Fragments of Another's Past {Asha/Open}

[Stardust]

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[atrb=background,http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/evanyanka/owain_middle.gif] In the underwater world of the lake, Owain Goronwy was a jester-king. While above water his eyes, like all of his species, were somewhat weak, in the shifting lights and strange shapes of the submerged spaces he loved, he could see clearly. Owain was moving at a somewhat lazy pace, but he still rippled in dizzying patterns through the blue-green, carving whorls and loops of bubbles through the lake in his slowly fading wake. Above the surface, no sign could be seen of his passage--all was still, small ripples running horizontally from a light breeze. But below was all the life the land-dwellers missed. A flicker of something interesting caught the male's limpid brown eye, and with a fluid flick of his tail he was sailing, drifting, spiraling down into the murkier brown-green of the lake's impressive depths. Here, the tops of long, eerie water weeds could be seen reaching up out of the hidden deep. Owain nimbly skirted around them, chasing after the glimmer that reappeared sporadically as light filtered through from the sky above. Finally, lake-bottom. Back flippers and tail kept his buoyancy from lifting him up as sensitive hands quested in the mud, eyes flicking back and forth to catch that flash of light again. Clouds of sediment roiled and boiled upwards as the otter dared to disturb the sanctified peace of the lake's soil, graveyard of so many small and unheralded creatures, but finally his uncharacteristic patience was rewarded--brightness gleamed, and his right paw closed on something smooth, hard, and cold. The lithe male had been underwater for quite some time at this point, and he finally needed some air. Flipping himself 180 degrees, he pushed off from the bottom and rocketed upward, more sediment trailing after him in glittering curls of mica and dust, his new treasure clutched to his chest with both forepaws. His head broke the surface with a near-silent pop, and he blinked for a few moments in the light before gliding over to the shore. At the water's edge he popped the little thing into his mouth so he could walk on all fours, coming out of the water with considerably less grace than he possessed while in it. He dropped it on the ground in front of himself and began pawing at it curiously. What he'd found was some sort of precious or semi-precious stone. It looked like it was related to the opal family, but it was a bright, vibrating hue of orange-red, flecked with iridescence in surprising shades of green, silver, and gold. Owain grinned happily, and then twitched his whiskers and snuffled as he considered it more thoughtfully. It was common to find interesting things in the lake, but this looked like something that would belong to a royal. Who had lost it, and how had it come to rest here? And, more importantly, he thought, what could he gain from it? The little stone flashed brightly in the noon-day sun as the river otter mused over this latest treasure from the waters, another fragment of someone else's past.

[FOX]

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[atrb=background,http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/evanyanka/asha_middle.gif] She pirouetted in a slow and enfolding movement, tiny air bubbles rising in their hoards in a desperate race toward the surface; spiraling and clustering around the otter in the most graceful and delicate of dances. She moved en avant, soaring through the murky depths with the supreme ease of a frigate; body sleek and dynamic as it traversed through the glittering azure depths. The movement of her swim was like the rippling furrow of a wave, her long figure flexing like a pliable arrow. Life thrived in the darkest of places, including in the pebbled bed of the chilled prussian lake. Dull green and shining silver scaled fish sliced the water, fins thin and precise as the blade of a knife. Their mouths hung ajar in a comical display, their thin and delicate gills moving with the allegro beat of their own tiny hearts. Most may doubt it, but the lake held far more life than that of those that dwelled atop. Down below the life had to adapt, living in an often open area welcome to the prying and keen eyes of underwater predators. Some if they dared to venture to far up - perhaps for air, perhaps for a glance of a life they may never lead - were greedily snatched up by the beaks of birds. Life was harsh below the glassy surface, but she was lucky enough to have been blessed with lungs. She had a god given chance to live in both worlds, and regardless which ever she favored, her heart would always find it's welcome home among the faithful waters embrace. The colors of the underwater rock were as deathly pale as the plumage of a swan, the rocks tiny fragments arising in a cloud like ancient dust as they were disrupted from their peaceful slumber. Somewhere among the pebbled bed lay a glimmering stone, the harshly cut surface glimmering in the sunlight that streamed through the surface like moonlight rays. Of course it had caught the otters ebony eyes, all it's enticing and alluring glory just begging her to grace it with her curious attention. Such an oddity was something one as curious as her could never overlook, it was something that she just had to simply feel, weigh, smell and taste - before adding it to her prosperous ever accumulating collection of the bizarre and intriguing. Suddenly her aimless drifting was ceased, speed and determination now threaded through each stroke of her lively underwater dance. Claws outstretched, Eyes focused, Speed ferocious...and then a brown blur obscured her line of sight; the other otter diving toward the sea bed like a shot bullet and snatching the rock. It clasped it toward it's familiar chest as if it were precious. Her own movements had ceased abruptly, the bubbles gathered in her wake now overtaking her in their floating steady pace. Sadness, such a foreign emotion, mustered and flared within her like a growing flame; consuming and devouring all within it's path. Huffing, she swam toward the surface now alight with the days glow; breaking through it effortlessly and clambering upon the mud soaked land. Her dark claws pawed messily at the damp terra, hauling her meager water increased weight to slither among the mud. She lifted her small, perfectly formed head, casting her gaze to spy the unfamiliar otter. There he was, clasping his newly scavenged treasure, before dropping it upon the ground. Perhaps she could bargain with him? Trade something from her own treasury for the intriguing gem? Mind set, she scampered toward him; long tail sliding noisily across the emerald blades. She halted nearby him, rising herself upon a low standing wooden stump. The water droplets ran from her soaked soil hued coat, free falling to shatter upon the grass.

