#Creation Story

[zoesophiaspeaks]

[thelordismylightandmysalvation]

Verse of the Day - Genesis 2:2-3

[aowski]

"On one side of the world were people whose relationship with the living world was shaped by Skywoman, who created a garden for the well being of all. On the other side was another woman with a garden and a tree. But for tasting its fruit, she was banished from the garden and the gates clanged shut behind her. That mother of men was made to wander in the wilderness and earn her bread by the sweat of her brow, not by filling her mouth with the sweet juicy fruits that bend the branches low. In order to eat, she was instructed to subdue the wilderness into which she was cast.

Same species, same earth, different stories. Like Creation stories everywhere, cosmologies are a source of identity and orientation to the world. They tell us who we are. We are inevitably shaped by them no matter how distant they may be from our consciousness. One story leads to the generous embrace of the living world, the other to banishment.

One woman is our ancestral gardener, a cocreator of the good green world that would be the home of her descendants. The other was an exile, just passing through an alien world on a rough road to her real home in heaven.

And then they met—the offspring of Skywoman and the children of Eve—and the land around us bears the scars of that meeting, the echoes of our stories."

—Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

[1five1two]

[rs-hawk]

Throwback to a comic I was working on a few years ago. I had to bench it due to not having the supplies to keep it up. I am thinking about starting it again.

TW: gore

[mascamaiorum]

The Creation of Hyrule (1991)

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

[somethingclevermahogony]

WIP Excerpt: The Myth of Tilyua

This is a response to a question asked by @patternwelded-quill pertaining to myths within my WIP and actual events that they are based on.

Excerpt

"It is said that the first snow fell from the heavens to mourn the death of the great serpent, Tiluya.” As Jani paused his story the only sound was the soft sound of the snow as it crunched beneath his and Ninma's feet. “She was the first and greatest of the beasts, beloved by the gods. When Re first placed her on the surface of the world it was flat, without valley or hill, only lifeless stone. But as she grew her body carved mountains, her shining scales ground stone to sand, her breath birthed the winds, and from her spittle and blood was born water and from that all mortal life, which the gods sent the spirits to steward. First came the green grasses, the trees, and the flowers. Then came those things that crawl and creep, than those which run and fly, and finally there came those who walk and speak; the awakened peoples those that were gifted knowledge, and the promise of the rebirth.”

Ninma listened silently, she had heard the tale before, recited by tutors and poets, but it had been long long ago. Her belt clicked and jingled as she walked.

“These first people sailed on boats of skin and leaf and built towns from bone and mud. But in time they grew strong and wise, and numerous. The spirits were kind, and made their crops blossom and the game docile. They say that men could live to see a thousand years, women two thousand. There was no sickness or disease, death was kind and soft. All peoples could see and converse with the spirits.”

“The Age of Woolen Spears.” Ninma interjected.

“Woolen Spears?” Jani asked, eye-brow cocked.

“That’s what my father called it, no money, no war, no sickness, no one going hungry, there was no need for blades, so you know, woolen spears.”

“Huh, we called it the Age of Full Bellies in my village. In any case, where was I?”

“All people could talk with spirits.”

“Oh right. All peoples could see and converse with the spirits. One day a girl called Hadi, was walking in the forest when she found a man dressed in a robe woven from fig leaves.”

“I was always told she was named Daruni and the man was wearing cedar bark.”

“Really? Strange little differences, anyway, as I was saying, Hadi or Daruni, came upon a man dressed in robe of leaves or bark in the forest. They began to talk, talking with strangers in the forest back in that age wasn’t such a stupid idea back then I suppose. She soon fell deeply in love with the man who called himself, Ayush. She laid with him, and afterwards she fell asleep there in the moss. When she awoke he was gone, and all that was left of him was a single fig leaf and a hoopoe feather. What she didn’t know was that he was a spirit, the Hoopoe King.”

Ninma nodded, the Hoopoe King, a trickster spirit of sorts, was a common visitor in many a Kishic bedtime story.

“When she returned to her village, she soon became pregnant, and when she gave birth the baby girl had hair the color of a hoopoe’s crest. Hadi named her daughter Biya, and she was the first spiritblood. She grew tall and strong, and was beloved by the people of her village. But all was not peaceful. For though the great Serpent Tiluya was called the Mother of the People and had given the fields full of wheat and the seas full of fish, she was restless and in her rumblings and writhings her great body crushed many villages, and the people of Biya's village feared that Tiluya would crush them as well.” 

