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Twist and shout? Try the 'Squirm and Wriggle'

Started by Anonymous, August 04, 2010, 10:55:12 PM

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Anonymous

"I do not care about water, my body is able to filter most waters, swamp, ocean, lake, river, glacier...I did not know about that ability until I came here...there was no different fluids on my world." She also had no idea that she could breathe air...her gills always worked, and then when she came here to this world, they just folded away and she started gulping down air through her mouth like it was water. Took her a while to get used to breathing differently.

"It would be something nice." Quiel said with a nod, not realizing that Kelna had been sarcastic. She really wasn't used to such things, her people weren't like that. She liked her new companion though, the woman seemed to be really nice to her! Though, the woman may have wanted to find out about interspecies anatomy relations, Kelna was at least very nice to her, and was just like her!

She enjoyed fish just like her too! Stripped the bones pretty good too.

"I...I do not know Kelna. I was planning on staying here by the ocean for a while...then I was going to go west. I heard there were islands out there....surrounded by beautiful water like this. I have no problem with swimming the length...we could always go there. I heard the culture there was fascinating...and we would be near water all the time."

Anonymous

"We should all be so lucky," replied Kelna, in a strange flat tone that was halfway between sarcastic and genuine. It seemed just about right that even a weird foreign squid lady would have it easier than her. It would be nice to just be able to go where she wanted without having to plan ahead. Sure, her father had rigged up a boiler to get all the sea salt she could want, but it was still a pain in the ass to set it up and run it for two days any time she had to leave the coast.

"Um... Yeah..." She rolled her eyes and scratched her neck awkwardly. This Quiel'ebbos really didn't get tone of voice, did she? It wasn't any good to make fun of someone when they couldn't tell. She'd learnt already that the woman was difficult to insult, but it went even further than she'd thought. Oh well, at least it meant she'd be even more confusing to other people, and that would be entertainment enough.

So... Quiel'ebbos was going to suggest they leave. Kelna glanced back at the little hut on the beach for a moment, and was quiet. This place was home to her, it was where she was safe, where she had all her best memories. But that was all it was now, wasn't it? Just memories. It was silent now. Empty. There was nothing left but a creaky wooden shack, and in a mere handful of years even that would be gone.

Eventually she made up her mind, and looked back at the other woman, a mischievous smile on her face. "Sounds good. Always nice to mess with new people. Hehehe, they won't have a clue!"

Anonymous

"It...was not something that I knew until I came here...so maybe things will be different in other worlds for you." Quiel didn't really get that she had been sarcastic, and returned it with genuine hope that what she was saying was true. Her new companion seemed not to like the fact that she was so confined, and she could understand her pain to some degree. It wasn't very fun really, but hopefully it wouldn't come up too much!

She did see that having Kelna around would be incredibly helpful. Kelna seemed to be like people here on this world, but at the same time, she was also like herself...which meant that she would be able to uh...well she wasn't sure she could use it to her advantage too much. She knew that Kelna would be useful, she knew the world and the vernacular, and that would be very useful. She'd also be able to learn more about how their people acted...and get some of their strange emotions and vocal tones understood.

It would be fun though!

"Yes it..." she tilted her head to the side. She actually didn't understand what it was Kelna was talking about. "What do you mean 'mess with people'? I...do not understand what your plan is and...how they will not have a clue."

Anonymous

Other worlds... Kelna hadn't quite believed at first that Quiel'ebbos didn't just come from really far away, but it was actually weirdly plausible. This world was more than big enough, from what she'd been told, so it was hard to imagine even more of them out there. Still, the squid lady was more than strange enough for it to be true. She shot the other woman a sideways look and shrugged. "You'd know better than me."

If she'd been paying attention, she would have seen this question coming. The other woman hadn't understood it when Kelna had sniped at her before, so it stood to reason she wouldn't get it now. It was as if the entire concept of people being mean was foreign to her. Perhaps it was. Perhaps this 'other world' she spoke of was a paradise of rainbows and flowers where everyone treated each other decently all the time.

How nice. How boring.

She stared at Quiel'ebbos for a little while, blinking slowly. "Just, you know, annoy them, insult them, maybe scare them a little bit. Best thing to do with them." People were just gonna get freaked out by them anyway. Might as well make it interesting.

