It was a siren call that had started earlier that morning, as the dawn air had touched her body. It was a call that had grown in intensity as the heat of the day settled in, causing the vapors of her skin to work double time in keeping her hydrated (a requirement for a creature who was of the water more than she was of the land). She had tried right desperately to ignore it, but as the day wore on, the song wove longer, louder, more eager for her obedience. It was carried on the cries of gulls, on the sounds of waves echoing through the wind. It was amplified by the sun's reflection against the water's surface. It was shouted in her fibers, the very make up of her being - and sung louder by the knowledge of how long it had been since she'd dived deep beneath the waves, and just let herself be. The aqua-equine finally gave into the call, it wasn't a hard task to do, as her hooves carried her through the sands and rocks that made up the beach of Terminus Sea. She didn't hesitate as her limbs carried her into the water. She didn't pause to test the temperature of the waves, she didn't shiver as the water touched her knees, then her belly, then her shoulders, finally her neck. She didn't hold her breath as her head disappeared below the waves as well. The last touch of her to the surface, the last sign she had been there was the crest of her dorsal fin, where the tallest point between her ears and horns sat slowly disappeared beneath the waves. And she felt like she was home.


She stood beneath the waves, water filtering out of her gills as she breathed in the ocean. Her eyes seemed to have taken on a slight gleam of joy and excitement. This is what she had waited for, what she'd missed in the passing weeks, and months. Her eyes took in the world, her hooves at the very edge of the shallows. She waited for just a short moment before she finally pushed off with her hooves. It was a motion of pure grace and acceptance with her place as a creature of the waters, tailored by years of being part of the ocean experience, and tempered with the proper development and mechanics to survive in a watery environment. Her hooves coiled in close to her body as she dived off the edge of the sea bed that separated the shallows from the true depths and wonders of the deep sea, her powerful tail flipping through the air and guiding her body before she re-aligned her spine and stilled her movement to stream-line her descent into the colorful world below.

She slowed herself as she neared the corals and anemone of the deep, her eyes dancing from one colorful fish to the next, as starfish danced from area to area, carried on small currents beneath the wave. A few of the braver fish schooled close together as they swam around her, obscure the new addition to their ecosystem - even if her presence was just temporary for the time being. Her body moved into action as she practically danced around the fish and brightly colored corals and fans, playing a game of tag with the larger fish as her laugh bubbled from her, high pitch and carrying like that of a dolphin. She always sounded different underwater, her preferred communication being the sounds her people had learned to mimic and take from the dolphins they had often swam and played with during their travels. When speaking a more understood language, it still carried like song on the currents, soft and light and full of life in a way that typically only visible beneath the waves of the ocean, where she felt more at peace, more at home.

She swam with an ease, a willingness that reminded her like a pang to her heart that this was the life she was meant to live, where she was surrounded by the beauty and mystery of the depths of the seas . . . and she'd forsaken it for a life of land. As she chased small fish, her form cutting smoothly through water, she made a small mental note to not wait so long before she dived beneath the seas again.

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@'Jaylin'

rulers make bad lovers
you better put your kingdom up for sale

There was a joy in her heart that came from her time below the water. The liquid entered her muzzle as she laughed a sound that mirrored the cree-ing laughter of the dolphins that had taught her ancestors the best way to carry their conversations through the depths of the sea. Bubbles fled from gills as she kept up the easy filtering of oxygen from the water, instinctively breathing beneath the sea as she swam with a certain eagerness to stretch her fins. Her limbs were coiled close to her body, and her fluke of a tail drove her easily through the water, her body angling with her neck and head to direct her passage, as she dove down deep to the sandy bottom of the depths.

