[Open] Another mouth breather, another tale to hear

I came for your stories, I stayed for your beauty.

Peeking his head out from below the water Tenor spied on the mouth breathers along the dock. Boring. Boring. Still boring. He thought to himself as he watched people pass by. He wanted something exciting to happen, or to meet someone exciting. Recently everyone was off dealing with some sickness. Tenor wasn't entirely sure what the sickness was, he'd just heard through the grapevine that the mouth breathers had bigger things to deal with than listening to him sing.

Tenor had hoped that the sickness was over. That the people of the Ahi Coast would return home, and he could learn more about the real world. Seeing no one of interest, the mermaid ducked back under the water. He swam further down the port. There had to be someone worth talking to.

Things were just so boring below the sea. Nothing ever seemed to change. The people, the animals - they were constant. He needed something new, something to sing about to his people. Tenor returned to the surface, propping his arms up on the edge of the port. He glanced back down at his own reflection in the water and adjusted his hair. He winked at himself before returning his gaze to the mouth breathers.

He just needed one. One person to tell him a story. One person to act as his muse.

TENOR

A lion, of all creatures, had been napping on the wooden planks of the port, paws slightly over the edge as he laid on all fours in the sunlight. The sounds of water moving about caused the beast's ears to twitch before a single eye cracked open, a neon-green eye catching the sight of what looked like a large fin splashing back into the waters. The eye stayed open for a few moments before closing back up once more, returning to his nap...

...then he heard another splash, this time much closer, right next to him. He lifted his large head towards the source, towards someone to his right that was swimming in the waters.

Hi. The beast did not speak, but to someone not paying attention, the tone and pitch of the low, non-threatening roar towards the sudden company could be mistaken for a word instead...

I came for your stories, I stayed for your beauty.

Now that was interesting. Whatever it was, that is. Tenor eyed the large cat that seemed to lazily be soaking up the rays. He'd seen small cats, about the size of an average fish before wandering the docks looking for scraps. This one though seemed to be different. It was much too large to be from around here.

The low rumble coming from the creature made Tenor uneasy. Was that the sound of a hungry animal, or one that couldn't be bothered. In either case, he knew that cat like fish - and in part that's what Tenor was. Still the cat was the most interesting thing he'd seen today, and by the looks of the rest of the port it might be the only interesting thing he saw before he returned to the city below the sea.

Carefully Tenor saw under the part of the port where the cat laid. Splashing water up towards the animal between the cracks of the dock. He swam back to the edge, and eyed the cat once more. Did the cat want to play?

TENOR

The worst thing about always being on the move...

A surprised roar came from the big furball, a roar that mutated midway into a phrase as Tenor swam below the dock.

"Ack, what in Disortion?!" was the phrase in question the merman could have heard above and swimming back above the surface would reveal a very-different figure exactly where the lion once was.

Now sitting cross-legged where the lion once laid was a male in bright clothes unusual for the area: yellow cloth jacket worn over black shirt with a high neck, purple pants that seemed relatively thin in comparison, yellow shoes that seemed without any form of lacing yet seemed to fit snuggly on his feet, and a wide-brimmed yellow hat. The figure wasn't wearing the yellow jacket, though. Instead, that was in his hands being wrung out, a surprising amount of water being forced out of it. "Aw, come on, can't even get a nap in after getting worked out like a Mudsda---"

From under the hat and the shaggy, shoulder-length blue hair the unusual person had, a familiar set of neon-green eyes found itself looking towards the swimmer. "Hello, again," the person said in greeting, letting go of his jacket long enough to wave 'hi' before returning his hand to the task. "Though...why you swimming at this time of year? Ain't it getting freezing in the drink?"

...is that no one believes the tales that emerge later on.

NEOS

I came for your stories, I stayed for your beauty.

Tenor wasn't sure what was more curious. The large cat that was there only moments before or the brightly coloured human that took its place. Many of the words the stranger used seem foreign to Tenor. Though he understood the simple greeting he offered the mermaid. "Hey. Are you lost?" He asked simply. Never before had Tenor seen such vivid colours on a human before. Sure some of the merfolk enjoyed wearing more vibrant colours, but even they would never wear something so... extreme.

