"Sorry," he said on reflex, although thinking about it further, he really had nothing to apologize for. He furrowed his brow, nearly saying sorry again for having said it the first time, but decided instead to shove that conundrum to the back of his mind to stress about later. Saira had asked for clarification on the wolves, not his own babbling.
"They--most, I-I mean, are landbound. No fins or gills," Delta explained. His gaze once again went to Saira's own gills, wondering then if perhaps the wolves he'd seen so far all had that ability to summon them when needed. They surely couldn't spend their whole lives only on land, it was exhausting enough only being up there for a few minutes! He shuddered at the thought of being locked from the water, he wouldn't trade a thing in the world to lose it. Not even for longer legs.
Saira seemed similarly perplexed by the thought of him leaving the rocks, and his gills fluttered as the tension bled from his muscles. His relief was palpable that she wouldn't make him leave his hiding place, but the little cat tilted his head again at her strange offer. Curiosity wrestled against his natural fear, and he hesitantly stretched his neck out to get a better look at her. He kneaded his claws against the stone to maintain a firm grip just in case the need arose for a swift retreat, gaze flicking up and down her form as she seemed to just...pause there.
At first, the changes were so gradual that Delta didn't even notice them. He blinked, and cold dread stabbed through his belly when it seemed suddenly that her fur had vanished, replaced instead by a strange, scaled flesh which crawled up her elongating neck and broadening shoulders. Her entire form was warping, stretching and growing into something distinctly not feline by both land and sea definition as the little cat watched with dawning horror. Whatever Saira was, it was nothing Delta had even come close to dreaming of, and a wild panic twisted his expression as he shot backwards and pressed himself against the stone bastion.
She'd tricked him. How foolish he'd been.
The water around her bubbled and hissed, and he returned the sound with one of his own as betrayal and fear flashed sporadically across his gaze. He couldn't really arch his back in the cramped space, but Tsillah, he certainly tried. A high pitched growl left him, though it trembled and shook just as violently as he did himself as he rubbed his fins raw pushing himself further back into the crack. What looked back at him now was a predator, and between the darkened edges of his vision and the hammering of his heart, he chastised himself hysterically for trusting that this hadn't been some sort of trick.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
The voice that left her now rumbled with the water and send a hum through the stone around him, only further fueling his fear as his gaze honed in on the flashes of her fangs as she spoke and his whiskers thrummed with her reverberation. He physically couldn't press himself any further back--he'd overestimated the depth of this specific crack in the stone, and only a few tail-lengths stood between his shaking form and the open water where Saira floated. Could she reach him from out there? He'd cornered himself, and with her true form revealed he certainly wouldn't believe her now. He hissed again, too frightened for words as he glared out at what he'd hoped so badly was another like himself.
"They--most, I-I mean, are landbound. No fins or gills," Delta explained. His gaze once again went to Saira's own gills, wondering then if perhaps the wolves he'd seen so far all had that ability to summon them when needed. They surely couldn't spend their whole lives only on land, it was exhausting enough only being up there for a few minutes! He shuddered at the thought of being locked from the water, he wouldn't trade a thing in the world to lose it. Not even for longer legs.
Saira seemed similarly perplexed by the thought of him leaving the rocks, and his gills fluttered as the tension bled from his muscles. His relief was palpable that she wouldn't make him leave his hiding place, but the little cat tilted his head again at her strange offer. Curiosity wrestled against his natural fear, and he hesitantly stretched his neck out to get a better look at her. He kneaded his claws against the stone to maintain a firm grip just in case the need arose for a swift retreat, gaze flicking up and down her form as she seemed to just...pause there.
At first, the changes were so gradual that Delta didn't even notice them. He blinked, and cold dread stabbed through his belly when it seemed suddenly that her fur had vanished, replaced instead by a strange, scaled flesh which crawled up her elongating neck and broadening shoulders. Her entire form was warping, stretching and growing into something distinctly not feline by both land and sea definition as the little cat watched with dawning horror. Whatever Saira was, it was nothing Delta had even come close to dreaming of, and a wild panic twisted his expression as he shot backwards and pressed himself against the stone bastion.
She'd tricked him. How foolish he'd been.
The water around her bubbled and hissed, and he returned the sound with one of his own as betrayal and fear flashed sporadically across his gaze. He couldn't really arch his back in the cramped space, but Tsillah, he certainly tried. A high pitched growl left him, though it trembled and shook just as violently as he did himself as he rubbed his fins raw pushing himself further back into the crack. What looked back at him now was a predator, and between the darkened edges of his vision and the hammering of his heart, he chastised himself hysterically for trusting that this hadn't been some sort of trick.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
The voice that left her now rumbled with the water and send a hum through the stone around him, only further fueling his fear as his gaze honed in on the flashes of her fangs as she spoke and his whiskers thrummed with her reverberation. He physically couldn't press himself any further back--he'd overestimated the depth of this specific crack in the stone, and only a few tail-lengths stood between his shaking form and the open water where Saira floated. Could she reach him from out there? He'd cornered himself, and with her true form revealed he certainly wouldn't believe her now. He hissed again, too frightened for words as he glared out at what he'd hoped so badly was another like himself.