B e l o w Z e r o
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast
Bel's electric cyan eyes seemed to be solidly locked onto the sky above her, watching the billowing clouds with apprehension. Thunderstorm. The word still seemed foreign - echoing in her head as images of the lightning that had alarmed her a few weeks ago crossed her mind. She suspected this one would match in it's ravenous anger. Lightning would criss cross the sky with the power of a thousand eels supercharged, thunder would roll as if the Kraken itself had been transported into the heavens. Not that she thought that was what was really happening in the heavens, not anymore at least. She had had that mistake pointed out to her gently by another when she'd fallen prey to the last thunderstorm to take her by surprise.
That didn't meant the young aquatic equine appreciated the sudden thunderstorms that have appeared to greet the sky with their anger and might. Just a few days since the trauma of the last one, and the sky was brewing with the promise of another. The water vapors trailing from her spine shifted in temperature, colder like the home she'd come from, sinking lower to brush lightly against her hide in a reassuring wrap of welcome and promise. Everything would be okay. She wasn't sure how the vapors had come to evolving into the comfort mechanism they were now - few places required them to take on their more traditional role of regulating her temperature easier, but she was thankful of the moments when it did feel a little less like a new world and a little more like the arctics she had come from.
She raised her head slowly, dual sets of eyes taking in the cloud migration, attempting to read the thunderstorm like she could a snowstorm - those had been easy, watch the sky lighten to a near white and monitor how close that dense whiteness was above you, keep an eye out for curtains of white in the distance that may hint at a blizzard approaching. Wind could increase that potential - easy. This however . . . the storm was moving quickly - she could see that in the angry clouds above her as the migrated closer and closer to her. She sighed - aware she needed to locate some shelter before the worse of it set in, aware that this wasn't the type of storm to be caught out in.
The first crack of thunder still had her jumping, her fin flaring high atop her back even as frilled ears pinned faintly. Her muzzle twisted down and she picked up her pace, searching for a suitable shelter from what ever the rainstorm would bring. The heavens opened before she saw the first tree. She had been visiting in Delumine, searching out the forest she had heard about - curious if it would be similar to the kelp forest beneath the waves, wanting to see what a land-forest was like. Seeing the cropping of trees ahead was like a blessing as the rain pelted her hide, darkening the blues of her pelt and merging them with the creamy white of the base color. Her gaze traveled to the sky, still too light to be a proper storm, but it was darkening, and likely to be darker still with in the forest.
She stood briefly on the outer edges of the forest, wondering if it smart to trust the trees to shelter when the lightning would come. The first prick of ice against her hide had her deciding for herself. Her vapors instantly warmed, rising higher above her as they did so, softening the hail as it peppered her back until it hit her with slush and ice instead of the ice by itself. The blubber that protected her from the cold waters of the arctic assisted keeping the hail from doing more than skin-deep damage, but it didn't stop the mare from wincing when as she was struck. She dove among the trees, her pacing kicking up as she weaved between the trunks, dunking low beneath the lower-hanging limbs and careful to keep her fin folded flat against her back, least it be caught on something. The dorsal, while fairly flexible was still made of a rigid material, and folding it so close was always a touch uncomfortable, but at this time, it felt like the wiser option.
Above her, through the canopy of trees, with barren patches from leaf fall, the hail continued to descent, slowing among the interlocking branches and the foliage, catching the shards in the heated water vapors so more slush than ice rained down on the aquatic creature, a reprieve Bel was relieved for. Thunder rolled still, while lightning lit up the sky in an arc of zig-zaging electricity that seemed to stretch from horizon to horizon. Bel's head lowered as she headed deeper, and deeper. She didn't see the creature ahead - though could you blame her as he blended in with the trees, his coat patterned of bark, the limb of a tree substituted for horns. She never saw him beyond being another splash of tree in with the others. So as she moved around a trunk, and he himself moved on his path, it seemed their paths would cross as Bel ran straight into him.