The stranger was likely an outlander, Tenor decided. Most people knew that the seas of the Torchline stayed warm almost year round. One of the benefits of the area. Not that that really mattered to Tenor. Water was water, and it's never been too cold for him - at least not yet. Again with the strange use of words. Tenor knew what drink meant, but he wouldn't use it to describe the sea.

"Not at all. The waters quite nice actually." Tenor said loosely, still eying the stranger ever-so-curiously. "Why don't you come in and try it?" Part of Tenor wanted to see if the strange man could swim, the other wanted to know what stories he might have to share. More curious though, was why the man was even trying to nap on the docks in the first place. It's not like the port wasn't a busy place.

TENOR

The worst thing about always being on the move...

"Nah, not lost, was just taking a break," Neos said, stretching his arms up after hooking his fingers together. "Was trying to rest while I could, the innkeeper was working me like I'm some form of pack 'mon or something," he said with a small grumble, glanced back almost annoyed towards the buildings behind him. He appreciated being allowed to stay, but with the apparent festival coming up, he hasn't even had a chance to ask about what it was for or anything.

He then glanced back towards the person in the water after hearing the remark about the water being nice, raising a blue eyebrow at that. "Nice, huh?" He then thought to the water he was suddenly splashed with through the port's boards as he recalled that he didn't really get frozen like he expected to. He then reached a hand into the waters and...

"...huh, not a sauna, but definitely nice," he said with a nod as he sat back up. He rested his jacket upon one of the taller poles at the edge of the port, then his hat upon the top, before wrapping the sleeves around to tie them both up to prevent either from flying off or something. Wouldn't be enough to prevent someone stealing it, but it could at least be enough to let someone realize they weren't abandoned.

He then took a breath, though not filling his lungs completely, before pulling his feet underneath him then diving headfirst into the waters below him. He looked up and...

...he immediately swam back up to have his head back over the waters, before asking with surprise and a shocked look on his face, "What in Distortion happened to your legs?!"

...is that no one believes the tales that emerge later on.

NEOS

I came for your stories, I stayed for your beauty.

One point to Tenor! The singer beamed as he watched the stranger jump into the water. It was a game for the merfolk youth, to wait around the port and see how many mouth breathers they could get to jump into the water. Though Tenor was much older than that now, he still got a kick when he could convince them to join him in.

"Who needs legs when you can do this?" Tenor laughed as he dove into the water once more. Using his striped tail to splash the stranger. The mermaid swam to the other side of the strange. "Peek-a-boo!" He chimed.

Tenor beamed at the strange. "I'll tell you about my legs if you tell me what the festival is going to be about!" The mermaid looked around curiously. Few things brought more joy to Tenor than learning about the silly things the mouth breathers did for fun.

TENOR

The worst thing about always being on the move...

"Ohsh--!" Neos quickly blocked what he could of the splash, though he turned around to see the fish-tailed human behind him after feeling the ripples under him. "...I'm already pretty drenched, don't need to add to," the false human remarked, sticking his tongue out at Tenor.

Upon the mention of the festival, however, Neos found himself baring fangs he no longer had as he turned his head to the side, snarling mostly to himself in frustration. "I've been trying to find out about that same festival myself. Every time I try, the innkeeper I'm renting a room from would whap me upside the back of the head before telling me to focus on my chores..." He then refocused his neon-green eyes on Tenor once more before saying, "About the only things I've managed to glean was that it seems to involve hand-made lanterns, a place called 'Halo' and the Old God known as Ludo, which is supposedly linked to remembrance and death..."

He looked up while trying to keep himself afloat, Neos' own words causing him to think. "...which might mean this festival may be for remembering those that are no longer with us, if it's anything like some holidays I've lived through."

...is that no one believes the tales that emerge later on.

NEOS

I came for your stories, I stayed for your beauty.

It took a lot of effort to contain Tenor's laughter. The man honestly just spoke funny - even for a mouth breather, even for an outlander. He must have come from a world very different than their own. Tenor grinned as the man tried to block the water. Why even go in the water if he didn't want to get wet. Silly mouth breathers.

