having proclaimed his hunger - or rather, having imitated what he had heard from the beast - taktuq listened for further instruction. he heard the water moving, and then silence; the ancient waters here in cetus would tell him nothing, and so he was abruptly cut off from the world. it wasn't until the beast spoke again that taktuq knew to listen, to follow. but how was he to do that? the seal gave a small wheeze as frustration boiled in his belly. he inched forward, bonking his snout against a curving root, and then stopped when he felt the resistance. when the boy lifted his head out of the water again, he gave a pitiful honk and returned to floating.

Dragon turned, peering at the little one.

Why wasn't it coming? It had given another of those strange and pitiful cries. Perhaps something was wrong with it, he mused. Well--then it would die, if it could not survive. He would aid it if he could, but he was no miracle-worker.

He felt his heart harden just a bit, preparing for the idea that the creature might be unable to fend for itself. He wasn't sure what might be wrong with it--perhaps it was simply afraid.

"Follow," the alligator rumbled, a little more sharply. Tough love might have to prompt the young one into action...?

With that he turned, tail propelling him onward, making it obvious that he intended to merely leave. The young one could try to follow, or it could not, and remain alone.

...Of course, if it didn't follow, he'd come back and think of another plan; but hopefully, it would follow.

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@Taktuq

derp i should be running out the door but oops i wanted to get a post up because this has waited too long omg im so sorry rip me [/ooc]

the reptile did implore that taktuq move, that he follow, and when the sound crept upon him he was swift to comply; but as soon as silence returned, he was lost again. the babe gave a honk and treat water, although it was unneccesary. he had managed to turn around and be free of one cluster of roots only to be faced with the uncertainty of the darkness before him, and the absence of aid from the voice. taktuq focused, hoping to hear something more, and effectively caused a reaction within his stone. briefly his eyes lit up with magicka... and for a moment, he could sense the slow beating of dragon's chilled heart.

((That's fine! I hope it's okay that I say Taktuq followed a bit after using the spell, otherwise there isn't much to react to and my short post would be even shorter :O ))

The alligator paused some distance away, turning back. He thought he caught a flash of something, but it was gone as soon as it came, and he quickly chalked it up to a reflection of the cave lights in the seal pup's eyes.

If the thing hadn't been so huge, he might have tried to simply scoop it onto his back to carry it to the marsh proper, but it was not a small animal, not a piglet like Czernobog had been. The option was out. He waited, floating, and once he saw that the seal seemed to be tentatively approaching, he turned and led the way again.

"This way," he called quietly. He remembered that Bog had enjoyed his rumbling--"Singer," he had called Dragon--and he wondered if perhaps this was the same for all young Gembound. He began to hum a soft, yet rumbling, melody, rather without tune or tone, but musical in its own way nonetheless. Perhaps, he thought, Taktuq might find it reassuring, and be less reluctant to follow.

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@Taktuq

The humming tones of the other creature suited a purpose, and to that end, Taktuq could easily comply. With something to seek and follow, he managed to float his way along in lieu of Dragon; his fat body suspended in swamp murk most of the time, but content even when the fluid became cold or unclean. Taktuq would likely never realize how gross the water of this place was without seeing it for himself, and as that is impossible, he would simply be contented by the comfort of suspension. He bobbed and slunk through the water behind Dragon, saying nothing except for the occasional honk if he got stuck or slowed by debris; it would not take long for him to adjust to life without eyes - the babe was already well on his way to mastering the art of swimming.

[lame post but, maybe we can have an updated one?]

(( @Taktuq ; please do tag/PM me or I might not see it now that I don't have consistent internetz access :| If you want to do a later thread we can either do one before Fiery Pit oooor wait, as Dragon is still IC in Polaris trying to, ahem, climb a Spire. >.>))

The alligator continued to pleasantly rumble, "singing" the way along. He was gratified to see that the young seal was following him, and he began to wonder if perhaps he was an excellent singer. Maybe they loved his voice because of how good it was. Perhaps he was simply a natural musical talent? Did music come to him the way fire did? Was he a musical prodigy, as yet undiscovered?

He noticed when the seal was stopped by debris, and several times had to turn his bulky body around in the narrow channel. He began to simply clear it in advance, pausing often and using powerful jaws to snap away the thicker branches, and nudge aside fallen roots. Soon enough he was gliding free into the Heart of Cetus, wondering vaguely if Aquarian were near to see what he could only assume was his newest son.

The alligator continued to sing as he led the seal along, and began to add variety to it, testing out his theory of being a musical genius. His rumbling hisses became growling croaks of many notes, bellows reverberating over the water and leaving droplets dancing into the air with the vibration. Unfortunately, however, Dragon was not a musical genius. The sounds were not unpleasant, but they were more like slightly pained whalesong than any delicate opera.

He led the way with this throbbing "melody" to the offering pile where he frequently placed his hunted food for Aquarian. Here there was fish--and plenty of it--and he hauled his heavy body into the muck that could barely be called a shore, glancing back at Taktuq as he did.

Was the little one afraid? Was it hungry, cold? It still seemed to be blundering blindly into everything--and even this thought didn't alert the alligator that maybe he was actually blind. Instead, the alligator cleared his throat, tossing a few fish toward the seal with his jaws, one at a time. Then, he spoke.

"Food, Taktuq," he rumbled, his music cut short by speech. He remembered the name, but the little one hadn't said much else, had he?
"Fish. Fish is good. Eat fish," he instructed, trying to stay as simple as possible.

He eyed the seal over, wondering if such a large baby would grow to be truly monstrous. Hoping the "little" one wasn't afraid; he didn't know how to soothe it, if it was. Hoping that hunger would consume it, the way it had him, and Czernobog, when they were young--leaving no room for anything else.

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