The shock was enough to startle the half-sea creature, as her hooves stumbled her backwards, the water vapors surrounding her pitching lowering and hanging closer to the mare as she stared up at the walking tree. A walking tree?! Why was a tree walking. It wasn't until lightning flashed and silhoutted the larger stallion that she began to make sense of the situation. A horse . . . that looked like a tree? Not that she could talk - her own pelt patterned mimicked the hues of the water, blending her into the oceans so that predators were less likely to notice her. But a horse that was a tree, well that was something new. Bel blamed her next moment of rudeness on the shock; "There are trees . . . growing from your head." Her statement was blunt with shock, as she stared up at the creature, and then a sharp piece of hail brought her out of her shock with a wince and flinch, and instantly those vapors were rising again as they heated up and met the hail, turning it to slush before they could hit mare. The water droplet produced by the vapors hung around her, and in relation, the stallion now in her company.
Stallion, right, she needed to apologize, "Oh Starfish! I'm so sorry! . . . For running into you, and . . . my bluntness. I didn't really see you, you kind of blend into the trees and all." She said, her expression earnest, both sets of cyan eyes opened wide, hoping he'd understand and forgive her, "I'm not usually so careless! So, how about we just consider it water in the current, and forget about my blunder, yeah? Are you trying to escape the storm too?" Another crack of thunder rolled, as if laughing at her attempts, and her frilled ears flattened slightly, her fluked tail swaying nervously, suddenly wishing she could find a good size lake to dive into - even if she preferred salt-water when she could find it.
"I'm sorry, I don't normally have the manners of a Pufferfish. My name is Below Zero, but call me Bel. You wouldn't happen to know of a place to hide out from this weather would you? You seem to fit into the forest far better than I would - so I imagine you must know it far better than I would as well." She added with a bit of an awkward laugh, her hooves lightly prancing against the ground, even as the vapors continued to melt the hail in the surrounding area into softer, more slushy versions of it, as it warmed the air around them, twisting and twirling as the heated waters rose steadily higher from her back. The Water-Horse and the Living Tree, who'd have imagined such a potentially symbiotic meeting in the making. She kept her cyan eyes on the male, hoping for his assistance, even as another flash of lightning lit the sky, and the thunder echoed around them. Bel was really beginning to hate this weather.
"Speech"
Thoughts
@Cernunnos
Notes:: Poor Bel does NOT appear to enjoy thunderstorms, and of course she can't NOT speak with out water-related sayings xP I've been waiting to use the 'water in the current' line for a bit now!
That didn't meant the young aquatic equine appreciated the sudden thunderstorms that have appeared to greet the sky with their anger and might. Just a few days since the trauma of the last one, and the sky was brewing with the promise of another. The water vapors trailing from her spine shifted in temperature, colder like the home she'd come from, sinking lower to brush lightly against her hide in a reassuring wrap of welcome and promise. Everything would be okay. She wasn't sure how the vapors had come to evolving into the comfort mechanism they were now - few places required them to take on their more traditional role of regulating her temperature easier, but she was thankful of the moments when it did feel a little less like a new world and a little more like the arctics she had come from.
She raised her head slowly, dual sets of eyes taking in the cloud migration, attempting to read the thunderstorm like she could a snowstorm - those had been easy, watch the sky lighten to a near white and monitor how close that dense whiteness was above you, keep an eye out for curtains of white in the distance that may hint at a blizzard approaching. Wind could increase that potential - easy. This however . . . the storm was moving quickly - she could see that in the angry clouds above her as the migrated closer and closer to her. She sighed - aware she needed to locate some shelter before the worse of it set in, aware that this wasn't the type of storm to be caught out in.
The first crack of thunder still had her jumping, her fin flaring high atop her back even as frilled ears pinned faintly. Her muzzle twisted down and she picked up her pace, searching for a suitable shelter from what ever the rainstorm would bring. The heavens opened before she saw the first tree. She had been visiting in Delumine, searching out the forest she had heard about - curious if it would be similar to the kelp forest beneath the waves, wanting to see what a land-forest was like. Seeing the cropping of trees ahead was like a blessing as the rain pelted her hide, darkening the blues of her pelt and merging them with the creamy white of the base color. Her gaze traveled to the sky, still too light to be a proper storm, but it was darkening, and likely to be darker still with in the forest.
