what a ghostly scene ❂ JOINING

[vinicius]

" REFLECTIONS IN THE WAVES SPARK MY MEMORY! "

The flap of wings stirred something in him, the creature freezing where he stood as he watched the ave approach. Pointed ears swiveled back in a stressed motion, limbs trembling beneath him as he fought the instinct to crouch. It was a curious sensation to be afraid of something up in the sky, something that he currently identified as a threat based on his instincts. Lips curling back to reveal ivory teeth, teeth meant for crushing bone in the way meat eaters were, in place of thin small teeth. He couldn't filter fish like his whale cousins, not that they were much related.

Breath caught in his throat as the bird came closer, his legs moving and bringing him to pace side to side as the Phoenix approached, his ears shivering as they perked upright once more, issuing a raspy bark in the bird's direction. Hopping back as his hackles rose, he kept his crystal-like eyes fixated on the hued bird of flame, lowering his head and showing him his teeth. He was nervous of Cyprian, frightened by the new creature, yet envious. He wanted to fly like that, to swim through the clouds.

Slowly as he observed the other, sniffing the air and jolting away and back at any movement the other displayed, he would slowly lower his hackles and hide away his teeth. Scales glittered beside his eyes and on his cheeks as he cautiously sniffed the Phoenix again. His scent smelt of soot, befuddling him. Why soot? Is it the flame this creature adorns?, he found himself thinking.

Lowering his head as he watched the others beak and tongue move. It was speaking, not singing like most of the birds he'd observed. Sitting himself down onto the sandy ground beneath his paws, he tipped his head as he faced Cyprian. It was incredibly hard to make words out from a mouth that he couldn't study the smallest movements from, leaving him rather stumped. Tipping his head in the other direction, looking quite as confused as he felt, he lifted a back-paw to his ear and scratched at it, shaking his head after. Sating the sudden itch with a loll of his tongue to show his content with his situation, he raised a forepaw and tapped at his ears and muzzle with a curt shake of his head. He hoped that this would be enough to inform the other that whatever words he said, he wasn't able to understand or hear them.

What was it my teachers taught me? Manners are important, and I don't speak very well. I think ... I need to introduce myself? Came the thoughts as he stopped panting with a lolling tongue, lip caught on his lower teeth for a moment as he glanced around. Finding a few sticks, the siren got to his paws and trotted over, bringing them back and laying them down to spell out his name in shorthand, 'Vic'. Drawing a hazardous arrow in the sand, he pointed it towards himself and set about wagging his tail, a playful gruff escaping him as he looked on, quite proud of himself. He was an adult but the means of communication still seemed so mature to him, and many another would have mistaken him for an immature feral creature without sentience. It was a work in progress, and he much preferred when people who could speak into his mind spoke with images. Sometimes the words they said didn't make sense and he was left to make sticks and stones of them.

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