Below Zero
my frost philosophy will put no curse on me
There was an odd sort of sway and flow to their conversation, both trying to help steer the conversation into a direction that would allow them both to remain comfortable with the topics discussed. Or, at least, Bel was actively trying to – steer the conversation away from her past and home, and make sure she didn’t accidentally poke a tender spot in his own history. No one ever had a perfect life, she was well aware of that . . . and where she had her taboo topics, she was fairly certain he likely had his own.
The young aqua-equine was relieved that the topic was lightening though, and was more than happy to lay her own helplessness to the foreign aspect of living on land, to ensure a safe conversation to be had . . . besides, she was hoping she might learn a little bit more about the land this way as well. Her companion – for surely at this point he wouldn’t be a stranger – had chuckled at her words, and she grinned back in response, finned ears flicking faintly. She nodded to what he had to say, her own laugh bubbling up, “Well, I certainly hope that I figure out quickly, before I end up on the wrong side of the seabed!” She declared with a soft shake of her head. “Hmm, perhaps I need to find a healer to fall around. I can ask them about any and every plant I come across until they’re wanting to feed me to the kraken!” She declared with an amused grin, “I could definitely use all the help I can get to figuring out this living on land thing. I’d rather be treading water, then splashing and mucking about, like I seem to be doing now.” She was certain with enough time, she would be figuring her way around being a land mammal, treading water instead of feeling like she was drowning by all the unfamiliarity of this new world.
She was a creature of two worlds after all. Created for both land, and sea. With enough practice, she should get her land-legs at some point – right? No more flopping about like a fish washed ashore, but instead evolving like the mudskipper and actually living. Her thoughts soon turned off this pathway, instead turning towards the next coming wave of conversation – Lasair’s choice in occupation. Bel tilted her head, listening inquisitively as the stallion spoke of magic, and the past of being caught up in it. She tilted her head curiously at this, “Magic? You mean like the odd telepathy everyone seems to have here. I’ll say that was a surprise for me to stumble across having. I don’t know if it was never needed below the waves, but it’s definitely not what I had expected.” Of course, there was also the magic that had her body creating the water vapors that trailed through the air around her, humidifying the atmosphere in her general area. While technically a magic of its own, it had always just been a fundamental part of her life and survival – and everyone in the pod seemed to have some form of the vapors – so it was not yet occurred to the young mare that it was a form of magic of its’ own. “What was it like? Learning magic? If you don’t mind me asking?” She added with obvious curiosity over what was another foreign topic to her.
She was appreciating learning more about her new companion though, tilting her head with curiosity as the topic changed to childhood and foal-games to be played. When he mentioned of not being born to his current form, however, her thought immediately went to a frog, which went through many stages, and she tilted her head in obvious confusion, “You weren’t always . . . . in this form?” She repeated, “Do you mean like you were a frog, and had another form that had to evolve into this one? Although I’m sure you wouldn’t have resembled a tadpool, but that would be cool.” She asked curiously, trying to connect the odd phrasing to a method of which she would be able to understand. Unfortunately there were not too many methods that made since to her, in regards of changing forms. He did speak of games that they would play though, some familiar – while others seemed a foreign concept like sparring. Perhaps it was the necessity to always be at full health that her people lived by. “Well, I don’t know about sparring, though the males might have done a bit of that – but I certainly never tried my hand at it,” She mused with a smile, “Children weren’t so much a rarity with my pod, but we did tend to live very sheltered. The entire pod acted together to raise the youth, and so it was rare for us to ever be far from the eyes of one of the Pod.” Except when danger struck and you split off in random directions in an attempt to confuse the predator.
