I was glad that she had followed me so willingly; humoring my desire to at least try to explain what looking out across the ocean was like. As we stared out into the darkness of the cave I did my best to enlighten Aithne to the phenomenon. Her response elicited a small smile. She was the type to like to know what is around her and where it goes. If that was what she sought in life, than that was her prerogative. But my head cocked slightly to the side as I glanced her way, before I spoke of the seals and crabs and other delights of my homeland. “The murky waters must trouble you, then.” I mused, smiling at her in jest. Surely it had to be hard to tell the depth of such waters, or what hid within them. Hence the dangers of swimming.

I went on to tell her much of my homeland, of the delicious and perhaps – to her- exotic meal options we were given to choose from. Aithne’s own grin own sparked mine further, finding myself truly enjoying her company. A chance encounter had turned into a most interesting and educational conversation, to be certain.

The description of the alligators had me fully intrigued. I wasn’t sure if I was a good enough hunter to ensure I would come out the victor in such a hunt, but then again hunting seals and platypus wasn’t always safe either. If a seal got the drop on you, slamming his full blubbered weight into you, you didn’t stand much of a chance. And if you were unlucky enough to choose a male platypus you could get stung with his venomous spurs. Aithne spoke of stealing eggs from the marsh birds, and I wondered if the sea birds’ eggs would be delectable too. Perhaps I would have to try one someday.

My nose wrinkled as she talked about the grotesque flavor of the fish that somehow lived in Iromar’s swampy waters. They sounded positively horrid. Beaver and swamp deer? More things I had never tasted! “I can’t say that I have. I wonder why it is that they taste good, even though they swim in the same water as the fish. Their skin must be thicker than the average mammal’s, to protect them from the filth?” Surely she would have something to compare to – a field deer in comparison to the swamp deer, or a rabbit in contrast to the beaver? All of this talk of food was beginning to make me hungry, but when I glanced down at the pale fish swimming in the cave’s pool I lost my appetite. Looking back up to Aithne I smiled once more. “You should come by Glorall sometime, and I can show you how to open a crab.” The opportunity to teach another wolf something new, especially one who was by all accounts my elder, always excited me.

three // tesseract x caligula // no attachments // glorall