[open]

[justsomeshrimp]

Characters: Lobco & open
Date: Jan 30-Feb 2
Location: Various places
Situation: Lobco is new to Aifaran and just trying to figure things out.
Warnings/Rating: None. If any occur this will be edited.

scenario a

[The prospect of other planets and travel to them was a common one back in Pitch World. Indeed, thanks to the fact that she was familiar to a rather powerful witch, Lobco had been to another once before. Yet it was one thing to consciously go to a place you had studied for many years in the company of a companion, and another thing altogether to just

Suddenly appear somewhere.

The first thing that had struck her was how bright Aifaran is.

Home home was bright. It was beautiful, sunny, and tropical much like this place...but the past couple years had found her by the side of a witch who resided in a place that really lived up to its name, a place where the sun never shone. Which meant the poor thing was having quite a bit of difficulty navigating. Her eyes were rather weak and sensitive enough as it was but she'd barely had time to adjust as she attempted to navigate her way towards the 'Dreaming Bridge' as she had been informed.

Lobco looked behind her, thinking maybe she should have asked to be accompanied before deciding against it. She still wasn't sure what to trust or to believe, and she wasn't exactly comfortable with strangers. She turned her head forward, squinting and trying to keep her head a little lowered, only to lightly bump into someone in the process.]

O-oh! I'm sorry.

scenario b

[Lobco couldn't honestly say she had gotten accustomed to the situation yet. She worried. She worried about why she was here, she worried about how she would get home, she worried about how her witch and fellow familiars were doing, she worried what Hijohshiki might do to them if she continued to remain absent. So many possibilities, no way of knowing the truth.

All she could tell was that they were still alive. That magical thread that connected them all together remained intact--weakened, as she could get no sense for where they were, and thus, where she was, but they were alive.

Lobco needed a breather after so much happening, so much information being tossed at her, and being among so many strangers. It's only natural that she's drawn to the ocean. It has been a very, very long time since she's been able to actually be in saltwater. The sound of crashing waves is a melody, and her antennas twitch, then curl in appreciation as she looked out upon the ocean, shining bright like a sapphire.

Despite everything, she smiles and her body becomes encased in light as she transforms. Where once she stood, there was now a tiny, bright red shrimp no bigger than an inch.]

Comments

[justsomeshrimp]

I've seen villages and a couple towns, but no. Nothing of this scale. [Or so full of humans. More than anything it was the sheer amount of humans that had startled Lobco so much.

Speaking of which...

What exactly was this person? From what her antennas could pick up they certainly didn't seem like a human either, but they were certainly not anything she recognized. Asking would probably be rude.]

If I may ask, what is your home like?

[corundrum]

Well well, you still have the advantage over me, then. We had no villages and towns. [They suppose the Moon People's colony would count, but they didn't get to see a whole lot of that. And it's not really something they want to broach the subject of anyway.

That question isn't very surprising at this point, and Padparadscha gives a lengthy, amused hum before they answer.]

Simple. And small. All my people lived inside one large building, on an island we could cross in less than a day. What about yours?

[justsomeshrimp]

[Everyone? All in one building? If that was the case small is indeed the way to describe it. It's hard for Lobco to imagine such a tiny community--though she wouldn't say it sounded unpleasant.]

Not quite that small--but we were a tight knit community too ruled by Princess---Queen Uomi. The sea is home to all sorts of creatures so we're a pretty diverse group. It was small but...lively. [There was wistfulness in Lobco's voice. It had been so long since she'd last seen it. For all her love of travel, she still held her home dear.]

[Now came the question that Lobco was a little afraid of asking. People could sometimes take offense to it, and understandably so.]

I hope I don't offend when I ask this, but what are you?

[corundrum]

Oh? That's some kind of royalty thing, isn't it? [They don't know much about the other species of their land, but the terms for that sort of thing had lingered from what they presume is human society. While they wouldn't have a hard time exploring the sea for something like that, many of the other gems were a lot less resilent to the ocean currents.]

It sounds interesting, anyway. [And as for the idea that they might be offended about that question, Padparadscha just laughs a little and waves a hand.]

I think I'll be asked that plenty of times while I'm here. I'm a gem - born of rock, and ageless like it. It's been interesting seeing so many living creatures in one place, because we didn't have anything like you or humans where I came from.

[justsomeshrimp]

[Huh. The closest thing to that Lobco has ever even heard about is a golem, but Padparadscha is clearly very different from that. Worried as she was about being here, she had to admit it was quite the learning experience.

To hear that there were no living creatures where they came from was rather shocking. She felt she now understood a little when people were similarly surprised when she told them there were barely any humans where she came from.]

Huh...is it...nice there? [Strange as it may seem, and as curious a creature as she was there did seem something soothing about a small community such as the one the gem had described. She wondered what they all got up to.]

[corundrum]

[That's not the usual next question people ask when Padparadscha describes what they are, but they laugh a little at it. It's more interesting to them than some of the other questions they've been given by the others here, at least.]

Well, it's been a while since I could travel around it much myself, but I always enjoyed it. There was good sunlight, and we could hibernate through the worst of the weather.

[Or in Padparadscha's case, spend most of their time hibernating. It's not as if they'd exactly had a choice in the matter.] What about your place?

[justsomeshrimp]

That does sound nice. [Hibernating isn't really something sea creatures like her can do, but the thought had always been appealing.]

It doesn't ever get cold in my home, and the days are long. Life is quiet and slow paced...but peaceful...though it can get a little stagnate at times.

[corundrum]

[That makes Padparadscha laugh a little, though it's a thoughtful one.] I wonder, is it better to have a peaceful, but stagnant life, or an ever-changing one that's also a struggle? I think a lot of people in this place would have very different answers to that.