Fishing for Friends (Iolara)

by **Nieve Glass** on June 29th, 2018, 11:26 pm

16th of Summer, 518 AV

The day was hot, but not overbearingly so. There was a cool breeze coming in off of the ocean, and the occasional cloud drifted by, giving brief reprieve from the relentless beating rays of the sun.

Nieve stood in the ocean, water lapping at her neck just below her chin; her wings floated on the surface of the water on either side of her, stretched out, bobbing with the occasional wave. The salt water lapped at her fur, and her paws dug into the sand beneath her, claws out for purchase, though it didn't help much.

Sunlight reflected off the surface of the water, dappling her wet fur with spots of lights that she occasionally had to blink out of her eyes as she stared down into the crystalline blue depths of the water, holding perfectly still.

Long, thin silver fish darted around in the water below her. Holding still as she was, her shadow had settled, and the sardines began to dart in and out of it without fear, a few of them even swimming around her paws. Nieve continued to hold still, though the very tip of her tail began to flick back and forth above the water, her ears slowly lowering as she prepared to pounce.

One of the darting fish slowed for a moment, just within her shadow, and the yowlwing took it as her chance to strike. Her paw darted forward, flinging upwards at the same time that she jerked her head down. She felt her claws close on something, and a moment later her teeth closed on a sardine.

Evie jerked her head up, her tail lashing, pleased, as she bounded out of the water, the small school of fish long since scattered. The sardine wriggled in her mouth as she shook the water out of her fur, ruffling her wings. She'd gotten a bit of sea water in her nose and eyes, but the catch was worth it, she decided.

It wasn't an overly big fish, but then again, she wasn't an overly big feline. Nieve dropped the sardine down onto a large leaf she'd set up before going fishing; it was held in place on either side by two small stones. It wasn't anything fancy, simply something to keep her catch from getting full of sand. She'd made the mistake of not thinking ahead before, and she'd been grinding sand between her teeth for days afterwards.

Nieve tore into the fish as it finally stopped moving, her sharp fangs piercing the flesh easily. Cooked food was delicious of course, especially at the Tidepool bar, served with spices and sauces and fruits and bread; but there was something deeply satisfying about eating a fresh catch that eating a cooked meal could never replicate. Fresh meat tinged with the salt of the ocean was decidedly good.

Nieve paused in eating, stretching leisurely and licking her mouth as she raised her head to idly glance out over the ocean when something caught her eye. Movement flashed out in the ocean, deeper than she'd been fishing but not too far out. Taking a moment to scarf down a few more bites, Nieve picked up the remaining carcass in her mouth and flung it down the beach towards where the water met sand for any scavengers who wished to pick the bones clean.

Wading back into the ocean, Nieve paused when the water reached her chin, peering out into the waves. Had she just imagined it? The movement had seemed decidedly human-like, without the flashing, reflective scales of a fish. Perhaps it had been a mammal of some sort, or a shark; the thought made her fur stand on end.

But no, there! Movement flashed again, distinctly in the shape of a person beneath the waves. Nieve pushed off of the sand, paddling clumsily; swimming in the ocean was slightly nerve-wracking, even with the waves as gentle as they were, bobbing her along. She took comfort, however, in knowing that her feet would still reach the sandy bottom if she were to shift into her human form.

There, below the waves, Nieve could make out the shape of a human. No, that wasn't quite right; they were distorted by the water, but even so, Evie realized that they had aquamarine skin, and...were those tentacles on their head? Nieve blinked, staring down through the waves in bafflement.

Curious and hoping the strange aquatic being wasn't dangerous or hostile, Nieve flapped her wings against the surface of the water, splashing and spraying salt water into the air, hoping to catch the creature's attention. Should she succeed, she would flap her wings again and give a 'mrow' of greeting, not yet ready to shift back to her human form.