Anonymous

"In the realm of infinite possibilities, I wish that I did." Quiel said as she rubbed the back of her head, grinning slightly nervously. She wasn't sure that these people knew about interplanetary travel, or interdimensional rifts and what not, and so she didn't want to go around spreading everything...but...even still, she trusted Kelna for some reason. Perhaps she had latched on due to their similar looks, their similar situation.

She wasn't going to think into it too much though, it was all just to learn! That's all right? Just to learn, and to learn with someone like her.

Her new companion would be quite the teacher, and hopefully she'd be able to learn some valuable things from her! She only wished that she could know more about Kelna. Some things seemed very off, she seemed to have...something about her that she was hiding...that she didn't want to tell anyone. There was just something about Kelna that Quiel wanted to know about, but she wasn't sure it was good to talk about.

"Oh...that...that doesn't seem very friendly." Of course, Quiel was all about being friendly to people, because she didn't know how others might react. However, Kelna seemed...Kelna...lived on a beach in a hut. "I don't...want to insult people but...uhm..." Quiel swam a little bit closer. "Scaring and annoying them might be fun." She whispered quietly, looking almost...excited and giddy at the idea.

Anonymous

Kelna blinked, her stripes shifting briefly in confusion. She knew all those words, but put together they didn't make total sense to her. In context, she guessed that was a no then. She still didn't quite get it though, so she replied with a weak laugh and a "Yeah..."

It was hard to know what to do when Quiel'ebbos said weird things like that. She didn't want to scare her off, and the woman was impervious to both insults and sarcasm, so mild bewilderment was about the only option. She could just ask, but then she'd look stupid. She didn't want that!

"Hehehehe!" Kelna almost cackled in glee. "That's the spirit!" She really did have a partner in crime! She bumped her shoulder gently against Quiel'ebbos' as they swam and grinned conspiratorially at her, turning a sunny shade of orange as she did so. The squid lady had seemed so nice and clueless, and she hadn't been entirely sure if she'd be up for it, but now it was set. They could pull all kinds of hilarious pranks with two of them.

It was nice to have her mind taken off her troubles. She felt a bit guilty about it, like she was just forgetting her father. Getting over it so quickly, maybe she didn't even love him in the first place. No... No. All her life she'd only had one person. Not being alone... Didn't she at least deserve that much?

Anonymous

It was strange to think that she would be trying something so new..and so radical...so different and so strange. This was so different and unexpected but...she had to go with the flow of that sort of thing. She had to adapt, and her new companion wanted to go to the island, and she believed that would actually be the best place to go. It would be fun after all, and it would be nice to travel with someone like Kelna. They'd be in the water too, for days, maybe weeks even! There was nothing at all wrong with that.

"Eh hee hee hee?" Quiel tried her best to copy the cackling giggle that Kelna had done...and wasn't sure that she mimicked it entirely well but she had still tried. Her eyes flashed for a second when Kelna bumped into her. For a moment she saw into the woman's mind...it was just a curious glance...and she was surprised that it happened now instead of when they had been tangled up together. Then again, she had been more focused on freeing herself anyway. There was some sadness in her head, and she wasn't sure what that was from...no doubt something though...

"We will have to be careful at night will we not? There are large predators in the waters...our safest bet is to find cave or corral on the ocean floor...you should be safest." At least they weren't starting a swim just yet. They were just floating there. "Uhm...do you have...do you have a way to communicate when we swim?"

Anonymous

"You're weird." Kelna gave Quiel'ebbos another sideways look. It was stating the obvious a bit, but it needed to be said, especially after the sad attempt at a laugh. She understood the desire to fit in, but if you weren't totally sure you could do something like that, it was usually a better idea not to try. She'd learnt that one a long time ago. Now she just didn't bother, and it made everything a whole lot easier.

Predators in the water? Well, she supposed there were sharks and whatnot. Apart from anything else, there was always the possibility that she might run into her mother, or one of her ilk, and she had the strange yet certain feeling that such a reunion wouldn't end well. She blinked once or twice then shrugged again. "I dunno. I don't usually spend days and days at sea."

