The voice drew closer. Imp was still proud enough of his "impressive" kill that he happily parroted the questionably-blurted name provided--"Good to meet ya, Fahl! Good for you to meet me, too. It's an honor, for you." Imp let out a cackle. It was hard to know if he was being serious, though it was probably a pointless gesture in humor for such a youngster, regardless.

"And I sure am a master!" He wasn't, and maybe he'd forgotten he'd just used the word, that it was likely just being parroted back but it stroked his ego, and likely that's all that counted for the hybrid. "See-? See what? I can't see. I'm BLIND," he cried--and again couldn't remember if he'd said this before; not that it'd have mattered, this 'Fahl' guy sounded young-...

Imp leaned back, his voice taking on a dramatic, sorrowful crow, and at the top of his lungs began to narrate his dreadful tragedy. There ought to have been campy, sad music playing in the background, but alas there was... not. Still, Imp's performance was... well, it was something.

He lifted the fish in one wing-arm's claws and turned to face it, and had it been a skull the scene would have been distinctly Shakespearean; as it was it was just dreadfully comical. "My master and Grand Father Aquarian tasked me, personally, with finding NEMEAN, THE BETRAAAYER! And I set traps for her throughout the caves!" (It should be noted that Imp's take on this situation was distinctly questionable and very skewed.) He waved the fish. "But her pet MONSTER found me. They knew they could never truly stop me, so they TORE OUT MY EYES-" and here, Imp's other wing shot forward, his body rocking back to balance on two squat hind legs. He clumsily pulled the eyes from the (thankfully dead) fish, and let out a dramatic wail before dropping it.

"-Anyway yeah, I'm blind. No eyes, can't see; what are you, anyway?" He peered unseeing toward Fahl, still wholly unaware of what sort of creature he was facing. He didn't even know if it could really answer--but it didn't hurt to ask.

@Fahl

Oh. So that's what blind meant.

Despite the over-the-top theatrics, Fahl attended to the tale in spellbound silence. He drank it in, unquestioning of its accuracy. The silliness of the fish's handling would be apparent in hindsight, but for now his imagination magnified the few gory details. A flinch followed the prying out of the fish eyes.

If he ever recounted the experience, his genuine fright at the conclusion would be ignored in favor of criticizing Imp's storytelling ability. For now though, it rattled him. Questions remained, mainly those of unfamiliar names and titles. However, wanting nothing more than to escape the unnatural chill that crept down his spine, he flung himself at answering Imp's question of him.

"I..." What exactly was he? Smaller than Imp. Dark and scaly. He could swim; at least, he thought he could if he bothered to try. Limited speech prevented him from saying anything even close to these though. In fact, the resulting response was entirely off the mark.

"I see. I fish but... not fish." Fahl considered diving into the pond to avoid embarrassing himself further. Being unknowledgeable did not keep him from recognizing how much his statement lacked. Frustration built up as a strangled noise in his throat and, this time having a proper outlet, hissed out. "Shhiiit."

Tail lashing along the floor, he descended into unintelligible grumbles interspersed with the occasional swear. Then, taking care to skirt around where the eyes had fallen, he approached Imp and nudged whatever wing was closest. At the very least, the situation could be salvaged.

"Good. Meet. You."

@Imp

Fish but not fish, huh?

Imp made a considering sound. "Well, that rules out everything 'fish,' I guess," he concluded, but very uncertainly. A few months ago he'd probably have been mocking the kid, as Imp was wont to do, because he was an ass; cheering on the use of the word 'shit.' But as it was things had changed, a little--being alone with sobering reality hadn't dulled his abrasive nature, his violent cheer or his sullen resentment of certain Masters and their dogs, but it had toned malice down into mischief. And some part of him that had been wholly impulsive was at least a little more mature and measured.

So instead of going "SHIT yeah, SHIT!" in full approval, Imp paused, considered the kid's age, and took a vast leap forward in personal growth. "Oh, uhh... you might be a little too young for that word," he offered. Was that... parenting, or whatever?

Whatever.

When Fahl crawled up and nudged him, he found himself... unsure. The last near-friend he'd had had betrayed him straight to Nemean and Vargas and gotten his eyes torn out and he'd sworn off bonding and all that crap forever. But this was a kid, right? At least, it sounded like one. So instead of shoving it off he spoke, a little reluctantly. "Yeah, yeah, good to meet you too," he answered, even though he'd already said that.

After a moment, he took a few steps to the side by feeling around, finding the fish and lobbing it vaguely the short distance back toward the origin of Fahl's voice. Whether it'd land in front of or on the kid he couldn't say, but it was food regardless. "You hungry, anyway, Fahl? You can have that one; I can catch more! I can teach you how, if you want? And good job with the words, by the way, you're--uhh--improving!" Encouragement--and somehow that, despite the possibilities of betrayal by a newborn hatchling (maybe) felt right.