Word Count: 789

by **Iolara Lyada** on July 1st, 2018, 12:58 am

With Syna high overhead, the beaches around Syka were positively baking in the heat. The settlement’s proximity to both the jungle and the sea brought with it a humidity that only served to increase the summer misery of any unfortunate soul caught outdoors for any extended period. One of the many reasons Iolara was thankful that she lived below the waves, rather than above them. In her aquatic world, Syna’s light translated into a gentle warmth, dispersed by the currents that swirled inward from the Suvan sea. Motes of light danced along the sandy sea bottom here within a sort of twilight zone for marine life. Too close to the shore for coral to grow comfortably, but deep enough that life continued to make use of the space. Schools of stingrays flashed along the sea bed, skimming for smaller fish, which were in turn feeding on tiny organisms, too small for the eye to perceive. Even here, between beach and reef, life found a way.

After her practice with Reimancy the day before, Iolara committed to enjoying this day. The large reef continued to maintain itself, and already she was beginning to identify it as ‘her’ reef. Further, her abalone shells had sold remarkably well, and some of the Svefra had even expressed an interest in the creature’s meat as well! This was pleasing to Iolara, as she refused to let any part of the animal go to waste.

With a double kick from her webbed feet, Iolara brought herself alongside a pack of stingrays, regarding them with a warm, toothy grin. Sparks of recognition passed from the animals’ minds to hers as she looked each of them in the eye. In return, Iolara sent her own joy through the emotional and symbolic language that was Nura, perhaps the most significant benefit of the mark she bore from her goddess. While not a talkative bunch, Iolara could sense that the rays were pleased at her presence. As far as she could surmise, no witch had tended this reef in a very long time; perhaps not even in the relatively short time the settlement of Syka had actually existed.

There was a certain pride that came with this knowledge: that she was potentially the first witch to dwell in these waters, perhaps in an entire generation! An incredible gift you have given me, Lady Caiyha! thought Iolara with gentle reverence. Unable to contain her joy within at this wondrous day and the way things had been developing, Iolara made an abrupt turn and surged up through the surface, twisting her body into an arc in midair as she cut back beneath the waves. Granted, the maneuver was more fun with a pack of giddy dolphins about, but who said Io wasn’t able to have fun on her own?

Turning onto her back so as to gaze at the sky through the shimmering surface, Iolara floated along until she was struck by perhaps the strangest sight she had ever seen. Beneath the waves between her and the shoreline protruded four small legs, covered in fur. While whatever animal possessed these legs was likely faster than her on land, Iolara could tell at a glance this creature was not built for the water. As if to confirm this, there came a sudden bout of splashing around the strange creature. This piqued Iolara’s curiosity further, as well as her caution. The young Charoda reoriented herself to be crouching upon the soft sand of the seabed as she slowly breached the surface so that the surface just brushed her high cheekbones.

The creature before her was strange for a number of reasons, but the most intriguing had to be the fact that, even though she was staring directly into its pale emerald eyes, she found herself unable to communicate through the gift of Nura. This fact alone would have set Iolara on high alert, but s cursory examination of the strange being led her to believe it posed little threat to her. For one, the animal was much smaller than her, with long hair that was now wet and slicked down to its skin via the waves. Along its back were folded a pair of feathered wings, a sharp contrast to the long fur of its body. “Mrow,” came its warbled greeting, and Iolara found herself giggling at just how...adorable this creature appeared.

“Well hello yourself,” she began in Char, keeping her lips beneath the surface so as not to expose her new friend to the grating, dissonant sounds of her language spoken through empty air. “You’re quite a cute thing. Out for a swim?” When the animal showed little or no comprehension, Io switched languages. “Maybe you speak Common then? You must understand something. I know you not mere animal.” Her voice took on a slightly accusing tone, though the wide smile exposing her rows of serrated teeth never once faded from her features. This was shaping up to be an interesting day indeed!

Word Count832

by **Nieve Glass** on July 1st, 2018, 2:13 am

To Nieve's surprise, the aquatic creature that surfaced was distinctly female and human-shaped, despite her strange eyes, skin, and hair...if the tentacles adorning her head could even be called hair. Her large eyes settled on Evie's, gazing at her intently; the yowlwing blinked in confusion. The woman seemed to be trying to do something, though what, Nieve couldn't say.

