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 Posted: Tue May 31, 2022 9:13 am
This is a solo RP between my Soq Thuraya Airëmirë and Gahz'rilla. Please do not post. Thuraya posts in Pale Cornflower Blue*, Gahz'rilla posts in Turquoise.  From the surface of the sunlit seas, a spout of water erupted, followed by a glossy, shimmering equine, as she launched herself onto the surface of the waves. The spring storms were finally beginning to subside, and the delicate mare was relieved at that. While her wings could repel a certain amount of water, riding out the storms underwater was profoundly unenjoyable.
Thuraya lifted her wings delicately and spread them out, letting the late spring sunshine and the sea breezes do their work to dry them out. Which would take at least a few hours. The young mare sighed internally. No skimming through the air, letting her cloven hooves graze the whitecaps.
Oh, well. Time to find a good beach or rock to relax on while she waited for her wings to dry. Based on the rising elevation of the seafloor here, odds were good Thuraya wouldn't have to go far. One of these days, the young mare promised herself, she was going to move on land. Probably not somewhere tropical. Thuraya would melt if it got too hot, given the thick ruff of fur around the base of her neck. Nope. Somewhere temperate. With lots of flowers. And trees.
Growing up underwater meant she didn't have a lot of familiarity with terrestrial flora, but terrestrial flowers were beautiful, the trees so big, and, crucially, they looked like, if she could shrink herself down far enough, Thuraya might be able to shelter under their branches during a storm. Or find a terrestrial cave to hide in. The shoreline caves the young mare had explored weren't dry by any stretch of the imagination, but she'd take damp hooves over damp wings any day of the year.
Thuraya shivered as the spring winds skimmed through her thick fur ruff, causing it to fluff out insofar as it could. Say what you want about the joys of the sunlight and the surface, it was harder to stay warm when wet if it wasn't a warm day.
Fortunately, there was a small atoll not far off. Better still, from the haze of green fuzz covering it, there would be terrestrial vegetation. Maybe not trees, but still. Vegetation. Some of it might be blooming. Tossing her curly, wet locks, Thuraya began swimming for it, paddling powerfully with legs and tail, sunlight sparkling off the water droplets she kicked up.
Yes. Today was shaping up to be a lovely spring day. This was, so far, shaping up to be a more difficult day. Sleeping in, given the recent spate of storms, had been one thing. That was fine when the surface of the sea was stormy.
Sleeping in while in the middle of an atoll, however, hadn't been the best idea. Gahz'rilla was fascinated by the surface, had been since he met that Mer mare so long ago, but that didn't make it a good idea to wind up trapped in a lagoon. Even if it was temporarily fully enclosed.
The great Mer stallion growled, fins skimming the sunlit surface as he sharked around the edges, looking for a way out.
As uncommunicative as Gahz'rilla frequently was, this would have been less frustrating if he had something to do, or someone to chat with. Well, someone who wouldn't swim or fly away in fear. Being terrifying was all well and good, until you trapped yourself in a lagoon at low tide with a several hour wait ahead until you could swim free.
Not for the first time, the great Mer found himself wishing he had an additional pair of legs, or a pair of wings. He could get out of the lagoon. Scratch that, he would no longer be bound to the seas, and he could see the rest of the world if he had either of those things.
But nooo, his mate wasn't interested in those things, his daughters hadn't been home in a while, and Gahz'rilla had never been sociable enough to cultivate friendships.
There was one thing he could hope for, though, on a nice day like this: for someone else to swim or fly to the atoll. Someone he could talk to while waiting for the tide to rise. Maybe about the vegetation, or the corals. As aggravating as it was to be stuck in a lagoon, at least it was large enough for him to swim around in, and at least it had enough smaller or vegetal lifeforms for it to be quite a lovely little atoll at this time of year.
He was so lost in thought at the far end of the lagoon that he missed the sound of splashing heralding the arrival of another large mammal Gahz'rilla might be able to talk to.*Pale Cornflower Blue = #ABCDEF
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2022 9:36 am
The sea shallowed and turned a glassy blue as Thuraya approached the atoll. She was obliged to walk the last several yards to the shore, shaking wings, body, mane, and tail as she stepped free of the surf. Smiling, the delicate mare inhaled, the breeze carrying the familiar scents of salt and spray, as well as the softer notes of flowers blooming among the greenery.
Excellent. As chilly as it still was for her, given how wet she was, the warm, gentle breeze and the bright sun would quickly dry her out.
Making her way patiently through the soft, creamy sand, Thuraya crossed the dunes to the lagoon beyond, nosing through the flowers as she went along. Plants like these would need to be nourished by the rains that probably swept through this patch of sea regularly, but since there appeared to be no clouds on the horizon, odds were probably good that she had at least a few hours to dry off, explore, and generally enjoy the atoll and the lagoon.
And it truly was a lovely little lagoon, the coral reefs that edged it brimming with life and color. As was that pale, spectral fin skimming the surface of the water. A large fin, too. Not a shark fin. A fish? A very large fish, or a large Mer.
Company to enjoy the day with.
Smiling, she stepped into the edge of the lagoon, cloven hooves settling delicately into the sandy sediment.
"Good day," she called out. "How does this sunny spring day find you?"
