's pristine white fur and he shivered with cold. He was growing, sure, but he was still thin and bedraggled, not quite the fully grown, thick-furred beast that he would be in a few cycles more. Of course, this was not something he knew. Perhaps it would be wise to learn the spell that Oliver had used that heated things up. It would certainly help him stay warm in places like these.

But there were other things to think about. So much water, and so unique of pools! The water in Polaris and Orion were much different then the murky, muddy pools of Cetus. He curiously sniffed at a puddle he walked by and took a lap. It was earthy and dark, not sweet like the waters in the forest or crystal clear and cold like the one in Polaris. Not his favorite, but definitely something new.

He approached near the owl, but he paid it no heed. It was most likely a lesser gembound, just a bird among the forest, and instead focused on the murky waters. He had questions for it, to ask what his purpose was here. If he had one, of course. So he opened his jaws and shot a small stream of water into the pool. The water rippled and splashed where the water went in and he observed this as he always observed and his answer came crystal clear. "Now is the time to be generous," he mumbled. "To share my gifts? My experiences? But...I am still young. I have little but the reading. Is that what you are saying?"

@Talion

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

The squish of steps on the damp, mossy ground had Talion twisting his head nearly all the way around to see who was approaching.

Large, deep brown eyes narrowed at the haunting layer of fog. It had hidden this creature from view, somehow. Talion was sure he had looked all around the area, and yet someone had still escaped his view. The idea that he had failed made his stomach turn and his feathers poof up.

The sight of the shaggy bear cub instantly set the owl at ease though. Another child, he thought with disdain as he watched it shamble right by. Stupid thing doesn't even know I'm here.

Talion's interest in the other Gembound waned as it approached the water's edge. He assumed the bear was going to take a drink, or go swimming, since it was already covered in mud up to its belly. However, it did the complete opposite of those things, and instead shot water from its maw into the swampy waters of the marsh.
If that hadn't already shocked the owl, then the Gemling's words would have. It said something about sharing its gifts, and being generous.

With an empty stomach being the first thing on his mind, Talion assumed the bear must mean physical gifts. Perhaps they have a nice stash of fish, he thought with a glance at the ripples in the water. The owl had never encountered water magicka before, but he was not unfamiliar with the concept of elemental magics. Their users made him wary, but he was not threatened by this child.

"Hello!" Talion called out after another moment of consideration.

"May I ask what you're doing?" He inquired politely. He glanced from the bear, to the water again, and then finally settled his gaze on the former. Without waiting for an answer, he went on to ask,"And did you perhaps say something about sharing...gifts?"

@Aegir

Aegir heard the owl speak and glanced up with surprise. He had thought that it had been a simple lesser gembound watching him at the water. Strange. He noted to himself that he should observe more carefully what was around him. "Hello," he returned, equally as polite. "Aegir is speaking to the water." His answer was simple and gave away little about how, exactly he spoke to the water. It still sometimes escaped his knowledge that others could not speak to it the way he could.

Aegir, being Aegir, did not suspect in the slightest that the bird had ulterior motives. He probably would not have cared either way, however, as he had nothing to his name but the baubled stone hanging at his neck. "Oh, this one heard Aegir. Yes, yes, the water says Aegir should share his gifts. Perhaps it is his readings that Aegir must share for Aegir has no gifts other then this. Does the bird wish Aegir to share his gifts with them?"

@Talion

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

Talion gave the younger Gembound a deadpan look in response to its first statement. He decided to ignore the ambiguous nature of the words, for now, and focus on the fact that Aegir was referring to himself in third-person.
Not only was it unusual, but it unnerved the owl. It made him feel less than the cub, for some reason, and he didn't like that feeling one bit.

That bud of agitation blossomed into outright irritation whenever Aegir continued to speak. Talion, as usual, ignored his own responsibility in the matter, and didn't think that it was his fault he had to listen to the bear. Instead, he brooded on how absolutely annoying it was, and how pretentious it sounded, to refer to one's self in the third person.
Is the child too stupid to acclimate to normal speech? the owl wondered while his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. After a moment of him staring at the patiently waiting cub, he decided it must be. That wasn't altogether worthless though, since the ignorant Gemling seemed to be willing to share his gifts with Talion.