A moment later she spoke in a melodic, chirping voice. Nieve's ears angled forward with interest, and she let out a purring chirp in response, though she had no idea what was being said or in what language. Regardless, she decidedly immediately that she liked the sound of it.

Clearly realizing Nieve didn't speak her strange but lovely language, the fish-like woman removed her whole face from the water, speaking instead in accented Common. Sheepishness flooded Evie at the accusing words, though she was baffled; how had the woman realized she wasn't a normal animal?

Curiousness radiating through her, Nieve decided it was time to introduce herself properly. Lights swirled above and below the water, and a moment later she was treading water, human and naked, wet hair plastered to her face and neck, the curls somewhat straightened out due to being soaking wet.

The same slitted, pale green eyes blinked at the aquatic woman, and Nieve offered a sharp if somewhat sheepish grin. "Hello," Evie offered, splashing slightly as she raised a hand in a wave. She lowered her kicking legs until her toes brushed the sand so that she could simply stand instead of treading water.

"My name is Nieve." As she spoke, the Kelvic peered curiously at the woman opposite her; her skin looked smooth and almost rubbery, and her fingers itched to reach out and stroke the woman's arm or shoulder to see what it felt like. She did have some grasp on personal boundaries, however, so she managed to refrain herself, not wanting to be rude or to scare off her new acquaintance.

"Who are you? What are you? How did you know I wasn't just an animal?" The questions tumbled out of her mouth thoughtlessly as she peered at the other woman; it was difficult to tell in the water as they were, but they seemed to be around the same height, which was nice. So rarely did Evie find others of a similar size to her. It was always a pleasant change not to have to look up at someone else.

She had more questions, but Nieve bit her tongue for the moment; those were the most important ones, and she didn't want them to get lost in the fray if she decided to shoot off all of her questions at once. Seaweed brushed her feet, wrapping around her ankle, and idly Evie kicked it off, brushing up a small cloud of sand around her calves.

Absently, Nieve noticed the tattoo on the other woman's upper arm as she eagerly awaited responses to her questions. It was lovely, a colourful coral reef with schools of fish swimming around it in the gentle current; as she glanced at it, however, Evie noticed that the branches of the coral seemed to sway gentle in an invisible current, and that the fish were actually moving across the woman's arm.

Everything went out of Nieve's mind when she noticed that; she gaped openly, and kicked off the sand, splashing closer to the woman, no longer caring about seeming rude. "Your tattoo!" She exclaimed, eyes sparkling and mouth agape in awe. "It's beautiful, it's...moving! How?! Is it magic? That's amazing..."

She trailed off, and once again so taken that she forgot everything else, her fingers reached up to carefully and gentle trace over the tattooed skin of the aquatic woman. The scene didn't seem disturbed by her touch at all, and in the back of her mind, Nieve noted with delight that the woman's skin was indeed smooth and almost rubbery in texture.

Word Count: 654
Total: 1,443

by **Iolara Lyada** on July 8th, 2018, 7:24 pm

Iolara’s playful accusation seemed to strike a chord in the small creature as it cocked its head, regarding her with a cool pale-green stare. Then a sort of light seemed to come from within its furry breast, flashing and enveloping the winged animal as its shape began to shift. Reacting on instinct, Iolara swept her webbed hands forward, propelling her backwards with a less-than-graceful splash in her surprise. Before she had even arrested her momentum, however, the change seemed to be complete, though Io was now most entirely perplexed. Where just a moment ago there had been a small furry creature with wings, there now floated a human woman, her curly hair hanging lank against her light tan skin. Iolara’s tentacles flared with surprise, and as the woman motioned her greeting, the young Charoda couldn’t help but dive beneath the surface to investigate further. Sure enough, the winged animal had transformed completely into a woman, legs and all. But no clothes, Iolara noted sheepishly as she swam a quick circle, her webbed feet barely making a splash on the surface before she came to rest where she started, peering intently at the same intense, pale-green stare, albeit with a much different body.