Thinking about sharks almost prompted her to mention her father's fishing boat that they could at least sleep in to keep them safe, but then she remembered with a twinge of regret that she'd burnt the thing. Whether she'd done it in a fit of pique or some vague, half-remembered symbolism she didn't know, but what she did know was that she'd set it on fire and spent a lonely evening watching its charred husk drift on the waves until it disappeared over the horizon. So that wasn't an option.

Oh well.

She gave Quiel'ebbos yet another Look. Talking underwater didn't work at all, and she didn't know what else she had in mind. Did she mean like telepathy or something? She certainly couldn't do anything like that. She thought quickly to try to come up with some alternatives, and wasn't entirely successful. "If I go all black and red, it means we're in trouble. Apart from that, uuuh... I guess I can wave at you?"

Anonymous

"Uhm...thank you?" Quiel wasn't actually sure if Kelna was being mean, sincere, or really what she meant by weird. Weird of course meant odd in her language, just as it did with theirs, but in a scientific community, odd was not bad at all. Weird were things like the Higgs Boson and what not. She didn't think she deserved to be put in the same category as such things...but then again, the word probably meant something different here, probably had different connotations than in her world.

At least she knew that they could always try to dive deep and hide from the sharks during the night...they weren't the only predator of the deep but they were the most vicious usually. She had studied the aquatic life and was sure that she could ensure they avoided them. "I see...this trek may have dangers in it then...but we should be fine if we stick together."

That's all they had to do wasn't it? Stick together.

"That...would be effective if I had the same ability to change colour...there is another way...I possess a form of telepathy, where I can project words into your mind, and I could hear yours...but it requires us to be..." If one looked closely, they might see that Quiel'ebbos' cheeks had significantly turned a darker shade of grey. "in constant contact." She didn't mind being in contact with her people for such a long period of time...but Kelna was mentally different than her so it was slightly worrying really. She could only imagine what things she may hear in her mind...some very strange and different things.

"It would be effective and efficient for the most part..." It was sort of hard to convince a stranger that it was okay to let you in their mind...

Anonymous

"Uuuuh... You're... Welcome?" replied Kelna as her patterns rippled yet again. Quiel'ebbos was indeed utterly impossible to insult. How could such cluelessness lead to such total unflappability? So many times their talks left her lost, without the tiniest hint as to what exactly she should say next to make it make sense. Truly, the squid lady was a master of conversational warfare.

In her limited knowledge, there weren't too many creatures in the ocean that would attack anything as big as them. Some sharks, certain kinds of whale, and anything poisonous they were unlucky enough to come across, but apart from that they were actually pretty safe. There being two of them only helped. She shrugged again. "Don't see why not."

She stared at Quiel'ebbos again and promptly burst into hysterics. "What, you mean like... Going around... Holding hands? Pfffffahahahaha! Yeah, we'll really be intimidating!" She stopped laughing just long enough to wiggle her fingers and all her tentacles in a mocking gesture. "Oooh, look at us, we're the Tentacle Twins! Wahahaha!" If she'd been paying proper attention, she might have been a bit more serious. Telepathy was probably not good news for keeping her personal problems to herself as she preferred, but she was finding it all too funny to think about it long enough to object.

It really was hilarious, though.

Anonymous

Sometimes it helped to be clueless. It was just cultural ignorance of course, but it was simple enough to keep her from knowing that Kelna had been quite rude and mean to her really. It kept her from just saying goodbye. Then again, Quiel was a very kind creature and would probably just...stay around her anyway because of the closeness of their appearance and situation.

"It is good both of us are able to survive underwater. Mammals are unfortunately limited creatures in that manner." They were superior in that way, being able to survive on land and underwater. Few had the same ability to do so, Quiel and Kelna were definitely on the up and up in the evolutionary chain.

"I...would not think hands, but we both have tentacles, they would allow us some distance between each other...and there will be little creatures that will be able to understand what we are doing." It would allow them to maintain an open level of communication...and it would help for Quiel to learn how to use her powers better. Her people could use telepathy over distances, but she had never bothered to use it that much...therefore her powers had to be used through touch.

But no doubt if she used her powers more, she'd be able to use her powers without having to touch someone. Gingerly she raised a tentacle to the surface of the water and held it out to Kelna.

