Sefin (Based off of the name Sefina) Gender: Androgynous Base Traits: Reckless Sefin wants to show off their skill in swimming whenever possible, and so seeks out exciting and intense activities. They will outright court danger with the frightening currents of the ocean and intentionally inciting stressful situations. They also goad others into trying new things, making them not particularly liked by their elders. Adventurous What lies beyond the abyss? Sefin wants to know. Sefin wants to see everything. The reefs above? Yes, please! The strange freshwater places with hard land and air? Yes, of course! If it’s new, Sefin wants it. If it’s the same… well, Sefin wants a change. Amused Sefin takes nothing seriously, laughing off all scolding and concern as if it is nothing, and any commands from adults as if they are just requests. Their mood is always positive – even when they get into spats with other children, it’s not out of malice. It’s out of fun. That’s what Sefin is here to have, after all. Personality: Sefin believes that, in life, you gotta go fast. You gotta go far. You gotta enjoy all of it along the way. Sefin is trouble with a smile, one of those mischevious kids that the grown ups need to find a way to reign in before they hurt themselves. So far, they’ve managed to channel Seffn’s surplus of energy into delivering messages, a task that Sefin adores, but they constantly go out of their way to get into trouble. For Sefin, taking risks is a part of the fun of living. At the same time, they’ve taken a few bumps and bruises and close calls in their short lifetime. Caution is something that they are learning, and rational thought is something that they are beginning to respect. But, in the end, if it’s new Sefin will poke it. If it’s fast, Sefin will race it. Sefin does not think that that will change anytime soon.
Sefin has mostly been kept busy all their life by their parents, elders, and community. Their skill at memorizing messages -- and swimming very quickly between places -- made couriering a natural choice to set their boundless and mischevious energy to.
From the moment that Sefin heard about the freshwater people, their intense curiosity was intrigued. And so, they rose from the deep -- bearing a message, of course -- to see what this surface, this place of fresh water and sky beyond the bounds of the abyss, truly was.
It was floating all around the waters lately: who were the Freshwater Ones that everyone kept talking about? These long lost neighbors that no one had seen in over two hundred years was all anyone could concentrate on lately. What did they look like? How did they survive the drought? How do they live? The questions continued on and on. It wouldn’t be long before all of the questions they had could be answered, but still it was something to stir up the gossip in the meantime.
[This child has been hearing rumors of what the freshwater people look and act like. Tell us what they know! What do they think they look like after hearing all the gossip? What do they think they act like? Do they believe the rumors or don’t they? What’s their spin on the information they’ve been given?
Sefin had never been to the reefs. The idea of sky above, or sun, sweet water or even land was a strange and alien one. What, even, was rain? Before, Sefin had dismissed it all as silly rumor – as if there was a world beyond the abyss… how could there be? There was so much down in the depths, how could there be more? But then, the travelers came, and the travelers went, and Sefin realized that they must be going somewhere… and suddenly the abyss was not deep enough to hold the young deep one. They had to see this strange place in the lighter water, and this – this message held in Sefin’s agile, young mind – was their chance. They were to swim to the reef folk – and not be distracted on the way. This, their parents had admonished them, was vital. Sefin scoffed at their worry. He was never distracted. It was the task’s fault for being uninteresting, and he always got it done, didn’t he? Besides, he was not going to be distracted from this. Sefin repeated the message to themselves and prepared for the trip. There were special plants, after all, that were needed if one swam too high. High… what was it like up on the surface? What was it like, in the reefs? Sefin had no idea – warm, maybe. They’d seen one or two reef folk swim down, but they never stayed long. Too deep for them, they’d heard. That was odd enough. But what of the people of sweet water? How could water be sweet? Water was water, and it was what it was. But what would this sweet water taste like? What could possibly live in water that wasn’t weighted with the “stew of ages” as they’d heard someone call the sometimes-rich muck that drifted down from the surface. Sefin took the depth medicine and began the journey to the reefs, flitting into a caravan of traders as they left the depths. They flashed their bioluminescence as a greeting and joined the school, easing into the rhythm of the swimming. Sefin would have preferred to be alone, or at most with an audience to their awesome swimming skills, but their parents had insisted that Sefin not go alone. Don’t get distracted. Don’t go alone. This is important Sefin, do not forget your message or your duty! Yeah, yeah. Like Sefin could forget. They repeated the message again in their head, practicing like they always did to pass the time. That quickly became boring, though, and Sefin’s active imagination began to flow away from them. These freshwater (fresh?) folk… what could they look like? Surely not too different? Sefin had heard – and had seen for themselves – the colors that the reef folk bore. Maybe something like that… lighter, maybe, because their water had nothing in it, so they didn’t have anything to color themselves with, like Sefin was colored with darkness. They’d heard that there were two types of these people… two! How different could they possibly look?! Maybe, Sefin thought, idly, One is all pale colored, with really pale colors. Maybe white. That made sense – washed out meant white or grey. And the other is transparent… yeah! That’s probably it! That also made sense – if you washed out all the color, you could see through them, like the animals that swam in the abyss. They didn’t need color down there, just lights, but in the surface water… maybe they had no color at all. Ooo! It was an exciting idea, an excitement only boosted by the subtle change in light. As in, there was some. Water began to shine a dull brown, vaguely warming and strange on Seffn’s skin. They grinned widely, excited at the new sensation. If something was transparent, would their organs be visible? That was what Sefin wanted to see – all the organs through someone’s skin! But, Sefin thought, with a shrug of not-quite-disappointment, it would probably be translucent, like jelly or squid. That was a better idea, though seeing organs was much more interesting. Probably translucent. Sefin agreed, reciting their message to themselves again. So pale, translucent people… but what did they do? Sefin couldn’t even comprehend it. What even existed in a place with sky? What even existed in a place where there wasn’t water on all sides – how could that be? They were looking forward to finding out, though. They were probably right – after all, they were very smart. And, Sefin thought with a shrug, they wouldn’t be disappointed even if they were wrong.
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