After a moment’s thought, Iolara’s toothy grin spread once more across her face as she raised a webbed hand of her own in greeting. “Hello, Nieve,” she spoke in her melodically accented Common before gesturing across her face with the longest pair of her tentacles, “I am Iolara.” The curious fire within Nieve’s eyes apparently burned hotter than Io had expected, for scarcely had she spoken her introduction than the apparently human woman began bombarding her with questions. Iolara furrowed her brow as she struggled to keep pace with the questioning. Her mind churned as she processed. She had picked up on the basic question words, she thought. Who? Well, she felt that had been adequately answered. What? Iolara presumed the woman had never seen a Charoda before, and the thought brought a child-like giggle bubbling forth from between her lips.

“Iolara is Charoda,” she said through her ivory-filled smile as she gestured with her hands to her body, sweeping her tentacles away from her neck to let them fall back, not unlike human hair. The dorsal fin across the center of her head, fanned up and then back down as she chuckled again. “Charoda,” she spoke again for emphasis. That took care of the who and the what, but the last question had been lost in Io’s thought process. Luckily, Nieve quickly found something else to occupy her attention. The woman gasped and splashed nearer to Iolara, reaching a hand to touch the elaborate reef of Caiyha’s mark upon the Charoda’s arm. Iolara swelled with pride as Nieve commented on the beauty of the mark, though what had she called it...a tattoo? Iolara was unfamiliar with that word, but she sensed that it wasn’t quite right. The woman’s touch was not unpleasant, and Iolara placed a webbed hand of her own over Nieve’s as she explained.

“When I was very small, was lost from Charbosi,” she began, a hint of sorrow touching her voice at the memory. “But Lady Caiyha found me, marked me for herself. Here.” She gestured again to the mark, guiding Nieve’s fingers across the delicate branches of coral as the fish schools swarmed to investigate the woman’s touch. “Now, Iolara tends for Caiyha, is my mission. Can speak with animals...plants. If they don’t speak back, cannot be animal.” She grinned and a pair her tentacles reached out to brush Nieve’s cheeks, their suckers pulling gently at her skin that was so unlike Iolara’s. “Like Nieve. You not speak or recognize, so cannot be just animal.”

Not realizing she had answered all of Nieve’s questions, Iolara began with some of her own. “But...Nieve is not just human, yes? Humans do not...change, like Nieve.” Iolara made another circuit around Nieve’s legs, through the small cloud of sand the woman had kicked up with her toes. Breaching the surface behind the woman, Iolara was surprised to see that Nieve possessed a marking of her own. A dark blue triangle, sitting square between her shoulder blades, seemed to shift and flicker with a life of its own, not dissimilar to Iolara’s own mark. Reaching out her webbed fingers, Iolara traced the outline of the mark, forgetting that many humans disliked being touched without their express permission. “And this?” she spoke, “Nieve...Nieve is marked like Iolara, yes? But not Caiyha,” that much was obvious to the young witch, for such dark blue triangles were unlike anything found in nature. “Who, then?” Came the final melodic inquisition.

by **Nieve Glass** on July 13th, 2018, 8:55 pm

Iolara; the name suited the strange woman, Nieve decided. It sounded almost bubbly. Charoda? She'd never heard of the race before...she had no idea that such an aquatic and fish-like people even existed. How fascinating! The tentacles and fin on top of Iolara's head moved around with ease, and Nieve watched with wide eyes.

Charbosi...a city, perhaps? It sounded similar to Charoda. Perhaps it was where they lived. Nieve listened intently as Iolara spoke, her webbed hand over Evie's tanned one. "Caiyha," Nieve spoke quietly, tilting her head, watching with delight as the fish on Iolara's arm swam up to swirl around and investigate her fingers on the Charoda's smooth skin. A gnosis mark, of course. It made perfect sense, and Nieve felt foolish for not having realized it.