The low-waiting predators fled from her large form, a few basking sharks dancing out of reach, a stingray abandoning the area with a flap of it's underwater wings. She slowed as her tail moved at a more leisure rate, her limbs unfolding and seeming to paddle her through the water in a way that was more graceful than more mammalian swimmers. Where they always seemed to struggle through the water, Vapors had generations of perfecting their forms. Her limbs cut through the water easily, her fur sleek against her form and allowing water to pass by easily, more aqua-dynamic thanks to the follicles grew, and the single layer of fur adorning her blubber-protected form. Her dorsal fin rippled with her, controlled her spine and helping control her movements just as easily as the rest of her body did. All aspects carefully trained to work together . . . she was always more comfortable in the water, more used to the water. More willing to embrace this life.

She had missed this life. She was taking the time to play and chase with the fish, moving easily to follow the pods and school with the largest of the aquatic creatures - she never noticed the other large creature entering the reef she played in. She never noticed the other's struggle with the currents that Bel had experience correcting for and did so with out thought. She didn't notice the other until the two both seemed to turn corners just right, the other clumsy and slow, while Bel's motions are swift and practice, and both draw up short as the two come face to face.

The two are silent, noting the other, and Bel quietly takes in the creature that is far more outfitted with fins than she could ever dream of being. She'd often wondered if having more fins to catch the currents would be more useful or not. Her own fins thick with cartilage had bend to them, but not like the membranes of other's fins. The other seemed to suddenly blink with extra eyes, and Bel's own eyes narrow onto her more fully as the stranger spoke, questioning who she was.

Bel's muzzle opened as she took a slow breath, bubbles erupting from her gills as she did so, "My name is Below Zero." Her words echo in the water, carried on the currents in a slightly higher frequency than she would use on land. Half of the vowels and constants seem to be exaggerated, taking on an almost carried "eeee" sounds that might fit a dolphin's vocalization than that of a horse (but then again, Bel had always identified as an aquatic-equine for a reason. She always felt she was a creature of the sea far more than that of the ocean. "I don't believe I've seen you in the reef before," She added curiously, tilting her head. While Bel didn't come by often (definitely not enough by her standard), she didn't think she'd ever seen another really sharing the reef with her during her times under the waters. Perhaps she just constantly missed the others?

Bubbles left her gills, trailing to the surface as Bel breathed softly, starting to relax again as her dorsal fin shifted with the slight movements of her body and tail to keep her floating in the water that moved around them. She watched the other with an open curiosity, as she slowly allowed herself to add, "So, who . . . are you? And if I may ask, what are you?" She asked, briefly wondering if this might be one of those Kelpies that Asterion had wondered if she was upon their first meeting, or some other breed of aquatic horse. All Bel knew for certain is she wasn't one of both homes like Bel herself who had the gills and fins of the sea, but the limbs and lungs of land. But Bel was also more than eager to see and learn more about the aquatic-mare before her, and who knew what underwater knowledge the two might be able to share too. (And a friend to play beneath the waves with wouldn't be denied either).

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@'Jaylin' - note to self. Bel is far more relaxed when meeting strangers underwater. No unusual ramblings from her, she's perfectly in her element! I'm discovering so much about her today!

rulers make bad lovers
you better put your kingdom up for sale

Bel could feel an ever growing curiosity growing in her bones at the creature, the female before her. Fins seemingly dancing in the waters, tugged far more force-ably in the currents than Bel's own practiced movements. Was it easier for the water to catch the membrane and delicate makings of such fin-work. Though, other thin finned fish around swam with out much concern - and Bel herself with fins made of much thicker cartilage and blubber padding knew she had no issues with battling the familiar currents. The other spoke her name, immediately drawing Bel's thoughts away from their differences and instead smiling warmly at the now named Jaylin, her finned ears flicking, her eyes watching the bubbles rolling off of the other's tongue and gills. Her voice was a whisper, almost easy to overlook among the other sounds in the waters, but Bel still caught the words, surprised by the additional differences between the two she was noting.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Jaylin." Bel greeted kindly with smile, dipping her head through the water, a rush bubbles leaving her briefly flared gills, as her head tucked close to her chest, her horns briefly reflecting the fractured light cutting through the water's surface above. She raised her skull fairly quickly, eyes sweeping the peaceful reef, more than aware of how quickly the peace can disappear. Even as she spent the time comfortably talking to the other within the waters, she was keeping an eye on the other aquatic life, watching them float and swim about in a natural pattern. The wrong movement, however, a sudden dispersing of life would immediately catch her attention. She had no intention of being surprised by a shark attempting to claim a quick meal. She was always cautious and aware of the waters around her, least she not ever come back out.

