elongatedsmile | [Voice]

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[Voice]

[Today the journal opens up on a rather water damaged looking apartment on the top floor of the Ground Building. Yes, the apartment has been trying to fix itself, but each night she tends to destroy it once more. Thankfully with the warmer weather the mixed breed will be returning to sleeping at the bottom of the lake once more, but thinking of her move she's gotten something else on her mind.

She opens her large, fanged mouth and speaks in a slightly gravely voice.]

Talking book. I have heard tell that in this land is the ocean. This is true, is it not? In which direction is this ocean?

[It's always been a dream of her's to see an ocean. Her extra long, scaled fingers grip the book tightly just thinking about it. She had put off searching for it until she felt she had secured herself a safe territory, but she's learned that Luceti probably won't let that ever happen.]

Is it as any ocean you have visited in your world? Or is it unique as are many items in this world? What of fish? Large monsters of the sea? Does there exist a place where one can stand and not see the end of the water?

[Tell her stories of oceans, Luceti. She's planning a trip and is full of excitement.]

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[Xzana would have loved to read all that. Would have been excited by it except for one small problem.

She can not read. So the book is moved this way and that. As the dark haired woman tries to make sense of what's written.]

I am unable to read human maps. [That's what this is, right? A map? She did ask how to get there after all. Picture maps she can understand, but she doesn't understand these pictures. Is it upside down? She'll give the book a turn to see if that helps.]

[....oh. Give Ginia one moment as she grabs her laptop. She quickly retypes her previous message into a text-to-voice program, switches on the audio feature on the journal, turns on the volume on her laptop, and presses play.

The voice is feminine, synthesized, stilted as it reads the words flatly, but it's clear enough.]

The ocean is to the northeast, past the mountains. I only stayed on the sand so I don't know what kind of sea life there is, but it looks like the oceans from my world.

Back in my world, you could hire a boat to take you far out into the ocean. Eventually there'd be nothing but water around you and the sky above. Swimming out there was amazing. Warm water, fish and other sea life moving all around you, it's an incredible experience.

[Ah! Better! She understands that! Even if it sounds like no human she has heard before. Maybe she wasn't speaking to a human?]

A place where there is nothing but water? Ah--[She does not know the human speech to express her excitement. A rather gravely grumble mixed with a high pitched roar is the result of her attempt.]

Were the fish as large as a house? I have heard tales of such fish.

Edited (How did I mess up that first sentance so bad? O.o) 2014-03-20 02:19 (UTC)

[There's a pause before Ginia replies, the light clacking of keys filling the silence before the next message is read.]

Yes, whales, though they aren't fish. They're mammals. [Ginia wonders if the person she's talking to would know what mammals are. She quickly types in a response to be on the safe side.]

Mammals are animals that have hair (as opposed to scales or feathers) and nurse their young. Humans, dogs, and whales are all different types of mammals.

[That is a very good guess! Xzana is very patient with the responses thinking that she is now not speaking to a human and this is the way this creature speaks.

After all, when she was first learning how to form words it was very hard and slow for her too.]

Whales. [She tests the word out in her mouth. Wondering what they would look like.] Do they appear to be fish with hair?

The hair on whales is very sparse and short. Bristly, like a brush. You wouldn't see it at a distance.

Like a brush.

[Huh. Weird.] Do they ever leave the water?

No. They spend their entire lives in the water though they do come to the surface for air.

They breath air? That is strange. If they do not leave the water they should breath the water. [Because you know, it's just that easy.]

Yes, that would be the logical thing if they breathed like fish. But instead of having gills, they have lungs and breath through a blowhole at the top of their head.

Their mouth is on the top of their head? [Man, that seems an inconvenience when it's time to eat.]

Think of the blowhole as a nose (though they don't use it to smell) instead of a mouth. They still have a mouth at the front of their face, but they can't breathe through it.

Ever go swimming before?

Of course. I live in the southern lake. [Not at the moment, but that felt more home to her than this apartment. She would live there right now if the cold of winter didn't cause her to fall into a deep sleep. One she wasn't comfortable taking while in Luceti.]

[Oh. Interesting. Certainly a nice place to live at.]

If you've ever gotten water up your nose, it's not very pleasant. Or having a bad cold and having to blow your nose to clear it.

When whales surface for air, they expel air through the blowhole. That clears out any water or mucus that might be caught in it. Then they breathe deeply and store air before diving again.

[She decides not to say how when she is in the lake she always has water up her nose. Having realized that humans don't tend to like it.

She raises her hand and taps the top of her head. Still really weird.] I would like to see a whale.

Maybe there's one in the ocean here. They can get quite large, but there are smaller ones too. It depends on the species. There are also dolphins. They're also sea mammals like whales, but much smaller.

Dolphins? Do they also have hair? Or are they a fish?

[It was amazing. She was so happy to hear as much as she could about these creatures. The ocean was just sounding more and more like a magical place.]

They also have hair, but like whales, it's very little. I think it's mostly along their jaw like fine whiskers. Very intelligent animals.

Are there many creatures with hair in the ocean? I have met so very little travelling through streams and in lakes.

The only other ones I can think of are seals, otters, walruses, and sea lions. They're also sea mammals, but spend some time on land and some time in the water. I'm not sure if there are otters around here, but they can be found by rivers and lakes too.

I have seen otters before. They are very quick creatures. [And tasty, but she's learned humans don't always like to hear about her eating habits.] The dolphins, they only live in the water as the whales do?

Yes, that's correct. They also need to surface for air and breathe through a blowhole.

I wish to see one of these creature. Have you seen one of these creatures in the ocean that is in this land?

Not in person, but I've seen pictures of them in some of the books at the library. I can check my books if you want.

I would like to see a picture of these creatures. When I visit the ocean it will be good to know what one looks like.