set before a key for a cost.

Cerilaine hadn't been in Leo for long, and she didn't know where to start. Attikias's words were vague enough to set her off in some direction and yet none at all- with all of Leo to search, perhaps she'd never find the key.

Breathing in, Cerilaine stretched herself out from a rest in an ocean cave, set into a cliff on the beach. Perhaps it'd be nice to find someplace to stay for good, just like she said with Cygnus, and yet it just didn't seem right for her. Having a place to return would mean she'd be tied there, like she had to upkeep it. This way, she could go where she want, and sleep where she wanted.

She wondered, briefly, what it would be like to miss her home.

Stepping into the warm sands of Leo's bay, Cerilaine let out a hot breath and shook herself out, grumbling at the heat of the burning bulbs and surrounding sea. Back to the search- and Cerilaine pushed her magic out, reaching into the surrounding area.

Despite feeling the twinge of magic at the back of her mind, there was nothing- and she closed her eyes, huffing out. Fine, she'll continue on, and she padded down the beach at a casual pace. The water lapped by her feet as she walked, and she was content.

@Indigo

Indigo Eyes had no real attachment to the water, aside from the fact that she lived in it. She was camoflagued within it; safe from the predators lurking outside the wide span of lakes and tunnels that she patrolled through on a daily basis.

But it was lonely, she found. The creatures she found within the tunnels often didn't seem very sentient, or they didn't seem interested in speaking to her. Indigo had learned to go her own way in the few cycles she'd been kicking around, largely minding her own business with very little purpose behind her actions.

When she was hungry, she ate. When she was bored, she swam. When she needed to breathe, she surfaced.

The room that Indigo surfaced in today was familiar to her. She knew the comfortable heat of the water and the humidity in the air-- she'd met some strange predator here who told her about emotions and feelings on the beach.

Indigo didn't entirely want to risk meeting another predator on the beach; but she was an adult now, and fairly capable of defending herself, if she were going to be eaten-- but it was ultimately laziness that had the naga heading towards the bay.

As saltwater tumbled onto the sand, the naga let herself be thrown in with it, lazily stretching herself out on the sand and rolling onto her belly for comfort. Her arms folded in front of her, chin perched on her forearms, and she was just about to shut her eyes when she noticed--

Shit, she thought, watching the cat stroll on by a little too close for comfort. She knew of cats-- though not necessarily one this big --and knew, vaguely, they didn't seem to appreciate getting wet. And yet, this one was padding through the little waves spilling onto the shore, and it didn't seem very aggressive or... hungry.

Her brow furrowed. "Aren't you... hot?" Indigo Eyes rasped with a voice slightly disused from cycles spent alone. Her hand lifted-- nowhere close to touching --to gesture to Cerilaine's coat. "It looks thick."

@Cerilaine

Cerilaine hadn't noticed the naga until she got closer than she would have liked, double-taking from her gaze up along the cliffs. Oh. That was a Gembound- and she blinked a little harder than she would have liked, too, tail flicking behind her.

Her ears were forward with curiosity as she watched Indigo, taking another step as she looked over the other Greater's form. Long, definitely adapted to water- but, no key. Surely, the spell would've told her the key was nearby if this being had it, and she certainly wasn't about to go around asking everyone about a rock, so she was fully set to go her own way instead of interacting with Indigo.

When Indigo spoke, Cerilaine strained to hear her voice. It was too soft and too far away, but she got the gist of it, especially with the second sentence. "Hot?" she tested, her head pulling back and tilting just slightly. (The earrings clacked, too, and she withheld a strange look at that.) "I'll- be fine. If I get too hot, I have magic," she explained, drawing one paw closer.

Truth be told, she was too hot. It wasn't until now that she really noticed- her mind was set on finding whatever 'key' there was and getting out of Leo, honestly. Now, though, she could feel her pelt trapping in all that warmth, and she huffed out another hot breath over her tongue. Perhaps she needed to lay on some ice later.

