Arymyr never strayed far from the sea, as it is her lifeline until she learns to fully become a land dweller in her shifts, currently, she remains part fish-like, her gills on full display when on land due to not completely mastering her shifting from sea to land. Her mother is a sea lamia shape shifter and usually takes the form of a giant sea serpent with sea green and turquoise scales, her father is a cheshire cat, very tall, and black as midnight with deep royal purple accents on his fur. Two vastly different species that created some unique children.
Arymyr is the youngest of three, her older two brothers all took more features from one or the other parent with little similarities to the opposite parent. For instance, her eldest brother, Rahuhl, is more cheshire than lamia, therefore lives predominantly on land with our father and her middle brother, Riktor, is more lamia than cheshire. Both brothers stay in their respective environments, the younger one in the sea, the oldest on land and in the trees, but can cross to either environment without issue, unlike their parents. Arymyr is a hearty mix of both, therefore has struggled the most in adapting to either environment when shifting forms.
Rahuhl is in training to take over the Silent Assassin's of Orlah in place of their father. Riktor will be taking over mothers position in the sea, the other half of the Silent Assassin's, leaving me to take the place as Ambassador for all of Orlah. Because Arymyr is a hybrid of both land and sea, Orlah does not need two separate ambassadors as they usually would.
Arymyr has a feeling that whatever awaits her at the end of these tunnels, will not be pleasant, the biggest indicator of this being the sniff of disgust when her mate saw the gills on her neck. Arymyr could feel the moment they left the tunnel system, the air smelled fresher, her skin felt jittery and excited upon feeling the sun kiss her fur and scales, and she could pick up the sounds of birds and other creatures buzzing throughout the forest. She felt comfort knowing they were still on Orlah, but unsure of how far inland they were. She knew they were far inland due to the lack of salt in the air and the fact she could not hear the waves crashing on the shore at all, granted she could hear the soft trickle of a small lake or creek flowing off in the distance. Before she could get too much of a sense of where she was, her mate grabbed the hair at the base of her neck, shoving her face first into the ground before yanking on her tail to pull her into a vat of fresh water.
Arymyr flipped and flopped in the vat of fresh water, her face constricting in pain as she did everything in her power to not absorb the water, her gills working extra as they craved the water, but hurt her if she took in the lack of salt. Letting out a shrill cry, Arymyr's hands found purchase on the side of the vat and propelled herself up and out, landing hard on the ground at the feet of her mate, her face cover long lost in the vat of water. Growling, her mate kicked her hip, gesturing towards the vat with disdain as he asked, "What, dear mate, could ever be the problem with this vat I had to have hauled here for *your* convenience?" Arymyr glowered up at her mate, pulling herself up to her feet as she did a quick check of her scales, frowning slighlty as a few seemed to curl in an unnatural way due to the water. "I am a *sea* creature, I cannot be in fresh water or it will kill me" she hissed sourly at him.
Arymyr's bitterness towards her mate grew as he simply shrugged, curling his lip in disgust at her, "Well, well, well, what a picky little disgusting hybrid we have here. Boys, go ahead and get some sea water out here, for now, since her royal highness is too good for the water you all painstakingly obtained for her, she can hang in the trees until her new vat is ready to her liking." He spun on his heel, Arymyr quickly hid a smirk as she processed his words, excited to be able to explore the trees.
Hopefully she will be able to find a way home and let her family know of her mate. He may be half decent after all, needs work on his approach and technique of course, but she could adjust and guide him as needed with time. Arymyr called out to her mate, still unsure of what to call him, "What is your name?" Not pausing, her mate walked into what looked to be a hut built into the side of the hill, next to the tunnel system that led them to the grove. He did not stop, did not even acknowledge her, until he walked back out of the hut, a small smile on his face, his features displaying clearly for her to see under the moonlight. He was attractive. His mane was short, unlike the males in her family, but similar to some of the other little assassins in the guild. He was tall and lean with sharp, well defined, features that would make any female swoon if he gave them his attention.
*clink, clank, clink*
Arymyr's eyes flicked to his hands as she heard the clinking and clanking of metal, narrowing her eyes as she realized what her mate was holding. "What is this? Why do you have those? I cannot touch metal, that is why even my blades are made of ivory, scales or other natural materials from creatures. Metal will make my skin peal. Arymyr's eyes widened slightly as her mate proceeded to walk closer to her, she noticed his gloves then, all cheshire creatures have an aversion to metal. Not all react the same, some are more severe than others, which is why cheshires tend to stay away from the accursed resource.
With her being a sea lamia as well as cheshire, metal can be quite deadly for her to interact with. Arymyr took small steps back as she took in her mates grin that now covered his face, frowning as she quickly assessed the grove, noting where each of his minions were positioned around them. He chuckled as he took in her bewildered expression, the sound soothing to her ears, "Oh my poor, innocent mate. I know what metal will do to you, I have been watching you from afar for a while now. I know you picked up my scent a few times, always glancing around wearily, unsure of what the scent meant. You will make me a king in my grove, little mate. Even with your impure, hybrid blood." He spit the last words out with such disgust, Arymyr flinched.
One thing was certainly clear, he did *not* like the fact that she was a hybrid. This was a common thing she encountered throughout her lifespan thus far. Both in the sea, and on land. Opal Lee and her parents seemed to be some of the few who did not mind her brothers and her hybrid blood. It seems as though her mate is one of the many who find disgust and hatred in hybrids. Maybe she could show him hybrids were just as good as purebloods. These thoughts quickly quieted in her mind as her mate backed her against a tree, grinning widely with a glint in his eye, almost as if he found pleasure in what he was about to do. Arymyr shrunk against the tree, her gills moving sporadically as she tried to breathe in the open air. It was time to go back to the sea, passed time. If she did not get to the sea soon, she would pass out, possibly suffocate. Her body was not yet ready to be on land for this long, and she knew it. Looking up at her mate, black creeping in on her vision as she silently struggled to breathe, she realized that he knew too, and he looked pleased.
Thus began the tortures of 200 years with her first potential mate.