Aegir lumbered through the caves, growing a little tired at the incline through the tunnel leading to Fornax. But Heart-Song's singing kept him going and the promise of an ocean kept his spirits high. He was excited, more excited then he had anytime before, to see Fornax and its beautiful ocean. So much water, so much warmth, and with a friend to share in the wonders.

As he finally emerged through the entrance to the cave, he froze, his eyes widening with wonder. Stretching before him was, in fact, a vast ocean of water, stretching through the massive cave. Heat and steam rose from vents in the water and the rocks, the warmth pressing down on his gradually thickening fur. While his pelt was still thin enough to bear the heat now, it would eventually grow warm enough to make this room almost unbearable. But this did not concern him at the moment.

He forgot all his weariness and he bounded forward, reaching the edge of the shore and looked down into the water. The waves splashed against his paws and tears of happiness came to his eyes. "Heart-Song, look at this," he whispered. "There is water, so much water and it is so beautiful! Aegir has not seen anything so beautiful in his life!"

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

Aegir watched Heart-Song leat into the water and chuckled. The little bird gave him so much spirit and, even though he was so exhausted from the trip, he wanted to join the bird in learning to swim. He had been in water, sure, but only to float and be one. He had never swam before, especially in the ocean this vast.

He stepped forward into the waves and, within a moment, he was wading deeper until he could no longer walk. He paddled after Heart-Song, finding that swimming came easily to him. The water was warm and soothing to his sore muscles and he swam up to his friend, smiling. "The waters in Fornax are warm! Aegir loves this room! And Aegir is happy to be here with Heart-Song too!"

He dipped his head under the water and closer his eyes, letting himself go limp for a moment, soaking in the waves, softly being pushed by the water. Eventually, he couldn't hold his breath and raised his muzzle from the water and took in a deep breath. He was back in more shallow water and pressed his feet down in the sand, raising himself so that he was sitting, peacefully, his head closed and feeling the waves wash over his legs and belly.

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

Aegir was peacefully sitting in the shallows, greatly enjoying the feeling of the waves lazily lapping against his underbelly. He was content to stay here, forever, simply reveling in the water and the beauty of Fornax. He hard the pitter-patter of Heart-Song's footsteps and opened his eyes to look at them. "Yes, there is, and it is wonderful! Aegir wishes he could stay forever." At the mention of readings, Aegir thought the same thing. Would it be different with the water being so fast? Or so active?

Aegir opened his mouth to let out just a small jet of water when, suddenly, he sneezed, just as the magic cast. He instinctively breathed in and all the water in his mouth went right back down into his lungs. He began to cough and splutter, trying to expel the water from his mouth for a moment, his nasal passages burning from the saltiness.

Once he had calmed down he shook out his head and turned to Heart-Song, a little embarrassed at his terrible failure. "Aegir is sorry if he scared you. Nothing to worry about. But, perhaps, he will not use magic just now..."

Instead, he leaned down and scooped up a bit of water in his mouth and sat back upright, facing the water. He shot a tiny stream of water into the ocean ahead of him and watched the rippled as splashes. A moment later, he coughed out the rest of the water left in his mouth in a loud cry of laughter.

"Ah, the water is clever! It is a reading as always, but these water, the ocean waters, salty, tangy, and with a sharp voice! It tells Aegir to not be lazy! However much Aegir likes this room, he cannot let his happiness turn to apathy!"

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

Aegir looked back at Heart-Song and gave a little chuckle. "No, we can stay here for a little while! The water only warns that it will not do for us to linger forever. We cannot forget what lies ahead. There is more than this cave, more in our future. Perhaps just Aegir's future or perhaps both Aegir and Heart-Song. It is hard to say. But that is all that means!"

At the mention of food, Aegir suddenly felt his stomach growling, having completely forgotten about eating since they had journeyed. He wondered what kind of fish he would find in the water and decided that he would test. "Perhaps there is some in the ocean. Fish. Or on other islands there may be land prey. What does Heart-Song eat?"

After waiting for an answer, Aegir turned and plunged into the water. There were fish down there, but, as he swiped at one, he found his claws grasping at nothing but water. He tried a couple more times to no avail. He surfaced and waded back to shallow water where Heart-Song was. "There are fish in the water, but Aegir is having no luck catching them. He will have to learn new ways of fishing!"

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

Aegir tipped his head. How was Heart-Song going to scare the fish? He was curious to see how the little bird was going to create so much of a distraction that the fish would be frightened. He flinched when the strange noise came from the water but then looked down just as the fish flopped to the surface of the water. Excited and a little too eager, Aegir dove towards them, his paws outstretched and his mouth open, but he was clumsy and not fast enough as his swipe only went through open water as the fish darted away. His jaw closed on nothing as he splashed right back into the ocean.

He poked his head out from the water and chuckled. "Aegir will need to practice this." He waded back towards the surface and looked out towards the water again. "Can we try again?'

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