Twist and shout? Try the 'Squirm and Wriggle'

[Anonymous]

She was perfectly capable of catching a fish if she so desired, and right now she didn't desire it. She wasn't hungry, so eating it would be a waste, and it wasn't dead, so she could just let it go and everyone would be happy. Well...not everyone. Apparently the woman wasn't too happy with her actions. She didn't realize it for a few seconds but the strange cuttle fish lady had started back to the surface.

Quiel'ebbos followed after her, curious as to what she was doing now.

As she broke the surface waters, she looked around for Kelna, spotting her just...laying back on the water. However, this was different from when she had done it. She had observed humans in odd behaviours before...ones that confused her had been those sick and dying. Right now Kelna reminded her of that...and she slowly put the pieces together. The flaky skin...the desire not to eat...(After all, she wouldn't have just given her a fish would she?)...and now she was resting like the dead. She had seen many people sleep, oddly enough, and they didn't do it like this. This was...like the death sleep.

"You are dying, aren't you Klnrgvlhaivandaijhrvaklijvkrijdu?" Quiel'ebbos asked as quietly as she could, slapping her tentacles together as she had been instructed. She was quiet about it of course, she didn't want to disturb her that much.

[Anonymous]

Kelna regarded Quiel'ebbos through one half-opened eye. "Hm? I'm dying? Hahaha." A raspy, mirthless laugh as she turned her head to face away. "I'm not dying, idiot." No, she just wished that she was. Then maybe she wouldn't be alone any more, and even if she was it wouldn't matter.

It was nice that the woman got her name right, though.

[Anonymous]

"I...I apologize but your behaviour suggests that y-you might be dying, or s-suffering from some ailment." It would never occur to Quiel'ebbos that she would be mourning, that this was behaviour of a person who was morning. Quiel'ebbos had never known the actual loss of another's life, sure her people were lost, in the sense she couldn't find them, but they weren't dead. So she wasn't sad by that.

"And it's Quiel'ebbos...n-not Idiot. They d-don't even sound the same Klnrgvlhaivandaijhrvaklijvkrijdu." She told the Cuttle Woman, remembering to slap her tentacles together at the right points. It was obvious that Quiel'ebbos was going to continue saying Kelna's full name until told otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Suffering was right. Kelna didn't know if she wanted to discuss it with this stranger, though. It wasn't like she had anyone else to talk to about it, either, and it was just... Too much. Dealing with it alone was hard, but she was sure that talking about it would hurt even more. She didn't know what to do, so she'd just been doing what was easiest: nothing. It hadn't been working too well, but what other options were there?

She let out another flat laugh. "Hah. Yeah, I do know your name. Idiot." Purposely annoying Quiel'ebbos would usually make her feel better, but this time there was no sting, no joy in it. She rolled onto her side, turning her back on her company. "Look, no, I'm not... Right... Right now. Okay? It's just..." She sighed in exasperation. She couldn't say it if she wanted to.

[Anonymous]

Quiel'ebbos was a tad awkward at this sort of thing. These creatures had strange emotions and strange ways to them, but she was trying to understand them as best she could. She didn't want to offend though, but she was eagerly curious about the emotional state that Kelna was in. She hadn't seen anyone like this before...probably because they would stay inside so they didn't have to deal with anyone. Dimly in her mind, she would have made the connection as to why Kelna didn't want her around. However, she didn't, and just continued to stare at the woman.

"I don't understand...my name is Quiel'ebbos." Just went right over her head it seemed. She had no idea that it was a bad name...she had no idea that it had any negative connotations to it. She just thought that Kelna was improperly verbalizing her name. "It is just what?" Quiel'ebbos swam around to the other side of Kelna to look at her still. "Do people not find it better to talk about what is wrong? I know that in taverns lots of people would talk about their problems. It is healthy, they seem much better afterwards. Maybe that is why you are not better, because you will not talk about it."

[Anonymous]

Kelna wasn't really finding it fun to tease Quiel'ebbos any more, so she left it. Sometimes it was better if the people didn't realise she was insulting them, but when it was so obvious and they still didn't get it, it was no good at all. It was too easy to get away with, without any of the satisfaction of seeing them get worked up. Much like everything else, there was just no point.