Her attention returned to the mare when she spoke again, speaking of having never been here before - of being trapped for a long time, and not used to swimming in such waters. Again, this was further punctuated by the constant corrections, struggling to keep her balance, over-correcting and wrenching from the currents that moved. Bel offered a reassuring smile, "Swim in from the fresh waters?" She asked curiously, knowing those currents behaved differently, usually with one or two to worry about depending on the depth of the freshwater. Bel was used to streams and currents beneath the waves, but even she might feel a little topsy turvy in rapids of freshwater rivers. "I promise it becomes easier. It'll be like second nature to correct for currents before you know it!" She offered reassuringly, her words echoing through the water, carrying easily to the other mare. "I'd offer suggestions for how you can adjust, but I'm afraid I'm built a little different than you are, but maybe spend some time basking on the ocean floor and watching the other finned fish swim about and mirror how they handle the currents. A many have similar styled fins to your own I believe." Bel herself had been largely trained by her own people, and dolphins. Even some of the sharks had been observed from a safe distance.

It was then that the other explained her discomfort in a much grander way and instantly Bel's eyes were widening, and she moved forward, her body angling with a natural ease as she swam around the other mare, peering at her with shock, "Cursed you say? That's fascinating! You certainly don't look like this isn't your natural form, other than your in-familiarity with the currents. But don't fret over broken coral! You'll figure it out before you know it, or hopefully find a way to return to what form it was you originally had." She tilted her head curiously, her dual gaze moving over the creature, one set focusing on the fins, the other's politely keeping her attention on the face of the other mare, before a sudden question was put between them, “What are you?”

There was a hesitation, a pause as the dual-natured equine tried to think on how to answer that. Before she'd have simply explained her species, but . . . after seeing how so many of the other equine in Novus came to be - where all of them had come from, her own origin stories that once merely felt like legends had started to feel more real. Small meanings in previously spoken words suddenly were clicking together. Odd plant life harbored in special areas with cultural value to her species suddenly didn't seem so alien . . . or perhaps, that was just it, everything felt naturally alien: at least alien to the planet if not natural to her.

For the first time she hesitated when answering the question of what she was, before giving a new answer to the question, "My people are called Vapor Treaders, although we consider Treaders as easier to say. Our ancestors hailed from the stars, and our lives are a mix of living beneath the waves and on the shorelines." She tilted her head to the side faintly, a smile crossing her face, both set of eyes twinkling as her tail flipped through the air, propelling her just to the left as a current pushed past her, her dorsal atop her spine shifting faintly to help keep her aligned in the waters, "Personally, however, I've come to Novus and am now part of the Dusk Court." Perhaps for the first time, she gave credit where it was due, to her ancestors who'd abandoned a dying and diseased planet for a future of prosperity on another world.

She was only beginning to believe the stories, and it was easier to claim her ancestors were alien, rather than herself. She preferred presenting herself as a partial deep sea aquatic equine anyway. "If you don't mind me asking . . . what happened for you to be cursed into this form? I've heard of badluck from broken seaglass, but a curse is a new one. I hope you do break it, if you can! It's hard being in an unfamiliar place, switching from living in the deep arctic trenches to on land was difficult, I couldn't imagine being forced to live in a place unfamiliar with out even a friendly, familiar some-fish to keep you company!" She added, her expression a mixture of concern, sympathy, and a slight desire to be able to help the poor mare before her.

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@'Jaylin' - Getting back in the swing of things with posting before I go camping this weekend :D