13126/Curious Meetings in the Sea

Curious Meetings in the Sea
Date of Scene:	26 April 2021
Location:	Atlantic Ocean
Synopsis:	Aquaman meets an orca and a rogue.
Cast of Characters:	Aquaman, Vitali Svyatoslav, Rogue

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Aquaman has posed:
The Atlantic Ocean, this time of year, is still quite cold. Partially because it's not really that warm for the season yet. Partially because the ocean just tends to be at least a little chilly. Partly because spring runoff is just starting, and that comes from snow pack. Really, it's a combination of things.

For Arthur Curry, the temperature of the ocean doesn't really bother him at all. Hell, the man can survive the vacuum of space. Or a volcano. Take your pick and he can and will walk away unscathed.

Today... well. There's nothing in the ocean at present that can harm him. He's mostly by himself at present. Mostly, for there's an orca hanging nearby. A large male. Larger than most get. He seems to be playing with something. But whatever it might be is hard to tell from a distance.

Arthur is inspecting a spot on the sea floor, trident of Poseidon in hand, that doesn't look the same color as the sand and coral around it. He glances to the orca, and it approaches. Carrying what appears, now that the orca is closer, to be a large chunk of ice in its mouth.

Vitali Svyatoslav has posed:
The salty tang of the ocean air is always welcome, to Vitali. Yet before he had left the apartment, he'd left a simple note so neither Willow nor Zhao would worry: 'Gone fishing. ~V'. Which was mostly true. He was going fishing. Sort of. He had ventured to the shore at a secluded spot near to Sunnydale, then waded out far enough before shifting to his orca form. It was a form that he used to take often, in his home. But one that he had only worn once before, here.

Once in the orca form, the chill of the ocean didn't matter. He was insulated against it. He swam easily out into the deeper water, clicking periodically to keep an 'eye', so to speak, on his surroundings. A small group of fish tempted him, and he briefly chased them before veering off and letting them go. They could grow up to be bigger fish, he decided. He wasn't ravenously hungry, so he would see if something else tickled his fancy.

He pushed his tail with a bit more force in the water, then not only surfaced for a breath but breached the surface as well, falling back into with a considerable sploosh of water from where he impacted. He wasn't a small killer whale himself, being near to forty feet in length. It's as he swims deeper into the water and gives another series of clicks that he becomes aware of the fact that he is not the only orca present in these waters. And he starts to lazily swim a bit closer.

Rogue has posed:
Up in the air! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's...the wrong superhero entrance. Rogue's been taking some time away from the mansion to find little spots where she can just relax for a little while. No one to bother her, no one to force herself into social interactions, and while she's got ways to determine if she's actually needed - no one knows where to find her so they can beg her to do something arbitrary. In this instance, she's made her way out beyond the forests and mountains all the way to the ocean. The ocean breeze is a decent one and as she reaches where shore meets water, she finds a jetty of rocks and lands on the edge.

It's a bit freeing in a sense. If she picks correctly enough, no one will bother her, and so she can just sit and enjoy the sights and sounds to her content. Not realizing anything going on below the ocean's surface. That there's someone inspecting the ocean floor, or a man-turned-Orca swimming about. The waves crash against the rocks and she simply sits for the moment. Occasionally thinking about taking a dive or few - but she'll wait for a little longer. All she has is time for the moment, and she's taking as much advantage of that as she can.

Aquaman has posed:
The orca with Arthur seems to talk almost nonstop. Many whistles and clicks. From a distance to the south, more can be heard, answering him. All is calm until the clicks from the orca that is Vitali are detected. Then the orca with Arthur turns to face that direction, letting out a series of low clicks that sound almost like a growl. Sort of a territorial marker. He doesn't know this other orca. It's not part of his pod.

Arthur swims away from the darker spot and over to the orca, and pats it on the side. It seems to calm down some. Arthur turns his attention in the direction his orca is minding. He swims further toward the surface, the orca following to his side and just a bit behind him.

At present, both Arthur and his orca remain unaware of the woman on the jetty of rocks up above.

Vitali Svyatoslav has posed:
It is rather unlikely that Vitali has any awareness at all of the woman who has come to sit on the rocks near to the ocean's edge. If she were in the water then that would be a different story entirely, given that he is making periodic clicks for the purposes of echolocation. Those clicks tell him a lot of very useful things about the underwater world.