"Talk? With who? You?" she sneered, before rolling over again. "In taverns, people are drunk and stupid, right? I'm neither, not gonna work." She'd never solved a problem by talking to someone. Talking at them, maybe, but not to them. It didn't help that there'd only ever been one person she could really have a conversation with, and, well... She could go into the woods and speak to a pile of dirt like a crazy person, but it wouldn't be the same. Even if she was the type to let it all out, she didn't have anyone left to cry on.

[Anonymous]

At least Quiel'ebbos was able to defend herself from harsh insults by use of complete ignorance.

"But then you will be like this forever, because you won't say anything. You are like the Dekavar, who gorge themselves and gorge themselves but are too polite to tell other Dekavar to stop eating and they die." Of course, Dekavar were barely sentient creatures that were kept as pets, but they had a form of communication to each other...but this was hopefully something that was going to help the woman. Quiel'ebbos people were polite, but they would talk to each other at least about their problems...in private with a trusted friend, family member, or close lover.

She was pretty sure that they weren't even close to being related, at least not closely, and the lover aspect of that was probably not going to work...so they could be friends. Quiel'ebbos began to sit, floating with buoyancy there. "I am Quiel'ebbos, from another dimension...I have no family here...and I am studying the culture of this planet. I am two hundred years old, I like swimming in this water that your planet has...I like the fish here...and some of the sea grass...uhm....that is some of how I am."

[Anonymous]

Kelna wasn't really in the mood for creative misunderstandings, but this was just too easy and it did make her feel a little better. Besides, it wasn't like she completely understood anyway. What a deca-whatever was, she didn't know, and as for polite? Quiel'ebbos obviously hadn't been paying a whole lot of attention. She rolled back over, to regard the woman with a puzzled and slightly offended frown. "Did you just call me fat?"

That wasn't really the point, though, that was easy enough to tell even if she didn't quite get what the point was. About half of that hadn't made any sense, but she gathered that Quiel'ebbos was travelling for some reason, and doing it alone. And liked the sea. How insightful. She shook her head, the tentacles on her head sending little splashes of water up from the gentle waves. "Anyway, that's... All very interesting, I guess. Hah, you probably want to hear mine, huh? Weeeeeell..."

She was silent for a moment, her skin shifting to an odd shade of pale purpley-blue as she tried to think of how to phrase things that would make her the least over-emotional when she said them. There wasn't really any good way to do it.

"Hm," she said eventually, "I live in a hut on the beach because I'm a disgusting freak... And now I have no family here either." The last part was spoken hurriedly just to get it out, and she flipped over to start swimming properly in the opposite direction, out to sea. She accelerated, as if she was trying to leave her own words behind. Actually, that was exactly what it was. No way in hell was she going to cry.

[Anonymous]

"W-what? No, your body is well within what appear to be healthy and excellent standards." How could she think she called her fat? It didn't occur to Quiel'ebbos that talking about creatures that ate themselves to death would be misconstrued that way. It was one of those cultural differences, she assumed that her metaphor would be understood but...from the look on her face she wasn't too pleased with it at all.

Quiel'ebbos nodded and smiled as best as she could. "That would be pleasant, yes." She told the Cuttlefish woman. She really did just want to get to know her, she was so much like her that...well she...

She couldn't think that.

She stayed silent, watching the other woman carefully as she changed colour. However slowly...the woman spoke about herself. Something was very off...and before Quiel'ebbos got the change to say anything, the woman was suddenly dashing off. What was it with this person liking to suddenly just leave? And so rudely! Quiel'ebbos had known the joys of fluidic swimming all her life, and she took off like an arrow after the woman. It was easy to overtake the woman and spread her tentacles out, as if trying to stop the woman from going around her.

They were so much alike. They were both lost...and they were both alone. Quiel'ebbos saw the potential of having Klnrgvlhaivandaijhrvaklijvkrijdu as a friend...as someone around her. She'd feel less like she was all alone...that no one was around. "Klnrgvlhaivandaijhrvaklijvkrijdu stop!" Quiel'ebbos cried out, two of her tentacles slapping together to ensure that her name was said right! She had to be polite but firm now didn't she?