@Fahl

Splat.

The distinct smell of fish pervaded his nostrils; it was something to be expected, as the landing spot had been directly on them. The small bundle of shining scales clung on to his snout, then peeled off, tumbling down to rest at his feet. A low rumble of hunger overrode any wariness regarding its potential flavor. He struggled but eventually managed to tear a small chunk out of the offering. The food slipped down his gullet after a few tosses back of the head.

It was bland, an improvement over the repulsive taste before but not by much. If it could silence his stomach momentarily though, he'd shove fussiness aside.

"Hun... gry," Fahl repeated. "I have."

With that, he continued digging in. As he was a slow eater, often due to having to force scraps past his tongue, this took time. Once it was polished off as best as he was capable of, the other words finally sank in. Although last of all, the first that hit was what he could vaguely distinguish as praise. Within his chest, a warmth grew and stirred.

"Good. Im... prov... ing." This he murmured to himself, committing it to memory.

Then came addressing the rest. "Catch. Teach?" While the prospect of more fish eating was not something particularly enthusing, it was the best he could work with and his hunger still needed satisfying. Besides, Imp had been helpful so far; rejection of more aid made little sense. Additionally, two fishers were better than one, and Fahl suspected his acquaintance would have a larger appetite than his own.

He drummed his curved claws on the ground, expectant.

@Imp

Okay, so Imp wasn't all that experienced with kids but this one sounded like it wanted him to teach it. He puffed himself up, because this was Imp and it wasn't going to be a straightforward lesson, no: it had to be ridiculous. It had to be theatrical.

"Okay, so you have to OUTSMART the FISH," he began, which was entirely untrue. "And they're smart!" Also probably untrue. "So: you can use magic to find 'em, or your eyes. I don't got eyes so I gotta use magic."

Imp turned, and crept to the water's edge, 'peering' down. His magicka flickered and failed and he saw nothing, so he coughed. "So, uhh--come on over and look down! And you gotta watch how they're moving. They might see you at first, so you gotta wait until they stop being scared, and maybe come back. Then you dive in-! Mouth first!"

He "looked" over to where he hoped Fahl was, sunken eyelids searching. "Come over here and look in, and watch 'em!" he encouraged. "Then, when they're all calmed down and back near the top, you can dive in and try to grab one. But you gotta be ready, 'cause what you see on the surface ain't quite real. Watch-" Imp leaned down the corner of one wing-tip, dipping it into the water. At once, the surface refracted the line of his wing, so that it seemed to be at an angle; and he pulled it in and out of the cold pool a couple times. "Can you see that-? So you gotta get used to how it's, like, a little different once it's under. That comes with experience," he explained.

@Fahl

Outsmart the fish. Okay, he could do that. At least, emphasized that way, it sounded like something he could do. Important things had to be done right. Fahl nodded along with the beginning lesson, mind skipping over whatever words seemed a little less worthy of his attention. Like magic, which could apparently serve the same purpose as eyes.

Beyond not actually seeing, he couldn't tell the difference though. All Imp seemed to do was look down, similar to anyone not blind. Regardless, learning to fish remained the goal, so he approached the edge of the pond when called and gazed down himself.

Ripples from the last dive and swim continued to spread over the water's surface. It took only a little experience splashing to know that it'd be a while yet before some semblance of stability would be reattained. Until then, the fish were very much not there to be bitten. He grumbled; although waiting was part of the plan, it didn't mean he had to like it.

But his mouth dropped open when he saw his instructor's next move. His wing—it bent? Not once, but multiple times with each dip beneath the water. For a minute, he could do little but gawk, though his tongue did strain to form some response. There had to be some word to use for the strange occurrence he'd just witnessed.

Eventually, he fell back on what he knew best: anything that Imp said. "See. Dif... fer... ent."

Shaking his head of whatever that was, Fahl returned to his observation of the slowly calming waters. Apparently, they'd settled enough during his moment of bafflement, as a glint of silver emerged from the depths to swirl around. Now, he could have waited for more to appear, but unfortunately patience was fleeting for him. His jaws were open, ready to clamp down on their victim. Legs kicked off the ground, and he dove.

At his entry, the water smacked against his face and rapidly flooded his mouth. It was a harsher reception than that of his earlier descent, unsurprisingly due to his swiftness and lack of caution. However, only the fish mattered. Even somewhat obscured by the bubbles that passed his eyes, he could still make out its darting shape. Driven by instinct, he thrust his forearms back and surged forward, long tail swaying behind him as it helped to navigate his new surroundings.