Anonymous

"Yeah, mammals are the worst. Totally useless," offered Kelna, trying desperately to act like she knew what Quiel'ebbos was talking about. She swore the squid lady was talking a different language sometimes... Well, she probably was, seeing how she came from so far away and all. Maybe these 'mammals' were just some kind of animal they didn't have here, like those eating things she couldn't remember the name of that Quiel had compared her to earlier.

She still wasn't entirely sure that hadn't been an insult.

Her childish sniggering about holding hands faded when she was corrected. Okay, so it was tentacles then. That was still a little funny, but not as hilarious as the idea of them skipping along with their hands clasped together. So she couldn't actually skip, much less in water, but she could bob up and down and that was pretty much the same thing. Still, the humour was gone. Mostly.

"So long as there's no hugging," she laughed, and without thinking, she held up a tentacle too and wiggled it jokingly before curling it around Quiel'ebbos' own. She still wasn't feeling herself, not really, but it didn't even cross her mind. After all, she was doing so much better than even just this morning. Besides, it was just her thoughts, not everything, right? She had nothing to worry about.

Anonymous

"They are adaptable creatures, but we are naturally in a more superior state." She didn't want Kelna to think she was arrogant and though she was superior. After all, humans dominated this world, and for good reason. Though they were creatures who required many things, they found ways to trick the world in some form or another. It was an impressive feat really, they were quite the experts at it, they had grown some very impressive logic and intellect, and she envied them for it. Of course, they weren't as nearly advanced as they could be, but the world was still young, and they were still growing.

She hoped that they grew into something marvellous.

"That would be inappropriate, we have just met." Hugging after all was for friends and lovers. She had learned he distinction long ago, though she guessed that her words might be poorly interpreted. It didn't matter however. She was focusing on Kelna's mind, on the very outside of it, where surface thoughts would lie. "Kelna, if you can hear me, do not speak, but think the words instead." She knew it may take some time getting used to it, and underwater Kelna could still 'speak' per se, but only Quiel would hear it, now that their minds were connected so. After all, when one spoke, they usually had the words in their mind. This would hopefully work out well.

Anonymous

Kelna grinned. "You can say that again! No, really, say it again." The idea that she was naturally superior was an interesting one. While she was part elf and part demon, which should have made her amazingly powerful (hint: it didn't), she was still conceived when her father, not to put too fine a point on it, fucked a fish. Such things didn't lend themselves too well to building up a person's self-esteem.

"Uh-huh, and this whole telepathy thing is totally fine, huh?" she countered, waving her hand toward their tentacles to illustrate her point. It seemed to her to be a whole lot ruder to go poking around inside someone's head than to give them a hug, not that either were particularly desirable. Of course, she went and wrapped her tentacles around total strangers all the time. It freaked them out pretty nicely. If she could think at them as well, she would. She really, really would.

It was strange to hear things inside her head, almost as if they were her own thoughts in Quiel'ebbos' voice, sort of. Not that she'd ask herself if she could hear that. That just didn't make any sense. She was thinking without thinking about thinking and it was all very complicated, but mostly it came out as the single thought, "Well, that was weird." She shook her head. She didn't totally know how it worked, but she should probably try it, since it would be pretty useful underwater. "What, like..." She concentrated very hard, her next thoughts focused and deliberate. "I... Can... Hear... You..."

Anonymous

"We...are naturally in a more superior state." Quiel said once more, a bit slower and this time a little more....confused. Why had she wanted her to say it again? Kelna was obviously strange, and perhaps she had liked what she had said. It had never dawned on Quiel that Kelna was egotistical in some way, because her people were somewhat modest and humble, they didn't go around boasting, or if they did, they'd let people know there were others who were more powerful than they at least.

"I believe it should be, my telepathic powers are weak, the best I can really do is read basic surface thoughts." She had completely missed what Kelna had meant, but that didn't matter. She was afraid that her companion would be nervous about having someone able to read her mind so readily. Of course, she wanted to assure her friend that it was just the surface thoughts, and that she'd be sticking to the speech centre of the mind.

