[imgleft]https://matope-swamp.com/images/phoenix ... uncert.png[/imgleft]
Other smiled at her reflection in a pond, humming a very happy tune. She swayed back and forth to the sound of her own tune. The visage of herself in the water sparkled in a shaft of sunlight. Other swore that her own self was also sparkling. Such a wonderful encounter, ahh. And more excitedly, she felt the stirring of life inside her. A reminder or five of the buck she'd met.

Still at the water's edge, she closed her eyes and tried to envision her future children. Her cheeks turned pink and she audibly coo'd at the vision in her head.

@Ruriska

[imgleft]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... ncert3.png[/imgleft]
As the doe coo’d, there was an answering coo from above. A bright songbird swooped in, calling ‘coo, coo, coo!’ as it turned its wings up to land.

But its little clawed feet never touched ground, instead it transformed. Right into a Kiokote stag, now standing beside her admiring his own reflection.

“This is a fine place for enjoying your own visage!”

He tilted his head left and then right, like a preening bird.

@Astraea

"It is, it is!" she heartily agreed, joining in the preening and admiring.

"I can already see the glow! Yes yes, this must be the glow they talk about!" She looked up from the water and actually registered the kio stag as a being next to her instead of a reflection in the water. "Oh! I thought you were only.." she looked down in the water and back up to him. "I guess I was too preoccupied in my head. The water makes such a nice place to try to divine things."

@Ruriska

“Oh yes,” he agreed, having barely heard a thing she was saying, preoccupied with looking at himself. “I am a divine thing.” And he absolutely had a glow about him! Literally and figuratively.

It was only once he was satisfied with his own appearance, did he pry his eyes away in order to inspect the Kimeti doe. She was a lovely creature that, had his tastes run in any other direction other than Acha, he would have been quite keen on.

As it was, his admiration only went so far.

“You must be good at swimming,” he commented, when his gaze reached her rather interesting tail.

What was he here for again?

@Astraea

Other's eyes lit up even more.

"Oh yes, the water is so nice! Cool, smooth, it makes you feel so refreshed and lovely! And so much lives in the water! So many pretty fishes and the deeper you go, the more interesting the life becomes!" Her sunny, bright voice doesn't match her rather creepy words. "Creatures with fins, teeth.." she sighs happily. "And the best things of all...TENTACLES!!" She turns even brighter pink and squeals excitedly.

@Ruriska

Watch Me was nodding along with her all the way until tentacles.

“Tentacles?” He repeated dubiously. Fins and teeth he could get behind. He’d met a quite marvelous Acha doe once, oh so fierce and both very toothy and finny. Yes, she’d definitely been worth the trouble.

But tentacles?

This doe seemed to enjoy them. Sticking her nose into deep water places just to get slimey appendages wrapped around it. Not his idea of a good time but if that was her thing, so be it. He wasn’t going to kink shame.

“WELL THEN, I hope your offspring find just as much joy in life, whether it’s with the many marvelous water creatures or the world above. May they be inquisitive and open-minded!” He trumpeted, because she was pregnant and he was here to bless her, even if he hadn’t mentioned that to her at all.

“And if there’s any Acha lineage in there, hopefully blood will be thicker than water!”

Watch Me chuckled to himself.

Then his gaze flicked back to his reflection.

Yes, still handsome.

“You’re welcome, by the way.”

@Astraea

"And that they have lots of tentacles!" she chirped happily after the other had given her his blessing.

She too continued to admire herself in the reflection of the water when her brain very suddenly registered something he'd just said.

"My WHAT?" a shocked expression on her face.

@Ruriska

“Sure,” he said noncommittally, nodding a bit at her tentacle addition. Don’t listen to her, he pointedly said in his own mind, presuming the MotherFather would be listening and understand that she would be saving some young lives from being born with extra wriggly appendages.

He didn’t answer her question and ignored her shock altogether, as he was busy turning back into a bird. Watch Me flapped his way upwards, whistling his farewell. It might have sounded like ‘good luck’ but it was hard to tell, since he was a bird.

And with one last swoop over her head, his job done marvelously once again, he flew away. 

@Astraea