Delta nodded sagely at the wolf's snarky response, unused to his tone nor the idea that felines such as himself would ever be adverse to the water.
"We do not like to be seen," he said, slowly waving his fins and shedding the coating of sand camouflaging him to the seafloor. It was so much lighter here, his dark pelt was much better suited to the dark stone of his previous home or the murky bottoms of inland freshwater. He'd never seen a sea dweller that could afford to be so bright, though his stubby ears perked with interest at the mention of the abyssal plains. Delta himself had never dove so deep, but the rumors he'd heard described it as a place barren and dark, even more so than the upper ocean. He eyed the glowing lure; were the creatures themselves the only light at such depths? He had so many questions now, but he bit his tongue to not overwhelm the Deep-dweller.
"I am from the Slopes, above the Rise," his dark eyes widened with interest, leaning forwards ever so slightly as the anxiety in his chest unraveled to curiosity. The Slopes were a quiet place, but everything Delta had known of the Deep had made it seem nothing short of...well, nothing. Never ending darkness, where the slopes and everything it held would fall even further than Tsillah could see. The thought that there were many creatures down there, wolves even, was mindboggling to the little cat. "Lots of you," he mirrored, nearly disbelieving.
The wolf spoke further, of new homes and lands and something called Dusknora, but it was the Goddess' name which caught his most attention. Delta, perhaps his species as a whole, were a solitary breed. What family he had were few and far between, and the times in which their territories overlapped and they could speak face to face, it could best be described as cordial. They traded news of changing seasons and migrating fish and whether their long-distance calls were answered by distant neighbors, but it wasn't much different than the rare discussions he'd have with other felines he had no blood relation to. The one thing that bound them however, no matter the distance between them, was their knowledge of the Goddess who forged them for such trials.
"Tsillah!" he said, gaze flashing with interest. "Praise be upon her, for our cunning and resilience," or perhaps, just his resilience now. Wherever they all were, if they had not passed her trials in this life, he had no doubt the next would prove successful. It was who they were, after all. What they were meant to be.
Delta nearly missed the wolf's next statement, and he instinctually flattened himself to the seafloor again as he darted overhead and past. The cat's heart leapt into his throat, but upon turning to see where the stranger had gone, he found that he was off to snap his jaws not around Delta's neck, but of a few silver fish that schooled behind him. The cat puffed a sigh of relief from his gills, slowly beating his fins to rise from the sand again and pushing off with his stubby legs.
Slowly, he snaked across the seafloor and paused beneath the wolf again, and his cautious eyes flashed with excitement as one of the fish was offered to him. He hesitated, hungry gaze flicking between the fish and the wolf, before finally lunging forwards and snapping the meal up in his jaws. He swallowed it whole, hoping to avoid both the wolf rescinding his offer, or lunging forwards himself to catch him off guard in some sort of trap. He ran his tongue across his whiskers satisfactorily and floated down so spread his fins across the sand again.
"Thank you, Wolf," he said. Though, with such a generous offer, Delta supposed he should return the favor with something of his own. "I am River Delta. And may I ask," he paused for a moment, expression twisting between a strange mix of gratitude and hesitant curiosity, "why did you leave?"
"We do not like to be seen," he said, slowly waving his fins and shedding the coating of sand camouflaging him to the seafloor. It was so much lighter here, his dark pelt was much better suited to the dark stone of his previous home or the murky bottoms of inland freshwater. He'd never seen a sea dweller that could afford to be so bright, though his stubby ears perked with interest at the mention of the abyssal plains. Delta himself had never dove so deep, but the rumors he'd heard described it as a place barren and dark, even more so than the upper ocean. He eyed the glowing lure; were the creatures themselves the only light at such depths? He had so many questions now, but he bit his tongue to not overwhelm the Deep-dweller.
"I am from the Slopes, above the Rise," his dark eyes widened with interest, leaning forwards ever so slightly as the anxiety in his chest unraveled to curiosity. The Slopes were a quiet place, but everything Delta had known of the Deep had made it seem nothing short of...well, nothing. Never ending darkness, where the slopes and everything it held would fall even further than Tsillah could see. The thought that there were many creatures down there, wolves even, was mindboggling to the little cat. "Lots of you," he mirrored, nearly disbelieving.
The wolf spoke further, of new homes and lands and something called Dusknora, but it was the Goddess' name which caught his most attention. Delta, perhaps his species as a whole, were a solitary breed. What family he had were few and far between, and the times in which their territories overlapped and they could speak face to face, it could best be described as cordial. They traded news of changing seasons and migrating fish and whether their long-distance calls were answered by distant neighbors, but it wasn't much different than the rare discussions he'd have with other felines he had no blood relation to. The one thing that bound them however, no matter the distance between them, was their knowledge of the Goddess who forged them for such trials.
"Tsillah!" he said, gaze flashing with interest. "Praise be upon her, for our cunning and resilience," or perhaps, just his resilience now. Wherever they all were, if they had not passed her trials in this life, he had no doubt the next would prove successful. It was who they were, after all. What they were meant to be.
Delta nearly missed the wolf's next statement, and he instinctually flattened himself to the seafloor again as he darted overhead and past. The cat's heart leapt into his throat, but upon turning to see where the stranger had gone, he found that he was off to snap his jaws not around Delta's neck, but of a few silver fish that schooled behind him. The cat puffed a sigh of relief from his gills, slowly beating his fins to rise from the sand again and pushing off with his stubby legs.
Slowly, he snaked across the seafloor and paused beneath the wolf again, and his cautious eyes flashed with excitement as one of the fish was offered to him. He hesitated, hungry gaze flicking between the fish and the wolf, before finally lunging forwards and snapping the meal up in his jaws. He swallowed it whole, hoping to avoid both the wolf rescinding his offer, or lunging forwards himself to catch him off guard in some sort of trap. He ran his tongue across his whiskers satisfactorily and floated down so spread his fins across the sand again.
"Thank you, Wolf," he said. Though, with such a generous offer, Delta supposed he should return the favor with something of his own. "I am River Delta. And may I ask," he paused for a moment, expression twisting between a strange mix of gratitude and hesitant curiosity, "why did you leave?"