ORIGIN - [hatching] to begin again

EOS
AND IN THE STREETS THE CHILDREN SCREAMED, THE LOVERS CRIED AND THE POETS DREAMED.
There in the sand, she laid. Nestled in a crook that was wedged between stones and sand, the water was before her and the tide gingerly lapped at her chrysalis in an almost welcoming manner. It beckoned her, sought to release her from the protection that she had developed in for so long. She was nothing and now she was. She was aware, conscious. She was alive. But who was she? Eos. Who was she meant to be? Of course, these questions were for another time; her brain had just begun to take in information about her and not just automatically preserve her for just another day. Hyper-aware and yet she could only feel confusion seep through her scales, into her mind, prodding at her.

Slitted eyes peered through the wave-like world around her, for she was still pushed into a fetal position, tail between her legs as she floated in a liquid that she supposed had sustained her for her development. But these thoughts were not her own - it was a knowledge that was critical, but she could not understand it. Not yet. Too young. Slowly, almost as if she were uncertain of what to do, she began to reposition herself. A place that used to be comfortable was now too small. Uncomfortable. With what little room she had, the babe attempted to push with her back legs as if to create some sort of barrier in the closing world around her. She didn't want to leave, truthfully.

For it was all she had ever known.

It seemed to almost bend with her, move - perhaps it was wishful thinking. Perhaps it was a reality. Physically straining, the neonate was about to give up when a crack sounded through her little home. It was loud; louder than anything she had heard before. But perhaps it was because she had been deaf to the sounds of the new world around her. Perhaps, perhaps. She stopped moving, stilling in her ceaseless brutality to her home. It wasn't her fault; she could only think of her uncomfortable it was. She longed to feel something similar to the liquid inside her chrysalis, but different. Different, yes. Much. With one more kick, everything she had always been aware of shattered away and with a small 'oof' she fell with the shards to the sand.

Soft landing, but she remained positioned exactly where she was, lying upon her blue chrysalis in hopes to not feel so alone.

Lamia had braved Polaris and had somehow made it back to Pisces, in a terrifying manor, of course, riding the waterfall into the lagoon where she had hatched, and, after recovering from that shock, had decided to brave the waves of Fornax. There was a lot more water here then she'd ever seen and she would have made her home here, if it wasn't so warm. She didn't like it when it was warm. Cetus and Pisces were much nicer alternatives.

But there was more to Fornax then underneath the waves. Used to sticking her head above water, now, she moved to the surface and her face breached the water, her freaky hair floating strangely behind her as she laid her round, unblinking eyes on this new cave.

It was certainly much, much larger then she was used to, so large that she couldn't even see much of the shore. Only the beach that she was near. It was uncomfortable, being in such a large place and being so small. If only it were colder and there were more places to hide. Maybe she'd feel better then.

The sound of cracking disturbed her observation and she instinctively dipped back into the water, whirling around in the direction of the noise. Fish instincts told her to swim away as fast as she could. Intelligent instincts wanted her to check it out. It was a familiar sound, although it was different from when she had last heard it. Her chrysalis had broken under water and to hear one above land was strange.

Her curiosity got the best of her and she swam close until she could rest her tail on the sand and just barely peek her head above the water. She stared at the tiny little lizard and sent a question through the waves. A question of who they were and if they could understand, but they wouldn't understand. They would barely even hear it. Only a tiny, echoing song that rang softly from the water before them.

@Eos

In one particularly curious bout, Phlegethon had wound up compressing itself into some tunnel, wiggling upward with the aid of slime and mud until it found sweet release --- only after a mile or two of this action, of course; and, would you believe that that adventure had begun with one simple observation: a hole in Cetus's wall, underneath the swamp, seemed to pour out warm water?

As the monstrosity approached its apparent destination, air began to run low and the water began to turn near-boiling. A quick glance about with a singular eye gave it all the information it needed. Geyser-like vents lined the bottom of these waters, spewing bubbles. It was quick to turn away from these vents --- not without committing this mysterious tunnel to memory, lest it lose its way to Cetus --- and pursue cooler waters. There was air in those bubbles, and Phlegethon feared somehow catching flame beneath the surface.

Speaking of air--- its great head bobbed above the surface with a spray of slime and residual swamp water. There was the scent of something else, the residue of a large creature lying about in the form of shimmering, iridescent scales. Phlegethon put one in its mouth and swallowed curiously. Not the most edible thing. Not worth hunting and pursuing.

The immense monstrosity's attention was turned elsewhere by two things: the tell-tale crack! of a chrysalis and the sound of something swimming. The latter was familiar, bringing slight vibrations to its skin even across such a distance. Phlegethon, interest piqued, drifted forth much like an alligator or... some other aquatic reptile. It was unheeding of the tar-black trail it left in the water and the fact that it was ominously visible from a mile around.

Fluke scraping pebbly shore, the monstrosity lifted its head. Neck extending to its full length and jaw cracking open, it flinched. It was bright in here, and not drearily laden with fog. On the second attempt, it opened its mouth more slowly. Immediately, Phlegethon noticed a familiar face. "Lamia," it acknowledged with a nod, before peering at the oh-so-small creature resting atop their own chrysalis. Not to seem so imposing, Phlegethon lowered its head and rumbled softly. "You are new. Very small."

