+1 Long Nervous Boi

[pelicanmouth]

There's a stranger in the Plaza, water trailing on the ground behind him as he moves. There's something fishy about this visitor - in the literal sense. He looks around, startled by the bustling When someone accidentally cuts in front of him, he instinctively puffs his head up from fright.

He looks like a long, snakelike fish with a dimly glowing light at the end of his tail. His head is a giant toothless mouth that gapes when he talks. He's trying his best to seem friendly, since he's aware of how unsettling he looks to ocean folk not so familiar with denizens of the deep sea. Let alone land folk - and he's as frightened of humans and other creatures as he's sure they are of him.

Gulper eels aren't meant to be in the light, and he's sure he's the first one to have had the chance to visit - thankful for the special equipment that helps him breathe in the air environment, but this is as alien for him as his home would be to most of the people here.

"Uh." His tail twines in anxiety, almost twisting itself into knots. He asks a question, since that's how things are done here from the sound of things. "Does anybody know where I can find some water?"

Comments

[pelicanmouth]

"Thank you." Small, beady eyes blink. This creature is closer to his kind than most of the other people here, so he's relieved. The light at the end of the eel's long tail glows softly, though less obviously so in the day. "Who are you?" The structure seems familiar somehow, though too big to be most of the deep-sea species he knows: blobfish, lanternfish, viperfish, things of that nature.

The gulper's pleased by the sight of the large fountain - while he can thankfully survive on land, he still finds the water much more comfortable for him. He lacks scales, so his skin is a bit more soft and stretchy than other fish.

He likes water that's deep, and cold, like his home. Warm water is too much for him - his people are adapted to the darkest parts of the ocean, not the tropical waters inhabited by sharks and the brightly colored fish people think of, including his moray cousins. He's much stranger looking than they are.

So he slides in, serpentlike, into the fountain to join his new friend.

[longfish]

"You are a long way from your home," she says gently. There's something almost maternal about her, but her body language is slow and relaxed, almost lethargic. "My name is Gerlinde. Some call me Sister Gerlinde, because I'm a priestess of the Deepmother."

The water isn't as cold as it is deep down in the ocean, but it's pleasantly cool enough. Gerlinde sinks deeper down to make space for him, leaving just her neck and head above the surface. "How did you get here? I awoke in this little cavern."

[pelicanmouth]

"The Deepmother?" The gulper eel is curious now - he's never heard of such a being, but the other's presence is restful and calming. He's relaxed now - his species is often on edge. While they are predators, they are nowhere near the top of the food chain. Gulper eels fear long, sharp-toothed lancetfish. "Hello, Sister Gerlinde. My name is Leon."

"I don't know." Leon answers honestly. "I must have gotten lost in a deep-sea cave. That's the last place I remember being. I'm an explorer."

[longfish]

"You do not know of the Deepmother? You live in the heart of Her realm, I think, if you are like the eels I've seen before. She is the spirit of the wild ocean, far beneath the waves. Her children are the Currents, and Her mate is the rock that lies beneath Her."

"I'm happy to meet you, Leon," she says, and squeezes her eyes half shut in a smile. "Perhaps we can make sense of this place together."

"I have a friend who explores the shore often. It's not for me, but I do enjoy hearing her stories."

[pelicanmouth]

"You've met other gulper eels?" Leon is curious, getting himself more comfortable in the fountain. "I never met one of your kind before, but there are many sea creatures I've never seen."

He nods, or as close as a creature like him can come to nodding. A gulper eel's mouth looks strange folded up.

"I've never been that far up. We denizens of the deep aren't allowed."

[longfish]

"I have," she says, "thought it's rare to see them in part of the ocean I dwell in. But I go where the Currents call me."

"Why are you not allowed? Is it the danger of the light, or is there some other reason?"

[pelicanmouth]

"I've never seen a fish like you before," the eel says, curious. "What did you think of us?"

The tail-light dims a little. "It's dangerous for our people to go to the surface," Leon explains.