[Anonymous]

Oh, now her body was excellent, was it? Quiel'ebbos had said before that she wasn't hitting on Kelna, but she didn't quite believe it. She wasn't in the mood for an argument and didn't really feel like bringing it up again, though. She'd just make sure to scan conversations for any more suspicious comments like that.

She swam without really looking where she was going, not that she could see as well as usual with tears filling her eyes. They could just stay there! They weren't going to get out, damn it, that was just seawater splashing her face! Just so long as nobody saw it to misunderstand... Through the blur, she saw something move past her and stop in front, but she saw it too late.

She crashed straight into Quiel'ebbos.

"Leave me alone!" she cried, flailing ineffectually and succeeding only in tangling her tentacles up with the other woman's. Ugh, gross, gross, gross! As she wasn't in the right frame of mind for any kind of logical approach to problem-solving, she just started making pathetic whining noises and flailing even more in the hopes that it would somehow magically fix the situation.

It wasn't long before she realised it wasn't helping at all and stopped, feeling silly. She threw her arms up in the air in annoyance, her warning tentacles being stuck in the knot. "Now look what's happened!" She scowled at Quiel'ebbos. "And it's Kelna. Nobody uses my full name unless they're stupid."

[Anonymous]

She had just wanted to calm the woman down, but something just wasn't going the right way. It was the language barrier perhaps. They weren't understand each other, kind of going in some very strange directions. It was slightly frustrating, but she didn't know how to handle it all properly.

She had expected Kelna to actually stop before hitting her...but that was perhaps luck. How couldn't she have seen her? She was a woman of the water, her eyes would be used to the water. But she wasn't! There wasn't enough time for her to get out of the way when she realized that Kelna wasn't actually going to swerve or stop. There was this odd feeling of tentacles that weren't hers touching her.

It was unpleasant to say the least, as it had been a while since she had felt anything like it. The two of them were tangled up in a wriggling mass like they were a jumble of ropes. It was an incredibly strange feeling and she didn't like it. It appeared that Kelna didn't like it either, as she was whining and flailing even more. "S-stop! It's hurting! Ah! W-was that your tentacle! W-what am I t-touching?!" Quiel'ebbos was trying to stay calm but it was hard when even her hair was tangled up in Kelna.

"I-I'm sorry you said it was...it was the other one." She couldn't say her name because her tentacles were...well...caught up in Kelna's tentacles. "Just...s-stop moving and..." Slowly Quiel'ebbos got herself free from Kelna, and swam back a foot or so. "T-this is why I wanted to talk to you, b-because we're so alike! We're both m-misunderstood by the bi-pedal humans, a-and...we b-both don't have a-anyone." That was...well how it was in Quiel'ebbos' mind. They didn't have anyone, so why shouldn't they stick together? Why couldn't they be companions then?

[Anonymous]

Kelna held still, her tentacles gradually starting to feel better as Quiel'ebbos gently untangled them. After a couple, she calmed down enough to try and help, unwinding her own limbs from the other woman's, until they were both eventually freed. She backed up a little too, angling her body awkwardly so that her tentacles were trailing behind her with no danger of any more knots, and snorted in derision. "Who can be bothered to say all that every time? It's a mouthful and a half."

The squid had a point, though. No matter what Kelna would like to think of the matter, they were more similar to each other than to everybody else. Maybe it would be helpful to figuratively stick together, at least for a bit. It could end up like the literal sticking together, with them getting all tangled up in each other in a painful mess, but then it wasn't like curling up all alone in the dark had helped her a whole lot either. "Yeah..." she mused, looking thoughtful. "I dunno. I guess we could see how it goes."

[Anonymous]

At least Kelna was stopping herself from tangling the two of them even more. She was thankful that the woman was finally stopped, that she wasn't struggling to get away and try to pull one of her tentacles off. She noticed that the woman also backed up a little bit and put her tentacles behind her, which wasn't a bad idea really. It was very odd to feel her tentacles all wrapped up in someone else's tentacles...it felt weird and...there was also the fact it was unwanted.

Though it gave her a chance to feel them, and find they were quite different! Kelna's had little suction cups on them, while her own were smooth, much better for a quick swim. However, she could see how they would be useful, easier to grab things but...then again Quiel'ebbos has very good dexterous abilities with her hands. "It is no problem for me, but I do believe Kelna to be much more efficient." She knew that she had to be careful with how she spoke with her...the woman was strange when it came to things.