Ninma smiled, she had vague memories of men dressed in bites of shiny glass and stone, meany to imitate the scales of the serpent, rolling and stomping on little houses of mud and twigs. 

“And so Biya set forth from her village with a plan to stop the serpent. She spoke with many people but none knew how she could stop the serpent. One day she came to the top of a great mountain and wrapped round its peak she found the dragon Ilhumba, eldest and greatest of Tiluya’s children. Though Biya did not know it, the dragon was jealous of his mother, and so when the demigod pleaded that the dragon show her the way to stop the serpent, he pulled from sky, lightning and entrapped it in a stalk of fennel. He told Biya that should she strike the serpent with the lightning it would have no choice but to heed her words. And so, with many of the great sages of old at her back, she traveled on sea and land to the head of the serpent. There she threw the fennel, and only then did the Dragon’s deceit become evident. The lightning struck and killed the serpent, when it fell the oceans rose up and swallowed many villages.”

Ninma looked back towards the sea, and imagined a great wave that would swallowed up Nituru.

“From the body of the serpent came evil things; monsters and beasts, from its rotting stench came disease and sickness. And so today Biya is called the Plague-Bringer. When the Sun God saw that their favorite creature had died they wept. To both honor Tiluya and to enact revenge on the people, the gods of the sky and sea created water that falls like petals from the sky but whose chill, kills the green and good, and so was born snow. Beautiful but cruel.” Jani said as he lifted his hand to catch a single falling flake.

Ninma waited to see if would continue the story, to tell how in revenge the people had used the teeth of the serpent to craft great weapons, how they would use these weapons to enact their vengeance and rage on Biya, Mother of Disease, Hunger, and War.

Continues below the cut!

The Truth

Tiluya (This is strictly the Kishic name for this being, and all cultures have their own), was indeed a real being, and was indeed the first living thing placed on the surface of the then desolate planet by the Heavenly Deities. The purpose of the "Serpent" was both to mold the planet and to seed it with the components necessary for the establishment of life alongside the Dragon, Ilhumba. Of course the myth vastly simplifies this concept as the initial introduction of biological components and the genesis of the first single celled organisms all the way to the development of the humans and the other sapient beings, was a process which took billions of years. Biya (Once again this is merely a Kishic name for this individual) was most certainly not the first Spiritblood, as humans and the other awakened races had already existed for tens of thousands of years before that time, when agriculture and even basic metallurgy had already been discovered. Though Biya was a real individual, and their father was indeed the famed Hoopoe King. These people, now living a sedentary lifestyle in cities and with fields, could no longer move on a whim to accommodate the movements of the massive Serpent. Thus Tiluya, once praised, became an object of fear and resentment. Biya, likely a warlord, joined by a number of sages and perhaps other Spiritbloods, did confront the Dragon, Ilhumba, demanding a way to stop the Serpent's continued destruction. While Ilhumba did not give Biya lightning, he instead gave humans knowledge of a certain kind of metal, crafted from the scales shed by Tiluya herself. This metal had the capability of attracting, containing, and subsequently releasing massive amounts of magical energy.

Using this new technology, whether intentional or not, Biya and her companions would slay the massive creature.Disease, War, and Snow were certainly not new to Kobani. However the murder of Tiluya would have disastrous effects on the planet. New deadly pathogens were released from the decomposing body, wild magic exuded from the corpse was responsible for creation of many species of monster and forestfolk, and its thrashings caused untold seismic damage, completely destroying entire landmasses and triggering the hundred of volcanic eruptions. It was the second most destructive event in the history of Kobani, only topped by the Calamity. To further add to this destruction, the heavy concentration of smoke in the atmosphere, blotting out the sun, produced a miniature Ice Age, thus destroying most of the world's agricultural cultures and plunging the awakened races back into the Stone Age. The technology used to kill Tiluya was lost, though it would later be rediscovered during the age of Metal and Glass. During this era, the remains of the Serpent, the likely origin of the story about Tiluya’s teeth being used to craft weapons, were combined with a number of other substances and materials, to create Ekatsim, the same technology which would lead to the destruction of civilization during the Calamity at the hands of the God. A part of the process would be accidentally and unknowingly rediscovered yet again thousands of years after the Calamity in the furnaces of Arkodai, thus allowing for the creation of the magical metal, Arkodian Bronze. Arkodian Bronze retains the ability to harm spirits and to temporarily trap magical energies, however it differs from Ekatism in its inability to absorb magical energies of its own accord and to subsequently render magical energy or even souls into other forms of energy.