"Who is Caiyha?" She knew that it must be a Goddess, but she couldn't place the name, or what the Goddess was in charge of, though it sounded vaguely familiar. "You say you speak with animals and plants. Is that the domain she tends to?" A Goddess of nature, perhaps.

Nieve jumped, startled, then giggled in delighted surprise when the strange rubbery texture of Iolara's tentacles brushed her cheeks. Having answered her questions, it seemed the Charoda had some of her own. She withdrew from Nieve, swimming another circle around her. Evie twisted her head, watching the aquatic woman glide around her with amusement, not at all bashful under her scrutinizing gaze.

"I'm a Kelvic, of course. Have you never met one of us? We're everywhere," She laughed. "We have no true home, I don't think, like you do, or the Akalak in Riverfall. We can change. We have a human form and an animal form, but we are not either, really...we are so much more." A grin crossed her mouth fleetingly as she spoke of the nature of Kelvics.

Nieve paused when she felt Iolara's finger trace the triangle on her back; a mixture of pride and a strange flash of possessiveness ran through her. She didn't mind being touched, but having someone touch her mark so freely made her frown faintly, despite the fact that she had just done the same thing to Iolara. Still, she didn't protest the touch.

Iolara readily recognized the gnosis mark for what it was, and Evie supposed it would be rude to not share in return. "It's a mark from Akajia, the Mistress of the Night and Shadows." A hint of pride crept into Nieve's voice as she spoke; despite that, she felt as if she was sharing a secret she shouldn't be, so she was quick to change the subject.

"So can you breathe underwater? I've never met someone like you; a Charoda," Nieve admitted, twisting around in the water to face her new friend. "Maybe you could teach me to swim underwater!" The Kelvic could keep herself afloat, but had trouble navigating herself below water, which was a shame; she loved swimming. Unlike most felines, Nieve loved water. "I can catch lunch for us, in return, if you like. There are plenty of fish around here."

The offer was genuine and meant as a gesture of friendship; Nieve had no idea about the dietary restrictions of the Charoda. She stretched her legs out, scooting back in the water to kick her legs up somewhat as she waited for Iolara's response eagerly, her bright green eyes shining.

by **Iolara Lyada** on July 30th, 2018, 1:06 am

As Iolara circled her new companion, her attention was diverted away from Nieve’s gnosis mark by the Kelvic woman’s seemingly innocuous questions. The young witch found herself struck by a strange mixture of irritation and pity at Nieve’s ignorance of Caiyha. Who could imagine going through life, surrounded by Creation and not know the goddess who created? How did anyone walk amongst Nature and not know of Caiyha? The very idea was alien to Iolara, but she did her best to calm her mind and instead allow a peace to fall across her features as she explained. “Lady Caiyha is...yes. Goddess of Nature. Goddess of Creation. Plants and animals.” As she spoke, Iolara’s voice carried increasing tones of reverence. It was a true joy to speak to others about her goddess, and she relished the thought of being the first to explain Caiyha to Nieve.

For her part, Iolara listened with rapt attention as Nieve gave an explanation of her own nature, that of the Kelvics. The Charoda girl giggled at the thought of being both person and animal. Such a strange notion! But, she supposed, no stranger than she must seem to Nieve, being able to thrive and flourish beneath the waves as she was. “No Kelvics in Charbosi, I think. Nieve is Iolara’s first Kelvic.” That in itself was a strange and wonderful notion: both women were ambassadors for their entire people to each other in just this moment.

That newness was made even more clear with Nieve’s questions about Iolara’s ability to breathe beneath the waves. For her part, Iolara’s tentacles brushed around her shoulders as her brow scrunched in thought. In truth, she had never taken time to consider how she was able to breathe underwater, only that she could. Not being able to breathe would certainly make swimming beneath the waves...complicated, at best. “Nieve wants Iolara to teach?” She pondered that question. It had never occurred to Iolara that others simply had no knowledge of how to swim beyond keeping themselves afloat, as Nieve now did.