She stood briefly on the outer edges of the forest, wondering if it smart to trust the trees to shelter when the lightning would come. The first prick of ice against her hide had her deciding for herself. Her vapors instantly warmed, rising higher above her as they did so, softening the hail as it peppered her back until it hit her with slush and ice instead of the ice by itself. The blubber that protected her from the cold waters of the arctic assisted keeping the hail from doing more than skin-deep damage, but it didn't stop the mare from wincing when as she was struck. She dove among the trees, her pacing kicking up as she weaved between the trunks, dunking low beneath the lower-hanging limbs and careful to keep her fin folded flat against her back, least it be caught on something. The dorsal, while fairly flexible was still made of a rigid material, and folding it so close was always a touch uncomfortable, but at this time, it felt like the wiser option.
Above her, through the canopy of trees, with barren patches from leaf fall, the hail continued to descent, slowing among the interlocking branches and the foliage, catching the shards in the heated water vapors so more slush than ice rained down on the aquatic creature, a reprieve Bel was relieved for. Thunder rolled still, while lightning lit up the sky in an arc of zig-zaging electricity that seemed to stretch from horizon to horizon. Bel's head lowered as she headed deeper, and deeper. She didn't see the creature ahead - though could you blame her as he blended in with the trees, his coat patterned of bark, the limb of a tree substituted for horns. She never saw him beyond being another splash of tree in with the others. So as she moved around a trunk, and he himself moved on his path, it seemed their paths would cross as Bel ran straight into him.
The shock was enough to startle the half-sea creature, as her hooves stumbled her backwards, the water vapors surrounding her pitching lowering and hanging closer to the mare as she stared up at the walking tree. A walking tree?! Why was a tree walking. It wasn't until lightning flashed and silhoutted the larger stallion that she began to make sense of the situation. A horse . . . that looked like a tree? Not that she could talk - her own pelt patterned mimicked the hues of the water, blending her into the oceans so that predators were less likely to notice her. But a horse that was a tree, well that was something new. Bel blamed her next moment of rudeness on the shock; "There are trees . . . growing from your head." Her statement was blunt with shock, as she stared up at the creature, and then a sharp piece of hail brought her out of her shock with a wince and flinch, and instantly those vapors were rising again as they heated up and met the hail, turning it to slush before they could hit mare. The water droplet produced by the vapors hung around her, and in relation, the stallion now in her company.
Stallion, right, she needed to apologize, "Oh Starfish! I'm so sorry! . . . For running into you, and . . . my bluntness. I didn't really see you, you kind of blend into the trees and all." She said, her expression earnest, both sets of cyan eyes opened wide, hoping he'd understand and forgive her, "I'm not usually so careless! So, how about we just consider it water in the current, and forget about my blunder, yeah? Are you trying to escape the storm too?" Another crack of thunder rolled, as if laughing at her attempts, and her frilled ears flattened slightly, her fluked tail swaying nervously, suddenly wishing she could find a good size lake to dive into - even if she preferred salt-water when she could find it.
"I'm sorry, I don't normally have the manners of a Pufferfish. My name is Below Zero, but call me Bel. You wouldn't happen to know of a place to hide out from this weather would you? You seem to fit into the forest far better than I would - so I imagine you must know it far better than I would as well." She added with a bit of an awkward laugh, her hooves lightly prancing against the ground, even as the vapors continued to melt the hail in the surrounding area into softer, more slushy versions of it, as it warmed the air around them, twisting and twirling as the heated waters rose steadily higher from her back. The Water-Horse and the Living Tree, who'd have imagined such a potentially symbiotic meeting in the making. She kept her cyan eyes on the male, hoping for his assistance, even as another flash of lightning lit the sky, and the thunder echoed around them. Bel was really beginning to hate this weather.
"Speech"
Thoughts
@Cernunnos
Notes:: Poor Bel does NOT appear to enjoy thunderstorms, and of course she can't NOT speak with out water-related sayings xP I've been waiting to use the 'water in the current' line for a bit now!
![[Image: i-jTNwWx8.png]](https://photos.smugmug.com/BelowZeroNovus/n-X9d9fZ/i-jTNwWx8/1/e09fb6c3/O/i-jTNwWx8.png)
