ORIGIN

It was not a teacher by any means. That was Chaos-two's job. Even Orthoclase-Alpha and Garnet-Delta were better teachers than it- those were the ones that had taught itself at all.

But it knew why it'd been assigned this specific task. It was one of the only aquatic members of the forge. It even looked similar to Vargas's newest creation- same oily black hide, same fins and same purpose. It would've been flattered in a strange way if this creation wasn't meant to be better than it at all things. Better at ambushing from the surf, and capable of ambushing from the skies as well. It's not a contest. We're all working for the same thing. Preserving the nest. Eventually they arrived at Pegasus's river. Labradorite noted the chaotic, almost violent current. Part of it was worried, but the other part considered it an apt challenge for it's trainee.

Well, it'd be a good idea to get a sense of what it'd already been taught. No point in reteaching it what it already knew. Subconsciously echoing the words said to it in one of it's first sessions, it looked down at the young valkhound "What do you already know about the water in the Caves? Where the rivers go, how the currents act..." It trailed off slightly before asking a completely different question, "...and fighting. Ambushing, from the water or the shadows.. What tactics would you use?"

It listened to Chaos-Four carefully as it spoke. It would make sense if it hadn't encountered water that much before hand- just makes this lesson all the more important. What it said about fighting, too, made sense. That was likely what Overseer Garnet-Delta had taught it.

It had planned to teach it how to navigate, how to read the currents and get an idea of what leads where even in unfamiliar locations. But the currents today were wild, unhelpful, so that lesson would have to wait until waters calmed. So, today's lesson would focus more on the swimming itself. The current would be almost an asset in that regard- if it could swim well in rough waters, then it could swim even better in calm ones.

"Good. Today will focus mostly on swimming efficiently, even in difficult waters. Normally I'd teach you how to navigate by the currents first, but today the currents are chaotic and senseless. So we will save that for a different day." It'd hum idly, watching the fish swimming obliviously nearby. A good first lesson. The fish were fast, but relatively incapable of harm. Good, for something as unexpectedly delicate as Chaos-four.

"The fish in this river are quick, agile. I will mark a fish, and you will do your best to catch it. You cannot fly after it, but you may use any other tactics you wish." It made sure its trainee understood, before continuing, "If you do well, and catch it quickly, we may have time for another challenge." If not, they could always save that for another time. But Labradorite rarely got to spar underwater, and it was as eager to test it's own might as it was the valkhound's.

It watched the dark shapes that flitted just under the water's surface, and then it struck, biting down on one of the larger shadows it'd spotted. The fish they had managed to snatch out of the water was a fairly hefty Purple Starscale that wiggled around ferociously in it's jaws. It bit down lightly, just hard enough to draw blood. Once the fish had been sufficiently 'marked', it was dropped back into the water, where it created a faint red trail as it swam away.