The Art of water [Avamande]

[Kaiko Marina]

To know that Aardwaldens finger was restored was great news. Which brought some relief to her. She actually didn't realize how heavily she blamed herself for it.

The longer she was with Avamande the more curious she became. From sand designs to floating words they were rather interesting. The words made since once they walked under the water. A dome of air keeping them dry. She attempted to stick her hand into the bubble. Once her immediate curiosity was satisfied she smiled and began swinging around. She waved for Avamande to follow, and began leading him deeper. She would dart again and bring random creatures and rocks back over just to see how Avamande reacted. Some were cool like a shall Housing a hermit crab. Others were odd like the worm tunnels that looked like bone poop. Once she got a reaction she would then swim off just to find something else to bring him. Once the two of them were deep enough she switched her tail to that of a shark so that she could swim faster and do more tricks. This was her world and she liked to show off.

She would do circles and twists and flips. Having fun. In the middle of a flip she got a great idea. She got a sly smile and swam as fast as she could towards the surface. Breaking through she simply looked for ships before gravity took her back under the water. Last time she did what she was about to do she got caught in a net.

She swam to where she was just outside of the bubble and floated there with a smile. She changed to her beast form. Then she took on the shark form and then added the pink cerata of her initial animal. At this point she looked like a shark with pink porcupine quills but the quills were soft, moved with the water and had the ability to sting. Her senses heightened allowing her to smell what remained of the crab.

She only stirred at him for a few seconds before the extreme hunger of using Animus struck. She turned and swam to the last bit of shadow water and down the drop off to the sea self. Where the remains of the huge crab lay. Fish scattered as she came towards them looking for a bite to eat. She found a way into one shell through a leg and was lucky to find any meat that was left. She eat her fill before returning to her Lycan form and looked for Avamande.

[Avamande]

When Kaiko stuck her hand through the bubble, nothing happened. More precisely, the precisely tasked Wards did not recognize her arm as being seawater, and permitted it to pass through without issue - albeit with the water that had previously been coating that arm forced to remain outside, rendering it instantly dry. Just as soon as she retracted it however, all was as it was, and it seemed that the magic was unperturbed by the motion. That was, after all, how Avamande had willed it to be.

Following after her proved... difficult. While the water itself was no obstacle, Avamande's chosen solution to the issue at hand also made them unable to benefit from it. Kaiko was able to quite literally swim circles around the elf as they were forced to plod along the ocean floor, walking at their normal pace, but having to find their over and around obstacles instead of being able to simply swim past them as she did. While this did mean it was very hard for them to keep pace, it also meant that she was quite effective at surprising him with the latest creature or object she had found. From their perspective, she simply swam off into the unknown before returning just as swiftly.

They were, of course, quite appreciative of everything that they were shown. The mysteries of the deep viewed up close were awe inspiring in ways that they would have never imagined on their own, and the feats Kaiko so effortlessly displayed were beyond any terrestrial art. And then, just as suddenly, she vanished again, this time with more ferocity in her movements.

Luckily, finding Avamande after Kaiko had finished feasting was quite easy. The Hytori was sitting upon the sea shelf, gazing down into the Stygian abyss, awaiting her return. They thought to try to speak, but after the failure of last time settled for making an arc across the ocean with their arm, followed by a shrug. Where next?

[Kaiko Marina]

Two people have followed her this deep below the water and so far both choose to walk on the sand rather than glide through the water. It was an odd choice in her opinion but to be fair, rocks sink and air has gravity making swimming an impossible task. Though it was fun watching them walk.

When the other used hand signals to motion a question she tilted her head as she tried to figure it out. Then gave up and motioned for them to follow. She swam much slower as she used her slug body to ripple forward in the water. It was slower than using the shark tail but it would allow Avamande to have a better chance to keep up with her. First stop was the crab carcass. She turned and wiggled her finger then pointed to the crab. Trying to show that this was the reason Aardwalden had lost his finger.

