Usingizi felt oddly relieved that Phlegethon was not upset with her for her utter failure. It seemed to take it in stride. Her failure, though, it was... worse than she could've imagined her first hunt would go. A trickle of pride still wriggled its way out, though, at the fact it thought she was fast. She couldn't exactly smile, but she blinked her eye, the closest she could come to it. She just had to improve. She silently thought this over. Then nodded once.

"I will try, Phley."

Phlegethon dipped into the water, and before she could question where he'd went, she was suddenly raised above the water. The sudden change scared her at first, and she thought she'd been caught by something beneath the waves, but she slowly became aware of the fact she was upon Phlegethon's head. She relaxed.

And then, not soon after, it began to vomit. And gurgle. At first she had been confused, but then Phlegethon spat out a glob of slime. And Usingizi became even more confused. She only started to understand things when Phlegethon grasped something in its mouth and began swishing it in the swamp water. She stuck out her tongue and became aware of the scent of something- a bird, it seemed. She sat there for a while afterwards, parsing his statement, until she realized that the bird had been meant for her.

"Oh," She says as the realization hits her. "Thank you." Usingizi murmers. She feels herself growing giddy af her first meal. She cautiously stretches towards the bird and delicately grabs it. She then coils back upon herself like a spring pulled out of shape, and begins the arduous task of actually eating the bird. It was small enough for her, atleast, but it would still take some work.

@Phlegethon

A promised attempt was all that Phlegethon could ask of this small serpent, a warbling hum of contentment its only response. Then, as the hunt proceeded, the monstrosity fell silent. It just barely felt Usingizi atop its head, startled at first but then falling at ease. While the bird was swished around in totally sanitary swamp water, the neonate shifted slightly, curiously.

The innocent little songbird was quickly drawn into the anaconda's possession, in a manner quite similar to how the monstrosity hunted itself --- with all the movement of a snapping turtle. "You are welcome," it rumbled, then fell silent. Companionably, Phlegethon waited as the serpent worked the bird into her stomach, wherever it may be.

Just when it seemed it might have actually fallen asleep on the spot, it rumbled curiously, "what have you seen, since you have emerged?"
@Usingizi

It took Usingizi a while, but she managed to swallow the bird. She very much disliked the thing touching her stone, but was grateful that it was already dead and not wriggling. She had tried to eat as quickly as possible, to avoid having anything touch her stone. It still bothered her.

Would this bother her every time in the future? She would have to eat smaller things. Whatever those smaller things may be. Perhaphs she could eat one of the bugs she'd seen flying. The silence as she had eaten, at least, was welcome to Usingizi. She wasn't shy, but it was nice to think sometimes. She adjusted her jaws back into place.

She had almost forgotten that the thing beneath her was alive, when Phlegethon spoke again. Usingizi thought about that last question, pressing the gem in her mouth. "Trees and plants, sticks and mud. The water. The first thing I met was you."

She became distinctly aware of the fact that Phley was much larger than her, and probably much older. It had probably seen a great deal more than her.

"I-I mean...Is there...more than that?" She says, feeling embarrassment for the second time.

@Phlegethon

Usingizi was undeniably new. There had been assumption at first, but now it was confirmed. Phlegethon nodded ever-so-slightly, possibly jarring the poor snake atop its head. "Sorry," it rumbled, then paused.

Another beat of silence, as it contemplated how to word its admission. "I do not know what is beyond this swamp," it began, settling down into the bottom of the mire, "I am unable to leave the water. You seem able to. Greater Gembound come here from other caves. Some remain, and some leave. Those who remain are often called rot-children. I am one. We survive."

Despite the tragic nature of the situation, Phlegethon did not seem upset or troubled by it.
@Usingizi

Usi grips tighter when Phlegethon nods, but otherwise stays quiet. She silently thinks over what Phley said, the prospect of leaving, or, perhaps, never leaving the swamp. She feels as if she should be the one to apologize.

"Do you ever think about it?" She stares at the sky, the ever-present fog churning like soft waves. At the very least, Phlegethon knows as little as her about what is beyond the swamp. It gives her a drop of familiarity, something they share that she can latch on to.

"There must be a lot we haven't seen." She states quietly. The thought leaves her a mix of apprehensive and excited. She cant imagine what exists beyond the murky swamps. The fear of what exists out there, beyond what little she knows, is almost suffocating. But at the same time, the wonder it brings her is second to none. She presses the gem in her mouth as she imagines the things that exist. That Phley would probably never see.

"But...I could bring you things from the other places! Places where you cannot go." She wriggles in place. She hasn't really thought about what those things are, exactly, but perhaps Phley would like a new stick.

She was unsure of the prospect of the rot-children. They seemed safe-safer than the unknown of the caves, at least. Phley was one of them, so it couldn't be that bad. The thought of something safe to tether herself to was appealing to the young snake. "And," she adds, "I think I want to meet the rot-children." She thinks for a second. "More of them."

Again, it was not upset: Phlegethon was content to simply survive, sitting in dull silence made companionable only by the frogs and toads that seemed bent on mating calls at all times. Not that the monstrosity knew what those calls meant. It did not speak frog or toad, despite their shared slimy natures. Alas, there was a language barrier.

Finally, after a fairly long, uncomfortable pause, it rumbled simply: "no." It did not often think about the world outside of the swamp. Stories shared by the Greaters passing through were plenty enough. "Words are enough," Phlegethon gurgled, "there is a cave full of lights and remnants of the Elders. I do not know its name. The roof shines and the soil is blue." The notion seemed rather irrelevant, but it figured it could offer some idea of what things may lie beyond.

"Explore, learn--- bring things?" That seemed odd. Why would Usingizi bring it things? To see what was in other caves? Could she not... tell it? Unless... hmm. "Gifts?" That was a good word, unfamiliar as it was to Phlegethon. Tragically unfamiliar.

The monstrosity didn't have many friends or get out much, as it was becoming glaringly obvious. Well, no friends other than "the rot-children are few. I do not know where all of them are." Phlegethon could, of course, try to sense them: it was rather familiar with the vibrations their subtle movements gave off --- breathing, walking, the simple flick of an ear or a feather. "We survive. We gather knowledge and learn, like you should. There are Elders in the Caves; they are much older than you and I or Dragon, leader of the rot-children. We understand few of them, trust fewer. Trust only Father Aquarian."

Ah, a thought: "he is a serpent like you, much larger than I, with fins and very small legs. If you find a pile of food by the water, do not catch yourself too close. He jumps out and takes it very quickly."
@Usingizi

Usingizi hummed quietly to herself, thinking over what Phlegethon had said. "Gift? Is what it's called? Then yes, if a 'gift'-if that is what it is called, I will bring you gifts." Usingizi did a short wriggle dance on Phlegethon's head in excitement. "I will bring you gifts from everywhere."

The 'cave elders' that Phlegethon mentioned scared her. She hoped she wouldn't meet any of them in the future, but the chances for that were slim. But she perked up at the mention of father Aquarian. Aquarian looked like her? Perhaphs Aquarian was the one that made her. She noted Phlegethon's warning, but set it in her mind that she would meet him. Perhaphs he could explain more about what she was, and who she was. She took a moment to think, quiet as she mulled over her thoughts with a leisurely air.

"I will meet Father Aquarian. And I will join the Children of Rot. I know you, that's all I need." She looked below her at Phlegethon with bright eyes. If Phlegethon was a friend, then obviously the Children of Rot would be as well. To her young and rather naive mind, it was an easy conclusion to come to.

@Phlegethon