ORIGIN

Oh. So that's what blind meant.

Despite the over-the-top theatrics, Fahl attended to the tale in spellbound silence. He drank it in, unquestioning of its accuracy. The silliness of the fish's handling would be apparent in hindsight, but for now his imagination magnified the few gory details. A flinch followed the prying out of the fish eyes.

If he ever recounted the experience, his genuine fright at the conclusion would be ignored in favor of criticizing Imp's storytelling ability. For now though, it rattled him. Questions remained, mainly those of unfamiliar names and titles. However, wanting nothing more than to escape the unnatural chill that crept down his spine, he flung himself at answering Imp's question of him.

"I..." What exactly was he? Smaller than Imp. Dark and scaly. He could swim; at least, he thought he could if he bothered to try. Limited speech prevented him from saying anything even close to these though. In fact, the resulting response was entirely off the mark.

"I see. I fish but... not fish." Fahl considered diving into the pond to avoid embarrassing himself further. Being unknowledgeable did not keep him from recognizing how much his statement lacked. Frustration built up as a strangled noise in his throat and, this time having a proper outlet, hissed out. "Shhiiit."

Tail lashing along the floor, he descended into unintelligible grumbles interspersed with the occasional swear. Then, taking care to skirt around where the eyes had fallen, he approached Imp and nudged whatever wing was closest. At the very least, the situation could be salvaged.

"Good. Meet. You."

Splat.

The distinct smell of fish pervaded his nostrils; it was something to be expected, as the landing spot had been directly on them. The small bundle of shining scales clung on to his snout, then peeled off, tumbling down to rest at his feet. A low rumble of hunger overrode any wariness regarding its potential flavor. He struggled but eventually managed to tear a small chunk out of the offering. The food slipped down his gullet after a few tosses back of the head.

It was bland, an improvement over the repulsive taste before but not by much. If it could silence his stomach momentarily though, he'd shove fussiness aside.

"Hun... gry," Fahl repeated. "I have."

With that, he continued digging in. As he was a slow eater, often due to having to force scraps past his tongue, this took time. Once it was polished off as best as he was capable of, the other words finally sank in. Although last of all, the first that hit was what he could vaguely distinguish as praise. Within his chest, a warmth grew and stirred.

"Good. Im... prov... ing." This he murmured to himself, committing it to memory.

Then came addressing the rest. "Catch. Teach?" While the prospect of more fish eating was not something particularly enthusing, it was the best he could work with and his hunger still needed satisfying. Besides, Imp had been helpful so far; rejection of more aid made little sense. Additionally, two fishers were better than one, and Fahl suspected his acquaintance would have a larger appetite than his own.

He drummed his curved claws on the ground, expectant.

Outsmart the fish. Okay, he could do that. At least, emphasized that way, it sounded like something he could do. Important things had to be done right. Fahl nodded along with the beginning lesson, mind skipping over whatever words seemed a little less worthy of his attention. Like magic, which could apparently serve the same purpose as eyes.

Beyond not actually seeing, he couldn't tell the difference though. All Imp seemed to do was look down, similar to anyone not blind. Regardless, learning to fish remained the goal, so he approached the edge of the pond when called and gazed down himself.

Ripples from the last dive and swim continued to spread over the water's surface. It took only a little experience splashing to know that it'd be a while yet before some semblance of stability would be reattained. Until then, the fish were very much not there to be bitten. He grumbled; although waiting was part of the plan, it didn't mean he had to like it.

But his mouth dropped open when he saw his instructor's next move. His wing—it bent? Not once, but multiple times with each dip beneath the water. For a minute, he could do little but gawk, though his tongue did strain to form some response. There had to be some word to use for the strange occurrence he'd just witnessed.

Eventually, he fell back on what he knew best: anything that Imp said. "See. Dif... fer... ent."

Shaking his head of whatever that was, Fahl returned to his observation of the slowly calming waters. Apparently, they'd settled enough during his moment of bafflement, as a glint of silver emerged from the depths to swirl around. Now, he could have waited for more to appear, but unfortunately patience was fleeting for him. His jaws were open, ready to clamp down on their victim. Legs kicked off the ground, and he dove.

At his entry, the water smacked against his face and rapidly flooded his mouth. It was a harsher reception than that of his earlier descent, unsurprisingly due to his swiftness and lack of caution. However, only the fish mattered. Even somewhat obscured by the bubbles that passed his eyes, he could still make out its darting shape. Driven by instinct, he thrust his forearms back and surged forward, long tail swaying behind him as it helped to navigate his new surroundings.

The gap steadily shrank between them until the fish's tiny fins were finally within striking distance. He snapped. It evaded. Unwilling to let it slip by in the moment it'd take for him to relocate its position, he snapped again. If it weren't for the slight wriggling he felt between his teeth, Fahl would have thought he had only closed his jaws around more water. It'd been an entirely reckless strike, but his decisive action managed to give him a success.

With a whip of the tail, he propelled himself up. Once his head broke the surface and met air, Fahl tried to share the results of his dive. Of course, struggling fish still held in mouth, only a series of muffled and unintelligible shouts rang out. Then, awkwardly spinning himself around to face the shore he'd launched from, the iguana began to swim toward land.

Another outburst of mangled sounds. He hadn't yet fully grasped how little sense, "Have fish," made when the aforementioned catch was crammed in his mouth. However, he also didn't dare to open his jaws a smidge more: too far and the desperately flopping fish would slip past teeth. So, with a few yells repeating that same short phrase, the journey to the shore continued.

There, he hauled himself onto rock, abandoning the water. As he did so, fluidity leeched from his limbs; unlike swimming, he walked with heavy steps and exaggerated swings of the legs to drag his body along. Before, Fahl had paid no mind to this, but now this change was another annoyance he possessed awareness of.

Not one to take his time, he spat the fish out as soon as he was able to. Still too close to reach its home, it flailed, trying to inch back to the pond. A claw pinned down the fish's tailfin, which had been slapping against the ground with its efforts.

"Yeah. Have one." If he hadn't been so consumed with the clarity of his speech, a hint of pride would have wormed its way into the monotone. Fahl steered the fish around so that the head faced Imp. "Maa... gic see?"

The words "good" and "job" strung together so lightened his heart; if he desired one thing in that moment besides food, it'd be to hear them again. Who knew that speech could have such a remarkable effect. The ensuing glee led to enthusiastic nods on his part.

"Fish!" he said, shoving more strength behind his voice than he'd done before. The difference was only slight, but enough to stand out from his usual flatness.

And then confusion hit, head tilting as he wrapped it around the question. Life? Do with? It was all a bit much for one who only recently began to grasp concepts like sight and fishing. He didn't want to let Imp down without any answer though, so focusing inward, the Gembound sorted through his limited lexicon for something suitably impressive.

"I..." Why did his tongue weigh heavier now? "I... be good not fish. Out. Smart." No, he needed to do better than that. Top it. "Be maa... ster. Maa... ster..." An uncertain pause followed as he strained to remember whatever he'd blurted out previously. "Fahl. Ma... ster Fahl!"

A remnant of the tale he heard intruded his thoughts, and on impulse, it was tossed in too. "Stop not goods. No mon... ster." That sounded about right.

But the boast still felt hollow. He glanced at Imp, then looked down at the fish. While his jaws had clamped down on it, the credit wasn't entirely his. "Imp. Good ma... ster." A stomp ended up being the killing blow for the struggling fish, and the corpse was pushed to Fahl's teacher. "Be masters?"