Post by doctor cube on Sept 25, 2010 18:12:24 GMT -6
((inspiration hit me on the shitter... this is an outlandish post-apocalyptic tale of wonder and ridiculousness! It feels so strange and alien writing it but something compelled me to write it.))
Thee'eus pulled himself along the beach, his deep black eyes staring over the sea, and over the ruined cityscape on the other side of him. Each tentacle curling and pulling his body over the sandy beach, leaving beautiful twisted-line patterns. Each movement, each coiling step Thee'eus took left a small slanted spiral in the smooth white sand of the beach.
Thee'eus is an octopus.
Next to Thee'eus, Moracus coiled along in a similar way, he was larger, with blue-black eyes and a dark violet body, white markings along his tentacles and his head, his beak clicked and he spoke. This book has been translated to our tongues so we may know what they are saying, despite our languages being obsolete to these beings.
"We walk these beaches often, Thee'eus. Symbolic, isn't it?" Moracus's eye tightened and narrowed a little, looking at his smaller friend, who's body was a mottled blue, pale with splotches of lighter and deeper hues. Thee'eus's voice was a soft piping and clicking compared to the snaps and rumbles of his old mentor and friend. "Symbolic, yes... and almost traditional at this point. Our ancestors flitted along the ocean floor, living in rock and reef, oblivious animals sharing the sea with countless threats, unaware of the world of Human." Moracus made a soft grunt, a 'hmm...' of agreement. Before the Fall, Humanity ruled the planet, yet they say the "Hu" in Human comes from Hubris, the Hubris of Mankind, they poisoned themselves, choked themselves, starved themselves, and burned what was left. The world was healing, and had chosen Cephalopods as it's new keepers.
"The 'Quatics and the Humists can't appreciate beaches." Thee'eus continued, and a stronger, louder "Hmmm..." of agreement came from Moracus, his body shifting in a sort of nod. "what would you expect? got their beaks so far up their blowholes... bunch of dolphins, both lots of them." Thee'eus chortled at his friends outburst, "lets not go too far, you promised you'd stop swearing." A tentacle gently reached out and rested on his companion's body, and Moracus returned the sentiment, entwining one of his own legs with that of Thee'eus, the two of them continued down the beach, holding arms and chuckling together. "The Beach is the common ground between those technocratic Humists and those sloshy Aquatics. Neither one will meet here, and it's us Free Orthos who truly understand." Moracus reached up and adjusted his bowler cap, making sure it didn't slide off his top as he continued along. "We're adaptive beings, but if we're not careful we can evolve too quickly in the wrong ways, our first steps out of the ocean were painful, our adjustments almost killed us, some still need Sealungs while on land, some are so weak they need Locomotors, they never developed the muscles for landwork..." Thee'eus clicked a few times in response, then continued the thoughts of her comrade.
I should note here that Thee'eus and Moracus, like all modern octopi, are hermaphroditic and Geno-Adaptive, as they put it. They have learned to control their own genetic codes through force of will, and as all redined gentlepods and octonobles, they're both genders and change their bodies however they bloody well see fit, thank you very much. They're not as stubborn as the old Humans were, no... they're an entirely different kind of stubborn (Or So they'll put it.) So as per their more malleable natures, Him and Her are interchanged, and names used more frequently for identification.
"We've still had some problems going back as well" chimed Thee'eus, eyes wandering ahead, the split view realigning in front of him, Moracus chuckled as her friend continued. "...Some got too used to land, couldn't get their sea-breath back, couldn't take the pressure or fix their muscles... Image how it must have been, our grandfathers and forefathers actually drowning as they tried to return to the ocean." Moracus closed his eyes as he walked. "Yes, and some still need air-tanks and Submariners to return to the water..." "Not like us!" Thee'eus's voice was full of pride as he seemed to rise himself up, some tentacles curling in on themselves before unwinding again in a small display. "We've found the balance, walking and swimming both worlds! We've got the control, the power-" "ah-ah-ah, Thee'eus, the P-word again."
Thee'eus seemed to shrink back, her tentacle unwinding from Moracus's as he coiled in a little, skin hues growing darker and grey with shame. "Forgive me... I forgot our first lesson together... Power Burned the World." Moracus turned back to her younger friend, two tentacles moving reassuringly over his friend's form. "We're a long way from the lessons in the nest, and you've always been so eager, if anyone could control power it'd be you, Thee'eus." The voice changed from the compassionate friend to the playful one. "That wasn't our first lesson though, gill-head!" And with that Moracus's body unwound and she pushed up onto her 8 long arms, colors becoming vibrant blues and indigos, Thee'eus matched with greens and pale blues and rose as well, the two wrapping their limbs around each other and laughing as they grappled along the beach like two youths fresh out of the egg-pod.