@patternwelded-quill @flaneurarbiter @skyderman @blackblooms @roach-pizza @illarian-rambling @dezerex @theocticscribe @axl-ul, @persnickety-peahen, @surroundedbypearls

[writingpencil]

Lonely God

I wrote a creation story and I can't remember what the story was :(

But it actually is pretty interesting! Little proud of it tbh

The god was lonely. They had created a beautiful world, with beautiful sights and foliage, yet no one to share it with. The god roamed the lonely world, frustrated and lost. When it became too much, the god decided enough was enough. Meddling in the affairs of the earth, the god created a creature to live with them. Thus, came to life a beautiful white and silver dragon, with eyes made of the largest diamonds the god could find. The dragon’s size outmatched the god’s own, being bigger then most mountains that erupted from the earth and pierced the sky, yet the god was simply overjoyed to have company.

However, the joy would not last long. The dragon was too big for the world the god created. Entire forests were being crushed, mountains collapsed like the stone was nothing but a hollow mound. The god loved the dragon, but couldn't bear to see their world destroyed, or the sadness in the dragon’s eyes when she saw the destruction she was causing. With the heaviest of hearts, the god took the dragon to the plane of existence where it was eternally night: the only light being the glow of the dragon’s and the god’s eyes.

“My daughter,” The god whispered in the darkness, setting their hand on the dragon’s snout. “To you, I leave this barren world to make your own… may happiness find you…”

They parted - said, in stories passed down - to never see the other again. And when the god returned to the world, a fit of rage and depression greeted them. They lashed out, sending fire upon the world they loved so much. Their daughter was grown, yet the god, in their rage, couldn’t help but to destroy it. The world became blackened ash, and in the new darkness, was the god crying out.

As their tears fell from their cheeks, hitting the ash, the god found themselves no longer alone. Rose came the People of the Ash - with black and grey skin, in a shape that mimicked the god’s own. The god leapt to their feet, surprised. While all gods can create life, there were no traces of the god being able to create life from their tears - much less ash.

The people created were curious. Some went to poke and prod at the god, jumping back when they moved away in discomfort. The god counted out seventeen individuals, finding some semblance of unique features in the dark skin - be it height, weight, or even what seemed like hair.

The god, now curious themself reached out and touched one of the people's faces. The person yielded back, letting out hisses of pain as half of their face turned white. Do not touch the god, the People of the Ash learned.

The god covered their hands, now able to touch the people without incident. However, the god looked around them, seeing the destruction their fit caused. They removed the glove to recreate the world, immediately covering their hand back up. The People of the Ash watched, amazed, as the world around them transformed. One particular people - the one with their face burned into white ash - approached the god when their work was done. The person’s hand burned when they set it against the god’s face. 

“Don’t be stupid!” The god shouted angrily, the person stepping back. “I -... I apologize… you don’t even have a name…”

The person listened, then patted their chest with their newly burned hand. They spoke gibberish to the god, but the god still listened. Something clicked -

“Wasn’t we supposed to learn about the Creation? Why are we hearing this?”

“Hush! I wanna hear the rest!”

The god recognized a few strings of sounds. It resembled a word they heard back when they were being created at the Lamellion.

“P-oo-mkin.” The person said.

“Pumpkin…” The god nodded. “You’ll be Pumpkin…”

The god ran with this type of name. Seventeen people, eight different families, all different earthly names. The god, with their Pumpkin, ruled the earth.

[wise-girl-official]

Hi everyone, I've been really busy with some stuff recently but I have some free time, so I thought I would do a retelling of an old Greek story now. I was thinking about which one I should do and I thought, I might as well start with the Greek creation story.

