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 Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 12:33 pm
 A peaceful journey, feathers ruffled in the cool air, wings outstretched, brilliant amidst the blue, gliding with what seemed little effort. He might have been a bird, a lone albatross following its migration across the endless ocean. Far from a bird, wingspan broader than even the largest albatross, Corellon, god of nature, gently skimmed the salty surface, a single beat of broad wings propelling him upward again, held aloft by rising thermals.
With every rise and fall, altitude shifting with each gust, paws touching ocean then sky, the god was ever mindful, always aware of his passenger, the young lioness who shared his journey. It was perhaps for her sake that he often flew so low, paws reaching into the waters, chasing the sparkling fish beneath before wings propelled them skyward again. It was a beautiful sight, crystal, blue, spreading for what seemed like forever, surely a captivating experience for a young explorer.
His gaze shifted upward, a glance toward his friend from the corner of his eye, wondering at her reaction as much as to assure himself of her safety. His jaws had opened, whatever words he may have spoken lost as nearby movement caught his eye, a dark shape and a spray of water.
"Dolphins."
A bright smile, he had barely gestured with one paw before gliding to the surface once more, paws just above the water's edge. They were surrounded, the creatures swimming all around, shadows broken as fins pierced the surface, their chattering filling the sea air, the pod was on the hunt.
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Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 1:24 pm
"Does it ever end? " she commented, looking out to the sea from her perch on the gods back. The ocean seemed to go on forever and ever from where she was, and she gazed at it with both fascination and perhaps some fear of falling in. "Its so big. "
She was used to the flying, and no longer flinched whenever they got carried by the thermals, rather enjoying it, the wind felt nice on her fur. She blinked, attention snapping in the direction of the spray. If he hadn't already been doing that, Kimaji probably would've asked to go closer.
"Wow! " She gaped, looking down at the shapes through the water, ears perking at the chatter. "Are they fish? They're huge! " .. Compared to fish.
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Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 2:37 pm
Gliding above the water's surface, so close he could have touched their backs with but a casual reach of his paw, he dodged from left to right, weaving between the spouts as the broke the surface, following the pod wherever the hunt had led them.
"Not fish, they are aquatic mammals, they breath air like we do."
Magnificent creatures, an oasis of life in an otherwise quiet sea. Silently he wondered how long they had followed the same path, hidden beneath the ocean waves until the need for air forced them to the surface. 'Huge' was definitely a fitting word, their weight far greater than any lion, amazingly gentle for creatures their size, yet they were far from the largest creatures in the sea.
"Beautiful aren't they? Be careful, don't lean over too far."
As much as he cherished her reaction, the bright curiosity in her voice, he did not wish her to forget they were flying over the ocean and that falling in would not be pleasant for either of them.
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Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 5:58 pm
"I didn't know mammals could live in the water. " She blinked, and would have leaned a bit more had it not been for his warning, in which case she pulled herself back in more so that only her head peeked above the god's shoulder.
"Why do they keep.. spraying like that? " She asked as another dolphin shot water into the air, then blinking as another, seemingly just for fun, jumped out rather high, more than the rest to simply dive back in.
"They swim really well. " Well, by their.. fishy look it was highly doubtable that they ever got out of the water. How would they walk?! To her the dolphin's seemed more graceful than fishes, who were rather.. spazzy. Most of the time. Their tails were different, too.
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Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 7:49 pm
"They are different from most mammals, adapted to live only in the ocean, they would die on land."
As the dolphins grew more excited, Corellon flew higher, wings carrying them feet rather than inches from the surface, close enough to see them well, but enough distance to avoid being knocked into the water by their leaps.
"That is how they breath."
A short distance ahead, a flash of brilliant silver, like a giant living mirror, weaving through the ocean current, scales breaking the surface as the shoal fled the pursuing pod. In the sky above, birds gathered, circling toward the water, striking at those who wandered to close to the surface, an attack from above while the dolphins struck from below, a true show of the cooperation in nature.
"There, that is what they're hunting."
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 2:08 pm
"So thats why they look like fish! " Kimaji concluded, nodding slightly. Maybe it was hard to live in water if you had four paws, proper for walking and running. "their noses are on their heads? " She blinked at that, quirking a brow and looking to the god before her attention went back to the dolphins as they rose into the air.
