[x] Go back to sleep[] Kick you out[x] Cuddle with you[] Be like “How in the world?”[] Let you sleep on the floor[] Become angry
If you kissed me (or hugged, depending upon character/gender/etc.) I would:
[x] Kiss or hug you back[] Smile and laugh[] Stiffen, and feel uncomfortable[] Push you away[x] Be shocked[] Strike you
If you asked me to go out with you for a day I would say:
[] No[x] Yes[] Most certainly not.[x] Without hesitation.
You are:
[x] Cute[x] Adorable[x] Attractive[x] Beautiful[] Okay[] Ugly[] Am not going to grace this with an answer
You are to me a:[] Stranger[] Acquaintance[] Ally[x] Friend [] Love[] Rival [] EnemyI find you to be:[] Pathetic[] Of no consequence[x] Intriguing [] Frightening [] Unsettling [] Annoying [] Infuriating [x] Pleasant company[x] Comforting [] Unable to be lived without [x] Trustworthy
The light above shimmered and shone with a green hue, the moon well overhead as it hung in the night sky; a thin veil separated him from its direct light, swishing and swaying as bubbles rose up past him, escaping his nose, his mouth, his lungs. The water was cold. The water was clear.
And he was drowning.
Not even five sweeps old, and he was to die in a cold, lonely place. Stagdad couldn’t come to save him, there were no creatures around to pluck him from the water, and he didn’t know how to swim. With a wordless shout he struggled and thrashed, fighting against the water as he tried to pry himself from its icy grip; the water bit at his limbs with a stinging cold, and his head spun from lack of oxygen.
[Move your limbs slowly.]
Panic strikes him and he begins to flail, the unfamiliar voice ringing in his pan with a resonance that seemed full of wisdom, of age.
[Up, down.]
Still, he continues to struggle.
[Up, down.]
Weariness sinks into his arms and legs like lead weights, short, sharp thrashes the most he can muster.
[Up, down.]
He gives in.
Up, down. Up, down. Up, down, up, down, up down up down he’s not sinking any more he’s not sinking—
[Kick your legs. Up, to the surface. Breathe, child of earth.]
Following these instructions, he kicks his legs haphazardly, twisting and turning as he veers off course several times. Trying to wriggle back upright, he whirls around with a kick of his leg— two sharp golden eyes peer at him from the darkness beyond, a wide, thin mouth places below them and covered in whiskers. Fins and gills frill out at the sides, and he realises its a catfish— even larger than he was.
[Up, down. Kick your legs, child of earth.]
He can faintly make out the glow of brown in front of his face and realises he must have been communing with this fish, then; strange how one’s pan would reach out anyway it could in times of panic.
Soon enough he’s breaking the surface of the water, gasping and coughing as he wriggles to the edge of the pool. There’s a little nudge on his bum, and he jumps; glancing behind him he sees the catfish once again.
[You’re young, child of earth. Why come into my domain?] He opens his mouth slowly, baring rows of tiny, dangerous teeth, easily taking his ankle in his jaws. [Why should I not snap your limbs and make meal of you, child of land? Much disturbance, falling in.]
He sputters.
"I-I’m not— I’m a friend, I promise I didn’t mean to fall in I was just—"
[Just looking for pearl to steal? Washing your filth in waters of crystal?]
"Just watching the fish swim, please, please Mr. Catfish don’t eat me I swear I’ll do good I’ll—"
[Silence.]
The large creature backs away slowly, releasing the boy’s foot from his mouth and watching in silence as he scrambles up on shore.
[… What do you know of the forest, child of earth.]
The young Rufioh sits up straight, chin in the air and a proud look on his face. Papa had told him a lot about the forest, and it was one of the few things he was certain of.
"Trees and plants have green stuff in their leaves that makes food for them! They’re the food for animals that eat plants, and they feed the animals that eat animals, feeding more and more until someone dies and mushrooms and worms take care of them. Then the earth takes them back, and they become plants, the green stuff that makes food for other animals."
He could have sworn he saw the catfish smile.
[What do you know of consequence. Of action. One cause begets an effect that is merely another cause, an unending cycle.]
Rufioh slumps a little, confused, and the catfish rises a little closer to the surface.
[You have much to learn, little child of earth. Come. Listen. You shall learn what it means to protect the forest… to understand it.]
Rufioh couldn’t have asked for a better teacher than the catfish of crystal pond.