At the very start of it all, there was Chaos, and nothing else, but out of that nothingness came Gaia, the earth (and also beings like Eros, Erebus, and Abyss). Anyway Gaia is kind of our main girl, because she gave birth to Uranus, the sky, all by herself. And then proceeded to have kids with said sky. Her and Uranus brought the first titans into the world. Six guys (Coeus, Cronus, Hyperion, Iapetus, Oceanus, and Crius), and six gals (Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Rhea, Themis, Tethys, and Theia). The youngest of these was Cronus (or Kronos, Cronus and Chronos because there's a LOT of ways to spell his name) and he's the dude who murdered and sliced up Uranus alongside the help of his mum Gaia. So Cronus and Gaia set up a plan where they lulled Uranus into a false sense of ease and then chopped his crown jewels off, threw them in the sea, and then probably exiled him to Italy. After this Cronus took over as the ruler of sort of everything, and married his sister Rhea, which is really super weird, but celestial beings don't seem to have a problem with incest. Anyway Cronus and Rhea started having some kids together (the gods), but Cronus was worried they were gonna overthrow him, because before they de-balled Uranus, he predicted that Cronus would be usurped by his own children, so to fix this Cronus had the amazing and probably consequenceless idea to eat all the kids his poor wife bore him. So the first kid he ate was Hestia, then Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon, but then when Rhea had Zeus, the youngest of the Olympians, she took him and hid him away, and then presented Cronus with a boulder wrapped in a blanket, which he grabbed and ate right away, which was a bit stupid of him, but anyway, he didn't realise that the youngest of his spawn was actually being raised by some nymphs nearby. Fast foreword a bit and Zeus is all grown up and godly, he marched into Mount Othrys (which is like Mount Olympus but for the titans) and had a drink with his dad. Zeus spiked Cronus' drink to make him throw up, as all his siblings had been growing up, completely unharmed in Cronus' belly. I don't understand how this stuff works, but my mum came outta Zeus's forehead, so I can't really talk. Anywho, Cronus skulled the drink, and promptly regurgitated all of his kids, and then a really really long war ensues, which the gods eventually won, and Zeus became the new lord of the gods. So that's how the world was created.

The next story I'm gonna do is probably gonna be how the Olympians were decided and stuff

[proseandpsalms]

Eve eating the apple 🍎

For so long I had such a complicated relationship with my faith as I had such big problems with the way in which the creation story was taught to me.

I wondered how a loving God could have such a severe and eternal punishment for one mistake. I wondered how Eve could truly be at fault for doing the wrong thing when she had not yet developed and understanding of what was wrong and right. God seemed to be an unloving and abusive parent. I would be told over and over again that God was forgiving... and yet he banished and cursed his own children.

I was finally introduced to an alternative understanding of this story; one that is not about the inherent evil of humanity OR of God as an abusive father.

This understanding of the story believes that is not a story of sin, but of the natural consequences of the development of human consciousness.

When Eve ate the apple she became aware of her nakedness and felt shame - this is a natural feeling the human's experience which is due to the consciousness that human's have unlike other animals.

Eve was not punished with painful periods, labour, and child birth (after all, this does not make sense as animals also experience painful periods, labour, and child birth) but she simply became aware of her pain.

This is a story of the natural consequence of human consciousness. It does not make us INHERENTLY evil but it makes us CAPABLE of evil.

On the other hand it allows us to perceive and feel beauty.

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Genesis 3:4-6 NIV

When the serpent says "you will be like God" I believed it was a lie because we would never be like God. I now know that it was a lie because we are already like God.

Many Christian's do not like this perspective I hold and they say to me "but it's so clear that God punished Adam and Eve!" and "but it is a story about how we must obey God!" and to that I say these things:

The bible is a complicated text that has been translated and mistranslation many times, it has had passages removed and added, reading it in English means that our understandings of words do not capture original meanings and original translations as hard as we may try, and we have a Western understanding of the world which influences everything in which we consume.

When I am studying the bible I ask myself if this understanding of the bible and story I've read make my relationship with God stronger? Does it make me feel inspired to better myself and grow in my spirituality? Or does it make me feel angry and resentful? I believe that God was meant for me to have an understanding of the text that makes me feel so close to Him.

If not for this understanding of the Bible I would not have such a beautiful and loving relationship with God today. I am so grateful for that. Why would you feel the need to argue with that?

[zoesophiaspeaks]

[juliehowlin]

Adam and Eve

According to the biblical calculations of Archbishop James Ussher, it was on this date in 4004BC that Adam and Eve were created. 10 facts about Adam and Eve:

[septnautical]

