In Gizmo's mind, the water felt acrimonious (acrimony, in case that won't ping--). One of his feet waved at the edge and he grunted angrily. To his great dismay, it was cut cleanly into the stone. No mud. No sand. Not even anything vaguely resembling muck! Just... stone and water. He could tell there were fish swimming in it, but without having any fur (yet) and being far too small to swim quickly or effectively, trying to hunt them would be a dangerous game. He nudged lamely at the stone with his beak, waving it back and forth like he was foraging -- dimly, Gizmo was hoping that there was something to actually be consumed here.

Disappointed and hungry but knowing that plopping into the water could very well kill him if it was cold, he splayed out on the ground and grumbled quietly. This was not as fun as he'd been expecting it to be, and there was absolutely nowhere for him to actually forage.


@kaimana

They'd made it to safety, but it appeared as though Gizmo was still not having a good time. Kaimana figured she knew exactly what would cheer Gizmo up.

The jaguar waited by the water, staring into those crystalline depths. Were the waters racing too fast? Could she go below them, subject herself to their mercy?

Well it looked like she'd have to try.

Speed came with practice, and it seemed as though Kaimana had enough. SPLASH! She went below, target locking on a silverling fish of decent size. She came at it from behind. Poor thing; even a million eyes on its face couldn't have protected its back. Actually, maybe a whole entire million just might.

Scoop! She snatched it, killed it, and resurfaced a little downstream. The jaguar padded up and plopped the fresh catch right before Gizmo's eyes. "Here you go, Gizmo!" Sweet delight laced her voice. She hoped the little one would enjoy!

@Gizmo

Gizmo noticed Kaimana disappear into the water idly, still busy being dramatic and thinking about how unfortunate it was that he wasn't given the opportunity of mud with worms in it, bugs, or maybe even some snails or something. Then he felt the panicked jittering of the hearts of some fish, felt one's electricity go dark, and then Kaimana was dropping something in front of him.

Now, Gizmo wasn't very big right now. In adulthood, he'd be no longer than maybe twenty inches long -- at the moment, he was maybe six. The fish, despite being on the smaller end of the size spectrum, was overwhelmingly huge for a creature so tiny. But Gizmo was hungry and grateful for the effort, so he skittered forward after waiting to see if Kaimana would change her mind and then snapped it up in his bill, grinding about half of it between the upper and lower plates. He'd have preferred to just swallow it whole, but again -- too much, and bones complicated matters slightly. Once the amount of fish he was going to eat was sufficiently mealy, he shook his head to dislodge the rest and nudged it towards Kaimana before swallowing down the rest.

Satisfactory. And really tasty! Gizmo made a noise which probably communicated gratefulness or maybe contentment, waddling over towards Kaimana to lay on her paw and then immediately changing his mind, because she was soaking wet. He made a vaguely disappointed noise and laid on the stone instead, waiting for her next idea. She seemed to be way better at them than he was.


@kaimana

It seemed as though Gizmo was enjoying the relatively large meal, and at this Kaimana's whole face began to smile -- it was in her eyes, her ears, the line of her mouth, it was everywhere! Watching others enjoy the food they were brought was such a delight! Gizmo's strange noise of something-related-to-gratitude was accepted with a nod. Kaimana froze in place as she waited to see what Gizmo intending to do by approaching her. When the little one retreated, the jaguar couldn't help but feel a little disappointed at the lack of touch and a little amused by Gizmo's humorous mannerisms.

Then the tone changed again. Gizmo looked like they had before Kaimana had fed them. Was Gizmo still hungry? That couldn't be the case, that fish was practically a feast for the tiny thing! Maybe it wanted something else to eat? Or maybe it wanted something else entirely? Or maybe... "Is this place bothering you Gizmo? Wanna go somewhere else?" Kaimana couldn't imagine wanting to stick around in the area where her life had been at risk! "You can ride on my back this time and I can take you somewhere nicer. If you want." Kaimana would crouch down into the signature 'loaf' position of the feline species, hopefully making it easier for Gizmo to climb on if they so desired.

The room where Kaimana had hatched had been much less dangerous. while still retaining the possibility of trasty fish! Maybe Gizmo would like it better there. It wasn't far from here.

@Gizmo