As Iolara pondered the best way to teach something that simply came naturally to her, Nieve made an offer of “catching lunch.” An interesting choice of words. Iolara cocked her head, tentacles twitching with confusion. Sea grass hardly needed to be caught, after all. But Nieve’s next mention of fish made it clear her intention. Iolara gagged more out of reflex than genuine disgust, her wide smile fading to a pale grin of politeness. “Charodae...we cannot eat fish. Cannot eat animals. Very, very sick we get.” She shook her head as if to emphasize her denial, “No fish for Iolara, please.”

“But,” she continued tentatively, “Iolara can still teach Nieve. Nieve is Iolara’s friend now, yes? And best way to learn is to do!” With that, Iolara took each of Nieve’s hands in hers and, without further ceremony, arced backwards into the waves, kicking her webbed feet to propel both women down into the water.

by **Nieve Glass** on August 6th, 2018, 1:40 am

Nieve grinned, giggling along with Iolara; how delightful! They were the first of their kind for each other. It was strange for Nieve to imagine a city without any Kelvics, but given the aquatic nature of the Charoda, perhaps it made sense. Thinking about it, she couldn't recall ever hearing about or meeting a fish Kelvic.

Iolara's tentacles continued to move as she considered Nieve's words, and the Kelvic watched in fascination. A very deep-seated part of her that she was valiantly trying to ignore, for she had no doubt giving in would cause offense, was sorely tempted to reach out and bat playfully at the end of one of them.

At Iolara's polite refusal, Nieve nodded. "I'm sorry, I didn't know," She apologized, offering a sheepish smile. The last thing she would want to do would be to make her new friend sick. But...no meat! The thought of it was slightly horrifying; they survived on plants only? Fruits and vegetables could be exceptionally delicious, but the thought of living on them alone without any meat, without any fish, was a veritable nightmare to the Kelvic.

The mention of being friends sent a warm feeling spreading out in Nieve's chest; she was always happy to have more friends. It never quite filled the quiet loneliness that filled her heart, but it certainly helped. Before she could respond, Iolara took both of her hands in her own smooth webbed ones, and dove back into the water, dragging Nieve with her.

The Kelvic barely had time to react; realizing what was happening, she inhaled a deep breath and held it just before she was submerged beneath the waves. She blinked open her eyes, grimacing slightly and squinting as the salt stung at them before she adjusted to it.

The world around her was stunning and alien; if she wasn't holding her breath, Evie might have dropped her mouth open in awe. Sure, she had stuck her face into the water with open eyes before, particularly when hunting fish, but it was a different experience to be fully submerged in the world beneath the waves.

Sunlight pierced through the water, dappling gently across the pale sand. Seaweed waved gently in the currents, like flowers in a breeze, and fish darted around. Nieve grinned silently, kicking her feet to propel herself as Iolara pulled her along. Her movements were clumsy compared to those of the Charoda beside her, but she didn't mind.

Iolara lead her deeper into the ocean, her hands still firmly gripping Nieve's, for which the Kelvic was grateful. The water had been crystal clear, but the further out they went, the sand gradually sloping away and down, Nieve noticed the water took on a slightly more blue tinge. It only contributed to the strange but lovely environment.

Nieve had been doing her best to ignore the growing burning in her chest that told her she needed air, enraptured as she was by her surroundings, but finally she couldn't ignore it any longer. She stopped kicking her feet, dropping her legs as if digging her feet into the ground, though there was no ground beneath her; still, the change in her position seemed to cause more drag on Iolara.

She tugged the Charoda's hand urgently, trying to get her attention, and pointed to her mouth before gesturing up as she began to kick her way to the surface, hoping the Chaorda would understand what she meant and either let her go, or help tug her up.

Evie was realizing that they were deeper than she had originally thought, and her chest was beginning to ache something fierce. She forced down the instinctual panic, instead kicking harder as she pushed herself up towards the surface, a small trail of bubbles leaving her lips as she valiantly fought against the urge to inhale.

OOC :

Word Count: 639

Closed Fishing for Friends (Iolara)