of the sea

Scaled, striped ears swiveled and pinned towards the soft heather woman at her vague, elusive response to the sea mare’s simple question. While the warrioress hadn’t truly been interested in the answer when she asked it, now her training caused a pique in her curiosity. Purposefully vague answers were equal parts suspicious and particular. Where Aquila was one to quickly tell others of Akvo (for how else would she find anyone else with information about it, if she did not speak of it?), this mare hid her home.

But the woman was answering her second question: ”not a crown”? The seahorse’s tail rattled once as it whipped about her hocks at the second, vague, and borderline untruthful answer. Though it may be true, for the Akvian imperiestroj and imperiestrinoj had retired their kronoj for the reĝarmaĵo, that her crown was just ‘jewelry,’ her ambiguous answers hid more than they revealed.

So it was with a stark and unblinking stare that the striped warrior stared at this heather-dipped, genteel woman. A soft smack of her face-fins against her neck was the only outward sign of her annoyance at the dubious answers. But she was not left long to fix her unnerving stare on the woman, as another came—the sea painted woman of four wings from the meeting. Her ridged head swung towards Ultima, not truly knowing the woman but at least knowing of her. Vibrant turquoise irises stare at the many wings for long, unblinking moments. She was slowly loosing her innate fear of those with wings. But it was hard to undo years of training and genetic instinct.

And, after a few silent moments, the warrior’s throaty voice sounded, “She—” her bladed horn and sharp eyes swung towards the grey woman, realizing in that moment that she did not know her name, “What are you called?” Pausing after her question for an answer, she then continued, “I brought her from the Threshold for healing and a home. I have not seen a kitten.” Her non-sequitur statements were send simply and without inflection. She was simply imparting information.

Then, in a massive display of trust, the warrior dipped her head beneath the surface of the water, face fins splashing liquid back on her neck towards her dried out gill slits, before raising and allowing the cool water to run over her ridged neck. Never once did she blink, though.

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imperiestroj = emperors
imperiestrinoj = empresses
kronoj = crowns
reĝarmaĵo = royal armor