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...

@Heart-Song

Heart-Song song slowly tapered their cheerful traveling song to an end as they got a look at all the water in front of them. They breathed a silent sigh of relief at the warmth, even as the humidity pervaded their feathers. A smile came to them as they saw Aegir so undoubtedly happy at the sight of so much water. This was one of the reasons why they decided to come here, after all.

They, too, were impressed by the sheer amount of water that filled the cave. They had never imagined such a quantity of water in all their life. The sight before them was incredible. With a couple flaps of their wings, they took off from the bear's back, landing in the water with a splash. Instinct took over, and they began to float, just barely keeping their head above the water as they did the birdy paddle. Despite their dislike of humidity, actually swimming in water was a whole different Gembound.

"There's so much water!" they said, for those were the only words they could think of to describe this ocean, no matter how ambigous they were. Heart-Song was technically right, but "so much" was a massive understatement. "It's incredible!"

@Aegir

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...

@Heart-Song

They smiled back at Aegir, fluttering their wings. Well, as much as they were capable of in the water. "I can't wait to explore more places with you! Our adventures are going to be awesome!"

Heart-Song paddled over to the shallows that the bear was in, hopping up onto one of the islands and attempting to shake the water out of their feathers. "There's so much more water in here than in the other room!" they said, still amazed by the ocean, as the novelty of it hadn't quite worn off yet. "What would a reading in here be like?"

@Aegir

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...

@Heart-Song

Heart-Song held back a giggle at the sight of Aegir failing a spell by sneezing. "No worries!" they replied, succeeding in holding back their laughter.

They focused on Aegir doing his reading, surprised at his laughter. "Awww, we can't stay in here?"

"I guess it would be for the best. I mean, there's a lot of water in here, but it's all salty and stuff- and there's barely any food! Just little itty-bitty plants and insects on the islands!"

@Aegir

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...

@Heart-Song

They looked up, hungry as well at the mention of food. They could use a snack. "Hmm.. Well, I know I like insects and plants, but I wouldn't mind trying fish!"

Heart-Song watched as the bear jumped into the water in pursuit of fish, but coming up empty. They could try to swim after the fish themselves, but they weren't as good at swimming or as suited to water as Aegir was. But maybe, other efforts could be supplemental... "Hey, maybe I can scare the fish towards you!" At this statement, they concentrated, summoning their magic forth.

A high-pitched buzzing eminated from under the sea, muted due to the water. A couple of fish swam to the surface, trying to escape the unknown predator. Heart-Song silently celebrated. They were really getting the hang of this magic thing!

@Aegir

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...

@Heart-Song

Heart-Song smiled at Aegir's optimism. "Sure, if I can get the spell right!" The cockatiel concentrated, magic flowing through her jewel yet again as she attempted to perform the spell. The magic flowed outwards, making ripples in the water as the sound echoed from under.

The sound itself was far more muted than the last time- Heart-Song had lost her "grip" on the spell at the last minute and was frankly just glad that it worked- only scaring a couple of fish up to the surface. Hopefully these would be enough for Aegir to practice with.

@Aegir