And then there's the sound that is less than friendly, and Vitali slows before circling around as he offers a whistle of greeting to the other orca. He doesn't know the other orca, nor its family group that's beyond. But he does understand territoriality, and he'd rather not end up getting hurt if he can avoid it.

He doesn't move closer to the other orca, or towards the man who has gone to join it. Although the latter of that seems... odd, based on his observations of normal orca behaviour. But then... he's not exactly a normal orca himself, even though appearances might lead a person to believe just that. Vitali surfaces for a breath, and then he slips beneath the surface again, though he doesn't go very deep and he moves in a sort of wide and lazy circle.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue blinks as she sees the orca hit the surface of the water for that breath and then splash back into the ocean. It's sort of a rare thing to see, even more rare to see this close to shore. Normally one would have to take a boat ride somewhere to catch such a sight. It actually is both an amazing and unsettling sight. Like why are the orcas so close to shore. Could just be a thing too, it's rare, but it happens, of course.

So she stands up and takes a few steps back in order to take a running start before diving into the ocean. She's not got the power to breathe underwater, and unfortunately it's not as easy as just touching a fish and growing gills to do so. She can, however, rocket out of the water if she has to and so she holds her breath, opens her eyes and begins to swim through the water to see if she can spot the orca and maybe find out where it's going.

Aquaman has posed:
Curiously, Arthur has not surfaced for breaths at all. The orca he's with has, but Arthur himself has not. And his motions within the water are a lot more at ease, smooth and graceful, than any human's would be. He's also /not/ wearing any artificial breathing gear.

And.... he's looking curiously at the orca. His brow furrows as he studies the orca that isn't beside him. A wordless wash of greeting passes toward the unfamiliar orca. **Hello.**

As the woman dives into the water, there's no reaction from Arthur's orca. Not until the woman starts to swim their way! Then there are a series of clicks and whistles that Vitali might understand as a warning of an approaching object. Arthur turns his head that way, curious.

Aquaman has posed:
Curiously, Arthur has not surfaced for breaths at all. The orca he's with has, but Arthur himself has not. And his motions within the water are a lot more at ease, smooth and graceful, than any human's would be. He's also /not/ wearing any artificial breathing gear.

And.... he's looking curiously at the orca. His brow furrows as he studies the orca that isn't beside him. A wordless wash of greeting passes toward the unfamiliar orca. **Hello.**

As the woman dives into the water, there's no reaction from Arthur's orca. Not until the woman starts to swim their way! Then there are a series of clicks and whistles that Vitali might understand as a warning of an approaching object. Arthur turns his head that way, curious.

Vitali Svyatoslav has posed:
Orcas aren't usually so close to shore, it's true. They need a certain depth of water, after all. They're a bit big bodied. And a bit long, too. Given the length of him, it's not likely hard to spot him. Vitali gives a couple of clicks, then briefly looks in the direction where the woman had entered the water. Yet he doesn't approach her, in the moment. It would seem that he doesn't intend harm.

Instead, he turns in order to be able to look to the man that is with the other orca, studying him for a long moment. That's... an odd thing! He makes a sound of curiosity, a pulsing sort of sound, and then he bobs his head under the water. **Privet,** he thinks, then after a moment adds, **Hello.** Because not everyone necessarily knows what 'hello' is, in Russian. **Mean no harm.**

Rogue has posed:
Rogue uses speed to her advantage just a bit, so she can actually dive down deeper without the aid of diving equipment. She just won't be able to stay under the water because she's not equipped to do so. None the less, seeing not one but two orcas in very near proximity is certainly a sight to behold - not knowing one of them (at least) isn't really an orca at all in truth.

She tilts her head a moment as she spies the other on the ocean floor, and then as her lungs begin to beg for air she looks up. She'll have to shoot out of the water soon to get some fresh air. But, for the moment, figuring she could likely withstand another minute - maybe two - beneath the water, she watches what's happening before her with nothing but genuine curiosity.

Aquaman has posed:
At least the shore here seems to dip down sharply from the beach, giving the orcas the room they need to maneuver safely. Arthur's attention splits, now, part of it on the approaching human woman. Part of it on the stranger orca. **I know. Are you lost?** Because he knows every orca in these waters. And this orca is one he doesn't know at all.