The waves crashed on the shore, the gulls cawed and called, and the red sun set over the foggy and burned sky, casting powerful shadows over the ruined concrete buildings, the relics of the race that burned many millennium ago.
Thee'eus pulled himself along the beach, his deep black eyes staring over the sea, and over the ruined cityscape on the other side of him. Each tentacle curling and pulling his body over the sandy beach, leaving beautiful twisted-line patterns. Each movement, each coiling step Thee'eus took left a small slanted spiral in the smooth white sand of the beach.
Thee'eus is an octopus.
Next to Thee'eus, Moracus coiled along in a similar way, he was larger, with blue-black eyes and a dark violet body, white markings along his tentacles and his head, his beak clicked and he spoke. This book has been translated to our tongues so we may know what they are saying, despite our languages being obsolete to these beings.
"We walk these beaches often, Thee'eus. Symbolic, isn't it?" Moracus's eye tightened and narrowed a little, looking at his smaller friend, who's body was a mottled blue, pale with splotches of lighter and deeper hues. Thee'eus's voice was a soft piping and clicking compared to the snaps and rumbles of his old mentor and friend. "Symbolic, yes... and almost traditional at this point. Our ancestors flitted along the ocean floor, living in rock and reef, oblivious animals sharing the sea with countless threats, unaware of the world of Human." Moracus made a soft grunt, a 'hmm...' of agreement. Before the Fall, Humanity ruled the planet, yet they say the "Hu" in Human comes from Hubris, the Hubris of Mankind, they poisoned themselves, choked themselves, starved themselves, and burned what was left. The world was healing, and had chosen Cephalopods as it's new keepers.
"The 'Quatics and the Humists can't appreciate beaches." Thee'eus continued, and a stronger, louder "Hmmm..." of agreement came from Moracus, his body shifting in a sort of nod. "what would you expect? got their beaks so far up their blowholes... bunch of dolphins, both lots of them." Thee'eus chortled at his friends outburst, "lets not go too far, you promised you'd stop swearing." A tentacle gently reached out and rested on his companion's body, and Moracus returned the sentiment, entwining one of his own legs with that of Thee'eus, the two of them continued down the beach, holding arms and chuckling together. "The Beach is the common ground between those technocratic Humists and those sloshy Aquatics. Neither one will meet here, and it's us Free Orthos who truly understand." Moracus reached up and adjusted his bowler cap, making sure it didn't slide off his top as he continued along. "We're adaptive beings, but if we're not careful we can evolve too quickly in the wrong ways, our first steps out of the ocean were painful, our adjustments almost killed us, some still need Sealungs while on land, some are so weak they need Locomotors, they never developed the muscles for landwork..." Thee'eus clicked a few times in response, then continued the thoughts of her comrade.
I should note here that Thee'eus and Moracus, like all modern octopi, are hermaphroditic and Geno-Adaptive, as they put it. They have learned to control their own genetic codes through force of will, and as all redined gentlepods and octonobles, they're both genders and change their bodies however they bloody well see fit, thank you very much. They're not as stubborn as the old Humans were, no... they're an entirely different kind of stubborn (Or So they'll put it.) So as per their more malleable natures, Him and Her are interchanged, and names used more frequently for identification.
"We've still had some problems going back as well" chimed Thee'eus, eyes wandering ahead, the split view realigning in front of him, Moracus chuckled as her friend continued. "...Some got too used to land, couldn't get their sea-breath back, couldn't take the pressure or fix their muscles... Image how it must have been, our grandfathers and forefathers actually drowning as they tried to return to the ocean." Moracus closed his eyes as he walked. "Yes, and some still need air-tanks and Submariners to return to the water..." "Not like us!" Thee'eus's voice was full of pride as he seemed to rise himself up, some tentacles curling in on themselves before unwinding again in a small display. "We've found the balance, walking and swimming both worlds! We've got the control, the power-" "ah-ah-ah, Thee'eus, the P-word again."
Thee'eus seemed to shrink back, her tentacle unwinding from Moracus's as he coiled in a little, skin hues growing darker and grey with shame. "Forgive me... I forgot our first lesson together... Power Burned the World." Moracus turned back to her younger friend, two tentacles moving reassuringly over his friend's form. "We're a long way from the lessons in the nest, and you've always been so eager, if anyone could control power it'd be you, Thee'eus." The voice changed from the compassionate friend to the playful one. "That wasn't our first lesson though, gill-head!" And with that Moracus's body unwound and she pushed up onto her 8 long arms, colors becoming vibrant blues and indigos, Thee'eus matched with greens and pale blues and rose as well, the two wrapping their limbs around each other and laughing as they grappled along the beach like two youths fresh out of the egg-pod.
The waves crashed on the shore, the gulls cawed and called, and the red sun set over the foggy and burned sky, casting powerful shadows over the ruined concrete buildings, the relics of the race that burned many millennium ago.