Life under the sea is both tumultuous and calm at the same time, much like the ocean surface itself - sometimes still, other times churning like a ravenous beast, ready to swallow up whatever crosses its path next. But her family was nothing special to speak of: father's claim to fame was as a territory scout, and mother a humble artisan and merchant. Their family made due and swam through life without making barely a ripple.
As a foal, she was lauded for her beauty and shimmering iridescence; something her parents took great pride in. She met their compliments with hesitant smiles, doe eyes flitting nervously between everyone. A tight hand always held its grip around her heart, and there was rarely a time she didn't feel like a sparrow trapped in a cage, wings beating frantically against the bars and searching for a way out. But other than her anxiety and head-turning appearance, she stayed confined to the shadows - out of sight, out of mind.
The hunger started when she was young, becoming a bitter flavor of copper in her mouth. As children do for most things, she thought little of it and pushed it aside. It never occurred to her why people just seemed to....
show up when she sung or hummed a melody. For as long as she could remember, the hunger was never followed by anything. And so, her childhood passed - uneventful and quiet. Her mother taught her so many things — of beauty, of life, of the vastness of the world around them. She often forgot the hunger and grew to love the sea more than she felt she ever would, with its many unique aspects and creatures within. The iridescent phantom flourished, flitting from corner to corner of the ocean, learning new things and nurturing all ill-faring creatures and others she came across. Her mother always said she had a green thumb, a caretaker's heart, and a beautifully alluring voice..
The Ceremony & the Disappointment
It was only natural that when her parents felt her ready to traverse land, that she was all too eager to undergo the transformation. It was an important part of every young hippocampus' life: a day turned into a celebration that the entire community participated in. That day, everyone said Odessa shone even brighter than her own scales... but the ecstasy was short lived.
As she let the waves wash her upon the beach — eyes pressed tightly shut and her breath caught in her chest — she finally felt the sun warm her slick pelt. Teal eyes slowly, hesitantly opened and took in the beauty of the land around her. She almost fully forgot to breathe, and it was only when she finally remembered that she glanced back towards the ocean from whence she came.
But oh, how she was met by the sight of her "legs," which should have been ...
different. Instead, she was left staring at the same fins and scales she has seen since she was a babe. But now? Their iridescence just seemed to mock her.
Upon the beach she sat for a length of time she lost track of, begging the Mother Ocean to bless her like all others had been. Eyes pressed tightly shut, fevered prayers whispered into the sand through gritted teeth and confused tears. Why had the Mother Ocean forbid her from the pleasure land would surely bring?
Eventually, she drug herself back to her only home, the sand's abrade a bitter insult to her descent back. The worried gaze of the young one's parents was met by her quiet silence, disappointment choked in her throat. But despite Odessa's perceived failure, she would — in time — come to accept her own limitations.
It may have taken quite a long time and many hopeful midnight trips to the beach, but eventually she came to terms with it all. The phantom of the sea dedicated her life to the ocean she called home — but always looked longingly towards the land, convinced in the back of her mind that her inability to shift was a premonition of something bad. But such a voracious curiosity! It led her to tread the streams and rivers, to immerse herself in as much of the land-dwellers' lives as she could from afar.
In some way, it gave her comfort. She always had the Mother Ocean to return to, and it was the only place she was truly, truly safe.
Arrival in NOVUS — Year 503
Time seemed to pass as an uneventful blur after the Instance. She continued in her studies and rehabilitations, and it was on one of those days that Kai — her impish, special little sea newt — joined by her side. He was a bright light on an otherwise dull expanse of days.. But as with all stories, the first chapter in her life gently closed. With soft smiles and quiet farewells, she now travels the oceans alone with only Kai at her side.
Until, one day, she happened to stumble upon Novus... The Terminus was an untamed beast that drew Odessa in with little fight. She willingly met the currents head on, wide eyes enraptured by the exotic life around her... so consumed by her curiosity that she barely noticed the taste of copper hanging heavy in the back of her throat.
Her story had only just begun.