ORIGIN - mud discussion

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Cetus was, admittedly, a rather lonely place — the locales were rather bland and landlocked, and the locals were far and few. Beneath the surface of its murky waters, there was little to nothing. Stray schools of fish milled about, but oft drowned in the inky black that had consumed one part of it. This section was, of course, claimed by a creature seemingly formed of slime, with elastic ribs and slick, prickly skin.

Phlegethon, now fully-grown, milled about in the muck and mire. It really couldn't do anything else, lest it stray too far inland and collapse. Collapse only precipitated greater struggles and consequences; the creature knew this intimately well. Its body was too heavy to properly drag about, no matter how much it swelled with air, and it grew tired quickly. In one such instance of exploring land, Phlegethon had gone too deep into the reeds and wound up halfway in the grave: starving, deprived of water, unable to move. Without much to metabolize but its own innards, there was no slimy waste upon its skin. The actual skin of such a creature was rather brittle, flaking away at the slightest touch.

Least to say, the monstrosity nearly met its end, that day.

Not again.

The creature, head just above the water — akin to an alligator's, a habit it had picked up from Dragon — shifted forward, listening. Muffled vibrations cascaded around it, rippling down its skin and creating a detailed mental image of its surroundings. Lessers, small and frightful, scattered in the brush. The thump of hind legs indicated they were of the rabbit sort. Feathers fluttered through the air, not worth breaking cover to leap at. Hallowed Callers weren't the most nutritious things in the caves. Phlegethon wasn't too hungry, anyways. Neither was it tired, or thirsty, or… other things.

It was bored.

So, in its boredom, it began to radiate a warbling call; a low, bass hum, reverberating from the swamp. Hopefully, the sound would be curious enough to draw any Greaters willing to make conversation.

Through her explorations of the deep tunnels in the lagoon of Pisces, Lethe had found a tunnel. Not a small tunnel that she could use as a sort of den, no, it was a very, very big tunnel. She had been curious, a little daring, but wary of Tenzin's lessons of currents and undertows. If this tunnel somehow led to the core that he had told her about, then she would be at the mercy of the river. But she felt very little force or current coming from the tunnel, so she had decided it would be safe.

And safe it had been, although the water had grown progressively more murky as she swam deeper and deeper until it was almost black in color. Not that she had a problem with this - she could see perfectly fine, but the darkness made her feel more at home. At least, more at home then she'd been in the crystal waters of Pisces. The only problem was the strain the heavier water put on her gills. The muddy water didn't go easily into her lungs and, at one point where the black became so thick she could barely breathe, she looked forward to sticking her head above the water and absorbing the moisture in the air.

However, as the tunnel finally opened up, she found the water a lot more manageable. It was still murky and hard to breathe, but it was better then the tunnel. She wasn't sure what, exactly, she had stumbled upon but she curiously began to explore her surroundings. Something began to echo in the water, a deep base note that caused ripples in the deep. For a second, her heart trilled with excitement. It sounded like her language! She cried back, an eerie, echoing song. Hello? Is there someone there?
She didn't want to wait for a reply, though, and swam towards the place where she had heard the voice. Ahead was blackness thicker then the water had been before, but she simply assumed that it was just murkier water and prepared herself for the travel through it. However, as she reached it, she ended up bumping right into a slimy, slick hide that wasn't at all just a patch of water. She reeled back, confused. Strange noises came from her throat, songs of questions and curiosities. She reached forward and touched the oily slime, examining it between her fingers. This was very strange.

@Phlegethon

It was only fair that it went unnoticed, here; the ichorous water seemed to choke out all light. In turn, it also seemed to deprive the water of oxygen; unfortunate for the tiny creature that had bumped into Phlegethon. An echo came through the water — definitely not something fish-like. It sounded vaguely like words, rippling over the monstrosity's flesh. Some part of it, previously buried beneath the instincts of his draconian half, recognized this song. The language of the deep.

Hello. I am Phlegethon, said the apparent wall of slimy, writhing flesh. It shifted before Lamia, not really trying not to cause a big ripple. Of course, something so large couldn't help but cause some undertow as it moved. Phlegethon cracked its eye open, glistening red — nearly as big as this creature itself — and glowing despite the seemingly endless black. Unaware of how horrifying the sight would seem, it hummed, watch where you are going. Humor. The creature bobbed its head side to side, inspecting the silhouette before it. Phlegethon stated, simply, you are small, yet speak. Greater Fish?
@Lamia

As soon as the slime began to shift, Lamia immedaitely floated back, but it was too late. The undertow flipped her away and she screeched into the water with surprise. But she didn't go far before she fought hard enough to keep herself going. However, she made no attempt to go back closer to the thing that she now realized was a creature. A very very large creature. Almost as big as Tenzin!

Her heart skipped a beat. Tenzin had mentioned twelve ancients, including himself, spread across the world. She had asked if any of them were fish, but he had told her no...but this! This was a fish! Or fish-like, at least. The fact that she was completely sure she had discovered another Ancient was the only reason she wasn't swimming for her life.

"I am...Lamia," she echoed into the water. And, of course, like Tenzin, it could understand her speech. Or maybe because it was a giant fish. Could all watery creatures understand and speak the same thing? "I am small but I will grow. Tenzin told me. I am his friend." As if Phlegethon should absolutely know who Tenzin was. But of course he did! Didn't all the Ancients know each other. "I do not know what I am. I swim and breathe water, but I think and speak as well. I eat fish," she added on the end, as if this would justify her not being a fish herself.