But, for now, she took a gentle step forward, pointing her nose to Indigo. "You seem perfectly suited to these waters, though. How are they?" It was mostly idle conversation, but something trapped Indigo's form in Cerilaine's mind; something about the sleek scales and blue stuck with her.

@Indigo

Indigo had to think about this. She hadn't ever quite considered what the water was like; she was born in them and she spent most of her time in them. She supposed, however, it was only fair that she be asked about it after accusing the cat of being too hot.

"They're warm," she said. "But not hot. Not like the air. It's relieving to go into them when you're dry." A glance over Cerilaine told her that she'd probably prefer to stay dry-- not like Indigo, who got a little anxious if her skin wasn't wet enough.

Her eyes carefully narrowed. "Do you not swim?" She asked, half-accusingly, though what exactly Indigo was accusing Cerilaine of, even she didn't know. "I mean-- you've never seen what it's like, under the water?"

The naga edged closer. Not to Cerilaine, but the rolling water; dipping her fingers along the frothing waves. It seemed a little outlandish to her that none of the land-walkers had seen what was beneath the water-- did they even know of the food?

She side-eyed Cerilaine. "Have you never eaten fish?"

@Cerilaine

Cerilaine tilted her head the other way, considering this. The shallow lakes she'd been in in Ursa were often freezing- more freezing than the outside air, and she nearly got herself frostbite if she hadn't warmed herself up after hunting in them. Leo's water's lapping at her legs felt good, too, and she thought about using the ocean itself to cool off instead of her ice magic.

But, then again, she remembered how long it took her thick coat to dry out. Even if she liked water, she didn't want to walk around on hot sand dripping wet and freezing with the wind again. Frowning softly, she watched the waves lap in as she looked out over the water.

"I don't usually go that deep," she confessed, looking back to Indigo. "I can't hold my breath for that long."

Except- there was a spell that could help her, at least? But, she didn't know it, and she doubted a creature of the water needed to know it. She stopped when Indigo slinked back, ears flicking against her head for a moment before she took a step back. "Most of the fish I eat come from Ursa, the drowned forest there. I don't imagine you prefer the cold, though?" While her words sounded partially accusing in turn, her tone was level with a simple interest behind them, as she'd never interacted with someone directly from the water.

She curled her tail around herself as she debated sitting, alternatively wondering if she really should cool herself down still. She liked this being- she wanted to know more about this path of life she thought to be inaccessible. Did they mind, perhaps, this conversation? Did they want to go back into the water and be left alone? Cerilaine'd let her do what she wanted, then, as she wasn't one to really force people into conversations, anyways.

@Indigo

Indigo lifted one eyebrow. "Neither can I," she said, assuming 'not long' meant some ten minutes-- about half of how long she could hold her own breath for. Which, in comparison to fish, who seemed to hold their breath indefinitely, was quite short.

She lounged back again and stretched comfortably in the sand, tail curling upwards to catch rays of warm light as well, lazily listening to Cerilaine's questions of her own as her arms stretched above her head. She didn't mind the conversation-- in fact, she quite liked it. It made for a nice change, and it didn't seem as stiff or as awkward as the conversations she had when she was young.

"I stay away from the colder places," she said. "It's more the air than the water, though-- places like Ursa and some of the tunnels are too cold for comfort. Sometimes Pegasus gets a bit too cool, too, but it's kind of more bearable when you're in the water."

Her tail stretched out the other way, flicking idly back and forth. "It changes, though," the naga explained. "The temperatures when I was young were a lot colder, but now they're getting a bit warmer. There's still random kind of changes in the water and sometimes the currents down there get violent."

Pale eyes shifted to Cerilaine, a little more micheviously. "You should try the fish in warm waters. They're fatter."

@Cerilaine

Cerilaine felt herself calm as Indigo got settled, letting out a very soft hum. No, she was content- and giving off a single chuff, Cerilaine stepped closer and settled into the sand. First, she sat- but, as Indie went on, she laid down, crossing her paws and laying her head down. As she spoke, she nodded- particularly, to the coldness of Ursa's air, and then to the changing waters, rolling around that fact in her head.

