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 Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 11:24 pm
 The day started out like any other. With the sun warm in the sky and the breeze softly kissing skin, the outside felt so glorious in comparison to the lake. Always in the lake. Bright emerald hair clung wetly still to her striped body, still moist after just immerging mere minutes ago. "Better enjoy it now." Nereus murmured to herself at the thought of having to return. Even with her magic water bladder she could only survive a few hours out. Which is why she had to hurry on her mission.
Today was oyster day. There was no lack of abundance of food in her shared lake, but oysters seemed to always be in short supply. If she didn't know any better she'd say Naiad's camped by their usual grounds and snatched them as soon as they ripened. Thankfully the other day she managed to hear of another lake not far from there, filled with oysters. So she grabbed her travel pouch, filled her water bladder and struck out North. She just had to remember to be very careful as her out of water form was so delicate.
Sometimes, just sometimes, she almost wished she had been born on land like other pae. But then she consoled herself with how she could see a world they'd never dream of because of her gills. It was a classic case of 'the grass is always greener'. Besides, she could visit the warm sun and playful breeze. Her water bladder gave her plenty of time to indulge on the land before returning to her comfortable waters. She had a good life. Mundane, repetitive, and a little lonely...but good. How could she be so selfish as to complain about that?~~~~~~More to follow~~~~~~~~~~
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Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 9:38 pm
Time slipped by like water in a desert, the hours giving away to the night. The naiad was beginning to wonder if she had misheard the location as she had yet to arrive at the promised pond of oysters, but she had already gone too far to turn back now empty handed. She took a small sip from her water and continued with renewed determination. She had come out for oysters and curse it she was going to get oysters!
Just as she recapped her bladder, Nereus pushed past a thick gathering of ferns to reveal the full moon peeking through the trees. Oh...oh no. She jiggled her bladder, suddenly aware of the time. How had she not noticed the time go by?! Her water was almost halfway gone, meaning to survive she would have to turn back. Without her oysters. It was a sobering thought, as all her efforts had been wasted. However life simply wasn't fair. She slowed to a stop before turning around to stare back at the way she came. There was no choice. The naiad started back, in much lower spirits than she had been when just minutes ago.
More time passed, though much slower than before in her defeated state. She tried to ration her water a little better, not wanting to run out before she got home. An hour...two...three...
Wait...what...? She stopped as a clearing opened up before her, a shimmering in the distance. I...did I take a wrong turn? How? She hadn't turned at all. But she was certain she hadn't gone through the clearing before. Slowly her feet continued forward as her stomach began to twist in nervousness. If she turned now, she'd truly be lost, and die for it. Her only chance was to hope somehow she had missed seeing it whilst daydreaming. The shimmering became closer and closer, and her skin tingled as the air began to feel more humid. Soon her eyes would confirm what her body knew. A pond. The tall cattails couldn't completely hide it from her view. "How could I have missed..." It didn't matter. She needed to get into that water and rejuvenate her parched skin. Nereus quickened her pace at the promise of rehydration and she quickly dropped her bladder a few feet from its bank. In one fluid motion, she dived straight in, throwing caution to the wind.
In reaction to the cool water, her legs began to fuse back into her tail and her fins spread out to glide. I've never been so happy to see a pond in my life! The naiad thought to herself as she dived deeper, completely submerging herself by a full three feet of water. But as the female began to relax as danger waned, a thought slipped into her head. Was this the pond she had heard about? Instead of lazily swimming about, her emerald eyes focused around her.
There...there was! Oysters! All around her! She couldn't contain her glee and shot up to the surface. "WAHOOOO!!!" The aquatic female yelled as her midriff popped out of the water, her glee bouncing off the surrounding trees. She had set out to do something and she had done it! Finally, a break from her repetitive, boring life. This is the start of a New Nereus! A better, more adventurous, more exciting Nereus! I'll travel further than any naiad before me, climb higher in the mountains than any aquatic! I may even...hunt forest creatures! She thought in a rush of adrenaline and pride. This is what she had been missing all her life! With a flick of the tail she flipped back into the water and dived deep towards a patch of oysters. "Sorry little guys, but you're coming home with me." She blubbed while prying one from its grip in the mud. She took another and another, and another still. One by one until her arms couldn't hold anymore. With her payload she swam up to the surface, letting her tail begin it's transformation back into legs. Finally she felt what it was like to take a chance on something. It's cost was high but so was the payoff. And did she ever have the story to tell her neighbors! Her feet squished into the mud as her head broke through the water. Newly rehydrated, she could rest easy about making it home in time. If of course she really was heading in the right direction all along. When she reached her pouch she unloaded her armful into it. They were some of the biggest oysters she had ever seen in her life! Obviously this location was not normally frequented.