"Are those all fish? " she gaped, eyes widening for a moment in awe. They were so many.. "Are the dolphin's gonna eat ALL of them? " She doubted she could eat that much. "And the birds too? "
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 3:11 pm
The god laughed, amused at her reaction. As nature itself, he would have never forgotten the beauty, the magnificence of the creatures swimming below them, and yet just how unusual, how astounding such creatures could be to those who had never before seen them. May this life never fade, their beauty a treasure to forever be enjoyed by all the earth.
"I suppose you could look at it that."
He was not sure he would have called it a nose, nor would he declare that the creatures even had noses, though he supposed aesthetically the beaks above their mouths could have been referred to as noses. But trying to explain how the aquatic mammals did not breath through their noses as those who dwelled on land did might have simply confused her more, and functionally, her assessment was not entirely wrong.
"I doubt they could eat all of them, but they will eat many."
Circling above the mass of silver, surrounded by birds, Corellon drifted as close as he dared, darting about to avoid the diving birds, an agile flier despite his wingspan. Beneath them it seemed the ocean itself was alive, flashes of silver circling, boiling, as if the water would erupt with the energy. As the dolphins struck from below, the fish swam for the surface, into the waiting talons of the birds, diving again the meet the waiting dolphins, only to continue in the endless flow.
"Would you like a fish?"
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 7:04 pm
"Oooh.. "
She watched for a bit longer, blinking as a dolphin jumped out of the water only to speed up as soon as it reached it again, leaving a short trail of bubbles behind it before vanishing in the mass of fish. At first she didn't even hear the god's question, just distracted watching all the movement around them, before moments later after blinking and seeming to register.
"Huh? " Kimaji twitched her tail tip, pausing for a moment. "Oh! Sure! " She'd probably never had fish before. But wait, how would Cor get one in the first place?
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 8:02 pm
It was an easier task than she may have though, or perhaps he simply made it appear easier than it truly was (though to be quite fair it would have been much harder were it not for the dolphins). Dodging among the birds, wings folded back, the god dove for the surface, paws outstretched, talons extended. In an instant paws had plunged into the water, talons closing around a writhing fish, wings beating, he rose from the surface again, circling away from the mass of fish and birds who sought to take his catch.
"Here, don't drop it, it's strong, so hold it tight."
A smile on his maw, talons tightly closed around the fish, he raised is forepaw high enough for her to reach, hoping her own talons could catch it before it had the chance to flop back into the water again. Its silver scales shimmered in the sunlight, though not so brilliantly as they had in the water, yellow fins flashing as it struggled against the grip of large paws. Ocean fish, a delicious treat not often enjoyed by a lion, perhaps by no other lion before.
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 5:02 pm
The small lioness hadn't been expecting that sudden dive, and she had to cling a bit so as to not let go-- considering the fact that he didn't USUALLY fly like that, could you blame her?! " Wha? " She was still a little disoriented when instructed not to drop "it", and stared at the fish for a moment before subconsciously reaching for it, clamping both paws around it and pulling it closer, only to blink in surprise. That WAS strong!
"um.. " For a moment Kimaji seemed at loss for what to do-- fishes were kinda different from other prey. For starters, it was slippery. And it didn't really have paws, did it? She couldn't even identify a neck very well, at that note. However, soon enough she did seem to figure it out, and soon enough the fish wasn't flapping around much longer.
It had however managed to slap her first, but she could live with that.
"Its salty. "
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 5:43 pm
The god chuckled, wings carrying them further from the hunting dolphins, gliding above the diving birds. Magnificent though the spectacle once, the thrashing of the fish was certain to attract larger and more dangerous predators, sharks and larger birds certain to pose as much threat to a pair of lions as a school of trapped fish.
"Of course, it has been swimming in salt water. It's not salty inside though."
The commotion carried on behind them, the squawk of birds and chirp of dolphins ringing through the ocean air, as the thrash of fish and spray of water. As he had expected, larger birds had joined the fray, pelicans and albatross outclassing the smaller gulls, surely by now the sharks had struck from below, seizing on the hunting skills of the dolphins.
"Maybe next time I'll catch you a turtle."
He smiled as they left the dolphins behind, gliding several yards above the water's surface until he was certain they left the range of the frenzied predators. There was so much more of the ocean to see, beautiful clear blue water, brilliantly colorful fish, and massive whales even more magnificent than those they had left behind.
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