Submission (#2352) Approved

ELN365
Regional Affinity: Ahza
Claiming Regional affinity for (1AP) Beatrix https://worldofeyre.com/character/ELN365
Word count: 1337
Bonus: 2EC ( reached 1200 word for written entries)

With a brand new day and the sun shining brightly across the cloudless sky, Beatrix had packed her travel bag for the day with things she thought might be needed for her day trip. Her newest adventure had brought her to the capital in the region of Ahza. The climate was nothing like what she was used to and part of her wished she hadn’t accepted this task. The place was scorching hot and full of sand and yes had she mentioned sand ?. It was a good thing the Bejali was located around a body of water and less hot weather then the places she traveled through on her way there. On most days she was lucky and there had been a light breeze which made things more bearable for her. 

 

Her mentor had received news that something strange had been happening at the aquatic lifeform in the waters nearby the city. At his request she had set out to investigate and report back to him on what the situation was and what the strange happenings were related to. He had first indicated to her to ask around the city and write notes on what was being reported before investigating the aquatic creatures. Bix had finally managed to gather enough information from the locals and was happy her trip was coming to an end. Today was the day she finally got to go visit the oasis and see things for herself. 

 

She looked up at the hot sun “hot as ever aren’t we ?”, “but luckily today there is a nice soft breeze to keep me cooler.” Bix had brought enough water to keep her hydrated and packed a light snack as well. Her appetite had been different since the hot weather made her less hungry than usual. 

 

Once she got to the oasis she set out a beach umbrella to keep her in the shade but she knew it would be a while before she got to enjoy it. The fun part of her task today… actually catching one of the reported strange things. Beatrix took out a jar from her bag, which hadn’t been so fun to carry all the way there since it had to be big enough to fit one of the creatures. She had strapped a net to her pack and was undoing the bindings when she remembered that she forgot to bring a fishing pole. She facepalmed thinking that now her day might be wasted as it might now be almost impossible to catch anything. Bix took a deep breath as her mind raced and she concluded that she might as well try with the net since she was already here. 

 

She set a blanket to the edge of the water where she had set her umbrella hoping not to get too many sand bugs crawling all around her fur. That was another thing she hated about the region, BUGS… LOTS OF BUGSS. Gathering the net Beatrix went to set it in the water which she hoped she did right as she had listed to the locals how to install one. She kicked around some sand in frustration as time passed and nothing caught in her net. While maybe a fishing pole would have helped her situation from what the locals had reported of how they had caught this elusive sea creature it all came from nets. She silently cursed at her mentor Jayce who always seemed to set her on impossible adventures. What was worse is he did not want to accompany her this time. “SURE leave me in this mess” she yelled out loud. “When and when I say WHEN I get back home this will be the last thing I ever do for you” she kept on yelling. As if she thought he could hear her all the way to Il’durahn. She dropped her body on the ground and shrugged deciding she might as well have a snack since she had nothing better to do. She had packed some fresh fruits and vegetables.  It was clear she wasn’t the most patient elnin in the world, as she threw a piece of her watermelon into the water where she had cast her net. “Here have this you stupid things, maybe you’ll enjoy it more than I do.” She took another deep breath looking at the scorching sun “don’t you ever stop being so HOT.” she exclaimed wondering when her nightmare was going to be over. Before she even realized what happened in the water as she vented her frustration, something had indeed taken interest in her watermelon. Hearing a slight splash in the water, she stopped kicking around the sand and directed herself to the water. But before she could fully see what it was it was already gone and so was her snack she had thrown away. But from the corner of her eye she had seen something shimmering the colour of hot red sand just as the locals had described. 

 

“Watermelon?? You like watermelon?” she stared at the water puzzled, knowing that it wasn’t a usual thing for sea creatures to like. Bix grinned knowing she had more left as she ran to her rest spot. She gathered all she had and slowly broke some into smaller pieces putting a few in the water in her net. Her eyes grew big as she saw the same shimmering in the water and before she forgot what she was here for, pulled the net and captured the critter. From what she could tell it wasn’t so big or monstrous from what had been described. But she knew when people saw something unfamiliar they sometimes over exaggerated facts. Before she took the net out she went to fill her jar with water for the little guy. If it was possible for her to do so she had been instructed to bring it back home. She undid the net slightly to where she could use a smaller net to transfer it into the jar she had brought. Her eyes grew in wonder as she started to examine her findings. She then looked at it in disappointment, “a seahorse?” “That's all you are “. What was strange about it was it was not native to the region and neither had it ever been seen in this specific colour. From what she remembered from her studies seahorses were not unusual or rare but it’s shimmering gold red toned was unfamiliar. It also seemed to have an odd tail that had not been reported before. It’s tail was shaped like seaweed and had some strands that ended with a little golden shimmering ball but she figured it was due to its shimmering skin like that of a fish. She also acknowledged that the sun might play a factor in making it seem like a glistening piece of gold. It was for sure a new finding she had to report, especially if it was possible to understand how it got here in the first place. Beatrix thought maybe someone at some point had brought some over and maybe their colour changed overtime to match their habitat more. Although she smiled at it wondering why some locals described it as a frightening dragon of the sea. “Not very scary are we little one” she said to it looking at it through the glass container. 

 

Bix had learned a lesson but she wasn’t the type to let her mentor know about it as she was ready for a fight and to hash out some frustration on him. Maybe she needed to be more patient and prepared for excursions but that’s hardly something that would make her change her ways. She did after all get what she came for, achieving it her own way. Perhaps she would leave out the part where she kicked around so much sand that she had some stuck in her fur for weeks after she even got back home. But the question remained on her mind… why did the seahorse like watermelon of all things ?