Tova paced along the beach, just close enough to the sea that on occasional the water would lap against their feet before drawing back into the 'ocean.' The sound of waves was rhythmic and comforting, split occasionally by the sharp call of a Skimmer. It was nice.

Except, of course Tova wanted more.

Dad had told them about the places beyond Lacerta- Fornax, the cave next to this one. And caves of lush greener but smaller lessers. And even more places than that.

But it was too dangerous to go to those places. Or rather, too dangerous to leave Lacerta.

There were two ways out, she'd been told- somewhere out in the sea, and a trapped and dangerous to traverse tunnel.

So she kicked out her frustration on the sand and stray seashells as she sulked at the edge of her world.

@Gaheris

As fog rolled above the water's surface, Gaheris felt his mind was similarly adrift. He moved with no great urgency, wings spread as if he were gliding through air instead of water.

She would not say she had "come of age", rather she had grown large enough to defend herself from most things, and did not show signs of growing any further. She was not sure what adulthood meant, and she was not about to assign the label to herself without fully understanding what came with it. It felt heavy, and she wondered how Cadenza or Sprig or Pride could shoulder it - did they struggle? Did they ever stop struggling?

He knew Cadenza had their clutch young, as soon as they could bear the title. He knew he was not doing that any time soon. He knew he did not feel strong enough to protect himself yet, as adults do. He knew he would tell no one this.

But she did take pleasure in being unrestricted to one cave without supervision. Finally, she could return to the wet she had craved in her scales and gills. No more claustrophobic, dusty tunnels - just her and the open sea. (or the Origin equivalent, which was really just a particularly deep lake.)

His chest brushed the shallows, stirring up sand in his wake. He looked upwards for the first time in a while, catching sight of a silhouette by the shore. He jolted in surprise, before regaining his composure - thank the depths that the fog shielded him from view... or at the very least, enough of him to keep his dignity.

She turned sharply, stirring the water's surface with the movement, to emerge further down the shore. She did not look like a particularly welcoming thing, dragging herself out of the black with her wings, fins hanging heavy with the wet. She had made a point of emerging further from view, letting the rolling white disguise her, though she did nothing to mute the noise of her arrival. The sound of rippling water and a dragging on the sand would alert the other to a presence, and the gasp as she began breathing air would tell them it was alive.

He turned his head to squint at the stranger, trying to find them again. Waiting.

@Tova

It made no sense, why her father would have his children in a place like this. Chock full of dangerous wildlife, yet even more dangerous to leave. Did he want to make sure they would never leave- get lost in the jungle, maybe, but never farther? Was it a test, to see if they were worthy of getting out to the greater world?

Or just a decision made by someone who'd forgotten to think?

She was caught off guard by the sound of fellow life breaking through her thoughts. Through the rhythmic crashing of waves she caught the sound of something large splashing and dragging itself onto shore. Her ears perked up with alertness, twitching and swiveling as she tried to pin down their location admits the white noise of the oceanic ambience. The consistent heavy breathing helped in this regard, even as it faded back to evenness.

The fog did not bother Tova much- she did not have any vision to impair, after all, although she did dislike the heavy moisture that clung to her coat. She knew that fog bothered OTHER creatures, though, and that would help if the massive newcomer was dangerous. At the moment, she had no idea whether it was a dinosaur that has hauled itself out of the surf or someone thinking and speaking, like herself and her family.

Speaking to it would be risky- if it WAS dangerous, she would be revealing her location to it. But she didn't know if she was already spotted or not, and she had dealt with enough dangerous lessers that she was sure she could deal with this one. Curiosity overpowered everything, anyways. "Hello? Do you talk?" She called. "Where did you come from? The across the sea?" They'd sounded big. If they'd come from elsewhere, maybe they could /take/ her elsewhere.

But that was wishful thinking.

@Gaheris

Her pitch dark gaze found little, other than the variation of light. She hoped it would be the same on the other end, and that the paleness of their silvery scales would worsen the effect. She was alone now. No one was here to protect her again. Her mind toyed with a vision, one of the shadow charging forth and dragging her to the bone dry dark - the space under her bed when the door finally closes. The sudden tightness of her own skin made the muscle underneath twitch.

His mind was betraying him already, and his body anticipated a new set of teeth. Pitiful

The voice that carried almost sounded muffled, if only from the journey from his ears to his brain. Like there was a wall between them, instead of thick humid air. It gave the call a surreal quality, as if it was all hallucination. Maybe he was safe, and he could travel easy, knowing he will wake up beside warmer bodies. But he found little comfort in the thought, his grounded mind chiding him. Everything is possible in a dream.