"Yes, I do," he finally said with a nod.

Uncertain of what was about to occur, Talion restlessly shifted his wings and then resettled them at his side. Any knowledge of magic he could get would be useful, so he hoped the cub was about to demonstrate another water spell. The owl might not understand what the bear what talking about, with reading and talking to the water, but he understood that magic was an important part of the caves. The more he understood about it, about its capabilities, then the better prepared he was to face things like the beast in Polaris.
The possibility that the bear would manipulate the water enough to move his log suddenly occurred to Talion. He gripped the rotting wood more firmly, and continued to patiently wait to see just what the Gemling could do.

@Aegir

Aegir dipped his head. "Of course, yes, Aegir will share. Aegir will read for the bird. As is his duty given by the water. Aegir will read and if the bird has any questions, they may ask them when he is done."

He closed his eyes and breathed, focusing on the gem on his head before opening his jaws and expelling three burst of water that dutifully splashed into the water he immediately got down on his stomach and leaned closed, opening his eyes just as the water touched surface. He went still as the water rippled and he observed every detail intensely, his face going through a number of different expressions. "Aegir er því miður," he muttered, his voice switching to a different tongue in his focus of the water. Confusion and despair and pity for the bird, but there was still a glimmer of confusion in his eyes as he continued to read until all the ripples were gone.

He sat still for a moment before raising himself and sitting on his hind legs. He was so confused and strangled by this prophecy. "Aegir has trouble with this reading," he said in clear English. "It is hard to say. Water is confused, conflicted, many things it wants to say but cannot say. But Aegir sees something ahead. A destruction of the bird's world, of the very self, perhaps. The bird will will find itself lost somehow, flung away from what they once knew. All shall be destroyed, this is what the water says. But there is more. It says that the bird has a gift of some kind, a skill, that will take them many places and will give them satisfaction, but will lead them to a time of choosing. Perhaps brought on by the destruction. It must choose - a choice. The bird cannot let others decide. A leap of faith, a second chance. Instinct, perhaps, or the heart, will save the bird. Yes, that is what the water says. It is confusing and vague, but it is coming. That, the water promises."

Aegir sighed and leaned back, a little tired from the concentration before looking over to the owl and giving him a weak smile. "Are their any questions that the bird has for Aegir or the water?"

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

@Talion

The owl straightened up, his interest piqued, whenever Aegir mentioned that it was his 'duty' to read the water. He kept silent though, deciding it would be best to follow the bear's instructions. He could ask any questions he had after the demonstration. No doubt he'd have more by then anyway, so it would be better all around to wait.

Talion watched the other Gembound spout not one but three streams of water from their maw. Whenever the bursts hit the surface of the swamp water, Aegir bent down to scrutinize the ripples they made. Had it not been for the array of emotions that flickered across his face, the owl would have thought him far off in thought. Instead, it slowly dawned on him that somehow, Aegir really was 'reading' the movements of the water.

By the time the reality of the situation dawned on Talion, Aegir was done reading and was sitting up to look at him. He regarded the cub with wide, dark orbs, his mind reeling on what the other Gembound could possibly tell him. He'd only met one other that said they had the power to read, or see, the future, and he didn't trust them. But...he had always hoped that their words about him were true. He hadn't found his great destiny, or purpose, yet though, despite having waited for so, so long.

Aegir's following words didn't help Talion's confusion at all. Some of it seemed to be speaking about that which had already happened. The battle with the beast in Polaris, and the encounter with the dragon and the hybrids, all of that had been a destruction of his world. He hadn't known such things existed in the caves, despite having lived in them for almost two dozen cycles.
Yet, since both encounters, he had been wary, and more watchful of all that he passed. Could it be that, now that he was aware of greater powers in the caves, he was in danger of them? How did his choice, and destruction, tie in to the great destiny Fate had foretold?

Whenever the younger Gembound asked if Talion had any questions, he was momentarily lost for words. He had so many that he wasn't sure which to ask first. His mind reeled, and his stomach flipped as he realized that he was uncertain about so much. Should he have waited in Eridanus all those cycles? Should he return to the statue to see if the other pieces have been brought back yet? Should he have stayed to investigate the pools in Pisces?