When Kelna spoke, Quiel'ebbos smiled shyly at her answer. This was terrific! She'd have a friend again! She'd have someone that would understand what things were like for her! Though, it meant she would have to understand her friend a little better. "I...would like to know...are you able to spend long times on land? My people can go on land and water without fail or trouble...so I would like to know if y-you can do the same."

[Anonymous]

Try as she might, Kelna just couldn't find fault with anything Quiel'ebbos said this time. It was kind of annoying, actually, now that she was in the mood to start pointless arguments again... Not that the other woman had taken her up on them before. "Hmph," she snorted grudgingly. She'd just have to answer normally.

"Yeah, I'm fine on land. I just need some seawater every couple days or my skin goes all-" She peeled off another loose flake from her shoulder, held it up as an example and then flicked it away with a distinctly unimpressed look. The patch where it had been was slightly greener and quite sore, and she rubbed it gently, wincing as it stung. It was an unfortunate condition, but considering her parentage she was lucky this was the worst problem she had.

She looked up with a slight frown and one hairless brow raised a fraction, not that it was easy to tell. "What, you wanna go for a walk or something?"

[Anonymous]

At least she seemed to agree!

That was good, it made Quiel'ebbos a lot happier, she felt nervously excited about it now. She made a friend who was like her! Here they were in the ocean too, just like her homeworld...and they both had tentacles and everything! It was nice, it was like she was back home again! Of course, she wasn't, and Kelna wasn't really related to her but...it was nice to have someone like her that would understand some of the things. She wouldn't understand anything scientific, Kelna seemed to have been born of the world so...but still! She could complain about water and there not being enough on land and stuff like that!

However, her friend presented a rather troublesome feature. Seawater every few days. Even if it was just a combination of salt and water, that would prove to be harsh considering that salt was a somewhat rare thing in such a society such as this. She would have to be very careful then wouldn't she? They would need to ensure that they stayed near the sea then. It wasn't too troublesome, but it just meant they would be limited in studies. However she had heard of a few port cities that they could definitely stay in.

"It is something that I do enjoy, being able to walk among the people of the land...they are fascinating creatures. However, I'm sure that if we stay in each other's company we will be able to overcome that." Quiel'ebbos told her friend with a smile and a nod. "You also lack legs...so if you are more comfortable in the sea then we can stick to that, I would not want you to be uncomfortable."

[Anonymous]

"Oh no, I love walking! I can just squirm along, grossing people out... The looks on their faces! Hehehe." Kelna's face twisted into a slightly sinister grin and she snickered in a not-very-wholesome way, enjoying the imaginary offence she was causing imaginary people. And with Quiel'ebbos, double the tentacles meant double the potential! This could actually work out. It certainly made her feel a whole lot better, and a bit less alone.

She was still damn hungry, though. Her stomach complained loudly again, her skin paled with embarrassment and a blush showed through, flushing her face apple-green. She folded her arms. "If you'd kept that fish," she explained defensively, "I could be eating it now."

[Anonymous]

"People often give me the same look until they notice that I have legs...and they believe I might leave a slime trail." While it was possible for Quiel'ebbos to leave a trail of mucous, she didn't often do such a thing. In the water it was fine because it allowed her to move faster, and it would simply turn back into base elements such as water, salt, and other minerals...but on land people had found it slightly gross. However, she was wary of her new companions expression, Quiel'ebbos had encountered too many creatures like Kelna...but she knew what that particular facial expression usually indicated. Mischievous slightly malevolent thoughts.

As long as they were not aimed at her she would be alright then.

Both of the women's thoughts were interrupted by a loud growling noise, and Quiel's eyes immediately focused on Kelna's stomach. She even changed colour again, to a rather vivid sort of green. "I...apologize. I was not hungry, And they are difficult to hold onto sometimes. I lack the suction cups on my tentacles." Quiel told her as she lifted them up to show her. "But it is a problem that is easily remedied." Quiel ducked her head under the water and swam down a few feet as she scanned the surrounding area. Her telepathy was touch based, and so she couldn't simply call a fish to her. However, telekinesis on the other tentacle, was only based on distance. She stayed still as she focused on fish that swam by, picking out a rather large mackerel that swam by.