Hybrid Creation Logs

SH-003

——————————

Notes from observation of stalker human hybrid SH-003 from Dr. Kendra Danan:  10-21-2228 SH-003 is showing signs of very high intelligence and is already picking up language despite his mental age. The other hybrids did not show this much absorption of knowledge at the same stage. However, he seems to have attached himself to Dr. Peter von Schneeplestein, a visitor from the Teuton Alteran branch, who still have ties to their ancient German roots- keeping that fascinating culture alive, much like the Mongolians from Torgal. Which means- SH-003 has caught a slight jumbled accent and has found a preference for using German sayings. Much like how SE-002 has a slight Irish accent thanks to constant interaction with Dr. Xander. A strange phenomenon to be sure but… fascinating. And adorable…  Oh and he’s quite popular with the other scientists. Mostly because a mutation caused his body to be more white and his underbelly to be more aqua. Peter squealed to everyone that he looked like he was wearing a white coat like us- and now I can’t un-see it!  Also, it’s evident that SH-003 had some sight issues. He seems to be near-sighted and accommodations have been made- including specially goggles for him to wear. You’d think being genetically modified would rectify such an ailment but it must be passed down from Mcloughlin’s genes.  I think he’s nearing the age where we first introduced SE-002 to RR-001. And the results of their integration have been wildly successful. Both boys are more lively than ever before. I am worried about introducing a predator to two pacifists but… SH-003 seems to be on the gentler side as well. Really, he only showed true signs of predator-like aggression during his first two weeks and when he feels threatened. Perhaps, they will all get along?  However, his near twin subject SD-004 is a different story entirely… 

——————-

“CHASEEEE!!” 

The rabbit Ray merman was awoken by Jack practically bouncing on where his stomach met his tail. He groaned and try to hide his face under one of his wings. “What? Can’t I sleep in a little longer?” Chase yawned. 

“Not today!” Jack protested, slapping his hands down on Chase’s side. “The white suits said we’re meeting the new hybrid today!! So you gotta get up!! C’mon!!” 

Chase groaned again and flopped over to hide his face in the sand. “5 more minutes…” 

“Chaseee!!” Jack whined, flopping onto the older hybrid’s back. He curls some of his tails around Chase’s tail and mumbles, “Aren’t you excited to meet a new brother?” 

“Course I am,” Chase muttered back, cheek pressed into the sand. “I just wanna be more awake when we meet him is all-“

“You’ll sleep most of the morning if I don’t wake you!” Jack protests. 

Chase chuckles, “s’not my fault the sand is warm and cozy…” He then flips over quickly and grabs Jack, pinning him in a hug against his stomach. “C’mon…! Don’t you wanna cuddle a bit longer with your big bro, Jack?” 

Jack screeches and squirmed in Chase’s hold, “Nooo! You’re squishing me! Chaseee!!” 

They both suddenly freeze as they hear the sound of a hatch opening and something new entering the water. A cautious voice calls out, “um… h-hallo?” 

Jack squeals in delight and hits multiple of his tails in Chase’s face, making the older boy cry out and rub at it  as the younger brother speeds through the water towards the voice. 

In the open water is a tiny merman with a white and aqua tail. He has light green hair like sea moss and purple stripes along his tail and even on his arms. His tail fin is big and wide and he has several large dorsal fins running up his back. And, he has goggles on, which surround the same blue eyes Chase and Jack had. Those eyes look out shyly as he holds his arms tight to his middle. 

Jack gasps in delight at seeing the new hybrid. “Oh my stars…! A stalker!! You’re so tiny!!” 

The new hybrid startles at the new voice and looks at Jack with wide eyes. “Oh uh- h-hallo and uh… t-thank you, I suppose…?” 

Chase soon swims up beside Jack and laughs. “He’s about the size you were when you first got here, Jack!” 

“Aw really? I guess I must be growing a lot!” Jack giggles. Chase ruffles his hair then smiles at the new hybrid. “Hi there. I’m Chase and this is Jack- what are you called?” 

The stalker hybrid nervously messes with his fingers. “Oh uh… mein name is SH-3…” 

“Why do you talk like that?” Jack suddenly pipes up, tilting his head at SH. 

SH’s mood shifts quickly as he scowls and flicks his tail in agitation, “why do you talk like that?” He counters with a huff. 

Chase holds up his hands with a nervous laugh, “J-Jack didn’t mean anything by it! We just… haven’t heard anyone talk like you much… maybe some of the other doctors… but not much.” 

“We gotta give you a name that matches!” Jack says excitedly. 

“W-What do you mean?” SH stammers, “I already have a name! It is-“ 

“No no! That one doesn’t count!” Jack emphasizes, “You need a name like the white suits! Something that doesn’t make us sound like- like an es… esperimint-“ 

“Experiment, Jack…” Chase provides gently. Jack nods eagerly, “yeah that! We’re more than just that- we should get names that are more than just letters and numbers!!” 