@Phlegethon

A screech sounded as Phlegethon moved, and it extended its neck slightly to follow after the sound. Half-expecting the poor thing to flee the creature made no motion to actually pursue. The little fish-beast simply righted herself and stared. The thrum of her little heart was just barely perceptible against the muffled hum of water; it gurgled softly at this, sending some little bubbles of air shooting up to the surface. Phlegethon echoed after the odd fish-creature, Lamia, and shifted slightly.

Thankfully, it seemed to be mindful of this Lamia, and moved slowly and carefully.

Phlegethon listened, feeling words tremble over its skin and find meaning. Met with an unfamiliar name, its glowing red eye faded slightly, confused — and its best approximation of a furrowed brow. The monstrosity skipped over the topic of growing (all things did, perpetually, right?) and asked with a hum: who is Tenzin? Then, it added matter-of-factly, friendship is good, little fish-creature.

Cannibalism did not undo the nature of one's species, and Phlegethon was already certain that Lamia was a fish of questionable origin. What life had given her stone magic? Fish breathe water. I cannot. I am not a fish.
@Lamia

Lamia was also confused, but her eyes did no such brow-furrowing. She did not have brows. She did not have lids. Just big bulging globes that regarded the slime monster for a moment. Did not all of the Ancients know each other? Perhaps she was mistaken and Phlegethon was not an Ancient. But it was so big!

Friendship is good, she responded. You...do not know Tenzin? He said there were 12 in the beginning. And they all are great big creatures. Do you know who the others are? She hadn't yet caught on.

But now she understood a little more - Tenzin had said that none of them were fish. Well, Phlegethon wasn't a fish! It simply dwelled in the water. But it would breathe air. Was that right? But its head was here...how was it breathing and speaking to her? You do not breathe water? Do you breathe the air-above-water? How do you do this? It was a conversation she realized she'd never had. She knew how she breathed - she took in water through her gills. She breathed it. She let it go and took in more. But how did air-breathers breathe?

@Phlegethon

Phlegethon tilted its head, peering at the tiny little fish-creature. She seemed to accept that it was not a fish, pondering now how it breathed. Those bulbous eyes stared at it rather emptily, but the creature knew how curious it was. The gills flaring indicated such, as her speech moved through the water. Phlegethon simply closed its mouth for a moment, humming, watch, little one. It then lowered its head; labradorite glimmered in the half-light, revealing the position of a blowhole just behind it.

A quick flurry of bubbles shot out, quickly rising to the surface due to the density of the water. I keep air within me, with every breath at the surface. I may hold it for a long time, Phlegethon explained, murmuring. Opening its mouth again, eye staring at Lamia, it continued, speaking does not require air, for me. My throat and my skin makes sound for me. This would be clearly evidenced by its stillness. Some things cannot hold their breath. They breathe as fish would, but through their mouths and through their noses. I do not have a nose.
@Lamia

Lamia's eyes brightened at the sight of the bubbles shooting out of Phlegethon's back. She liked bubbles! Tenzin had blown bubbles for her when she hatched. She actually started forward to go and play with them, forgetting about Phlegethon for a moment before she stopped. They were all already gone. She moved back, a little disappointed, but her attention was caught again as the giant slime monster explained to her how it breathed.

It was fascinating, though, to know that it took in air and held it. Like holding its breath? Or it trapped air in its body and breathed that? Whatever the case, that was absolutely incredible. A little mind boggling as well. Although she had no idea what a nose was. Tenzin's face had a big sharp thing on it. Was that a nose? Was that how he breathed? A nose is like gills? But not flat? And another question. Speaking needs air? But I speak and I don't need air either. Is that odd?

@Phlegethon

The little fish-creature darted forth so abruptly that even Phlegethon was spooked. It started, a jarring motion that would most certainly stir up some water. Slime trailed from its sides, a veritable trail even in the pitch black. Such a jump was not acknowledged by the monstrosity, only a casual hum. It totally hadn't been shook. Lamia was curious, anyways, and hopefully wouldn't notice the imposing beast drawing back and flinching like a viper smacked on the nose. Calm, cool, and collected, y'know? Anyways, back to character.

A nose is a hole on the face, the creature hummed, bobbing its head to indicate, on most, anyways. They are sometimes flat, and sometimes not. Jaws shutting, it began to drift upwards, towards the surface — come — to take a breath of air and show off the fountain of slime-and-water. Air comes from the mouth when some speak. You and I do not need air to speak. We use our throats.
@Lamia

As soon as Lamia started, the water around her shifted as the monster moved as well. Nervous, she swam back a bit to stay in calm waters although a small wave still washed over it. She was prepared for it, though, and managed not to drift too far. Tenzin's lessons had, apparently, imparted some nervousness around waves to her. Calm water was more her things.

As Phlegethon began to drift up, Lamia followed, preparing magic to breathe while out of water. As soon as her head breached the surface of the water, she began to collect the moisture in the air and, to her surprise and delight, the air in this room was damp and chilly and the mist around she breathed in happily. This is a good cave, she echoed beneath the water, if Phlegethon could still hear the voice beneath the water.

But now that she was above water and thinking about it, she wondered if she could speak as she did beneath the water. She opened her mouth, her pointed teeth glistening in the light, and tried to release air the way Phlegethon had told her others did. Her vents, after all, were similar to noses and allowed her to breath out from her mouth, but all that came out was a raspy hiss that greatly surprised her. She snapped her jaws shut, a little startled by the sound of her voice. It was so different from the eerie, echoing beauty of her voice beneath the water. It was chilling and sharp and she greatly disliked it. My voice is different...it is sad. My beautiful voice is ruined above the water

@Phlegethon

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