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Post by Jack on Jul 31, 2020 22:26:33 GMT -6
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Post by Nerius on Jul 31, 2020 22:28:18 GMT -6
[11]
It was pretty, that was for sure, with the vibrant coral in all their interesting shapes, and the uh, wiggly things, and the spiny pokey things. There was a thing that looked very much like a an underwater cactus, Nerius couldn't put a name to it, but was sure it was not something he wanted to touch. Thankfully, most of the reef looked more harmless, as did all the colorful fish darting around. They didn't seem overly afraid of him either, Nerius doubted he'd be able to touch one, but they weren't shy about swimming surprisingly close.
That was not helping him find his salaves however, as pretty as the reef may have been. It was easy to get distracted, with everything that was here, but he did need to prioritize finding Riptide. There was a larger cluster of coral, with a lot of open areas and tunnels, that might be a good place for a salaves to hide.
(Nerius: 17/20)
(Riptide)
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Post by Nerius on Jul 31, 2020 22:35:15 GMT -6
[12]
It seemed like a promising place to search, and Nerius started the swim over to it. He was only partway over when.. something decided to swim up and say hi. Nerius was fairly sure it wasn't an octopus, but that was as close a comparison as he had, and the little purple and gold critter seemed as curious about him as he was about it. Friendly too, and it swam circles around Nerius as if to examine him.
It followed him too, and kept pace with Nerius as he swam over to the large coral growth. It wouldn't be the first time for Nerius to bring a little critter home from the mansion, but he realized he hadn't brought a bucket. TRODs were always handy, it seemed like he hardly went anywhere without using it, either to bring him something, or to deal with a task he thought of in the middle of something.
(Nerius: 18/20)
(Riptide)
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Post by Nerius on Jul 31, 2020 22:41:41 GMT -6
[13]
Nerius reached the coral just in time to see some sort of disagreement happening. The coral was filled with holes and crevices that were perfect for serpentine critters to hide, and something didn't like having its home invaded. Or, more specifically, was afraid of the much larger salaves. Nerius spotted his missing snake, but also noticed the small, but very toothy eel. It didn't seem to like the much larger predator, and Nerius wouldn't have been surprised if Riptide did think it was food. After flashing its lights in what he assumed was meant to be a threatening display, shot over to hide behind Nerius.
Maybe it thought he'd be better protection? In a way, it that was correct, he didn't really want his salaves to eat the little critter. It was also possible that Riptide had just been curious about the eel, but it was just as possible that he'd consider it a snack.
(Nerius: 19/20) (Riptide: Lv: 1, 8/10 | Lyl: 3, 8/10)
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Post by Nerius on Jul 31, 2020 22:48:05 GMT -6
[14]
Riptide also noticed that Nerius was there, and swam over, though with less haste than the eel. He'd have to keep an eye on the salaves, to make sure he didn't try to eat either of his new fishy friends. But, having collected his missing pet, Nerius could actually get to exploring, or at least sightseeing.
Nerius decided to swim around the reef a bit more, and the two pocketpets followed along as well, as well as his salaves. He was glad Riptide was agreeable enough to go along with him, given that the serpent hadn't been trained at all, and wasn't super attached to him either. But he was one of Nerius more calm critters, which was part of why he'd chosen the salaves to bring along. He was a curious critter though, and when he spotted something on the sandy floor, started to swim towards it, Nerius let him, but followed after.
(Nerius: 20/20) (Riptide: Lv: 1, 9/10 | Lyl: 3, 9/10)
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Post by Nerius on Jul 31, 2020 22:54:38 GMT -6
[15]
Nerius did not want to loose him again, and have to go on another search, but if the salaves spotted something interesting, it was worth at least checking out. He at first didn't see what Riptide was after, but as their odd little group got closer, Nerius realized it was a shell. It blended in very well with the sand, he probably wouldn't have spotted it on his own, but unlike the shells he'd seen on the beach, this one was fully intact.