Was it related to the city? Is that why they needed to go down there, to change some magical thermostat? At least, something like that- Cerilaine didn't exactly know what a thermostat was, or why the idea of just simply turning down the temperature came to mind, but it nestled in like a stone.

She'd file that one away for later. For now, she stretched forward, her back arching just slightly. "They have gotten warmer," she agreed. "For the better, for cold caves- being wet outside of them is nearly a death sentence if you don't know how to warm back up." She shook her head, unwilling to dredge up memories of getting frostbitten all those cycles ago. "But, it felt like you'd freeze if you'd stay in them for too long. Now, at least they're a bit more bearable."

Ceri scooched forward at Indigo's proposition. "Really, now? Perhaps I'd have to, if you recommend it," she replied, smiling softly with a slight bit of mischief in return. "Leo may be a bit too deep for my liking, though. I simply wouldn't know where to look for them." Was that a sly little smirk? It definitely was, as she raised a paw to her chin and looked out over the water.

@Indigo

Indigo let out a little scoff at the sentiment. She felt like she'd freeze most of the time if she didn't get the warmth she needed-- and going out into cold air, wet, was a death sentence. "I do like drying off, sometimes," she said. "It feels good for the skin-- and it's nice to get back into the water and cool off."

Her head turned to glance over Cerilaine laying next to her, with a thoughtful little hum. She could imagine her fur taking as long as it took her own hair to dry-- which, truly, it had never been quite bone dry. She rolled over onto one side, propping her head up with one hand.

"Why don't you use magic to dry yourself off?" She asked, with genuine curiosity. "If you can cool yourself down, surely you must be able to warm yourself back up again."

A hand lifted to itch the feathery gills on the side of Indigo's face when Cerilaine began mischiefing back-- trying to glance through the leopard's intentions, with limited success. Her pale brow furrowed for a moment.

"I do recommend it," she said. "I can show you where they are, if you're not too scared of the water."

@Cerilaine

"Mm," Ceri hummed out, tucking in her paws a little bit more. "Most of my magic is more... Water focused. Ice, particularly. And even then, I don't know that many spells yet." She thought for a moment, flexing her claws idly like someone rubbing their thumb on their other fingers. "It's definitely something to try again, though. A lot of things for me are just trial and error, anyways."

She rumbled, thinking. Perhaps she'd warm up if she drew the water away from her fur? That'd be in line with the spells she'd managed to get down, and she eyed the water in thought. Perhaps she'd need to learn that one out, and soon.

Her gaze slowly rolled back to Indigo at the offer. "Scared of water? Me? Of course not," she rumbled out with a chuff of a laugh, grinning. "It's been a while since I had a good swim. I think I'm due for one."

Pulling back, Cerilaine shoved back to her paws (and off of the hot sand, even if some of it was in the water) and turned further into the tide. "Would you like to lead the way?" Her head fell to angle towards Indigo, tail hovering just above the lapping waves of the sea. She was excited- Indigo was certainly a person she was beginning to enjoy, and she was genuine about needing to go for a swim, anyways.

Maybe it'll be better in warmer water.

@Indigo

"I suppose mine is, too," Indigo said-- though she'd never heard of ice magic before. She was rolling over in the sand again, pulling herself onto her belly and standing vaguely upright on the snakelike half of her. "I think most of my spells just help me survive." She'd never really thought about it in detail; and even now, she had more pressing matters.

The naga's face split into a grin when Cerilaine began to push up, too. As much as she would have preferred to sit in the same spot doing nothing for another hour and a half, this seemed much more entertaining to her. "The way is pretty straight forward," she said as she twisted around and went slithering into the tide.

She partially wondered how much the leopard was bluffing. She didn't seem like the type for swimming at all with all that fluffy fur, and the other cat she'd met didn't even want to get wet at all.

Briefly, she peered back to get a glance at Cerilaine while she seeped away into the water; barging past frothing, rolling waves until she was about waist-deep in the bay. She paused there, waiting for a moment.

Of course, she was still smiling. "It's shallower here," Indigo said. "Sometimes the fish will come out this far, if you're scared."

@Cerilaine