That wasn’t a topic she wanted to add to though, he had been horrified enough by a culture who followed the ideal of injured pod members are expendable. While the Pod did everything it could to survive, you had to have a solid handle on relying on yourself, because when a predator attacked, and the pod split to avoid it, you never knew how long you’d be on your own for before the pod reformed. But when the topic suddenly drifted to war, Bel fell silent, as her thoughts stilled. Her vapors seemed to go a slightly chillier temperature as she tilted her head, “I’m sorry to hear that. I suppose that’s one thing I should be relieved about – my people were always too busy fleeing predators to worry about fighting each other. But war, and the aftermath of it is never something to be ignored. It has a way of lasting generations, the damage impacting all aspects of life . . . I can’t claim to know the situation, but I can agree that there is never a reason for a situation to dissolve into war. All life is precious.” There was a pause, her dual sets of eyes turning towards him, “I’m sorry if this topic is a sensitive one.” There was another pause, before she allowed one final personal bit of information to flow through her, “My sister . . . is the reason the lack of medicine to my people is . . . difficult. She was injured . . . we lost our mother. It took the pod near a full moon’s cycle before they convinced father it was no good, and to leave her behind. The night following her abandonment – I left the pod. I couldn’t . . . . the guilt . . . ” She shook her head, before glancing back at him and repeating his own words back, “It shouldn’t have happened.”
She fell quiet again, her gaze dropping to her hooves for a moment, banishing the memories of her younger siblings cries, screams and pleas. Her gaze drifted to the ocean behind her, the crashing of the waves, and smell of the salty air. Her finned ears flicked, her tail twitching faintly, before a new topic spun almost randomly, “It’s both terrifying, and exhilarating to be that far beneath the surface waters . . . the temperature drops, and dangerous, large creatures roam, but as those lights flicker on, you can almost imagine you’re in a different world, and more fantastical world.” Her people told stories of coming from such a fantastical world, where creatures glowed at night, and the world seemed more alive in the dark then in the day. It was likely just a story, but they were some of her favorites as a child, “Sometimes, I’d hide in those deep waters, just watching this whole other world come alive . . . all that life glowing brightly in the dark. I used to imagine anything was possible in that darkness, that when those lights came flickering on, that anything could be waiting – friend or foe. I hope the land has places like that, that when you stare upon it . . . it takes your breath away, and for a moment it’ll help you forget where you come from, and remind you that the future is brighter.” She didn’t know if she was speaking for his benefit, or for her own, but a brighter future was definitely a vision she would want to see.
Thoughts
Speech
Tagging: @Lasairian
The young aqua-equine was relieved that the topic was lightening though, and was more than happy to lay her own helplessness to the foreign aspect of living on land, to ensure a safe conversation to be had . . . besides, she was hoping she might learn a little bit more about the land this way as well. Her companion – for surely at this point he wouldn’t be a stranger – had chuckled at her words, and she grinned back in response, finned ears flicking faintly. She nodded to what he had to say, her own laugh bubbling up, “Well, I certainly hope that I figure out quickly, before I end up on the wrong side of the seabed!” She declared with a soft shake of her head. “Hmm, perhaps I need to find a healer to fall around. I can ask them about any and every plant I come across until they’re wanting to feed me to the kraken!” She declared with an amused grin, “I could definitely use all the help I can get to figuring out this living on land thing. I’d rather be treading water, then splashing and mucking about, like I seem to be doing now.” She was certain with enough time, she would be figuring her way around being a land mammal, treading water instead of feeling like she was drowning by all the unfamiliarity of this new world.
She was a creature of two worlds after all. Created for both land, and sea. With enough practice, she should get her land-legs at some point – right? No more flopping about like a fish washed ashore, but instead evolving like the mudskipper and actually living. Her thoughts soon turned off this pathway, instead turning towards the next coming wave of conversation – Lasair’s choice in occupation. Bel tilted her head, listening inquisitively as the stallion spoke of magic, and the past of being caught up in it. She tilted her head curiously at this, “Magic? You mean like the odd telepathy everyone seems to have here. I’ll say that was a surprise for me to stumble across having. I don’t know if it was never needed below the waves, but it’s definitely not what I had expected.” Of course, there was also the magic that had her body creating the water vapors that trailed through the air around her, humidifying the atmosphere in her general area. While technically a magic of its own, it had always just been a fundamental part of her life and survival – and everyone in the pod seemed to have some form of the vapors – so it was not yet occurred to the young mare that it was a form of magic of its’ own. “What was it like? Learning magic? If you don’t mind me asking?” She added with obvious curiosity over what was another foreign topic to her.
