Day 65 of the Autumn Season, 513AV
Slipping beneath the surface of the warm pool, M'wanii finally relaxed. The journey had not been easy. But she was finally here. Or as close to here as she as willing to manage at the moment. The knights of Syliras, guarding the gate, had not had a kind eye to her specie's many unusual biological features, making her entrance into the city impossible out of her own self respect. Her jaw tightened at the memory of what they had called her, ' Fish monster'. Fish monster? Had those air-breathers only kelp for brains? Had they never seen a fish before? Her own grey skin had never bore the rough scales of a fish, as most other amphibians' never had. To think that had been their first reaction to a guest of another country. Ha! No wonder the majority of her people never went above the surface of the water.
Blowing out a large bubble in some hope, that her frustration would float away with it, the Charoda curled up on the stony floor of the pool. In hindsight, it had been lucky that she had found this place, had a passing caravan not pointed her in the way of this cosy little pond, she would have had to brave the cold autumn sea shallows for another night. They could never have been classed as comfortable lodgings but they were by far safer, due to what now roamed out in the deeper waters of the Suvan Sea.
This place was a small paradise in comparison. Apart from one thing, a vein throbbed in her fore head as yet more small curious resident fish swam up to her, only to be scared off when she flicked a hand at them. They soon came back to investigate her again, tickling her with their inquizitive faces. Grinding her teeth she kick another one off her foot. One of these days something would teach the blasted scale brains a lesson, most likely something sharp. With her irritation mounting near the edge of her patience, M'wanii ripped her shawl from her bag and wrapped it over her form, now forming a barrier between her and the overly-curious fish. “Tickle me through that.”
Relaxing again she concentrated on the soft muffled sounds of the world above. Distorted sqauks of birds in the trees above echoed down through the still water, acting as a peaceful lullaby for the springs' tired occupant. Consciousness fading, M'wanii hugged her travel bag to her chest, finally drifting off into dreams of her childhood self helping her parents with the harvest. Her body moving gently in her sleep, giving the occasional wriggle in reaction to a relived memory.
And as she slept the world moved on, the bright autumnal sun arching over head in the sky, the birds travelling south for the winter and all manner of life’s' comings and goings. To this she was oblivious at the bottom of the pond, and perhaps so was the world to her, as the hot springs welcomed it's second visitor that day.