SH seems to contemplate this before he slowly nods. “Mmm… o-okay… I… I think I would like that…” 

“Great!” Jack says excitedly, his tails twirling to show it. Then he hums and looks at SH with a critical eye. The tiny merman squirms a bit under the gaze. Finally, Jack pipes up with, “I’m getting a couple names from you! Guess it’s other white suits you know- like… Fitz! Orrr Nikolai? Or hm… Henrik?”

Chase perks up at this and smiles, “He seems like a Henrik, not gonna lie.” 

SH’s eyes roll and he scoffs, crossing his arms. “Please… those are all ridiculous names! If you’re gonna use the scientists' names you might as well call me… H-Henrik von Schneeplestein or something!” He grumbles, thinking of Dr. Peter. Though, he had to admit… thinking of sharing a name with him almost made SH feel… warm?

Jack and Chase exchange looks before the two of them grin at SH. “We could call you Schneep!” Jack says mischievously. Chase giggles and nods, “Yeah I like that!” 

SH quickly flushes and looks away with raised shoulders, “…please just… stick with Henrik… I suppose I… like that.” 

“Aww but Schneep is fun to say!” Jack giggles and starts to float around the stalker mer, “Schneep! Schneep! Schneep! Schneeep!!” 

Chase laughs and pulls Jack back after a bit, “Alright, little bro- give him some space!” 

Henrik seems to perk up at this, “…bro? What does this mean?”

The rabbit Ray blinks, “Oh! Short for brother! Cuz… that’s what we all are, you know?”

Henrik’s eyebrows knit together in confusion, “���we are? I thought brothers were ah… human. Human family members.” 

Jack snorts and then goes to grab Henrik’s hands in his. “We are brothers though! Cuz- cuz Xander says we all have the same human DNS-“ 

“DNA, Jack-“ Chase snickers. 

“Oh yeah! DNA! And he says that makes us related! Even if our fish parts are different!” Jack beams. “So now! You’re our new little brother, Henrik!” 

The stalker merman’s eyes seem to sparkle as he slowly goes to grip Jack’s hands back. He smiles, “O…okay… brothers. Yes I… I think I would like that…” 

Jack and Chase beam and then bring Schneep in for a hug. Henrik stiffens a bit but soon finds himself laughing and enjoying the contact. They were so warm. 

Jack soon grabs Henrik and leads them all off to go play. Henrik seems to have trouble keeping up with their energy- since he liked to spend a lot of his time in his own tank watching the education videos the white suits gave him. But, he tries his best. 

Soon enough, the lights dim and the boys all start to head towards their sleeping area. Henrik is being led by Jack but seems… nervous. He always felt strange at night. More… angry. But he didn’t know why. 

Chase flops into the little nest Jack and him have made- filled with soft kelp, writhing weeds, violet beaus red wort and spotted dock leaves. All hidden amongst the tall creepvines that surrounded the edge of the tank. There’s a small indent in the sand that is clearly made from how Chase curls up in his spot, yawning loudly. Jack laughs and then rushes at Chase and flops onto his side. Chase seems to anticipate this though as he opens up his arm without opening his eyes as Jack eagerly curls around under Chase’s wing. The older merman squints open an eye, looking at how Jack’s tails hardly fit anymore and chuckles. “You’re almost too big to keep hiding under there, Jackaboy-“ 

Jack sticks his tongue out at Chase and scoots back so his head is lifting up the edge of his wing like a floppy hat. “Too bad! Your wing is too comfy! I’m never leaving!” Chase just laughs and shakes his head. 

Henrik hovers anxiously at the edge of the space, unsure if he should join or not. His nerves feel like they’re on fire. 

Lost in his train of thought, he doesn’t notice Jack lashing out a hand to grab his fin and try to pull him in until he feels the tug. “C’mon Schneep! Join the pile!”

“Do not touch me!” Henrik suddenly hisses, his teeth looking sharper and his pupils turning more slitted. Jack gasps and shudders under Chase’s fin, looking scared. “Ah I… I’m sorry! I…” 

Henrik’s face falls and he scoots back, all aggression fading. He looks equally as scared as he stammers, “I-I… I will go s-sleep somewhere else… g-goodnight!” And then, in a flurry of bubbles, he spurs quickly away from the other two to the other side of the tank. 

Chase lifts up his head and looks concerned. He quickly turns over to hug Jack to his chest and wrap him up in his wings. 