In a rather stilted, disjointed manner, it added, "I am Phlegethon." Pause. "I have given you my name; where is yours?"

It did not occur to the monstrosity that this might be too advanced of conversation for such a new life.
@Eos

EOS
AND IN THE STREETS THE CHILDREN SCREAMED, THE LOVERS CRIED AND THE POETS DREAMED.
Blue slitted eyes flickered around her curiously, her body (still covered in her nourishing slime) sliding against the broken chrysalis that had once harbored her developing figure. The membrane that was her eyelid closed around them in a blink, slowly, naturally, as if clearing her eyes would make her understand what was going on. Slowly, she tilted her head to the side, scanning her limbs intricately. Start small, she understood this. Scaly, a mixture of browns, tans and greens made up her complexion. Slowly, she lowered her snout to touch her stubby legs and, experimentally, she nosed it. Yes, this was part of her. Curiously, she looked at her feet and spread apart her claws. Webbed. Interesting. What was it used for?

It was dark, the shadows made up creatures upon the walls that stretched out for miles before her. Monsters that were far scarier to other who could make things out of it. But all she saw was darkness. A darkness that was inky black and, as she stared longer, she began to understand that it wasn't just her mind making up things, but in fact something heading toward her. She suddenly wished she was back in her Chrysalis, protected from the dangers of the outside world.

Exposed. She didn't like it. There was a warmth, the cons were that she had a far, almost infinite space to move and yet she couldn't bring herself to. Rooted in place by invisible chains, lying upon her broken shell and staring into the inky mass that began to take form the closer it got. She did not notice the other creature that spied her a few meters away. Strange, unfamiliar territory. Her slitted eyes narrowed as her lowered it's head down and just as it began to speak, she attempted to dart away - toward the water. It was calling her.

Literally.

This thing would eat her, surely. She understood what he was saying (parts of it, at least), but she couldn't bring herself to actually listen. Waddle-running toward the water as fast as her stubby legs could carry her, Eos found herself skidding to a full stop when she noticed something staring back at her. She was officially, totally fucked. The babe swallowed, staring back at it as if it would grant her entrance and not eat her because obviously that other thing was going to.

She looked back.

She wasn't in it's jaws yet, being swallowed. The girl was in her right to be scared. The one in front of her was smaller though, but it still looked strange. Everything did. It was then, and only then, that she realized that the big inky monster was actually trying to communicate with her. Swallowing down her instinct to flee and never look back (not that she could get very far at this moment in time.) She offered a small phrase; "Food?" Whether she was asking if there was food or if she was the food, was in fact, a very plausible question.

Either way, she was trapped.

Lamia's thin lips twisted into a frown and she sank a little more into the water, a small, frustrated song coming from her throat. Land creatures could not understand her. The little reptilian, despite her initial thought that it would be fully aquatic, did not understand. But the water around her was churning and she felt the familiar dense waves that she remembered from Cetus. She looked over at Phlegethon as it come towering over the two of them. My friend," she sang happily through the water. I cannot speak to it. It is scared.

She did not understand, yet, many things that land dwellers said. But the word food was familiar. Food was something you ate. For nourishment. She did not understand the questioning flex of the hatchling's voice, and she registered only the word. It was hungry then. She had no idea what it was supposed to eat. She could catch it some fish? Or bring it some kelp? Many things ate different foods. She observed that many fish the size of the hatchling ate tiny bits of algae so she decided she'd start with that.

She dove back into the water and searched a little farther down the seafloor for something that the hatchling could eat. There was a bundle of clumped up seaweed in the sand and she scooped it up with her webbed hands and took it back to the surface.

She breached the surface again, but this time she was exposed as far as she could before her gills were in the open. She transferred the algae to one hand, leaned it back, and tossed the glob right at the hatchling with all her might. Once it was out of her hand, she sunk back so that her head was just barely peeking out again. "Fooood," she hissed in her scratchy, unnatural voice. She smiled, pleased with herself.

@Phlegethon

The neonate --- new and very small, as previously stated --- began to wobble toward where Lamia lay in curious, yet mournful wait. It is very small. New, Lamia. Perhaps it is not a Greater. Phlegethon rumbled softly, cracking open its jaws just slightly to sneak another glance at the little one before closing up again. The monstrosity paused, head sinking back into the surface of the water, just barely visible among the inky black it was introducing to Fornax's waters. Fortunately, the constant movement of waves did wonders for keeping the water relatively clean and clear.

It took a while, but a small voice finally reverberated across Phlegethon's skin. A simple, but worthy phrase. It speaks, it is Greater, it rumbled briefly to Lamia, just before she dove beneath the surface of the waves. In search of food, it assumed. In the fish-creature's absence, the monstrosity murmured softly, "a name is you. Food is what you eat, and a name is what you are called." Hoping that its explanation was clear enough, Phlegethon raised its head and tucked its chin against its elastic, dark neck, "I am Phlegethon."

A name was important to Greaters, it felt.

Lamia suddenly breached again, detected only moments prior to her algae-throwing escapade. Do not be so sudden, it warned softly, but rumbled in affirmation ("good.") The creature was learning the song of the air-breathing well, simple as the concept of food was.
@Eos