elongatedsmile | [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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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.

Give me a moment.

[Some rustling can be heard in the background as Ginia gets off her bed and begins searching through her stacks of books. After several minutes, the feed switches over to video as Ginia holds up a book and shows a picture of a whale.]

[She stares at the picture for awhile. Taking it all in. Eventually her well educated mind finally comes up with a statement on what to think of this amazing creature she has just been shown.]

It looks much like a fish. Only the tail is on the wrong way.

[Okay, so maybe well educated is a bit of a stretch.]

It does look like that, doesn't it. Their tail moves in an up-down motion, I imagine good for rising to the surface quickly. Seals, sea lions, and other aquatic mammals have similar tails too.

And they are also large? Are they as large as a human?

They vary in size. Some are smaller than humans, others are the same size of the average person or much larger.

I see. Do they have powers one should be warned of?

In my world, no, though I can't speak for whatever might be here or from other worlds. Though I have heard myths about people that can turn into seals.

Do seals not look human? [She's assuming that. Most stories about people transforming into other creatures she has heard of are into very different animals.] You said that they have tails like that of the whale?

[Voice]

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