A mountain river flows into a large, stunning lake. The waters reflect silver in the day and under moonlight. A plain of gentle hills and forests surround the lake. Herds of elk are native here.
Loch had spent the past few days familiarizing himself with the lake and its surrounding area. He didn’t feel much of a pull to explore elsewhere. He much preferred it here, where he could dip into the familiar waters whenever he pleased. He spent more and more time lying on top of large rocks jetting out of the water and basking beneath the warm sun. He had made a den near one such rocky outcropping. It was small but cozy. He didn’t need it any bigger. Tall grasses obscured the entrance, and it directly overlooked the water. It suited him quite well, and he had to admit he was getting more comfortable here as the days went on.
He was also growing familiar with the fish that made a home in this lake. He was surprised by the diverse ecosystem such a small body of water nurtured. He found it a lot easier to catch fish here than he did in the ocean. The expanse of the deep sea felt empty compared to the bustle of life in the lake. It wasn’t hard to spot a potential meal here. That wasn’t what had caught his attention this time, however.
Just a day prior, he swore he saw a mussel, but he was chasing a fish and quickly lost it in the muck. He had convinced himself he had imagined it. It must have been an odd-looking rock. Yet now, he had found another one. Not taking the chance of losing this one, Loch scooped it up and hauled it onto a nearby rock. Its weight told him it was still alive. Back in the ocean, he loved searching for oysters like this. This one’s shell was brown and icky, not boasting the beautiful colors of some of its saltwater cousins. The shell isn’t what interested him, though. What he was looking for was inside, if he was lucky.
Using his jaw, the canid would crack the shell open. He began digging through the mussel's inner to see if anything was inside. If luck were on his side, there would be a pearl. He fully intended to add it to the collection of ones he had found in the past, many of which he currently wore as jewelry. The others were stashed away in his den along with his favorite bits of treasure from the ocean. While he couldn’t carry much with him, he had brought some of his favorite shells, bones, and even a bit of whale baleen he had collected from a hunt with his adoptive siblings.
He had always had an iffy relationship with his siblings. Yet, he had to admit now that he was away from them, he missed them. He missed the companionship. Looking up from his find, the finned beast would look back towards the shore. He hoped that in the coming days, he’d be able to get more acquainted with the others who called Duskorna
home.
(Rolling for Other to see if there is a pearl inside)
Character Diceroll 1: Successful Diceroll must be above 500 to be successful.
0 was added for Other (always roll level 2).
527 was added for Level 2.
0 was added for A. No Enchantment.
0 was added for A. No Buff / Penalty.
If there was one thing that was different between being under the waves and being on land and near its shore it was the sheer amount of life. Bermuda lurked beneath the waves his body darkened in his aquatic state and his tail having split into tentacles. Fish darted around him in silver schools, making the light dance and scatter in the water. It was almost laughable how much life was here compared to his place of birth. Here the waters were warm and life flourished, while he had been raised in the icy cold waters deep beneath the surface far from the light.
A splash had Bermuda's attention in an instant and his gaze darted towards the source of the sound. No sudden movements betraying him, a habit gained from waiting for prey to come to him. From where he lay he could only just see the form of a dark wolf retreating from the waters to lay on a rock, with whatever he had grabbed as his prize. The form was one he recognized from the little get together that had been held along the lake shore not so long ago.
Laying still Bermuda watched for a moment before without even really considering it he drifted closer. Dark tentacles spanned out from his form as he moved closer before he finally rose from the water. Pale eyes stark against dark fur as water dripped from his rising frame. His tentacles spreading in the water like twisting lines of ink behind him. A pulse of light rippled down his body lighting up hidden spots before fading away once more.
“It seems that luck is on your side.” Bermuda said as he caught sight of the pearl that lingered in the mussel. It didn't look like the mussels that he was used to seeing along the ocean trenches, but that was to be expected given they were currently in the warm waters of the lake. A lake that Bermuda was slowly finding himself growing attached to. He tipped his head slightly to see if he could identify the color but found that he couldn't unless he wanted to step closer than he was willing to do with a wolf that was currently still unknown to him.
A slight splash in the water alerted him to another's presence. His ears perked above his head, and his gaze drifted over to them. While the water still concealed half of the wolf's body, Loch could recognize them from the gathering that had occurred days prior. A slight smile graced his features as his treasure was mentioned. “Indeed, it is a beauty.” His eyes were again fixated on the pearl.“It's certainly a welcome addition to my hoard.”
He’d gently roll the small orb with his paws. It was shiny, with a light pink, nearly white hue. “I didn’t know these existed here. I come from the ocean, so I’m too familiar with freshwater ecosystems.”He’d finally return his attention to the other wolf, studying them momentarily. He could just make out the tentacle-like tails beneath the rippling waters.
“It doesn’t look like you're from around here either.” He’d speak, hoping to acquire information about the wolf's origin. He was still practically a stranger, but a stranger Loch could see potentially getting along with. After all, they shared the same pull to the waters. It was almost a comforting thought there was someone else like him here when everyone else seemed better adapted to life on land. “I don’t believe I caught your name; I’m Loch, by the way.”
Bermuda could appreciate the beauty of the pearl but he held no interest in acquiring one for a hoard that he was supposed to be making. The trenches had left a lasting impact on him in that regard. Making him carefully consider every sort of item to see if it was worth trying to keep. In the cold water things were lost constantly, life was taken. You didn't try to keep things you couldn't or wouldn't carry with you at all times.
“I've seen similar things in my home waters so I'm fairly certain that they can survive almost anywhere.” He said waving a dripping paw at the mussel in the others grasp. The fur on his upper half slowly paling as he shifted back into his landform. Inky tentacles sliding together as they merged to make one singular tail.