The gap steadily shrank between them until the fish's tiny fins were finally within striking distance. He snapped. It evaded. Unwilling to let it slip by in the moment it'd take for him to relocate its position, he snapped again. If it weren't for the slight wriggling he felt between his teeth, Fahl would have thought he had only closed his jaws around more water. It'd been an entirely reckless strike, but his decisive action managed to give him a success.

With a whip of the tail, he propelled himself up. Once his head broke the surface and met air, Fahl tried to share the results of his dive. Of course, struggling fish still held in mouth, only a series of muffled and unintelligible shouts rang out. Then, awkwardly spinning himself around to face the shore he'd launched from, the iguana began to swim toward land.

@Imp

Over-large ears swivelled, and Imp listened to the stumbled words. The initial splash. Then the rush of water and the incoherent, muffled shouting.

His brow remained drawn down as he focused, intently, on the sounds: his bat's ears swivelled with careful increments to listen. It sounded like Fahl had gone in--and... maybe the muffled words were because of a fish in its mouth?

Finding himself hopeful (for the kid's sake) Imp called out. "YOU GOT ONE? -DID YOU GET ONE?" There was enthusiasm in it, though tempered just in case the other Gembound hadn't caught a fish--but Imp was ready to be Fahl's first cheerleader, if he had.

@Fahl

Another outburst of mangled sounds. He hadn't yet fully grasped how little sense, "Have fish," made when the aforementioned catch was crammed in his mouth. However, he also didn't dare to open his jaws a smidge more: too far and the desperately flopping fish would slip past teeth. So, with a few yells repeating that same short phrase, the journey to the shore continued.

There, he hauled himself onto rock, abandoning the water. As he did so, fluidity leeched from his limbs; unlike swimming, he walked with heavy steps and exaggerated swings of the legs to drag his body along. Before, Fahl had paid no mind to this, but now this change was another annoyance he possessed awareness of.

Not one to take his time, he spat the fish out as soon as he was able to. Still too close to reach its home, it flailed, trying to inch back to the pond. A claw pinned down the fish's tailfin, which had been slapping against the ground with its efforts.

"Yeah. Have one." If he hadn't been so consumed with the clarity of his speech, a hint of pride would have wormed its way into the monotone. Fahl steered the fish around so that the head faced Imp. "Maa... gic see?"

@Imp

M for an f-bomb!

Well, did his magic see-?

Imp fell back on that, magicka flickering out, and he did see: a decent-sized fish (larger than his own catch but he'd never have admitted that) pinned by the tail beneath the red throb that was the lizard.

"I CAN, now! -YOU'VE GOT IT!" he cried, with vicarious excitement, and bright approval. He stopped just shy of swearing "FUCK YEAH" really loudly, at least. He scuttled a little closer.

"Good job!" and then, with a hint of pride (hey, I taught him that!! "And now you know how to fish!"

Imp crouched back, thinking. He still wanted to catch something for himself--that's why he'd come here, after all--but friendly company (even the newly-hatched kind) was hard to find. He was almost, sort of, enjoying it. "So... what do you wanna do with your life? Ya know, other than fishing?" he asked, as if a fresh kid would have any concept of such grand aspirations.

@Fahl

The words "good" and "job" strung together so lightened his heart; if he desired one thing in that moment besides food, it'd be to hear them again. Who knew that speech could have such a remarkable effect. The ensuing glee led to enthusiastic nods on his part.

"Fish!" he said, shoving more strength behind his voice than he'd done before. The difference was only slight, but enough to stand out from his usual flatness.

And then confusion hit, head tilting as he wrapped it around the question. Life? Do with? It was all a bit much for one who only recently began to grasp concepts like sight and fishing. He didn't want to let Imp down without any answer though, so focusing inward, the Gembound sorted through his limited lexicon for something suitably impressive.

"I..." Why did his tongue weigh heavier now? "I... be good not fish. Out. Smart." No, he needed to do better than that. Top it. "Be maa... ster. Maa... ster..." An uncertain pause followed as he strained to remember whatever he'd blurted out previously. "Fahl. Ma... ster Fahl!"

A remnant of the tale he heard intruded his thoughts, and on impulse, it was tossed in too. "Stop not goods. No mon... ster." That sounded about right.

But the boast still felt hollow. He glanced at Imp, then looked down at the fish. While his jaws had clamped down on it, the credit wasn't entirely his. "Imp. Good ma... ster." A stomp ended up being the killing blow for the struggling fish, and the corpse was pushed to Fahl's teacher. "Be masters?"

@Imp