#also re: tags yesssss you understand me. not to natter on about a hypothetical design i havent finished yet

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

a scorpion wakes up on a frog's back, in the middle of the river. the frog explains that the scorpion requested a ride across the river, and it's complying. the scorpion, not remembering and distrusting this stranger's words, puts its stinger's tip against its neck.

the frog immediately turns spiteful. "you think you have any say here?" it warns in a voice more venomous than the scorpion's sting. "no. your poison is harmless to me. i know you're smart, so here's what you're going to do. you're going to sit very still on my back, and do exactly what i say. if you don't—if you try to get away—if you try to hurt me—if you fail to guide us true—i will dive. and you will drown, cold and alone, and it'll be nobody's fault but your own. do you understand?"

the scorpion, now realizing how very trapped it is, longs for the safety of a stronger venom.

a scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asks a frog to carry it across the river. almost immediately after departure it stings the frog and the frog goes "lol joke's on you i'm immune to your venom. you are now my prisoner btw. hope you like water because we're gonna be seeing a lot of it for the foreseeable future" and the scorpion says "you know being aquatic doesn't sound half bad now that you mention it"