In the time Lamia had spent alone under the cold waves of Pisces, she'd never once met another creature that'd willingly dived to such depths that she usually existed within. Every so often she'd pop her head above water, sure, sometimes she'd even try to get herself on land. But that never really worked well - she simply wasn't accustomed to it.

So she cut her losses and stayed in the deep and the dark, flitting between caves, snagging fish with her sharp fangs, and tending to a small, humble underwater garden. It'd actually become a very fulfilling hobby - all sorts of kelp and underwater weeds were growing in her little corner of Pisces's lagoon. She was there now, checking on the progress of the latest sample of flora she'd picked from the far corner of the ponds.

Something was coming. Something bigger then a fish and, from what Lamia could tell, not something that usually hung around in these waters. Her bulbous eyes looked up and caught sight of the silhouette of a creature frolicking in the waters above. Curiosity gripped her immediately and she abandoned her garden in favor of slowly swimming upwards towards that mystery creature. Her mouth opened and a wondering groan sang through the water as she approached from below.

It seemed to see her and, as it turned and came over towards her, for a moment Lamia considered leaving. That'd probably be the safest option. But as it got close, letting out chirps and such, she wondered if it was, like the other gembounds she met, intelligent. She opened her jaws and let out a haunting call into the water, vibrations shifting through the water like waves. Who are you? Perhaps it would understand her like Tenzin and Orarian had, but perhaps not. Maybe it wasn't intelligent at all and she may as well have been speaking to a fish.

As it bumped its head against her forehead she let out a tiny cry of surprise, but didn't swim away. Instead, she reached out a spindly webbed hand and touched its side. It felt weird - not like a fish at all. A little more like her slippery, smooth skin but...warmer. Weird.

The seal shook its head but just the simply action seemed to be beyond Lamia's comprehension. It meant no but no to what? Did it not like that she was touching it? She pulled her hand away, but then it jerked its head forward, nosing the inside of her hand. She tilted her head, quite confused by this.

Tethys would see a dark, murky place. There was water everywhere, thick and muddy. Before them was a mass of absolute black, save for a glowing red eye staring out from within its jaws. But there wasn't any fear. No, only curiosity. Vibrations beyond her comprehension rolled through the water, one deep and baritone, the other haunting and familiar - Lamia's voice.

An idea came to Lamia's mind. She'd been learning to speak a lot above the water, but down here she'd never bothered to try - why do that when her echoes and chimes was all she needed? But if this thing couldn't understand her, well, then, might as well try the other option.

She opened her jaws, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth, and a horrible, screeching noise, dampened and muted by the water, came from her throat, barely comprehensible. "Cgaaawn uyooo umnndearsdaand mme?"

Amazing that the seal could understand her, even if it took a moment. Lamia could barely understand her own voice, but that might just be because she wasn't the most intelligent. At least they had a way to communicate now! The seal had nodded her head - that meant yes! It was still moderately frustrating that only other unnatural, eldritch creatures could understand her voice.

Well, at least that was what she thought. The seal, it seemed, couldn't really talk back, or maybe it didn't know how, instead settling on gestures, pointing with her flipper at Lamia, then at herself, then at her heart. What? That completely escaped Lamia's understanding, made even more confusing by swimming around her. She watched its movements with confusion. Did it want her to do the same?

Might as well try. Leaning forward, she swam a quick loop around the seal. She tilted her head - was that what she wanted?