Sofinna

New genes 24th July 2021 - Flaunt/ Flare

Sofinna:

Wonderful Poem by the Lovely Poet - @ TidelordVerified

silky sheen like the sky above
a weapon borne of aquatic love
Her merry eyes you'd love to meet
joins silver fish in a swimming fleet

A soft smile and curious mind
her passion an knowledge aligned
And she'll welcome you to a cup of tea
With an amazing view of the near-by sea!

Sofinna burst from the water's surface and scrambled onto shore, shaking the frigid water off her thick winter coat and enjoying the silky feeling of the seawater sliding free of her fur. She lifted her head and sniffed the air, but splashes from behind stole her attention back to the water.

Three bobbing heads peered woefully up at her. The tundra in the middle said, "Aw, Sofie, do you really have to go?"

The smallest of the three piped up, "The game just started getting really good!"

Sofinna shook her head with a small smile. "Sorry, kids, you know duty calls. Besides, is that--" She cocked her head to the side, taking another long sniff. "Oh my, could that be . . . ?"

All three hatchlings snuffled at the air avidly, and the middle cried out, "Smoked seal! Smoked seal for dinner tonight!"

Sofinna grinned as the others took up the excited call and all three climbed over another in their haste to get out of the water first. She stepped back as they clambered onto the snowy bank, getting out of the way as they slipped and ran down the beaten path towards the lair. One yelled over their shoulder, "Thanks for the swim, Sofie!" And then they were gone, jumping and tumbling over another in half-race, half-play.

The tundra stretched and scratched an itch behind her horns, then nosed at the pack strapped to her back, pulling out the collection of seashells she'd gathered from the bottom of the icy bay. Immediately her mouth turned down in worry, and all thoughts of the hatchlings left her mind as she turned down the path towards the Library, which thankfully wasn't far down the shoreline. The front steps practically led into the ocean. The Wisdom Keepers recorded knowledge from all across Sornieth--but, well, being located in the Southern Icefield as they were, they were allowed some . . . specializations.

Sofinna bustled inside, claws full with seashells, and wove between the small crowd of scholars and artists wandering the Library, some chatting quietly to another about their recent discoveries or research, others moving as urgently as Sofinna, deep in thought and muttering to themselves as they rushed to find the tome to confirm or deny their theory. She tiptoed past the massive guardian sprawled across the study area--despite the hall technically being public and no one needed to give the dragon such a wide berth, most had learned to let the grumpy professor be--and climbed a staircase before ducking into her private study room. She dumped the shells onto her desk, shoving aside some other artifacts to make room for the new addition. All around the room were shelves and shelves of various preserved sea life and oceanic specimens, all neatly labeled and dated, and carefully sorted in containers based on type and age.

The ectoplasmime in the corner grumbled a complaint about her lateness, echoing the words of whatever dragon had come in and try to find her earlier. She gave it a fond, if distracted, pat that soothed it, then turned all her attention on the seashells scattered on her desk, taking out her measurement tools and testing chemicals to start on a few experiments.

She was just wrapping up the last one when a dragon chirruped a greeting at the doorway. She waved them in, and without looking up, said, "Well, this is it then. These shells match the same pattern."

"I was just about to talk to you about that," the newcomer murmured. "Other samples are yielding the same results."

Sofinna finally looked up and matched the bogsneak's grim look with her own. She sank back into her chair, feeling exhausted, but also a feverish kind of elation that came from successful experiments. She needed to go sleep, now, soon, because after today . . .

She took a deep breath and nodded to the bogsneak, saying aloud what they and all the scholars of the Library now knew for sure: "Several ecosystems in the bay are in critical states of change. We're witnessing something . . ."

"Dangerous," the Bogsneak said.

"New, is what I was going to say," Sofinna said, but tipped her head in acknowledgement. Whatever was affecting the ocean's tides, making shells grow in new ways, manifesting unfamiliar behavior in the fish and certain other species of sea creatures within the bay, it could potentially disrupt the whole clan's way of life--for good or bad. So. She rubbed her claws together. "But we are witnesses." She flashed her fellow scholar a grin. "Time to go get some deity-sworn funding."

~~~~
original ideas for Sofinna included a whale watcher or stage performer, but i thought i should stick to your lair tab's set up a little more, ha. hope you enjoy!

Written by the Very Kind & Talented @ foureclipse