Gahz'rilla was so surprised that he shot his head above the waves, looking around for the source of the voice.
At the other end of the lagoon stood an amphibious mare, sun glinting off delicate insect wings and reptile scales. Large, fluffy antennae accented the large fur ruff encircling her neck, and elegant fins flexed along a Kelpi tail. What was young mare, colored in moonlight-on-midnight, wandering into his prison of a lagoo--
No. Unhelpful thought. He'd been bored, hadn't he? And this young mare, whatever her breed combination might be, as he didn't recognize the source of the scales and wings, wasn't running away. She was stopping to ask questions. As boldly as his own little girls.
Biting back the growl already bubbling up in his throat, he replied in his naturally gruff voice, "In terrible trouble, young stranger. I voke up thees morning in lagoon at low tide, and cannot svim avay. It is several hours until high tide. Maybe you keep me company?"
Even to Gahz'rilla, his voice sounded rusty from disuse. It had been way too long since he'd last talked to anyone. Far better to not chase this young stranger off, all things considered. Who knows, she might elect to keep him company for a few hours or so, while the tide rose.
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2022 9:57 am
Thuraya blinked as a misty head shot up from the crystalline waters of the lagoon. Draconic skulls decorated his shoulders, and eyes that seemed to be a pupil-less, sclera-less patch of the brightest summer sky watched her with a subtle play of emotions. As strange and imposing as this stallion looked so far, Thuraya had heard stories from her Seathi mother of dark and strange horrors in the deepest sea trenches. This stallion...didn't seem like those horror stories, so he was probably fine.
But as he spoke, he made no attempt to move from what she could see now was a deeper part of the lagoon. Was he a full-blooded Mer? That would explain things.
Thuraya stepped forward, cloven hooves kicking up clouds of sand as she made her way from the shallows, until she was up to her knees.
As much as the delicate mare wanted a chance to dry her wings off, it would be rude to stay on land while communicating with someone stuck in the water. Maybe there would be time later to dry off. Or they could find a compromise.
As he explained his dilemma, Thuraya became certain. He was a Mer, and he was trapped until the changing tide deepened one of the channels out of the lagoon. The odd accent caused her to pause, but that wouldn't be fair to point out, either.
"That sounds like rotten luck! I could certainly stick around. I was hoping to dry off my wings for a few hours, but I think that can wait," she replied, trying to mask her regret. "Does the coral look as beautiful down there as it does from above?"
While she wanted to admire the flowers, the coral reefs and the fishes would be lovely, too. Just not what she'd intended when she swam ashore.
Of course the young mare had had a different agenda when she swam here. Gahz'rilla expected no different. And those wings of hers looked like they would take some time to dry off.
"The coral, she does look beautiful down below, with lots of feeshes on sunny day like thees," he replied. "Maybe we admire those closer to shore, so you can dry off? How long it take for wings to dry off?" he added, hoping selfishly that it would take a long time, so she wouldn't leave anytime soon.
As he spoke, he began to make his way across the lagoon, mentally marking where they might perambulate that would allow them to stay within speaking distance, and allow her to dry off.
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2022 10:09 am
"A few hours at least," Thuraya replied with some relief. "Flutter wings take a long time to dry, and the storms have not been kind." He seemed friendly enough, and considerate enough to be willing to accommodate for her plans.
"Where would you like to start?" she asked as he swam closer. Maybe today wouldn't be flowers, but a nice tropical reef like this one would still be lovely.
Gahz'rilla almost couldn't conceal his delight at her need to stay on the atoll for an extended period of time. "Few hours, huh? Sounds like you haff troubles of your own," he responded lightly. "Not to worry. We admire reef. She is prettier with company, is she not? You follow me, stick to shallows, stick your head down when I do. Better for wings that way, yes?"
The great Mer almost chirped with excitement as he added, "And, maybe you tell me stories of surface? I cannot go there, and I haff vondered long vhat is like."
While this day had started out difficult, it was quickly shaping up to be filled with promise. Company, conversation with a more terrestrial Soquili, and maybe a friend in the bargain. A worthwhile exchange for his accidental self-imprisonment in this lagoon. And her wings would dry out while they talked and explored. A fine tradeoff indeed.
Thuraya smiled. "I will do what I can, as I spend much time underwater myself. So, what's your first question?" she asked as they set off counter-clockwise around the reefs of the lagoon.
"Your vings, they are insect, no? I haff not seen scales much like yours. You tell me about your breed first? I em no very familiar vith terrestrial Soquili..."
By the time the tide rose high enough for Gahz'rilla to exit the lagoon, Thuraya's wings had dried, they had admired the reefs, he'd caught some of the less attractive fish as a snack while she drank some nectar from the flowers, and both could honestly say they had a new friend in the other.
Gahz'rilla still thought privately he'd come off the better in the exchange, as he swam away with a lot more knowledge about the surface world, in all its strange wonders. Flutter Soquili, who could shrink and drink nectar like a butterfly or a bee. Kirin Soquili who could walk so lightly they didn't disturb even a blade of grass, and who could use some odd kind of healing with their horns, something Thuraya did not have, and didn't seem bothered about not having. Frankly, with wings and fins and her delicate cloven hooves, she might have enough excitement without a horn in the mix.
A good spring day, all things considered.
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