“I… I didn’t mean to make him mad I…” Jack sniffles. Chase gently shushes him. “It’s okay, Jack… this is all probably a lot for him…” 

Jack rubs at his eyes and looks over to where Henrik swam off. “…I don’t think he meant it either… he looked scared.” 

“He’s probably not used to being around other people… you were a lot for me to get used to when you first got here.” Chase tries to laugh. Jack rests his head on Chase’s chest and hums, thinking. “… maybe he just… misses his old tank? But… isn’t that lonely?”

“Maybe… sometimes people like being alone. I don’t get it but… maybe Henrik is like that.” Chase answers quietly. 

Suddenly, there’s a quiet knock on the glass next to the boys and they both startle up. There’s a man at the window, one they don’t recognize, with goggles like Henrik’s and brighter brown-blond curly hair. He smiles at the boys and then points to the hatch nearby. Chase narrows his eyes but then scoops up Jack to go over to the hatch. The scientist opens it up and hangs in the open air part, fidgeting nervously, “Ah I am- sorry to intrude. I hope I did not wake you two…” 

“You talk just like Henrik!” Jack gasps in delight. The doctor blinks and then laughs with a soft, kind expression. “Oh? Did you give a name to SH then? Ha… that is very fitting.. I do not know why I did not think of it…” 

“The letter names are icky- we don’t like them,” Jack said plainly. The doctor laughs, “I can agree with that. Perhaps I can learn all of yours in time… You all can call me Peter though… Dr. Peter. I ah- watch over SH- …Henrik.” 

“We don’t gotta wait till later! I’m Jack and this is Chase!” Jack said brightly, patting Chase on the chest. Chase smiles shyly. “Hi… Dr. Peter. nice to meet you.” 

Dr. Peter smiles warmly, “it is a pleasure… those names all suit you wonderfully…” 

“What do you want? Did you need to see Schneep?” Jack asks plainly. 

Peter’s eyes widen, “…Schneep?”

“Oh- that’s the other name I wanna call him. He said a long name from another doctor like… schneeple-eplestein… I like how Schneep sounded though so I wanna call him that too! He tries to act like he doesn’t like it but I can tell he does.” Jack answers. 

The white suit looks surprisingly touched and smiles even more warmly at the boys. “I see… well… I did come because of S-Schneep, yes.” He pulls something out from his pocket and places it in the water part of the hatch. It’s a well worn piece of scrap metal, with various teeth marks and scratches on its surface. “…He can get very bitey and snippy at night… but I know having this helps him calm down enough to sleep. I was worried he would be missing it…” 

Chase and Jack’s eyes widen as they look at the scrap then back up at Peter. Chase smiles and gives the doctor a meaningful look. “…you really care about him, huh?” 

Peter’s face flushes and he adjusts his glasses. “I mean… I… I suppose I do but… how could I not? You all are… human too. More human than fish- you are just… children. You all need that care, ja?” He laughs. 

Jack giggles and quickly goes to grab the scrap. “We’ll give it to Henrik right away! Thank you, Dr. Peter. Come visit him a lot, okay?” As he says this- he feels a tight tug in his chest. When was the last time he really got to see Xander…? 

Peter chuckles and nods. “I will… and I will uh- be seeing you boys around then? Ah… be sleeping tight, okay?” He says a bit awkwardly before closing the hatch. He stiffly waves to the boys before hurrying out. 

“…I like him!” Jack grins. Chase laughs and adjusts Jack in his arms. “yeah- I like him too. It’ll be nice to have a new face around.” 

“Yeah like- Dr. Goodall is nice and all but… he’s funny. And I really think he cares.” 

“Hey! Dr. Goodall cares…” Chase tries to protest. 

“Yeah but… he feels different. Dunno why…” Jack says with a shrug. Then he squirms out of Chase’s grip and swims up, holding the scrap. “I’m gonna go find Schneep! Be right back!” 

Then, he rockets off before Chase can protest or try to follow. He would but… Jack was better at finding things then he was. And he’s so sleepy. He yawns and slowly floats back down into their nest. 

Jack swims around to look for Henrik- finally hearing or… feeling him inside another collection of creepvines on the opposite side of the tank. He pushes aside the leaves and shouts out excitedly, “Henrik! Look wh-!” 

He then pauses as he sees and smells blood in the water. Jack gasps as he looks down to see Henrik curled up into a ball, digging sharp looking claws into his arms and drawing out orange blood. 