Lanterns? How strange. The mermaid wondered if it was the time of year when the sky was filled with light. Tenor could remember ever since he was little that maybe once a year - if he was lucky he would see the stars drifting back into the sky. Maybe they weren't stars afterall.

"Halo is so cold though." Tenor whined, pulling on the seaweed that had wrapped itself around the wooden pillars of the dock. "Nobody even likes it in Halo, not from what I've heard anyways." Tenor also couldn't make it to Halo, even if he wanted too, his eyes wandered down to his tail - the one downside of his kind.

Tenor had heard of Ludo, and the other old gods through passing. He'd never met one himself though. Sometimes he would even sing of the encounters he had heard from the people of Torchline - but it was never quite enough to get the attention of the gods.

What if he had no one who he had forgotten? Or no one who he had to try to remember. Tenor sighed. The only death Tenor knew was the second-hand, in the songs he sang about the people he'd met. None of them were his own tale, none of them from his own experience. Life under the sea was far too boring for any of that. "You had festivals where you come from?" Tenor's eyes lit up, there were two things he loved to hear about most, cultures and traditions of the lands unknown, and love stories. "Will you be making a lantern for someone?"

TENOR

The worst thing about always being on the move...

Neos shivered at the mention of this 'Halo' being supposedly cold, something he didn't look forward to deal with if he did find where this place was. "...brr, sounds like a wonderland for Ice-types," Neos muttered mostly to himself.

"You had festivals where you come from?"

A small smirk began to emerge at the question. "It's been a couple of decades since I got to participate in some of the ones from my own home, but I've been in quite a large number various festivals in all my travels." He then looked up for a moment before beginning to swim back over towards the dock to pull himself up onto it. "Though, it did always amaze me how, in many realities, a large number of human cultures have certain holidays around the same times for roughly the same purposes. Not all of them, but a large number of them mirror one another in some way." After pulling himself up onto the dock, he sat upon the edge of it, his feet kicking the waters slightly. "For example, based off what I just mentioned about this current festival, it reminds me of one known as 'Halloween', which was originally created as a day to remember the day, leaving out various candies and sweets as tributes for those who were no longer walking..." Neos then looked down upon remember who he was talking to, pulling off his yellow dress shoes and black socks to let them dry on the dock planks next to him before adding, "...or swimming among us."

He pulled off his turtleneck shirt, the now-blowing wind causing him to suddenly feel chilled, up over his head before beginning to wring it out to pull out as much water as he could. With the shirt off, it looked like he had quite a few gnarly scars, including one that looked like something literally sliced him in two at some point at the waist. "I'm just trying to think of where to start with any of such tales..."

"Will you be making a lantern for someone?"

He was admittedly also thinking about Tenor's other question, regarding making a lantern for those no longer with him, a frown emerging on his face. "...I...don't know, honestly. I could probably make a half-decent few, I've dabbled in various forms of crafting, but..." He moved his sweater over the dock, stretching it out before laying it flat against the wood to begin wringing out his socks...which needed a wash, because he was now starting to smell something not too pleasant. Wasn't strong enough yet for a normal person to catch, but as someone who knew what to notice, he was starting to catch it. "...I have no idea if a great number of beings I've crossed paths with are even alive or not. If I had to make only one, however..." He then looked up in thought towards the sky. "...I've probably make one featuring Mistress Mew and what the humans of that area knew as the 'Tree of Beginning', where I was born."

He then looked back down towards the sock in his hands, putting it to the side by the sweater to grab the other one and starting wringing it out. "Depicting a giant living tree made of crystal's gonna be interesting...not that such was impossible," he muttered to himself, glancing down at the glowing crystal he wore as a pendant around his neck. It was the one thing from his home he still had left, even his own personal Pokeball was lost to the eons in travel by now.

...is that no one believes the tales that emerge later on.

NEOS

I came for your stories, I stayed for your beauty.