The not octopus spotted something as well, it had been following Nerius closely before, but it swam down to nudge at something in the sand. It was another shell, about as large as it was, and despite its best attempts, the little critter couldn't move it. Nerius however, could quite easily pick it up, and collected the shell, as well as the one that Riptide had found, and carefully stashed both of them in the pouch he'd brought.
(Nerius: 21/20 +Added!) (Riptide: Lv: 2, 10/15 | Lyl: 4, 10/15)
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Post by Jack on Jul 31, 2020 23:10:39 GMT -6
The wind whips up around you. A fierce gale - it is impossible to detect from whence it came, but with it comes sand. For those precious moments, it is impossible to see more than a foot in front of your face as the sand rushes around your body. The storm stops as suddenly as it began, leaving you coated and smelling like the seaside. Bleugh.
[The next 5 posts yield no results.]
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Post by Nerius on Aug 7, 2020 17:31:12 GMT -6
AugustHelios [1] Nerius had continued to explore the coral reef, sadly not finding any more shells, but when he'd returned to the surface, he'd been met with a sudden, unpleasant surprise. The wind had come out of nowhere, and he'd ended up sandblasted before he had a chance to do anything. It may have felt like it lasted a long time, though it hadn't really, but it had left him so miserably sandy that he'd decided to go home for the day. Then take a two hour shower.
He'd returned a few days later, this time with the golden hatchling, instead of the serpent. Helios wasn't aquatically aligned in the slightest, but at least he was trained, if only a little. Nerius was still carrying him, but on actually reaching the Mansion grounds, gently set the hatchling down. He was on a leash, and Nerius hoped that keep anything like what had happened with the salaves from happening again.
(Nerius: 1/20) (Helios: Lv: 5, 29/30 | Lyl: 5, 29/30)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 11, 2020 23:32:12 GMT -6
[2]
The water also no longer seemed as deep as it had, true he wasn't anywhere near the "shore" as he had been last time, but already Nerius could see the many tide pools between the jutting rocks. If it had been a real ocean, he'd have said the tide had gone out, or at least guessed, as his nautical knowledge was very limited.
That was probably for the best, as Helios couldn't swim, and wouldn't fare well if a wave swept him out to sea. He was a desert breed though, and the sandy ground didn't bother him, though he'd expressed curiosity the first time he'd stepped on it, being unused to the texture, and had hopped around oddly. But now, he was much more interested in the bits of beach debris littering the sand. A broken bit of coral had caught his eye, and he was alternating between batting at it, hopping back, then swiping again.
(Nerius: 2/20) (Helios: Lv: 6, 30/35 | Lyl: 6, 30/35)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 11, 2020 23:59:24 GMT -6
[3]
The coral bit wasn't large or intact enough to be of interest to Nerius, and once he checked to make sure there were no sharp edges for the drake to hurt himself on, let Helios play with the colorful bit of... rock? No, that wasn't right, coral was, apparently, 'alive', in some way. Which meant it was not, presumably, a rock, though it didn't look like any living creature he'd ever seen. Or unliving, or magical construct, or anything other than a rock, or maybe a branch.
Tropical reefs were not something found anywhere near his homeland, and his curiously at the exotic ocean life was a large part of the reason he was visiting the mansion this month. He'd have to look up more about them, but there were hardly brochures to be found here, so it'd have to wait until he'd left the mansion grounds. For now, Nerius would just let the hatchling play.
(Nerius: 3/20) (Helios: Lv: 6, 31/35 | Lyl: 6, 31/35)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 12, 2020 17:11:54 GMT -6
[4]
He was more interested in the tide pool however, Nerius could see an assortment of colorful things within, though the fish darted away into hiding spots as his shadow passed over the pool. There were still plenty of stationary creatures, including several palm sized, purple, sea urchins. You could, apparently, eat them, and the spiny creatures were considered a delicacy in some places. He had no idea how to prepare fresh sea urchin, and wasn't quite sure how to safely pick one up, so Nerius left them alone.