[Stardust]

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[atrb=background,http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/evanyanka/owain_middle.gif] The stone was truly entrancing. Owain, as a man of practicality (or so he told himself), was not given to keeping such trinkets for himself. Somehow it always wound up getting you in trouble, and at any rate, you could get more long-term worth out of it by using it as a bargaining chip with some other denizen of the woods. But by the flippered gods or lack thereof, this little rock was gorgeous. The male sat himself back on his strong rudder, sitting upright with the gem in his hands to take a closer look. Even with his poorer on-land vision, the thing was a work of immaculate detail. Its surface was a clean, smoothly polished round--a cabochon, if I recall my cultural refinements correctly, he thought to himself--but that smoothness only served to dramatically bring out the incredible complexity of the crystalline structures within. Light danced off millions of flakes of gleaming crystal, thrown wildly back and forth between them like a fish between an otter's playful paws. Most of the chips and flakes were a pale, rosy orange, but there were plenty of vivid hue, fire red, cheerful moss green. The stone seemed so earthly, so uniquely warm and ALIVE, that Owain was rather tempted to keep it, consequences be damned. At the thought of consequences, his small, folded ears picked up a sound behind him, a rustling motion. Never one to lose his poise, Owain turned with relative dignity, his flexible torso allowing him to see his new company without shifting his lower body. The spikes his drying fur made ruined the effect somewhat, but he sat proud nevertheless. Before him was another otter, a female, and smaller for that. She had a neat, delicate sort of appearance, and she seemed to be staring very intently. At first he thought she was staring at him, but as he watched more closely he realized she was looking at the jewel possessively clasped in his nimble paws. He chose to jokingly play naive for a moment, though. It was worth the joke. For Owain, it was ALWAYS worth the joke. "Hem. See something you like, or am I just that pretty?" An over-sized, bright white, rather sharp and toothy grin expanded quite suddenly on his face, blossoming beneath voluminous whiskers which jutted outwards and seemed to encircle the smile. Keeping the gem in one paw, he struck a sensual pose, using his other paw to make exaggerated gestures along his body as if to say "what a luscious lady!" With a few quick hops, he turned his body all the way around, facing the female straight-on. His creamy-white belly fur was beginning to show more as the water steamed out of it in the afternoon sun, as was the white on his face, just below his eyes. His posture changed to a more relaxed, natural stance, but he still wiggled his eyebrows and grinned like a fiend. "My name's Owain, should you care to compose a heart-rending sonnet of admiration."

[FOX]

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[atrb=background,http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/evanyanka/asha_middle.gif] RE-DOING!!!