So...maybe she shouldn't tell her neighbors after all? Maybe she should keep this place as her own little secret, coming back every so often for her own stash of oysters? Then again, maybe telling them would make them like her.
Maybe she'd finally make a friend.
A frown creased her forehead as she picked up her pouch and bladder to resume her trek back. There she went again, thinking sad thoughts again. It was hard though. Depression went hand in hand with loneliness. Well I'm not going to let it get to me this night! This night, was a big Victory! It was all in her plan for a better, more adventurous Nereus. The new Nereus wasn't depressed or lonely. She was charismatic, loved and brave. She was going to turn her own life around from here out. This outing just proved that she could do it. The naiad resumed her walk back to her home, a smile replacing her frown.
~~~~~~~ More to Follow ~~~~~~~
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Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 9:41 pm
As the moon began to sink and pink licked the sky, emerald eyes at last focused on the shimmering waters of home. A sigh of relief escaped her lips and her toes curled in the sand with every step. "Phew...what a night." She hadn't expected to be gone so long. At least she knew no one, so none missed her absence. The naiad slowly stepped in the water, letting herself go as deep as her chest before opening her sack. She would have one before sleeping, just one, as a reward for all her hard work. Her fingers twisted around her load before settling on the biggest one and pulling it out. "Mmmm, yes, you'll do nicely." Nereus tucked her sack and bladder under her arm as she pried the tough shell open.
POP!
A beautiful, perfectly round pearl laid nestled within the shell. "Well, what do I have here." She reached in and pulled it out, quickly rinsing it in the surrounding water. "Huh. I wonder if I can trade you for anything..." She dropped the shells back into her bag before diving into the water. As she swam deeper and deeper, her legs fused back into their natural fin shape. But she didn't stop her scrutinizing of her new shiny. Talk about rewards for going out! She got a pearl! A smile slipped onto her face as she slipped into her little underwater cave, marked by beautiful pink corals. For now she'd keep it on one of her shelves next to all her other shinies accumulated, at least until she could determine it's worth. Maybe she could trade it for a new comb...~~~~~~ FIN ~~~~~~~
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Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 11:46 pm
((The purpose of this post, and the one to follow is to correct a setting-breaking issue.))
Several Aquatl fairies slipped into the underwater cave that served as the primary dwelling for a Naiad named Nereus. They personally didn't know of her, but this was where they were instructed to. They had orders to confiscate any and all of the oysters that had been stolen from Silme pond. There was no telling how long out of the magical waters they could survive, so the fairies had to move fast.
A small group of Avalon fairies waited on the shore with a bucket of water and a vial of pond water.
"I can't believe somepae would do this."
"So heinous. Do you think they come from Dragnid?"
"Fool, does it look like we're in Dragnid?
"Maybe its an agent of Strafe? We haven't heard from him in a while?"
"I think it has to be, who else would have such a blatant disregard for life steal from a magic, god-protected pond? Artemis is probably hunting this pae as we speak."
"Good thing for that pae Artemis doesn't hunt in water, eh?"
The fairies all laughed and lounged around waiting for their package from the Aquatls.
It took some time, but finally the water-aligned fairies surfaced with a sack full of oysters, quickly handing them over to the magic-aligned fairies. "Hurry, I don't think they're doing too well in this water!"
"Pour the pond water in the bucket, Clyde."
The fairy called Clyde uncorked the vial and poured the small amount of shimmery liquid into the bucket with the oysters. The water immediately spread through the normal water, surrounding the kidnapped oysters with magical water. All the fairies crowded around to watch and wait. To see if they'd be okay. There was only very slight movement, but they were all closed up so it was hard to tell.
"We can't sit around here waiting, get them back to the Goddess Portia. She can help them!"
Three of the seven fairies held on to the bucket as they flew over the treeline to avoid obstacles. Two went ahead to let Portia and Tia know they were coming with precious cargo. All of them prayed to the island that they'd make it time.
((Portia, Goddess of the Pond, has a house on the edge of the pond. Only a small handful of Pae know of this pond, because they stumbled across it. Anyone that touches the water has to deal with Portia. Naiad don't do well in this water, and are advised to not touch it. The oysters have been cultivated in potent magical waters, and are designed to incubate unhatched Sprite Pae'il. They are not for eating because they are necessary for sprites to come from that pond. The pearls contained in those oysters will forever stay about the size of a ping-pong ball. It is the removal from that water that causes them to grow to a Pae'il-sized pearl.
Any pae'il that stumbles across this pond will notice Portia's house.
The Aquatls do not know Nereus opened one of the oysters, so they left the pearl behind.
This information was provided to let you know, in case you may have missed it when it was posted, or you didn't have a chance to read the info post on Sprites yet.))
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