Quiel smiled when Kelna slowly answered her. "Good. It will get easier with time, as I realize it's hard at first. Underwater, you can speak through your mouth if you want and I will be able to hear your mind as you speak, but you should start practising being able to think without speaking." After all, if the two of them could silently communicate, they'd be able to coordinate things better with each other! It'd be just like she was at home again. Though, Kelna seemed to want to coordinate some slightly rude things...not that Quiel wasn't at least looking forward to some of it. She wanted to try new experiences and learn about people after all, and Kelna was a good example to learn from.

Sorta.

"Shall we swim now?" Quiel asked out loud as she gestured to the open ocean before them. She really liked the idea of being able to swim for days, probably weeks really. She wasn't sure how long the journey would be, but she knew that the two of them were no doubt faster than the ships that the people had available to them.

Anonymous

"Haha! Oh, that's great!" cackled Kelna in glee. Of course it was going to be said, with the squid woman being so literal and all, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable. Haha, she was superior! Suck on that, everyone who'd ever insulted her tentacles.

"Yeah, that's, uuh, nothing like hugging, I guess," she replied, bemused again by Quiel'ebbos' seeming insistence on not getting it. Her markings had barely stopped moving since the two of them had met. Perhaps this new development would solve their communication problems... But then again, maybe not. Sarcasm was sarcasm, whether she thought it or said it, and it would be just as incomprehensible to this strange, strange woman.

That soundless voice in her head would never not be weird, but at least she could sort of do it too. Other people weren't allowed to be the only ones doing unsettling things. "What d'you know? Freaky freaks getting freakier." She winced. "Crap." Thinking things without saying them wasn't something Kelna needed to practice at all. The bigger problem was going to be not thinking things she didn't want heard. She had little enough tact while speaking, and her thoughts were even less polite. Thank whatever gods were out there that Quiel'ebbos was practically impossible to offend.

Well, they'd have enough time to perfect this telepathic link thing before they deployed it on unsuspecting islanders. Maybe there'd be some ships on the way that they could try some synchronised creepiness on. That'd be fun. She snorted derisively as she turned her tentacles to the coast and faced the open sea. "What else are we gonna do?"

Anonymous

At least her friend seemed rather pleased by her comment. She didn't particularly understand why, but she wasn't really just about to question it. Her friend was strange and different enough from her as it was, so it was no doubt just something that was perhaps normal for this world and not for herself.

"It would be inaccurate for sure." All Quiel could do was agree, though she felt like she was being left out of the loop, like she just wasn't getting something. That was alright though, she was sure that it was probably nothing really. Her friend was just a lot more different than she was. She didn't mind that difference though because it was nice and refreshing, and it gave her more insight how people worked.

Her friend was one of those common but strange people, a perfect balance.

"Freakier? It is natural, therefore it is quite unfreaky." Her people had a word for freaky sure, but it had to do with more...abnormality, like a weather storm that would rapidly develop but then disappear. So if she was right, this was supposed to be abnormals getting more abnormal, but they were not abnormal, they were natural after all. Quiel tilted her head to the side, a little confused really, but she was sure there must have been a reason for what she said. No matter though!

"Float...that would probably be the only thing. Let us go." With her tentacle firmly wrapped with Kelna's own, she began to swim forward. It was a little awkward since she had to use a tentacle that she swam with, but using her feet a little more she was still able to reach a nice speed. Of course, she also made her main body release a little bit of mucous to make her glide easier through the water. She made sure not to make her tentacles secrete it, as then they'd have a hard time holding onto each other.

Anonymous

Once again, Kelna and Quiel'ebbos were apparently having two completely different conversations. It was more entertaining than them not having any, she supposed, but it would be nice if they could have just one where both of them knew what was going on all the way through. She shot her companion another sceptical sideways look. "That's one way of putting it."

And yet another look when Quiel'ebbos implied that natural things couldn't be freaky. Kelna herself wasn't a good counterexample, since she was pretty sure she broke or at least bent several laws of nature just to be born, but stuff like that probably got messed up all the time where demons were concerned. However, there were plenty of perfectly normal things that were still strange as all hell.

"Really. You ever seen a guy who could fold his eyelids right up? I ain't gonna do it 'cos I can't but it is weeeeird." When she was younger, she'd met a boy who could do just that, and they'd sort of bonded over it. He'd do his trick, she'd slap him with a tentacle and then they'd both laugh. He was only in La'marri for one of her trips, though, and she didn't see him again after that. Oh well. That was just the way things went.