Only the body of the crab remained as she had already taken the legs back to the others for food. It's face had shards of glass stuck through it. She would stop and just stay suspended in the water allowing them to explore if they wanted to. After a bit she began swinging again leading them to the kelp forest. It is crazy how quickly growth can take over when not in check. The path once used as a path for the crab now has sprouts growing. She plucked one of the new growths and began snaking on it. As the entrance to the crabs den came into view she turned and ripped her way back to the bubble and stuck her head in.

"That's where the crab came from. I think it could be hiding something in there. But it could also be home to more of them." She said, She was still breathing the water through her skin. Though she was curious as to how long the bubble would be able to hold fresh air. "I would like to explore it if you're up to it." She would say. She would than back out of the bubble and let them lead which ever way they wanted.

[Avamande]

The sheer ease by which Kaiko made her way through the water ignited the curiosity in Avamande's mind. She did not force herself through, there was no brute demand that reality permit her to do as she pleased, but instead she glided through the sea like she was part and parcel of it. It was a fascinating sight, one that the Hytori mage could not help but admit was superior to the brute force methods by which he resided under the waves or soared through the air. Perhaps this was the lesson that the ancients had failed to heed, the possibilities unlocked by being one with the forces of the world instead of demanding their obeisance.

While they did not know whether or not Kaiko understood what they were trying to ask, Avamande was nonetheless more than happy to follow when she pointed the way forward for them. The crab was an immense sight, and the mage gave a nod of understanding at how her prior encounter with it alongside Aardwalden had gone. The beast was no doubt quite formidable, or rather, was, and a hint of a smile appeared on their face as they remembered the taste of the legs she had taken from it to serve the others. Though most of the carcass was of little interest to them, the shards of glass drew an appraising eye. Giving up on any hope of complex conversation, they simply resolved to ask her what had occurred in greater detail when they were back upon the surface.

And then Kaiko did what was frankly rather obvious and just stuck her head inside of the warded bubble of air, Avamande mentally chiding themself for not thinking of that earlier. "So large a beast may have denned by itself," they suggested, though they knew little ecology in general and far less of the bizarre Ecithian variety that they were facing. Still, it made a measure of sense. And if they were wrong, well, they felt rather confident in their ability to do at very worst run away. Traversion was a useful tool for escapes in even the worst of situations after all.

"How did the dead one get coated in glass? Was that Aardwalden's doing?"

[Kaiko Marina]

She would nod with the question. "Yep, he asked the sand to melt and rise to keep us safe," She said.

She looked at the cave. Caves were dark and humans weren't good at seeing in the dark. So the immediate problem of seeing came to mind. She was sure the person in the bubble had a plan set In place but she didn't. She could change to her full beast form but with major drawbacks. Slugs couldn't actually see. They can since the amount of light in the arena but that's it for their eyes. The upside would be the rhinophore which would smell and better since the arena. But then she would be unlikely to sense her exploration partner since he was in an air bubble. She could also use Animus to take on the shark form to see in the dark. But how long would it last? She hasn't practiced that very much.

Perhaps there was a better answer. She glided around the bubble as she attempted to think of a better way. Suddenly the realization that she could use Mimicry made her stop. She would have laughed, but water was not fun to inhale. To focus a small change would require a lot less energy. Her eyes changed. Growing in size and going completely black. From just above the eyes, rhinophores began to grow.

With heightened smell and better sight she finished her loop around the bubble and headed into the den. The deep dark den, perfectly carved by the hands, or well claws of a now dead crab. She rippled slowly forward in the center of the den, careful to not touch the sides of the cave. Last thing she needed was a cloud of sand to blind her. She stopped as she noticed something that just didn't seem to belong. A pile of bones. Most likely from whatever the crab had eaten before. She picked one up. It almost looked like a beak. But somehow it was wrong. It was much heavier than it should have been. It also doesn't feel quite right. Beaks usually felt like fingernails, but this felt too smooth, too hard. Perhaps… then it struck her. It felt like an anchor or sword. It felt like metal. She immediately swam it over to Avamande. She would hand him the foreign object, then simply stay there. Most curious of what the smart person would make of it. Perhaps they could identify it.