In addition to the sea urchins, there were a lot of starfish, of varying colors and sizes, and in a few cases, leg amounts. Nerius counted almost thirty legs on one, were they supposed to have that many? It was quite large, as well, and Nerius didn't really want that thing anywhere near his own limbs. He was distracted from the strange starfish by a bit of coral flying into the pool with a splash, Helios had hit it a bit too hard.
(Nerius: 4/20) (Helios: Lv: 6, 32/35 | Lyl: 6, 32/35)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 12, 2020 17:21:05 GMT -6
[5]
Nerius made no move to retrieve the piece of coral, it was too small to be of interest to him, so he had no intentions of reaching in after it with the monster starfish. His primary concern though was keeping Helios from leaping in after it, the whelp had been growing, and was now large enough that he wouldn't drown in such a shallow pool. But not everything in the pool was harmless, he didn't want Helios getting speared by the sea urchins, and with his lack of knowledge of marine life, he had no idea if anything in the pool might be poisonous.
The drake didn't care about any of that, and bounded right up to the edge of the pool, though to Nerius' relief, didn't immediately try to leap in. He'd never encountered water like this before, and paused to poke at it with a claw, before pulling the limb back and flailing it around in surprise.
(Nerius: 5/20) (Helios: Lv: 6, 33/35 | Lyl: 6, 33/35)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 12, 2020 17:40:14 GMT -6
[6]
It reminded Nerius quite a bit of a cat that had just stuck its paw in a bathtub, and he had to laugh a little. Helios was more focused on the water, though no longer looked as if he were interested in getting in. It wasn't surprising, really, golds were a desert breed; if he'd been a blue, Nerius would likely have had more trouble keeping him out of the tide pool.
As it was, he was content to stare suspiciously at the pool, he didn't trust the water, but the colorful sea life had attracted his attention. But what drew Nerius' attention, specifically, was the monster starfish. It was moving, in a horrible crawly kind of way, and was headed right for some sort of shellfish attached to the edge of the pool. It wasn't fast, per say, but given that the shellfish couldn't move, that somehow only made the slow approach of its doom worse.
(Nerius: 6/20) (Helios: Lv: 6, 34/35 | Lyl: 6, 34/35)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 12, 2020 17:53:09 GMT -6
[7]
It didn't move the way he expected, either. Nerius would have thought the starfish to grip and pull itself along with its legs, but instead it sort of.. glided. It almost seemed to slither, and as morbid curiosity led him to kneel down for a closer look, he realized the underside of the limbs were covered in little tubes, like horrible little feet it move itself along with.
Closer and closer it drew to the shellfish, which was helpless to flee, and somehow Nerius couldn't stop watching as the first of those many, many legs slithered over the shell. Those weird little tubes felt their way across the surface, and slowly, more and more of the shellfish disappeared beneath the limbs of the starfish. Nerius was only drawn away from the freaky feeding time by Helios pulling at the leash, he hadn't been trained not to do that, and had spotted a shell he was interested in.
(Nerius: 7/20) (Helios: Lv: 7, 35/40 | Lyl: 7, 35/40)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 12, 2020 18:00:38 GMT -6
[8]
Nerius was grateful for the distraction, watching the massive, many legged star fish (a sunflower starfish to be exact) eat had been an uncomfortably creepy experience. You know what, maybe he had enough of the tide pools for now. He let Helios draw him away from the pool, though the broken bit of colorful shell also wasn't something Nerius wanted. The young drake went after anything colorful or shiny, without concern to if it was intact or not, and Nerius didn't have any interest in a broken bit of shell.
He let the whelp play with the shell piece as surveyed the mansion grounds. From here, he could see more tide pools, and large stretches of beach that were scattered with debris. The building itself was visible in the distance, looking more like a beach house than a mansion this time of year. He hadn't explored the building last month, where it had looked even stranger.
(Nerius: 8/20) (Helios: Lv: 7, 36/40 | Lyl: 7, 36/40)
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