"When I want to." Came her first answer, casual, dismissive. "I hail from distant lands." A hiss to her words, the smallest (and hopefully the only) allusion to how embarrassingly small she felt, during her first time well and truly alone.

@Tova

She waited a long moment for a response- bracing for the charging of heavy footsteps against sand, so she could dart out of the way before harm hit her. But there was nothing of the sort. Wavebreak, wavebreak, and then another voice. 'When I want to,' said the voice. Someone who would be difficult to work with. Someone who stalked alone like the Deinocornus who lurked high in the boughs.

But someone she could talk with. Someone she could convince. If she was careful.

"But you are not a mindless beast. Not lesser." She noted, letting a hint of relief seep into her tone. That she was happy for companionship, not threatened by a competitor. The hint of a hiss- a familiar noise heard echoing through the jungle- made her tense, ears twitching deer-like. A dangerous noise preceding attack. But it was most often defensive- not like the self-assured roar of someone who knew they could win. "I do not want to fight. But I /can./" Not entirely true, but not entirely a lie. Most times, when she was in true danger, her father came to her aide. This would be her first time facing something alone. Without an extra set of eyes, to cover for her own lack.

But that was fine, she'd have to get used to it.

"I hail from here, and I have never left. But I'd like to, one day." She replied, pleasantness smoothing over the earlier sharpness of the warning. A silent offer hanging like a ghost in a fog- When you leave, can I leave with you? "What are the lands like where you come from?" Genuine curiosity mixed with the polite, conversation sort. She'd like to know what to expect, after all.

@Gaheris

Her words gained some clarity as he gathered focus, fought his own frightened body. They helped in an indirect way, stirring a higher emotion - indignant offense. I am no mindless beast. How could they even think that? Lights flashed with the rush of new feeling. She would not notice.

"And I could crush you with the weight of the divine, if I chose." Nevermind that she could just as easily crush herself, or nothing, or that she didn't really knew what divinity was, or if it weighed anything at all. And in fact, he couldn't quite make out how big the stranger was. If she failed... No, when she failed, she would have nothing left. Just failing flesh, fragile skin, and veins that barely held her lifeblood. It wasn't a threat then, not in the way it sounded at least. Just a confirmation of what had been proposed: If this interaction went south, it would end poorly for both parties.

She tried to scan the surroundings for evidence of this claim, or an idea of what the island was like as a home, but the attempt was, rather obviously, in vain. She could find no story in the shifting air, not a reliable one. A paradise, maybe, but just as likely a prison. Considering the tone of the voice and the great length of water she had to travel to get here, probably the latter. "There are a few. The place I was born? Or the place I lived last?"

@Tova

Tova would shift uneasily, head angled in the direction of the voice, ears perked extremely deer-like. The return of the threat should've been expected, but it made her feel on edge regardless. "Lets hope it does not come to that, then." She spoke at last.

"Tell me about all of it." She replied, with a tinge of the savage desperation of one who was starving. In a way she was- starving for news of the outside world. Of new experiences and fresh knowledge.

It was a deeper hunger than any she had ever felt in her guts alone.

"I can tell you about this place, if you wish." She replied. Knowledge for knowledge was a fair deal, right? Anything to ensure Tova got what she wanted.

@Gaheris

Muscles eased in silent gratitude as the stranger continued with a change of topic. An exchange rather than an altercation - neither of them was eager to bloody the hazy sand, and there could be kinship in that (though a shallow, delicate kind.) He shifted his head in new interest, lights shifting to a warm glow.

The knowledge of two places for one was not incredibly fair, she noticed idly. But then again, her knowledge of her birth place was limited to an infant's memory. "A trade - I accept." Strictly business - nothing more, not yet.

He began. "I was born in a cave called Leo, amidst my immediate family. Parents, siblings - the rest were embroiled in..." How dramatic did he want to make this sound? "A territorial dispute between three other parties. I can remember the distant sounds of war - fire, screaming. I've been told I have many relatives still there, though none fell in battle. Not permanently, at least." He stared across the lake in wasted theatre.

"Leo was a warm place, choked by green. I saw dappled light on white sand. Blue water, clear. I imagine its similar to this place, when not smothered by on oversized cloud." A twinge of Cadenza's music in her humour.

"As for my current home, I live in Orion. I am not fond of it - no water, no life save for the lessers who skitter in its many shadows. It is a place of dust and dark, curious ruins jutting out of its valleys. Crystals as well, in every direction. They reflect light in a peculiar way. Tunnels in its flank lead to Polaris, a cavern of similar climate. It buzzes with strange energy. Another leads to Cetus, a muddy and miserable place - and another leads here, Fornax. I am sure you know more about it than I do." She finished, prompting Tova to respond in kind.

@Tova