She was appreciating learning more about her new companion though, tilting her head with curiosity as the topic changed to childhood and foal-games to be played. When he mentioned of not being born to his current form, however, her thought immediately went to a frog, which went through many stages, and she tilted her head in obvious confusion, “You weren’t always . . . . in this form?” She repeated, “Do you mean like you were a frog, and had another form that had to evolve into this one? Although I’m sure you wouldn’t have resembled a tadpool, but that would be cool.” She asked curiously, trying to connect the odd phrasing to a method of which she would be able to understand. Unfortunately there were not too many methods that made since to her, in regards of changing forms. He did speak of games that they would play though, some familiar – while others seemed a foreign concept like sparring. Perhaps it was the necessity to always be at full health that her people lived by. “Well, I don’t know about sparring, though the males might have done a bit of that – but I certainly never tried my hand at it,” She mused with a smile, “Children weren’t so much a rarity with my pod, but we did tend to live very sheltered. The entire pod acted together to raise the youth, and so it was rare for us to ever be far from the eyes of one of the Pod.” Except when danger struck and you split off in random directions in an attempt to confuse the predator.
That wasn’t a topic she wanted to add to though, he had been horrified enough by a culture who followed the ideal of injured pod members are expendable. While the Pod did everything it could to survive, you had to have a solid handle on relying on yourself, because when a predator attacked, and the pod split to avoid it, you never knew how long you’d be on your own for before the pod reformed. But when the topic suddenly drifted to war, Bel fell silent, as her thoughts stilled. Her vapors seemed to go a slightly chillier temperature as she tilted her head, “I’m sorry to hear that. I suppose that’s one thing I should be relieved about – my people were always too busy fleeing predators to worry about fighting each other. But war, and the aftermath of it is never something to be ignored. It has a way of lasting generations, the damage impacting all aspects of life . . . I can’t claim to know the situation, but I can agree that there is never a reason for a situation to dissolve into war. All life is precious.” There was a pause, her dual sets of eyes turning towards him, “I’m sorry if this topic is a sensitive one.” There was another pause, before she allowed one final personal bit of information to flow through her, “My sister . . . is the reason the lack of medicine to my people is . . . difficult. She was injured . . . we lost our mother. It took the pod near a full moon’s cycle before they convinced father it was no good, and to leave her behind. The night following her abandonment – I left the pod. I couldn’t . . . . the guilt . . . ” She shook her head, before glancing back at him and repeating his own words back, “It shouldn’t have happened.”
She fell quiet again, her gaze dropping to her hooves for a moment, banishing the memories of her younger siblings cries, screams and pleas. Her gaze drifted to the ocean behind her, the crashing of the waves, and smell of the salty air. Her finned ears flicked, her tail twitching faintly, before a new topic spun almost randomly, “It’s both terrifying, and exhilarating to be that far beneath the surface waters . . . the temperature drops, and dangerous, large creatures roam, but as those lights flicker on, you can almost imagine you’re in a different world, and more fantastical world.” Her people told stories of coming from such a fantastical world, where creatures glowed at night, and the world seemed more alive in the dark then in the day. It was likely just a story, but they were some of her favorites as a child, “Sometimes, I’d hide in those deep waters, just watching this whole other world come alive . . . all that life glowing brightly in the dark. I used to imagine anything was possible in that darkness, that when those lights came flickering on, that anything could be waiting – friend or foe. I hope the land has places like that, that when you stare upon it . . . it takes your breath away, and for a moment it’ll help you forget where you come from, and remind you that the future is brighter.” She didn’t know if she was speaking for his benefit, or for her own, but a brighter future was definitely a vision she would want to see.
Thoughts
Speech
Tagging: @Lasairian
i feel no cold, i feel no fear inside my mind
Now I'm full of energy
![[Image: i-jTNwWx8.png]](https://photos.smugmug.com/BelowZeroNovus/n-X9d9fZ/i-jTNwWx8/1/e09fb6c3/O/i-jTNwWx8.png)
