the tempest of an unrelenting sea

She stays her webbed hoof in the surf for a moment as he answers her questions. A companion? Overly large eyes dart between the two of them: the bearded, winged man and the gawking, burning chick. Though it seemed her flames were burning shorter and dimmer as they stood on the beach, and Aquila felt the importance of purveying food for the little creature.

But her eyes blink once more, as claims to be a god. Gods are not to be trusted— they can be swayed and wreak destruction. Ears pin flush with her ridges once again, eyes staring in a combination of shock, fear, and anger— only to realize that this winged man was joking. His rich chuckle brought a snort from her ridged nostrils— to joke about gods was dangerous business.

Further questions, carried on a deep voice riddled with charism, fell into ears that were already turning towards the sea. “I am Aquila.” was the only answer she gave before disappearing into the waves. The other questions could wait, the priority was feeding Antaa.

As she slipped beneath the waves, it felt good to have a task she could actually fulfill. There was no failure here, catching meals beneath the sea was natural for the fierce mare. She paused along some coral; squid, fish, eel? What to prey upon for the little hatchling…

It was not long before she was resurfacing, a large lobster stretching the limits of her jaws; it’s weight making her head hang level with her withers. It’s huge claws waved wildly around her face, open and searching for something to sever, but the mare’s hold on it’s body did not allow for those claws to grab her.

She dropped the writhing crustacean to the sand, a webbed hoof pinning one claw to the sand while her bladed horn deftly sliced the tail and claws from the body. “No bones,” she said by way of explanation of her choice. Many of the reef fish had small bones that could choke the slim gullet of Antaa. The sweet flesh of the lobster did not.

Sliding the tail and claws in the direction of the bird, she turned her unblinking gaze back towards Darwin, droplets sliding over her scaled skin. “‘This place’ is the Riptide Isles, from the Rift. I come from Akvo, a region in the Rift not far from the Isles— or it wasn’t until your gods closed the portal,” her throaty voice was matter of fact, until the end. Her staring eyes shifted, staring over the waters in the direction were her family had once been.

But no longer. They were lost to her. And she to them.

“Were you not at the battle?” Her demanding question returned her unblinking eyes to the winged pegasus.