He looks to the human as she comes nearer. And speaks, the words coming entirely clearly despite the water. "Hello. Be wary. You approach the boundary of the Kingdom of Atlantis. If you go much further, you'll be in danger." Probably from Atlantean defenses.

Vitali Svyatoslav has posed:
Orcas can hold their breath for a pretty good period of time, so Vitali isn't in a hurry to surface for another one. He glances towards the woman swimming through the water, and then he turns his attention back to the man. And other than the intermittent clicks that serve as his way of monitoring of the area, he's quiet. At least, of other sounds that orcas would typically make.

**Nyet. Not lost. First home far. Have home near here.** This is offered at first, and he turns slightly within the water when the man speaks. Under the water. That's... definitely something he's never seen before. **What is Atlantis? Not knowing. Never hear before.** The answers are perhaps a bit odd, the speech pattern lilted in that way of one who isn't a native English speaker.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue does make to stop as the other human gives her warning. She holds up her hands as if to 'surrender' and perhaps make to note that she comes in peace. That's when it begins, her lungs start to scream more for air, and so she looks back up to the surface. The other orcas, well she can't hear the one - except maybe the clicking sounds or whale sounds it may make. Anything spoken in the mind isn't in Rogue's head.

She would say she's come in peace and means no harm. Was just curious...but she can't talk. Though, there's also nothing about her that makes to seem she's surprised he's spoken of Atlantis. Perhaps she knew of it's existence, or perhaps knowing it really exists doesn't surprise her. What should these days. Her lungs on the verge of giving up completely and force her to take a breath, she begins to swim upwards towards the surface, needing a bit of motion before she can shoot from the water like a rocket.

Aquaman has posed:
"Atlantis," says Arthur, both mentally to the orca, and aloud to the woman, "Is my homeland. It is a nation beneath the sea. We are better than we used to be, but some of my people still kill intruders on sight. I am not one of them." Thank heaven he's the king and not someone else, or Atlantis might still be as zenephobic as it always was.

He glances toward the woman again, as she starts to look toward the surface. And he maybe gets an idea that she isn't speaking because she can't breathe the water. He lifts the trident in his hand and water swirls toward Rogue. And around her in a bubble. And then /away/ from her in a bubble, the bottom of which is solid enough to stand on, but slightly squishy, almost bouncy. "Is that better?" She is not trapped. The sides are a boundary she can walk through to get back in to the water, if she so desires.

Vitali Svyatoslav has posed:
The orca that is Vitali watches the woman for a long moment. Generally speaking, people can only hold their breath under water for a certain length of time. As she starts to move towards the surface, he starts to swim but stops short as the man uses the water to make a bubble around her instead. This is a sort of magic that he's got familiarity with, given that he can control the water when he's in his human form.

**Nation under sea? Am not understanding how is possible. Am grateful for not trying to kill. Not wish to fight. Not wish to harm.** Then he's quiet a moment, remaining relatively still in the water. **Is good use of water. Making bubble.** His mouth parts open in a bit of a very toothy grin as he bobs his head in the water.

Rogue has posed:
As that bubble forms around her, solid enough for her to sort of stand on, she takes a few breaths of air before turning and moving back towards the others. Still only just as close as she was before lest she disturb some big bad wanting to come at her. "Thank you." She offers, smiling. "I've heard of Atlantis. Course, depending on what you want to believe is the difference between whether or not you believe it exists." Not that its existance actually seems to surprise her. Nothing much surprises the mutant these days, really.

"I also apologize, I did not mean to disrupt anything or disturb anyone. I was up on the rocks and I saw an orca surface...and it stunned me cause you don't usually see one this close to the shore so I wanted to make sure things were alright." A smile.

Aquaman has posed:
Arthur Curry floats fairly easily in the water. The orca at his back lets out a whistle, and he waves a hand. The thing does a flip in the water, before swimming off some distance to resume its play with the chunk of ice. Perhaps another thing Arthur had created. Again, he speaks in English, as well as thinking the words at the orca. Though, he likely does not need to, but he hasn't put two and two together yet.

"Nation under the sea, yes. It is possible because we Atlantenas breathe water. We aren't human. Well. I'm half human. The others, mostly, are pure Atlantean." Arthur inclines his head to the orca at the compliment. "Thank you." As the woman moves back toward them, Arthur moves the bubble with her. Until she stops. Then it stops.