Decades. Tenor didn't think that the man infront of him appeared to be that old, but he could never tell with the mouth breathers. Sometimes they looked young, but were centuries old, and others they appeared much older than they were. The idea of the stranger having been to countless festivals excited the merman though.

Most of the mans words faded out of existence for Tenor. It wasn't his fault that the stranger insisted on using terms that had no meaning for the merman. The singer focused on the idea of leaving behind gifts for those who had passed on. Tenor was lucky that he hadn't had to face death before.

Making a lantern though, that seemed like it could be fun. Tenor had never really crafted anything before. Between what washed up along the coast, and what he could find deep within the ocean though, he was certain he could make something fun. "I'm sorry about Mew." He offered, still not totally sure what the man was going on about. Tenor had spoken with fresh outlanders in the past, and sometimes they came out a little more eccentric than usual.

"The tree sounds amazing though." Tenor whispered. The mermaid had only seen the more tropical trees along the coasts. The idea of a large tree with a collection of leafs was something he'd always wanted to see for himself - but knew he could not. "I bet your lantern will look amazing!"

Tenor wasn't so certain about his own though. Who would he make his lantern for. He'd heard countless tales of those no longer with them, but none who he had made a connection with - but he wouldn't let that stop him from being included in the festival.

TENOR

The worst thing about always being on the move...

The repeat of his former adoptive mother's name placed a sad frown on his face, thinking back to the last time he saw her...

...then after the mention of his lantern looking amazing caused Neos to refocus on the current moment, realizing one thing really quick. He said a lot of shit that would require explaining, causing a sigh as he realized that was gonna be a common problem when he talked about the past. "...if I made you cross eyes or tune out, sorry," he said, a sheepish expression and chuckle coming from him as he rubbed the side of his neck with one of his hands.

He gave a more deep-throated chuckle, however, as Tenor's eyes almost turned starry-eyed on him about the Tree of Beginning, though. "Believe it or not, my necklace is from its' bark," he said as he lifted the necklace a little by the gold chain holding it up, allowing the various shades of cyan and blue to shimmer and change between one another in the light. The core of the six-pointed gem still seemed to glow with a light-blue light, pulsing much like a heartbeat. "I've had this since I left my home and it's admittedly the only thing from my home reality I still have with me after all this time. I'd probably lose all will to live if I lost this for good or it somehow shattered," he admitted, holding it up long enough for Tenor to look at it while leaning forward enough to make looking possible.

...is that no one believes the tales that emerge later on.

NEOS

I came for your stories, I stayed for your beauty.

Atleast the strange man knew that he was speaking in riddles. "Don't you even worry about it!" The last thing Tenor wanted was for the man to try to explain himself further. Tenor knew better than that. Outlanders were never simple, they had been ripped from their lives and thrown into a new one. That much was the same for all of them... Though for Tenor, sometimes he wished that he was an Outlander. That he could wake up in a new world, living a new life.

The necklace was something that many people in the port would likely be after. Anything shiny was valuable, and anything valuable was made to be stolen. Tenor had seen countless thieves wander the port - it wasn't the merman's duty to warn their targets though. "Better protect it with your life then."

Tenor could feel himself growing bored. The strange man was a curiosity - but Tenor knew he wouldn't discover much more from him right now. Outlander's were strange like that. Their minds filled with memories from their past, but they seemed to be locked away like a pearl in an oyster. Not quite ready to be harvested. "Where will you go next?" The world is open to your kind. Tenor eyed the mans legs. One day he would be able to see the things he could see. One day.

TENOR

The worst thing about always being on the move...

Neos let the pendant go to let it fall back on his chest as he sat back up, a look of thought on his face at the question of exploration. "I...don't know yet," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I've been trying to explore what I could, but it's hard to do so without a way to travel really-long distances...like a form with wings, and I haven't seen any such critter around here like that yet," he slightly complained, his voice going a little higher than it already was to something that could almost come out of a young kid.

"...ya know, you kinda remind me of when I was still really-young," he finally said after taking a few moments to think through his word choice after recalling Gideon's advice to not make himself seem other than human while here. "What's your name and do you come here often? My name's Neos."

...is that no one believes the tales that emerge later on.

NEOS