"Yeah. Yeah it would." Her pupils flattened out in an approximation of an eye roll. It seemed like Quiel'ebbos didn't know the word rhetorical. Well, Kelna didn't either, but she at least got the concept. It wasn't hard.

It was strange having to remember not to use just one tentacle. They all moved independently of one another and she had ten of them, so it wasn't too much of a hindrance, but it was something she had to consciously focus on. Losing some propulsion on one side made swimming in a straight line harder too. Thankfully, they were all pretty strong from carrying her around on land, so despite wobbling a little from side to side, she could keep up with Quiel'ebbos just fine. Not that she wasn't tempted to slack a bit and let the squid pull her along, of course. That'd be funny, but it could wait until she was actually tired. She didn't want to use up her best material already.

Anonymous

For Quiel, Kelna was quite natural. She was the product of the genetic union between two creatures as far as she knew. There was nothing strange about it, as it meant that OTHERS could be born like Kelna easily. Of course there were tons of variables to think about, and while Kelna could be a freak accident in nature, it still didn't mean there was anything wrong with it. Just like there was nothing wrong with a small atmospheric disturbance that created a vacuumed void which in turn led to the creation of powerful winds that would then meet and turn into a whirling cyclone of destruction. Inconvenient sure, but strange weather creations happened all the time, and they would then be the norm.

It was all about perspective in the end though.

"I...cannot say that I encountered an individual of such ability...but then again many may not have just showed me this strange ability." The eyelids were strange things...her people had them in a way, but they lacked the natural hair that humans had to catch dust and dirt...so they had a special sort of lid to help them with that. They had outer lids as well, but not ones that had the same ability to be turned inside out. Still it sounded kind of interesting, as it would have no useful effect but it may have been a genetic anomaly.

Quiel was still having trouble with getting used to swimming like this, and she had to think of a better way to do this. "We must match speeds and get slightly closer Kelna. This way we will break the water in front of us as one, instead of as two individuals. This will give us greater control." It was a simple explanation, and already Quiel was doing just that, getting a bit close to Kelna so that they cut the water as one individual, instead of two, reducing drag. Soon they had it right, as things were getting much...much easier, and they were almost gliding along.

"Hopefully I can work on my powers and so Kelna and I won't need to be touching...she has odd reservations and I do not understand why. I hope she isn't too uncomfortable with this arrangement. I don't want to make my only friend uncomfortable with me." Quiel of course, didn't realize she was broadcasting this thought to her friend.

Anonymous

"Probably. It's really a thing only kids do, 'cos it's dumb and gross." Kelna shrugged, unconcerned. Her point was illustrated, and she didn't feel like discussing a stupid party trick that she couldn't even do. To be fair, she didn't need to. Anyone who'd be bothered by it would probably not be the type to wait around while a cuttlefish fiddled with its eyes.

"Yeah, nice excuse. Seriously, I thought you said hugging was inappropriate." Her fiftieth side-eye of the day went to the squid woman as they got close enough for more than just the one tentacle to be touching. Hopefully they wouldn't get all tangled again. It was embarrassing enough the first time... But then again, this one wouldn't be her fault, so it'd be funny instead. That might not be so bad. Besides, it was working as described, with their speed increasing by a decent amount, and their combined efforts were even managing to keep them swimming in a straight line. She could put up with it without too much bitching.

Only friend... She felt a stab of sympathy at that. Far away from home, all alone, looking like she – like they – did, Quiel'ebbos was probably happy to see a friendly face, even if it was a strangely rude and hostile kind of friendly. In truth, Kelna herself wasn't displeased with this turn of events either. Laughing at people wasn't any fun when she didn't have anyone to laugh along with her.

Mostly though, she was just amused by the thought leak, bursting out in hysterics when she puzzled through the phrasing to work out what it was. Wasn't Quiel'ebbos supposed to be the one responsible for the whole telepathy deal? It'd stand to reason, then, that she should know what she was doing. Apparently not. "Looks like we both gotta learn to separate the thinking-thoughts from the out-loud-thoughts," she laughed. "And you think as weird as you talk! Good to know all those crazy words ain't just there to screw with me."