Arthur chuckles at the woman's comments. "Atlantis is real. We have an embassy on the coast of New York City." He shakes his head. "You didn't. Disturb anything. Have you ever met an orca up close?" He turns his head to look at the orca playing with its ice, and it approaches again, with the ice in its mouth, a slab as big as Rogue herself. It circles the bubble and then stops, whistling a sound that has a curious feel to it.

Vitali Svyatoslav has posed:
The orca shifts slightly in the water, turning his head a bit to be able to watch the woman for a long moment. He can hear and understand her, but... his speech isn't something she can understand, he suspects. He bobs his head in a bit of a nod to her, when she mentions the orca surfacing. That had been him. He's only been in these waters once before, in this form.

Vitali looks towards the orca near to the man, watching as it flips and heads back to its play. **Not see any Atlanteans before now. Not have, in home. Is interesting, da.** He's quiet a moment, thinking and watching the other orcas. Yet his attention returns easily to the man and woman nearer. **Are welcome, da. Am knowing water. Can control. Am not all black fish.** Whatever that's supposed to mean.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue smiles and nods her head. "Well if all is well then that's fine with me. I was just wanting to make sure." She offers, and then watches the orca that had gone off to play with ice, come back to circle her and then stops very near. She actually gives a giggle. "No, never this close. They're beautiful creatures though." This offered as she looks to the other orca who seems to incline it's head to her, like it can understand her. She gives a nod back to him. "Alas, I wish I could stay longer, but I should be heading back inland. Hope to meet you again sometime.." This and then. "And I'll be careful not to set off any defenses." She'll await any reply and then moves to swim back to the surface of the ocean and head off.

Aquaman has posed:
It's unlikely that may people other than Arthur can understand the orca's speech. "Where is home?" Arthur's eyes are on the orca that isn't 'his' orca. He thinks about the words offered. "Black fish. Orca. Also called killer whale. I suspected you were not entirely as you seem. I can't hold a conversation with most orcas."

Arthur's attention moves back to the woman. "Take care. And if you ever need anything in these waters, speak my name. Arthur Curry. Someone will find me." There are standing orders, afterall. He watches her swim away and then turns back to the orca. 'His' orca swims off to play with its piece of ice again. Now that Arthur has told it this new orca is no threat to its pod, it seems content like it trusts him implicity. **Are you very far from home, then?**

Vitali Svyatoslav has posed:
**Second home is not far. Walk from there to here. Will show how am different.** Wait... walk? That statement is certainly not something that fits his current form! He gives a brighter sort of sound as the man supplies the words he hadn't been able to think of before, and he bobs his head in a nod. **Da! Was not knowing names, in English. English is broken. Not very good. Better than it was, but not whole.** It is quite a bit better than what it had been, but it's been a gradual process of improvement.

He looks towards the woman, and he bobs a nod to her. He'd tell her another time, but... he has no way of conveying it, in the moment. **First home is far. Very north. Siberia.** He surfaces even though he doesn't need to, exchanges air, and then focuses his concentration on himself. There is, after a moment or two, that swirl of green light that passes over him, from nose to tail. And in the wake of it, he's no longer the orca he was, but is instead human in form.

Aquaman has posed:
Arthur Curry raises a brow. **Walk?** He seems a little confused, but then a thought seems to occur to him. **Walk. You're a shape shifter, then?" Of course he's seen such things. Afterall, he's not only part of the Justice League, but he's the King and Ambassador for a fabled kingdom that isn't supposed to exist. And yet does.

**Your English sounds fine to me.** Then again, at best, his peoples' English is broken. At worst, it doesn't exist at all for them. **Ah. Siberia I know. I have been there several times. Nice country. Nicer ocean.** That is a compliment. Maybe. He watches curiously the transformation, as though that is exactly what he's expecting.

He doesn't get much of a chance to admire the change, however, when someone comes blasting up from the deeps riding a great white shark! The shark takes a snap at Vitali, as Arthur warns it away. "My pardon. I must go. It was good meeting you." His own orca has joined him by then, and he snags fin as the orca starts to swim. And he, the orca, and the person, blue skinned!!, on the shark disappear into the deeps.