“That's because I'm not.” Bermuda stated simply. There was a brief pause before he continued, silently weighing how much he should tell Loch. The decision was easy when he considered that he didn't exactly have many wolves he conversed with at the moment and none that he could talk about the sea with. “Bermuda and I come from the trenches though not from any of these water.” Magic had whisked him away as surely as it had whisked his adventurer friend from long ago.
“You come from warmer waters if your colors are anything to go by.” Bermuda stated but his head was tipped in slight question to see if his guess was correct. Colors were pointless in the depths unless it involved creating light in one form or another.
Loch was not surprised Bermuda came from the trenches. His overall appearance screamed deep ocean. While Loch was also from deeper waters, it did not quite compare to Bermuda's home.“The trenches, huh?” He’d speak, the curiosity in his voice overpowering any other emotion. “I don’t know much about them. I’ve seen them but never ventured too deep down. Never really felt the need to.” Casting his eyes off of the pearl, Loch noticed Bermuda's tentacles had vanished. That must have come in quite handy. He couldn’t imagine having to lug them around on land. He had enough trouble with his fins getting in the way. He silently wished that he, too, possessed an ability like that. Alas, the colorful fins were a permanent feature of his.
“I came from the abyssal plains. I’m honestly not too sure how far I traveled to get here. Far enough, though.” He’d answer Bermuda's question, however, did not address coloration of his fins. The bright colors ran in his birth family, a dead giveaway he wasn’t related to those he thought were his siblings, who all sported dark colors. Not that any of it mattered now. The past was behind him; all he had was the future. As curious as he was to learn more about Bermuda, he’d bite his lip. He didn’t want to pry or annoy him with questions, but more importantly, he didn’t want to have to answer any questions that might be directed back towards him.
His attention instead was brought back to the warm sunshine on his back. He gave a small yawn. As much as he enjoyed napping in the sun, he also didn’t like wasting his days doing nothing. A low rumble in his belly alerted him that he hadn’t eaten yet today and was already itching to get back in the water. "Would you want to come hunting with me?" He figured he’d ask Bermuda to join him. It felt rude to just up and leave. Besides, he was enjoying the company.
“I don't think that you would find anything of interest among them.” Bermuda said after a moment. “The waters are cold and unless you find a spot near the vents you likely won't find much life either.” The waters were always icy but near a vent it was like even imagined ice melted. Far hotter than anything that he wanted to willing swim into. He was more used to ice cold waters than the boiling ones.
Bermuda glanced at Loch's fins as the other states he comes from the abyssal plains. He could believe it. Darker colors to hide in the dark waves but more vibrant tones to possibly draw in prey as well as the mutation on his forehead similar to an angler fish. It would be useful to have when you couldn't rely on your other senses to find your next meal.
“You might not have traveled as far as you think you have.” The sea dweller stated. “I was in oceans and waters far from here and when I went to surface I found a new land and waters that tasted of different magic.” Bermuda said as he remained where he was in the waves. The water lapping at his paws. Not really bothered that he had been yanked from his home. He had seen it happen to so many others and it wasn't that much of stretch to think it could happen to him at any moment.
“I'm willing, though I'll be honest hunting prey on land isn't something I'm used to.” He said with a bit of a shrug. Not bothered by the fact that he couldn't find and catch food on land. Why would he when waters near the surface were so filled with prey that all he needed to do was flash a little light, wiggle a tentacle like a floundering worm and they came right to him. “We could use the meat from that if you aren't going to eat it.” Bermuda said nodding at the mussel.
“I don't think that you would find anything of interest among them. The waters are cold and unless you find a spot near the vents you likely won't find much life either.” Loch listened as Bermuda explained a bit about life in the trenches. He had been curious about it and was intrigued to meet someone from there, on the land of all places; what were the chances? The more he heard about it, the more he could agree it didn’t sound like a good home for him. He couldn’t imagine waters that were colder than the abyss and harbored even less life. How did anyone survive there?
The vents sounded intriguing, but not enough for him to regret his lack of explorations to deeper water. As he continued to think more about life in the ocean, even his past, he became more content where he was, in this lake. It offered plentiful food and a lot more things to see and explore. He missed the vast, salty ocean but was also ready to make a home for himself here, by the lake in Duskorna.
His thoughts were interrupted,as he heard Bermuda speak again. “You might not have traveled as far as you think you have. I was in oceans and waters far from here, and when I went to surface I found a new land and waters that tasted of different magic.” He’d look at Bermuda curiously as he explained how he was transported from one world to another. If that had happened to him too, he certainly wasn’t aware of it, and he had the same magic that he did before. He could still use electricity to stun his prey, and blood in the water seemed to give him as much strength as ever. If there was any new magic, he wasn’t aware of it.
Before he could ask more questions, Bermuda answered his inquiry about hunting. “I'm willing, though I'll be honest, hunting prey on land isn't something I'm used to. We could use the meat from that if you aren't going to eat it.” Lock chuckled at the response. “Does it look like I’m used to hunting on land? I meant in the water, I say let's make a game out of it. Whoever catches the most fish gets bragging rights.” He could very well offer his pearl as a prize, but he wouldn’t chance himself at losing it. He had grown attached to it already. After all, it was the first he had found in this lake, which made it special.
With a swift gulp, Loch would also swallow the meat from the mussel. He wasn’t giving that up either. “If I used that, It would be cheating, wouldn’t it? Might as well give ya a fair chance.” He’d lick his lips, already missing the salty taste of the meat. He wanted more. If Bermuda agreed to their competition, he would soon have a pile of fish to look forward to.
OOC: If Bermuda agrees, we can go for three rounds, and whoever has the most successful rolls at the end wins.