Then, as if he were splashed by a wave of cool water, the questions receded and one, clear thought remained to Talion. He didn't need anyone else to tell him about himself. Whatever his purpose was, if he had one at all, he would decide it. Aegir was right, he could not let others decide for him. He had let Fate's words decide his actions for too long. He would not let Aegir's do the same.

"Thank you for your reading, Aegir," Talion said politely. He didn't feel any real gratitude for the confusing jumble of predictions, but it gave him the chance to inquire about the cub's magic.
"Have you always been able to read, and speak, to the water?" He inquired with a curious tilt of his head.

@Aegir

Aegir gave a small dip to acknowledge the thanks. The bird seemed to have been thinking it over and he wondered about what they had been thinking. He would need more practice, more speaking and more experience to be able to figure out what another gembound was thinking. He wondered if he would ever become good at it one day.

"Yes," he replied to the question. "Aegir's gem formed in the water. Aegir was hatched in the water. Aegir has always had this connection. The water ripples and splashes, the way it moves and dances, Aegir can listen to these things. The water is life itself - it knows all and cannot lie. It flows through all of the caves, through all of our bodies, through the living and the dead. It can tell of things that will come for it knows. It knows us. All of us. And Aegir has been given the gift to divine these meanings. The bird may take the water's wisdom how he wishes, but it is absolute. What will pass will pass and nobody can stop it."

His eyes remained calm through his speech, as if he were making simple conversation, but his words carried power for one so young. He knew this of the water and, while his words sounded arrogant and superior, he merely thought of himself as a conveyor of the water's knowledge. He had no idea of Talion's rejection of the wisdom and merely thought that he just needed more time to think about it.

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

@Talion

Even though Talion wouldn't say so out loud, he had serious doubts about Aegir and his 'readings'. He may not have seen the use of water magic up close before, but he had been privy to other spells. He had witnessed blasts of ice, flaming saliva and powerful shockwaves that had nearly blasted him off of his talons. None of the Gembounds that had wielded them had hinted at any sort of divination capabilities.
He'd only spoken to one other that believed they could see the future, that had the audacity to tell others about their destinies. The fact that he kept thinking of her made the owl's feathers prickle with agitation.

At first, Talion was grateful for Aegir's reply because he thought it would distract him. The latter, at least, turned out to be true. The fact that the bear cub had literally come from the water, and had always believed in their duty, was certainly something to brood over. He had assumed their strange beliefs came from Fate. That, by some coincidence, he had run into another that had been plagued by the ramblings of that bitch.
Since that wasn't the case, his resolve faltered a bit. How can one so young know their purpose already, Talion thought,while mine continues to elude me. He then wondered at what, or who, made it possible for some to ordain others futures. Why are they special, he thought bitterly.

It took more effort than Talion would have liked to squish the rising hostility he felt toward the cub. This young one was too big to push around, and to brutish to understand any lessons he would try to 'teach'. The best he could hope for from the other Gembound was whatever knowledge they possessed about their magic. He was beginning to think that they probably didn't know much, but he decided to try one more time before completely giving up.

"You are alone," Talion stated bluntly,"It can be hard to live alone. Does the water protect you too, and provide for you? Do you hunt with it?"

The thought of food reminded the owl about his growing hunger. He wondered fleetingly if the gnawing sensation in his stomach was contributing to his short temper.

@Aegir

Aegir did not detect any hostility in the bird and continued to watch him with an even, kindly expression. "Yes, Aegir is alone. It is sometimes hard, especially when there is no water for Aegir. But the water always helps. Aegir can always drink wherever he is. There are fish in the water that Aegir eats. The water provides, but Aegir is the one that must care for himself. The water is company to Aegir as well. Aegir loves his friends, but he has the water as well. The water is his friend."

He picked up a pebble from the shore and tossed it into the water and watched the ripples and splashes. A small smile cracked his lips. "The water is what gives Aegir purpose and direction. Aegir knows what to do because the water guides him."

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

@Talion