For a moment in Quiel's mind there was dead silence...then a small flash of her eyes and the fish was hurtling toward her. The poor confused fish had no chance to fight as it barrelled down on her...with another flash of her eyes she applied enough force to smack it dead on the head, killing it. Grabbing the dead mackerel she shot back up to Kelna, holding the fish out to her. "I apologize if you do not like them dead...most humanoids prefer them dead."

[Anonymous]

"Do you? You should. It'd be so funny!" Kelna laughed again. She got enough entertainment out of just waving her tentacles at people, so she could imagine how hilarious it would be to add slime to that. There were so many ways they could use it! They could make a big puddle in the road, or sneak up and wipe it on someone, hell, even just trailing it around normally with no extra effort would mess with people. This could be the start of a glorious partnership, for sure.

She lifted a tentacle to glance at the underside of it for a moment. They had made the tangle a whole lot stickier, she supposed, but that was still too much attention for Quiel'ebbos to be paying. She'd still be keeping an eye on the squid, make sure she didn't get any funny ideas.

Then the other woman was off, diving under the waves. Kelna didn't bother to follow her, and merely watched from the surface. Pfft, using magic, that wasn't hunting! She could do that too if she wanted, screw with the water currents until the fish was forced to swim to its doom, but it just felt right to use her tentacles. It wasn't that she'd never thought to do it any other way, no. Of course not. Quiel'ebbos surfaced again, and Kelna snatched the fish away. "Show-off." She crammed it into her mouth to tear off a bloody chunk and mumbled as she chewed, "Dead, alive, they all go down the same."

"You picked a good one, though," she commented as she chewed off another mouthful. It wasn't like she had to be mean all the time, it was just that people hardly ever did things right.

[Anonymous]

"It dehydrates me though, so it is only used for occasions when I need to make a good escape, or I am in the water and can easily refresh myself." Quiel'ebbos told the woman, tilting her head slightly as she tried to figure out Kelna. She was a Korinva, a trickster, troublemaker apparently. She seemed to take delight in grossing people out...in causing them some trouble. Of course, it could have just meant that she was free spirited right? It could have meant that she didn't care what people thought of her...which was a good possibility.

"It...was out of convenience, not the desire to boast my psychic abilities." She didn't want her friend to think she was thinking herself better than others, after all, if you had the ability or the talent, you would use it to make your life easier. After all, Kelna had tentacles, which made some things easier for her, and some might think she was showing off if she had both tentacles and hands, where she could choose to use either depending on the situation.

"Thank you, I chose one that looked like it would be filling." That was the only one that looked like it had been the biggest and juiciest. Kelna was enjoying it at least, and that was good to know. She floated there in the water, waiting for her friend to finish, her arms behind her back. She wasn't sure who had more tentacles, herself or her friend Kelna. Of course, Quiel had hair tentacles...but Kelna did have a lot of leg tentacles.

[Anonymous]

"Oh, well," sniffed Kelna, waving away the other woman's concerns. "You can get water anywhere if you don't care what kind it is." Or so it seemed to her, anyway, that freshwater inland was laughably plentiful. It had always been easy enough to find when she'd taken trips into town with her father. What was harder was the work beforehand, boiling up enough seawater to get salt to last her the week or two they were away from the coast. Water was everywhere. Salt was not.

"If only everyone were as modest as you," she commented, again through a mouthful of fish. It certainly couldn't have been that Quiel'ebbos had wanted to show this new(ish) person how special she was, no. Nobody ever did that. It was all perfectly innocent and convenient and efficient and stuff.

Pffff, hahaha!

Ravenously, she tore away at the fish until only its skull and spine remained, which she dropped unceremoniously back into the sea to rest on the sand below; skin, fins, guts, everything counted as edible to Kelna. She never was much of a picky eater. Though her teeth were no stronger or sharper than a human's, it didn't matter when she tended to gulp her food down in chunks even when she wasn't so hungry. She wiped her mouth with the back of a hand, succeeding only in smearing fish blood along one cheek. "Aaaah, that's better! So, what now, Quiely?"