“H-Hey! Henrik, stop that!” Jack shouts as he spurs down and tries to pull Henrik’s hands away from his arms. Henrik growls and lashes out, striking claws across Jack’s cheek. “I said do not touch me!” Henrik screeches, then balks as he sees the orange curling off of Jack’s cheek into the water. Jack touches the cuts thoughtfully and looks at his hand. “…that hurt… huh- haven’t really gotten hurt before…” 

“I-I-! I am so sorry I…!” Henrik stammers, tears in his eyes as his little body shakes. He hugs his arms close to his chest. “I-I did not mean to… I- y-you scared me and…!” 

Jack quickly swims down and holds out his hands. “Hey hey it’s okay! I can tell you didn’t want to… your head is all jumbled up right now…” 

Henrik stares at Jack with wide eyes. “I… y-yes I… how did you know…?”

Jack shrugs, “I hear lots of things from people without really knowing why or how. Maybe it’s something I’ll understand when I’m older. Point is though, I can tell you don’t wanna hurt people.” 

Henrik slowly nods and curls up more. “…I do not want to… but at night I just… f-feel so angry and I… I do not know why…!”

“Well… if it helps… Dr. Peter came by to give you something…” Jack says gently, going to pass the scrap over to Henrik. The stalker’s eyes light up and he quickly takes the scrap and goes to hold it tightly, claws digging in and tail wrapped around it protectively. Jack laughs, “you really like that thing, huh?”

The tinier merman looks away, cheeks flushing slightly. “…I do not hurt my doctors if I have this at night… and it… it makes me feel safe…” 

“That’s good!” Jack says brightly. “We don’t want our new brother to sleep all alone though! Come on- you can hold that and sleep on your own but at least stay by the nest, okay?” 

Jack offers his hand to Henrik and the stalker mer stares at it for a second before he slowly goes to take it, letting Jack pull him back up in the water. “I… I’m… o-okay…” 

The two of them swim back to the nest where Chase is peacefully dozing. He blinks open his eyes and smiles dazedly at them, “Hey guys-“ then quickly sits up, his eyes going wide. “Stars-! Is that blood?!” 

“Oh yeah but uh- we’re okay!” Jack tries to say calmly as Henrik huddles behind him, his tail trembling a bit. 

Chase swims up and brings them over to sit down on the sand then surges up to grab a couple creepvines leaves. He hurries down and hands one to Jack. “Press that against your cheek.” He says gently. 

Jack blinks and does so. 

Then, Chase goes to take Henrik’s arm but the little merman flinches back and looks scared. Chase smiles softly. “It’s okay… I won’t hurt you.” 

“I… I am afraid of hurting you-“ Henrik whispers. 

Chase laughs and shakes his head. “If you do it’s okay… this is kinda scary. But us brothers gotta stick together, right?” 

Henrik’s eyes widen and then he smiles a bit. He shyly offers his arm to Chase. “..r-right…” Chase beams and takes his arm, going to wrap up the puncture wounds with the leaves and tying them off. 

“Where did ya learn to do this, Chase?” Jack asks. 

“Oh- an informational video about how to survive on the planet from someone who lived here a long time ago.” Chase says casually. “Dr. Goodall says one day we might get to actually go out into the ocean so… figured it’s good to know.” 

Henrik’s eyes sparkle. “oh… I would like to watch that! I… I want to learn to help too! Not.. not to hurt…” 

Chase smiles and ruffles Henrik’s hair. “Sure! I’ll see if we can watch it in the morning! For now though? I’m bushed!” He floats back over to the nest and flops into it, sighing contently. 

Jack checks to make sure his cheek isn’t bleeding anymore then speeds back over and bounces on Chase’s stomach beside settling into place. Chase oofs and glares a bit at Jack before snorting and rolling over. Jack giggles. 

Henrik hesitates, holding his scrap close to his chest. Then, he slowly floats over and then inches his tail to slowly bump up against Chase’s and curl against him. Oh… that contact feels… really nice actually. Henrik seems to get very comfortable very fast, his eyes struggling to stay open. Jack is already breathing softly curled up against Chase’s side, clutching into his wing. 

Chase watches with a smile. “Night, lil bros.”

[jeandejard3n]

Väinämöinen

[siamkram]

Taken from Essential Musical Intelligence: Using Music as Your Path to Healing, Creativity, and Radiant Wholeness by Louise Montello